The History of Dreadlocks
The History of Dreadlocks BY VIC D Left to its own devices, hair will naturally knot together and form mats or "dreadlocks". Upon seeing Dreadlocks, most people think of Bob Marley, reggae, and Rastafarianism, unaware that the roots of Dreadlocks go back much further, to at least 2500 BCE with the Dreadlocked Vedic deity Shiva and his followers. Dreadlocks are a universal phenomenon in the East as well as in the West. Spiritualists of all faiths and backgrounds incorporate into their paths a disregard for physical appearances and vanity. And so, throughout the world, such seekers often cease to comb, cut, or otherwise dress their hair: This is how "dreadlocks" are born. In the West, the Nazarite is most widely known for developing Dreadlocks. In the East, Yogis, Gyanis, and Tapasvis of all sects are the most famous bearers of Dreadlocks. Dreadlocks, then, are universally symbolic of a spiritualist's understanding that vanity and physical appearan...