Art, Culture & Locks: The Journey of Rasta Bamie Tarawally

At #75 Siaka Stevens Street in Freetown, surrounded by beads, handcrafted art, and the lingering taste of culture, lives a man whose life story is a living testament to resistance, resilience, and cultural pride.

His name is Rasta Bamie Tarawally, 50 — an artist, cultural ambassador, and proud Rastafarian who has spent the last 30 years shaping Sierra Leone’s cultural identity through his craft.

Born to a Limba father and a Krio mother, Rasta Tarawally’s early life reflected Sierra Leone’s diverse cultural and religious landscape. He began his education in Bo at St. Francis Primary School before relocating to Freetown, where he attended both St. Thomas Primary and United Methodist Church (UMC) School. Raised in a household where his father was Muslim and his mother was Christian, Bamie was exposed to a blend of spiritual values from an early age.

However, it was during his teenage years that he began to feel a deeper pull toward Rastafari — a movement that, to him, represented freedom, truth, and a return to African identity. Though he discovered the faith on his own, inspired by the teachings of Marcus Garvey and the global Rasta consciousness, he was the only one in his family to take that path. Despite their initial concerns, his family came to respect his beliefs and embrace his way of life.

“They believe in me,” he says,

“and they accept who I am.”

Art as a Survival

Rasta Tarawally’s path to art and culture began when he embraced the Rastafari movement, inspired by the teachings of Marcus Garvey.

“Art and culture is part of Black people,” he says. “When I accepted the Rasta Farai Movement, I started following the teachings of Marcus Garvey, and that was where I got my inspiration.”

But it wasn’t an easy path. With his dreadlocks and stereotypes against Rastafarians, Rasta Tarawally was shut out of mainstream employment. Yet instead of giving in, he turned to the roots of the movement itself — self-reliance and community.

“There was a yard called Garvey Height at Syke Street. It was a Rasta camp where Rasta men were dwelling. Most of them had different skills… I decided to learn from them and equip myself.”

That decision would define his life. For the past 23 years, he has sold his art in the same spot, sharing not just creative pieces but stories, history, and spirituality with anyone willing to listen.

“Living as a Rasta man is not really easy, especially when you don’t have a lucrative job. But I thank Jah,” he said with pride.

Rasta Bamie Tarawally/ James Tamba-Martha/ VRC Media

Raising Three Daughters Through Art

His art has allowed him to raise three daughters with one studying medicine overseas in Atlanta, Georgia, and support three women he’s no longer with, proving that cultural commitment does not exclude responsibility.

For Rasta Tarawally, his greatest success isn’t financial. What Bamie treasures most isn’t money or recognition — it’s connection.

“The biggest success from this business is that it has created a platform for me to interact with diverse people from different parts of SierraLeone,” he explains.

“For me, that’s one success I’m always happy about.”

He speaks with the wisdom of a sage when he says,

“Every Black man is a Rasta man. For Jah to choose me to accept the Movement is one of my biggest blessings.”

For him, Rastafari is more than dreadlocks or music; its freedom — from colonial bondage, mental slavery, and social constraints.

“When you’re a Rasta man, you have the power to speak freely without hesitation.”

The journey hasn’t been without stigma. In earlier years, people dismissed dreadlocks as unclean and associated them with madness. But time has proven otherwise.

“Now we see people who are lawyers, doctors, and intellectuals growing dreads. That’s a big sign of how rapidly the Movement is growing.”

He believes that dreadlocks are the first step — the doorway — to understanding the broader vision of African revolutionaries like Marcus Garvey, Sekou Touré, Kwame Nkrumah, and Sierra Leone’s own Sengbe Pieh.

Rasta Bamie Tarawally arts & culture street shop/ James Tamba-Martha/VRC media

Rastafari Movement is Growing in Sierra leone

While the Rastafari movement originated in Jamaica, the city of Freetown in Sierra Leone, holds a unique and historically significant context for its development in West Africa. Founded in 1792 as a settlement for freed African Americans, Afro-Caribbeans, and Liberated Africans, Freetown became fertile ground for Afrocentric ideologies like Rastafari.

Though not native to the city, the movement found a home there due to its alignment with the city’s Pan-African foundations and deep historical ties to the African diaspora.

The Rastafari movement, born in 1930s Jamaica, is a monotheistic, Afrocentric religion that reveres Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia as a divine figure. Emphasizing “livity”—a righteous and natural lifestyle—the movement advocates for the spiritual and physical return of the African diaspora to the continent.

It is also known for its critique of Western imperialism, or “Babylon,” and its focus on liberation, equality, and self-determination.

In Freetown, Rastafari resonates with the people’s ongoing struggles for social justice and economic advancement. Its principles of resistance, cultural pride, and reconnection with African identity echo the city’s own history of opposition to colonial dominance and its diverse cultural makeup.

As such, the Rastafarian movement continues to thrive, becoming a channel for both spiritual grounding and socio-political activism in Sierra Leone.

Today, the Rastafari Movement in Sierra Leone has come a long way.

“We now handle our affairs independently,” he explains.

“We have our own temple, officiate our own weddings, and even run our own school — the Marcus Garvey School in Kuntorloh.”

With temples in New England and Wellington, the movement is growing in both spirit and infrastructure.

Despite the initial resistance from family and society, Rasta Tarawally stayed grounded in love and righteousness.

“My family was against my dreadlocks, but with time they accepted it — not because they liked it, but because of my attitude. Rasta is love, honesty, and righteousness.”

As he reflects on his journey, there’s no trace of regret. Only pride.

“I feel so proud as a Rasta man. I feel more proud when children and others call me ‘Rasta’. It makes me feel I have something to offer to society.”

Indeed, he does. Through his art, his words, and his unwavering spirit, Rasta Tarawally continues to shape minds and hearts — one bead, one sculpture, and one truth at a time.

Rasta Bamie Tarawally/ James Tamba-Martha/VRC media