I feel compelled to write this post because I find popular discussions on this topic are painfully lacking in nuance, and whenever it comes up in social media, I always have to bite my lip and avoid saying anything, lest any partial answer I give be misconstrued. Here's the crux of the matter: Within the past 20-30 years, it has been a popular trend for white people to wear dreadlocks, which are seen in popular culture as a black hairstyle most famously associated with Rastafarianism. Recently, this has become a contentious issue, as white people donning this hairstyle are accused of appropriating black culture. White people have responded in turn by pointing out examples of dreadlocks in other cultures, and specifically in European history, such as among the Vikings and Celts. There's a lot of history that gets left out in such discussion, but more than that, I feel like such discussions end up focusing on the wrong things and missing the point entirely.
So I'll start this off by saying that so far as I've been able to discern, the whole "Faerie Locks" thing among the Celts is dubious at best, and they most likely wore braids rather than locks. But it is definitely true that locks are far from unique to black culture. In India, they are known as "jatta," and they are worn by sadhus -- Hindu holy men who renounce material possessions, live austere lives of prayer and meditation, and, among other things, are forbidden to comb or cut their hair. The god Shiva is portrayed with long, flowing locks, with which he is said have soaked up the waters of Ganga, goddess of the Ganges, and prevented the world from drowning. A similar practice exists in Tibetan Buddhism among Ngagpas -- tantric specialists who are not ordained monks but receive a skra dbang, or hair blessing, which is said to infuse their hair with dakinis, and as such should never be cut or combed. Various Sufi groups have also adopted the practice.
So I'll start this off by saying that so far as I've been able to discern, the whole "Faerie Locks" thing among the Celts is dubious at best, and they most likely wore braids rather than locks. But it is definitely true that locks are far from unique to black culture. In India, they are known as "jatta," and they are worn by sadhus -- Hindu holy men who renounce material possessions, live austere lives of prayer and meditation, and, among other things, are forbidden to comb or cut their hair. The god Shiva is portrayed with long, flowing locks, with which he is said have soaked up the waters of Ganga, goddess of the Ganges, and prevented the world from drowning. A similar practice exists in Tibetan Buddhism among Ngagpas -- tantric specialists who are not ordained monks but receive a skra dbang, or hair blessing, which is said to infuse their hair with dakinis, and as such should never be cut or combed. Various Sufi groups have also adopted the practice.
