Mehndi is a ceremonial art form which originated in ancient India. Intricate patterns of mehndi are typically applied to brides before wedding ceremonies. The bridegroom is also painted in some parts of India. In Rajasthan, the grooms are given designs that are often as elaborate as those for brides. In Assam, apart from marriage, it is broadly used by unmarried women during Rongali bihu (there are no restrictions to the married ones). Henna is also common in some gulf states, specially Yemen, where the night before the wedding night is dedicated to decorating the bride with henna, and called "Henna night".
Mehndi is the traditional art of henna painting in Pakistan, Bangladesh, India and the Middle East.
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Latest henna design or mehndi designs |
You may see it written as mehandi, mehendi, mendhi, henna, al-henna, and a myriad other names and spellings. In recent times, United States henna artists have come to denote the art with the term "Henna Body Art." All of these words describe the same timeless art form, body painting for festive occasions. However you spell it, mehndi is pronounced meh-hen-di (with a soft, dental d sound like "thee").
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Latest henna design or mehndi designs |
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Latest henna design or mehndi designs |
In the modern age, usually people buy ready-made Henna cones, which are ready to use and make painting easy. However, in rural areas in India, women grind fresh henna leaves on sil (grinding stone) with added oil, which though not as refined as professionally prepared henna cones, brings much darker colors.
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Latest henna design or mehndi designs |
In India, it is used at celebrations like weddings and other special occasions which are traditionally associated with transcendence and transformation. It is used for worship and work but not for the sake of vanity. It is traditional for the bride to get together with her friends and have them spend hours applying the henna to her skin and give her marriage advice in tandem. The patterns used for weddings are much more intricate and time consuming (than the everyday wear) and therefore the bride's friends have lots of time to give her advice on erotic activities for her wedding night, sexual pointers and tips during the hours that it can take to complete the design. The bride's henna must be more beautiful and intricate than anyone else's of course since it is, after all, her special day. Another interesting fact is that the bride has good reason to look after her henna for she is not expected to partake in housework until the henna is gone. This means that she will not be rubbing, scrubbing or tubbing a lot unless she really loves doing work at home. 
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