Mansions of Rastafari - Niyabinghi

Niyabinghi

The Nyahbinghi Order (also known as Haile Selassie I Theocratical Order of the Nyahbinghi Reign) is the oldest of all the Rastafari mansions The term Niyabinghi means "black victory" (niya = black, binghi = victory). It may also be spelled in a variety of other ways, such as "Nyabinghi", "Nyahbinghi", "Niyahbinghi" and so on. It was first used to describe an East African possession cult located in the areas of south Uganda and north Rwanda in 1700 AD (Hopkins 259). Early missionaries and anthropologists named the Uganda/Rwanda clans, the Niyabinghi Cult, because their culture was based on the veneration of the goddess spirit, Niyabinghi . The Niyabinghi Cult is said to have thrived due to the possession of the goddess Niyabinghi through dance and religious seances. Deeper studies show the roots of Nyabinghi to be directly related to the oldest of Christian Churches the Oriental Orthodox, specifically the Coptic Orthodox and Ethiopian Orthodox faiths. During the Chalcedonian meetings in 400 AD Rome parted ways with the Orthodox Catholic Church of Egypt and proclaimed Rome to be the headquarters of "The True Catholic Church" and created their own Pope and orthodox ideas that ran contrary to the way the Church had taught for the first 400 years of Orthodox Christian history. Coptic prophecy since the time of the Chalcedonian Meetings in 400 AD has been that a true reedemer would be born as the second coming of Christ and would restore "True" orthodoxy to Christiantity and would expose the false teachings of the Roman Catholic Church and "heal the nation". Haile Selassie I was that redeemer and viewed as the 2nd coming of Christ and was respected as such by the Nyabinghi. (see "History of St. Mark's Coptic Orthodox Church" and "History of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church")

Various oral traditions exist that explain how Niyabinghi became a revered goddess. One account states that in 1700 AD two tribes inhabited the Uganda/Rwanda area: the Shambo and Bgeishekatwa. Queen Kitami, who is said to have possessed a sacred drum of phenomenal power, ruled the Bgeishekatwa tribe. When Kitami died she was given immortal status and the name Niyabinghi (Freedman 63). Another tradition states that Queen Niyabinghi ruled the Northwestern Tanzani kingdom of Karagwe and married the chief of Mpororo from the southwestern kingdom of Uganda. Envious of the Queen’s power, the ruler ordered her death which is said to have brought “untold horrors to his kingdom” (Kiyaga-Mulindwa 1163). After her death, her spirit continued to be praised and to possess her followers for the next two centuries.

The Bgeishekatwa tribe was eventually defeated by the Shambo clan who adopted the Bgeishekatwa’s rituals for Niyabinghi . A century later the Shambo were defeated by the cultivating Kiga clan (there are legends that the Shambo’s defeat is connected to the attempt to kill a woman who was possessed by Niyabinghi ) (Freedman 74). Once the Kiga tribe reigned over the land, Niyabinghi became known as a matriarchal power, and the Kiga’s century-rule is characterized as the reign of the Niyabinghi priestesses.

Kiga women who received Niyabinghi’s blessings and were said to be possessed by Niyabinghi came to be called bagirwa (Hopkins 259). Eventually the revered bagirwa gained political dominion and became governors of the Kiga people living a dual life of political and spiritual leadership. The bagirwa, including Muhumusa, remained governors of the Kiga people until 1930 after losing their land to British, German, and Belgian imperialists, which they fought for a period of twenty years. The singular form of the word "bagirwa" is "mugirwa". At some point, men became Niyabinghi priests as well (Freedman 80-81).

The Niyabinghi Theocracy Government was named for a legendary Amazon queen of the same name, who was said to have possessed a Ugandan woman named Muhumusa in the 19th century. Muhumusa inspired a movement, rebelling against African colonial authorities. Though she was captured in 1913, alleged possessions by "Niyabinghi" continued, mostly afflicting women.

However, Niyabinghi doesn't have any linkage to or relationship with Ethiopian history or Haile Selassie, it is a part of the Rastafari movement and a manifestation of the wisdom of Jah. Niyabinghi are considered the strictest mansion of the Rastafari movement in Jamaica, preaching the ideals of a global theocracy to be headed by Emperor Haile Selassie I, whom they proclaim to be the promised Messiah and incarnation of Jah, the Supreme.

They have also been known to be very anti-racist, especially toward black and white people. They also express that opressors towards anybody will be punished by Jah. People of the Nyabinghi faith often (but not always) affiliate themselves with pacifism.