Livhuwani Jahlady Ramalivhana of Ngovhela village, near Sibasa, is one of the staunch local Rastafarian women who believe that peace in our country can still be restored through prayer. Ramalivhana, as well as her colleagues, does this through what they call overnight Sabbath observation and prayer services, which are conducted in different mountains around Vhembe every weekend.
Last weekend, Ramalivhana (34) spent the night up in the quiet Tshandama mountains in the Mutale area. She believes that her weekly prayer sessions will ultimately heal our land from corruption, women and child abuse, the high crime rate and all the other challenges it faces.
"Every weekend, we visit an identified mountain where we observe the Sabbath and pray for our people. Our Sabbath starts at sunset on Friday and ends again at sunset on Saturday. We spend the whole Friday night praying and on Saturday morning we start preparing our special Rasta meals, which consist of fresh fruits, indigenous bush vegetables and porridge. We don't eat meat and everything we eat does not contain salt. During the Sabbath observation, we only drink pure water from natural streams in the mountains and meditate as we smoke our weed. This helps to ease our minds after the whole night spent praying," she says.
Ramalivhana says that although some people do not accept her as a Rasta woman, she enjoys her life to the fullest. "Choosing a lifestyle and religion is all about personal choice. Those who think that Rastafarianism is only for men must think again. Our constitution guarantees equal rights for everyone and there is no need to look down upon other people. As a Rasta woman, I proudly enjoy smoking the herb, but I do it privately and responsibly. This is the life I have chosen for myself, and I believe Jah is happy about what I believe in. My wish is that more Rasta women come and join us every weekend as we observe Sabbath and pray to the Almighty Jah."
Ramalivhana earns a living by crocheting and sewing Rasta attire, which she sells to the local Rasta community.