Nostalgia and catharsis

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Posted by Babaganooj on May 14, 2000 at 20:54:56:

I appreciate the comments I received from this forum. And
I'm glad someone who attended these sugar parties turned
out too. Zahira, then, could give an insider account of
these parties. Also to Ms. Nielsen, thank you sweetie, I
am glad you managed to control the drink from spilling
over your keyboard, as I would like to avoid as much as
possible a liability law suit :-) Also to everyone else who
actually gave me feedback about the matter. Maybe it is
nostalgia, and its catharsis, that made me find this forum
rather interesting.

Now on to women's hair removal support groups. As a child
I've always wondered about some receptions being held by
women behind closed doors in local neighborhoods once every
now and then. Men, of course, were ousted and banished from
such meetings just like male bees get persecuted and sent
out of the female kingdooms once they have been used as reproductive machines or sex objects.

The recipe for making sugar is really boiling it until it
gets thick, also they add a sprinkle of citric acid, I believe to help it thicken, and maybe some other stuff, I am not aware of.

I recall one of classmates (American female) once asked about that so I referred here to a local Middle Eastern
grocery store where I did find it packaged and ready to use. I later managed to get her in touch with a Lebanese
girl, and they both planned a sugar party, to which I begged to be allowed to attend, but alas was again met with
total disapproval.

After sugar is boiled and gets thick, it acquires the name
3aqida ( a thickened substance.) Whether or not this adopted by women as a way of removing hair as a more delicate way than say shaving for men which requires sharp
objects is really an issue that can be debated. My personal
input on that (only speculation) is it might be because it
is more practical for what women want to achieve, namely
soother legs. This method, in the long run would take care
of the roots of the hair, thereby preventing some hair from
growing altogether.

Men, on the other hand, shave because shaving does not pluck the roots of hair and would always give them the option of growing their beards or mustaches as an expression of their toughness. Men that develp facial hair
later than their peers are often teased, at least in my culture. So men don't wanna do away with the precious roots
of their manliness.

Prior to weddings, the bride of course is at the center of
such party and other girls go there partly supported by that excuse, and indulge in the hair removal (legs and arms and armpits only by the way:-)

How far back this practice( which really is prevelant in
urban settings as well as rural and possibly bedouin settings) goes, I don't know, but wouldn't be surprised to
find out that it is an ancient one.

In fact I've seen packages of this 3aqida in many Middle Eastern grocery shops in the US and here in Canada,
where I live right now. Which makes me believe that its
use among American and Candaian women is getting wide spread. I bet you would be the expert on that Ms. Jones.

Now on another topic, which is the glorious henna, I'd like
to point out that among semitic languages that are still spoken beside Arabic, I'd point out Hebrew, Assyrian, Amhiric (Ethiopia)and believe it or not, Aramaic is still spoken in a couple of villages in South of Syria ( Ma3lola, and I forgot the name of the other one.) so chances of meeting native speakers of these languages and getting an
account of them on henna are better than say Ugaritic or ancient Phoenician. Still, though, I believe, getting also
a look at these ancient roots yield an indispensible perspective oon its use and utterance throughout the ages.

Again, I do admit my limitation when it comes to other semitic languages let alone South Asian ones.

In fact, I vaguely remember an Egyptian song about henna
on a wedding night for a bride. I don't recall the words
at all, except the opening " El henna ya henna ya 3eni"
"Oh, henna, oh, henn, oh my eyes=term of endearment)
which really brings me to the suggestion that maybe folkloric things like that could be worth looking at when
examining henna, a point I'm equall sure, didn't escape your attention Ms. Jones. The exact wording of the song, an
Egyptian familiar with it, would probably be better at.


I hope this was of help. In fact, I find these topics interesting, and have learnt from your postings as well.

My best regards

Babaganooj



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