Shashamane (or Shashemene, ሻሸመነ) is a town in the Ethiopian regional district of Oromia (formerly province of Shoa), about 150 miles from the capital of Addis Ababa.

After World War II was over, Haile Selassie donated a large parcel of land to allow Rastafarian settlers from the West Indies to return to their homeland in Africa.

In January 2005 there were reports in the media that Bob Marley's remains were to be exhumed and then reburied at Shashamane. His wife Rita Marley described Ethiopia as his spiritual home, provoking controversy in Jamaica, where his remains lie.

At the beginning of February 2005 thousands of fans gathered in Shashamane for a month of celebrations for what would have been Marley's 60th birthday. Up until this year his birthday celebrations were always held in Jamaica. These recent events have brought Shashamane to prominence in the world for the first time.

External links

• Shashamane Settlement Community Development Foundation
• BBC: Marley's remains 'to be exhumed'
• BBC: Marley's fans gather in Ethiopia