"I and I"

(sometimes spelled InI)

The ultimate expression of the uniquely Rastafarian concept of 'Inity' (unity) is the phrase 'I and I', which effectively replaces personal pronouns (I, you, he, she, etc), which are considered divisive.
As Bunny Wailer sings (in the song 'Armageddon'),

In the beginning
There was but one concept
And that's the concept of I.
Then arose Apollyon the Devil
Claiming that it's you and I.

Rastafarians seek to avoid any form of division, segregation, or disunity, including all 'isms and schisms' - hence, Rastas generally dislike the term 'Rastafarianism', preferring simply 'Rastafari'. Harmony and communion among fellow Idren (brethren and sistren) and between humankind and God are the ideals to be striven for. This is reflected in the Jamaican greeting and parting phrase 'One Love'.

'I and I' is an interesting part-contradiction of Freud's concept of the 'I' (ego). Normally, the name 'I' can only be used by the speaker to refer to him or herself. Moreover, the ability to consciously recognise oneself as an 'I', distinguishable from one's surroundings, seems to be a distinctively human characteristic, not shared by the animal, plant or mineral kingdoms. In contrast, 'I and I' can refer to any number of individuals, often being extended ad infinitum: I and I and I and I and I... and hence implying an 'endless circle of Inity'. Needless to say, such abolition of personal pronouns can lead to confusion! Hence one may hear also phrases such as 'the-I' ('you'), or 'I-man' ('I').

The syllable 'I' is one of the most frequently recurring in reggae songs, and it is perhaps no coincidence that the name 'Rastafari' itself ends with this same sound (at least in its English pronunciation; in Amharic, it is pronounced 'ras ta-fa-ree'). 'I' may replace an existing initial syllable of a word, or it may be suffixed, as in 'Zion-I'. This often lends a more sacred quality to words. Not surprisingly, the Roman numeral 'I' (one) appended to the name of the Emperor Haile Selassie I (implying 'the first') has come to be pronounced almost exclusively in the same way.

The distinctively Rastafarian phenomenon of incorporating the sound 'I' into words has become so widespread and well recognised as to be given its own term: 'I-word forming'. Naturally, it produces some obvious rhyme schemes in reggae lyrics, since the words Rastafari, Selassie I, I and I, Most I (High), Zion-I, and so on all end in the same sound. Other I-words you may meet include Idren (brethren and sistren), I-didate (meditate), Iley (highly), Imanity (humanity), Iration (creation), I-shence (incense, or herb), Ises (praises), I-story (history), Ital, Iternity (eternity), Itinually (continually), Itiopia (Ethiopia), Iwa (hour, time), Iyant (chant).

...May the I be iley blessed in Iternity, and Ises to the Most I! Yes-I!

The phrase 'I and I' also suggests the oneness of God (Jah) and humankind. Along these lines, the ancient German mystic Meister Eckhart said:

"If I am to know God directly,
I must become completely He and He I,
so that this He and this I become and are one I".




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