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Toronto
Star, Ontario
ed.
LIFE
Friday, February 7, 1997
Hand-painted
Decorating their hands with henna stain is a highlight of Eid
celebrations for Muslim women
Salma Qizilbash
and her three daughters will have their hands full tonight.
They're not only
hosting a party to celebrate the Islamic festival of Eid ul-Fitr,
they're also having their hands decorated with henna as part of
a traditional ritual.
"I won't
call it a 'hen and henna' party although it's primarily for
women while the men go about making other arrangements for Eid,"
jokes Qizilbash, 36, of Mississauga.
Her 9-year-old
daughter Mariam is thrilled. "I'm going to do a
show-and-tell with henna on my hand and explain Eid to my
class."
Zehra, 17, isn't
sure how her non- Asian friends will react to her palms being
painted.
"Tell them
it's like a temporary tattoo," suggests Fatima, 14, who's
found that many of her classmates know about henna and have
experimented with its applications.
Henna decorations
are worn by women for festivals and weddings
Henna is a
perennial tropical shrub called lawsonia inermis that grows
about 3 metres tall with gray-green leaves. When dried, ground
and made into a paste, the shoots and leaves leave a dark red
stain.
Discovered by the
Egyptians around 5000 B.C., henna was first used in the
embalming process for mummies and later as a decorative and
beautifying agent.
Today, henna is
used commonly in Africa and Asia as a hair dye and as a
decorative cosmetic on the hands and feet of Asian brides. It's
also known for its soothing and cooling qualities.
The stain
gradually fades and disappears in about four weeks.
"Henna is an
essential part of Eid celebrations," explains Nozhat
Choudry-Rao, a clinical pharmacologist who applies henna designs
as a hobby.
Eid (which
literally means "joy" and is pronounced Eed) is the
largest and most important Muslim festival. The appearance of
the new moon, which marks the 10th month of the Islamic lunar
calendar, heralds Eid's onset.
It is also called
"The Feast after the Fast" because it marks the end of
Ramadan, a month of fasting from sunrise to sunset for
able-bodied Muslims.
Tonight Muslims
will be looking out for the crescent new moon which will
proclaim the three-day celebration of Eid. The event is
primarily a social affair and involves paying something to
charity, followed by prayers, special foods and socializing.
For Qizilbash,
having a henna party is an integral part of Eid.
"I start
preparations and celebrations for Eid from the night of the moon
by arranging a henna party," explains Qizilbash, who runs a
day-care centre. "This is when friends become family."
Qizilbash, who
was born in Pakistan but lived a major part of her life in Saudi
Arabia, says she wants her girls to enjoy Eid as she did when
she was younger.
"In Jeddah,
when the new moon is sighted, fireworks are set off to announce
the beginning of the festival. Shops remain open all night and
the city lights up like a bride.
"It's
breathtaking and lively because everyone is out on the street,
shopping, socializing and having henna applied at street
corners."
Henna decorations
are worn by Mus-lim, Sikh and Hindu women for festivals and
weddings.
In Eastern
society, especially among Muslims, young girls are not allowed
to use makeup.
So over the years
henna hand decorations, worn with bangles, became a substitute
for cosmetics.
Choudry-Rao, 34,
was first introduced to the art of henna at a family wedding
in England.
"I'm an
artist, so when I saw the beauty of henna design, I was
fascinated.
"I started
experimenting on friends, found I had an aptitude so I started
applying henna designs for fun."
A simple design
on both palms takes about one hour, she explains.
"The henna
has to dry and sometimes I expedite this process by using a hair
dryer. Then a paste of lemon juice, sugar and water is dabbed on
the hand so that the dried henna doesn't flake and fall off.
"The longer
the henna stays on the hand, the darker the stain. The darker
the stain on the bride's hands - superstition has it - the more
she will be loved by her in-laws!"
For Maha Azad,
Eid celebrations in Canada have been adapted from traditions in
her homeland.
"In Egypt,
we made advance preparations and bought new clothes, shoes or
jewelry for the children weeks before the festival. This was
easy because shops remain open half the night.
"In Canada,
we can't do as much because we're all working till the last
minute," adds Azad, who lives in Mississauga and runs a
restaurant in the High Park area.
"But we're
fortunate to be in a place where we can observe all our
traditions. Even a ritual as traditional as henna is easily
found."
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© 2003 Toronto Star, All Rights Reserved.
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