What do you get when you dry the leaves of the plant lawsonia inermis, make them into a paste and apply it to skin in intricate designs? A temporary tattoo. Also known as henna or mendhi, it’s an art form that is relatively recent in American culture — virtually unknown as recently as 1990, according to a PBS documentary on the subject.
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Carine Fabius, author of a book on mendhi and the art of henna body painting, said it is believed that henna has been used for decoration and medicine for at least 5,000 years and began as a way for people to cool off in the Indian desert. The Indian people discovered that by dipping their feet and hands into a paste made from the ground leaves of the henna plant, they could stay cool. Eventually, this evolved into the art form of lines, dots, flowers, spirals and geometric shapes painted on the extremities.
Traditionally, henna was used in the celebration of weddings, engagements, births and religious festivals. Different cultures all have different traditions and designs when it comes to the practice of henna, ranging from the painting of doors to bring prosperity in Morocco, to the fine designs of lace floral and paisley patterns in India, to the bold and geometric designs in Africa.
It would be possible to argue a case of cultural appropriation when it comes to the fad-like nature of henna in America. A practice that has deep religious and personal meanings throughout Eastern cultures has turned into the latest craze in the U.S., being the cool thing to do at hemp fests and art festivals.
In true American fashion one might say, we’ve taken a practice from foreign cultures that are older and more established than ours and turned it into a hipster pothead craze.
Contrarily it could be seen as promotion of cultural diversity and honoring the practices of other cultures through a pop-culture phenomena that, although temporary, is rich in its historical meaning.
However it’s viewed, henna will be around for awhile. If you’re a henna veteran, or if you’ve only just heard about it, head down to Moscow HempFest this weekend to check out local art and food vendors and get your henna on.
Kaitlin Moroney can be reached at [email protected]