Indian Henna Tattoo (Mendhi)

In India, there is a pre-wedding ceremony called Mendhi that is when the groom's mother and sisters get to know a little bit better the bride, who soon will become a new member of their family, by accompaning her while she gets her hands and feet tattoed with Henna that is a temporary ink.

 This ceremony needs to be done 1 to 3 days before the day of the wedding because henna needs time to stain and deepen in the skin of the bride.  The meticulous pattern has hidden the groom´s initials and during the wedding night he is suppose to find them, which is a way to break the ice with his new wife; this kind of game of "hide and seek" is a way of interaction between the newly weds that have never met before because they were arranged in marriage.

This is also considered a work of art since the patterns are quite hard to achieve and require great amount of details.

Regardless of you own culture, would you like to get your hands temporary tattoed with henna? Do you find this attractive?


Carolina Yubini Lagos