The art of drawing – Mehndi

Have you ever wanted to cover your body with something that you will never get fed up with and something that you will never regret?

There is an ancient art which is a form of skin decoration with natural henna – it is called Mehndi.

“Henna” actually means “red”, it is a Latin name of the plant Lawsonia inermis. Today, in Hindi, it is called Mehndi. Of course, Mehndi is the art of body drawing with the red paint that comes from the leaves of the plant, which paint we today call henna.

In India, Mehndi was enriched with aromatic oils. Over time, it became a sort of celebration – of weddings and other occasions. The henna drawings look beautiful and also protect from the heat, because of the cooling effect of the plant.

In time, the techniques of henna drawing became more and more complicated and beautiful. Today they are considered an interesting and special art in the whole world.

In all countries of the Orient and also in the Gulf Stream and the Arab countries, the ritual of drawing the body with henna still exists. A few days before the wedding, all the women from the family and the friends circle gather to celebrate the so called “Mehndi night” (the bride’s evening). Usually, it takes place two days before the ceremony and serves the bride as a preparation which includes long procedures. With a lot of patience, the henna artists draw the bride’s palms and feet. In some regions are being covered bigger parts of the bride’s body. Of big importance are not only the shapes and the ornaments of the drawing, but also the intensity of the henna color. The brighter the colors were, the bigger was the love of the bridegroom’s family. The mother-in-law is in charge with the Mehndi point – it is a sign of her blessing. Mandatory element of the wedding decoration is the bridegroom’s name, which is cleverly added to the ornaments of the henna tattoo. After the wedding, the bridegroom starts looking for his name on the body of the bride. It takes him a few hours to find it, but that is necessary if he wants the first wedding’s night to be held.

The lovely art of body drawing is nowadays as fascinating as it was before. If you would like to see your body drawn with delicate ornaments, it is not necessary to make a permanent tattoo. You could just have a little fun and give yourself to the Mehndi adventure.