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Henna Painting (Mehendi)
Henna Painting or better known as
Mehendi is an integral part of any Indian bride, be it a Hindu
or a Muslim. The bride is not complete without Mehendi. This festive occasion,
originally of Muslim origin, is usually held in the late afternoon, which
is primarily a ladies tea party, however allowing the male relatives to
be present. On the "mehendi", the future bride has her hands
and feet intricately patterned with a paste, which is a recipe of henna,
eucalyptus oil, lemon juice and some water tinted with tea. The application
of mehendi or henna takes about four hours to complete. Ideally, the bride-to-be
should not wash her hands until the paste has completely dried. Invitees
at the party also design each other's hands with mehendi. Mehendi signifies
the strength of love in a marriage. The darker the mehendi, the stronger
the love. |
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Henna
Botanical Name : LAWSONIA INERMIS
Family Name : LYTHRACEAE
Common Name: HENNA, AL-KHANNA, AL-HENNA, JAMAICA MIGNONETTE,
MEHENDI, MENDEE, EGYPTIAN PRIVET, SMOOTH LAWSONIA
Part Used: FLOWERS, POWDERED LEAVES, FRUIT
Habitat : Scarcely in dry deciduous forests, widely cultivated
as a hedge plant.
Uses : The roots are bitter , refrigerant, depurative,
diuretic, emmenagouge, abortifacient and trichogenous and is useful in
burning sensation, leprosy skin diseases and amenorrhoea. It is used in
pre mature graying of hair. Henna is widely used for drawing tatoos, arts
and designs. Leaves are useful in wounds ulcers strangury cough, bronchitis,
dysentery etc. The fruit is thought to have emmenagogue properties.
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