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December 19, 2015

7:37 PM

The Queen gets her musical crown - Artistes give
Empress Menen more than a passing mention

Published:Sunday
| November 3, 2013 | 12:00 AM

Her
Imperial Majesty Empress Menen

1

2

Mel
Cooke, Gleaner Writer

Yesterday
marked 83 years since His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie and Her
Imperial Majesty Empress Menen were crowned at the Cathedral of St George in
the capital of Ethiopia, Addis Abbaba.

While the overwhelming focus
of observances of the date which is especially significant to the Rastafarian
movement is on Haile Selassie, Empress Menen gets her due in song.

Singer Tarrus Riley's She's Royal is well known as a tribute to the
inner and outer beauty of women. Among the standout lines are "What a
natural beauty/No need no make-up to be a cutie/She's a queen".

However, referring to a regal
woman by official title, Riley tips a lock at HIM Haile Selassie's move to make
the equality between himself and his mate clear:

Yes
I an I

I
know the King and Queen crown same time

So
I will never leave your side

Not saying Empress Menen's
name outright, although the reference with the dual coronation within a
Rastafari context is clear, makes the scope of those who can be considered
regal wider.

Warrior King's view

Similarly, although he does
not openly state a critique of the Christian Trinity of Father, Son and Holy
Spirit in Virtuous Woman, Warrior King
affirms the inclusion and equality of the woman in Rastafari's Royalty:

Give
ises to the King

And
his Empress Menen

Who
showed us the right and true way of living

Woman
could never cause sin

He goes on to affirm:

Equality
inna Zion

By
nature's law that's the way it should go

In a previous interview with The Sunday Gleaner, Warrior King said the line
underscores his belief that "the man is the man in the relationship, but
you have to respect the woman".

Ironically Mutabaruka's Great Queens of Africa (which features the
voices of Sharon Forrester and Ini Kamoze) does not refer to the coronation of
Empress Mennen. However, he goes further back in time than the November 2,
1930, dual coronation.

Still, he includes Haile
Selassie's matriarchal lineage, thereby emphasising the importance of woman in
another way:

Talkin'
'bout Makeda, Queen of Sheba

Ruled
from Arabia to Ethiopia

Fell
in love with Solomon

Brought
forth Selassie forefather

Menelik
I

And the central message is:

Great
queens of Afrika

Rulers
all around

They
were mighty brave and strong

Europeans
couldn't get them down

As is his wont, the
Informative History Man goes into extensive detail about Empress Menen in his
track of the same name. He states her year of birth, 1890, the date of her
wedding to Haile Selassie (July 31, 1911). And, of course, History Man speaks
to the coronation:

1930
she wear the crown of Empress

She
is the highest, the best, the greatest goddess

The circumstances of Haile
Selassie's death on August 27, 1975, at 83 years old remain obscure. He was
predeceased by Empress Menen, who died in 1962.

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