The Consulate of Ethiopia in Kingston recently honoured the life, musical achievements of reggae icon Bob Marley on the 76th anniversary of his birth.

Yodit Hylton, honorary consul for Ethiopia in Jamaica, visited the Bob Marley Museum on February 6 to pay respect and tribute to Marley’s legacy.

“I grew up listening to Bob Marley’s music in Ethiopia as a child and we all loved Bob Marley,” Hylton said while touring the museum with members of the Ethiopian community in Jamaica.

“I was greatly influenced by the message of his music and we dreamt of Jamaica as a welcoming paradise island for Ethiopians.”

At the museum, the delegation commemorated the fact that Marley was connected to Ethiopia and Africa not just as a great musician, but also through his love, respect and admiration for Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie I and Africa.

MARLEY EARNED RESPECT, LOVE OF AFRICANS

“Bob will always be remembered for his contribution to the Pan-African movement in helping to meet the challenges of Africa and the diaspora in the 21st Century through his music,” Hylton said.

“Therefore, it is important that, as admirers of Bob Marley’s music and philosophy, Africans everywhere always celebrate his life and achievements.”

Hylton recalled Emperor Haile Selassie I’s visit to Jamaica in 1966 and his decision to set aside 500 acres of land in Ethiopia for Jamaicans and the diaspora, a move which was seemingly reciprocated through Marley’s only visit to Ethiopia in 1978, during which he stayed in Addis Ababa and Shashamane, the Oromia town inhabited by the Rastafarian community who had taken up the Emperor’s offer.

In 2015, a statue of Marley was erected in the capital city of Addis Ababa for his 70th birthday celebration.

The Ethiopian Orthodox Church Eminence Abune Thaddaeus, Archbishop of The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church Archdiocese of the Caribbean and Latin America and of the Diocese of Jamaica, sent his official
delegation to take part in the celebration of the life of Marley, who was also known as Berhane Selassie (Light of The Trinity).

Marley had been baptised by the late Archbishop Abuna Yesehaq Mandefro
and given the baptism name of Berhane Selassie.

Komos Archimandrite Abba Gebreyesus Woldesamuel Negatu, head administrator of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church Archdiocese of the Caribbean, and clergy members opened the celebration with prayers and a memorial service for Marley.

Thaddaeus, the Government of Ethiopia represented by the Consulate of Ethiopia in Jamaica, and the Ethiopian community in Kingston conveyed their continuing love and support for the family of Bob Marley and the people of Jamaica.