In December, 1976, tensions were high between Jamaica’s two major political parties, the ruling People’s National Party (PNP) and the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP). There was one man best equipped to ease the tension – Bob Marley. The idea for the “Smile Jamaica” concert was to defuse an atmosphere of violence. But two days before the concert, Bob and his entourage were attacked in front of her ‘Tuff Gong’ home at 56 Hope Road.
A car full of gunmen appeared and opened fire. Bob was hit – in the right side of his chest and on his arm. But, injuries aside, he was ok. His wife Rita Marley, however, was shot in the head. When the assailants left, the group rushed to the University Hospital of the West Indies. Years later, Rita would write in her memoir “No Woman No Cry” about how an unlikely accessory had saved her life – her thick dreadlocks.
Protection against bullets wasn’t always vaunted as among the benefits of having dreadlocks. Dreadlocks don’t make you bullet-proof. But in the natural world, there are cases where the dreads can be a security measure. The Komondor, a shaggy Hungarian guardian dog, uses its matted locks as a protection against wolf bites.
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