Bredren and Sisdren, to speak Jamaican is to speak the language of the rastas, overstand? Yes…the word is overstand as opposed to understand and it is a key aspect to the way rastas communicate. Here is a great article by Unika Hypolite of Rasta-Reason.com about “overstanding”:

“Overstanding” is a play on words like many other words in the Rastafari Language. These play on words originated as a symbol of separation from the Western ideology and as well as a continual (I-tinual) remembrance of the struggle for emancipation.

It is overstood that when one communicates, they are communicating an idea to another individual. Ideas are created by men thus the idea cannot be superior to its creator; similarly to the concept (I-cept) held by the Islamic ideology that man cannot be God because God created man.

The Rastafari philosophy asserts that every man woman and child are equal (hence the term InI) therefore the individual who is receiving the information is equal to the communicator of the information and superior to the idea being communicated. That being said, one should not “understand” or stand under an idea; when they absorb and correctly perceive an idea they “Overstand” it.

Very insightful about the language spoken by the rastas. Well, I hope you overstand overstanding. For more information about Rastas and Jamaican language get The Rastaman Vibration at www.jamaican-slang.com