The first time I had an offer of henna, I was nervous about going to work with it. Because I was in the company of my boss's girlfriend, she called him and asked what he thought about us getting henna. His reaction? "That's great, I'm so happy for you! All the students will be pleased."
Henna is a sign of celebration. Used traditionally for marriages, the bride has henna painted on both sides of her hands, up to the elbows, and tops and bottoms of feet, all the way up the ankle. The groom receives only small designs on each palm, one a circular dot pattern, the other the name of his bride-to-be. Though henna is now used for many occasions, it is always a sign of joy. Imagine that your best friend just got that big promotion she'd been working toward forever. How happy for her you would be. That is the emotion that accompanies henna.
Henna comes in all colors, but the natural henna is orange-ish brown, and is a powder made from the henna plant. It's a dermal pigment, staining the skin for somewhere between a week and 6 weeks depending on the skin and the care. From the powder, it is made into a paste and applied using a (non-needled) syringe. The colored hennas have some chemicals in them to dye them- Candace got a black henna last year that burned like acid on her skin.
I started learning about henna from many Moroccan friends, and took a few packages back to America. My cousin Charlotte and I stayed up terribly late making henna for the first time. She has become one of the best hennaias I have seen, and she makes all her own designs!
The Moroccan designs are relatively free of dots (compared to Indian henna) with repetition instead of the teardrop shape. Marrakesh henna is bold, just a couple flowers with the rest of the hand blank. It has extreme contrast and floral patterns. Fessie henna traditionally had a geometric pattern covering the whole hand. More modern Fessie henna is floral, with bold flowers in the midst of filler spirals and teardrops. The whole hand is covered, but the design stands out in the middle. Casablancan henna has very little contrast. The swirls dissapear into the hand. The design is barely evident, but it is intricate and expansive.
I've been collecting pictures of henna. Some of these are mine, some have been done by others in the Fessie community.
That last picture is awesome! The deep stripe across the left hand and the darkening of the finger tips look really amazing. I also recall that first picture of the plant Henna attacking the webcam non-stop. hehe Love you!
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