Editing Dreadlocks (section)

=== Africa ===
[[File:-Himba woman Cropped.jpg|thumb|right|[[Himba people|Himba]] woman with red dreadlocks]]

The practice of wearing braids and dreadlocks in Africa dates back to 3,000 BC in the Sahara Desert. It has been commonly thought that other cultures influenced the dreadlock tradition in Africa. The [[Kikuyu people|Kikuyu]] and [[Somali people|Somali]] wear braided and locked hairstyles.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Delongoria |title=Misogynoir: Black Hair, Identity Politics, and Multiple Black Realities |journal=Journal of Pan African Studies |date=2018 |volume=12 |issue=8 |page=40 |url=https://www.jpanafrican.org/docs/vol12no8/12.8-3-Maria%20DeLongoria.pdf |access-date=25 October 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kasfir |first1=Sidney |title=Reviewed Works: Mammy Water: In Search of the Water Spirits in Nigeria by Sabine Jell-Bahlsen; Mami Wata: Der Geist der Weissen Frau by Tobias Wendl, Daniela Weise |journal=African Arts |date=1994 |volume=27 |issue=1 |page=80 |doi=10.2307/3337178 |jstor=3337178 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3337178 |access-date=25 October 2023|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Warriors among the [[Fula people|Fulani]], [[Wolof people|Wolof]], and [[Serer people|Serer]] in [[Mauritania]], and [[Mandinka people|Mandinka]] in [[Mali]] were known for centuries to have worn [[cornrows]] when young and dreadlocks when old.

In [[West Africa]], the water spirit [[Mami Wata]] is said to have long locked hair. Mami Wata's spiritual powers of fertility and healing come from her dreadlocks.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Opara |last2=Chukwuma |title=Legacies of Departed African Women Writers: Matrix of Creativity and Power |year=2022 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=9781666914665 |page=66 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DdaEEAAAQBAJ&dq=Mami+wata+and+dreadlocks&pg=PA66}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Dreads |year=1999 |publisher=Artisan Books |isbn=9781579651503 |page=22 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YWySINhFXP0C&q=dreadlocks}}</ref> West African spiritual priests called ''Dada'' wear dreadlocks to venerate Mami Wata in her honor as spiritual consecrations.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kasfir |first1=Sidney |title=Reviewed Works: Mammy Water: In Search of the Water Spirits in Nigeria by Sabine Jell-Bahlsen; Mami Wata: Der Geist der Weissen Frau by Tobias Wendl, Daniela Weise |journal=African Arts |date=1994 |volume=27 |issue=1 |page=80 |doi=10.2307/3337178 |jstor=3337178 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3337178 |access-date=25 October 2023|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Some [[Ethiopia]]n Christian monks and Bahatowie priests of the [[Christianity in Ethiopia|Ethiopian Coptic Church]] lock their hair for religious purposes.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Gardner |first1=Tom |title=These Preachers Perform Mass Exorcisms – And Live-Stream Them |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2019/02/ethiopian-christians-livestream-mass-exorcisms/579538/ |access-date=12 December 2023 |agency=The Atlantic |date=2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Dreads |year=1999 |publisher=Artisan Books |isbn=9781579651503 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YWySINhFXP0C&q=ethiopia&pg=PP13}}</ref> In [[Yorubaland]], [[Church of the Lord (Aladura)|Aladura church]] prophets called ''woolii'' mat their hair into locs and wear long blue, red, white, or purple garments with caps and carry iron rods used as a staff.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Oyetade |first1=Akintunde |title=The Yorùbá Community in London |journal=African Languages and Cultures |date=1993 |volume=6 |issue=1 |page=88 |doi=10.1080/09544169308717762 |jstor=1771765 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1771765 |access-date=5 December 2023|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Prophets lock their hair in accordance with the Nazarene vow in the Christian bible. This is not to be confused with the Rastafari religion that was started in the 1930s. The Aladura church was founded in 1925 and [[Syncretism|syncretizes]] indigenous Yoruba beliefs about dreadlocks with Christianity.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Agwuele |first1=Augustine |title=The Symbolism and Communicative Contents of Dreadlocks in Yorubaland |year=2016 |publisher=Springer |isbn=9783319301860 |page=135 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4ATWDAAAQBAJ&dq=aladura+church+dreadlocks&pg=PA135}}</ref> [[Moses Orimolade Tunolase]] was the founder of the first African Pentecostal movement started in 1925 in Nigeria. Tunolase wore dreadlocks and members of his church wear dreadlocks in his honor and for spiritual protection.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Idowu |first1=Moses |title=Moses Orimolade Tunolase: More Than a Prophet |year=2009 |publisher=Divine Artillery Publications |isbn=9789783570450 |page=46 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6JZCAQAAIAAJ&q=Moses+Orimolade+Tunolase+dreadlocks}}</ref>
[[File:Hamer women attending a bull jumping ceremony (14) (29185295456).jpg|thumb|right|[[Hamar people|Hamar]] women with red ochre locs]]
The [[Yoruba language|Yoruba]] word ''Dada'' is given to children in [[Nigeria]] born with dreadlocks.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Agwuele |first1=Augustine |title=The Symbolism and Communicative Contents of Dreadlocks in Yorubaland |year=2016 |publisher=Springer |isbn=9783319301860 |pages=10, 80–82 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4ATWDAAAQBAJ&q=dada&pg=PA90}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Abiodun |first1=Hannah |last2=Fashola |first2=Joseph |title=The Ontology of Hair and Identity Crises in African Literature |journal=IASR Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences |date=2021 |volume=1 |issue=1 |page=37 |url=https://iasrpublication.com/uploads/article/IJHSS0101062-36-42.pdf |access-date=11 January 2024}}</ref> Some [[Yoruba people]] believe children born with dreadlocks have innate spiritual powers, and cutting their hair might cause serious illness. Only the child's mother can touch their hair. "Dada children are believed to be young gods, they are often offered at spiritual altars for chief priests to decide their fate. Some children end up becoming spiritual healers and serve at the shrine for the rest of their lives." If their hair is cut, it must be cut by a chief priest and placed in a pot of water with herbs, and the mixture is used to heal the child if they get sick. Among the [[Igbo people|Igbo]], Dada children are said to be reincarnated [[Juju]]ists of great spiritual power because of their dreadlocks.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Oche |first1=Gloria |title=Dreadlocks: The myths, misconceptions, culture, and lifestyles |url=https://www.pulse.ng/lifestyle/food-travel/dreadlocks-the-myths-misconceptions-culture-and-lifestyles/fzv5f34 |access-date=10 November 2023 |agency=News Agency of Nigeria |date=2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Gilbert-Hickey |last2=Green-Barteet |title=Race in Young Adult Speculative Fiction |year=2021 |publisher=Univ. Press of Mississippi |isbn=9781496833839 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MEEoEAAAQBAJ&dq=Dada+children+in+west+africa&pg=PT178}}</ref> Children born with dreadlocks are viewed as special. However, adults with dreadlocks are viewed negatively. Yoruba Dada children's dreadlocks are shaved at a river, and their hair is grown back "tamed" and have a hairstyle that conforms to societal standards. The child continues to be recognized as mysterious and special.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Agwuele |first1=Augustine |title=In Nigeria, dreadlocks are entangled with beliefs about danger and spirituality|url=https://theconversation.com/in-nigeria-dreadlocks-are-entangled-with-beliefs-about-danger-123463#:~:text=Many%20Nigerians%2C%20regardless%20of%20their,the%20Yoruba%20and%20Igbo%20people. |access-date=10 November 2023 |agency=The Conservation |date=2019}}</ref> It is believed that the hair of Dada children was braided in heaven before they were born and will bring good fortune and wealth to their parents. When the child is older, the hair is cut during a special ritual.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Biddle-Perry |first1=Geraldine |title=A Cultural History of Hair in the Modern Age |year=2020 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=9781350122833 |page=32 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KiMIEAAAQBAJ&dq=dada+children+nigeria&pg=PA32}}</ref> In [[Yoruba religion|Yoruba mythology]], the [[Yemọja|Orisha Yemoja]] gave birth to a Dada who is a deified king in Yoruba.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Aluko |first1=Adebukola |title="Dada": Beyond The Myths To Smart Haircare |url=https://radionigeriaibadan.gov.ng/2023/06/16/dada-beyond-the-myths-to-smart-haircare/ |website=Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria |date=16 June 2023 |access-date=22 November 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Taylor |first1=Bron |last2=Kaplan |first2=Jeffrey |title=Encyclopedia of Religion and Nature |date=2005 |publisher=Bloomsbury Academic |isbn=9781847062734 |page=1035 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4L7UAwAAQBAJ&dq=dada+children+dreadlock&pg=PA1035}}</ref> However, dreadlocks are viewed in a negative light in Nigeria due to their stereotypical association with gangs and criminal activity; men with dreadlocks face [[offender profiling|profiling]] from Nigerian police.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-africa-48502450|title = People with locs are seen as miscreants|work = BBC News}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Agwuele |first1=Augustine |title=The Symbolism and Communicative Contents of Dreadlocks in Yorubaland |year=2016 |publisher=Springer |isbn=9783319301860 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4ATWDAAAQBAJ&q=dreadlocks}}</ref>
[[File:Sangomas-greeting.jpg|thumb|right|[[Traditional healers of Southern Africa|Sangomas]] wearing white beaded dreadlocks.]]
In [[Ghana]], among the [[Asante people|Ashanti people]], [[Okomfo Anokye|Okomfo priests]] are identified by their dreadlocks. They are not allowed to cut their hair and must allow it to mat and lock naturally. Locs are symbols of higher power reserved for priests.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Black Hairstyles Historical Significance and Etymology |journal=Illinois State Board of Education |page=13 |url=https://www.isbe.net/Documents/Historical-Significance-of-Black-Hairstyles.pdf |access-date=22 November 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Rhodes |first1=Jerusha |title=Fufuo, Dreadlocks, Chickens and Kaya: Practical Manifestations of Traditional Ashanti Religion |journal=African Diaspora |date=1996 |volume=28 |pages=18–19 |url=https://digitalcollections.sit.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1006&context=african_diaspora_isp |access-date=25 October 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Cartwright |first1=Angie |title=The Dreadlocks |url=https://afrostylemag.com/ASM7/afrobeauty.html |website=Afrostyle Magazine |access-date=25 October 2023}}</ref> Other spiritual people in Southern Africa who wear dreadlocks are [[Traditional healers of Southern Africa|Sangomas]]. Sangomas wear red and white beaded dreadlocks to connect to ancestral spirits. Two African men were interviewed, explaining why they chose to wear dreadlocks. "One – Mr. Ngqula – said he wore his dreadlocks to obey his ancestors' call, given through dreams, to become a 'sangoma' in accordance with his [[Xhosa people|Xhosa culture]]. Another – Mr. Kamlana – said he was instructed to wear his dreadlocks by his ancestors and did so to overcome 'intwasa', a condition understood in African culture as an injunction from the ancestors to become a traditional healer, from which he had suffered since childhood."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ramalapa |first1=Jedidiah |title=Soweto to Beirut |year=2021 |publisher=African Sun Media |isbn=9780620931816 |page=119 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dQMxEAAAQBAJ&dq=sangoma+dreadlocks&pg=PA119}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=De Vos |first1=Pierre |title=Putting the 'dread' into 'dreadlocks' |url=https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/opinionista/2013-04-04-putting-the-dread-into-dreadlocks/ |website=Daily Maverick |date=4 April 2013 |access-date=26 October 2023}}</ref> In [[Zimbabwe]], there is a tradition of locking hair called ''mhotsi'' worn by spirit mediums called ''[[svikiro]]''. The Rastafarian religion spread to Zimbabwe and influenced some women in [[Harare]] to wear locs because they believe in the Rastafari's pro-Black teachings and rejection of colonialism.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Chitando |title=Black Female Identities in Harare: The Case of Young Women with Dreadlocks |journal=Zambezia |date=2004 |pages=9–13 |s2cid=145067627 }}</ref>
[[File:Zulu-Shona African Man With Salon-styled Dreadlocks.jpg|thumb|right|[[Zulu people|Zulu]]-[[Shona people|Shona]] African Man With Salon-styled dreadlocks. In the [[Shona language]], locs translate to ''mhotsi''.]]

[[Maasai people|Maasai]] warriors in [[Kenya]] are known for their long, thin, red dreadlocks, dyed with red root extracts or [[red ochre]] (red earth clay).<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-21498878 |publisher=[[BBC News]] |title=South Africa's dreadlock thieves |first=Pumza |last=Fihlani |date=27 February 2013 |access-date=23 December 2020}}</ref> The [[Himba people#clothing and hair style|Himba women]] in [[Namibia]] are also known for their red-colored dreadlocks. Himba women use [[otjize|red earth clay mixed with butterfat]] and roll their hair with the mixture. They use natural moisturizers to maintain the health of their hair. [[Hamar people|Hamar women]] in [[Ethiopia]] wear red-colored locs made using red earth clay.<ref>{{cite web |title=Discovering the Vibrant Hamar Tribe: A Glimpse into their Fascinating Culture |url=https://www.tribes.world/en/community/discovering-the-vibrant-hamer-tribe-a-glimpse-into |website=Tribes.World |access-date=28 November 2023}}</ref> In [[Angola]], Mwila women create thick dreadlocks covered in herbs, crushed tree bark, dried cow dung, butter, and oil. The thick dreadlocks are dyed using oncula, an ochre of red crushed rock.<ref>{{cite web |title=Muila / Mumuila / Mwela / Plain Mumuila / Mountain Mumuila / Mwila |url=https://www.101lasttribes.com/tribes/muila.html |website=101lasttribes.com |access-date=21 December 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Angola, Mwila Tribe |url=https://www.atlasofhumanity.com/mwila |website=Atlas of Humanity |access-date=20 December 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Nunoo |first1=Ama |title=Meet the Mwila people of Angola whose women cover their hair with cow dung |url=https://face2faceafrica.com/article/meet-the-mwila-people-of-angola-whose-women-cover-their-hair-with-cow-dung |access-date=21 December 2023 |agency=face2faceafrica.com |date=2020}}</ref> In [[Southern Africa|Southern]], [[East Africa|Eastern]], and [[North Africa|Northern]] Africa, Africans use red ochre as sunscreen and cover their dreadlocks and braids with ochre to hold their hair in styles and as a hair moisturizer by mixing it with fats. Red ochre has a spiritual meaning of fertility, and in Maasai culture, the color red symbolizes bravery and is used in ceremonies and dreadlock hair traditions.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Dapschauskas |last2=Sommer |title=The Emergence of Habitual Ochre Use in Africa and its Significance for The Development of Ritual Behavior During The Middle Stone Age |journal=Journal of World Prehistory |date=December 2022 |volume=35 |issue=3–4 |pages=233–319 |doi=10.1007/s10963-022-09164-1|doi-broken-date=1 November 2024 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=McQuail |first1=Lisa |title=The Masai of Africa |year=2002 |publisher=Lerner Publications |isbn=9780822548553 |page=39 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cYT_BuP3-qsC&dq=maasai+red+ochre&pg=PA39}}</ref>

Historians note that West and Central African people braid their hair to signify age, gender, rank, role in society, and ethnic affiliation. It is believed braided and locked hair provides spiritual protection, connects people to the spirit of the earth, bestows spiritual power, and enables people to communicate with the gods and spirits.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Davies |first1=Monika |title=Surprising Things We Do for Beauty 6-Pack |year=2017 |publisher=Teacher Created Materials |isbn=9781493837267 |pages=22–23 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AXK-DwAAQBAJ&dq=himba+women+dreadlocks&pg=PA22}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The History of Hair |url=https://blackiowa.org/digital-resources/utrdigitalexhibit/history-of-hair/ |website=The African American Museum of Iowa |access-date=24 October 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Delongoria |first1=Maria |title=Misogynoir: Black Hair, Identity Politics, and Multiple Black Realities |journal=Journal of Pan African Studies |date=2018 |volume=12 |issue=8 |page=40 |url=https://www.jpanafrican.org/docs/vol12no8/12.8-3-Maria%20DeLongoria.pdf |access-date=24 October 2023}}</ref> In the 15th and 16th centuries, the [[Atlantic slave trade]] saw Black Africans forcibly transported from [[Sub-Saharan Africa]] to [[North America]] and, upon their arrival in the [[New World]], their heads would be shaved in an effort to erase their culture.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last1=Byrd |first1=Ayana |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KERWAgAAQBAJ&q=Byrd%2C+Ayana+D.%2C+and+Lori+L.+Tharps.+2001.+Hair+Story+%3A+Untangling+the+Roots+of+Black+Hair+in+America.+New+York%3A+St+Martin%E2%80%99s+Press.&pg=PA10 |title=Hair Story : Untangling the Roots of Black Hair in America |last2=Tharps |first2=Lori |publisher=St. Martin Press |year=2001|isbn=9781250046574 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Byrd |first1=Ayana |last2=Tharps |first2=Lori |title=Sample text for Hair story : untangling the roots of Black hair in America |url=https://catdir.loc.gov/catdir/enhancements/fy1401/00045761-s.html |website=Library of Congress |access-date=1 November 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Colonialism, Hair, and Enslavement |url=https://blackiowa.org/digital-resources/utrdigitalexhibit/history-of-hair/#colonialism-hair-and-enslavement |website=African American Museum of Iowa |access-date=24 October 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Andiswa Tshiki |title=African Hairstyles – The 'Dreaded' Colonial Legacy |url=https://review.gale.com/2021/11/23/african-hairstyles-the-dreaded-colonial-legacy/ |website=The Gale Review |date=23 November 2021 |access-date=29 November 2023}}</ref> Enslaved Africans spent months in [[slave ship]]s and their hair matted into dreadlocks that European slave traders called "dreadful."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Sherrow |first1=Victoria |title=Encyclopedia of Hair: A Cultural History |year=2023 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing USA |isbn=9781440873492 |page=140 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bETPEAAAQBAJ&dq=ethiopian+dreadlocks&pg=PA140}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=White |first1=Graham |last2=White |first2=Shane |title=Slave Hair and African American Culture in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries |journal=The Journal of Southern History |date=1995 |volume=61 |issue=1 |pages=53–54 |doi=10.2307/2211360 |jstor=2211360 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2211360 |access-date=14 November 2023|url-access=subscription }}</ref>