Tourist Henna can be Good Quality Henna

With the history of henna art stretching over 5000 years and all across the India, the Middle East, and North Africa, it seems only logical to assume the art styles of each region and of henna as a whole have evolved greatly from when it was first used. Henna’s original purpose was as an air conditioner, pressed onto the pads hands and feet to cool the wearer (Fabius, 1998). Over millennia, designs for applying the henna began to present themselves, growing into elaborate tattoos with their own histories, iconographic systems, and order for application.  The styles are regional, influenced by each other and by other cultures, incorporating stories, symbols, and ideas into the art work. Reasons for where, when, and why to apply henna became much more elaborate, until henna was far from being the body cooling tool it had begun as.

Local Sector Henna: note the very intricate geometric designs, even lines, perfectly even and balanced, and full painting of  both palms and back of the hands in symmetrical and corresponding designs.

Tourist Sector Henna: note that the design is isolated to one part of the hand, that much of the hand is not filled in, and that it is only one one hand and only on the top. Traditionally both hands would be painted, and if it is on the back of the hand it must be on the palms first. The lines are not fine and are quite lumpy, and there does not seem to be a clear motif or design element fully developed. This is an an A symmetrical design as well, something more common in Western culture than North African or Moroccan culture.

It is only natural for art styles to evolve and develop into new styles, with new histories, meanings and reasons for execution. The meanings behind the new designs in the tourist sector vary greatly from artist to artist, much the same way Dutch Baroque iconography varied from artist to artist. I believe that with time and much sharing between the tourist sector artisan groups, it is likely a new system for symbolism and meaning behind the tourist sector henna art work will grow and shape itself into a totally separate genre of henna design. I have reason to believe it has already begun, through cooperative groups of tourist sector henna artists banding together to help each other out, much the same way the house hold of a local henna artisan supports the artisan of that home (Spurles).  These cooperative groups share iconographic and symbolic meanings between each other, and I believe through time these groups will form larger artisan groups and develop solid and recognizable styles for tourists to choose from in decades to come.

This does not diminish the value of meaning behind the domestic market henna art work, nor draw away from their market as, according to Spurles’s work, only tourists come to the market to receive henna as a trinket to take home. You would not see a bride in the market receiving henna for her wedding – she would go to a local artisan for such work if not to the women in her family. The domestic henna that is done in Marrakesh, and other Moroccan towns and cities, are for special occasions and ceremonies, marking particular points in a woman’s life. You would not see a tourist on the steps of a local henna artist asking for a demonstration as the artisan cannot give it unless the woman receiving the henna has good reason to. The local and tourist market henna artists cater to a different type of customer: one who is looking for decoration for ceremonial reasons, and one who is looking for a souvenir to take home. The local artisan cannot give henna to a tourist as it is unlikely they would have a ‘good’ reason to receive henna, and the tourist artisan cannot give henna for ceremonial reasons as they do not know the symbolic vocabulary necessary for such occasions. They can both practice henna within their own market, without hurting each other economically.

As for technique and quality of art between the two groups; I cannot argue in good conscious that the unrefined work of the tourist sector artisans is “just their style”. Someone who is not practiced at their craft cannot produce the same quality of work as someone who is well trained and well-practiced in the art – like a local henna artist who has spent years apprenticing. However, I can also not deny that all refined styles have their place in art. I am confident that with practice, education of the symbols within the tourist sector henna world, that a new style of henna art and design will evolve, much the same way it has evolved for hundreds of years, and is still evolving in North America as the art practice is increasingly growing in the West (Fabius, 1998).

I admit that I have been looking at the issues surrounding the growth of tourist sector henna in a very ethnocentric, capitalist point of view, and that I do not [as of yet] fully understand the view point of the Moroccan people and why meaning, ceremony, gesture, and henna style are so important to them. I do however believe that the culture of Morocco is changing with the large influx of Western tourists moving in and out of the country. It sounds awful to say, “well, it is going to happen anyway,” but change is natural, and with Western attitudes permeating every corner of the globe, it makes sense that someone would try to capitalize on it. Some might say that the tourist sector henna artists are taking advantage of a long practiced art that traditionally means something very significant and meaningful to a woman and her family, and selling it willy-nilly will devalue the meaning behind henna – especially if tourist henna is confused with local art work. But the first uses of henna never had a symbolic meaning, that meaning and symbolism developed over time and extensive use. With practice and decades of sharing ideas, motifs and patterns of henna design I am confident that tourist sector henna could very well develop into its own genre of henna design, with its own stories and symbols of meaning, establishing its own place in Morocca culture.

I believe that tourist sector henna has its place in both the culture of Morocco, as well as the tourist market place, that is increasingly coming to mean an international zone. If both groups keep to themselves and do not try to degrade each other’s work, and the tourist sector artists work hard to refine their craft, than they can both exist in harmony and both be established cultural and artistic practices.

Women receiving henna in the market place of Morocco

Bibliography

Fabius, C. (1998). Mehndi: the art of henna body painting. New York, Toronto, London, Sydney, Auckland: Random House Inc.

Spurles, P. K. (n.d.). Henna for Brides and Gazelles.