His are no ordinary dreadlocks.

“They connect me with my ancestors and I can communicate directly with them...” Mr Nathaniel Mukosi (62) of Tshandama has been keeping his dreadlocks for the past 37 years. The dreadlocks, which are half a metre long, are even older than the eldest child in the family.

Mukosi, who is an employee of the Department of Agriculture in Mutale, is the kind of person that one cannot ignore. He is talkative and well versed in any topic.

The father of 11 children said it all started when he was still a young boy. “I was 14 years old when my parents cut my hair and this made me very ill. When they took me to traditional healers, they were told that I had to serve the ancestors and help heal people,” said Mukosi.

“As time went by, I became a very powerful traditional healer and I have helped so many people from far and wide with their illnesses,” he said. He said when people came with their health problems, the ancestors visited him and gave him clues as to what to do to help the sick.

“These locks will never be cut as long as I am still alive. I went through a lot of ridicule from people who did not understand me, but because I knew what I stood for, I did not mind what they said. It is me, my gods and my dreadlocks,” he said. He added that he had been the subject of nasty stares by people wherever he went.

“Some regard me as a rasta who is always smoking dagga, who is filthy and with an agenda different from that of the community. I am not a dagga smoker and people should just accept me as I am,” he said.

He said he cleaned his dreadlocks daily. “Dreadlocks are very easy to maintain; mine are always clean, they do no smell and I feel very comfortable everywhere. With these dreadlocks, luck follows me everywhere and I will always cherish them as a treasure in my life,” he said.

His wife Margareth concurred by saying that Mukosi was very possessive of his dreadlocks. “One time we were at a hospital and the nurses wanted to cut the hair before they would treat him. I told them right there that he would divorce me immediately if he was discharged with his hair cut,” she said.

She said she would support him all the time and would make sure that the hair was well kept all the time. “I love him the way he is. I am used to this hair and I feel happy when I touch them,” she said.