Knatty! Knatty!

The roots of dreadlocks can be trailed to the Rastafarians of Jamaica, and further, to Indian sages and yogis, but they have never been more popular or widespread than they are today. It is said that dreadlocks originated with these eastern holy men. Possessing nothing, renouncing the world and possessions (not even a comb) they eschewed even personal grooming, hence the inevitable dreadlocks. Dreadlocks get their name from Jamaican tradition. Those with 'natty' locks in their hair were to be dreaded, or feared. When slavery was abolished in the US, it was no longer legal to enslave African Americans. But good ol' America found a loop hole, no one said anything about not enslaving native peoples of India.

Different native people have worn them from time to time, which is not odd as someone who neither cuts or combs his/her hair will sooner or later get dreadlocks. The reason that not all prehistoric men and women wore dreadlocks is because they combed & cut their hair. We can't know who were the first to observe the phenomenon of locks, because they seem to have been present when each culture in question entered writing (or other depicting). The first attestation in writing, is in the Veda scriptures of India, whose earliest pieces are dated to 1800 B.C (but are most probably much older in origin due to a long oral tradition). The word in question is jaTa, cited in Monier-Williams' Sanskrit-English dictionary to mean: "wearing twisted locks of hair" and as feminine (jaTaa) "the hair twisted together (as worn by ascetics, Shiva, and persons in mourning)". Contemporary Hindi dictionary translates it nicely as "matted hair".

Famous People with Dreads

Bob Marley

Obviously, Bob Marley is the dreadlock-adorned rock star of all time. His dreads remain unmatched, his music remains unsurpassed. He is a legend. One thing that is way, way cool is that you see the progress and growth of his dreads via his record covers. His first major label album Catch a Fire features a Marley with some baby dreads, and from there they grow and mature like a mane of pure soul power. His life is a unique blessing that is truly a gift from God to the world.

POD

P.O.D rock. They are everything a great band should be. And more than that, their spiritual nature is a blessing. Their faith is strong, and their message stronger. They make faith in God cool, which is the hardest thing to do in this world (yet the most appropriate thing in the Universe!). Musically, they rock so hard AND surprised everyone with a huge break-through album.

Faith No More

One of the greatest drummers of all time is Mike Bordin of Faith No More. This dreaded drummer is a powerful creative madman. His knotty dreadlocks down to his drum stool, and this man pounds his drum set with fierceness. Mike's dreads are almost too long to really whip around while he plays, but they drape down his back like a lion's mane.

Zach De La Rocha

Zack from Rage. What can I say, a revolutionary, an artist, a man for all seasons. Sometimes the whole political angle outshines the music of Rage Against the Machine, but behold, Zack is one of the raddest MCs. His lyrics, his delivery.

Lenny Kravitz

Another phat set of dreadlocks are, or were, Lenny Kravitz's. His dreadlocks look fly with all the vintage guitars and styles he sports.

Incubus

One for the ladies, Brandon Boyd of Incubus. Brandon has since cut his locks, like Lenny, but he had his dreadlocks hayday.

Korn

Korn. The super popular group of the sad 'n' angry generation.