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Rastafarianism has been globalized through music, practice, and symbolism. One could argue that the main catalyst behind the globalization movement was through the music of Bob Marley. He popularized reggae music, and thrust it to the world stage during his musical career. He sang songs that carried the morals of a Rastafarian, and that spoke on social issues of his birthplace in Jamaica. He sang to many about the culture of Ethiopia in which he called “Zion”, and about the resistance of western culture and society, which he called “Babylon”.
These songs that contained Rastafarian messages were recorded and distributed by Island records. Island records was founded in Jamaica, but then reached out to offices in the United Kingdom and the United States, because of the success of Bob Marley’s records. This led Marley to tour the world and become an international icon. He was then awarded the “Peace Medal of the Third World”, educated to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and awarded the Grammy Lifetime achievement award, for his music and lyrical content. This resulted in a mass acceptance, and adoption of the Rastafarian religion.
The music of Bob Marley and reggae music has impacted the lives of people around the globe. In turn, the people who were influenced by Marley have integrated, and built businesses from the Rastafarian culture. Many shops around the globe sell Rastafarian paraphernalia such as incense, giant Jamaican flags, articles of clothing that bear the colors of the Jamaican flag, and marijuana clinics based around Rastafarianism. Although, these shops seem to only support the most basic elements of Rastafarianism instead of the meat of the culture. Many people will purchase these items to portray the image or “look” of the Rastas.
They will wear the colors of the Jamaican flag, smoke marijuana, grow their air into dreadlocks, and even use the word “Irie”, the Jamaican word for powerful, pleasing, or feeling good. Many places of cultural diversity seem to have integrated some Rastafarian culture in style, music, and basic ideology. Colonization has played a major role in the Cargo Cults history. Colonization of different civilizations was catalyst behind the cults. Whether it be colonization from Europeans, Japanese, or the interference between the Australian government, their intentions is what challenged faith and knowledge of the primitive peoples.
The arrival of foreign peoples, primarily white people, signified the apocalypse. Not only that, but an overall change in power. The emergence of the white man was believed to first cause an apocalypse, which would then lead to a god or higher power to reveal itself and create a world with no sickness, hunger, disease, or age, then turning the cults white and the white men black. The Melanesian Cargo Cults were completely challenged when none of their beliefs became realities. For example, the villagers that resided Wewak were urged by a “Black King” and his prophets to stop paying taxes to the Europeans.
The prophets claimed that an earthquake would cause their government station to be swallowed by the sea. These then led to the imprisonment of four prophets while three other were exiled. Another example would be the case in which Papuans attempted to attack the Japanese. In this incident, the Papuan grew restless of the Japanese colonies, which caused the Papuan to form some sort of military force and try and attack the Japanese. This resulted in several boatloads of Papuan’s being shot down by Japanese ships.
Since the Cargo Cults had little to no idea about modern civilizations, they assumed the cargo and technology had to be some sort of magic. It is this inability to cope with modern ideas and technology that continues to sustain the cults. If it weren’t for colonization, the cults may not even exist. The same could be said for the Ghost Dance Religion. One of the main catalyst if not the only catalyst behind the first generation of the Ghost Dance Religion was born out of the revival of traditional Indian ways.
These ways were compromised when there were disputes between the Indians and the white men. One of its primary focuses was on the disappearance of the white man and his influence over Indian culture. When Wovoka reinstated the Ghost Dance Religion, it was so appealing to many other tribes outside of Nevada because Indians across America had been under persecution. The Indians had suffered from loss of land, and attempts to rid the cultural ways and identity of native americans. That is why the Ghost Dance Ritual focuses so heavily on Indian customs.
It would support the ideals of being Indian such as, respect for land and nature, harmony between one and their community, and a resistance toward western morals and objects. Colonization eventually ended the religion, when Wovoka excited many Indians in Sioux, which lead to the murder three hundred and seventy Indians. Without colonization, the Ghost Dance Religion would have less of a reason to exist. Although colonization may not be the entire reason for the Ghost Dance Religion to exist, the struggle against the white men in order to retain a level of Indian identity was a crucial factor.