We reported yesterday that Bob Marley's widow Rita wants to move his remains from Jamaica to Ethiopia. Jamaicans are understandably miffed:
- "Has Rita lost her mind?" P. Chin wrote in a letter published Thursday in Jamaica's most widely read newspaper, The Gleaner. "Bob loved Jamaica. He wouldn't have made it his home if it were otherwise."
....The announcement brought immediate controversy and confusion. In Kingston, the Bob Marley Foundation, a charity headed by Rita Marley, denied reports of her statement in Ethiopia, and a spokesman for the family later issued a statement quoting her as saying that Jamaica "will remain the resting place for Bob Marley for the foreseeable future."
....Popular host Cliff Hughes voiced opposition to moving Marley's body on his nightly show on Jamaica's Power 106 radio.
"The Marley family is going to have to convince me that this is what Bob wanted," Hughes said Wednesday. "He's part of Jamaica's national heritage. With the greatest respect, he belongs to the Marley family, and he belongs to the people of Jamaica."
....Marley was given a state funeral and buried along with his Gibson guitar and bible in a marble mausoleum at his birthplace of Nine Mile, a rugged hamlet in the green hills of northern Jamaica that's popular with tourists. A statue of Marley graces the entrance to the national sports stadium in Kingston.
....Rupert Lewis, a political science professor at the University of the West Indies in Kingston, said Marley is a crucial part of Jamaica's identity and that any attempt to move his remains would be met by "serious hostility" on the island of 2.6 million.
"The people would not allow that body to physically leave Jamaica," said Lewis. "He's a focal point of the Jamaican identity. What it means to be Jamaican is inherently bound up in Bob Marley." [AP]
Perhaps this is all some kind of political move to ratchet up the pressure on the Jamaican government to make Marley a national hero, Jamaica's highest honor, or maybe, as P. Chin said, Rita has just lost her mind.
Article comments
1 - Natalie Davis
Or perhaps the story of imminent movement for one Jah person is, as the Marley Foundation spokesperson says, just a rumor.
Truth is, though, before his death, Marley spoke often, in interviews and in song, about moving to Ethiopia.
From "Exodus":
"Open your eyes and look within
Are you satisfied with the life you're living?
We know where we're going;
We know where we're from
We're leaving Babylon, we're going to our fatherland."
From the Dread Library:
I would love to see him stay in Nine Mile and to visit him there. But any decision really does belong to his family -- and a move doesn't seem to contradict Bob's wishes. Seems to me that his desire should prevail. Whatever -- the point is moot for now: Bob is staying put for the time being.
2 - Natalie Davis
Whoops, that graf should be attributed to the Dread Library. Lo siento mucho.
3 - Drippy Wardrip
Let us gather at the river, roll up the remains of Bob Marley and smoke him.
Yes... that is the thing to do.
He will live on high.
High will be smokin' the man, Bob Marley.
Smoke the Marley, Jah.
Smokin' the Bob, Jah.
4 - HW Saxton
I would hope that out of respect for the
late Bob Marley they would leave him in
Jamaica with his family proper,extended
family and all of his friends and fans.
Ethiopia figures quite heavily into the
Rastafarians philosophy,world view and
is viewed as the "Promised Land" after
the inevitable downfall of "Babylon" as
I'm sure you all know.
The Ethiopian government though,sees the
Rasta's as a bunch of dope smoking,lazy
assed,trouble making thugs. They aren't
exactly rolling out the red carpet and
baking cakes waiting for the Rastafarian
exodus to become reality.
Bob Marley's wife knows this too,so it's
even that much stranger to me that she'd
want to have him moved & re-interred in
Ethiopia,no matter how strong the place
figures in the Rasta consciousness.
And finally, beyond and above all that,
the moving of his final resting place
would be a major loss to all the Reggae
community in Jamaica and elsewhere.
As Jamaica is a poor Third World country
that relies on the tourist trade for a
major chunk of it's economy, the loss of
Bob's grave as a tourist attraction (yes
I know that sounds kind of morbid) would
have a largely negative impact that the
island could ill afford.
5 - ESTEBAN AGOSTO REID
With all due respect to Rita Marley and the Marley family, this would not be considered a positive move by Jamaicans, including large segments of the Rastafarian population.Robert Nesta Marley is inextricably linked and tied with the culture and history of Jamaica.And his rightful burial place is right here in Jamaica.RESPECT