African Music of the Rastafari, the Rasta Community, the Dreads

used again and again as a means of expressing fear or ridicule of the Rastafarian. And this was in the early

The Rastafari movement is a positive movement that promotes peace amongst all, self-respect, self -awareness, and respect for others.

These African religions are extremely important to many who wish to recognize their “roots.” In earlier centuries these “foreign” practices were banned by slaves attempting to hold on to their culture, and over the years they have come to represent a sense of liberation and freedom to be African (Brereton, A History of Modern Trinidad). Overall nowadays the country's differing religious groups coexist and generally respect each other's beliefs and practices. People of one faith openly participate in celebrations of another faith [www.state.gov.htm].

Rastafari’s believe Tafari Makonnen, who was crowned Haile Selassie I, Emperor of Ethiopia on November 2nd, 1930 is the living God incarnate, called Jah. He is the black Messiah that will lead the world's people of African origin into the Promised Land of full emancipation and divine justice. This is partly because of his titles King of Kings, Lord of Lords and Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah. These titles match those of the Messiah mentioned in the book of Revelation, in the Christian New Testament (Rastafari).

“From the shantytowns of Kingston, Jamaica, to the cobblestones streets of Great Britain, reggae music was a powerful and liberating voice for the poor and oppressed. In the last thirty years, reggae stars Bob Marley, Burning Spear, and Alpha Blondy have sung “redemption” songs- messages of human rights and universal love in a “Babylonian” world of civil unrest, political instability, and economic collapse”(Bays, King, and Foster, 2002, p. XI). Bob Marley was the most famous reggae artist to bring popularity upon the music; selling over 20 million records worldwide. His songs such as “One Love” and “Redemption Song” were inspired by the effects of oppression upon blacks in Jamaica. Marley's persona for unity and peace among people throughout the world was an inspiration for Jamaicans. Most blacks in Jamaica during the 1960s suffered from economic hardships and racial discrimination. This in turn marked the beginning of a religious movement called Rastafarinism where reggae music was an element that distinguished Rastafarians from the rest of society. According to Chang and Chen, British colonial authorities and the local establishment viewed Rastafarians; forthright espousal of black unity and pride, and their unconventional appearance and customs, as threats to the existing social order. (Chang, Chen, 1998. p.26) Reggae music allowed blacks to have pride of their culture and not limited themselves to the demeaning social orders in

Rastafarians split from organized religion, but hold onto their Christian faith by interpreting the Bible for themselves in new unique ways. "This is what Rastafarian "theology" is about: taking the discourse into intellectual landscapes beyond narrow theological hermeneutics and exegesis, whose methods of argumentation are considered Christian-specific and predetermination in that tradition." (Nettleford 313)

The basic focus of nacirema people is their bodies appearance and the way of which they should be cared for. This is their main focus because they believe that the human body is ugly and its main tendency is to disability and disease. Therefore they complete powerful rituals and ceremonies to try and rid these natural tendencies of which they despise so much. The shrine these ceremonies are performed to and in front of is a box or chest built into the wall that holds many charms and potions that are believed to be magic. A daily ritual is the mouth-rite where a bundle of hog hairs and magical powder is inserted into the mouth and a series of movements are done. Then twice a year they visit a holy mouth man who performs an exorcism on the mouth

Rastafari is an African religion that is still relatively new. The religion was developed in the 1930s in Jamaica after Haile Selassie was named the King of Ethiopia. The followers of this religion believe that Selassie is God and that he will return all of the black people displaced from slavery and colonization to Africa. Bob Marley’s music and success helped spread the religion. The Rastafarians believe that black people are the chosen people of God. Some of the religious practices in the religion include smoking and inhaling marijuana. The purpose of the marijuana is to increase a person’s spiritual state of mind and awareness. Most Rastafarians have long

Both the Mormon and Rastafarian movements cater to very specific demographics. Mormonism caters to those who believe that the Christian Church lost it’s way after the death of Christ, “and restore what the Mormons consider true Christianity, as opposed to apostasy (abandonment of principles) which they feel characterizes the Christian churches. (1)” While Rastafari caters to an ethnic group that has experienced severe oppression at the hands of ‘Babylon’, “they intend to revive the ‘Way of the Ancients,’ their concept of the lost civilization of precolonial Africa, and to free people of African extraction from subservience. (2)”

In this essay, I will be examining the musical genre of Afrobeat which was created by Fela Anikulapo Kuti. Afrobeat first came to be in the late 1960’s during the Civil Rights Movement in America. Fela Kuti a Nigerian, was able to create a genre that has change the way we view music today. Afrobeat is made up of two different words, “Afro” and “Beat”. “Afro” correlates with “African organized sound while beat is a rhythmic counting pattern in relation to such music” (Oikelome, 2013). Therefore, the meaning of Afrobeat is the unique African rhythmic patterns of such music. The coming of this genre is very interesting since the man behind it has quite a story.

In this course we have learned about all of the different cultures and their musical traditions. My favorite so far has had to be the west African music culture. They have a variety of different music, instruments, and dances to contribute to the reasons I liked this music culture so much. So, I have taken it upon myself to further my research on this particular musical group. I will compare and contrast a variety of different videos from the west African music culture and I will analyze how they connect to this culture.

Rastafari is, before it is anything else, a way of life. It offers approaches and answers to real problems black people face in daily living; it promotes spiritual resilience in the face of oppressive poverty and underdevelopment. It produces art, music and cultural forms, which can be universally recognized and appreciated. More important, Rastafari provides a positive self-image, an alternative to people who need and cannot find or accept one elsewhere. Even with its black foundation and orientation, Rastafarianism is open to anyone, of any race, who chooses to discover and is able to accept it.

The music of Jamaica began five centuries ago, when Columbus colonized the land of the Arawak Indians. This dates the start of oppression by first the Spanish and then the English in this area of the Caribbean. Blacks were brought in as slaves by the English, and although Jamaica has had it's independence since 1963, the tension of authority and control still reigns. Jamaica is a story of injustice, international influence, ineffective governing, and unequal distribution of wealth; all of these elements provide a solid base for the theme of oppression and the need for a revolution and redemption in Jamaican music. Reggae in particular reflects these injustices, and the feelings, needs and desires to change the lifestyle that Jamaicans have historically lived. Reggae music has two meanings. It’s generic name for all Jamaican popular music since 1960, West Indian style of music with a strongly accented subsidiary beat. Reggae can also refer to the particular beat that was extremely popular in

Garifuna Settlement Day celebrates the arrival of the first Garifuna in 1832, descendants of the Black Caribbeans who were first deported from St Vincent in 1797. The day displys their rich, unique culture with music and a performance of the arrival by the first settlers at the port.

Like in the earlier years, it can be seen in this story that Christianity was the most dominant and highly accepted religion in Jamaica. Having contrasting beliefs and practices, individuals would be shunned and ostracized. The author illustrates this idea by showing how Darren’s passionate beliefs in Rastafarianism had resulted in him being kicked out of his house. He was told to “never to come back until he had given up that Rasta foolishness.” Today, the Caribbean has become religiously diverse with a tolerance for different