Symbols of the Bobo Shanti

We've already learned about some symbols that are common to Rastafari in general, but in watching the video about the Bobo Shanti, I could see some symbols that are specific to only their particular denomination of the Rastafari.

I noticed multiple religious symbols that are part of the Bobo Shantis' daily life. For starters, they pray three times a day every 6 hours: 3 in the morning, 9 in the morning, and 3 in the afternoon. One of the men explained why they start so early in the morning by saying that while half the world is sleeping, they are "rising up" spiritually. Praying so early in the morning symbolically puts them on African time. They can live in Jamaica exactly as they would if they lived in Ethiopia. Another symbolic part of their lifestyle is where they choose to live. The Bobo Shanti live in the mountains because it is the closest possible place to heaven. The Bobo Shanti try to make themselves spiritually closer to God through their "rising up" religious rituals reading psalms 3 times daily and they also make themselves physically closer to God by living high on the mountains to gain proximity. Another symbol is the turbans they wear over their dreadlocks. Dreadlocks themselves are symbolic of the Rastafarian rejection of European hairstyles and the embrace of "African styles" of hair seen pictured among some African tribes. The men also cover their heads with turbans, worn like a crown. It is to symbolize the principles and the teachings of Prince Emmanuel. They also see wrapping their heads in a turban as symbolic of ancient Ethiopian dressing. Much of the symbolism in their everyday lives relates to their relationship with God and their connection to African as their promised land.