Music is a great method of freedom of expression and a brilliant tool to convey feelings and messages to the outside world. Bob Marley used reggae music and his worldwide fame to preach Rastafari devoutly through his lyrics and songs, and by using several features common to Rasta such as Rastafarian chanting and the incorporation of nyabinghi. As Wikipedia states ‘By 2000, there were more than one million Rastafari faithful worldwide’ and a large portion of the followers were inspired by the reggae music and Bob Marley is accredited with much of the success. Rastas believe Haile Selassie 1, the former emperor of Ethiopia, as God incarnate (Jah) and embraced Marcus Garvey, a Jamaican publicist and organizer, as their prophet.
Bob Marley symbolized what the Rastafarian movement stood for in a number of ways. Firstly, he was often clad in green, gold and red, which were the colors of the Ethiopian flag. Secondly, Bob Marley also had dreadlocks, which is seen as a symbol of the Rastafarian movement because ‘Rastafari associate dreadlocks with a spiritual journey that one takes in the process of locking their hair (growing dreadlocks). It is taught that patience is the key to growing dreadlocks, a journey of the mind, soul and spirituality. Its spiritual pattern is aligned with the Rastafari religion’(Wikipedia). Thirdly, Bob Marley, by smoking Ganja himself, was a role model for Rastas world wide ‘For many Rastas, smoking cannabis is a spiritual act, often accompanied by Bible study; they consider it a sacrament that cleans the body and mind, exalts the consciousness, facilitates peacefulness, and brings them closer to Jah’ (Wikipedia). He even refused to write a will when he was on the brink of death because he believed it would be a sign of submission to death and would go against his strong belief in physical immortality. He might be even thought of the ‘perfect’ Rasta, if there is such a thing.
The greatest influence exerted by Bob Marley on Rastas around the globe was through his music. If his physical appearance represented the ideal Rasta, then his music embodied the very essence of the Rastafarian movement. One of the most notable aspects of his music is the use of language from the Rastafarian vocabulary, such as ‘i-n-i’ in ‘So many things to say’ from ‘exodus’. Similarly influential in his lyrical content is the repetition of certain phrases like chants. This is a feature of almost every one of his songs such as the repetition of ‘Exodus!’ and ‘Movement of jah people’ in the song ‘Exodus’. His music also makes explicit reference to subjects such as the oppression of people (‘Guiltiness’) and Religious matters (Jesus Christ being crucified in ‘So many things to say’). The most prominent references in his music are made to Jah and the Rastafarian movement in general. His music also conveys a sense of hope and comfort that is illustrated in ‘Three Little Birds’ when he repeats the phrase ‘every little thing gonna be alright’. As we have already read previously in ‘Lamentation’, an important aspect of Religion is offering hope and reassurance to its followers when they need it the most. Bob Marley conveys this notion of reassurance through his music.
Sources: Wikipedia article on Rastafari Movement
'Exodus'. Bob Marley
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