SAMSON OF THE BIBLE: Was he a Rastaman?

By Lionel Gayle

There is no hard evidence that strongman Samson had dreadlocks as portrayed by actor Nonso Anozie in the Downey-Burnett television series, The Bible, which aired on the History Channel in March 2013.



 This is a three-lock hairstyle assuming that the third lock is  on the other side. Samson's 7-lock style would've been similar. Yet some members of the Rastafari Movement have been steadfast in their belief that “Samson had dreadlocks” (Wikipedia). Why? Well, it is recorded in the Bible that during Delilah’s attempts to betray him, the Nazarene strongman spoke of “the seven locks of my head.” Bear in mind that locks (a cluster of hair) do not have to be “dread.” So how do we get dreadlocks? One school of thought is that, if the hair is left uncut, unkempt for a long period, it will become matted, discoloured and often acquired an appearance that is sometimes repulsive to the eye. Also, some people believe that some wearers of these dreadful head-mops have actually applied certain treatment to hasten the transformation. It seems that some look-alike locks-men (and women) had gone to great length to imitate the mannerisms and appearances of the Rastas. In Jamaica, at least in the ‘70s, members of the Rastafari community used to complain to the government about imposters whom they called rascals and false prophets.

                                                      

Today, I guess, the latter would include the designer dreads with their fictive philosophy and coiffed hairdos, and those with artificial tresses hanging down the sides of their heads.

Samson was one of the last judges (rulers) of Israel during the Philistine occupation. With his supernatural strength anchored in his locks, he ruled the land for some 20 years. But during his tenure he violated his commitment to God – that is, the Nazirite vow – on several occasions. The Bible even paints him as a whore-monger. In fact, Judges 16 tells the story of how he went to Gaza and spent the night with “a harlot there” while the Philistines waited “at the gate of the city to ambush him.”

DREADLOCKS & RASTA

Samson lived between 1200 and 1000 BCE (Before our Common Era) and words such as “dreadlocks” and “Rasta” would not have entered the Hebrew lexicon. These terms would've been nonexistent everywhere. And, there is no indication that the people of ancient Israel – especially in the little town of Zorah where Samson was born – would’ve used any word that could’ve been translated to mean dreadlocks or Rasta.

It’s crystal clear however, that Rasta and Rastafari are eponyms of Ras Tafari Makonnen who was born in 1892 in Ethiopia. Later when he was crowned Emperor Haile Selassie I, he ruled Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974.

A hideous dreadlocks



Even after his death at age 83 in 1975, Rastas throughout the world still referto the late emperor as Jah (Jehovah, God) and sometimes can be heard chanting: Jah Rastafar-I, ever living, ever faithful … or some mumbo jumbo like that.

One thing for sure, Selassie, or Jah Rastafari, or just plain Jah, didn’t wear dreadlocks. But as the reggae group Morgan Heritage sings, You don’t ha fi dread to be Rasta/This is not a dreadlocks thing.

When the Rasta movement started in Jamaica in the 1930s, the newly crowned Selassie was “revered as the returned messiah of the Bible.”

In fact, his imperial lineage (through Emperor Menelik I) is often traced to a sexual encounter between the great King Solomon of Israel and the mysterious Queen Makeda, Empress of Axum, who visited him in Jerusalem. The Bible tells us that King Solomon, obviously a known lothario, had 700 wives and 300 concubines (mistresses).

Makeda – also known as the Queen of Sheba – apparently had the hots for Solomon. She was the wealthy ruler of her own domain – the Kingdom of Sheba or Axum (now a city in northern Ethiopia). There’s no information to suggest she was ever included among the king’s permanent female conquests.

REAL PURPOSE

What’s the real purpose of a Rastaman’s dreadlocks? I can’t recall if the real reason has ever been publicly enunciated.

If we took a cue from the Bible, however, the wearing of long locks in ancient Israel would’ve been part of the Nazirite (or Nazarite) vow. (In his 1993 song Nazerite Vow Jamaican recording artist Tony Rebel claimed that he had taken the vow). Under the vow, a person would’ve been required to submit his actions and desires to the will of God, as indicated in the Bible at Numbers 6.

Back then, the conditions of such commitment would’ve included: abstention from alcohol, no cutting of the hair, no contact with dead bodies and adherence to a strict dietary regimen.

Samson was a Nazirite from birth, the Bible says, and the secret to his unbridled strength was his uncut locks, of course. But his downfall came after the Philistine warlords offered his live-in girlfriend Delilah 5,500 silver coins to divulge the secret to his strength. (Judas Iscariot got a measly 30 silver coins for the alleged betrayal of Christ). After she sold him out, the Philistines cut off his locks, gouged out his eyes and Samson became “as weak as any other man.”

Young Samson had a penchant for sexy Philistine women during his womanizing days. And, he got married to a Philistine woman from Canaan despite the objections of his parents. In his heyday he probably had worn his hair in different styles and fashion to attract the ladies. If he had taken the time and trouble to style his hair in seven locks, as the Bible says, I doubt very much that his coif would’ve been as hideous as the unsightly dreadlocks on the heads of some Rastamen.