Dreadlocks

Dreadlocks, sometimes called simply dreads, are twisted ropes of hair which will form by themselves if the hair is allowed to grow naturally without the use of brushes, combs, razors or scissors for a long period of time and knots and mats into distinctive locks. Dreadlocks are a universal phenomenon and through the ages, people of various cultures have worn dreadlocks. It may be said to be one of the oldest hairstyles, as dreads develop naturally over time.

Meaning and popularity

There are many reasons for wearing dreadlocks. For some, dreadlocks are merely a fashion. Especially the rise in popularity of reggae music in the 1980s and the worldwide fame of singer and songwriter Bob Marley prompted an interest in the distinctive hairstyle.

Related Topics:
Fashion - Reggae - Bob Marley

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Among the Rastafarians and Sadhus, Indian holy men, dreadlocks are sacred and their formation a religious ritual. Among certain peoples in India and others, dreadlocks are an expression of their disregard for profane vanity and a manifestation of a spiritual understanding that physical appearances are unimportant. To a large degree, dreadlocks are a style in India reserved near-exclusively for holy men, expressing a spiritual significance which implies the wearer has risen above a desire for society at large to think favourably of their appearance.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

For the Rastafaridhus, the term "dread" refers to a "fear of the Lord", expressed in part as alienation from the perceived decadence and other evils of contemporary society. The anti-establishment philosophy of Rastafari, echoed in much of the reggae of the time, had a particular resonance for left-leaning youth of all ethnicities — especially and primarily among African-Americans and other blacks, but among counterculture whites as well. It is among these groups that dreadlocks have become most popular.

Related Topics:
Left - African-Americans - Blacks - Counterculture - Whites

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Like the afro, locks also can have political implications. For some peoples of African descent, locks are a statement of racial or ethnic pride. Some see them as a repudiation of Eurocentric values represented by straightened hairstyles, which mimic Caucasian hair, and as an affirmation of black physical beauty. Still others wear dreads as a manifestation of their black nationalist or pan-Africanist political beliefs and view locks as symbolic of black unity and a rejection of oppression, racism and imperialism. While most Rastafari sects welcome all ethnicities, some black nationalists who attach strong racial and political meaning to dreads look upon nonblacks who adopt the style with disfavor, viewing such practice as a form of cultural appropriation regardless of the history of dreadlocks attributing the hairstyle to almost all racial and ethnic groups.

Related Topics:
Afro - Eurocentric - Black nationalist - Pan-Africanist - Racism - Imperialism - Cultural appropriation

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Dreadlocks also have become a common hairstyle in predominantly white youth counterculture, for example amongst groups such as the "anti-globalisation" movement and environmental activists (such as Swampy, well-known in the 1990s). One issue of SchNEWS, an English environmental action newsletter, described the coming together of striking dockworkers and green protestors as "Docks and dreadlocks come together". http://www.schnews.org.uk/archive/news93.htm Some people also describe them as "neo-hippies." Other Caucasian persons have cited reasons for adopting dreadlocks to include Celtic or Viking tribal identity, anti-establishment politics and "spiritual reasons." While it's most likely true that most whites (especially those in the Gothic subculture, who have popularised the used of "dread falls", an often synthetic tie-in hairpiece made to mimic dreadlocks, among white people) adopt the style for fashion, it should not be assumed that is the only reason.

Related Topics:
Anti-globalisation - Swampy - SchNEWS - English - Green - Neo-hippies - Caucasian - Celtic - Viking - Spiritual - Gothic subculture - Synthetic

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

?

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~