Mortimer Planno

Mortimo "Kumi" Planno, (September 6, 1929, Cuba – March 6, 2006, Kingston, Jamaica) was a renowned drummer and Rastafari elder and considered one of the ideological founders of this back-to-Africa movement. He is best known as the Rasta teacher of Bob Marley, and as the man who commanded the respect of a chaotic crowd during the arrival of Emperor Haile Selassie on his visit to Jamaica in 1966. He is referred to by academics as a teacher/leader within the context of the faith given his life's work. In 1961, the Jamaican government decided to send a delegation of both officials and Rastafari leaders to Addis Ababa to meet Emperor Haile Selassie. Rases Planno, D. Mack, and Fillmore Alvaranga were the three in the Rasta delegation. Their...