The Abyssinians are a Jamaican reggae group in the roots reggae style, famous for their close harmonies and promotion of Rastafarianism in their lyrics.

The vocal trio was originally formed in 1969 by Bernard Collins, Donald Manning and Linford Manning.

Their most famous tracks are Satta Massagana and Y Mas Gan, both of which are delivered - partially - in the ancient Ethiopian language of Amharic. This language is sacred to Rastafarians as they believe the last Emperor of Ethiopia, Haile Selassie, to be God.

Another crucial track is Declaration of rights, whose instrumental version (the riddim) was reprised more and more times during the years by many other roots reggae artists.

The Abyssinians should not be confused with the reggae, rocksteady, and ska group The Ethiopians, though the two bands' names are synonyms when used outside the context of band names.

Discography

• 1976 : Satta Massagana - Heartbeat
• 1978 : Arise - Tuff Gong
• 1982 : Forward - Alligator
• 1998 : Reunion - Artists Only
• 1998 : Satta Dub - Tabou
• 1998 : Declaration of Dub - Heartbeat
• 2002 : Live in San Francisco - 2b1 II
• 2003 : Abyssinians & Friends Tree of Satta - Blood & Fire

External links

• [ http://incolor.inetnebr.com/cvanpelt/collins.html] interviews, discography...
• [ http://rootsdub.free.fr/Abyssinians%20-%20disco.htm] complete discography on the French website rootsdub

Related articles:List of reggae musicians