Shiva’s dreadlocks

 

Below is a picture of the famous Sadāshiva Maheshamūrti at the Elephanta Caves, uploaded by “Sailko” on Wikimedia Commons.

This is basically a depiction of Shiva.

I have added some text to the image, pointing out the hairstyles of the three heads of Shiva,

ª     the Right one (viewer’s right) being Feminine (lotus) – and endowed with ringlets, and

ª     the Left one being Masculine (serpent) – endowed with curls.

 

In Indian art, Shiva invariably has what are known as “dreadlocks”.

The central head, representing balance, serenity, and dispassion – is endowed with these high-piled ropey dreadlocks.

Shiva doesn’t usually wear an intricately carved high (cylindrical) crown, but rather a sort of elaborate diadem around a pile of dreadlocks, or curly hair, or ringlety hair.

Different forms, or heads, of Shiva may be endowed with different hairstyles.

Below one can see the different styles on the different heads of Shiva carved on a Shiva Liṅga, from the Chaturmukha Mahadeva Temple at Nachna, Madhya Pradesh.

The images, released into Public Domain, have been taken from Wikimedia Commons.

Arrows & Text have been added by me.

“Dreadlocks” are generally understood to be African.

But I see no reason to associate them exclusively with Africa.

Indian Nāga Sādhus sport dreadlocks to this day.

Yes, naturally curly hair is not a typical Indian attribute, though there are many, many curly-haired Indians.

I’m curious to discover how prevalent this ropey, dreadlock-pile hairstyle is.

It’s very common in India, and is found in Hindu, Buddhist as well as Jain statues.

I do not think it is prevalent in Ancient Greece & Rome.

Many Ancient Greek & Roman statues have curly hair, but most of it is wavy hair, not the tight, round, spirally curls seen in Africa and in Ancient Indian sculpture.

I will come to Christian art sometime later, heavily influenced as it seems, by Indian art.

In most of European-Christian high art, angels are depicted with very lush, flowing, curly hair.

Even Jesus may be given very elaborate, lush, luscious hairdos.

To what extent these are original conceptions, to what extent they might have been inspired by other cultures, is still to be determined.

The motifs, undoubtedly, are NOT original.

The hair-pile of ropey/rope-like dreadlocks is very prevalent in India, and I do not recollect many European-Christian art figures endowed with it.

However, curly hair is by no means a rare phenomenon, and even Mesopotamian-Babylonian figures have curly hair.

Is it because curly hair was considered artistically more desirable & aesthetic?

Is it for the simple reason that there were people with curly hair everywhere?

Or that people across the world chose to curl their straight hair, because it looks beautiful?

Or these styles came from a common community, or a common source?

As of now, we should simply note the similarities and observe how different cultures portrayed the same hairdos, or variations of the same hairdos.

Beneath is a figure, most probably Buddhist, from one of the many Ellora Caves, photographed by me in 2011, with the same rope-like, dreadlock hairstyle as that of Shiva, piled up high in a very elaborate way.

Another example. 

This beautiful (Buddhist) Bodhisattva below, photographed by me in 2014, at the Delhi National Museum, has the exact same hairstyle.

 

Gaṇeśa’s beautiful ringlets

 

I came across this beautiful statue of Gaṇeśa outside a closed shop, while looking for a restaurant, today.

It’s not a historical piece, it’s a recent work, but it was very well carved. 

(Please Right-Click, to enlarge the images.)

I decided to put up these pics, because they illustrate a fact I’ve noticed: in many Indian sculptures, particularly from Odisha, Gaṇeśa is endowed with this beautiful curly ringlety hair, though he’s supposed to have an elephant’s head.  

In the previous post I pointed out the striking identity between the ringlets of male figures from Ajanta Caves as well as an old 6^th or 7^th century C.E. temple of Odisha, and the hair of an African Nubian (statue) from the Brooklyn Museum.

I have to reiterate the point I made then: there are hundreds and hundreds, probably thousands, of such figures, in Indian art.

They are all over the place, though there are all sorts of hairstyles too.

Gaṇeśa sculptures from Odisha tend to have these “African” ringlets.

It seems to have entered the canonical iconography of the Odishan depiction of Gaṇeśa.

There is a stunning sculpture of our beloved elephant-headed god in the British Museum – from Odisha – in black stone – which has the same lush, lovely, stylish ringlets.

One can check it out on Wikimedia Commons anytime.

The point is to figure out if this hairdo is to be interpreted as “African” or not.

It may not be absolutely unique to Africa.

(We know for a fact that Europeans had the same hairstyles in the 18^th and 19^th centuries. There’s no need to say that they “copied” it from Africans or Indians.)

It might not have originated in Africa.

Or it might have.

At this point, I can’t, and don’t want to, say anything.

I have been digging slowly but surely into the Indian-African connection, and this seems to be one strong link attaching the continent to the sub-continent.

The similarity is striking at any rate, wherever the hairstyle came from.

The Indian-African connection: Man with an elaborate hairdo at Ajanta

This is from a photo taken by me, way back in July 2011, at the Ajanta Caves in Maharashtra.

Do note how this man’s hair has been done up in very elaborate curls – or rather, ringlets.

There are hundreds and hundreds, probably thousands, of such figures, in Ancient Indian art.

A striking number of our male figures have these elegant, gorgeous, stylish ringlets.

While the sculpted Buddhas & Bodhisattvas at Ajanta tend to have what maybe called “kinky hair” – Like in this picture (also taken by me) (please Right-Click, to enlarge): 

– I’m inclined to think that in most cases, the hair itself is straight, but is styled into these ringlets.

But, I’m not absolutely sure whether the hair is supposed to be originally straight or “kinky”.

Many men in Ancient Indian art seem to have straight hair, which is then curled into these very lush, fancy ringlets.

But there are others who seem to have typically curly, “kinky” hair (like the Buddha above).

 

Now compare with this figure of a Nubian, an indigenous African, at the Brooklyn Museum.

The Brooklyn Museum website says:

MEDIUM Marble, “Bigio Morata”

GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATIONS

Possible place made: Turkey

Place made: Eastern Mediterranean Region

DATES late 2nd century B.C.E.

PERIOD Ptolemaic Period

Be that as it may, note this young man’s hairstyle (image taken from Wikimedia Commons):

Now compare with the man from the Ajanta Caves (Nubian’s image taken from the Brooklyn Museum website):

There is tons of evidence, to reinforce the point I would like to make.

Will come to it in good time.

(Added subsequently, at about 8.30 P.M.)

 

Observe the hairstyle of these male musicians-dancers at the Parashurameshvar Temple at Bhubaneshwar.

This photo was taken by me almost 11 years back.

The musician-dancer on the Right seems to have distinctly curly hair ... I think this is what’s meant by “kinky” hair ... but the curly hairline begins pretty far behind.

Not sure if his hair has been curled, or if he has curly hair.

The musician-dancer in the Centre, though, has the same ringlets as the Nubian at the Brooklyn Musem, and the figure at Ajanta.