12 Lessons I Learned From the Guardian Monk of the Ark of Covenant

About the book:

12 Lessons I learned from the Guardian Monk of the Ark of Covenant, tells the personal encounter of Jevon White also known as Fessasion, as he journeys to Ethiopia. By what some may consider a chance encounter, Fessasion becomes the first non-royalty in history to meet and later become baptized by the sitting Guardian.

As he becomes a trusted “son” to the Monk he is entrusted the assignment of building a temple for the holy Ark of Covenant. Not only was it an honor for Fessasion to receive such a sacred task, he believed God was sending him a sign that would lead him on a better understanding of himself in the process.

This book chronicles Fessasion’s journey interwoven with the stories and moments he shared with the Guardian Monk. Fessasion is the first non-monarch or non-royalty figure in history to be graced with this assignment and is also the first foreigner in history to be baptized in the Holy City of Axum, Ethiopia. His story is the stuff legends are made of.

About the author:

Fessasion aka Sadiki-I was born, Jevon White, on the Caribbean island of Montserrat in the West Indies where his father, George Buffonge, was a respected concert promoter. As a child, the young Jevon often found himself surrounded by many influential reggae and calypso artists, including his own godfather, the Mighty Arrow, of “Hot Hot Hot” fame.

Jevon later immigrated to the United States, settling in Boston where his father co-founded the annual Caribbean Carnival. Growing up in Boston, Jevon was deeply influenced by the hip-hop movement and became fascinated with the art of emceeing. After his father’s sudden passing in 1984, he moved back to Montserrat and attended Montserrat Secondary School where he continued to develop his talents as a performer and emcee.

After returning to the U.S. a few years later, Jevon enrolled in university at the prestigious Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia. Soon after college, he discovered the RasTafari faith, and returned to Montserrat once again in 1994 to “get more in-tuned with JAH”. It was to those same hills behind his grandmother’s house that he once roamed as a child to which he returned to in order to strengthen his faith. It was at this point he took on the name “Sadiki-I” which means “faithful” in Swahili and began growing dreadlocks. Of this he says, “Becoming a Rastafarian, I discovered who I am. It has made me see the world in a different way…it is my truth.” During this period, he also continued to craft his abilities as a singer/songwriter and composed dozens of songs.

Fate stepped in and he left back to the U.S. just days before the fateful volcanic eruption that devastated the island in 1995. The following year, Sadiki-I made a successful debut on the Reggae/Dancehall scene with his album, I Man See Judgments. Over the next several years, he recorded songs with Reggae legends such as Junior Reid, Terry Ganzie, and Mr. Eazy, and performed live on many stages all throughout America. Propelled by these successes, in 2007, Sadiki-I embarked on the first of a series of trips to Africa in order to connect with other artists and visit holy sites. He spent months travelling throughout Senegal, The Gambia, Morocco, Guinea Bissau, Guinea Conakry, Sierra Leone, Ghana, South Africa, Kenya, and Egypt, and later produced a documentary

on his travels there.

In Senegal he met and became good friends with the late Mbalax King of Senegal, Thione Seck.  He was also blessed to meet the highest Imam of the Muslim Mouride sect in the Holy City of Touba in Senegal, Sheik Saliou Mbacke, who greeted him as if he was someone he already knew, and who also blessed him and prayed for him.  But it was his trip to Ethiopia in 2011 that would forever change the trajectory of his destiny.

Watch HERE