104th birth anniversary of Haile Selassie, the late Emperor of Ethiopia and figurehead of the Rastafarian movement.

A group of about 15 dreadlocked marchers, with green, gold, and red banners emblazoned with the likeness of Haile Selassie, started at the intersection of Court and Reid Streets and made their way along Front Street.

A Police escort kept late supper-hour traffic moving as the procession grew in size and slowly wound its way out of Hamilton and along Trimingham Road.

From there the marchers, numbering close to 30 at this point, joined up to South Road. Motorists slowed to take in the sights and sounds; some offered raised-fist salutes and shouted words of solidarity.

The Hamilton Parish family of Elroy Robinson pulled their car over and hooked up with the march at the Rural Hill Plaza.

"I have a few Rasta bretheren in the group,'' Mr. Robinson, 30, told The Royal Gazette as his wife Sharon, 28, and children Elshun, 7, and Elshuna, 2, watched the march.

"We do this every July 23. It's a cultural movement to awaken the minds of people; to enlighten them of their own ethnic background,'' he said.

Nearly an hour after it began, the Warner Gombeys led the Rastafarians onto the playing field of Paget Primary School. By now the procession had grown to nearly 50 people with about 200 others waiting at the school.

"The Rastaman gathers every year on this day in Jamaica, England, America to celebrate black kings and black history. It's world wide,'' organiser Leroy Butterfield told The Royal Gazette .

"This is the Rastafari day of Inity, which means unity,''he said. "We've been doing this here for the last ten years.''