Re: fasting & henna
Posted by Kenzi on January 10, 2000 at 05:29:02:
In Reply to: Re: fasting & henna posted by Catherine Cartwright Jones on January 09, 2000 at 00:26:55:
: Yes, you're not supposed to henna during Ramadan. To some people,
: henna seemed too much like a celebration of living, loving and
: sensuous pleasures to be quite in line with Ramadan. (contemplative,
: abstinent....sort of?)
I agree, henna doesn't really seem to fit. And if men find henna
sexy, and since women are at fault for men not being able to resist
temptation, then henna should not be allowed. Love that logic. But I
agree with the basic idea, if you're not supposed to give in to
sensuous pleasures and vanity during Ramadan, then henna does not fit
the bill.
: There is another holiday, Mahurram (sp?) celebrated in Iran and
: Pakistan, that you don't henna for the 40 days because it is sort of
: annual grieving for a martyr. I've got the info on it somewhere
here,
: but not right at hand. Mahurram, too, ends with a massive
celebration
: and out comes the henna. In 19th century Pakistan and Muslim India,
: at the end of Mahurram, part of the parade festivities would be
people
: carring big platters of henna paste, and everyone would dip in!
: I get the feeling that both are comparable to Lent, and I wonder how
: closely all are connected with an annual period of grieving for the
: god of vegetation (a winter thing) followed by the celebration of
new
: life and spring ... numerous connected legends from the Middle East
: from 3000 BCE to 500 BCE or so .... have in their social practices
: some very similar bits. One similar bit is that you henna after the
: abstinent period ends.....
There is a great description of this holiday in Elizabeth Warnock
Fernea's book "Guests of the Sheikh". She explains the history of it
all (can't remember the details, but it is about martyrdom) and also
the way they celebrated it in the village where she lived. She writes
a lot about women and her experiences livin