Surely you have seen photos of Indian beauties whose hands and feet are decorated with bizarre dark brown patterns called mehendi. Recently, this art has gained immense popularity. What is mehendi? What do these patterns mean and how they are drawn - you will learn about all this in the article.
What is mehendi?
This is the traditional art of painting hands, feet or body with a paste of powdered dry leaves of lavsonia, i.e. henna. This substance is typically cherry red to brown in color and may change with time or other factors. Coffee, lemon, tea, and essential oils are sometimes added to the paint to achieve a particular texture, smell, or hue. Mehendi painting became known in the Middle East and North Africa more than 5000 years ago. Archaeologists have even found mummies with henna designs on their hands.
In India, it has become an integral wedding ritual, but it is also painted during major holidays: Karva Chauth, Tej, Diwali, Ramzan and others.
Today, temporary mehendi tattoos are widespread all over the world. The reasons are simple:unique beauty of the result, safety and painlessness of the procedure.
Indian wedding
What is mehendi in Indian wedding traditions? Weddings are known for their many rituals. Also, in India, marriage is not a one-day ceremony. Sometimes it stretches for a whole week of celebrations. What is mehendi for the bride and groom? For the wedding, exquisite patterns are applied to the arms and legs of a woman, and a small symbolic design is drawn for a man. Relatives of the bride and groom and close friends take part in this festive event. This is a very important part of Hindu and Muslim weddings in India.
The ceremony takes place a few days before the wedding or on the night before the wedding. Mehendi patterns are drawn by a professional artist or relative.
Henna, which is obtained from a flowering plant, symbolizes the evolution of the betrothed from an innocent girl to a woman. In some regions, henna is applied by the future mother-in-law or sister-in-law. The ritual usually takes place at the bride's house and includes festive traditional songs, dances, fun and a meal. Not only the culprit of the event, but also all relatives during this ceremony decorate themselves with mehendi painting.
Henna stays on hands and feet until the wedding day and darkens when exposed to air. The bride-to-be should not leave her home after the mehendi ceremony until the wedding.
In Indian culture, the darkening of henna symbolizes the degree of acceptance of the bride by the groom's family. Its hue may also indicatehow happy and successful the marriage will be.
Practical use
But in addition to the ritual component, mehendi also has a rather mundane purpose. Weddings are often associated with nervous experiences. Mehendi is designed to prevent negative emotions, because it is applied to the arms and legs, where there are many nerve endings, and helps to relax and pacify a person. In addition, henna is an antiseptic that can protect against viral diseases, which are completely undesirable before the wedding. Any minor cuts, burns and scratches that may occur during many rituals and customs will be healed thanks to the special composition of the painting paint.
Popular patterns
Peacocks are a beautiful and feminine design that is common in bridal painting
Buta (Indian cucumber or paisley) - this motif looks like a thick droplet. They can be very beautifully combined with each other and various small shapes, resulting in a unique pattern
Large round motifs. Harmonious and aesthetic, they just ask for the palms
Flower patterns - what could be more tender and feminine? Here are some exquisite "gloves" that can be painted with henna
Geometric shapes and lines - in such compositions there is no central motif and main idea, but fine detail and freedomthe artist's flight of fancy makes them no less attractive
Any traditional pattern can be refreshed with color and glitter.
Also, in the modern tradition of drawing wedding mehendi, it is very common to hide the name of the groom in a fancy pattern. During the celebrations, a man must look for him.
Mehendi for beginners
Today this art has found admirers all over the world, and more and more craftswomen want to learn how to create exquisite drawings on the body. Someone wants to be able to make them for themselves, and someone even turns this activity into a business.
Henna drawings or bio-tattoo are popular in the season in seaside resort towns, at festivals of Indian culture and just as part of the model's image at thematic photo shoots. Of course, for those who can draw well, learning this painting will be quite simple. For everyone else, as well as to save time, there are special mehendi stencils. You can buy ready-made ones, or you can make them yourself. In addition, you will need paint to paint the mehendi. For beginners, it will be easier to buy a ready-made mixture, which is sold in a cone-shaped package. Henna is easily squeezed out of it, and you can immediately draw with it.
How to learn how to make mehendi?
Before you start drawing on the skin, always check if the person has an allergic reaction to henna. Test in a small area before continuing.
To draw mehendi, firsttry to make basic elements: dots, commas, lines. Learn to draw them to the desired thickness by following the selected pattern. Then circle your hand on an A4 sheet and try to paint the outline with a painting. When it starts to turn out, you can try to make drawings for yourself and friends.
But of course there will be drawings that are too difficult or require perfect symmetry. Then you can buy stencils for mehendi. Basically they can be divided into two groups:
- Made from perforated silicone that adheres to the skin;
- transfer patterns on carbon paper.
They come in different shapes:
- small ornaments;
- patterned stripes for easy closure around the wrist or ankle;
- ready-made compositions for hands or feet.
The choice of materials and patterns for mehendi is huge, you will surely find everything you need for this interesting art.
