I get my lessons and learning in many forms, but mostly reading and doing a bit of research to back up what Ive read. this I did not, it does seem to ring tru from what I know. Dreads, Dreadlocs or Locs? The word Dreadlocs or Dreads is a term created by Europeans (White People). When Black people first came to the Americas, as slaves, locs were almost entirely worn by two groups of people - initiates and priests of traditional African religions and maroons (Black people that had escaped from slavery by fighting or running). Locs were considered a spiritual expression in Africa and in the America became a political expression. White people (invaders) used the term Dreadlocs to express the “dread” or fear of encountering free roaming Africans in the Americas. Free Africans or Maroons wearing “dreadlocs” were likely to kill Europeans on sight and wage war on their settlements (encroachments). They were also known to use “medicine” or spiritual means to attack White people. Dreadlocs got a resurgence in popularity when Rastafarians noted a reference to the hairstyle in the Bible. I wouldn’t tell others what term to use. Our people are good for repurposing language and “turnin’ a negative into a positive”. But I have not used the term “dreads” or “dreadlocs” in my personal life in a very long time. I’d like to think that if I was went back in time I would want to be a maroon - so what would I have to “dread”? Therefore, I refer to this particular hairstyle as “locs”.
Posted on: Sat, 09 Nov 2013 08:52:30 +0000
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