What is the pictured body art originating in ancient India called?
Mehndi is a form of body art originating in ancient India, in which decorative designs are created on a person's body, using a paste, created from the powdered dry leaves of the henna plant.
The use of mehndi and turmeric is described in the earliest Hindu Vedic ritual books. It was originally used for only women's palms and sometimes for men, but as time progressed, it was more common for men to wear it. Staining oneself with turmeric paste, as well as mehndi, are Vedic customs, intended to be a symbolic representation of the outer and the inner sun. Vedic customs are centered on the idea of "awakening the inner light".
More Info:
en.wikipedia.org
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24 Comments
Cari G.
I have only ever called it henna tattoo.
Denise Currie
My grandaughter learned how to do this, she make a brilliant job of it too, very pretty
dmarkc
Only for women, but sometimes men.
Caramel
I thought it was called henna
Sophia
i am no indian. i just guessed
Sonia Contreras
Buena explicación.
Player
I love 💕 this
Jen
Cari G., I was always told it was Henna but I've heard the term Mehndi a couple of times
Fool
Cari G., that's because you're Western.
tadorunique
Is being practice in Nigeria also especially in the northern part of the country
Mary Caypless Tardif
Joanne Serin, me too.
Honour McKenzie
My friends from Mumbi tell me you can recognize the relationship of the woman to the bride by the mehndi pattern.
Frank P. Araujo
Henna designs are also found in the Middle East as part of the tradition to make the bride as attractive as tradition demands.
Armadillo
This is a remarkably skillfull representation of the outer and inner 😎.
Joanne Serin
I thought it was henna, but that wasn't a choice.
Kath Thomson
I had my hands done in Abu Dhabi with a different patterning. Emerati women have it done when they marry and do no housework until the pattern wears off. So the use of henna for hand patterning is not only an Indian thing.
Patty K
Cari G., I would have called it henna as well. There is a theme park near me that does henna for fun (in Ohio, US!), so I looked it up online to show the difference in henna tattoos and permanent to my daughter. Several of the websites we looked at also called them mehndi.