Monday, September 13, 2010

Henna

I've had a few folks ask, so thought I'd better clear up the controversy: Emily did not come home with full arm and foot tattoos.

What I did do on the morning of our last day in Nairobi was visit a salon where a young lady decorated my skin with henna. Henna art is an old Asian/East African tradition -- the coast of Kenya and Tanzania ("Swahili" culture), in particular, is where you will find many a hand and foot decorated in elaborate designs. Henna is a plant that is ground into a paste, mixed with tea or lemon juice and maybe some essential oils, and used as a dye to, among other things, draw tattoo-like designs on the skin. As the paste dries, it stains the skin, and the dye usually stays on the skin for up to 3 weeks. Swahili women will pay to have a henna artist decorate their hands, arms, feet, and lower legs, especially for occasions such as weddings. A good artist is exceptionally fast; the gal who did mine painted my arms and feet in only 45 minutes.

While I was pregnant with Lincoln, I also learned from an Indian friend that in some cultures the women decorate their bellies with henna when they are expecting (she decorated mine at the time, and it was beautiful!). I opted not to do that this time around, mostly because I would have had to sit in the salon and wait for the paste to dry - with my shirt up for all the world to see my white belly - for up to an hour.

For me, having my hands and feet dressed up with a gorgeous floral design was a way for me to bring a bit of Kenya home with me - a visible reminder that will last a couple weeks. Besides, how could I not take advantage of the opportunity: I paid a mere $20 for my henna (would have been half that had I been on the coast instead of Nairobi), while the same work would have easily cost me $100 or more here in the U.S.

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