Re: Respect for Tradition (a bit of a rant)


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Posted by Nick on May 31, 2001 at 19:56:20:

In reply to: Re: Respect for Tradition posted by Joe B on May 31, 2001 at 15:34:23:

: Erfan, what I am saying is that traditional henna only one color.

I will grant you that one, but as far as i have heard, nobody is
passing off "colored henna" as anything traditional.

: And what we do nowadays is destroy the traditional natural by
: replaceing it with colored. We are not passing on tradition because
: traditionaly henna did not come in green,purple or black

We do not replace it. Ask any one of the henna artists on this forum,
and 90% of the time they will say that they only use pure natural
henna. The general concencus on colored "henna" products is that
while they may be fun to fool around with, they will never replace
our beloved traditional henna. See below for more on this.

: Hopefully mehandi will live forever in its traditional shade!!!!

It has lived for 7000 years before we came along, so i don't think
the next five are going to affect it quite as much as you think. I am
not saying that it is okay to use colored dyes and call them henna...
I am just saying that henna goes through phases... So eventually
this "colored henna" phase will just die out. It's a lot like pants
(just an example!) In the 50's there were straight legs. But soon
after, in the late 60's and through the 70's, there were bell
bottoms. And then briefly in the mid-late 90's, there was a
huge 'wide leg' explosion... which then calmed down into flares and
now on to capris and split ankles. But all that didn't cause you to
wear only straight legs because you thought that nobody would
remember them! It's the same with henna, things fall in and out of
fashion. Just because something is popular for a few years doesn't
mean that it is going to replace the original! Coke comes in diet,
and caffiene free, but neither of those will ever replace classic.
Get what i mean?

: CCJ only uses natural henna and she sticks to the true traditions.

True, but she, like I and many others, is willing to try new things
and experiment. If we were all closed minded and never tried anything
new, we would never get anywhere. We are also making our *own*
traditions in this country... think about reading the history of
henna use in ancient Persia... well some day, they will be reading
about the history of henna use in the ancient USA! If nobody ever
made new traditions, we would still be living in caves and sitting
around all day waiting to invent fire. Once again, i am not saying
that it is ok to pass off "colored henna" as henna at all, just that
we can't stop people from adding their personal ideas to the whole.
It's also like the US constitution, ammendments in particular.
Without all those ammendments, women would not be allowed to vote,
and we would still be lost in slavery. So sometimes change and
additions are necesary to move forward.

How was that for a rant?
~Nick

 


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