While I was in Ethiopia from 1965 to 1968 I saw no evidence of "The dreadlocks hairstyle" among men. "Afros" were certainly traditional, as well as contemporary, although the urban middle class tended to crop their hair short. Some of the photographs of the young Emperor Haile Selassi show him with a robust afro. When his imperial majesty visited our school, his head was completely covered with a military cap.
I do wonder where the dreadlocks style evolved from. Is it West African?