An Analysis of Bob Marley's Music

African slaves were brought to America from many tribes and they brought with them a variety of beliefs and practices. In some ways, the religion that many West Africans practiced bears a striking resemble to the practices of Christianity and Judaism. There are however several differences that make it clear that it is its own separate faith. On the plantations in America slaves were taught a “modify” version of Christianity so that they would obey their masters, and often times slaves would hold their own services. Other slaves believed in and practice what was called “conjuration” along with Christianity.

It was “faith-based” and passed down to the following generation.1 The majority of slaves in southern Louisiana have African beliefs and superstitions. These were handed down to their offspring. Maybe this was driven, in part, so as to be in line with their inner African spiritual conscious. In these setting slaves were involved with, spells, magic, and root work, which was part of slave life. They believed in signs and wonders, invisible spirits, trances, spirit possession, visions, dreams.2 Their norm was inclusive of conjure-men, exhorters, and snake gods. Not to be left out was hush harbors, spirits and spirit

Bob Marley is a name most people know but his accomplishments and dedication to music is often overlooked. Bob was more than just a reggae artist, he was an inspiration to the country of Jamaica. He was a role model to the poverty stricken island and gave hope to many people. Bob was born on February 6, 1945 in his grandfather's house. He was the son of a poor farm girl and a British naval Captain. Soon after his birth Bob's father, Norval Marley, left his mother. He remained responsible and provided financial support and occasionally came back to see them. In the 50's a depression hit Jamaica and Bob followed his mother to West Kingston also known as Trenchtown. It was in Trenchtown were Bob's love for music began.

Music is an art form and source of power. Many forms of music reflect culture and society, as well as, containing political content and social message. Music as social change has been highlighted throughout the 20th century. In the 1960s the United States saw political and socially oriented folk music discussing the Vietnam War and other social issues. In Jamaica during the 1970s and 1980s reggae developed out of the Ghetto’s of Trench town and expressed the social unrest of the poor and the need to over-through the oppressors. The 1980’s brought the newest development in social and political music, the emergence of hip-hop and rap. This urban musical art form that was developed in New

African firmly believes that there is a living communion or bond of life which makes for solidarity among members of the same family. Before Christianity, Africans did have their own system of salvation. In traditional religions, salvation can and does take the form of courage to face the reality of morality. The church was looked art as a place for political activity, a source of economic cooperation, an agency of social control, and a refuge in a hostile white world. Slaves worshiped with great enthusiasm. Religion, after all, provided a ready refuge from their daily miseries and kindled the hope that one day their sorrows might end. Planter's actually encouraged religious observances among their slaves hoping that exposure to Christian precepts might make their laborers more docile, less prone to run away, and more cooperative and efficient workers. But slaves turned biblical scriptures to their own purposes forging a theology that often emphasized the theme of liberation. It was easy for them to see, for example, in the figure of Moses a useful model for their own dreams; like the Israelites, they too were ready to cross a River Jordan into a promised land of freedom. The religious services held in the quarters provided slaves with so many positive experiences that, even as they were being exploited, they managed bravely, but perhaps not too surprisingly, to feel that they were free within themselves. In this way slaves began to achieve a degree of liberation well

The remedies, potions, and bandages, of traditional African wisemen (the elders most in African societies), survived even after crossing the Atlantic. A former slave, Henry Bibb, recounted the powders and roots sold from slave to slave that were meant to avoid floggings, as well as spells that were sold to try and make girls fall in love. A slave, Olaudah Equiano, described the burials of wise men back in Africa, who were buried together with objects of great sacred importance such as pipes and tobacco. Another former slave, Charles Ball, described the funeral of a baby slave at a plantation, where the parents of the child buried them along with a small bow and arrow, a sack of cornmeal, and a small canoe and several other significant spiritual items. Slaves kept their traditions, even as their slave owners forced their Christian ideologies on

Within the community of slaves, was an organization of "institutions" (Bennett, 19930. This institution organized "patterns of behavior (with masters and the community), "inducting new members," and "expressing the soul and style of people" (Bennett, 1993). It was the beginning of African Americans attaining a form of liberty and freedom. There were three "axial forces" [energies], by which the institution orbited. The first was "spirit" (Bennett, 1993). African Americans observed, "white patterns," surrounded themselves by "biblical images," and found a new "meaning to Christianity" (Bennett, 1993). African Americans added melodies, rhythm, and "call-and-response patterns" to Christianity, which then created the "invisible black church of slavery" (Bennett, 1993). They made arrangements in certain spots, marked by broken "boughs" from trees (Bennett, 1993). They would ask each other how they were feeling, like a sort of therapy session, "preaching," "praying and singing all around" until they felt happy (Bennett, 1993). The second axis was "music and rhythm" (Bennett, 1993). Slaves would gather in "jigs," dance to the fiddle, and clap and stomp their feet to the rhythm. Cries and hollers echoed from the tree leaves (Bennett,

Historians investigating African American religious history have labeled the secretive slave worship services the “Invisible Institution” because much of it was invisible to the eyes of their masters. They had secret places in which they met. Some of the places were: “In their cabins, woods, thickets, hollows, and brush arbors (shelter of cut branches also called ‘hush harbors’) throughout the South, slaves held their own religious meetings where they interpreted Christianity according to their experience, applying the stories and symbols of the Bible to make sense out of their lives.”

Reggae is a genre of music that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. It is known for the heavy and strong emphasis on the bass within the background beat. Reggae was perceived as a kind of music used to express feelings about the social, political, and economic hardships in Jamaica during the late 1960s and early 1970s. It was performed by musicians from black ghettos who used unhurried beats to make a style of music of their own. Reggae became an important part of the lifestyle of many Caribbean islanders; expressing a sense of pride of their Caribbean culture.

Through prayer meetings, conversion experience, ring shouts, spirituals, slave preachining. Once the slave had arrive in America they needed someone to do the rituals for events like

Long before their contact with whites, Africans were a strongly religious, and deeply spiritual people. During the early history of slavery, the African American spirituality was often seen by whites as a pagan faith. These rituals and dogmas were seen by whites as Voodoo, Hoodoo, Witchcraft, and superstitions. They often commented on these "pagan practices," and fetishes, and were threatened by them. As a result, great effort was put on eradicating these practices, and many were lost within a generation.# Although tremendous efforts was placed on eradicating the “superstitious” religious beliefs of the African slaves, they were not immediately introduced to the religion of white slave masters, Christianity. Many planters resisted the idea of converting slaves to Christianity out of a fear that baptism would change a slave's legal status. The black population was generally untouched by Christianity until the religious revivals of the 1730s and 1740s. The Bible was manipulated to support the institution of slavery and its inhumane practices. Christianity was used to suppress and conform slaves. Slaveholders, priests, and those tied to the Church undermined the beliefs of the millions of African-Americans converts.# White Christianity was used to justify the enslavement of blacks. By the early nineteenth century, slaveholders had adopted the view that Christianity would make slaves more submissive and orderly.

Slaves sang spirituals filled with lyrics about salvation and references to biblical figures like Moses, who led his people to

In Jamaica at the time Bob was viewed as a mystic and prophet, and was

The Evolution of Reggae Music Reggae has sustained the test of time and remains one of the world's last genuine folk music. The evolution of Reggae music can be traced back to the early 1900's with 'Mento', which is a simple music art form of Jamaican folk music with strong African roots. Reggae music is protest songs against racism, corruption and injustice. It has close links with a religion based around the Bible that is re-interpreted from a black's perspective, 'Rastafarianism'.

Reggae music was a big part of Jamaican culture. Many artists practiced the style of reggae and some of the artists like Bob Marley influenced and showed people internationally all about this music. It originated around the time that Jamaica was being attacked by European countries like Spain and native people being taken into slavery. Bob Marley was born after the time of slave trading but whites still effected the native people and this is how he got his inspiration for his music.