his songs are sung in their language which is deeply rooted in their culture and life.
1.2.1. Rasta Language
Before one enters into the realm of Bob Marley’s works it is very significant to take a look into the general pattern in his lyrics. This is a guidance to
have a better understanding especially about the language used. Bob Marley’s lyrics are a mixture of local folk wisdoms, Rastafarianism, Biblical psalms and
ghetto life’s struggles. The lines in most of the lyrics are stunningly poetical. When associated with Rastafarianism, reggae often infuses social, political,
and religious critical lyrics and become music of resistance. Most reggae lyrics would employ Rasta language, an extension of Jamaican creole or Patois, a typical
broken English that developed during the time of slavery among the slaves.
14
This heavy metaphoric Jamaican language often misunderstood by the non-Jamaicans.
There are two scholars who set the categories of Rasta talk, Pollard and Roberts.
15
Pollard divided Rasta talks into four categories: First, words which taken on new meaning. The words assign a new meaning to fit into Rasta
philosophy; Second, words which bear the weight of their phonological implications. The words are changed to reduce incompatibility and arbitrariness
between linguistic sign and the meaning; third, the category of I words. For the Rasta I is considered to be the most sacred and significant letter in the alphabet. I
is tied up with the concept of sight because I is homophone to eye which is the
14
Worth, D.S. Rastaman Vibration: The Rhetoric of Bob Marley, p. 27.
15
Ibid, pp. 27-33.
organ of sight; fourth, words with the most extensive changes. The examples of Pollard’s first category are baldhead and Babylon. This can be found in Bob
Marley’s Crazy Baldhead and Babylon System. Baldhead is used to refer to non-Rasta or unbelievers. The absence of dreadlock, a distinctive Rasta uncombed
hair, is viewed as a baldhead. Babylon is taken from the Bible which is used by Rasta to refer to all oppressive system. The examples of second category are
downpress and overstand that can be found in Bob Marley’s Guiltiness and Get Up Stand Up. The word oppress homophones or sounds like up-press. Up is
identified with goodness, and oppression is clearly not a good thing, therefore it is changed to downpress. The word overstand has been changed from the word
understand. For the Rasta when people see truth, they do not stand under it, instead over it and control it. The examples of third category are I and I and inite
and imanity. This can be found in some of Bob Marley’s lyrics, like So Jah Seh and Jamming. I and I can be used for first person plural like we or first person
singular I. In this way it means I and Jah to indicate that Rastas are bound together with Jah, who exists all the time within themselves. Other I-words are
made by simply replacing the first syllable of the word with I. Inite and imanity come from the words unite and humanity. The examples of the fourth category are
hardly found in Bob Marley’s songs but the writer took Pollard’s examples i.e. satta which means relax or have a seat comes from the word sit.
Roberts makes Rasta talk even clearer in his categories. He divided Rasta talk into four categories. First is biblical or apocalyptic speech. Rasta speech is
influenced by King James Version of the Bible. They always dichotomize concepts according to good and bad. Second, words which are related to Africa.
Rasta views Africa as a sacred and significant place, therefore reference to it frequently occur in their speech. Third is a pun or play on words. The
manipulation of language is one of the primary elements in Rasta talk. Playing on sound and words’ structure is viewed as an attempt to make them more logical or
more consistent with progressive thinking. While the fourth is I-words as what has been discussed before. The examples of first category are the concepts of Babylon
and Zion as can be seen in Bob Marley’s Babylon System and Jammin. The examples of second category are Rastafari, the original name of Ethiopian
Emperror, Haile Selassie. The term Jah is a shortened name of Jehovah which comes from the Hebrew word for God, Yahweh. The examples of the third and
fourth category are downpress and I and I which have been discussed previously. Bob Marley lyrics are purposefully composed based on the concept Rasta
and reggae philosophy. The careful and conscious words choice facilitates Bob Marley’s poetics and rhetorics in giving his commentary upon social and political
injustice.
1.2.2. Jamaican Grounded Metaphor