hello friends and Family I have to ask, someone in the Rastfari fourm told me that there had been a post over here about bald headed rasta's. While I respect and honor the concept of dreads they are not for me. I keep my head covered in public and follow alot of the Rastfari faith, I don't seem to be able to come up with alot of people who even think about eating with or on metal. just looking for insite here. luv'n ya
http://hipforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=57130 There are some posts there about the origins and symbolism of dreads in different faiths, traditions, etc. I wrote a little about the history of dreads in rastafari. Don't worry about what other people call you, what you look like, wear, etc. Cut your hair, don't cut your hair, let it dread, whatever. Two of the most important people in the rastafarian faith, Haile Selassie and Marcus Garvey, did not have dreads. Marcus Garvey shaved his face and Haile Selassie kept his beard and hair closely trimmed. There is an irie song by Morgan Heritage called "Don't Haffi Dread to be Rasta"; I think that pretty much sums it up.
Rastafari is a loosely based lifestyle-you dont have follow all of the teaches to be considered a Rasta. Now that you mention I dont think I eat with or on metal much at all-though I dont really think about it much!
I eat with metal all of the time, yum. Sometimes I eat vegetables, sometimes raw, sometimes cooked, sometimes I eat 'em with dairy-based ranch dressing, and I love it! Sometimes I go ital. Sometimes I eat meat. Those assoiciated with the name Rastafari should have more to do with the personal beliefs and affinaties towards His Majesty than any dietary code, whether or not the men or ladies cover their hair, grow dreads, smoke herb, or any other outward and superficial manifestation of the faith.
Oh, I wanted to address the question of whether or not Jesus had dreads. Most early christian historians have significant doubts over whether or not Jesus even had long hair. According to these historians, the pictures that we see of him with long hair were the fashion of Byzantine rulers from the 4th C. onward. The earliest "icon" of christ was actually found in Rome and has a young Jesus, without a beard or long hair, tending a flock of sheep. This said, other areas of Orthodox Iconography have displayed a stricking adherance to prominent physical attributes that generally change very little over time. So a portrait of Paul from the 2nd C. would look very similar to an icon from the 12 C, for example. That said, the icon of Christ in Rome, might simply be a younger Christ, perhaps before his baptism by John, which most historians believe took place if their was indeed a person named Jesus. It is hard for me to imagine a Jesus who cared much about how his hair looked. It is also very difficult for me to imagine a Jesus, who shunning all worldly possessions, carried around a comb. As all of you with dreads probably know, sleeping on the dry earth is one of the surest ways to get your hair to dread. So...yeah I think he had dreads. John the Baptist almost certainly had dreads, oh and he was not vegan, btw . he ate bugs (locusts) and honey, lived out in the wilderness, and spoke truth to power! Most icons of him show his hair clumped together and wild. Other notable Christians who probably had dreadlocks: St. Simeon the Stylite-lived and meditated on top of a stylite, basically a massive sandstone stone stick that rises from desert, for 20 years with no possessions, at all. Other monks brought him food in a bucket. Again, I doubt they included a comb. St. Anthony, one of the first Egyptian desert hermits, performed similar feats battling Satan and his demons in the desert with St. Athanasius. In Ethiopia, the 9 Syrian monks who brought the form of Christianity that Ethiopians practice today, I have seen depicted wearing huge hair wraps (these aren't just turbans) with dreads pokin' out the sides. All interesting stuff.
I learned alot from that post. I always seem to learn something from you. And I also believe that rastas dont hafta follow every aspect strictly-thats kinda part of being rasta. I, too, believe Jesus had lochs of dread. Think about, they didnt exactly have a barber shop or salon back in the day. Mush less conditioner.
I just wanted to say something to this... My husband and I both love to watch documentaries. One of them was about Ancient Greece and their temples and whatnot. According to the documentary the current image of Jesus Christ is actually that of Zeus. One of the temples in Greece was converted into a church and the icons of Zeus were adopted by the Christians who had taken over the temple. I don't remember any more details such as what era and whatnot. I just found that to be interesting. *hugs* Jessie
Zeus. That's interesting. I don't doubt it. The greek word for God is "Theos" which is a derivative of the name Zeus. Also, there was a movement toward a "monotheistic paganism" in Greece, where Zeus was exhalted and worshiped above all other gods. Early Christians, including Paul, capitalized upon this and produced a syncretic blend of the two faiths. Christianity literally became the Hellenisation of Judaism.
