Re: wedding henna in niger!"

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Posted by Catherine Cartwright Jones on June 10, 2001 at 00:16:32:

In reply to: wedding henna in niger!" posted by Erfan on June 9, 2001 at 23:35:05:

Niger is not the same as Nigeria..... they are two different
countries, and the artistry in Nigeria is very diverse, too. I
sent you Nigerian patterns from Nigeria, not patterns from Niger.
There was a fellow in Cleveland who recognized my Nigerian patterns,
and knew which village one was from. I would very much like to see
your patterns from Niger!

In Niger, they may be able to get indigo to function as a body stain
.... far hotter climate and other factors. Also ... in that climate,
it would be no suprise whatsoever to see the henna go black, with
perspiration, or a limesone mix, added frankincense, or just holding
hands out over coals to really heat the henna! One of the favored
white body paints in Saharan Africa is "white-out", the stuff we use
to correct ink and copies. It'll stay for a while. I don't think
there's anything anywhere that would stain skin white, though resinous
paint would stick tenaciously. There could also be a gallotannin
being used (possibly a variety of oak gall) or something from the
acacia group. Most of those are pretty hard on the skin.

Other than the natural possiblities;

From first-person reports .... PPD is being remarketed regularly in
markets across North Africa as black henna, and people do wind up in
the hospital or morgue from it. So ... though it's possible that
there is something else being used as a body dye, there are very few
things to choose from that will stain skin other than henna. You've
got to have a molecule small enough to penetrate the skin, and docile
enough to not cruise on through and poison you once its in there.
That limits it to .... henna, indigo and a few gallotannins ..... as
far as I'm aware.

The synthetic PPD type dyes do the job wonderfully, but they have such
a nasty habit of leaving scars and long term damage.

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Re: wedding henna in niger!" Kenzi 16:39:06 6/11/2001 (0)

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: Niger is not the same as Nigeria..... they are two different : countries, and the artistry in Nigeria is very diverse, too. I : sent you Nigerian patterns from Nigeria, not patterns from Niger. : There was a fellow in Cleveland who recognized my Nigerian patterns, : and knew which village one was from. I would very much like to see : your patterns from Niger! : : In Niger, they may be able to get indigo to function as a body stain : .... far hotter climate and other factors. Also ... in that climate, : it would be no suprise whatsoever to see the henna go black, with : perspiration, or a limesone mix, added frankincense, or just holding : hands out over coals to really heat the henna! One of the favored : white body paints in Saharan Africa is "white-out", the stuff we use : to correct ink and copies. It'll stay for a while. I don't think : there's anything anywhere that would stain skin white, though resinous : paint would stick tenaciously. There could also be a gallotannin : being used (possibly a variety of oak gall) or something from the : acacia group. Most of those are pretty hard on the skin. : : : Other than the natural possiblities; : : From first-person reports .... PPD is being remarketed regularly in : markets across North Africa as black henna, and people do wind up in : the hospital or morgue from it. So ... though it's possible that : there is something else being used as a body dye, there are very few : things to choose from that will stain skin other than henna. You've : got to have a molecule small enough to penetrate the skin, and docile : enough to not cruise on through and poison you once its in there. : That limits it to .... henna, indigo and a few gallotannins ..... as : far as I'm aware. : : The synthetic PPD type dyes do the job wonderfully, but they have such : a nasty habit of leaving scars and long term damage.
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