5 Origins of Dreadlocks in the Rastafari Movement
H
ow did dreadlocks become synonymous with the Rastafari movement? While the temptation may be to offer a simple answer to this question, the truth is more complex than some may realize.
Author Charles Price, in his book "Becoming Rasta," writes:
"Putting" on one's "knotty," "covenant" or dreadlocks, had by the late
1970s become a primary means of publicly displaying or symbolically
conveying one's identity and commitment to Rastafari."
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The Rastafari practice of wearing dreadlocks as an article of faith is the result of many different influences that converged during the early years of Emperor Haile Selassie's reign. What follows is a brief examination of those influences and how they shaped what is now accepted as a dominant practice among adherents of Rastafari.
1. The Ethiopian Connection
His Imperial Majesty, Emperor Haile Selassie I, was crowned on November 2nd, 1930. At that time, He was given the titles King of Kings, Lord of Lords and Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah. The flag of Ethiopia during His Majesty's time - green, yellow and red - has a powerful image of the Lion of Judah in the center proudly bearing the banner of His Empire. Seeing this, the early Rastafari came to identify themselves, as followers of His Majesty, with the powerful imagery of the Lion of Judah.
"The Rastas declared their identification with the lion - in its roar,
its hair, its body strength, intelligence and total movements. The mane
of the lion's hair was compared favorably with the locks of the
brethren... This identification was made easier by the fact that the
Ethiopian monarch had tame lions in his household and that he himself
had acquired the title - The Lion of Judah"
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But that's only part of the Ethiopian connection to dreadlocks. When one
visits Ethiopia's ancient holy sites of Lalibela and Axum, the antiquity of
their religion becomes clear. Traditions dating to the time of Christ and
earlier are reminders of the continuity of Ethiopian history from Biblical
times until now.
These So Rastafari connection with these traditional practices are illustrated clearly by the Bahtawi, Ethiopian monks who have rejected worldly possessions in favor of a life of spiritual study. These holy men have, for millennia, taken the vow of the Nazarite as an expression of their faith. A vow which, as we will discuss later in this article, has the natural result of forming dreadlocks.
2. African Warriors
The 20th Century was a revolutionary time on the African continent. African nations who had for centuries been subjected to European colonial oppression began to break free.
According to many firsthand accounts, the popularity of dreadlocks within the Rastafari movement was heavily influenced by one revolutionary movement in particular: the "Mau Mau" warriors of Kenya. The Jamaican news media regularly reported on the Mau Mau's revolutionary efforts in Kenya against the British, who were also the colonial power in the Jamaica and the rest of the Caribbean. These Mau Mau warriors were pictured with the fearsome-looking freeform dreadlocks that developed during their prolonged guerilla warfare struggle against the British.
"When the struggle of the Land and Freedom Army (called Mau Mau) in Kenya exploded, and the Rastas saw pictures of the freedom fighters with their natural hair, long and matted, the Rasta positively identified with these fighters and began to wear their hair in 'locks.'" 3
Given the events that took place in Kenya, and seeing the growing tide
of African nationalism that was sweeping not just the African continent but
wherever there were people of African descent throughout the world,
Jamaican authorities began to grow fearful of Rastafari. They labeled us as a subversive
movement, one with the potential to incite revolution. This only added to their brutalization and suppression of the
early Rastafari.
"The State did not take a dispassionate attitude to the appearance of
Black men and women wearing those locks, similar to the dreaded Mau Mau
who were being shown on the British newsreels."
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Even before the Mau Mau resistance in the 1950's, there were newsreels of other African warriors who wore dreadlocks during their resistance against foreign invaders. These warriors were situated at the very root of Rastafari, in Ethiopia. They were guerilla soldiers who refused to cut their hair until His Majesty triumphed over the forces of tyranny in World War II.
3. Natural lifestyle
"To the Rastafarians it signifies power, freedom and defiance. "Dread" means rebellion or a certain behavior pattern outside of society." 5
Dreadlocks are the natural result of allowing our hair to grow freely without cutting, trimming or other manipulation.
This is especially true for people of African descent, who made up nearly all Rastafari during the early years of the movement and still make up the majority of Rastafari today.
For this reason - the natural tendency of our hair to form them - dreadlocks have become a declaration of identity. Not only for Rastafari but for all people of African descent who wear them. A bold statement in defiance of the dominant white supremacist narratives of beauty in western society. A reaffirmation that our natural features are no less beautiful than anyone else's. A reminder that in the embrace of our own individuality there is a unique beauty which should be a source of dignity, not shame.
"Ideologically, dreadlocks express the Rastafarian belief in and
commitment to naturalness. Trimming and combing, as well as
straightening, are regarded as artificial, because they change the
natural looks… Dreadlocks thus bespeak the Rastas' uncompromising
posture against the artificiality of Babylon."
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4. African Identity
"The appearance of the Rastas with their locks threw greater fear into the hearts of the ruling class, for the popular version of beauty at that time suggested that a black person who wore their hair long and in its natural form was ugly and offensive." 7
Dreadlocks emerge for the early Rastafari as a clear way to distinguish themselves from the dominant culture of the west, by embracing their natural African identity and rejecting the European standards of beauty which had for so long been forced upon them. In this way the dreadlocks became one of the many ways in which Rastafari would reclaim their dignity and self-respect as Africans, and begin to remove the shackles of what Marcus Garvey called "mental slavery."
"Aesthetically, they indicate a rejection of Babylon's definition of
beauty, especially as it relates to European features and hair quality.
According to Rastas, hair straightening and skin bleaching by black
people reflect a yearning for whiteness and are therefore symptomatic
of alienation from one's African beauty."
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5. Nazarite Vow / Biblical
Rastafari elder Sam Brown once said, "We are warriors… we take the vow of the Nazarites… When the people them look on I and I, them see I and I art dreadful and awesome, and them tremble in them boots!" 9
While the previous explanations are just as valid, the most common answer to the question "Why do you wear dreadlocks?" among Rastafari is rooted in the religious traditions of our ancestors. In the Old Testament of the Bible, Moses sets guidelines for those who want to separate themselves from the regular members of society by devoting their lives to spiritual practice. This vow of separation is called the Nazarite Vow.
"Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When either man
or woman shall ...vow the vow of a Nazarite, to
separate themselves unto the LORD ... All the days of the vow of
his separation there shall no razor come upon his head: until the days
be fulfilled, in the which he separateth himself unto the LORD, he
shall be holy, and shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow."
- Numbers 6:2,5
Along with being a sign of our covenant with JAH, dreadlocks have been said to strengthen the link between the spiritual and physical realms. According to the Bible, it was his dreadlocks that gave Samson legendary strength against the enemies of the Lord. Without them, he was unable to subdue his enemies. In modern times, that connection has been preserved by Rastafari.
"Dreadlocks also function as a mystical link between Rastas and JAH, or "earth force." In this context locks are a kind of receptor or "psychic antenna" … connecting Rastas with their God and with his mystical power…" 10
