{"id":82245,"date":"2019-10-30T21:20:58","date_gmt":"2019-10-31T02:20:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?p=82245"},"modified":"2019-11-01T13:08:40","modified_gmt":"2019-11-01T18:08:40","slug":"the-ancient-art-of-henna-immigrant-women-create-couture-designs-for-a-new-generation-of-customers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/the-ancient-art-of-henna-immigrant-women-create-couture-designs-for-a-new-generation-of-customers\/","title":{"rendered":"The ancient art of henna: Immigrant women create couture designs for a new generation of customers"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Madhurita Goswami<\/strong>
\nMedill Reports<\/em><\/p>\n

Twenty-four-year-old Juna Syakya can draw intricate flowers or butterflies on your hands with her henna cone in less than 20 minutes. Mehndi, or henna, is a form of body art that uses a plant-based dye and Syakya brings the ancient art form to the Deeba Beauty Salon on Devon Avenue where she works.<\/p>\n

The plant, Lawsonia inermis, grows in hot climates. Its leaves, flowers and twigs contain tannins, which are natural dyes used across the ages to create the intricate lace-like designs of henna.
\n\u201cHenna is best for people who don\u2019t want permanent tattoos. Also, it doesn\u2019t cause infections and is way cheaper,\u201d said Syakya\u2019s colleague, Farzana Mirza, who is from Pakistan.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Heeba Khan draws a floral pattern for a customer. (Madhurita Goswami)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Traditionally, henna artists have been women and only women would get henna on their hands and feet. Costs range from $10-$40 depending on the area covered. Usually, henna gets washed away in less than 10 days. The dye doesn\u2019t penetrate the skin and is safe.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

However, another dye, para-phenylenediamine (PPD), is sometimes added to henna to make it darker and last longer. According to a study in Clinical and Molecular Allergy, hypersensitivity to PPD is a serious health problem worldwide for a small percentage of people.<\/p>\n

Henna is prized in Middle Eastern, North African, and South Asian cultures. It doesn\u2019t have a singular origin story because cultural interactions have played a big role in its migration and expression. Syakya, for example, picked up the art in Nepal about six years ago so that she could decorate women\u2019s palms during the Teej festival. The festival is for married women to celebrate the union with their husbands.<\/p>\n

But her friends in Chicago, many of whom are Muslims, have enriched her art. \u201cAfter I moved to the U.S. and started living in this community, I have been introduced to new floral patterns and other kinds of designs.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn our culture, women would get henna on the day of their wedding to demonstrate love for their husbands. But now, it is associated with all kinds of celebrations,\u201d Mirza said.<\/p>\n

Deeba draws the most customers for henna the night before Eid. \u201cThey arrive after the moon sighting so that their hands are ready for the Eid celebrations on the next day,\u201d Mirza said. Eid is a religious celebration that ends the Islamic observance of Ramadan.<\/p>\n

Mirza said she likes to introduce customers to henna when they are from cultures where it isn\u2019t a traditional art form. Laughing, she said, \u201cThey are easier to please.\u201d Sometimes, these customers want a pattern they have seen on the internet. \u201cWe draw whatever our customers want. This can be a Mickey Mouse or a unicorn,\u201d Mirza said.<\/p>\n

Heeba Khan, the 35-year-old Mehndi artist at the Nikhar Beauty Salon on Devon Avenue, arrived in the U.S. with her family about three years ago. She had taken a course in Mehndi art in India\u2019s Hyderabad and started working at the salon two years ago.<\/p>\n

Khan has developed an easy relationship with salon manager Shaheen Khan, who is also from Hyderabad. \u201cFlowers are very popular here. But many Americans prefer butterflies,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Her earnings help support her two children. For women Mehndi artists such as Khan, it is not only about looking after their families but also owning their space in a foreign country. \u201cShauk (hobby) is necessary,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Photo at top: A number of salons on Devon Avenue offer henna services. (Madhurita Goswami)<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Madhurita Goswami Medill Reports Twenty-four-year-old Juna Syakya can draw intricate flowers or butterflies on your hands with her henna cone in less than 20 minutes. Mehndi, or henna, is a form of body art that uses a plant-based dye and Syakya brings the ancient art form to the Deeba Beauty Salon on Devon Avenue […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":620,"featured_media":82280,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194,452,4780,28,30],"tags":[4837],"class_list":["post-82245","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts-culture","category-beyond-chicago","category-fall-2019","category-general-interest","category-public-affairs","tag-henna"],"yoast_head":"\nThe ancient art of henna: Immigrant women create couture designs for a new generation of customers - Medill Reports Chicago<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/the-ancient-art-of-henna-immigrant-women-create-couture-designs-for-a-new-generation-of-customers\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The ancient art of henna: Immigrant women create couture designs for a new generation of customers - Medill Reports Chicago\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Madhurita Goswami Medill Reports Twenty-four-year-old Juna Syakya can draw intricate flowers or butterflies on your hands with her henna cone in less than 20 minutes. 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