Sheffield Theatres Education Resource

Handful of Henna

History and Uses of Henna

Henna (English) Mehndi (Pakistan)
Mendhi (Punjab) Medi (Gujarat)
Marathon (Tamil) Mohuz (Kashmir)
Mindi (Mundari)

Henna is the Persian name that is used to describe a the small flowering shrub (Lawsonia inermis) of the privet family. The Henna plant is found in many parts of the world including Pakistan, Spain and Australia. There are many varieties of the henna plant grown in different regions that result in different different colours of powder which have different colouring properties.

Pure natural henna powder can be bright to deep green, khaki or brown. Natural pure henna powders renders stains that are orange, red, burgundy, cinnamon, bittersweet chocolate brown, burgundy-black, black cherry and near black colours.

History of Henna

The earliest proven civilizations to have used henna are the Babylonians, Assyrians, Sumerians, Semites, Ugarititics and Canaanites. Ancient Egyptians used henna to stain the fingers and toes of the Pharaohs before they were mummified.

The use of henna by Jewish people in Jerusalem was recorded by the Romans during period of the birth of Christ. Henna became part of the culture of Islam in the 6th -7th centuries AD, and as Islam spread to other countries so did the use of henna.

The Christians and Moors used and grew Henna from the 9th century AD to 1567 when the Spanish Inquisition banned its use.

Henna was also used to dye horses manes and hooves as well as to colour animal skins and men's beards.

The earliest recorded use of henna in India is in the Ajanta Caves dating from 400 AD. The use of henna in India became popular during the time it was subject to Muslim rule and was further developed under Mughal rule in the 17th century.

In Saudi Arabia the prophet Mohamed is said to have dyed his hair with henna.

In China henna was used to decorate nails, while in Vietnam women used it to blacken their teeth.

Production

Henna is produced mainly in India, Pakistan, Yemen, Morocco, Egypt, Iran and Sudan. Most of the henna produced in these countries is kept for the local markets with only a small quantity being exported eg Pakistan produces over 15,000 metric tones of henna leaves a year, over half is used within Pakistan.

Properties

Cooling: The practice of mehndi started out as a way of cooling body temperature - desert dwelling people of Rajasthan and Gujarat became aware of henna's cooling properties and started dipping their hands and feet into a paste made from crushed henna leaves. Even after the 'mud' fell off their body temperature remained lowe until the colour faded. It was discovered that a large central dot in the palm of the hand had a similar effect. Eventually, more dots were added and these patterns formed more artistic designs.

Coagulator: Henna leaves were made into a poultice and applied to burns and eczema and is believed to act as a coagulator.

Relaxant: The palm of the hand has a large number of nerve endings - henna applied to the palm helps relax the nerveous system.

Antiperspirant: Henna works as an antiperspirant by tightening the pores.

Use of Henna

The use of henna for decoration and as a symbol of happiness, prosperity, beauty and is used in the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia and is now becoming increasingly popular in western countries.

Henna is also used to mark rites of passage for women in many countries.

Designs are usually drawn on the hands and feet with henna paste.

Paste is applied to the skin via a cone or brush. The henna paste is left on the skin to dry before being removed. The result is a reddish brown pattern that can
last from two weeks to several months.

"We used to have some henna powder that we kept watering down, so the first batch would last us for two to three weeks. When we were little we used to be so happy to receive a big blob of henna in the middle of our palms, whilst the grown-ups would have such elaborate designs. We were content with our blobs and would run away brandishing our dots proudly as if they were trophies. We didn’t care about the fact that it just took seconds to apply and that the grown – ups had such complicated designs, when we just had our blobs and were happy."

Photo of Handful of Henna by Chris Saunders

photo of the Handful of Henna by Chris Saunders

Ceremonies

Henna is used for the following festivals: Diwali, Norooz, Eids, Purim, Passover, naming ceremonies, births and other holidays but it is not part of the religious celebration.

"Some people when they have a wedding they put henna on their hands, different patterns and the Eid day they put on henna they wearing new dress and everything, some people they go to meet family, visit family and they put it on their head as well and on their hair. Its ok because in this country you put nail varnish on they put henna its ok, some people put it on every week. I can do design not too nice cos’ you know some people are learning how to do it nice, you do like flowers or like leaves or something else like hearts or something like that." Yasmin

Eid al_Fatr:
Henna plays a role in the Id al Fitr or ‘Little Feast’ at the end of Ramadan. Women apply henna to their hair, hands and feet. A perfume derived form the flowers of the henna plant is used during prayers.

"Every Eid, my aunty would put mehndi on my hands."

Weddings:
Henna body decorations play an important part in Hindu and Islamic weddings. Intricate patterns are applied to the bride’s hands before the wedding.
The grooms name will often be hidden within the pattern - if the groom finds his name it is said to bring the couple good luck. In some traditions in Bangladesh, Rajasthan, Kashmir and Sudan the
bridegroom will also be decorated with henna.

For example in Rajasthan grooms are decorated with designs that are often more intricate than the brides.

Some customs state that the new bride will do no housework in her husband’s home until the henna has faded.

To read personal stories click on the following links:

http//plantcultures.org.uk/pccms/action
/showlterm?id=997

Wedding Memories

Night of Henna
The henna party takes place the night before the wedding. It is traditionally held in the home of the bride and is usually attended by the brides’ female relatives. They spend the evening applying hennadesigns to the bride’s hands and feet. There may be dancing, music and other entertainment.

The bride’s parents will usually organize the party; they may hire a professional henna artist to apply the designs. To find about more about a traditional Muslim or Hindu wedding click on the link below.

Henna Designs

Henna is part of the cultures of the middle East, Asia, and North Africa to decorate and beautify. Each culture has it’s own designs influenced by their own unique culture, religion and environment.

"We used to make a type of henna by steaming tea and sugar together in a steaming device made of two tins and a small burner with a lid. We would collect the droplets of condensation inside the tin, which would be a mixture of tea and sugar. This mixture would be dark enough to create stained patterns on our hands and would last for two or three days. We would be so happy, as we had made our own henna. We used sharp sticks to decorate our hands with this mixture. We would go over the patterns twice to make the patterns last longer."

South India: a circular pattern is drawn and pilled in in the centre of the palm. A cap is then formed on the fingertips - the result looks like the fingertips have been dipped into henna. Popular before cones were available this design is still used by south Indian classical dancers.

North Africa: based on animal designs (butterfly, peacock, fish), hand-pulled carriage and lotus. The designs are intricate and detailed. The end result looks similar to a lacy glove.

Pakistan: a combination of North Indian and Arabic motifs. Designs include, flowers, leaves and geometrical shapes. The henna designs of Pakistan were influenced by religious teachings. Muslims do not worship the human for so their designs must not incorporate images of human faces, birds or animals.

Sudan: designs are bold and floral, with geometric angles and shapes. Sudanese patters are usually created with black henna.

Arabic: designs tend to be large, floral patterns. The nails are also dyed.

Create Your Own Henna Design

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