How Mehendi has left a mark on our culture

By Aashish Mishra,Kathmandu, July 29: Anyone walking along New Road these days is almost guaranteed to see two things – rows of people lined up on the footpath to get their hands painted with henna and the artists with paste-filled cones doing the painting. “It is Shrawan,” said a painter who was too busy to even look up as he talked to The Rising Nepal. “Shrawan calls for Mehendi,” said another, who shared that he dyed the hands and feet of around 20 people a day, for a set price, of course.

Dibya Kandel was one of those getting her hands coloured on Thursday and she felt that Mehendi was a decoration , like a necklace or earrings, to wear during celebrations like weddings, coming-of-age rituals, fasts and yes, Shrawan. “It is a part of our culture,” she said.

But, is it? Talk to any person aged over 40 and they will tell you that skin decoration was once a culture almost exclusively practised in the country’s plains or India. Up until just a few decades ago, Mehendi was something surprising, something exotic in Kathmandu and the [only] dye of choice was the variety of balsam known as Tiuri. So, how did Mehendi leave such an indelible tinge on us all?

Professor Dr. Beena Poudyal, retired head of Tribhuvan University’s Central Department of Nepalese History, Culture and Archaeology, thinks our exposure to Indian media might have played a role. But before we analyse the Mehendi culture in Nepal, let us first study where the shrub originated and how it found its way into our region and our lives.

History of Mehendi

Henna, scientific name Lawsonia inermis, is a perennial shrub native to Africa, Australia and Asia and is documented in many ancient religious texts including the Bible. However, despite its mentions in the scriptures of many civilisations, it is difficult to pinpoint exactly where henna originated.

There is consensus among the world’s historians that henna has been used for body art for at least 5,000 years. Research indicates that it may have been used by ancient Egyptians to dye the Pharaohs’ fingers and toes.

Some scholars believe that this Egyptian practice was later inherited by the Arabs and was brought to the Indian subcontinent by the Mughals around the 12th century. Supporting this assertion is the fact that ‘Henna’ comes from the Arabic name for the Lawsonia plant ‘Hina.’

Others though believe that henna originated in South Asia and state that it was already in use in the region by the fourth century AD, as evidenced by the cave art in India’s Deccan region. The present word Mehendi also originated from the Sanskrit word ‘Mendhika’ which means a plant that releases red colour. The leaves of the Lawsonia plant contain the dye Lawsone which can impart a temporary reddish-orange colour on the skin, hair and nails.

Presence in Nepal

Mehendi has been used in the Terai region of Nepal for long for its medicinal properties, just as Tiuri has been in the hills, Dr. Poudyal shared. “It protects the skin from damage and prevents cracks and wounds,” she said. “That is why farmers applied it to their hands and legs during the monsoon when they had to work in water-logged fields.

It is this pragmatic need to cover the body parts with the paste made from the leaves of the henna plant during the rainy season that got Mehendi associated with Shrawan, one of the rain-soaked  months of the Nepali year.

There were a few occasions on which people put Mehendi, Tiuri or other dyes but it was not the decorative custom it is today, said Poudyal. “That came about due to the influence of the Indian media. Their portrayal of Mehendi as a cosmetic item used for enhancing one’s beauty during occasions like marriages made it desirable to many in Nepal.” 

Tiuri paste does not produce as elegant designs as Mehendi and hence, lost appeal among people preferring prettiness. Mehendi artist Shreevishnu Pandeya told The Rising Nepal that Arabic, Mandala and Name designs were most popular among Nepali women in Shrawan. 

Arabic designs are drawn on the palms, extend from the wrist to the fingertips and feature vines, laces and flowers. These designs can be made on the feet too, he informed. 

Mandala, like the name suggests, features the geometric configurations of mandalas and name designs are Mehendi patterns featuring the name of the person wearing it or his/her loved one.

In recent years, many married and unmarried men have also been choosing to decorate the underside of their hands with Mehendi, Pandeya shared.

And this should not be considered out of the ordinary as there is no prohibition on men applying Mehendi, Poudyal clarified. “Originally, both men and women used Mehendi. However, as it gradually came to be perceived as make-up, men stopped using it,” she informed.