You must have wondered where dreadlock came from. If it’s the Rastafarians in Jamaica or something that just came up on its own.
Here’s a quick history into the origins of dreadlock
Dreadlocks as a term is actually put together by two words – dread and locks. Even though dreads have been around for a long time, it’s quite likely that the term dreadlocks first came up in connection with the religious Rastafari movement.
For the Rastafari, this hairstyle is an important religious symbol and connects the wearer with their God Jah, representing deep respect for the deity. Due to British colonialization, the language of the Rastafari was deeply influenced by the English language and over time the term dreadlocks was coined.
Dreadlocks ultimately simply mean ‘felted hair’. Rastas and braids on the other hand are actually braided hairstyles whilst locks need months of work and felting before they are finished. The traditional approach is to simply let the hair grow out, not combing it over many months and allowing the felting to happen naturally.
When done professionally, the dread stylist actually only lays the groundwork for the locks which will then still need a while to felt properly until a lock is completely felted and finished.
Origins
It’s quite unlikely that there’s any historic record to be found of the very first dreadlocks. However, it can be assumed that prehistoric humans didn’t have combs – or maybe that using combs wouldn’t be one of their highest priorities.
Seeing as how many hair types naturally start to felt after a certain amount of time, it’s quite likely that natural dreadlocks are actually one of the oldest hairstyles in human history.
The first known records connect the hairstyle to spiritual and religious traditions. No matter if in stories that lived through the centuries or in religious writings, dreadlocks can be found all over the world and often played an important role in religion.
The hair was worn by Ancient Christian Ascetics in the Middle East and the Mediterranean, and the Dervishes of Islam, among others. Some of the very earliest adherents of Christianity in the Middle East may have worn this hairstyle; there are descriptions of James the Just, first Bishop of Jerusalem, who is said to have worn them to his ankles.
Pre-Columbian Aztec priests were described in Aztec codices (including the Durán Codex, the Codex Tudela, and the Codex Mendoza) as wearing their hair untouched, allowing it to grow long and matted.
Dreadlocks today is now very popular for varied reasons. While some of them are worn based on spiritual purposes others wear it simply because they love the look!
For whatever reason you are keeping your dread, it is very important to keep it healthy at all times.
