Until 2003, Rastas were shaved when prosecuted in Jamaica. This might come as a shock to most here, since the majority would have been born before 2003. We like to think of ourselves as 'modern' and we somehow have escaped slave society. I would like to say first that

yes something like this can happen in 2020 and in 2040 as well, in fact it did. This is not a one off event. It is part of a continuous systemic persecution of dreadlocks. It did not end. But we run into this problem when we view history as discrete productions.

We present the historical events as having happened so long ago and somewhat independent of the current 'shitstem' (as Rastas would call the System see Pollard 1994 reprinted 2000).

While the matted hair or even it having religious significance did not start in Jamaica with Rastafari [see for example the sadhus - Hindu holy men (Aïnouche 2019)], it became a problem to the state with the Youth Black Faith's (precursor to the Nyabinghi) adoption.

It is persecution anchored in anti-blackness. Moreover, according Chevannes (1994) Black 'derelicts' wore matted hair but they weren't threatening to an established colonial power. It is a fusion of blackness n opposition to established power that didn't sit well with said power.

Rastalogy of the Dreadlocks
The locking of the hair in Rastafari represents part of the social protest against Babylonian society. The first set of Rastas did not lock their hair, they were regarded as beardmen (Barnett 2018), in fact none of the founders had locks.

Oral history tells us that the first set of Rastas with dreadlocks were the lions of Pinnacle (the first Rasta commune) who were the guardians of the settlement. After the 1954 destruction of Pinnacle, and scattering of Rastafari by the police forces, dreadlocks became a

staple in the Rastafari creative protest. It became "a symbol of dissonance, disagreement, and opposition to an order that was still deeply founded in the racism of the slave colonial period" (Ras Arthur Newland).

The Coral Gardens Massacre

Bad Friday 1963

After the destruction of Pinnacle in 1954, Rastas were persecuted all over the island. Their homes were burnt down by the police, and everyday Jamaicans shunned them. Some Rastas even remarked that to move from one area to the next,

they used the system of gullies to navigate the island and escape the watchful gaze of the state. In 1959, there was a showdown between a Rastafari and the police at Coronation Market. The Rasta was violently beaten by the police on duty. The market vendors were appalled

and reacted to the violent beatings. Reinforcements were brought in. State vehicles were set on fire (allegedly by Rastas). The police then went to Back-O-Wall, known for its Rastas, and arrested 57? Rastas, shaved their heads, and obliterated their property. A resident:

There were many other state persecutions leading up to Bad Friday in 1963, but the idea I want you to get is that the state was adamant to shave off the dreadlocks. This was not only done to shame Rastafari, but it was done as part of a power play by the state. To shave

their heads against their will was to highlight the power dynamics in circa newly independent Jamaica. It commemorated an altering of black bodies to show ownership and dispensability.

Here is a documentary on The Coral Gardens Massacre of 1963 if you are interested in learning more about it.

The Ethics of Babylon/Zion

I would like to highlight part of the Rastafari system of ethics which constructs evil and good in a continuum of Babylon and Zion. While Babylon has much to do with the police and even the legal system (how it is often used), it is a critique of the

systems of oppression we have come to validate as normal. The biblical motif of Babylon can be thought of a series of succession of power that has been validated on superficial differences rather than recognizing I-n-I.

Thus, Rastafari belief in reincarnation (except in the case of Selassie I would argue) stems from the ideas that we continue to move through these systems that continue to transform but preserve the essence of this dichotomy. In other words, Rastas see themselves as I in relation

to oppressed peoples across space and time. Those in power, from the Pharoah who enslaved the Israelites (see Ex 1-18) to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon to the Wicked White B!tch (Rastafari reference to Victoria and then Elizabeth II) are re-incarnations of the

summit of evil that we have come to validate as a normal. The aim is to see Zion, not a displaced or otherworldly heaven, it is a state of harmony between the subjective I's (People).

Here is a theologian explanation of the Biblical motif:

Commodification of Black bodies
It is important to acknowledge the hypocrisy of a decision to bar a student from wearing locks in a Jamaican school. Without a doubt, every school at the primary level in Jamaica celebrates Heritage day and various spin-offs. The images of Marley

and the dreadlocks are ubiquitous. The Rastas are praised for their conveniently 'conscious' resistance to power. Yet, It could be argued, that it is lullyingly performative. I am reminded so much about how dress and black physical features were simultaneously sold as desired

objects (commodities) and were viewed with contempt by a White supremacist order (maybe @KingstonJancro could add to this). The decision to violently get rid of dreadlocks makes us naked again, oiled up and ready to be consumed by Whiteness.

This long thread was really to say as long as we are parts of the smooth functioning of Whiteness and its concomitant systems, this problem will continue to resurface and get lulled like the business cycle. What should we do? I do not currently have the answer. Let's

not however treat this happening as a one-off occurrence. It is part of the succession of whiteness and its opposition to blackness.