Special to The Action
For over four hundred years European
colonialism has been spreading around the world. As each supposedly “primitive”
culture has been conquered its people are murdered, brutalized and /or jailed
and enslaved. Their customs and knowledge are either wiped out with the last of
the conquered people or they are incorporated into the conquering culture. A
good example of this is how many indigenous pagan ideas have been included in
Christian mythology like the Sainthood of Patrick or the idea of the Virgin
Mary as the representation of The Goddess.
But many
indigenous cultures have survived the squalor and have been able to keep their
customs and knowledge alive. This couldn’t be truer with the island and culture
of Jamaica. Arguably the world’s worst example of sustained colonialism—the
Kingston, Jam. ghettos are known for their intense levels of crime, pollution
and economic strife— the countries remaining indigenous/slave populations have
not only survived the oppression but also in the last 30 years they have begun
to export the modern version of their culture around the world. And it would
seem to be in direct response to colonialism.
Jamaica’s
indigenous culture is known as Rastafari. Its practitioners use the ancient
knowledge of the drum and rhythm to enhance relations with The Creator, whom
they refer to as “Jah.” They adhere to the global indigenous view that each
person has a “higher” self, spirit or soul with which they can interact and connect
to Jah. Hence the Rasta term “I and I” referring to an individual and his or
her higher self and its/their connection to Jah.
Having an
understanding of the primordial knowledge of rhythm, many of the “high priests”
of this way of life use the drum and music to spread their universal messages
of love, unity, peace and mutual respect. The additions of melodies, harmonies
and vocal and musical “hooks” have all been added to the ancient “riddims” in
order to make this knowledge more accessible and acceptable to mainstream
society.
Many of the
Rastafari high priests are known as roots reggae singers/artists. Bob Marley is
the most famous but there are many others. And although there are only a few of
these singers from the “Time of Bob” starting in the mid ‘60’s, there are still
a few bright lights shining from the “Golden Era” of roots reggae.
One light that
still shines from that day is the legendary Burning Spear, a.k.a. Winston
Rodney. Like Bob Marley, Burning Spear represents everything that a “Rasta man”
should represent and they both went around the world to spread the Rasta
messages. But unlike Marley and his famous backing band The Wailers, Burning
Spear and his now famous Burning Band took a different approach in spreading
these musical messages.
If Marley and The
Wailers repackaged the ancient riddims with splendid vocal harmonies, hooks and
soft, soulful melodies, then Burning Spear and The Burning Band decided to
emphasize more aspects of the ancient riddims using less melodies, hooks and harmonies.
This more rhythmic approach is not as conducive to mainstream sensibilities and
consequently, Spear and his band have only recently won acclaim in the United
States despite having 40 albums spanning 35 years in the recording industry. In ’99 he received a Grammy for his album
Calling Rastafari and a nomination for his most recent album, ‘03’s Freeman.
The decision to
emphasize the riddims has cost Burning Spear money and fame. But the decision
was not based on money or fame. Spear’s strategically rhythmic approach is
spiritually motivated with one dominant intention: to remind the youth about
their roots.
“It is very
important to stick to the roots,” said Spear from his Ft. Lauderdale hotel room
while on his 59th Earthday Tour in support of Freeman. “Often people
lose the knowledge of their roots. They forget that Marcus Garvey was the first
Rasta man to come out of Jamaica while Martin Luther King and Malcolm X were
American Rastas. Marcus said that if a tree has no roots it cannot stand. And nothing
is stronger than the music and the people together. You have to remember that
the drum is the first messenger yah know. It came before the Post Office, the
telegram… or UPS or Air Borne and when all those things pass, the drum will
remain.”
The drum is
considered by the Rastafari to be given to the people directly from Jah. On
it’s deepest level, the riddim is Jah. So when the drum is “talking” it is
taken as words directly from God. According to The Bible, God is the “alpha and
omega,” “beginning and end” of creation. So when all things pass God (the drum)
will remain. But given the survival instincts of the indigenous Jamaicans,
considering that they have endured the highest levels of oppression in modern
history for over 400 years, they may be left standing alone with their drum
(God) when it all comes to pass.
“Yes, we showed
that we can survive,” said Spear with enthusiasm. “The Jamaicans shocked the
world because they were still alive given the conditions of slavery for all
those years. They [the colonial masters] saw Jamaica as a pit of the world and
brought the slaves there with the intention that they would not survive. But we
did. In the ‘70’s people came from all over to hear the music. And now the
energy that comes out of that tiny island travels around the world. Y’know,
good things come in small packages. Jah works in mysterious ways. Because so,
you can see the force and strength coming out of that island.”
Authors Robert and
Julia Roskind wrote two books about this very idea. Rasta Heart and The
Gathering of the Healers chronicled the Roskind’s vision that if Jamaica can
heal itself with the use of the “One Love” mentality and vibration dispensed at
roots reggae concerts held all over the island, then Jamaica could be the
shining example and model of transformation for the rest of the world. The
Roskind’s organized 16 concerts in 2002 and the murder rate fell by 15% the
same year. More One Love experiments are being planned. But in the meantime,
what does Burning Spear think needs to happen if our world is going to survive
the devastation of the colonial mentality?
“We all need to
come in peace. This has to happen first. Then the understanding will follow. If
we cannot come together in peace then we will never have the chance to work
things out. We must remember our roots and remember where the music comes from:
it comes from the heart, it comes from Jah. So when we take the time to get to
know ourselves better these answers will become clear. That is what Rastafari
is all about.”
Burning Spear will
play the 2004 Truckee Reggae Festival Part II on Sat Aug. 21rst at the Truckee
Regional Park Amphitheater with Jimmy Cliff and the Dirty Dozen Brass Band.
Gates open at 2:30 PM, show from 3:00 PM to 10:00 PM. Burning Spear is also
headlining at the Feather River Reggae Festival in Quincy between Aug 27th-
29th at the Plumas county Fairgrounds. For more information go to www.burningspear.net
or www.renegadeshows.com.
For the rest of this feature story go to www.bretlueder.com.