A Personal Aside
Look what I did this weekend!
I’ve wanted to have my hands decorated with henna, sometimes called mehndi, for a long time – about 12 years, since a colleague had hers elaborately done for her wedding (this was Joanna of the Embroidered Coif Kit, who will be joining us for the 9/26 embroidery session – yay!). I finally got a chance this weekend, at my twin nieces’ six-year-old birthday party, oddly enough. My brother had a magician/balloon artist for the children’s entertainment but also booked a henna artist, on a whim, and because he thought the girls and their guests would enjoy it. We certainly did – all the children (except the smallest and wiggliest) and most of the grown-ups got a design.
After all those years you might think the reality wouldn’t match my anticipation, but actually I am delighted beyond all reason. For the past couple of years I’ve been thinking quite a bit about how and why human beings decorate themselves (did you spot the massive understatement?), with clothes and jewelry and make-up. I think the impulse to adorn the important and special, to highlight attractive characteristics and hide the rest, is universal to human societies, or very nearly so. Personally, hands have always been special to me, more than special, almost magical.
You may have seen the photos of the embroiderers’ hands at work that I frequently post here. I love to watch skilled hands manipulate tools and materials. The urge to create, the ability to create, the process of creation even more than the end result is fascinating to me. I was captivated by the symbolism of decorating the hands, to call attention, to accentuate, to honor.
For a full 10 – 15 minutes each, the time it took Heather to decorate them, my hands were forced to be idle. I spent the time admiring her skilled hands as she drew the design free-form. Then for about 30 minutes, I waited, still with idle hands (pretty unusual for me) while the henna dried. It took hours for it to flake off, and Heather says the designs will last a couple of weeks. I think, as long as they last, I will be spending some time contemplating and appreciating my hands.
September 9th, 2008 at 8:03 pm
I LOVE Henna! We get henna kits at the health food store and do it ourselves! See here:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3050/2844693394_00e046b8eb.jpg
for a photo of my own hand, that I did…I can only do my left
hand, I can’t draw on my own right hand!
If you get a kit (I highly recommend this), be sure to get the kind with a little bottle with a metal straw-type tip….the cone bags you cut the tip off of are way too hard to use!!!!!
Don’t forget the eucalyptus oil and lemon sugar sprays, they help make the henna last longer!
September 10th, 2008 at 11:28 am
and pleasepleaseplease make sure it’s real henna; especially if you get it done by someone you don’t know at a beach resort, or something, some people will put Very Bad Chemicals (the carcinogens you can find in some hairdyes, also known as PPD) to get a “black” stain. Jill’s looks like the red-brown stain you get from real henna, so I’m not worried about her party.
I’m sorry, really, to bring this up, I hope I’m not throwing cold water on anybody’s enthusiasm – but I also love henna design and want it to stay safe and LEGAL in this country! Go here: http://www.hennapage.com for more info than you can possibly use.
September 10th, 2008 at 8:49 pm
That looks amazing! I can’t believe it can last so long, either.
September 10th, 2008 at 9:03 pm
that looks great!
September 11th, 2008 at 6:09 pm
I love henna. Gill’s post prompted me to blog a retrospective on the henna party I attended in India, April 20007. If you would like to you can read it here.
CA