Dieng's Dreadlock Hair-Cutting Tradition Preserved

Wonosobo (ANTARA) - The tradition of cutting children’s dreadlocked hair in the Dieng Plateau area of Wonosobo, Central Java, continues to be preserved by the local community as a cultural heritage rich in spiritual meaning.

Wonosobo cultural figure Nanik Widayat, speaking in Wonosobo on Friday, said the dreadlock-cutting tradition is one of the region’s cultural treasures whose continuity must be safeguarded.

According to her, beyond its spiritual values and local wisdom, the tradition is also hoped to become a tourist attraction that introduces Dieng culture to a wider public.

Once the cutting ceremony is complete, the dreadlocked strands are floated down the river as a symbol of releasing hopes and prayers that the children will grow up healthy, of good character, and protected from all misfortune.

For that reason, the hair cannot be cut arbitrarily; it must be done through a customary ritual after all of the child’s requests have been fulfilled by the family.

This was the case with her daughter, now 13 years old, whose dreadlocks began growing naturally at the age of one and were regarded by the family as part of the Dieng community’s tradition.

A child with dreadlocks, Syahdenpa, said he had conveyed his requests before the hair-cutting ceremony took place. He asked for two goats to raise and two bicycles to play with.