Contained here are three documentary segments, offering interesting and almost "outsider" viewpoints, from Rastas in the U.K. before the turn of the century. The final segment carries that phrase from the title, Word Sounds & Powah, derived from a core tenet in the Rastafari "bylaws." The roots of this belief system run parallel to similar developments in America, where African slaves used drumming and music to communicate. In Jamaica, as in America, slave owners drove wedges between families, blocking language and religion, in an attempt to stifle social forces that might foment rebellion. Although the common ground isn't explored in this documentary, the same forces behind the creation of Jamaican music were at work in the creation of early jazz and blues in America.
One Love: Word Sounds & Powah goes into great depth in exploring the Rastafari connection between music and faith. Historical perspectives are provided that will bring even the most ignorant viewer up to speed. Making connections between figures like Marcus Garvey and Ethiopean ruler Haile Selassie I puts Rastafari into a broader context and explains the basis for their religious beliefs. Beyond the patois, there is a lot of coded language in Rasta culture, such as talk of "lions," "eagles," and "Babylon." One Love doesn't provide a complete lexicon, but seminal figures in the U.K. Rasta scene go to some lengths to diagram the Who, What, Where, and When of their practice. The first documentary, "Nyabinghi Blood & Fire," traces the African roots and ancestors of the people settled as slaves in Jamaica; this is proto-reggae music plus what we might now characterize as a mash-up of revival and spoken word and drumming. The cast members are ordinary folks gathered together, just a group of men, women, and children passionate about sharing a ritual experience that predates them by several hundred years.
The second short piece, "Blues for Rastfari," fills in critical history and context while showing how music was able to bridge the sacred and profane in Rasta culture. The final segment, "Word Sounds & Powah," brings everything together through extended musical numbers from The Naturalites, and interviews with band members. These interviews mean much more to the viewer because of all the information shared previously, where it would otherwise be tempting to frame their religious and protest aspirations as nothing more than rhetoric. The overarching question not answered (or posed, for that matter) in One Love: Word Sounds & Powah is whether this form of protest has a meaningful function for the modern Rasta. Considering the issues facing people of color across the world, and especially in Africa, Rasta hand-wringing over decadent Babylon and imperial powers seems antiquated. If the ideals that Marcus Garvey held are still valid, Rastafari must recognize that even after the ills of Babylon were purged from the continent, internal poverty, corruption, and genocide have occluded Garvey's vision for Africa as a free country. As historical re-enactment, One Love: Word Sounds & Powah is a fascinating piece of work, but it's missing a credible modern vision for Rastafari culture.
