Thinking of starting Henna--spiritutal question???

alright, I'm really intrigued by this beautiful art form, and it looks like something I'd definitely be good at once I practiced enough. I'm a Christian, and when I read websites about Henna, there seems to be a lot of Hindu or religion involved in the practice. Is this something I should be concerned about? Is this one of the main reasons for Henna? I've seen other photographers do shoots at Indian Henna parties, and although they are amazingly beautiful, I'm hesitant to start with the underlying Hindu beliefs as a part of it. Please give me advice and maybe some insight on this practice? I'd REALLY appreciate it! I'm getting excited about it, but don't want to get ahead of myself!

Seriously, don't worry about it. While it is part of Hindu beliefs and practices, that is by no means the cornerstone of Henna. The art spans multiple cultures for various reasons -celebrating women, to just celebrations in general, to blessings and more.

Not to mention that henna has become so mainstream that many designs are free flowing and more contemporary in nature. I wish I could tell you how many band insignias or Monster drink "M's" I've put on teenagers! It's insane!

Much in the way that body paint/art have origins deeply rooted in cultural and tribal traditions that are not Christian, and it has morphed into sooooo much more- Henna has done the same. The reason why you have seen so many Indian wedding photos and such is because they are stunning and ornate, so many artist choose to tout these over more contemporary designs.

If you go to the Henna section of this forum, or to the hennapages.com you will find so much more than Hindu.

No worries, just do what feels right for you and have fun!

(PS...I do our Irish fest every year. I do tonnes of crosses on people and I have several clients who are from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Really, NO WORRIES! )

Thank you Lynnie--I've been reading a little on it, but it looks like such a cross cultural thing, that it's not that way so much anymore--just wondered...some ppl on here do incorporate the religion into the Henna art, but I'm just not going to go there. I appreciate it!

I henna a ton of crosses every year. I think if you stick to festival henna you should be fine. BTW henna is referenced in the bible. You can find out more about that on hennapage I think.

actually I should say as long as you are not doing Indian Bridal henna you should be fine. Even then its more of a comfort zone issue then a religious one. Sort of on the same lines as the hair dresser.

Face painting has Celtic pagan roots, Japanese shinto roots, probably roots in most base religions. Your religion is your own and will not be influenced by putting paint on a body. What kind of "concern" are you even talking about?

Nothing in particular. I just saw someone on here that has a webpage, and it has a lot of Hindu influence and mantra stuff on it. I just wondered. I think it's beautiful, and really think I will add it to my offerings of body art. Thanks !

Henna is thousands of years old and is used my muslims, christians, hindus, athiests. It was not even originally an Indian thing it moved up through north africa from egypt if I remember rightly. These days its just art. Indian bridal henna does have specific meanings/guidlines etc which Kim could probably go into. I don't do traditional bridal henna although I will do similar designs on people at festivals. I love to paint lotus' and mandalas but I am non commital in my personal beliefs. I prefer it to airbrush or glitter tats as it is all freehand and all natural and that is why people seek me out at festivals.

Actually, I think henna pre-dates the India influence. There are records of it with the Ancient Egyptians.

So, as Christians we have adapted a bunch of things from other cultures: the Christmas tree comes to mind right off )
Fire and incense are now used in many Christian rituals, but they have their roots in the most ancient spiritual ceremonies and prayer.

Henna is just a beautiful art form. Use it to express YOUR heart. Women have been doing that with henna for a very long time.



- Lilly Walters, 909-398-1228
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You are more than welcome, Darlene. I hope you have fun on your new henna journey and wish you the best on it!
Welcome to the henna club, your member card and welcome packet is in the mail lol

Photomamma, I've been in a lot of countries on missions trips where I've had to be conscious of their culture while teaching about Jesus. People are very receptive when you don't reject their culture & what they've loved & known. Henna is a more cultural thing than religious thing. I think it's what you chose to do w/ it.
Say I have a knife: I can chose to use it to cut vegetables, use as a ritual item in a religion, use it to whittle wood or kill someone with it. The knife is an inanimate object & is subject to what the wielder will do with it.
You can do beautiful works of art w/ henna without becoming a Hindu or Muslim. I've used it to write scriptures before.

It was once explained to me as compared to a Christmas tree. Henna may be used in Hindu and Muslim celebrations, like we use an evergreen tree to celebrate Christmas. It doesn't make evergreen trees sacred. No worries!

I have in a decade of doing henna professionally been met with giggles when the white girl (me!) shows up to do the mehndi, but when they see my work the laughter turns to ah's! Twice now I've been accosted by angry girls who accuse me of stealing their culture. In both cases I was able to point out that they were wearing jeans -taken from MY culture.

Its interesting to cross cultural lines like this, but usually people are positive and curious.

Thank you Linda and Henna Muse! i'm totally with you on that Linda! Just what i was thinking, just needed some feedback to assure me of my thoughts. Now that I'm working 40 hrs a week, we'll see if I can do anything--gonna have to be just Sundays. I work on Sats. Thanks to you all!

I'm remembering the jean comment!

White girls doing henna does seem to confuse some people at times. Generally it comes with the following questions.

1. Are you married to a middle easterner.
2. Have you ever been to India
3. Where did you learn to do henna
4. How long have you been doing henna.

The older aunties seem the most suspicious until you start doing really nice work. I have yet to be accosted with the you are stealing my culture thing but I know the history of henna and it is not any one cultures to claim so perhaps I have simply been able to avoid it.