Rastafari and the Arts
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RASTAFARI AND THE ARTS Drawing on literary, musical, and visual representations of and by Rastafari, Darren J. N. Middleton provides an introduction to Rasta through the arts, broadly conceived. The religious underpinnings of the Rasta movement are often over- shadowed by Rasta’s association with reggae music, dub, and performance poetry. Rastafari and the Arts: An Introduction takes a fresh view of Rasta, considering the relationship between the artistic and religious dimensions of the movement in depth. Middleton’s analysis complements current introductions to Afro-Caribbean religions and offers an engaging example of the role of popular culture in illumi- nating the beliefs and practices of emerging religions. Recognizing that outsiders as well as insiders have shaped the Rasta movement since its modest beginnings in Jamaica, Middleton includes interviews with members of both groups, including: Ejay Khan, Barbara Makeda Blake Hannah, Geoffrey Philp, Asante Amen, Reggae Rajahs, Benjamin Zephaniah, Monica Haim, Blakk Rasta, Rocky Dawuni, and Marvin D. Sterling. Darren J. N. Middleton is Honors Faculty Fellow and Professor of Religion in The John V. Roach Honors College, Texas Christian University. He has published eight books, received several teaching awards, and he lives in Fort Worth. This page intentionally left blank RASTAFARI AND THE ARTS An Introduction Darren J. N. Middleton First published 2015 by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 and by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2015 Taylor & Francis The right of Darren J. N. Middleton to be identifi ed as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice : Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identifi cation and explanation without intent to infringe. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Middleton, Darren J. N., 1966- Rastafari and the arts : an introduction / Darren Middleton. pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Rastafari movement. 2. Arts and religion. I. Title. BL2532.R37.M53 2015 299.6'76167—dc23 2014029637 ISBN: [978-0-415-83188-8] (hbk) ISBN: [978-0-415-83189-5] (pbk) ISBN: [978-0-203-48165-3] (ebk) Typeset in Bembo by Apex CoVantage, LLC In honor of Asante Amen, Rocky Dawuni, Geoffrey Philp, and Benjamin Zephaniah, for teaching me how to drop it metaphysical and to S. Brent Plate, for bringing my religious theory to its senses This page intentionally left blank CONTENTS Acknowledgments ix Preface xiii 1 A Smart Way to View Rastafari 1 2 Rastafari Literary Art 42 3 Rastafari’s Righteous Wail: From Reggae to Dub Poetry 89 4 Benjamin Zephaniah: Postcolonial Performance Poet 134 5 The Reel Rasta: Selected Documentary Films 153 6 Artful Africans at Home and Abroad: Ghana and Japan 181 Epilogue: Commodifying Rastafari 224 Appendix I: Dr. M’s Rasta Riddims Playlist 231 Appendix II: Seven Sacred Sites and Wonders of the Rastafari World 238 Appendix III: Lois Cordelia: Art, the Bible, Rastafari, and Social Media 241 Selected Bibliography 245 Selected Webliography 271 Index 273 This page intentionally left blank ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Back in the early 1980s, when I was not day-dreaming of captaining England’s cricket team, I would watch my father on his way to work, jostling with the strik- ing coalminers recently arrived from Yorkshire—the hostile pickets who keyed his car and called him a ‘scab.’ In retrospect, I was caught somewhere between fantasy and reality, a liminal fi gure, though at the time I did not recognize, much less use, such fancy phrasing. Still, I am here today because my mates and our music rescued me. Time and again reggae’s drum-and-bassline, the soundscape for the Nottingham housing estate where I was born and raised, made me smile and kept me real. Friends who spun such records were mostly Jamaican Rastafari, children of postwar immigrants to England, and all of them were eager to evangelize—to help me grasp the sadness and grace and joy and rage of reggae, its easygoing good times and its militant uprightness. I was an easy convert. Day after day I unplugged my ears, released the madness, and heard the Siren’s Song. In 1985, the song was “Picture on the Wall” by Natural Ites, a hometown band who put a local face on this global sound and word; after heeding their hymn to the divinity of His Impe- rial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie I, my life was never the same. Although I never took a course in ‘Rastafari Studies’ from the three British universities I attended, independent research has taken me to several continents, keen to hear the soundings of sistren and brethren as well as to participate in their reasonings. I have been fortunate to spend a year journeying throughout Jamaica; to DJ a ‘religion and the arts’ reggae show on Tennessee community radio; to con- duct ethnographic research on devotees who have made their home in Ghana and Senegal; and, to develop alliances with Rastafari artists around the globe. Again, looking back, I realize that I have learned more from such people and places than what is contained within my book’s covers. Written after careful observing, read- ing, and listening, Rastafari and the Arts is intended primarily for undergraduate x Acknowledgments students with little or no prior awareness of the movement, but other people are also welcome to read it. Various individuals kept me driven as well as well-versed during my research and writing. I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge them now with abiding appreciation; naturally, any remaining errors are my own: Komla Aggor; anonymous peer-reviewers with Routledge; Asante Amen; Katie Bain; Anna Carroll; the late Barry Chevannes; Lois Cordelia; Raghav Dang; Rocky Dawuni; Ennis B. Edmonds; Betsy Flowers; Iva Lou Hill and Bob Flowers; Rob Garnett; Bob Goode; Helena Araba Grahl; Monica Haim; Barbara Blake Makeda Hannah; Ejay Khan; Maggie King; Linda and Ray Love; Arnau Macia; Joan and Alan Middleton; Nathaniel Samuel Murrell; Serigne Ndiaye; Aliou Niang; Ann Nicholas-Green; Lauren Nixon; Kristian Petersen; Geoffrey Philp; S. Brent Plate; Micky Prince; Reggae Rajahs; Blakk Rasta; Greer Richardson; Paul John Roach; Roundtable Class (University Christian Church, Fort Worth, Texas); Saints and Sinners Class (Arborlawn United Methodist Class, Fort Worth, Texas); Richard Salter; Yushau Sodiq; Matt Spangler; Nicolette Stanley; Marvin D. Sterling; Cary Sullivan; Ben Taylor; True Love Graphic Design; Lisa Vanderlinden; Ryan ‘Ishence’ Willard at Higher Bound Productions; Glen Wilson; and Benjamin Zephaniah. This study owes a great deal to Betsy Flowers, my wife, whose keen eye improved my writing and whose love, in more ways than one, rescued me from myself. Our son, Jonathan, kept me honest; and, I am delighted he knows and appreciates his reggae! I am especially in the debt of Luke and Mark Ehrhardt, my diligent and unfailing student assistants, for their comments on parts of this text. They also helped me build the website ( www.darrenjnmiddleton.com ) that now houses material germane to the study of Rastafari and the Arts. I should add that students in my Texas Christian University (TCU) Honors College class, ‘Africa and the African Diaspora,’ were kind enough to respond so well to early drafts of my work. Dr. Bonnie Melhart, TCU’s Associate Provost of Academic Affairs, and Dr. Peggy Watson, Founding Dean of The John V. Roach Honors College at TCU, provided assistance for research trips to Ghana, Japan, and Senegal. In addition, I appreciate Dr. Sarah Robbins, Acting Dean of The John V. Roach Honors College at TCU, for help with securing funds for last-minute copyright clearance fees. My sincere thanks extend as well to Steve Wiggins and Andrew Beck, my editors at Routledge, whose deft wisdom made my task so much easier. Permission to reprint current copyrighted material in this book is gratefully acknowledged. The dustjacket photograph of Rocky Dawuni is reproduced by permission of Glen Wilson; for help with securing Mr. Wilson’s permission, I acknowledge Cary Sullivan at Aquarian Records. The paintings of E. J. Khan are reproduced by permission of E. J. Khan. And the paintings of Lois Cordelia appear by agreement of Lois Cordelia. Ryan ‘Ishence’ Willard at Higher Bound Produc- tions worked with me to secure permission to use the cover art for Ishence’s Space N Time album; the graphic design is by True Love ( www.Fikir-studios.com ), the artist is Ras Terms. I also owe a special debt to Ryan for helping me acquire Acknowledgments xi permission to use Marcus Wilson’s “New Name” painting; again, the graphic design is by True Love. Portions of chapter two fi rst appeared in Darren J. N. Middleton, “Fictional Dread: Two Early Novels about the Rastafarians of Jamaica,” Modern Believing 41.4 (2000): 23–33. Reproduced by permission of Modern Believing ; thank you to Jonathan Clatworthy and Anthony Freeman. Extract from Macmillan Caribbean Writers: Brother Man © Roger Mais 2004, published by Macmillan Publishers Ltd. Used by Permission. All rights reserved. For permission to use material from Joseph: A Rasta Reggae Fable, I thank Barbara Blake Makeda Hannah and Jamaica Media Productions. I thank Hannah Bannister and Peepal Tree Press for kind permission to incorporate Jean Goulbourne’s Excavation , Orlando Patterson’s The Children of Sisyphus , and N.