020822: Here is an excerpt from the chapter Dreadlocks

Following Wikipedia’s description of Dreadlocks, they are described as rope-like strands of hair formed by locking or braiding hair. Dreadlocks are also described as locks, dreads, or in Sanskrit, Jaṭā. The first known examples of dreadlocks are from the Minoan Civilization dating from 1600-1500 BCE. Minoan Civilization is one of the earliest European Civilizations, centered in Crete (part of present-day Greece). Frescoes found on the Aegean Island of Thera depict individuals with long dreadlocks.

Moreover, in ancient Egypt, bas-reliefs, and statuaries of individuals wearing dreadlocks have been discovered. These and other accounts, such as during the Bronze Age and Iron Age, indicate the long-standing existence of dreadlocks as part of human existence. They have been a symbol of spirituality, solidarity in resistance movements, a symbol of wisdom among the old, and a show of identity among individuals. Its symbol as a show of identity among individuals will be our primary focus in this section of Dreadlocks.

Locked hair is a natural result when letting it grow and leaving it uncombed, as the comb and scissors were later inventions. Probably early humans might have had dreadlocks. The described ‘individuals’ in this section are Rastas. In Rastafari, the wearing of dreadlocks is a spiritual expression of the livity of the individual. In context, wearing dreadlocks to a Rasta is his understanding of the self and expressing it through locking their hair. In a TV interview in Australia, Nesta Marley described that Dreadlocks are a sign of identification with a Rasta. With dreadlocks is how you differentiate a Rasta from the rest. In another context, Bunny Wailer, when asked why he wears dreadlocks, talks of the Nazarite Vow.

NAZARITE VOW

A Nazirite or Nazarite in the Hebrew Bible voluntarily took the vow described in Numbers 6:1–21. The term "Nazarite" is derived from the Hebrew word nazir, which means "consecrated" or "separated." By Rastafari, dreadlocks are a symbol of dedication and separation. Dedication to the Most High, as will be expounded, and separation from the system; Babylon system. This separation from the rest of society is observed by a rastaman's way of life as it pertains to his understanding of ital. The symbol of separation will be elaborated on more clearly later in this chapter.

Those who take a Nazirite vow add a degree of holiness to themselves, as it says: "Until the time is completed,..., he shall be holy." This vow requires the individual to observe the following rules:

i. Abstain from all wine and anything else made from the grapevine plant, such as cream of tartar, grape seed oil, etc.

ii. Allow the locks of hair on one's head to grow rather than cutting the hair on one's head.

iii. It is forbidden to come into touch with corpses or graves, even those of family members, to become ritually unclean.

The tradition of the Nazirite vow has impacted Rastafari, and components of the vow have been incorporated. Rastafari refers to Samson's Nazirite vow while defining their essence of not cutting their hair. One of the tenets of the Rastafari vow is to refrain from cutting one's hair. Hence is inspired by Leviticus 21:5, which states, " They shall not make baldness upon their head, neither shall they shave off the corner of their beard, nor make any cuttings in their flesh." The Rastafarian's dreadlocks are a tangible manifestation of this promise. As evidenced by biblical context, Samson is described as having taken the Nazirite vow and having seven locks on his head.

When accepting the Nazarite Vow, one becomes a Nazarene hence separated from the world but living closer to JAH. Hair naturally locks when it is not trimmed and combed. Therefore dreadlocks must have been a pretty standard hairstyle in Biblical times. As a result, the Ancients must have resembled Rastas today, and a black, locked, and bearded Christ is a more realistic image than the more well-known (white) Jesus. Some rastas argue that their dreadlocks mark a covenant made with Jah and reflect their commitment to their livity in living ‘natural.’

Taking context from the Nazirite Vow, dreadlocks in Rastafari is a response to ascribing to this vow. The vow has a Christian-Jewish background, leaning towards Rastafari as a religion taking context from the Bible. The Christian-Jewish background, in my opinion, is a downside. The self-actualization that Rastafari is meant to fulfill becomes clouded in Religious Rules and Dogmas. It is essential to understand Rastafari because there was no religious context supporting its validity at the beginning of the movement’s conception. Leonard Howell responded to colonialism and slavery in his book ‘The Promised Key,’ a 1935 Rastafari movement tract written under Howell's Hindu pen name G. G. Maragh. He describes His Majesty as the Black Man's king.

By dreadlocks being a means of rastas visually demarcating themselves from non-Rastas, men will often grow long beards and prefer to wear African clothing styles, such as earth-toned apparel, rather than styles that originated in Western countries.

Years later, after the founding of the movement in the early 1930s, following the coronation of His Majesty, followers of Howell would get more assertive inspiration to grow out their hair as a sign of rebellion against the Britons who ruled Jamaica. This inspiration would come from 12,500 KM away, deep in the White Highlands of Colonial Kenya. A political nationalistic struggle had turned into a militant one that would lead to an outbreak of war and violence, compelling the colonial government to ask for reinforcements which came in the form of the British Army.

‘MAU MAU’ AND DREADLOCKS

The Mau Mau was a militant wing of a growing clamor for political representation and freedom in Kenya. It was dominated by Kenya's Kikuyu, Meru, and Embu people. It was fighting against the white European colonist settlers in Kenya. The land they fought from the settlers was/is one of the most fertile and is along the slopes of Mt. Kenya. In addition, the mountain, previously described as Kirima Kĩrĩ Nyaga in Kikuyu, is sacred among the natives; hence, the surrounding land is holy. With this, the Mau Mau had grounds from which they intended to fight for their ancestral lands.

The Mau Mau became independent warriors in British imperialism's harsh treatment. British government officials exploited the international press to depict the independence fighters as aggressors. Though the name remained, according to Robert B. Edgerton in his book 'Mau Mau African Crucible,' the name of Mau Mau was coined through mispronunciation by Kenyan police who heard members referring to themselves. As 'Umm Umm.' However, this is inaccurate. What the police heard were children signaling the fighters that danger was coming by proclaiming in the Gikuyu language, “Uma Uma,” roughly translating leave. In addition, the name ‘Mau Mau’ does not exist in the Gikuyu nor Swahili language. It can be duly confirmed that the name was somewhat made-up by the British, especially the settlers, to suppress any nationalism emerging among the people.

The frigid wilderness was not conducive to washing, and the Mau Mau were filthy, their hair plaited into spikes that jutted out in all directions to make it easier to kill the lice that plagued them. [Edgerton, 1989]. The Mau Mau's dreadlock hairstyle was worn for survival reasons while engaged in violent guerrilla warfare against British-funded troops K.A.R (Kings African Rifles) who utilized savage brutality to subjugate the Mau Mau. Since they primarily operated from the Aberdare Forest, they did not cut their hair, thus letting it grow out and twist into dreads. Dreadlocks thus became a way to identify themselves while in the forest in addition to other tactics. The militants that operated within the city, of Nairobi did not grow their hair as this would have blown their cover. It then left those fighting in the forest to have dreadlocks.

Though the history of the name "dreadlocks" is unclear, various authors have speculated that the "dread" component could refer to the reaction of British soldiers upon encountering Mau Mau fighters.

Followers of Leonard Howell found great pride in the news clippings they received of the Mau Mau resistance and saw dreadlocks as a symbol of anti-colonialist demonstration of self-love and self-acceptance while responding to slavery, in this case, serfdom in Kenya. The rastas in the Caribbean islands, having been persecuted by their colonialists, instilled the livity of dreadlocks as a sign of liberation and freedom. They served as an inspiration to some rastas as they were experiencing the same foe, the European invaders.

AFRICAN AND ASIATIC ORIGINS

Historians credit Indian indentured slaves for bringing renowned curry and marijuana to Jamaica and the rituals of Indian shamans known as Sadhus. In Hinduism and Jainism, a sadhu is a religious ascetic, mendicant, or saintly person who renounces worldly life. For hundreds of years, sadhus have existed in India, eschewing material belongings, keeping their hair in dreadlocks, and regularly smoking vast amounts of marijuana. Marijuana improves their awareness within the unconscious environment they were compelled to dwell in. In a later section, we will identify how the marijuana that the Indians brought into Jamaica influenced Rastafari livity and became one of the principal tenets of the rastaman’s way of life. As all sadhus have a common goal: attaining moksha (liberation), this intertwines with the Rasta man’s yearning to achieve Self-Actualization and Liberation of the Soul from the evils of Babylon. Vairagya is required for a person to become a sadhu. Vairagya desires to accomplish something by leaving the world (cutting familial, societal, and earthly attachments). This coincides with the Rastafari Livity of leaving the urban and setting up home in the mountains and countryside where the land is fertile, getting him closer to nature and its environs. This exclusion from the rest of society instills a sense of respect for flora and fauna, allowing him to be in tune with the self and his surroundings.

Locks have occasionally been substituted for the more typical shaven head in Tibetan Buddhism and other more esoteric types of Buddhism. The most well-known of these groups is the Ngagpas of Tibet. A Ngagpa receives a skra dbang, hair empowerment, that empowers one's hair as the home of the dakinis and therefore should never be cut. For Buddhists of certain sects and levels of initiation, their locks of hair are not only a sign of their vows but also an embodiment of the specific abilities they have vowed to wield. According to Hevajra Tantra 1.4.15, the practitioner of specific rituals "should arrange his piled-up hair" as part of the ceremonial etiquette.

In Kenya, the Maasai warriors are known for their long, thin, red dreadlocks, dyed with red root extracts or red ochre. In this context, it is used as a cultural appropriation tool. In Senegal, the Baye Fall, members of the Mouride movement, a Sufi order of Islam founded in 1887 AD by Shaykh Aamadu Bàmba Mbàkke, are known for wearing multi-colored robes and growing dreadlocks. Moreover, they do not wear shoes and hence walk bare feet. This, in particular, we will identify was adapted by certain Rastas as part of their understanding of Ital, especially those who went to live in the hills to experience the livity. Most notably is the Renowned Jamaican Poet Mutabaruka. The Mouride Brotherhood's Baye Fall School founder, Cheikh Ibra Fall popularized the style by infusing it with mysterious elements. The popularity of dreadlocks and marijuana among the Baye Faal may have been spread mainly through access to Rasta-influenced reggae in 1970. For millennia, warriors among the Fulani, Wolof, and Serer in Mauritania, and Mandinka in Mali, have worn cornrows while young and dreadlocks when elderly.

Deep in the Ethiopian hills, there are hermits, in a more respectful term, monks, called Bahitawis, who wear locks and live in complete isolation in caves, and many never leave them. They grow out their hair hence forming dreadlocks, and also they do not cut their nails. This demonstrates that they are not concerned with their bodies but their spirits. It is a culmination of the spiritual journey and purification of the soul rather than the physical body. They devote their lives to living in complete solitude, away from human contact; hence they do not seek spiritual heights for themselves but sacrifice their lives for the benefit of others. This, in particular, was adopted by the earlier Rastas who moved to live in the mountains of Jamaica. The Bible would describe Bahitawis as Nazarites; this term has been duly explained.

As we will conclude, it will be more than clear that Rastafari inspirations and adaptations are more leaned on spirituality than religion.