DREADLOCKS Dreadlocks are another well-known part of Rastafari. The origin of the dreadlock traces back to ancient Africa, originating in eastern Africa. AThe hairstyle was worn by warriors in Kenya, and a Hairstyle of ancient Kemet and Nubia. However in Jamaica, in post slavery and Eurocentric culture, the Hairstyle was deemed in the early years as “Dreadful”. The name dreadlock comes from the locks of hair deemed dreadful. The Rasta’s also believe that they should not put sharp metal objects to their head. This comes again from interpreting the Bible literally. Due to this belief they do not believe it is right to shave or comb their hair. Another belief that led to the dreadlocks among Rasta’s is that the wearing of the Dread resembles the main of a lion. The lion is significant because the lion is the respected king of the animal kingdom, as well as a humble animal. Both of these traits the Rasta believes are divine and important to the... “Black Man”. Haile Selassie I also was called “the conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah”, this makes the wearing of the dread connected to the Rasta god. The dreadlock is also a natural state of the African person hair, and by being natural the Rasta feels they are more connected to Jah. The wearing of the dread first appeared in the Rasta Community at the original Rasta community of Pinnacle. At Pinnacle Howell was growing Ganja as a cash crop and the police where constantly raiding the farms. Because of this and other border problems at the Rasta community, Howell was forced to create a group of guards to protect the area. These guards grew their hair long in the form of ancient African warriors and became known as “locksmen”. With this and the reasons given in the previous paragraph, the Dreadlock became the hairstyle of the Rasta. Just like the smoking of Ganja, the dreadlock hairstyle has lead many problems for the Rasta. In the early days of Rastafari, Rasta who wore their hair in dread form where brutalized by the police for no reason. This pushed many Rasta into the bush of Jamaica so that they could live in peace. Things have not gotten a whole lot better for dreadlocked people. In Jamaica and other parts of the world children who have dreads are not allowed to attend some schools. Just like the Ganja issue the, the dreadlock school issue is constantly being fought in courts throughout the Rasta world. It came up lately in a South African school where a young child was not given the right to go to school because of her dreads and the issue had to be fought in court.
Posted on: Mon, 10 Jun 2013 14:30:27 +0000
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