T /oEnTI R T i / E T RTA In I gNTE-^^ibat


Rastafari makes it to top of U.S. capital hill Bolton, Air Supply join

 GORDON WILLIAMS for Marley's famous song Rastafari, waited for the St i a J 77
 "War". The posting also emperor in Jamaica, is on dis- St. Lucia Jazz


WASHINGTON, D.C. The
roots of Rastafari, a religious
faith which originated in the
Caribbean island of
Jamaica, can now be
traced through an
unprecedented exhi-
bition at the
Smithsonian
National Museum of
Natural History in
the United States
capital.
 The milestone 1
exhibition here, titled
"Discovering k
Rastafari!", began
early last November
and is scheduled to
run for a year.
 "Rastafarism has
never been in any
major museum," said
Jake Homiak, cura-
tor of the exhibition. A photogra
 Yet the exhibi-
tion in itself is not a validation
of Rastafari's presence, which
first sprung up in 1930s colo-
nial Jamaica, but spread
throughout the Caribbean and
the globe. Reggae, now
among the world's most
potent musical forces,
has long carried the ban-
ner for Rastafari, espe-
cially through the works
of icons such as Bob
Marley, Peter Tosh and
the Burning Spear.
 In his song "Black
Man Redemption"
Marley made it clear that
Selassie, through his
ancestry, and Rastafari
ruled:
 "Coming from the
root of King David,
through to the line of
Solomon, his imperial
majesty is the power of
authority."
 The exhibition,
housed in one room, is Late
not the only one on show point
at the museum. Yet it is
amongst the most intriguing.
"Discovering Rastafari!"
takes observers through the
journey of the faith via a col-
lection of photographs, signs
and artifacts. It makes impor-
tant note of Rastafari's strong
ties to Africa and late
Ethiopian Emperor Haile
Selassie I. The connection of
the black man of the African
diaspora is also shown
through the focus on Marcus
Garvey, a Jamaican who
sought to return blacks to the
continent.

MOVEMENT
 The emphasis of Rastafari
to seek peace, equality and
harmony is summed up at the
entrance to the exhibition,
where a placard offers a quote
from a Selassie speech, which
eventually made up the lyrics


explains that "Rastafari is a
cultural, religious, and revolu-
tionary movement that began


play. One elder described the
visit as a fulfillment of
prophecy.


ph of Rastafarian elder Tawny, left, and members of his family, are part of the exhibition.


in Jamaica in the 1930s.
Inspired by Biblical prophecy
and the teachings of Emperor
Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia,
followers of Rastafari identify
themselves as Africans seek-


Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie I is the focal
of the Rastafari faith.

 ing to return to the conti-
 nent..."
 The exhibition goes a
 long way in explaining many
 issues surrounding Rastafari,
 in an easy way that both
 attracts and enlightens visi-
 tors. The photographs show
 Rastafari in many moods -
 celebratory, prayer and reflec-
 tion. Another postcard makes
 it clear that "Roots reggae
 artists continue to place
 Ethiopia and Emperor
 Selassie at the center of their
 music..."
 Among the highlights are
 photographs and articles doc-
 umenting Selassie's historic
 trip to Jamaica in 1966. The
 original of a huge placard car-
 ried by Ras Daniel Heartman
 as he, along with members of
 the Church Triumphant of Jah


 However, the centerpiece
of "Discovering Rastafari!" is
the video presentation, which
features members of the faith
offering testimony. They talk
about various aspects of
Rastafari, including the sacred
herb, food, language, locks,
family, role of women and dif-
ferent factions of the faith,
ranging from the Twelve
Tribes to the Nyahbinghi.
 The narrator offers that
"the message of Rastafari has
truly become an international
movement." But although
Rastafari is more readily
embraced by widespread soci-
ety these days, it was not
always that way.
 "There was so much dis-
crimination," one elder said
while explaining the earlier
persecution experienced by
Rastafari.
 They also talk about
returning to Ethiopia, where
Selassie once pledged land for
them to re-settle.
 "For Rastafari, Africa is
their sacred homeland," said
the narrator.
 For visitors to "Discover
Rastafari!" the journey offers
a type of spiritual connection
with an often misunderstood
faith. The many signatures in
the reception book showed its
impact on the variety of peo-
ple different nationalities
and ages who have caught a
glimpse of the display. From
"It's really cool" written by a
child, to "It's about time!!
Free for all to see and learn",
the exhibition which closes
in early November has
struck an important chord.
 Rasta has made it to the
top of the hill.

Gordon Williams is Caribbean
Today's managing editor.
0


Grammy Award winning
 American balladeer
 Michael Bolton, as well
as soft rock duo Air Supply,
have joined the line-up for the
2008 St. Lucia Jazz festival, set
to celebrate its 17th anniver-
sary from May 2-11.
 Also booked for the festi-
val, which is produced by the
St. Lucia Tourist Board in part-
nership with BET Event
Productions, are Angie Stone,
Anita Baker, Dianne Reeves,
Dionne Warwick, Jonathan
Butler, Najee and Wyclef Jean.
 "We expect St. Lucia Jazz
to be another spectacular event
on the island's tourism calendar
this year," Cybelle Brown, vice
president of sales and business
development for BET Digital
Networks, was quoted as say-
ing in a recent press release.
 "This
year we're
continuing to
improve the
quality of the
event," said
Senator
Allen
Chastanet,
St. Lucia's
minister of
tourism and Bolton
civil aviation,
who added major infrastructur-
al improvements were being
planned, including showcasing
St. Lucia's premium restaurants
on Pigeon Island.
 "Our aim is to re-establish


St. Lucia as hosts of the pre-
mier jazz festival in the
Caribbean. Having great
artistes is not enough if we
don't bolster the experience."
 Other acts carded for the
festival include the Juilliard
Quintet, fea-
turing saxo-
phonist Ron
Blake, trum-
peter Eddie
Henderson,
drummer
Carl Allen
and bassist
Ben Wolfe.
Also per- Wyclef Jean
forming at St.
Lucia Jazz
will be saxophonist Jacques
Schwartz-Bart; keyboardist
Alex Bugnon, guitarist Nick
Colionne and neo-soul singer
Ledisi; along with local and
Caribbean performers.
 St. Lucia's 10-day jazz cele-
bration focuses on the straight
jazz category as well as
acoustic, new age, jazz, soul,
fusion, R&B and hip hop held
in a variety of locations and
venues around the island,
including Jazz on the Square in
Castries and Fond d'Or Jazz in
Dennery.
 For more information, visit
the official St. Lucia Jazz web-
site at www.stluciajazz org, or
contact the St. Lucia Tourist
Board toll-free (888) 4-ST-
LUCIA.
0


ENTERTAINMENT BRIEFS


* DJ Movado on shooting
charges
Jamaican dancehall deejay Movado,
who had been slapped with gun-
related charges, was offered bail
when he appeared in court late last
month.
 The 27-year-old performer, whose
real name is David Brooks, was arrest-
ed on Mar. 26 by detectives assigned
to the Major Investigations Task Force.
He was held when he showed up for
questioning in connection with a
shooting incident on July 27 last year.
Movado has been charged with two
counts of shooting with intent and ille-
gal possession of a firearm.

* Musician takes Digicel to
court
A Dominican musician confirmed
last month that he was taking Irish
mobile giant Digicel to court over
an alleged copyright infringement.
 Daryl Bob, the former lead
singer of the once popular Rough
and Ready Band, has claimed that
the company used one of his songs
in the production of a commercial
without first obtaining his permis-
sion. Up to press time Digicel had


declined to comment on the matter.
* St. Maarten celebrates
carnival
Music, dancing in the streets, fun
and pageantry will highlight two
weeks of carnival celebrations in
St. Maarten.
 This year's version of the annu-
al affair, which features festivities
like jump-up parades, calypso com-
petitions, beauty pageants and the
annual "Jouvert" celebration, will
be held between April 17 and May
3. For more information, visit
www.stmaartencarnival.com

* Legend, Ocean headline St.
Kitts Music Festival
American soul singer John Legend
and Caribbean artiste Billy Ocean are
among the headliners scheduled for
this summer's three-night St. Kitts
Music Festival, set for June 21-23.
 The festival, now in its 12th
year, will be staged at the Warner
Park Football Field.

Compiled from CMC and other
sources.
0


I


April 2008


CARIBBEAN TODAY