During an Islamic wedding, we often see beautifully painted hands and feet also called henna. Where does this tradition came from? In this article, we show you everything you want to know about the henna tradition and tell you what you didn’t know about this form of body decoration during the wedding.
What is henna?
Henna can be considered a type of temporary tattoo. The Indian name is Mehndi. It’s a traditional form of decoration on the body and is used for special occasions such as a wedding. The (dark) red substance comes from a plant that occurs in Pakistan, Egypt and India. Usually henna is drawn by hand or applied with a stencil.
Where does the tradition came from?
The first type of of henna was discovered by Egyptian mummies. At the time, henna was used to decorate the body and to cool the skin. Nowadays, henna is mostly used in the Arabic, African and Indian culture.
Henna is often used by brides in Islamic countries. According to them, it keeps the evil spirits away. They believe that if they apply henna the wedding will have more chance to be succesful.The bride and groom will have more luck if the bride is decorated with henna. It’s actually a kind of power source for the newlywed couple. Apart from being a tradition, it’s also a form of decoration.
The henna bridal party
The application of henna, is often accompanied by a henna bridal party. It’s actually a kind of bachelor party for the ladies. No man allowed! Sometimes men also get henna applied prior to the marriage, but it takes place in another room.
Did you know that...
- The more you wash henna, the longer it remains?
- If you rub the skin with lemon juice or oil, the henna sticks better to the skin?
- Every family develops their own tradition surrounding henna?
- The henna bush has been cultivated since about 3500 before Christ?
- That henna is already more than five thousand years old?
- A henna bush can grow up to eight meters high?
- Buddha statues in Asia have been found with henna paintings on the hands?
- Egyptian mummies also had henna on their bodies?
- Henna in Italy was also used as an organic paint by fifteenth-century painters?
- People warn about the use of black henna? It can cause strong allergic reactions with lasting consequences.
- The paste of a newly installed henna tattoo should be left as long as possible?
- In the Middle East people often painted floral motifs with henna.
- The henna is applied with a syringe, according to the Moroccan technique.
- The skin has a process of renewal. It takes an average of 5 weeks. The henna decoration fades, depending on the situations.
- Using a sauna, chlorine, cleaning products and scrubbing the skin will make the renewal of the skin go faster. This means the henna will fader quicker.