The practice of locking ones’ hair allows it to reach extraordinary lengths in long coils. Some Rastafarians have hair so long that it extends past their waistlines. We know that the average strand of hair can only grow for a maximum of five or six years. However, many people do not understand that dreadlocks are mostly dead hair. Once the hair is locked into the traditional coils, the hairs that die daily cannot fall out of the locked coil. Even though this dead hair can be groomed and maintained, it is just as dead as the hairs that you find in your brush or comb.
Rastafarians do not cut their hair, so the weight of dreadlocks can put enough tension on the scalp to cause traction alopecia. It will often go unnoticed until an entire lock separates from the scalp and leaves a bald spot. The dreadlocks hairstyle that is associated with the Rastafarian political and religious movement has its roots in an unlikely place – Ethiopia.
Haile Selassie lived from 1892 to 1975. During this time, various political strategies to liberate European colonies developed throughout the African Diaspora, including the Caribbean. Haile Selassie, himself, claimed royal lineage that he traced back to King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, both of great importance to Judaism and Christianity. Even before he became emperor, Selassie often called himself “The Lion of Judah.” His birth name was Tafari Mekonnen. Ras, which simply means prince or ruler, was added later.
Jamaica, a British possession, was a hotbed of political agitation against colonialism and imperialism. When Haile Selassie ascended to the throne in 1930, Marcus Garvey and other notable Jamaican political activists saw the opportunity to inspire and embolden the international Pan-Africanist movement. They helped the biblical prophecy of the second coming of God to quickly gain credence in the Caribbean. Soon, Haile Selassie was being referred to by some Jamaicans as the reincarnated son of God and the designated savior of Africans throughout the Diaspora. The Rastafarian religion was born from this mix of philosophical and political views.
Selassie continues to be revered as the titular head of the Rastafarian religion, even though he was never photographed with any hairstyle that remotely resembled dreadlocks. The Rastafarian rationale for locking ones hair comes from another biblical story – Samson and Delilah.