Bob Marley’s widow, Rita Marley, is currently moving forward with plans to exhume her late husband’s remains in Jamaica and rebury them in Shashemene, Ethiopia. The Associated Press reports that no date has been set for the reburial, but that it will most likely follow the month-long celebration of what would have been Marley’s 60 birthday next month.

Marley said, “We are working on bringing his remains to Ethiopia. It is part of Bob’s own mission. Bob’s whole life is about Africa. It is not about Jamaica. How can you give up a continent for an island? He has a right for his remains to be where he would love them to be. This was his mission.”

Marley, who has the support of Ethiopian government and church, added, “Ethiopia is his spiritual resting place. With the sixtieth anniversary this year, the impact is there and the time is right.”

Bob Marley was born in Jamaica but later became a worldwide cultural icon and an ambassador of reggae music. Marley embraced the Rastafarian religion which viewed Ethiopia’s last emperor, Haile Selassie, as a living god. Marley died in 1981 at the age of 36 after refusing treatment for cancer because of his religious beliefs.

Approximately 700,000 people practice the Rastafarian religion worldwide. The religion includes a oneness with nature, smoking marijuana as a sacrament, and allowing your hair to remain uncombed and to eventually lock into dreads.

Rita Marley is planning a concert on her late husband’s birthday, February 6, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The event, which will benefit poor families in Ethiopia, will include performances by the Marley family, Baaba Maal, Youssou N’ Dour, and Angelique Kidjo.

Credit: AP