Mystical Mehendi - The Secrets of Indian Henna Art - Part 1

Mehendi (Indian Henna) has been a traditional symbol of India for the ages. The beauty in its colour, its fragrance and mystical feeling attached to it have ensured that this art has been passed on from generation to generation. Not to mention the herbal benefits of this naturally available plant.

Henna Plant

Over the centuries, henna has been used for various medicinal purposes. Although I do not know all of it's medicinal purposes, I do know that henna is good for hair treatment, and for skin treatment. It's cooling property also makes it a great herb in the Indian sub continent where in certain part of the country, temperature could go very high. One thing is sure, if there is some herb being used by Indians, it will have direct or indirect medicinal benefits. However, today, many people use mehendi as fashion element. Be it fashion or medicinal, henna will remain a part of the Indian culture.

Before I write about how to go about creating your art, I'd like to brief a bit about the traditional aspect of mehendi in various parts of India. I remember that when my children were young, I used to collect henna leaves from the henna shrub in our front yard, grind them to a soft paste and keep them in their tiny palms. My idea was to cool down their body temperature as the place we used to live in got extremely hot during summers. The kids liked the colour of the henna and the smell of it and it solved two purposes, to keep the kids entertained and to ensure their body temperature was maintained. The fragrance was good too. I always used them during summer and never applied henna during at winter as it could lead to lowered body temperature. But in many parts of the country, there are rich traditions and legends tied to the application of mehendi (henna). In most parts of northern India, mehendi plays a significant role during weddings. Bride-to-be is made to sit in a beautiful stage and ladies adorn the bride's hand and feet with henna a day before the wedding. The henna application is done amidst lively music and singing and the singing sometimes goes on throughout the night. In some parts of the northern India, legend has that if the colour left behind by the henna on the bride's palm is dark and deep, the groom will take good care of the bride and the bride will be loved by her in-laws. Thus all types of tricks are done to get the colour deep and dark, and believe me, they always get it dark and deep :). In few parts of the country, the grooms names is intricately hidden with the complex henna patterns drawn in the brides palm. After the wedding, the groom is asked to find the hidden name from the bride's palm, with bride's sisters teasing the groom. If he finds it, he wins and doesn't have to pay the bride's sisters. If he loses, he gets to pay out a huge sum of money as a ransom to be with his bride. By the way, these are just fun traditions to keep the wedding lively.

Bride's feet being adorned

North Indian Bride showing of her deep henna colour

In my next post, I will write about how you can get your henna art done, a DIY. Till then, Namaste!