Dreadlocks
Encyclopedia
Dreadlocks, also called locks, a ras, dreads, "rasta" or Jata (Hindi), are matted coils of hair
Hair
Hair is a filamentous biomaterial, that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Found exclusively in mammals, hair is one of the defining characteristics of the mammalian class....

. Dreadlocks are usually intentionally formed; because of the variety of different hair textures, various methods are used to encourage the formation of locks such as backcombing
Backcombing
Backcombing is a way of combing hair which is used to create volume as well as to create certain hairstyles. Backcombing means repeatedly combing the hair towards the scalp, causing the hair to tangle and knot up...

. If the hair is not brushed or cut, it will tangle together as it grows, eventually resulting in the twisted, matted ropes of hair known as dreadlocks.

Dreadlocks are associated most closely with the Rastafari movement
Rastafari movement
The Rastafari movement or Rasta is a new religious movement that arose in the 1930s in Jamaica, which at the time was a country with a predominantly Christian culture where 98% of the people were the black descendants of slaves. Its adherents worship Haile Selassie I, Emperor of Ethiopia , as God...

, but people from many groups in history before them have worn dreadlocks, including many Sadhus of Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...

, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

 and the Sufi
Sufism
Sufism or ' is defined by its adherents as the inner, mystical dimension of Islam. A practitioner of this tradition is generally known as a '...

 Rafaees, the Maori people of New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

, the Maasai of East Africa
East Africa
East Africa or Eastern Africa is the easterly region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. In the UN scheme of geographic regions, 19 territories constitute Eastern Africa:...

, and the Sufi
Sufism
Sufism or ' is defined by its adherents as the inner, mystical dimension of Islam. A practitioner of this tradition is generally known as a '...

 malangs and fakirs of Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...

.

Etymology

The word is a compound word
Compound (linguistics)
In linguistics, a compound is a lexeme that consists of more than one stem. Compounding or composition is the word formation that creates compound lexemes...

 combining the words dread and locks that dates to 1960. The intent may have been to evoke the dread aroused in beholders of the hair; "dread" also has a sense of "fear of the Lord" in Rastafarianism, which can be partially expressed as alienation from contemporary society.

History

The first known examples of dreadlocks date back to East Africa
East Africa
East Africa or Eastern Africa is the easterly region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. In the UN scheme of geographic regions, 19 territories constitute Eastern Africa:...

 and some parts of North Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...

. Maasai men found in the regions of northern Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...

 and southern Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...

 have been wearing dreadlocks for as long as they have survived. There hasn't been official date of the "start" of Maasai dreadlocks, but it is a tradition that has been going on for thousands of years. Even today, Maasai men can be found easily donning their dreadlocks, with a tint of red color from the soil.

Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...


In ancient dynastic Egypt examples of Egyptians wearing locked hairstyles and wigs have appeared on bas-reliefs, statuary and other artifacts. Mummified remains of ancient Egyptians with locks, as well as locked wigs, have also been recovered from archaeological sites.

The Hindu deity Shiva
Shiva
Shiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a...

 and his followers were described in the scriptures as wearing "jaTaa", meaning "twisted locks of hair", probably derived from the Dravidian
Dravidian languages
The Dravidian language family includes approximately 85 genetically related languages, spoken by about 217 million people. They are mainly spoken in southern India and parts of eastern and central India as well as in northeastern Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Iran, and...

 word "Sadai", which means to twist or to wrap. The Greeks
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....

, the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...

 peoples, the Naga people
Naga people
The term Naga people refers to a conglomeration of several tribes inhabiting the North Eastern part of India and north-western Burma. The tribes have similar cultures and traditions, and form the majority ethnic group in the Indian state of Nagaland...

 and several ascetic groups within various major religions have at times worn their hair in locks, including the monks of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, the Nazirite
Nazirite
In the Hebrew Bible, a nazirite or nazarite, , refers to one who voluntarily took a vow described in . The term "nazirite" comes from the Hebrew word nazir meaning "consecrated" or "separated"...

s of Judaism
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...

, Qalandari Sufi's the Sadhu
Sadhu
In Hinduism, sādhu denotes an ascetic, wandering monk. Although the vast majority of sādhus are yogīs, not all yogīs are sādhus. The sādhu is solely dedicated to achieving mokṣa , the fourth and final aśrama , through meditation and contemplation of brahman...

s of Hinduism
Hinduism
Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...

, and the Dervish
Dervish
A Dervish or Darvesh is someone treading a Sufi Muslim ascetic path or "Tariqah", known for their extreme poverty and austerity, similar to mendicant friars in Christianity or Hindu/Buddhist/Jain sadhus.-Etymology:The Persian word darvīsh is of ancient origin and descends from a Proto-Iranian...

es of Islam among others. The very earliest Christians also may have worn this hairstyle. Particularly noteworthy are descriptions of James the Just
James the Just
James , first Bishop of Jerusalem, who died in 62 AD, was an important figure in Early Christianity...

, first Bishop of Jerusalem, who wore them to his ankles.

Pre-Columbian
Pre-Columbian
The pre-Columbian era incorporates all period subdivisions in the history and prehistory of the Americas before the appearance of significant European influences on the American continents, spanning the time of the original settlement in the Upper Paleolithic period to European colonization during...

 Aztec
Aztec
The Aztec people were certain ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who dominated large parts of Mesoamerica in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, a period referred to as the late post-classic period in Mesoamerican chronology.Aztec is the...

 priests were described in Aztec codices
Aztec codices
Aztec codices are books written by pre-Columbian and colonial-era Aztecs. These codices provide some of the best primary sources for Aztec culture....

 (including the Durán Codex, the Codex Tudela
Codex Tudela
The Codex Tudela, named after José Tudela de la Orden, is a 16th century pictorial Aztec codex. It is based on the same prototype as the Codex Magliabechiano, the Codex Ixtlilxochitl, and other documents of the Magliabechiano Group....

 and the Codex Mendoza
Codex Mendoza
The Codex Mendoza is an Aztec codex, created about twenty years after the Spanish conquest of Mexico with the intent that it be seen by Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain...

) as wearing their hair untouched, allowing it to grow long and matted.

In Senegal
Senegal
Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...

, the Baye Fall, followers of the Mouride
Mouride
The Mouride brotherhood is a large Islamic Sufi order most prominent in Senegal and The Gambia, with headquarters in the holy city of Touba, Senegal...

 movement, a sect of Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and .   : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...

 indigenous to the country which was founded in 1887 by Shaykh Aamadu Bàmba Mbàkke, are famous for growing locks and wearing multi-colored gowns. Cheikh Ibra Fall, founder of the Baye Fall school of the Mouride Brotherhood, popularized the style by adding a mystic touch to it,its important to note that warriors among fullani,wolof,serer and mandika were also known to have dreadlocks when old and cornraws when young for centuries.

In Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...

 the term dreadlocks was first recorded in the 1950s as a term for the "Young Black Faith", an early sect of the Rastafari
Rastafari movement
The Rastafari movement or Rasta is a new religious movement that arose in the 1930s in Jamaica, which at the time was a country with a predominantly Christian culture where 98% of the people were the black descendants of slaves. Its adherents worship Haile Selassie I, Emperor of Ethiopia , as God...

 which began among the marginalized poor of Jamaica in the 1930s, when they ceased to copy the particular hair style of Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia
Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia
Haile Selassie I , born Tafari Makonnen, was Ethiopia's regent from 1916 to 1930 and Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974...

 and began to wear dreadlocks instead. It was said that the wearer lived a "dread" life or a life in which he feared God, which gave birth to the modern name 'dreadlocks' for this ancient style.

Many Rastafari attribute their dreadlocks as a dedication to Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia as well as the three Nazarite vows, in the Book of Numbers
Book of Numbers
The Book of Numbers is the fourth book of the Hebrew Bible, and the fourth of five books of the Jewish Torah/Pentateuch....

, the fourth of the books of the Pentateuch.

By culture

There are many reasons among various cultures for wearing locks. Locks can be an expression of deep religious or spiritual convictions, a manifestation of ethnic pride, a political statement, or be simply a fashion preference. In response to the derogatory history of the term dreadlocks, alternative names for the style include locks and African Locks.

Africa and the Western World; Caribbean, North and South America

The controversy of whether dreads came from African slaves or Hindu laborers can be debated only with those with no knowledge of the subject. A simple fact check is observing the many areas of the Caribbean where dreadlocks is overwhelming. Example; dreadlocks are not in abundance in Dominican Republic, Cuba nor Haiti, this is because of the cultural and ethnic make up of these areas, originally (of course current times are not in this debate since Caribbean culture is far more mixed than before). Dreadlocks are also not as abundant in the north east Caribbean. Instead it is abundant in 3 major regions; Jamaica, South eastern Caribbean (Trinidad, St Vincent, Barbados), and Guyana/Suriname (again dreadlocks can be found all over South America, and Caribbean, as of late, due to culture spreading and media of course). And these of course are the heaviest concentration of the arrival of east Indian laborers.

African slaves brought to South America, Caribbean, and of course America, did not arrive with the dreadlocks concept. This is apparent by the actual culture of how hair was worn upon arrival in the new world. This is also evident, in that no picture past mid 1800’s containing any African wearing a dreadlock style (approximate time of east Indian labor arrival). Rather Dreadlocks have exploded in the western world in the last 50 years. Since 90% of the root African population in North America is from the Caribbean (something not taught in Most North American classrooms of actual numbers of slaves directly brought from Africa to North America), and since the Caribbean culture has exploded in North America in the last 30 to 70 years, it is obvious the dreadlock culture has come from the Caribbean or its 1st stop was the Caribbean when reaching the west.

Since many people are not educated on the history of the Caribbean including those of Caribbean descent, there is a very unclear understanding of the culture, to which everything is considered West African origin, instead of the obvious mixed culture that presents itself in each island and or region. Due to the different make up of the people who have been part of each regions culture, many are unaware of the actual origin of dreadlocks, and other aspects of culture such as the variety of patois in the Caribbean. Therefore, many, especially of Jamaican origin are unaware, or do not accept how certain parts of the culture have found their way in the fabric of the culture. This is apparent by how Jamaican culture refers to the non African population of Jamaica as Jamaican Indian, or Spanish Jamaican, or Chinese Jamaican. While those in the ethnic group themselves consider themselves Jamaican before bothering looking at their forefather region of disbursement. On the other hand, Trinidad and Tobago citizens refer to themselves as Trinis 1st, and of course will clarify if mixed or not if needed. That is the difference in the strength or mindset of the culture.
With the widespread arrival of indentured laborers into the Caribbean in the mid 1800’s, the style of dread locks was born. This style was worn by those who followed a Sahdus or “hill coolie” lifestyle. Sahdus are considered the holy men of India (also those responsible for the Marijuana explosion). Many of indentured laborers from India are of aboriginal decent, and came from villages that mirrored those of aboriginal decent in South Africa, and Madagascar. This is apparent all throughout India, in all regions, and those who wear the style come from all backgrounds of genetics, from Negritos, Caucasoid, monagloid, and or course the mix of all 3, the average East Indian person. Since many east Indians in the western world have either had their history lost or themselves are preoccupied by western culture, they themselves are not aware of the roots of the Indian culture. The lifestyle or culture of Sahdus is the root of the Rasta movement. As the concept of being vegetarian, and wearing the hair in a way that one does not care how society views you are apparent. Both concepts believe that any creature that bleeds is a creation of the earth or god and is a sin. Smoking ganja is one of the most important trait to the lifestyle, as it is considered an herb from mother earth, and can take the mind to levels of supernatural being, if used correctively. They heavy influence of the East Indian laborers is overwhelmingly obvious in certain parts of the Caribbean (Jamaica, Guyana, Suriname, south east Caribbean; Trinidad, Barbados, st Vincent). The actual dialect of loan words from Hindi and west African dialect, the numerous curry and spiced dishes, and marijuana explosion (ganja in Jamaica, for the Ganges holy river, where the crop was taken to the Caribbean by Sahdus), and dreadlocks and facial hair. Ganja especially going hand in hand with the dreadlock culture in India, as it is a staple and one of the most popular crops all throughout India. Other aspects of Indian influence in the Caribbean would of course be the dance, music, infused in the music and dance style with the West African styles combined into one. Many fruits have also been transported from India to the Caribbean, such as sapodilla, and sweetsop or cherimoya. However there are other indigenous versions of sweetsop to the Caribbean.

Africans and people of African descent are known to wear this hairstyle. Members of various African ethnic groups wear locks and the styles and significance may change from one group to another. However this is most Likely a blend of the returning slaves from the west.

The Ashanti people and other related Akan
Akan people
The Akan people are an ethnic group found predominately in Ghana and The Ivory Coast. Akans are the majority in both of these countries and overall have a population of over 20 million people.The Akan speak Kwa languages-Origin and ethnogenesis:...

 groups of Ghana reserved dreadlocks for their spiritual leaders or okomfo . The co-founder of the Ashanti Empire
Ashanti Empire
The Ashanti Empire , also Asanteman was a West Africa state of the Ashanti people, the Akan people of the Ashanti Region, now in Ghana. The Ashanti or Asante are a major ethnic group in Ghana, a powerful, militaristic and highly disciplined people of West Africa...

, Okomfo Anokye
Okomfo Anokye
Okomfo Anokye was an Ashanti priest, statesman and lawgiver. He occupies a Merlin-like position in Ashanti history. A co-founder of the Empire of Ashanti in West Africa, he helped establish its constitution, laws, and customs....

 is believed to have worn dreadlocks. In modern Ghana, dreadlocks now have a negative connotation and are associated with spiritualism that is contrary to Christianity.

The warriors of the Maasai nation of Kenya are famous for their long, thin, red dreadlocks. Many people dye their hair red with root extracts or red ochre. In various cultures what are known as Fetish priests, sangoma
Sangoma
A sangoma is a practitioner of herbal medicine, divination and counselling in traditional Nguni societies of Southern Africa .The philosophy is based on a belief in ancestral spirits...

s, or shamans, spiritual men or women who serve and speak to spirits or deities, often wear locks. In Benin
Benin
Benin , officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It borders Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east and Burkina Faso and Niger to the north. Its small southern coastline on the Bight of Benin is where a majority of the population is located...

 the Yoruba priests of Olokun
Olokun
Olokun is an Orisha in Yoruba religion, associated with the sea. Olokun is therefore considered the patron Orisa of the descendants of Africans that were carried away during the Transatlantic Slave Trade or Middle Passage, sometimes referred to in the United States by African-Americans as the Maafa...

, the Orisha
Orisha
An Orisha is a spirit or deity that reflects one of the manifestations of Olodumare in the Yoruba spiritual or religious system....

 of the deep ocean, wear locks. The Himba
Himba
The Himba are an ethnic group of about 20,000 to 50,000 people living in northern Namibia, in the Kunene region . Recently they have built two villages in Kamanjab which have become tourist destinations...

 people in the southeast of Congo-Kinshasa also dye their locks red, but their style is thicker than that of the Maasai. Other groups include the Fang people of Gabon, the Mende
Mende people
The Mende people are one of the two largest and most dominant ethnic group in Sierra Leone, along with the Temne. The Mende make up 30% of Sierra Leone's total population or 1,932,015 members...

 of Sierra Leone, and the Turkana people
Turkana people
The Turkana are a Nilotic people native to the Turkana District in northwest Kenya, a dry and hot region bordering Lake Turkana in the east, Pokot, Rendille and Samburuto the south, Uganda to the west, and Sudan and Ethiopia to the north...

 of Kenya.

Throughout the diaspora, particularly in America, dreadlock styling and maintenance for Africans has grown and evolved to be increasingly stylistic. In the early 90's, Dr. JoAnne Cornwell launched a versatile hair care system that involved creating fine dreaded tresses called "Sisterlocks" or "Brotherlocks." The company Sisterlocks has promoted the spread of the techniques of sisterlocking since 1993.

Another interpretation among the Rastafari is that "dread" refers to the fear that dreadlocked Mau Mau warriors inspired among the colonial British. The Mau Mau, a largely ethnic Kikuyu rebel group in Kenya fighting to overthrow the state government of the British Colony and Protectorate of Kenya
Kenya Colony
The Colony and Protectorate of Kenya was part of the British Empire in Africa. It was established when the former East Africa Protectorate was transformed into a British crown colony in 1920...

 from 1952–1960, hid for many years in the forests, during which time their hair grew into long locks. The images of their rebellion, then broadcast around the world, are said to have inspired Jamaican Rastafari to wear locks.

Dreadlocks on a Rasta's head are symbolic of the Lion of Judah
Lion of Judah
The Lion of Judah was the symbol of the Israelite tribe of Judah in the Book of Genesis of the Hebrew Bible .-Lion of Judah and Judaism:...

 which is sometimes centered on the Ethiopian Flag. Rastas hold that Selassie is a direct descendant of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, through their son Menelik I. Rastas also believe African people are the descendants of the Israelites' Tribe of Judah
Tribe of Judah
According to the Hebrew Bible, the Tribe of Judah was one of the Tribes of Israel.Following the completion of the conquest of Canaan by the Israelite tribes after about 1200 BCE, Joshua allocated the land among the twelve tribes....

 through the lineage of Kings of Israel David
David
David was the second king of the united Kingdom of Israel according to the Hebrew Bible and, according to the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, an ancestor of Jesus Christ through both Saint Joseph and Mary...

 and Solomon, and that he is also the Lion of Judah mentioned in the Book of Revelation
Book of Revelation
The Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament. The title came into usage from the first word of the book in Koine Greek: apokalupsis, meaning "unveiling" or "revelation"...

.

Hinduism

Similarly, among some Sadhu
Sadhu
In Hinduism, sādhu denotes an ascetic, wandering monk. Although the vast majority of sādhus are yogīs, not all yogīs are sādhus. The sādhu is solely dedicated to achieving mokṣa , the fourth and final aśrama , through meditation and contemplation of brahman...

s and Sadhvis, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

n holy men and women, locks are sacred, considered to be a religious practice and an expression of their disregard for profane vanity, as well as a symbol of their spiritual understanding that physical appearances are unimportant. The public symbol of matted hair is re-created each time an individual goes through these unique experiences. In almost all myths about Shiva and his flowing locks, there is a continual interplay of extreme asceticism and virile potency, which link the elements of destruction and creation, whereas the full head of matted hair symbolizes the control of power.
Gangadhara Shiva captures and controls the river Ganges
Ganges River
The Ganges or Ganga, , is a trans-boundary river of India and Bangladesh. The river rises in the western Himalayas in the Indian state of Uttarakhand, and flows south and east through the Gangetic Plain of North India into Bangladesh, where it empties into the Bay of Bengal. By discharge it...

 with his locks, whose descent from the heavens would have deluged the world. The river is released through the locks of his hair, which prevents the river from destroying earth. As the Lord of Dance, Nataraja
Nataraja
Nataraja or Nataraj , The Lord of Dance; Tamil: கூத்தன் ;Telugu:నటరాజ is a depiction of the Hindu god Shiva as the cosmic dancer Koothan who performs his divine dance to destroy a weary universe and make preparations for god Brahma to start the process of creation...

, Shiva performs the tandava
Tandava
' or ', the divine art form, is a dance performed by the god Shiva, who is revered by Hindus. According to Hindu mythology, Shiva’s Tandava is a vigorous dance that is the source of the cycle of creation, preservation and dissolution...

, which is the dance in which the universe is created, maintained, and resolved. Shiva's long, matted tresses, usually piled up in a kind of pyramid, loosen during the dance and crash into the heavenly bodies, knocking them off course or destroying them utterly.

Locks in India are reserved nearly exclusively for holy people. According to the 'Hymn of the longhaired sage' in the ancient Vedas, long jatas express a spiritual significance which implies the wearer has special relations with spirits, is an immortal
Immortality
Immortality is the ability to live forever. It is unknown whether human physical immortality is an achievable condition. Biological forms have inherent limitations which may or may not be able to be overcome through medical interventions or engineering...

 traveler between two worlds and the master over fire
Fire
Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material in the chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products. Slower oxidative processes like rusting or digestion are not included by this definition....

:

The long-haired one endures fire, the long-haired one endures poison, the long-haired one endures both worlds. The long-haired one is said to gaze full on heaven, the long-haired one is said to be that light ... Of us, you mortals, only our bodies do you behold. ...For him has the Lord of life churned and pounded the unbendable, when the long-haired one, in Rudra’s company, drank from the poison cup (The Keshin Hymn, Rig-veda 10.136)


The Shaiva Nagas, ascetics of India, wear their jata (long hair) in a twisted knot or bundle on top of the head and let them down only for special occasions and rituals. The strands are then rubbed with ashes and cowdung, considered both sacred and purifying, then scented and adorned with flowers.

Buddhism

Within Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism is the body of Buddhist religious doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet and certain regions of the Himalayas, including northern Nepal, Bhutan, and India . It is the state religion of Bhutan...

 and other more esoteric forms of Buddhism, dreadlocks have occasionally been substituted for the more traditional
shaved head. The most recognizable of these groups are knowns as the Ngagpa
Ngagpa
In Tibetan Buddhism and Bon, a Ngakpa is a non-monastic practitioner of Vajrayana, shamanism, Tibetan medicine, Tantra and Dzogchen amongst other traditions, disciplines and arts....

s of Tibet. For many practicing Buddhists, dreadlocks are a way to let go of material vanity and excessive attachments.

Islam

A few Sufi groups such as the Qalandari sects do not cut or comb their hair, however it is unknown how this relates to their specific religious practices or Islamic thought. This leads to natural formation of dreadlocks. However, some of them will be very thick and others thin or untwisted because the actual making of dreadlocks and giving it a regular look is frowned upon. This process of dreadlock formation takes many years.

Western styles

When reggae music gained popularity and mainstream acceptance in the 1970s, the locks (often called “dreads”) became a notable fashion statement; they were worn by prominent authors, actors, athletes and rappers, and were even portrayed as part and parcel of gang culture in such movies as Marked for Death
Marked for Death
Marked for Death is a 1990 action film directed by Dwight H. Little. It stars Steven Seagal as John Hatcher, a former DEA troubleshooter. Upon moving back to his home town, Hatcher finds it taken over by a gang of vicious Jamaican drug dealers, led by Screwface.The film is widely considered by...

.

With the Rasta style
Rastafari movement
The Rastafari movement or Rasta is a new religious movement that arose in the 1930s in Jamaica, which at the time was a country with a predominantly Christian culture where 98% of the people were the black descendants of slaves. Its adherents worship Haile Selassie I, Emperor of Ethiopia , as God...

 in vogue, the fashion and beauty industries capitalized on the trend. A completely new line of hair care products and services in salons catered to a white clientele, offering all sorts of dreadlocks hair care items such as wax (considered unnecessary and even harmful by many), shampoo, and jewelry. Hairstylists created a wide variety of modified locks, including multi-colored synthetic lock hair extensions and "dread perms", where chemicals are used to treat the hair.

Locked models appeared at fashion shows, and Rasta clothing with a Jamaican-style reggae look was sold. Even exclusive fashion brands like Christian Dior
Christian Dior
Christian Dior , was a French fashion designer, best known as the founder of one of the world's top fashion houses, also called Christian Dior.-Life:...

 created whole Rasta-inspired collections worn by models with a variety of lock hairstyles.

In the West, dreadlocks have gained particular popularity among counterculture
Counterculture
Counterculture is a sociological term used to describe the values and norms of behavior of a cultural group, or subculture, that run counter to those of the social mainstream of the day, the cultural equivalent of political opposition. Counterculture can also be described as a group whose behavior...

 adherents such as hippies (from the 1990s onwards), crust punk
Crusties
Crusties is a term for members of an urban subculture, with roots in punk and grebo. The term pre-dates crust punk and can be used independently. The trend was most widespread in the UK in the late 1980s and early 1990s but there are also international subsets.-Background:Crusties are distinctive...

s, New Age travellers
New age travellers
New Age Travellers are groups of people who often espouse New Age or hippie beliefs and travel between music festivals and fairs in order to live in a community with others who hold similar beliefs. Their transport and homes consist of vans, lorries, buses, narrowboats and caravans converted into...

, and many members of the Rainbow Family
Rainbow Family
The Rainbow Family of Living Light is a loosely affiliated group of individuals committed to principles of non-violence and egalitarianism. They put on events known as Rainbow Gatherings....

. Many people from these two cultures wear dreadlocks for similar reasons, symbolizing a rejection of government-controlled, mass-merchandising culture. However many of the Rastafarian community see this as a form of imperialism and an appropriation of their Black Liberation and Pan-African ideology that re-invoked the use of dread locks to communicate the freedom struggles of people of color world wide. It was/is seen in the hyphy
Hyphy
The word hyphy is Conor Devlin's preferred short word meaning "hyperactive." It was created by Bay Area rapper Keak Da Sneak when he used the term on an album he recorded in 1994. From the USA Today article: "Every record label was getting at us at that time, but we fumbled the ball," says E-40,...

 and goth
Gothic fashion
Gothic fashion is a clothing style worn by members of the Goth subculture; a dark, sometimes morbid, eroticized fashion and style of dress. Typical Gothic fashion includes dyed black hair, black lips and black clothes. Both male and female goths wear dark eyeliner and dark fingernails. Styles are...

 scenes. Members of the cybergoth
Cybergoth
Cybergoth is a subculture that derives from elements of cyberpunk, goth, raver, and rivethead fashion. Unlike traditional goths, Cybergoths follow electronic dance music more often than rock.-History:...

 subculture also often wear blatantly artificial synthetic dreads
Synthetic dreads
Synthetic dreads, also called dread extensions, dread falls, and cyberlocks, are interlocked coils of synthetic hair, mostly kanekalon, that give the look and feel of natural dreadlocks without the commitment or maintenance...

 or "dreadfalls" made of synthetic hair, fabric or plastic tubing.

Since the rise of the popularity of dreadlocks, Blacks mostly in the Americas and the Caribbean have developed a large variety of ways to wear dreadlocked Afro-textured hair. Specific elements of these styles include the flat-twist, in which a section of locks are roll together flat against the scalp to create an effect similar to the cornrow
Cornrow
Cornrows, also known as braids, are a traditional African style of hair grooming where the hair is braided very close to the scalp, using an underhand, upward motion to produce a continuous, raised row...

, and braided dreadlocks. Examples include flat-twisted half-back styles, flat-twisted mohawk styles, braided buns and braid-outs (or lock crinkles). Social networking websites, web forums, web-logs and especially online video-logs like YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....

 have become popular methods for people with dreadlocks to transmit ideas, pictures and tutorials for innovative styles.

Methods of making dreadlocks

Traditionally, it was believed that in order to create dreadlocks, an individual had to refrain from using shampoos, brushing and/or combing. This method created dreadlocks that varied greatly in size, width, shape, length, and texture. The method has come to be known as "Organic," "Neglect," or "Patience". Similarly, "Freeform" dreadlocks are created by allowing the hair to knit together naturally into locks of varying sizes. However, freeform locks are patterned to a degree, as the hair is pried (not parted, just pulled apart in "chunks") into fairly determined sections after washing, as opposed to organic dreadlocks that tend to bifurcate and coalesce haphazardly.
A variety of other methods have been developed to offer greater control over the appearance and shampooing frequency of dreadlocks. Together, these alternate techniques are more commonly referred to as "salon" or "manicured" dreadlocks.

As with the organic and freeform method, the salon methods rely on one's hair matting over a period of months to gradually form dreadlocks. The difference, however, is in the initial technique by which loose hair is encouraged to form a rope-like shape. Whereas freeform dreadlocks can be created by simply refraining from combing one's hair and occasionally separating matted sections, salon dreadlocks use one of a variety of established hairstyles or tool techniques to form the basis of the dreadlocks.

Salon dreadlocks can be formed by evenly sectioning and styling the loose hair into braids, coils, twists, or using a procedure called dread perming
Dread perming
Dread perming is a chemical treatment that is used both by beauty salons and do-it-yourselfers to create or maintain dreadlocks. The hair is exposed to chemicals that render the hair frizzy...

 specifically used for straight hair. Backcombing, twist-and-rip, and twist-and-pin are also some of the more popular methods of achieving dreadlocks. The palm-rolling technique, involved in retwisting the roots of highly textured hair, is considered the foundation technique for lock maintenance. One can also utilize tool techniques such as interlocking, involving a latch-hook to draw the dreadlock through its un-matted root repeatedly in varying directions in order to manually and instantly weave the hairs at the base. The latch-hook is also used to create dreads in straight hair by drawing loose hairs into the body of section of hairs that have been teased together (either by back-combing or irregular plaiting) and maintaining loosened hairs from the resulting dreadlock the same way. Once installed, the dreads are groomed every few weeks, typically once a month using either natural or commercial products. Once the hair is styled into a defined pattern, the locking process occurs as the hairs begin to knot.

"Sisterlocks" and "brotherlocks" are a particular patented genus of dreadlocks that are created in Afro-textured hair that are installed in needle-thin twists to create very fine locks. "Sisterlocks" or "brotherlocks" are maintained exclusively by tightening the roots, or "new growth" with the latch-hook tool as the tension created by excessive twisting encourages locks to thin and potentially break off. Another method is the rub method which is best used on very short Afro-textured hair by washing the hair in circular motions going in the same direction and also drying the hair (with a towel or fibre cloth or sweater or sponge etc.) in circular motions going in the same direction. This will create tiny neatly parted coils around the head and will grow into small locks resembling sister-locks but with more of a circular coil-like diameter.

Regardless of hair type or texture and method used, dreadlocks require time before they are fully matured. The locking process is continuous as the hairs within the dreadlocks continue to form tighter and tighter knots and the un-matted hairs at the base of each lock continuously begin to follow the pattern of the more mature sections of the lock.

Guinness Book of World Records

On December 10, 2010, the Guinness Book of World Records rested its "longest dreadlocks" category after investigation of its first and only female title holder, Asha Mandela, with this official statement:

"Following a review of our guidelines for the longest dreadlock, we have taken expert advice and made the decision to rest this category. The reason for this is that it is difficult, and in many cases impossible, to measure the authenticity of the locks due to expert methods employed in the attachment of hair extensions/re-attachment of broken off dreadlocks. Effectively the dreadlock can become an extension and therefore impossible to adjudicate accurately. It is for this reason Guinness World Records has decided to rest the category and will no longer be monitoring the category for longest dreadlock."


See also

  • Sufism
    Sufism
    Sufism or ' is defined by its adherents as the inner, mystical dimension of Islam. A practitioner of this tradition is generally known as a '...

  • Hinduism
    Hinduism
    Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...

  • Rastafari movement
    Rastafari movement
    The Rastafari movement or Rasta is a new religious movement that arose in the 1930s in Jamaica, which at the time was a country with a predominantly Christian culture where 98% of the people were the black descendants of slaves. Its adherents worship Haile Selassie I, Emperor of Ethiopia , as God...

  • Sadhu
    Sadhu
    In Hinduism, sādhu denotes an ascetic, wandering monk. Although the vast majority of sādhus are yogīs, not all yogīs are sādhus. The sādhu is solely dedicated to achieving mokṣa , the fourth and final aśrama , through meditation and contemplation of brahman...

  • Cultural appropriation
    Cultural appropriation
    Cultural appropriation is the adoption of some specific elements of one culture by a different cultural group. It describes acculturation or assimilation, but can imply a negative view towards acculturation from a minority culture by a dominant culture. It can include the introduction of forms of...

  • Backcombing
    Backcombing
    Backcombing is a way of combing hair which is used to create volume as well as to create certain hairstyles. Backcombing means repeatedly combing the hair towards the scalp, causing the hair to tangle and knot up...

  • Polish plait
    Polish plait
    Polish plait is a formation of hair. It can be viewed as a hairstyle similar to dreadlocks or a hair disease.-As a disease:...

  • Afro-textured hair
  • Cyberlocks
  • Komondor
    Komondor
    The Komondor is a large, white-colored Hungarian breed of livestock guardian dog with a long, corded coat....

    , Puli
    Puli
    The Puli is a medium-big breed of Hungarian herding and livestock guarding dog known for its long, corded coat. The tight curls of the coat, similar to dreadlocks, make it virtually waterproof. A similar looking, but much larger Hungarian dog breed is called Komondor.- Appearance :The Puli is a...

    , and Bergamasco Shepherd — dog breeds with dreadlocks
  • Hairstyle
    Hairstyle
    A hairstyle, hairdo, or haircut refers to the styling of hair, usually on the human head. The fashioning of hair can be considered an aspect of personal grooming, fashion, and cosmetics, although practical, cultural, and popular considerations also influence some hairstyles.-History of...


External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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