SpliFF
Lifestyle
The History Of Dreadlocks
by: Bouneith Inejnema Naba
Many times I have heard friends admit to me that, because they have dreadlocks, they have been approached in the street by someone who wanted to sell them marijuana. The sellers approached these individuals solely because they had dreadlocked hair; none of the individuals used drugs or associated with
those who do use. Dreadlocks have become so much associated with Rastafarian culture, which is, in
turn, associated with smoking ganga, that few people know the real roots and history of dreadlocked hair.
What are the traditional origins and meanings of dreadlocks?
New-generation Rastafarians will tell you that the culture of locked hair came, originally, from Africa , but
any knowledge beyond the continent that locks came from is unknown. Where old-generation Rastafarians
hold great pride in their natural hair and see it as a symbol of their fight against Babylon, non-violence,
non-conformity, communalism and solidarity, and as a heavy spiritual statement, many new-generation
Rastas see their dreads as a passport to smoking ganga and listening to Reggae music, not understanding
the real Rastafarian culture and values.
Where Rastafarians once shunned everything from Babylon , such as soda, alcohol and cigarettes, modern
Rastas are often seen smoking, wearing designer clothing, eating meat and drinking beer. Wearing your
hair naturally has become more of a status symbol than a spiritual decision, and people begin locking their
hair so that they are seen as conscious, afrocentric, or different, rather than for hones B7