What do you know about the history of dreads or locs?
The term ‘Dreadlocks’ has an interesting history which most notably stems from a group of courageous East African warriors and holy and powerful Rastafarians in Jamaica.
From the East African angle, the term for ‘dreadlocks’ emanated from the feeling of dread aroused in anyone who came upon these valiant warriors (who had their hair in locks).
In Jamaica, which probably had the strongest influence on the Western World and their black hair history awareness, the term dreadlocks referred to Rastafarians who wore locks as a symbol of their power and religious status. It is said the community feared such powerful figures, as awe-inspiring figures.
But how does the term ‘dreadlock’ apply to someone who isn’t Jamaican and is more interested in relating to their locs through a different lens, which relates to their choices, concepts of beauty, and personal history and/or community?
This brings us to the term ‘Locs’
Though the term ‘dread’ may have positive sentiments to some, many others might find it to have a negativity lean to it depending on the society they are in.
However, people might feel more comfortable identifying with ‘Locs’ as it just portrays a hairstyle that represents the locking of the hair.
In modern times, a lot of people who sports Locs don’t necessarily want to be identified as Rastafarian and most certainly not as an ‘East African Warrior’, so referring to the hairstyle as ‘Locs’ would be most appropriate to quite a number of people.
Which of these terms do you identify with?
Before I would say I have locs, now I know the meaning now I will say I have dreadlocks!
This is interesting and nice ✨