about dreadlocks

Dreadlocks
The first known examples of dreadlocks date back to Africa. In ancient dynastic Egypt examples of Egyptians wearing locked hairstyles and wigs have appeared on bas-reliefs, statuary and other artifacts. Mummified remains of ancient Egyptians with locks, as well as locked wigs, have also been recovered from archaeological sites. Mostly worn by Jamaican/African/Black people but occasionally Caucasian people.

The Hindu deity Shiva and his followers were described in the scriptures as wearing "jaTaa", meaning "twisted locks of hair", probably derived from the Dravidian word "caTai", which means to twist or to wrap. The Greeks the Pacific Ocean peoples, the Naga people and several ascetic groups within various major religions have at times worn their hair in locks, including the monks of the Ethiopian Coptic Church, the Nazi rites of Judaism, the Sadhus of Hinduism, and the Dervishes of Islam among others. The very earliest Christians also may have worn this hairstyle. Particularly noteworthy are descriptions of James the Just, first Bishop of Jerusalem, who wore them to his ankles.
Pre-Columbian Aztec priests were described in Aztec codices (including the Duran Codex, the Codex Tudela and the Codex Mendoza) as wearing their hair untouched, allowing it to grow long and matted.
In Senegal, the Baye Fall, followers of the Mouride movement, a sect of Islam indigenous to the country which was founded in 1887 by Shaykl Aamadu Bàmba Mbàkke, are famous for growing locks and wearing multi-colored gowns. Cheikh Ibra Fall, founder of the Baye Fall School of the Mouride Brotherhood, claims that he was "the first dread in West Africa".

In Jamaica the term dreadlocks was first recorded in the 1950s as a term for the "Young Black Faith", an early sect of the Rastafari which began among the marginalized poor of Jamaica in the 1930s, when they ceased to copy the particular hair style of Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia and began to wear dreadlocks instead.[citation needed It was said that the wearer lived a "dread" life or a life in which he feared God, which gave birth to the modern name 'dreadlocks' for this ancient style.[citation needed
Most Rastafari still attribute their dreadlocks to Selassie as well as the three Nazarite vows, in the Book of Number, the fourth of the books of the Pentateuch.[citation needed]
All the days of the vow of his separation there shall no razor come upon his head: until the days be fulfilled, in the which he separateth himself unto the LORD, he shall be holy, and shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow. (Numbers 6:5, KJV)
Nazarites for life who wore locks and were mentioned in the Bible include the Nazarites Samuel, John the Baptist, and probably the most famous biblical figure with locked hair, Samson, who, according to scripture, had seven locks and lost his great
Strength when they were cut.



The black is for Africa. The red is for the blood of all living things in the world. The gold is for all of the treasures in the world that people cherish. The green is for the earth that people walk on, to which Rasta’s feel a special connection. These colors represent the Rastafari way of life. They were often proudly displayed by Bob Marley, one of the leading people in the Rastafarian movement.




Rastafari: Also known (improperly) as "Rastafarianism", the Rasta movement emerged in Jamaica among working-class and peasant black people in the early 1930s, arising from an interpretation of Biblical prophecy. Rasta’s see themselves as conforming to a vision of how Africans should live, reclaiming what they see as a culture stolen from them when they were brought on slave ships to Jamaica, birthplace of the movement.


The Rasta movement accepts Haile Selassie I, the former emperor of Ethiopia, as Jah. This is the Rastafari name for God incarnate, taken from a shortened form of Jehovah found in Psalms, and part of the Holy Trinity as the messiah promised to return in the Bible.

Rasta, or the Rastafari movement, is a new-religious movement that accepts Haile Selassie I, the former emperor of Ethiopia, as Jah (the Rastafari name for God incarnate, from a shortened form of Jehovah found in Psalms 68:4 in the King James Version of the Bible), and part of the Holy Trinity as the messiah promised to return in the Bible. The name Rastafari comes from Ras (Duke) Tafari Makonnen, the pre-coronation name of Haile Selassie I.



The movement emerged in Jamaica among working-class and peasant black people in the early 1930s, arising from an interpretation of Biblical prophecy based on Ras Tafari Makonnen having been the only African king in the world, and his titles of King of Kings, Lord of Lords and Conquering Lion of Judah. Other factors leading to its rise included black social and political aspirations, and the teachings of their prophet, Jamaican black publicist and organiser Marcus Garvey, whose political and cultural vision helped inspire a new world view. The movement is sometimes called "Rastafarianism"; however, this is considered improper and offensive by Rasta’s.

The Rastafari movement has spread throughout much of the world, largely through immigration and interest generated by Nyahbinghi and reggae music—most notably, that of Bob Marley, who was baptised Berhane Selassie (Light of the Trinity) by the Ethiopian Orthodox Church before his death, a step also taken later by his widow Rita. By 2000, there were more than one million Rastafari worldwide. About five to ten percent of Jamaicans identify themselves as Rastafari. Most Rastafarians are vegetarian, or only eat limited types of meat, living by the dietary Laws of Leviticus and Deuteronomy in the Old Testament.
I got this from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dreadlocks