# What culture/faith might this be? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 31, 2008, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-culture-faith-might-this-be/443406 "2008-03-31T17:11:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![cher3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2008, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-culture-faith-might-this-be/443406/1 "2008-03-31T17:11:41Z")
There’s a guy who works at the local vegetarian food co-op I’ve been wondering about. He has a huge head of (possibly) dreadlocked hair. I say possibly because he always has it covered by a colorful knitted or woven hat with a large poufy top to hold the hair. He also wears a beard. Recently I saw him walking with what I presume were his wife and young children–2 boys and a little girl. The wife and girl wore long dresses with long sleeves and scarve with sort of bags at the back to hold their hair, although there wasn’t an attempt made to completely cover the hair at the front. The dresses and scarves were pale, solid blue. The boys were dressed pretty much like their father–long sleeve shirts, pants and hats. The family has the general appearance of fairly light-skinned African Americans. Any ideas? ---
**Author:** ![nofloyd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nofloyd/32/2870_2.png) [@nofloyd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nofloyd)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2008, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-culture-faith-might-this-be/443406/2 "2008-03-31T17:48:32Z")
Dreadlocks and knit hats brings Rastafarian immediately to mind. Originally a Jamaican movement. > **[Rastafari](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rastafarian)** > > Rastafari, sometimes called Rastafarianism, is an ethnic religion that developed in Jamaica during the 1930s. It is classified as both a new religious movement and a social movement by scholars of religion. There is no central authority in control of the movement and much diversity exists among practitioners, who are known as Rastafari, Rastafarians, or Rastas. > Rastafari beliefs are based on a specific interpretation of the Bible. Central to the religion is a monotheistic belief in a single... I didn’t notice the hats mentioned in Wikipedia but the knit hats are common - are these the type of hats - [Amazon.com : rasta knit hats](http://www.amazon.com/gp/search?ie=UTF8&keywords=rasta%20knit%20hats&tag=googadwo0de-20&index=blended&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=9325) ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2008, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-culture-faith-might-this-be/443406/3 "2008-03-31T20:41:48Z")
Wow- a Rastafarian who hooked up with an Amish woman and her kids? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2008, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-culture-faith-might-this-be/443406/4 "2008-03-31T20:53:20Z")
Somalian comes to mind, with the headscarves and all, but the Somalians I’ve met have been unusually formally dressed. There’s a woman I see on the bus who brings a young boy around 8 years old on with her and the boy is dressed in a _suit_. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2008, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-culture-faith-might-this-be/443406/5 "2008-03-31T23:36:17Z")
[QUOTE=cher3] There’s a guy who works at the local vegetarian food co-op [/QUOTE] More evidence for Rastafarian, since they’re supposed to be vegetarians. ---
**Author:** ![Shryn\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c2a13f/32.png) [@Shryn\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shryn_King)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2008, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-culture-faith-might-this-be/443406/6 "2008-04-01T01:41:57Z")
I can’t add much too the thread other than say that it doesn’t sound like Somali or Somali Bantu to me. If it was either of those I would expect if the man were wearing a hat it would be [something like these](http://www.shukronline.com/mens-hats.html) and the women would have definitely had their head covered. Plus, the Somali Bantu women are colorful!!! [Something like this](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqolDk5gFkg&feature=related) …well, the faces are blurred…but, you can see the clothing. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2008, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-culture-faith-might-this-be/443406/7 "2008-04-01T02:19:00Z")
If he is a Rastafarian, then the head covering he’s wearing is a Tsalot-Kob. ---
**Author:** ![cher3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2008, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-culture-faith-might-this-be/443406/8 "2008-04-01T18:02:07Z")
I’m going to vote for Rastafarian. The hats in **nofloyd’s** links look like what the family was wearing.