Devout Rastafarian Bob Marley's birthday is tomorrow Monday, February 26, 2012. Born in Nine Miles, St. Ann, Jamaica, he was able to spread his message of peace and love along with the story of the black man all around the world via his music.
African drumming, chanting, dancing, and singing is always done for a purpose as was Marley's music. His music always had the purpose of either evoking movement, speaking out on political injustice, and more. Marley wove his Rastafarian beliefs and Rasta music into his songs. "The most important instrument in Rasta music is the drum.", quoted from www.BBC.co.uk/religion/.../rastafari/.../music.
Marley laid ska, gospel, r&b, rock, folk, jazz, Latin, punk, scat, disco and even bosso nova over traditional Rastafari drumming. Rastafarian drumming can be traced back to the Burru drumming of the Ashanti people. See www.springvillage.org/Burru.htm
I encourage you to invoke the spirit of Bob Marley by drumming and chanting in his honor on his birthday. Perhaps the vibrations from the drumming and chanting will carry a message from our ancestor Bob Marley to you.
When the night sets and the moon rises be mindful of this Ashanti myth:
'The man in the moon is a drummer. Don't look at the moon too long lest you see him lay his sticks upon his drums. Upon the site of this, you will die.'. Perhaps Bob Marley simply looked at the moon too long. Bob Marley, deceased May 11, 1981. One Love!
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