chiny,
okay in w. africa there is a muslim group name baye fall, they are like saints in christianity but instead of being a saint after you die they are saint while they are alive a :| i hope u get that.
Anyway these people do not worry about themselves. I mean they have no care for the world. Material things and looks mean nothing to them. They only do things to please God. So they lock their hair cause it is the highest form of "i don't care, i will just let my hair matt up and look like a bum" cause they have grown past outward expression.
So if a person is doing it for "spirtual" reasons then 1. it could signify the struggle one goes through to reach a certail lvl of "understanding" or it could be to renounce outward appearances. Then you have the other group of people who do it so they can stunt and look like a super star, feel me?