Greetings Superstars!
📚You have voted and our very first Reggae Book Club read will be In Defense of Ska - Vol. 2 by Aaron Carnes, which will be available October 29th. I’ll pre-order it and remind you when we get closer to the end of October.🤓
Today I want to talk about reggae iconography and symbolism. I recently rewatched The DaVinci Code and remembered that symbols are fascinating. Reggae in all of its iterations and offshoots is rich with symbolism: lions, for example. Ice, gold, and green, for another. So let’s break down where they come from:
Iron Like a Lion
The lion has symbolized the ‘King of Kings’ since Biblical times, at least. This beautiful creature has represented Jesus, royalty, dominance over all animals, and Judah.
I’d like to point out that lady lions are the ones who primarily feed and protect the pride, so the lion would better symbolize the Queen of Queens—but I’ll admit the mane is impressive.
In Jamaica, the Rastafari movement was essentially based on the belief that ‘Ras Tafari’—the noble name for Haile Selassie—was the second coming of Christ who would return Rastas to Ethiopia as its emperor. The kings of Ethiopia were believed to be descended from Judah, so the lion was chosen to represent Selassie. As reggae music grew intertwined with Rastafari, the lion became a symbol of the music, as well.
Ice, Gold & Green
The tricolor of red, yellow, and green globally identifies reggae music, but do you know why? Each color represents something important to Rastafari:
Red stands for ‘ice’—which I just learned is patois for ‘heights’ as in higher ‘heights’—and it symbolizes the blood spilled in defense of Ethiopia, and that of all oppressed Jamaicans.
Yellow means ‘gold’ and the riches of the African continent.
Green symbolizes the lush fertility of Ethiopia.
Red, yellow, and green are referred to as the Pan-African colors because they are the tricolors of the Ethiopian flag, and several other African countries adopted them in homage to Ethiopia’s resistance to colonial occupation.
What other symbols related to reggae are you curious about? Do you have any to share? Please comment if you do.
This week, I hope that the change in the weather brings a lift in your mood.
TTY!💛
Symbolism in Reggae