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Henna Assets

Properties that extend far beyond beauty and a culture which stems from the seduction techniques of Cleopatra. Meera Patel uncovers the fascination behind the age old art of Henna.

If beauty and the attractive spark came to every girl like Angelina's pout, Aniston's luscious locks or Lily Cole's entire visage, why then, every girl would have her assets figured!

Good looks would be a stroll in the park. Plastic surgeons would be out of business, make up counters would employ idle workers and beauty magazines might turn to leaflets. Yet the vogue of human visuals remains to intrigue and perfection is a nirvana we will never reach (even if we were all Brazilian). These thoughts came to me the weekend I was on a mission to discern my own beauty assets. Though I did not find it within the two days I'd left for myself, I created one in the time. Strange though it seems, it came from the most natural source of all and if cultural art hurt, I would have felt excruciating blows as I walked through the front door into a Henna night.

I discovered the bride, perfectly cross-legged upon a silk pillow, observing the Henna artist covering her young skin in floral patterns like red lace. She was surrounded by the older women showering her in the secrets of love-making whilst oo-ing and ah-ing as the patterns became more intricate. Like the details of the design, the culture caught my interest.

The function was social and as a guest I too received my own special stamp of beauty. As did others who elongated their fingers and wrapped their newly elegant hands around champagne flutes, careful not to smudge their art. 'Take a look, but don't touch!' I heard someone say.

Mehndi or Henna has been used in beauty rituals and customs from time immemorial and that night its magic transformed women, as it once is rumoured to have done for Cleopatra the evening she seduced Mark Anthony. Henna is derived from a Middle Eastern plant where the climate is hot and dry. It is harvested to make powder, which once, before hygienists ruled, was blended with camel urine, lye or yak to create a paste. However these ingredients were swiftly changed to essential oils when marketed as a 'Contemporary product from the East' and the gleaming stain is the binding of its acid and female collagen in skin cells. The lower part of this plant is excellent for hair treatment, skin conditioning and heat rash relief and the upper part for the henna art designs.  Harmless in its purest form, no incidents of allergies, it is a tattoo for the faint-hearted applied with plastic cones and absent from the horrors of enduring needled ink.

Woven into the design lie peacocks, hearts and mangoes symbolising love and fertility derived from ancient legends. Such as that of Anath, the Virgin Warrior Goddess and Baal, the Bull God. The story begins with Baal being killed by Mot, the God of Summer Heat, the rain halts and the summer is filled with drought. The people despair as the earth is scorched. Anath goes to rescue Baal, and before she leaves she applies Henna to her hands. She brings back Baal in early autumn when the rains return and the earth springs to life. The people rejoice and there is bliss due to the change in climate. A definite happy ending! So to farmers Henna brought existence, and like Anath, women applied Henna before autumn and this strengthens their skin for harvest work as well as marking the agricultural cycle. The reason why some traditions prevail is because they contain concealed meanings, when once discovered, tradition becomes practicality. So when was Henna tradition and when was it practicality? I puzzled and took a comfortable seat next to the bride.

The Henna artist continued her work late into the night, as guests became merrier and merrier. Her persistence astonishing, strokes of paste flowed fluently from the cone and her art was real. Before me being created, and not just something to view in a gallery. The work displayed like a variety of stencils etched in the artists mind and then painted onto the skin, the body like canvas. A walking, talking, decorated platform for an artists work. I don't think the historic tribes of Asia foresaw their traditions on the front cover of the May 1997 Vanity Fair magazine. Model and Actress Liv Tyler adorned her hands and feet with Henna and was photographed by Herb Ritts. Madonna's Frozen video and the ad campaign for 'Ebel Swiss Watches' also feature the ornate designs of Mehndi. From that moment diverse culture was embraced by high fashion. But the relationship of henna develops far beyond wedding rituals and Naomi Campbell's catwalk accessory. It is also associated with a girl's entrance into womanhood at marriage. A connection exists between Henna, hymenal blood, and the menstrual cycle. This is due in part, to the colour of the dye and the stains average duration of one week. When I first heard this fact, it interested me, yet there was a certain eeriness about it. There was undeniably more to Henna than I'd ever imagined.

Midnight drew close and the Henna night was nearing to its end. The bride's Mehndi was turning into an ever deepening red hue. 
"The darker the Mehndi, the stronger the love," whispered the brides sister whilst we gazed at her palms, as the finishing touches fell into place.

The Henna artist handed me her remaining Mehndi cones and insisted I try the art on a friend. I was hooked instantaneously. It was crafted doodling in all its glory and motifs streamed from my coned pen. That was the night I truly uncovered the magic of Henna for myself and realised I'd figured the mission. Nearly, almost, and yes, still Sunday night - I took home the greatest beauty asset of all - the delicate rosettes upon my skin.

- By Meera Manzini