Henna in Malaysia
Posted by Deborah on June 15, 1997 at 21:17:47:
I previously thought henna was always used in designs on the
body. The following story is how I learned otherwise.
Recently I attended a close friend's wedding in Malaysia.
She is an American and her husband is a Muslim Malaysian from
a small village on the east coast. The day before the wedding
the neighbor came over and announced that my friend, Teresa,
needed to "henna" her feet and hands to be ready for marriage.
She explained to us that henna was an acceptable way to decorate
the body (as opposed to fingernail polish or makeup) because water
can pass through henna alowing the bride to be fully clean which is
necessary to enter the mosque. Teresa obliged and went into the brush to find enough of the
henna plant. It was then mashed up with sticky rice and a touch
of water making a paste. The neighbor then placed hunks on Teresa's
nails, around her heels, and on each toe. She was to spend the
night like this to awake to her newly adorned body in the morning.
The next day, she removed the balls of henna that remained on her
(most of it had fallen off anyway) to reveal orange spots wherever
the henna had been. Her heels looked as if she had accidentally stepped
in a bowl of paint. The object of using the henna was just to provide
color not any sort of design as I had seen in other cultures.
Everyone at the wedding thought it was beautiful and after a
while we got used to it, too. The color of orange didn't seem to match
well with her lavendar dress, but even that seemed to blend nicely
after a time.
All in all, I think that there are many interesting and beautiful
customs that may seem unatractive at first, but just like anything, if we
remain open minded, traditions such as using henna in this way, are fascinating
and lovely.