A Brief History of Dreadlocks

Series Summary

As reggae music became more popular in the United States in the 1970s, many people began to associate dreadlocks with the Rasta image. But dreadlocks have had a significant place in the cultural and religious histories of many civilizations throughout the world. Ancient Egyptians, Greeks, Vikings, Celts, Aztecs, Sadhus, Nazirites, early Christians, Germanic tribes, Pacific Ocean peoples, Dervishes of Islam, and of course, Rastafarians throughout the Caribbean, just to name a few, have all worn dreadlocks, and for many of these cultures the hairstyle represents a deep spiritual devotion.

In this series of free how to video clips you'll learn tips and techniques for dreadlock care. Expert Natalie Manke offers advice to those thinking of “dreading” their hair, including what sorts of styling tools and products you’ll need to start the process and maintain healthy dreads. She discusses the lengths and types of hair that work best for dreadlocks, what to expect as your dreads mature, and even demonstrates a method of repairing a broken dreadlock. Following the tips in these free video clips will help you maintain and enjoy your dreadlocks for years to come.

Video Transcript

"Hi I'm Natalie and I'm going to be talking about dreadlocks. A lot of people think that the only people who have dreadlocks or where they originally came from Rastafarian, or Jamaica. Not so. Dreadlocks have been around for very, very long time. The first the first evidence of dreadlocks dates between 2500 and 500 B.C. So that is a very long time ago. It is a very wide spread hair style throughout history: Vikings wore dreads, the Celtics, Romans, Hindu, Coptic Christian monks, Germanic people, pretty much everybody at some people time was into the dreadlocks. So if anybody ever accuses you of culture appropriation if you happen to be an ethnicity besides black you could always retort that everyone has had them, so you are not stealing."