Contributed
Minnion Phillips (left) and Rita Marley in Ethiopia.

Misha Lobban, Contributor

Everyone has a 'best friend' during each stage of life; only a precious few have the same one.
- Anonymous

Rita Marley, widow of legendary reggae superstar Bob Marley, is an icon in her own right. She is recognised in Jamaica and all over the world for her contribution to reggae music, Rastafarianism and, more significantly, for her role in keeping the message and legacy of reggae superstar, Bob Marley, alive.

Her music career began in the 1960s as a vocalist with the all-female group, The Soulettes. In the early 1970s Rita, along with lead female singers Judy Mowatt and Marcia Griffiths, came together to form the I-Threes, providing background vocals for Bob Marley and the Wailers.

Rita Marley has since produced three successful solo albums: Who Feels It, Knows It; Harambe and a Grammy-nomination album, We Must Carry On, in 1992.

migration

In the 1990s Rita, along with the rest of the Marley family, left Jamaica to settle in Ghana, Africa, in fulfilment of her dreams of repatriation to Africa. Now called Nana Afua Abodea I, she lives in the village of Konkonuru, Ghana, and continues to invest extensively in Africa and in Jamaica through various charities under the auspices of The Bob Marley Foundation and The Rita Marley Foundation (which were both founded by her).

Her best friend is Minnion 'Minnie' Phillips, who is well known as the former proprietor of Minnie's Ethiopian Herbal Health Food in the '70s.

Minnion now lives in the village of Konkonuru, Ghana, near to the home of Rita and her family.

Minnion, who is called Queen mother Nuna Esi Bolan I, tells us of her long friendship with Rita and their decision in the 1990s to leave Jamaica and build a new life in Africa.

She tells us of Rita's extensive efforts to improve living conditions for the people in her village in Ghana, her great love for farming and the joy she experiences planting flowers, vegetable and ground provisions on her large farm in Konkonuru.

How did you meet Rita, and how long have you been friends?

I met her in 1968 when I started to become conscious of Rastafarianism. At that time I started to look for friends who shared this consciousness, and so I would go to Trench Town to spend time with a group of friends who were into Rastafarianism. Rita was living in Trench Town at the time and one day as I was passing by her house she called me over and we started to reason together. That was how our friendship started, as I would go to her house regularly to sit with her and discuss African culture and Rastafari.

Our friendship grew during the period of Black Power movement, when we both happened to be in the business of making dashiki, and we would meet together to sew and to reason together.

In the '70s, she went to live in Delaware, and we didn't see each other until five years later when we reunited at a Twelve Tribe meeting at Elletson Road. It was a moment of great joy and we decided to celebrate our reunion with a show, which was held at the National Arena in 1975, and Bob (Marley) agreed to have the Wailers perform, along with other well-known artistes.

We maintained our friendship during the period when she and Bob lived in Bull Bay. On weekends, in particular, I would drive out there to run on the beach with them and to just spend time relaxing with them. When she moved to Kingston, we would run together every morning and spent a lot of time at the beach.

We have supported each other over the years, and I have found that even if we have difference of opinions, we always have this ability to reason together and we understand each other.

Tell us what you admire most about her, and why you think you have remained friends all these years.

Her strength as a black woman ... I have seen her overcome a lot of obstacles in her life and I admire her for that. The fact that she has invested so much in Africa and in the people of Africa is also another reason for my great love for her.

I think we have remained friends because of the spiritual connection we share, the great love I have for her and the fact that both she and her family and have shown me great love and respect over the years. She can call on me at anytime and know that I am there for her, and I can call on her anytime and know that she will be there for me.

Tell us something interesting about Rita.

She has a queenly, dignified manner about her. In Ghana, she is a queen mother and everywhere she goes she is honoured by the people. She has invested greatly in the people in her village by building schools for the children. She has worked with the Government to improve the infrastructure, including bringing water and electricity into the village. She has also built a clinic and community centre, as well as a huge music studio that attracts musicians visiting from all over the world. This is her way of uplifting the people of Africa.

Another interesting thing is that she loves to farm, and she has a large farm in her village where she plants all types of vegetables and ground provisions. She also loves to plant flowers and she especially loves roses. She will spend an entire day planting, and it's something we enjoy doing together.

What are some of the things you talk about when you get together?

We talk about everything. Our interest is mainly in people, what's talking place in the world and how it affects our nation and our people.>Share with us one of the happiest moments you have experienced with her.

We have had many happy moments but one of the most special for me was when we both went to His Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie's palace in Ethiopia in 2004. It was the celebration of Bob Marley's birthday and it was being held at the palace. Rita gave me the opportunity to do the catering, which I did from inside the kitchen of the palace, and this was a memorable moment for me. The event attracted almost 500 special guests who came out to celebrate Bob's birthday, including His Majesty's grandchildren.

Visiting the palace was one of the things we dreamt about and I never imagined that we would have been there. When we stood in the palace it was one of our greatest joys.

Tell us the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of her, and why.

That she's a great woman ... they say beside every great man there is a great woman, and when I think of Rita and the role she has played in Bob's life, and even now, in keeping his work and his memory alive, I say, "Yes, she is great woman!" I also think of her as a strong, persevering, conscious black woman.

What are her favourite food, favourite music and favourite sport?

Fish ... she will have this every hour, every day of the week. She especially loves sushi.

All types of reggae music.

She likes to run and also enjoys trail walking and swimming.

Tell us the colour that you associate with her:

Yellow - signifying someone you'll never forget

Orange - signifying someone you consider your true friend

Red - signifying someone you really love

Green - signifying someone who has had a significant impact on your life.

I would say green because she has taken me places that have made a significant difference in my life; places that have helped me to grow and to experience the world and to see the realities of life, people and their culture. And so, I can say that she has had a significant impact on my life, and I know that I have impacted her life as well.

I would also choose red because she is someone I really love. She is more than a friend, she is my sister.

We always say that our friendship will last into our old age. We talk about growing old together and the times when we will sit in our rocking chairs in Africa, together, remembering all the things we have experienced.

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