According to Islamic literature, Prophet Muhammad used mehendi to dye his beard and administered its use to those who were unwell. Because of this, mehendi ceremony is an important pre-wedding ritual, observed in the Indian subcontinent and many Arabic nations. It signifies the love and affection between the couple and their families. The mehendi colour also shows the love and understanding between the bride and her mother-in-law.
Mehendi or henna is known for its medicinal properties. It has a cooling effect that aids in soothing stress, headaches and fevers. Mehendi herb is also very beneficial for growth of nails. So, mehendi is applied to relieve the bride and groom of all the wedding stress.
It also protects them from any viral diseases before the wedding. The mehendi ceremony is a colourful, musical and lively celebration. Different families have different customs during the ceremony.
The bride and other females in the family get decorative mehendi designs on their hands and feet. It is an occasion for both parties to have some fun, mixed with the usual dancing and feasting. During the post-wedding ceremonies, the groom has to find his initials in the bride's hands. This is a fun ice-breaking game for the couple, which also helps them to establish some intimacy. The traditional patterns of mehendi have become more and more intricate and decorative with time.
There are now many types of mehendi patterns, most popular ones being the Arabic and Rajasthani designs. Mehendi is now even applied with ornaments, like crystals and sparkles. Each beautiful design has degrees of intricacy and can be made unique for the bride. These intricate design patterns are now quite popular among brides, worldwide. Notwithstanding, the beauty of Indian weddings lies in the beautiful traditions that are associated with those special celebrations.
Furthermore, Indian weddings are no less than a week task, ceremonies begin with pre-wedding celebrations and continue for a week, till the reception. Mehndi, commonly known as Henna in some parts of the nation and world-wide too. It comes in powder state which is green in color and its paste is made by mixing several other ingredients like eucalyptus oil, clove oil and a few drops of lemon and then it is applied on hands and feet of girls, and women.
Moreover, Mehndi plays an important role in an Indian wedding be it Hindu wedding or Muslim wedding. To be honest, festivities in an Indian marriage starts with the mehendi ceremony. Mehndi ceremony is considered to be one of the most important pre-wedding ceremonies filled with fun, colors, enjoyment, dance and what not. On Mehndi night from the bride-to-be, to all the females present at the wedding gather together to adorn their hands with beautiful, and abstract henna design patterns.
Even some families conjoin Mehndi and Sangeet ceremony together to make it more fun and enchanting ceremony. We all love Mehndi art a lot, but do we really know that mehendi is the oldest form of body art, which is into existence since time immemorial. Mehendi is in use even prior to the Vedic Age. Traces of henna had been be found in mummification. Moreover, history has evidence that the beautiful princess, Cleopatra used to use henna to paint her body.
Earlier only few patterns and designs were used, since, times have changed and a lot of new inclusions have been made in Mehndi art. There are variations in designs, girls and women can choose any design to go ahead with. Like this there are myriads of designs available to choose from.
In Indian weddings the significance of the mehndi ceremony has grown in status. Gone are the ways when mehndi was celebrated in the presence of few attendees of family people. Now Mehndi is celebrated with huge pomp and bang. Couples now want to celebrate every occasion with full zeal and enthusiasm and they leave no stone unturned to do so.
DJs, music, dhols and what not are arranged for celebrating the event. Even brides go for special attires unlike old days when brides used to wear old clothes to prevent them from mehndi stains. Also, these days semi-precious stones are embedded in the mehndi design. Different races have different traditions. And India is the nation of diversity, one can witness sundry of traditions in India. Among many traditions seen in Indian weddings, one of the most important traditions is the mehndi ceremony.
In Kerala south India , henna is known as mylanchi and is commonly used by the Mappila Muslim community during weddings and festivals. With time, henna application has become an art form, and today, brides book professional mehandi artists keeping their aesthetic sensibilities in mind. Generally, Arabic Middle-Eastern mehandi features large, floral patterns on hands and feet but only till the wrists and the ankles , while Indian Asian mehandi is characterised by fine lines, lacy, floral and paisley patterns covering hands, forearms, feet and legs.
And African mehandi is usually large and bold with geometrically patterned angles, often created using black mehandi. The patterns have evolved, but the traditions continue to stand the test of time. Brides may decide to go Indian or Arabic when it comes to designs today, but will still request the artist to hide the spouse's initials within the patterns, as dictated by the custom.
As the old wife's tale goes, the colour of mehandi signals how much the bride will be loved in her new household, which explains why the quest for the darkest henna persists. Manchester-based mehandi artist , Alia Rangrez, also revealed that new-age brides have become very conscious of what goes inside their henna cones.
The demand is for organic colour that is free of synthetic chemicals, and mixed only with natural ingredients. For best results, this henna pasted is left on the skin for eight hours, since the pattern continues to darken even after it is removed for approximately three days.
Recent times have also seen mehandi artists being revered and recognised for their work. Some from the close-knit community of artists have also managed to create signature patterns and generate a cult following. But the one thing that hasn't changed is the spirit of the mehandi evening. What started out as an informal event where the women of the household would come together to shake a leg and share secrets to conjugal bliss with the bride-to-be , continues to remain as exactly that. While it has definitely become more glamorous, the fun, casual vibe of mehandi nights is still the same as it used to be.
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