Henna art thrives on word-of-mouth

The art of henna painting has been practised for over 5,000 years, but walking around Mombasa — a city with a high population of Muslims — you rarely see any advertisement directing a person on where to get the best painter.

Fatma Hussein, a henna painter known for her artistic skills is preparing for the many women who will visit her home to decorate their bodies ahead of Idd-ul-Fitr.

In the business of henna painting, word-of-mouth is what counts.

“Our culture is very conservative and that is why you will rarely see an advertisement of henna painting. It’s something that is whispered among women and references are given. This happens mostly during weddings and other festivals,” said Ms Hussein.

Privacy

The painting sessions take place either at the painter or client’s house, for privacy purposes since Muslim women are required to remove buibuis for the application — something they cannot do in the presence of other people especially unrelated men.

Application is mostly done on the palm of hands and legs, or complete body especially for brides that may take up to four hours. For tattooing palms and legs, it takes about 30 minutes.

Traditionally, henna is used for self expression, celebration of special occasions and for beauty.

Today, people from other cultures have adopted the art, decorating their bodies with different designs.

There are endless designs or art to choose from including bird, vines and creepers, sun, moon, reptile and Mandala designs.

Three hours

Henna is a plant that grows in the tropics to between 12 and 15 feet high. The leaves are crushed and mixed with other ingredients to create a paste.

When the paste is ready, it is applied to the skin, usually piped through a cellophane cone although sometimes toothpick is used to trace out the designs.

The paste is left to dry for two to three hours and flakes off to reveal the reddish brown patterns.

The patterns also vary from Arabic ones which are characterised by large flowers, Indian, and Sudanese which come in two distinctive colours— black commonly known as Piko and red or maroonish which is the henna.

Henna can also be used as a hair dye in men and for medicinal purposes.

Waxing before applying henna exfoliates the skin for best results.

“Henna application can take the whole day so to be on the safe side, get it done a day before the celebration,” said Zuhura Rajab Sumba of Zu-Styles boutique in Nairobi.

Over time, the art designs for henna art have evolved to incorporate glitters.

Glitter powder is used to embellish the plain henna which sticks and can last all day or until the paste is brushed off.

“Henna painting makes a woman look more beautiful, I believe it is the best way for a lady to express herself,” said Poonam Suryavanshi, a henna painter.