Known as the Henna or Mehndi, all of the bride's female friends and relatives from both families gather together for a night of celebration and decoration which marks the bride's passing from childhood into the adult world of marriage. The women sing songs, prepare food, and most importantly, the henna. This preparation culminates detailed application of special designs on the bride. The application is generally undertaken by a very close relative or bridesmaid, although nowadays a professional mehndi artist may be brought in. Many of the designs reflect sentiments of good fortune, happiness and fertility in the new marriage.
The decorations can also hold references to both sets of in-laws, and even the name of the groom maybe incorporated in the design.
On the wedding day it is then his task to find his name - a process which may take some time given the extremely intricate nature of the decoration.
In some rituals the henna night is so highly regarded that unless the mother- in-law of the bride applies the first dot of henna to the bride's hand the rest of the painting cannot continue. Such a mark is regarded as a symbolic blessing without which the bride is not permitted to beautify herself for the groom.A bride's relationship with her mother -in law is extremely important since after the marriage ceremony she will go to live in the home of the husband's family. Thus the henna night is full of charms and superstition about mothers-in-law; for example, it is widely believed that the deeper the colour of the henna, the more your other-in-law will love and favour you.
In the Gulf region of the Middle East, the henna night takes place three days before the actual wedding ceremony, and it bears many similarities to those that are held in honour of Indian brides. Arab brides have their hands and feet painted while traditional songs are sung by their grandmothers. Throughout the region henna decoration is used for many other ceremonial occasions such as births and christenings-anything that involves a celebration, festival of family gathering.
It is rare that the groom is involved in the henna night since these are actually women-only affairs, although in some parts of India the groom's hands are decorated. In certain Bangladeshi and Kashmiri communities designs have been developed especially for men. The groom may come into contact with henna later in life if he decides to use it to colour his hair and beard.
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