Reggae Roots an' Kulcha


Reggae music; a sound, a way of life, a message, what is reggae music and
how did it come to us ? The reggae sound is recognized world over as a music
style that began in Jamaica. Its roots are diverse and it's small history
tells a heap about the struggle of an oppressed society. Hardly a word can
be said about Reggae music without the name Robert Nesta Marley, a
Rastafarian from Jamaica who helped to make the sound of reggae as widely
accepted, and accessible as it is today. To unscramble this spaghetti of
ideas and musical history it may be important to look first at the roots of
reggae and what it is today, then begin to analyze its relation to the
religious movement of Rastafari.

The sound of Jamaica did not just come into being, as with many other ties
of music, reggae had influences from diverse areas. However, reggae's
strongest influences come right from Jamaica and the Caribbean. African
rhythms came to the West Indies by way of the slave trade. They remained in
the musical expressions of blacks throughout the new world. In the west
Indies many "maroon" societies came into existence. These were communities
of escaped slaves who joined together. Their dance and song was a
conglomeration of many African styles of dance, song, and music.

African influence touched Ska, Calypso, and Rock Steady. Rock Steady was the
forerunner of Reggae. Ska and Calypso were co-opted by the British
colonizers of Jamaica, and in time was widely dispersed and enjoyed by many
European and New world cultures. As Ska and Calypso became a mainstream
sound, Jamaicans looked for a new way to express their own feelings, a sound
that would be uniquely an expression of the troubles and high points of
Jamaican life. That voice was found in the culture of the Rastafarians. They
were the lowest caste of Jamaican population. They grew in existence in the
60's when black power and back to Africa movements were popular. The
Rastafarians were influenced by other oppressed groups in the Americas. They
took the zouk sound of the Antilles and Jazz from North America, these
sounds both have a liberal musical progression and a recurrent melody that
is improvised on during each score. This type of musical pattern can also be
found in Classical music. This new music from the "Raggedy" class of Jamaica
grew in popularity rapidly in local circles.

The growth in popularity was due to its eclectic background and purpose, but
it was also an entertaining sound. The earmark of Reggae is the two - four
swing beat in four - four time. The lilting melody and accentuated drumbeats
made for a danceable sound which became popular in bars in Jamaica. The
drumbeat comes from the African rhythms originate from the heartbeat. The
beat is polyrhythmic, it has more than one beat at one time. This allows for
a quick dance step even when the lyrics are slow and uneven. The population
that caught on to this new voice from the raggedy class of people were the
lower classes who frequented local dancehalls and bars. The people who then
were attracted to performing reggae were interested in telling their
stories, the trials and tribulations of the oppressed in Jamaica. One of
these people was the immortal Bob Marley. Marley, Bunny Wailer, and Peter
Tosh formed the Wailers. Marley's lyrical strength made the Wailers one of
the foremost reggae bands. They slowly gained popularity in mainstream
Jamaica. Eric Clapton was interested in their sound and got permission to
remake "I Shot the Sheriff." This helped to spred the name of reggae in Rock
n Roll circles. Soon England discovered the sound of reggae and the music
began to blossom in the U.S., England, South Africa, Nigeria, Cote D'Ivoire,
and of course Jamaica.

Today that blossom has produced many seeds. The diversity of styles found in
reggae are hard to distinguish and difficult to lump together. The sound
that grew from the Rastafarian tradition is called Nyabinghi, or just
Reggae. It is a chant that mimics the human heartbeat. Many groups, not just
rastafarians, found contracts to make single recordings on 45 rpm records.
The flip side was usually an instrumental version with studio effects. The
flip sides became known as "dub" (double) versions. This gave birth to the
whole dub sound. Dub can be identified by a very electric sound or obviously
constructed sound effects. The lyrics often mimic the sound of the melody.
Rap was a small baby in the mid seventies, but its sound carried to a fusion
with reggae to create dancehall. Dance hall has rap sounding lyrics with a
polished, electronic sound in 2-4 swing. The sound of dancehall and dub
intermingled and used influences from the old be-bop jazz sound to make
raggamuffin. Raggamuffin is a stuccato beat lyrical pattern of
improvisational content. The melodies are simple but ever changing, and the
complete sound can be anywhere from the bare sound of the early rastafarians
to the clear and manipulated sound of dub and dancehall. The Rastafarians
still use the original, unproduced sound with little instrumentation and
heavy drums.

The Rastafarian movement lays no claim to reggae, but many singers of reggae
exalt the doctrine and beliefs of the Rastafarians. The story of rasta goes
back to the eighteen hundreds, when a Jamaican living in America, named
Marcus Mosiah Garvey began speaking of the plight of the displaced African.
His prophecy was that from Africa a savior would come, he would deliver the
American Blacks back to Africa. Marcus Garvey also believed that Africa was
the land of the Black, that only Blacks should be in power throughout
Africa. In the early nineteen hundreds a new prince came to power in
Ethiopia. His family name was Tafari. As was common in Ethiopia, Tafari took
the Amheric title of Ras. His coronation, which is celebrated on July 12, is
when Ras Tafari took the new name as His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile
Selassie I. Selassie I established a settlement called Shasamene, it was
there that he invited Blacks living outside Africa to return to the
motherland, and move to Shasamene. Shasamene did not live up to
expectations, but HIM Selassie I was revered by an order in Jamaica as the
savior foretold by Marcus Garvey. That order became known as the Nyabinghi,
the elders of the new Rastafarian movement.

The movement was a loose gathering of Jamaicans. Their basic doctrine held
that the Bible ( they were introduced to the King James version by the
British ) was a ploy by Satan to mislead the faithful. The tenets of the
Rastafarians are drawn in part by the Bible. The name Jah may have come from
the Hebrew name Yahve. Other parts of the bible were co-opted, and it is
even quoted from time to time, but in all the Rastafarians are wary of the
Christian bible. The paradise to which the Rastafarians wish to ascend is
known by the name Zion. This comes from Mt. Zion, in the bible. The path to
ascend to Zion seems to be interpretational, but the main items seem to be
living "ital."" This is a way of life that is unencumbered by the automation
and process of the society that we know. The rasta is usually a vegetarian,
maybe eating small fish or shell fish. The Rastafarians, like so many world
religions shun the meat of swine and all animal flesh of cloven hoof.

The Rastafarians also hold that because the body is a temple it must be
maintained by refusing to imbibe alcohol, refusing to cut hair, and refusing
to scar or mark the body. In place of bodily ornamentation the rasta have
many costume accutraments. The tam is a hat similar to a beret but large
enough to hide the dreadlocks of even an old rastafarian. Staves are popular
with elders. The image of the lion, often thought to be the lion of Judah
and the star of david are employed. The colors of the ethiopian flag are
popular for decor. Red for the blood spilt in defending themselves and their
ways, gold for the riches stolen from the blacks, and green for the
fertility of the land. Often this is used in conjunction with the color
black, the color that identifies the race.

With all of the connection to Ethiopia, it is odd that Shasamene did not
attract more emigrants. One possibility is that the quality of life at
shasamene is a hard one, no running water or electricity, the need to learn
Amheric, and the cost of moving to Ethiopia. Still it is an idea that is
alive in rasta culture, to return to Africa one day.

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This was written by and is owned by Christopher Landis, All Rights Reserved