Rastafarian Dreadlocks
Rastafarian dreadlocks come straight from Africa...but the idea is straight from the bible!
Rastafarians believe that, just like Samson the Nazarite, a man's strength is in the length of the hair.
...and, if he cuts it, he is giving away his strength. So based upon this, they adopted the Nazarite principle written in the book of Leviticus.
Check it out! Grab a bible and read it for yourself: Leviticus 21:5 - "They shall not make baldness upon their head, neither shall they shave off the corner of their beard..."
...a little bit of dreadlocks history
Dreadlocks actually originated in Africa with the Masai tribes in Kenya.
Jamaicans started to wear it right after emancipation from slavery...and the rastafarians adopted it as one of their foundational principles in the 1930's.
Since then, dreadlocks took off and never looked back!
All of it! Rastafarian dreadlocks take a long time to grow...and the 'real' rastas don't spend a whole lot of time grooming it.
All they do is wash it, keep it clean and let it grow all by itself.
Not everyone who grow rastafarian dreadlocks are committed to the Rastafarian religion.
'Nuff' people grow it as a hair style...they twist it, and turn it, and groom it to make it look good...
...but the 'real' down-to-earth rastafarians do no such thing. They just allow it to take its natural course...cause they believe that if you mess with it you mess with the strength.
Remember now, for them It's a religion, and a culture, that's sacred to the core.
...back to the growing...
At first when you start to grow your dreads, it will look very thin but as time go on, it gets really thick.
depending of course on if and how you groom it.
The thickness actually come from live hair combining with shredded hair...all locked up together to give you these large looking "dreads."
The best kind of hair to grow dreadlocks is African 'kinky' hair...but if you have 'good' hair, it will look good 'Pon' you.
...especially if have a little curl to your hair or a little 'mix-up, mix-up.' or 'cooly' as we call it in Jamaica.
Do you have to grow dreadlocks to be a rastafarian?
To be a 100% rastafarian, yes! But, not all rastafarians are 100%...meaning they don't follow all the rules.
But think about it...
What would you look like if you tell someone you are rastafarian and you don't have the dreads or at least trying to grow it?
Ridiculous!...that's how you would look.
So, yes you have to grow the dreads because it is one of the symbol of your commitment.
Where do Rastafarians get their Tams?In case you wondering what a tam is...it is the hat that rastafarians wear to cover that constantly growing dreads.
Some of them knit their own, other buy it from vendors committed to making them...but, almost everyone true rastafarian wear a 'tam' over his or her dreads.
Why? Because the tam can stretch!
No matter how long your dreads are, you can always find a tam to fit it.
Where can you buy them? I will get back to that later an give you some sources.
For now just hang tight.
Wow! When I look around today, mon! I see some cool dreads. Bhoy, human being really know how 'fe' take a simple thing like dreadlocks and make it look good.
I kinda feel proud seeing most of everybody wearing them knowing that they were made popular by the rastafarians of Jamaica.
One thing though, it doesn't look good 'pon' everybody. So as you grow it, make sure you look in the mirror and guide the growth the way you want it...if looks is what you're seeking!
If you don't care about looks...just let it grow!...but wash it!
...and by the way, if you don't wash it, it will smell and itch like crazy, so make sure you keep it groomed.
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