Bob Marley and the Rastafari Movement

For class we have to watch the video above. The video is about a group of Bobo Santis living in a small village in Jamaica. The group of people are preparing for the journey across the Atlantic Ocean, back to Africa. The video shows the day to day life of a Bobo Shanti living in this village. It is very clear that this video has a lot of symbols in it that we discussed in class on Monday. In class, we discussed different symbols of the Rastafari Movement.

There are five distinct symbols that I saw on the video that we discussed during class on Monday. Firstly, the predominant Ethiopian colors of green, gold, and red were everywhere on the video. The villagers' houses were painted in those colors. In addition, the changes in personal dress that are shown in the Rastafari Movement were also seen in the video. Villagers had their hair in dredlocks and wrapped up in a turban. Moreover, their ceremonies with ganja, or marijuana, were also seen in the video. Finally, their uniqueness of speech was also seen in how they spoke during their interviews.

Now, the real question is how does the version of Rastafari life in the video differ from the version that is portrayed by Bob Marley?

I think that the similarities are undeniable. Both Bob Marley and the villagers take part in the same ceremonies and ritual practices. Both parties have dredlocks, cherish the colors of the Ethiopian flag, and speak differently to name a few similarities. However, the main difference I see is the group's ways of conveying the message of the Rastafari Movement. Bob Marley, being a famous singer, was able to convey his beliefs/messages clearly with the world through his songs. However, this little village was not able to do the same thing. They conveyed the messages of the Rastafari Movement in more subtle

ways than Bob Marley did.