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BY Etsey Atisu, 12:00pm July 17, 2019,

Meet the man who has not washed or cut his 6ft long dreadlocks for 40 years

by Etsey Atisu, 12:00pm July 17, 2019,

In the last 40 years, he has neither washed his hair nor cut them. Sakal Dev Tuddu from the Munger district of eastern Bihar state, India, now sports six-foot-long dreadlocks which he has kept for that long because he believes God visited him in a dream and asked him never to cut it or wash it.

This might seem like a Biblical Samson sort of story but the only aspects of the similarities of these two stories is that Tuddu is still alive today but is nothing close to being the world’s strongest man in history.

The 63-year-old calls his hair a ‘blessing from God’, wearing his mat of hair on top of his head like a turban.

India (Bihar), Sakal Dev Tuddu age 63 years belongs to munger district in bihar state of India. He has a unique feature in his personality. He proudly wears 6 feet long hair like a turban on his head. Unique feature of his hair is single strand while sadhus have multiple strand. His single strand is interwoven like a big thick rope. His wife Rupiya devi has no problem with it. According to Sakal Dev, on one night his hair automatically turned into "jattas" or dreaded lock and he considered it as a blessing from God. He further added that God himself visited in his dreams and directed him not to trim his hair. Since then he left his hair to grow and hasn?t washed his hair for 40 years. As a result to pay regards to his deity he quit smoking & drinking. He thinks that everyone is best at something. His life has completely changed and keeping long hair has become a passion for him. He tie his hair with piece of cloth while going out of house so that it can protect from dirt and pollution. He lives with his wife along with 3 sons, 3 daughters and 7 grandchildren. He says that his grandchildren always looked at him surprisingly but now they are used to it. He has been serving in the forest department for 31 years. He dedicated his life to cure people, he gives his own medicine to childless couple. People come from far flung areas to meet him. He never shows tantrums to meet them, and to get clicked by them. Locals address him as " Mahatma ji" because of his appearance and his humble nature. He is living the life to the fullest. PHOTOGRAPH BY Rare Shot / Barcroft Media
Photo: Metro.co.uk

He says that one night, some 40 years ago, his hair spontaneously wove itself into a ‘jatta’ or dreadlock, which he took as a divine blessing. 

He also says God visited him in a dream and told him not to cut his hair – an instruction he has obeyed ever since.

India (Bihar), Sakal Dev Tuddu age 63 years belongs to munger district in bihar state of India. He has a unique feature in his personality. He proudly wears 6 feet long hair like a turban on his head. Unique feature of his hair is single strand while sadhus have multiple strand. His single strand is interwoven like a big thick rope. His wife Rupiya devi has no problem with it. According to Sakal Dev, on one night his hair automatically turned into "jattas" or dreaded lock and he considered it as a blessing from God. He further added that God himself visited in his dreams and directed him not to trim his hair. Since then he left his hair to grow and hasn?t washed his hair for 40 years. As a result to pay regards to his deity he quit smoking & drinking. He thinks that everyone is best at something. His life has completely changed and keeping long hair has become a passion for him. He tie his hair with piece of cloth while going out of house so that it can protect from dirt and pollution. He lives with his wife along with 3 sons, 3 daughters and 7 grandchildren. He says that his grandchildren always looked at him surprisingly but now they are used to it. He has been serving in the forest department for 31 years. He dedicated his life to cure people, he gives his own medicine to childless couple. People come from far flung areas to meet him. He never shows tantrums to meet them, and to get clicked by them. Locals address him as " Mahatma ji" because of his appearance and his humble nature. He is living the life to the fullest. PHOTOGRAPH BY Rare Shot / Barcroft Media
Sakal Dev says he has no problem with his long hair (Picture: Barcroft)

For this reason, he also gave up drinking and smoking out of devotion to his deity. Sadhus, Hindu holy men, also go without grooming their hair and sport long jattas.

But unlike the sadhus, Sakal Dev’s hair is matted into one huge knotted lock, which he ties up in a white cloth when he goes out to keep it clean.

If he didn’t stack his hair up on top of his head it would trail on the ground behind him. 

His neighbours have dubbed him ‘Mahatma Ji’ as a mark of respect for his holy appearance and humble demeanour. He says his wife, Rupiya Devi, has no problem with his unruly hair.

Sakal Dev Tuddu, 63, from India's Bihar state, wears his six-foot-long mat of hair on top of his head like a turban wrapped in a white cloth
Sakal Dev Tuddu, 63, from India’s Bihar state, wears his six-foot-long mat of hair on top of his head like a turban wrapped in a white cloth | Barcroft Media

Sakal Dev worked for the Indian forest department for 31 years but today, he is renowned as a traditional healer who prepares home-made treatments for childless couples. He lives with his wife, three sons, three daughters and seven grandchildren.

The record for the world’s longest dreadlocks is held by Kenyan-resident Florida woman Asha Mandela, whose hair measured an incredible 110 feet (34m) in 2018 when she was 55.

Last Edited by:Editor Updated: September 25, 2023

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