Henna: Its History, Significance, and Artists

By -
What Henna means in a neighbourhood of those who wear it.

Photos and henna designs by Radhia Ali

Henna (also known as Mehendi) is a paste that is made with a powdered form of the henna plant. The earliest use of henna goes back to around 9,000 years ago in Egypt. It has also been a part of many South Asian and Middle Eastern countries for centuries. Henna has cultural and spiritual uses, but it was also used in these countries due to its natural cooling properties to help regulate body temperature.

Henna is ambiguous in its uses and can be used for cosmetology, medicine, religious purposes, celebration, spirituality, and more! It has been used as a natural hair dye that gives a rich and vibrant orange shade to one's hair. Nowadays in the beauty world, companies like LUSH Cosmetics have begun selling henna as hair dye and people have begun using it to create fake freckles. However, it is mainly used in celebration during special occasions such as weddings and holidays.

Many people of different cultures and ethnicities apply henna and based on the culture, the henna designs can vary! For example, North African henna designs consist of straighter lines and are more geometrical, whereas Indian henna designs contain more swirls and mandalas.

As Regent Park has a large Muslim, South Asian, and African population, many people in the community seek to get their henna done especially around Eid. With the demand soaring near Eid al-Adha just a few weeks ago, many henna artists from Regent Park received loads of inquiries and bookings!

Radhia Ali, one of the many talented henna artists in Regent Park talks a little bit about her experience being a henna artist, what drew her to it, and how it helps her connect with her culture.

“Growing up, I didn't have anyone to go to for henna especially during Eid. It made me realize how convenient it would be if I learned how to do it.

The thing I enjoy most about practicing henna is the fact that my skills have evolved to the point where now I am able to apply henna on others and that I have been able to start a small business with it! This makes me so happy that now there are other girls coming to me and looking up to me.

Doing henna definitely makes me feel more connected to my culture as I started doing and practicing henna for the sake of my culture. Sometimes we forget that every culture has its own sacred set of things that don't collide with other cultures. This is what makes every culture unique in its own way. Doing henna has taught me the deep value of my culture. I think I feel the most connected to my culture when I'm doing henna with the combination of listening to bollywood music. It reminds me of back home and I absolutely love it!”

Applying decorative henna is a task that requires focus, stability, and creativity. All of the henna artists in Regent Park are immensely talented at what they do.

To support Radhia’s henna journey, book an appointment, or have inquiries, follow @mehendi.lagao on Instagram!

 

Written by
Saima Islam

Journalist
FOCUS Media Arts Centre


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Regent Park Portrayed in Film and Television

By -
Image
Toronto has a rich history of being a go-to shooting location for many television and film production companies. Some notable films shot here over the years include Good Will Hunting (1997), Billy Madison (1998), American Psycho (2000), and X-Men (2000). Regent Park has also had its share of showcases in film. This article aims to review the general content of movie dramas and televisions shows shot in Regent and explore their relationship to the community. Clement Virgo is a director, producer, and writer from Montego Bay, Jamaica. He was born in 1966 and moved to the Regent Park area in Toronto in 1977. During this time Regent Park was generally populated by low-income families and as a hot spot for drugs. Virgo is most recently known for his roles in Greenleaf (2016-2018), The Book of Negroes (2015), and The Wire (2002) as Director and/or Producer. His first feature-length film, however, was Rude (1995), which was filmed almost entirely in the old Regent Park. “The film told...
Read more

What Social Inclusion Means to Me

By -
I had moved into Regent Park only a few days before I saw the pink, fuchsia, strawberry, indigo, yellow, green, neck streamers and sparkling robes worn by children, parents, aunts, uncles, and elders as they marched passed my kitchen door. Soon, the nearby Athletic Grounds was blazing with colour. Although it was the first time I heard them, the intonations on the microphone were recognizable, even to me, as prayers. It was Eid, the concluding celebration after Ramadan. It was a beautiful sight. I am a White Jewish senior and I hunted for a stairless condo for years before I chose to live in Regent Park and then only because a relative did business with the new seniors’ building there. “Regent Park?” a friend exclaimed. “You are going to have ethnic problems.”  “Not I.  I come from a long line of fiery leftie activists.” I replied. Stage four and five of revitalizing this post-war subsidized development into a multi-income community was just beginning and I ju...
Read more

Meet Your Neighbourhood Police Officers – PC Mircea Biga and PC Farzad Ghotbi

By -
Image
Community-based policing is a proactive law enforcement strategy that focuses on building ties and working closely with a community’s members to create partnerships and plans for preventing and reducing crime. While community policing will look differently depending on the community it serves, a central feature is that the same officer patrols and works in the same area on a permanent basis. Currently there are 17 community-based police programs in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), but what most people don’t know is that Toronto’s community policing started in Regent Park in May of 2017. We know this because the original officers involved in setting up the Regent Park community policing program continue to work here today. The officers are PC Mircea Biga, PC Farzad Ghotbi, and PC Edward Parks; the newest officer assigned to the Regent Park community is PC Nigel Thomas (who is replacing PC Melissa Huntley while she is on maternity leave). Symptomatic of the increasing diversity...
Read more