The History of Mehndi

Mehndi has been around for thousands of years being used to bring good health, fertility and protect one from the 'evil eye'. We know mehndi today to be used by females for decorating parts of their bodies such as their hands and feet for special occasions like weddings or religious holidays.  The idea that it has been used for medicinal purposes or warding off evil has long since been forgotten.

The only visible evidence that suggests how long mehndi has been around is on female Egyptian mummies where hair, nails and hands have been found to be covered with mehndi.

The only written evidence I can suggest about mehndi being used dates back to around the 6th century where traditionally mehndi leaves were being used for it's healing abilities by Muslims or Arabs. It was known to heal wounds, illnesses such as small pox or leprosy, and improve the condition of hair and nails.  It was also known to keep the skin cool which is mostly why it was treated as a hair dye more than anything. Since Arabs mostly populated the deserts of the Middle East heat was a great factor in their lives.

It is said that the traditional mehndi we see today was re-introduced by the Mughals to the rich and elite families of India. Since then the recipe has been refined to improve the intensity of colour and ease of application.

Traditionally in India during the Moghul period mehndi used to be applied simply by just spreading the paste all over the palms of the feet and hands including the nails. Over time the application started to become decorative where instead of just spreading it all over the palm of the hand they would just put a circle in the centre of the hand and just dip the tips of the fingers in the mehndi.

Since then mehndi has been coned and refined and requires quite a lot of skill to apply. Brides nowadays demand professional looking mehndi and perfection where a simple blob won't do!

I remember the time where mehndi was introduced to the western world by a popular music artist at the time who was trying to find herself - can you guess who? Yes that's right it was Madonna. She went from discovering Judaism to discovering the art and culture of Indian henna and jewellery.

So as she brought it back with her to the U.S. the rest of us who were already introducing mehndi to our friends in school were forgotten!
But I digress...

Mehndi art designs have become so popular that nowadays they are used for decorating homes and even food items. For example it's become a trend to have mehndi art decorated on such things as candles, picture frames, jewellery boxes as well as cakes and other decorating desserts.

Mehndi will be continued to be used throughout and it's only a matter of time before it invades everyone's home.

Naqsh-e-Henna