The True Natty Dread

A number of years ago my mother became a Rastafarian. I remembered going to the hairdressers with her to get her long permed hair wrapped up into a tight beehive. I thought she looked so sheek and professional in her business suit when she came to pick me up from school. It's funny because I don't really remember the moment when the dreadlocks began to appear but now you can't help but notice how dramatically they fall from her head. I can't say I was shocked by this image of red-brown locks sprouting from my mother's head because I had uncles with heavy matted locks that if unfurled would swing way past the waist, and as a Jamaican, I suppose it was a way for her to reconnect to her roots.

Ras-ta-fari

I soon began to realise that this move to lock her hair was an attempt to connect more deeply with God, the Creator, Jah. Locking her hair and allowing it to grow magnificently in length and strength freed her from the primping and superficiality that had previously governed her life. She found it easier to concentrate on her spirit, her purpose in life and the very essence of her being. 

In today's Westernised culture dreadlocks inspire their very namesake - dread. It is a known fact that people with dreadlocks who apply for corporate jobs are either denied or requested to cut off their locks despite their level of expertise. People with locked hair are often regarded as dirty, unprofessional and rastafarian - which of course are all prejudices.

The term dreadlocks originated in Jamaica amongst a group of black people that during a period of great upheaval and racism began to turn to the Emperor (Ras ta fari) of Ethiopia Haile Selassie I who had successfully defeated the Italians from invasion. Rastafarians believe Haile Selassie I to be the direct decendent of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba (Ethiopia) and so their inspiration is one of religion. They carved out a niche for black Jamaicans who wanted to remain in touch with their spirituality and refrain from conforming to a predominantly European way of life. The term dreadlocks refers to a 'fear of the Lord' thus sustaining a reverance for good morals and religion. True rastafarians are some of the most spiritual people you could ever meet.

Awakening of the spirit

Jamaicans are not the only people to adopt this hairstyle, and they certainly weren't the first. Neither are locks restricted to people of African descent, as you can see in the picture below.

Hindu mystics (Sadhus)

 

Throughout history locks have been found to adorn many different cultures and in particular those of a religious or spiritual disposition. It is generally believed that the adornment of locks arose from ancient Africa. Many Egyptian paintings and sculptures are depicted with men and women wearing locks. Other notable peoples are the Masai tribe in Kenya, Shiva worshippers in India, Sufis in Pakistan, Aztec priests and the Nazarites of Judaism where it states in the Bible in the book of Numbers:

'And the Lord spake unto Moses saying,...When either man or woman shall separate themselves unto the Lord:...All the days of the vow of his separation there shall be no razor come upon his head...he shall be holy, and shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow.'

Samson in the biblical story of Samson and Delilah gains his strength from his hair and is said to have lost it after cutting off some of his locks. It is also interesting to note that the locked hair of the Na'ki tribe in the 2009 film Avatar is used to connect with creatures and the environment on a clearly spiritual level.

I am not my hair

It is no coincidence that many people with locks are creative and spiritual beings. Following are just some examples:

Lenny Kravitz singer/songwriter/actor

Goapele singer/songwriter

Bob Marley singer/songwriter

Alice Walker author/activist

Jean Michel Basquiat artist

It seems that throughout history hair has been used as a means to express oneself and connect with the Inner Spirit, where true creativity lies. We women are bombarded with vast images of the latest hairstyle. Hair and beauty shops are located on every corner in black neighbourhoods. We can wear our own hair or someone elses. And we profess at the tops of our lungs "I am not my hair." And yes, that's true, but when was the last time you run your fingers through your natural hair and rejoiced? When was the last time that you judged someone because of their hair - determining it was bad because it was kinky or good because it was long and wavy?

I challenge all women everywhere to consider their attitude to the hair that grows from the crown of their head. Ancient mystics viewed their hair with reverence and sacredness.

Do you?