- Also written
- Babylon system
What “Babylon” means
In Rastafari usage, Babylon is the corrupt or oppressive system: colonial and Western power structures, unjust government, and materialism. The name comes from the biblical Babylon, where the Israelites were held in exile. In wider slang, Babylon also means the police.
Examples
Babylon a come!
The police are coming!
Dem a fight against Babylon.
They're fighting against the system.
How to use it
Rooted in Rasta and reggae speech and now understood across Jamaica and the diaspora. It is critical of authority by nature, so calling someone "Babylon" is not friendly.
Cultural context
Rastafari draws on the Bible's story of exile in Babylon to describe the experience of Africans taken into slavery and the systems that followed. Reggae songs often call for "Babylon" to fall, meaning an unjust system, not a city.
Where it comes from
From the biblical city of Babylon.