Barbara Blake Hannah

Bob Marley wanted to live in Ethiopia. He said so many times. He never said he wanted to be buried there.

At the time Bob died, Ethiopia was ruled by Marxist-Leninist dictator Mengistu who had dethroned Emperor Haile Selassie (whom Bob called "The Almighty") and also removed the imperial lion from the Ethiopian flag. This was not the Ethiopia Bob wanted to live in, much less be buried in. If he had expressed such a desire before dying, Bob's close ties with the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and its Western Hemisphere Archbishop would have made this instantly possible.

But at that time, even the Orthodox Church was in turmoil, unable to reconcile its historical ecclesiastical position with the non-religious Marxist regime.

When Bob died, several options for interring his remains were put forward. National Heroes' Park was rejected; the second choice was 56 Hope Road - also rejected. The decision to bury Bob's remains at Nine Miles was an inspiration, guided by Bob's naturalist Rasta beliefs that his place of birth and beginning in the humblest of circumstances, was the most appropriate spot to make full circle for this son of Jamaican soil.

A mausoleum was constructed as a fitting marker, and the site became a shrine of pilgrimage for many Jamaicans and foreign visitors. I have never been there, but have heard reports that for most people, this is a mystical experience where the spirit of Bob Marley is strongly felt.

It is therefore quite surprising to read Rita's announcement that she intends to destroy the mausoleum, dig up Bob's remains and rebury them in Shashemane - a pioneer village in Ethiopia where hundreds of Rastas of all nations and mansions have constructed a village that resembles many of Jamaica's capture-land communities.
Deciding to wait and observe public reaction before making my own comments, I am satisfied that Rita will meet a very hostile reception if she should try to execute her announced plan.

Those who agree with Rita's desires and say "the family" should have say over the remains, are therefore incorrect. An observant person would ask: Who is "the family"? Is the family only his widow and her children - whether by Bob or other fathers? (And, by the way, are all of Rita's children with the last name "Marley" really Bob's children?) Does "the family" include all of Bob's children and the mothers who gave birth to them? If so, what do they say? I have not heard Cindy Breakspeare's opinion, and hers is very important, as she was Bob's sweetheart.

Consider a similar scenario: If Michael Manley had not divorced Beverly Anderson after their relationship ended, and simply lived with his sweetheart Glynne Ewart, would Beverly have the right today to decide to dig up Michael and rebury him in his beloved Cuba? In fact, does Glynne?
Observing the Marley concert in Ethiopia and the surrounding hoopla, I was pained by the fact that nowhere did I see praise and veneration of Emperor Haile Selassie I, the avatar whose life and 'livity' directed Bob's spiritual passions to Ethiopia. The only Ethiopian emperor not elevated to sainthood after his passing, Selassie seems to have disappeared from Rasta veneration and been replaced by Bob Marley as a new "god". While there is no statue of the emperor in Addis Ababa, we are informed by Rita that a statue of Bob will soon be erected.

I am also disappointed that talk of reburying Bob in Ethiopia is not part of a plan to highlight repatriation and reparations - a lost opportunity to focus on this basic principle of the Rastafari religion, which Bob emphasised in his song Exodus on his Album of the Century. Another lost opportunity was when Rita was made an honorary citizen of Ethiopia. "This is such an honour; I am at a loss for words," was her reply, rather than using the moment to request similar honour for the hundreds of Rastafarians living at Shashemane who continue to be denied Ethiopian citizenship.

The complete exclusion of Jamaica from the plans made by Rita and her chief adviser Desta Meghoo (an East Indian Jamaican Rasta lawyer living in Florida) was a bitter slap in the nation's face, made even more embarrassing by the fact that the national celebrations that eventually took place were planned by a white American Jew who only recently started including the words "Rasta" and "Marley" in his recognition of Jamaica as the home of "One Love".

In 2004, I received an invitation to attend a special celebration planned for Bob's birthday that year. This was for Rastas to march down Knutsford Boulevard to Emancipation Park and "crown Rita Marley Queen of Rastafari". Clearly, I was not the only person who thought this idea preposterous and presumptuous, as it never took place. Instead, I&I who gathered at 56 Hope Road on February 6, 2004 witnessed a miraculous happening as Bob's cake was being cut after prayers and chanting, when a red, gold and green halo appeared around the full moon in the night sky.
R
astas - Bob especially - have always considered Jamaica as "the throne of JAH" and the present centre of the spiritual universe. Bob's burial in the central heart of Jamaica - Marcus Garvey's St Ann - is the fitting resting place for this son of JAH-maica.

It must be difficult for one of the richest black women on earth to find diversions on which to spend the millions Bob's estate makes daily. Let Rita enjoy the many international homes, the jewels, the jet-set lifestyle and accepting Bob's awards. Bob's earthly dust will surely remain in the same earth that birthed this great, beloved Jamaican.

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