Turkish Bachelorette Party: Henna Night. Turkish Tradition "Henna Night" How to Prepare for Henna Night

A wedding in Turkey is a series of traditional rituals and events that precede the ceremony itself. This series also includes the traditional henna night.

The history of the appearance of henna night

In the old days, wedding celebrations lasted for several days. They began on Monday with the transfer of the dowry for the newlyweds to the groom's house. The procession carrying the dowry was adorned with large wooden or iron "trees" adorned with scraps of cloth, fruit, and flowers. Tuesday was bath day for the newlyweds. On Wednesday evening, the henna night began, which took place in the women's part of the house where the bride lived. At the same time, men had fun in the men's part or in the groom's house.

Henna night is a rite of farewell of the bride to her home. This is the last night of her girlhood. These are tears and dances, joy and sadness.

Henna Night was a ceremony in which the bride, young girls and women from the groom's family dressed in luxurious, richly embroidered dresses called "bindalli" (bindalli). The bride's face was covered with a red veil adorned with sequins or beads. Henna for the ceremony was brought to the bride's house by the groom's relatives on a silver tray with two lighted candles. After all the guests had gathered, the future mother-in-law of the bride rolled out in front of her, like a carpet, a roll of silk fabric, which she brought with her as a gift. The bride and her friends, with lighted candles in their hands, passed to the guests, while the guests scattered coins over the bride's head as a symbol of fertility. The bride walked along the unfolded silk path to her future mother-in-law (this was often their first meeting), took the woman by the hand and kissed her with respect. After that, trays with fruits and nuts, cakes and marzipan were brought out, the guests were treated.

To make the bride cry, songs specially designed for this occasion were performed (it was believed that the bride’s tears bring good luck.) In the old days, the girl sobbed out loud, because she was forever given to a strange house, where she most likely had never been, and she hardly saw her future husband. Then the bride sat on the pillow, and the mother-in-law put a gold coin into her palm. This gold coin was considered a symbol of good luck and abundance. Then the woman, who was happily married, painted the bride's palms, fingertips and thumbs with henna. Unmarried bridesmaids also painted their hands with henna in the hope that it would help them get married soon too.

Why henna

Since ancient times, henna has been used as a medicine and as a natural coloring material. The Turks considered henna the best cure for many diseases, including the plague. Over time, henna for the inhabitants of Anatolia has become a symbol of health, well-being, and prosperity. Rituals with the use of henna acquired a sacred meaning. That is why from ancient times it was customary to apply henna to a soldier before leaving for the army, to an animal that will be sacrificed to Allah and to a young girl before marriage.

The Turks carefully preserve their traditions, and in this they can only be envied. Of course, ancient rituals are undergoing changes in modern society. And even if her future husband participates with a girl in henna nights, and not all brides cry under a red scarf, if they have fun all night long in a restaurant to incendiary Turkish melodies, drink champagne and cocktails, it’s still a red veil, an old folk song and henna - obligatory elements of a bachelorette party. Because henna night is not just a party, but a tradition that goes back centuries.

"Henna Night" and a Turkish wedding. And today I will please you with a story about how I had to attend a Turkish wedding, and what an interesting national custom I saw! HENNA NIGHT. Until now, the custom is widespread in Turkey before painting in ...

HENNA NIGHT and Turkish wedding. Istanbul, July 2016

Places of interest, Culture, Myths, legends, stories in Turkey, Istanbul

"Henna Night" and a Turkish wedding.

And today I will please you with a story about how I had to attend a Turkish wedding, and what an interesting national custom I saw!
HENNA NIGHT.
Until now, in Turkey, it is a common custom to carry out rituals that are very unusual for our perception of seeing off young people from bachelor life to family life before painting in the registry office.
Perhaps many lovers of Turkey took the so-called Turkish Night show from the country's travel agents. In addition to folk dances and dervish dances, guests are also shown a staged farewell ritual for the bride and groom with friends in compliance with certain rituals. Now, with my help, you will experience a real ceremony.
..A week before the planned celebration, we received an invitation from the bride and groom for a solemn marriage and a subsequent dinner party.

Well, as the legal wife of the groom's relative, I received a verbal invitation to participate in the Henna Night ritual. Ersan was very surprised to learn that I have an idea about this tradition, although, as he said a little later, he is practically not surprised by my knowledge of the country! I enjoyed watching the theatrical performance in Cappadocia at the aforementioned Turkish Night. I even took a small part there (I will definitely mention this in the course of the story).
Probably, “Henna Night” can be compared with our bachelorette party with a stretch. Here, too, the bride says goodbye to her bachelor life, close girlfriends are also present, only relatives of both the bride and the groom's relatives are added. In principle, this is an acquaintance of the husband's female relatives with a future relative, where she must show herself from the most advantageous side.
Somewhere on the Internet, I have long read about another tradition, when a young bride on the eve of the wedding is taken to the hammam by the future mother-in-law, aunts and sisters of the groom. As described in the note, this was done in order to better consider the physical data of the future mother of the children of their son / brother. I don’t know how this is happening now, and whether the heroine of my story was subjected to this procedure, but the fact that everything is in order with her physical form, a little later, you can see from the photographs that I will show you with pleasure.
On the scheduled day, relatives came for me, whom I, according to the good Turkish tradition, first gave tea to drink, then treated them to fruit, devoted some time to an exchange of courtesies and a small exchange of news. After that, we went to a special salon, where the ceremony was scheduled.
"Henna Night" is held exclusively for women. Men at this time also communicate with the groom in a completely different room, and do not intersect with the female half. I really hoped for a photo report of my husband from the groom's evening, but my Bear was tightly delayed at work, so the celebration passed him by.
At the entrance, the guests were met by the groom and the organizers of the ceremony, who escorted those arriving inside the restaurant. In the lobby, those present were offered sweets and the SHERBET drink, I wrote about it in my Note “What to drink in Turkey”, but, unfortunately, I simply forgot to try it here!

The interior of the hall is very nice, decorated in white and pink colors, in some places there are purple blotches of decor.

But, the most conspicuous thing is, of course, the special “throne of the bride” - I called it that for myself.

In order not to deviate from the topic later, I will write right away that at first I thought that the bride would sit there all the time, and, at the call of the toastmaster, would perform what was supposed to be according to the ritual. In reality, everything turned out to be completely different. There was no toastmaster, and if some leader of the action was present, he was not noticed by me. But the bride performed all the rituals exactly as scheduled, and the fact that there was a script, and, perhaps, the whole action was rehearsed the day before, was understandable. So, the bride sat on her “throne” only for photo shoots with guests, the rest of the time she was in the thick of things, and I didn’t see her sit down to eat or drink at least once!
About guests. Relatives from the side of the groom (that is, our half) was very different from the bride's guests.

Of the "open" women, we had only three persons of middle and older age - me and other relatives from Ankara and Izmir. At the same time, gloomy black and blue tones prevailed in our outfits. When, as from the side of the bride, the women were dressed more secularly. And, if anyone was wearing hijabs, they looked very smart in solid and expensive satin suits. Bridesmaids generally flaunted in short dresses, not in the least embarrassed or complex, from which it was clear that such clothes were familiar to them in everyday wear.

I was urged by my protégés to dress "decently", so I came to the celebration in silk wide trousers-skirt and a blouse that tightly covered my chest to the very chin. Naturally, the color of the outfit was restrained dark! I did not resist their request at all, because I did not know what would be there, and what kind of relatives the bride had. It was necessary to "keep the mark", and I coped with it.

I moved away from my older aunts, under the pretext that they had a bad place to shoot. To be honest, it was possible to sit with them, because. When I took photos, I did not sit still. But I was very suppressed by dark clothes and facial expressions, which practically do not reflect any emotions. With relatives of the bride, I sat much more comfortably. Yes, and young relatives "from our side" then moved to me!
The climax is coming, we meet the BRIDE!

Good! But I, remembering the Turkish Night show, expected the bride to be dressed differently ...
Without sitting down at the table, without having a bite, or sipping drinks, my heroine immediately starts dancing. National melodies sound, the bride and her girlfriends ring tambourines to the rhythm. They gave me one tambourine too.

For the sake of decency, I also stood in a circle and shook it a little - after the bride, I was the second star at this holiday, and both the groom's side and the bride's side watched me too. Foreigner!
Here is the ritual of the dance of the bride with the drum for me remained a mystery. At first, one of the bridesmaids beat the drum, then handed this instrument to her. I'm assuming it has something to do with the evil eye. Later I asked my husband, but he was not familiar with this custom.

During the dance of the bride, the bridesmaids sat on their knees in a circle, surrounding the dancer. Exactly 4 years ago, at the Turkish Night, I also sat in the circle of actors who staged this ritual!

The guests were served refreshments. It was the traditional cheese puff pastry, small bulgur patties, and custard tarts. As for drinks, sodas from the Coca Cola factory, which are beloved by the Turks, and factory lemonade were offered.
Garcons were exclusively girls.

After a while, I noticed that the bridesmaids were wearing beautiful shiny capes, and the bride herself had disappeared somewhere. To my question, I received an answer that the bride had gone to change another dress!
Girls in capes have acquired a completely different - mysterious - look!

The bride finally arrives! Now she is in the national wedding dress "bindally", and with a closed, according to ancient tradition, face. It seemed to me that a sigh of admiration really froze in the air. Look!

The bride is seated on a chair, fireworks are lit.

And then the ceremony begins, which gave the name to this magical "night".
Large dots are applied to the palm of the bride with henna, which will not get away from her hands for several days (from a week to two). After that, gold coins are put into the palms and hidden behind special blotches in the form of roses.

Somewhere I read that the mother-in-law should do this, but on “our” night it was done by another woman, but a relative for sure. True, judging by the clothes, not from our "clan".
Why is henna applied? I think this is a very wise ancient custom. During the time until the henna comes off, the newly-made daughter-in-law in the mother-in-law's house, where she now lives from now on, will not do anything. These few days, the young woman will look at the way of life in her new home, and when the henna comes down, she will already know the rules and foundations of this particular house. There is an opportunity and time for a young wife to learn about the habits of the family and not to climb (even with good intentions) ahead of her mother-in-law with her own rules. Very smart.

Reveal the face of the bride.

According to ancient tradition, the bride must now sob, demonstrating to everyone present her bitterness of parting with girlhood. But our maiden is happy and is not going to cry at all.
After that, the bride walks in a circle, showing her hands to the guests.

Previously, the bride was still painted with henna on her hands and feet with bizarre patterns, now this custom has become a thing of the past. But for guests who wish, in the lobby, a special woman applies henna patterns on her wrist.

After that, there was another ritual dance, which also remained a mystery to me.
Dance in a multi-colored "skirt", the ends of which the bridesmaids held in their hands.

Henna Night is coming to an end. Another ritual that I did not see on the Turkish Night.
A path spreads out, to which, with a jug in her hands, the bride approaches. There is sugar in the jug. Dancing, the bride spins around and, as if by chance, “drops” the jug on the spread rug. Disappointment is reflected on the faces of the guests - the jug did not break!

Ideally, shards should scatter in all directions, and sugar, symbolizing a sweet and full life, should spill out. Let's hope that this is just a ritual, and will have nothing to do with real life.
Well, women are met at the exit by their male relatives, and we say goodbye for 2 days before the state registration of marriage (nikyaha).
NIKYAKH.
My husband and I had a simple painting. Without "Henna Night" and without a solemn painting with dozens of guests. There was also no dinner party. Later we sat with my Russian girlfriends Lena-Leyla (Istanbul) and Alyonka (Kursk) in one of the restaurants in Istanbul.

Our marriage was not the first in our life, and it happened very hastily. Against the background of the events with the downed fighter jet, we were afraid that the borders would be closed, and we would remain in different countries for an indefinite period, and perhaps forever. Therefore, I quit my job within 2 months, processed all the necessary documents for leaving and for marriage abroad, and on December 25 I flew to Istanbul. On December 31, we concluded our alliance. Therefore, we did not have time and money to prepare a chic action. I'm not at all upset by this, because real happiness is not measured by the splendor of the wedding or the number of gifts: we are HAPPY TOGETHER, and that's enough.

So, I didn’t have to experience a real festive marriage ceremony, but I had a chance to see it “from the side”. Photos further in the text will be from a mobile phone, because. in the registry office it is forbidden to shoot with professional equipment - competition! Therefore, I immediately apologize for the quality of the pictures, although, with the help of a light Photoshop, I managed to pull out at least something of the road from the incredible number of pictures taken. Yes, it’s not easy to be a photojournalist whom the “pros” don’t want to see ...
Nikah and a dinner party - these two actions are not connected to each other for everyone. If hundreds of people can be present at the mural (yes, one couple!), Then only specially invited guests remain at the dinner party. Of course, I am writing now about a city wedding. In the villages, for sure, all this is simpler, and according to Turkish laws, painting with refreshments can be combined to reduce the cost of the process.
At the wedding of our young people, Esna and Serhat, there were two hundred and two guests! And, of course, "our" women could easily be identified by dark robes!

Almost all men arrived at the celebration with ties and light shirts, and some in suits.

Why she also drew attention to men: the male population of Turkey loves shirts very much. T-shirts are worn by young people, and then - up to a certain age: after 30-35 years, these will again be shirts with the same “cell”. Before living in Turkey, for me, of course, there was a pattern on the “cage” fabric. Just a "cell" and that's it. I never thought that there could be such a great variety of this monotony (sorry for the pun)! So, light plain shirts are worn either for work or for some kind of celebration, in ordinary life this is a rare occurrence.
And about me. I showed Ersan photos from the Henna Night, where the women from the bride's side are dressed very secularly, and my husband gave the go-ahead for me to dress as I see fit myself. He was pleased with my choice. Our "crows" too.

Further I will put only photos of the ceremony, because. the official part is the same all over the world. The only thing is that here the marriage ceremony is performed by a man. For the duration of the ceremony, he puts on a special “robe”, and all the questions and answers are heard by the invitees very well, because. the actors use a microphone. By the way, chairs are provided for guests, this is very correct! Also, my and Ersan's nikah took place in winter, so we were combined indoors. Our young people were painted in the fresh air.
We look..

After painting, a special booklet is issued. it can be seen in the last photo in the hands of the newlywed. I'll show you closer - our copy with Ersan.

Literally - "family wallet". A funny name, but you can compare it with a piggy bank of family events: all the legal events that take place in the family are entered there, starting from the day of marriage and until death. Divorces are extremely rare in Turkey.

After the wedding, the young couple is congratulated by relatives and friends. The queue for congratulations stretches for several tens of meters.

At this wedding, gifts for the newlyweds are put into envelopes and then placed in a special beautifully designed basket, although, according to the rules, the gift should be pinned to the bride's belt. But our bride does not have a traditional scarlet belt - a symbol of innocence, we will keep silent about the details, but we will “note” to ourselves.
Turkish weddings give either money or special gold coins.

Here Ersan signs the envelopes of our relatives.

The difference between gold coins and jewelry made of this metal is that they are sold specifically for special occasions. And, if a person wants to sell coins, he will sell them at the actual gold rate on the day of sale, and not as pawnshop scrap.
If in Turkey you happen to see what we call funeral wreaths, do not be alarmed, most likely you are near the place where the marriage of Turkish citizens is held.

After the ceremony, Ersan and I head home for a short rest and change before the evening meal. Dinner is scheduled for 7:00 p.m., but will actually start no earlier than 8 p.m.
Photo with young relatives for memory.

PARTY DINNER.

Kemerburgaz district, Botanic park, Istanbul.

The guests are greeted by the red carpet, the organizers of the celebration and several hired photographers who are clicking the shutters of the devices with might and main, earning their own “bread and butter”.
We later bought one photo for 25 lire. At the current exchange rate, this is about 550 rubles, very expensive, of course. Looking at the photo, for some reason I thought that, having a semi-professional device in my hands, not even knowing the basics of photo science, but shooting on a whim, my pictures sometimes turn out to be much more appetizing. But, anyway, we were satisfied with the photo: on paper it is not so often in our time that you can please yourself with a stopped moment.

The path led us to a magnificent lawn, where tables were set up, women in evening dresses (of course, relatives from the bride's side) walk around, gallant waiters carry soft drinks.

Our "ravens", and I, along with them, nestled somewhere on the side of the lawn, modestly.

It’s good that I had a little girlfriend-relative who rarely left me on the “henna night” and now. We met her in a village in Malatya when we went there for Ramadan. A very inquisitive girl, at the suggestion of which almost the entire village, by the time of our departure, knew how to say HELLO and BYE, and use these words to the point.

In the middle of the lawn grows an old huge tree, under which there is a table with a sweet treat, and photographs of the newlyweds from infancy to the present are hung on the lower branches. In principle, the idea is not new, it is also common here, but in the form of a mini-film, as a rule.

From the photographs, I conclude that the young people have not known each other since childhood, but studied together at the university, where they became friends and fell in love. It's nice that the social status of the guys is about the same - otherwise the wedding might not have happened. Serious attitude to social equality when creating a family is still very common here, although love marriages are happening more and more often. Some 20-25 years ago, alliances were very often concluded between the closest relatives so that family money would not go to the side. I'm confused about our family. who belongs to whom, but we have very common marriages concluded just in those distant times, between relatives. For example, my husband's sister is married to her cousin.

They were lucky, they have a very close-knit family, two children, already adults. But here's my daughter, who is not even 25 years old, I really don't like her appearance.

I'm afraid to make any assumptions, but it seems to me that she does not have a completely healthy heart. If we take into account the presence of an intermarriage, then this is quite likely.
But I got off topic again.
I was very interested in how the Turkish wedding would go. But with the seating on the tables we were very unlucky. Our table "No. 1" was in the very corner of the pavilion, far from the scene. Well, yes, and the action, in principle, no happened. There were no “masters of ceremonies and accordion players” familiar to us. There was an ensemble with live music and a singer.

It is hard to believe that henna, which we consider just hair dye, was considered in the East in the past to be almost a panacea for many diseases. Even from something as terrible as the plague. And the fact that henna is a symbol of health, longevity, happiness is no longer in doubt. Henna is involved in rituals associated with the action of "give". For example, giving a son to serve in the army in some regions of Turkey, mothers, seeing off their sons, put henna marks on their hands. Such a ceremony as a wedding, when a girl is given in marriage, could not do without henna. The time of the bride's farewell to her stepfather's house, with freedom, the acquisition of a new status. Ours is a bachelorette party. In Turkey, this custom is called "henna night". Why henna? Let's try to figure it out. The history of this rite goes back to ancient times, but is carried out to this day. This holiday is bright, joyful, because the girl will find her soul mate, fulfill her destiny. But there is sadness in him, because carefree girlhood has ended, you need to leave your parental home.

"Henna Night" gathers women from both the bride's family and the groom's family. In addition, friends and neighbors come. The bride dresses up in a beautiful new dress, usually red, which makes her extraordinarily lovely. The dress is skillfully embroidered with embroidery and beads. The head and face are covered with a red translucent veil, decorated with sparkles and patterns. The bride puts on earrings, bracelets, rings. After all, this is her day when she should be amazing. The girl sits down in the center of the room and the ancient ceremony begins. All the lights are extinguished, and in pitch darkness one of the future husband's relatives appears with a beautiful tray with two burning candles and henna. It symbolizes the fire of two loving hearts. The farewell of the bride to her parents begins to a very sad song. Even the most persistent brides can't stand it and start crying. It turns out that the more tears a girl sheds, the more successful family life will be, the happier the marriage will be. Then the bride, taking a tray with candles and henna in her hands, walks around the guests, who sprinkle her with coins so that the newlyweds do not need anything. The main moment of the "henna night" comes - drawing a pattern or pieces of henna on the palms and fingertips. But this is not easy to do. After all, the bride must tightly clench her fists. After much persuasion, the bride gives up and opens her palms. She receives for this from her mother-in-law a coin in the palm of her hand and a gift - a silk cloth. A happily married woman applies henna on her palms. The fun part of the holiday begins: dances, songs, refreshments. During the celebration, unmarried friends try to grab the red veil from the bride's head in order to soon become a bride too. Bachelorette or henna night lasts almost all night.

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Turkish wedding rites: henna night (henna festival).

Turkish wedding rites: henna night (henna festival).

Source: http://evim.ucoz.com/forum/10-1929-1

Since ancient times, wedding celebrations in Turkey have been going on for several days. They usually begin on Monday, and the beginning of the wedding ceremonies is traditionally considered to be the transfer of the bride's dowry to the groom's house. The wedding procession solemnly carried the bride's dowry, hanging clothes, fruits and flowers on special wooden or metal "trees".
Turkish Wedding Rituals: Henna Night (Henna Festival)
Tuesday is considered the second day of wedding ceremonies. On Tuesday, the traditional “ablution” of the bride is held - according to ancient Turkish customs, the bride visited the bathhouse on this day before the wedding. And on Wednesday evening, according to tradition, a special holiday was held for the bride - “Henna Night” (kina gecesi).

"Henna Night" is an important part of national rituals and wedding traditions in Turkey. This holiday is held in the female part (harem) of the house where the young wife will live after the wedding - most often this is the groom's house. And at the same time, while the women and the bride are performing the traditional rites of the "henna night", the men gather in the male half of this house (or another groom's house) and celebrate this event separately. Any Turkish woman can have “Henna Night” only once in her life, which gives this holiday a special meaning.

The ancient Turkish rites of "henna night" are very beautiful and significant. The bride (usually a young girl) dresses up in a special dress - bindalli. This is a luxurious, expensive dress, completely covered with beautiful traditional embroidery of the finest handmade work. Usually bindalli (dress for "henna night") is a family heirloom, it is carefully kept in the family, used only for this ceremony and passed down from generation to generation.

The bride's face is covered with a red veil covered with gold sequins and sequins - through such a veil no one can see the girl's face, while the bride herself will see everyone. Henna for this ceremony is brought to the house by the groom's relatives on a special silver tray with two lit candles.

After all the participants of the “henna night” ceremony have gathered together, the future mother-in-law rolls out a roll of silk fabric, which she brought her as a gift, like a carpet under the feet of the future daughter-in-law. The bride and her bridesmaids, with lit candles in their hands, go around all the guests, and during this procession, the bride's head is showered with coins, symbolizing wealth and fertility.

Having bypassed the guests, the bride moves along a rolled silk roll to her future mother-in-law (it often happens that it is at this moment that they meet for the first time). Approaching her, the bride bows her head and, as a sign of her deep respect, kisses the hand of her future mother-in-law.

The rite continues. There are trays with fruits, nuts, oriental sweets. Guests are offered traditional oriental pastries and marzipans. After that, songs and lamentations traditional for the “henna night” are heard. The melodies and words of these chants are so sad that they touch the bride to the depths of her soul, and she bursts into tears. And not in vain: the tears of the bride on the “night of henna”, according to Turkish beliefs, will bring the girl good luck and happiness in marriage.
After bitter girlish sobs to these ritual chants, the bride is seated on the sofa, and her future mother-in-law pours a full spoonful of henna into each palm of the girl and puts a gold coin into it. These gold coins in the hands of the bride symbolize good luck, wealth and abundance - the wishes of the girl from her future relatives.
After all these preludes comes the climax of the evening. Henna is brought, and the woman of all those present at the ceremony, who is the happiest in marriage, takes over. It is this woman who is given the honorable right to perform the henna ceremony. A woman paints the bride's palms, fingertips and big toes with henna. Unmarried bridesmaids also have their hands painted with henna - according to Turkish beliefs, this will help them get married in the near future.
The pattern applied with henna during this traditional ceremony on the “night of henna” will most clearly appear on the bride directly on the wedding day. Traditionally, during the henna process of this pre-wedding ceremony, the groom's initials may be artfully woven into the henna designs on the bride's hands. On the wedding night, the groom will have to find these initials on the bride's hand, and if he fails to do this, he will have to give her a gift.
Of course, the traditions of the groom looking for his initials in henna drawings on the bride's hand are rooted in the distant past and today they no longer carry any special semantic load. But in the old days, this ceremony was especially important in cases where the marriage was concluded exclusively by agreement between the parents of the young, and the bride and groom met for the first time in their lives at their own wedding. At that time, the ritual of the groom searching for his own initials on the hands of his bride was intended, first of all, to “melt the ice” between the newlyweds and create an atmosphere of some intimacy. Today, these ancient wedding ceremonies no longer carry such a special semantic load, but the “Henna Night” still remains an important component of wedding celebrations. This exceptionally beautiful and memorable ritual for the bride is perhaps the most important of all marriage ceremonies - not counting, of course, the wedding itself.

A small container is taken, a spoon, a cotton swab, a handkerchief, a spatula, a syringe, a bottle with a hole, scissors.
The powder made from henna should be put in a cup, diluted with warm water and lemon juice, so that after mixing everything, you get a thick slurry. For the best color scheme of a temporary henna tattoo, it is necessary to treat the skin with eucalyptus oil.

- Treat the skin with eucalyptus oil, then do peeling.
- We fill the syringe with henna
- We draw a picture with a felt-tip pen on a film, then apply it to the skin and circle the print with henna.
It is better to repeat this procedure twice. After that, in order to obtain the desired intensity of the color of the henna tattoo, we wait about an hour. Eucalyptus oil is applied to the skin. This is a very important nuance. Eucalyptus oil increases the drying time of the paint, which means its effect. The oil also opens the pores and promotes better penetration of the henna. In addition, thanks to the oil, the color of the picture becomes more saturated.
However, no more than three drops of eucalyptus oil should be rubbed in, so as not to cause skin irritation. If you have sensitive skin, a special test is recommended beforehand. On the bend of the elbow you need to drop a little paint, eucalyptus and vegetable oil. Do not wash them for a period of time, then evaluate the effect. The main thing is to find out if there is irritation.
Post-procedural period
After the direct creation of the drawing, it is necessary to dry the work. Ideally, the drying process should take at least 1 hour. If it takes only a few minutes to dry, the color of the tattoo will turn out to be less intense or disappear altogether after some time.
The finished tattoo is usually dried in heat. During drying, to give the color of the tattoo a special brightness, you can periodically slightly moisten the image with lemon juice and sugar (in a ratio of 1: 2). The main thing is not to overdo it: the image can be smeared from excess moisture. It will be even better if you hold the tattoo under an infrared lamp during drying or just stay in the sun for a while.

How long does body henna last?
The dye obtained from henna can stay on the skin from several weeks to several months. The color begins to fade gradually after 3-4 weeks. Chlorinated water or soap can slow down the tarnishing process; alkali, on the contrary, can accelerate it. As soon as the paint reaches the peak of its intensity and brightness, it will begin to fade. It would be correct to say that the paint itself does not disappear, because, as the skin cells die, and new ones appear in their place.

Henna for the body - side effects

Allergic reactions from contact with henna are very, very rare. In the most exceptional cases, itching may begin.

A Turkish wedding is a protracted, troublesome, multi-stage, thorough business. F. and I didn’t have a wedding, but we couldn’t avoid the wedding commotion - we ended up in the thick of things, marrying his younger sister Masha (Meryem) to Gyokai. I will briefly talk about the stages immediately preceding the wedding. And I'll show you pictures.

Acquaintance of relatives and engagement
In November, a crowd of Turkish relatives (future, from the groom's side, and ours, from the bride's side) gathered "for coffee" at our house (exactly on my DR!) - an official acquaintance of the parties took place (drank coffee, decorously talked). Then, a few weeks later, again at our house (we have a large, roomy living room, ho-ho!) the couple got engaged - again a crowd gathered (an even bigger one), the groom put Masha on the ring, drank, not wincing and smiling, coolly salted coffee (is this also a tradition - an attempt to poison the groom?), and the accompanying crowd of relatives was treated to sweets (baklava) and bereks (puff pastries with cheese) specially baked in the restaurant. The parties set the date of the wedding (in six months), and F. and I made bets - whether Gyokai would last until the wedding. ;))

marriage
In April, the couple signed in the Turkish analogue of the registry office: without noise and dust, without guests (except for parents, F. and witnesses). And at the end of May (also, without pomp, in the circle of close relatives) they performed nikah (Islamic wedding ceremony, so to speak, takes place in a mosque). The latter was a tribute to traditions and relatives on the part of the groom (mostly pious), no one was embarrassed by the fact that the bride is a Christian. :).

Night of Henna (kina gecesi)
On the last May Friday, "Henna Night" took place - according to tradition, the holiday was held where the young people planned to settle if they survived the wedding commotion - that is, in a small, two-room apartment, which F. and his parents bought Masha as a dowry.

The bride is ready to fly out of her parents' house, final preparations:

Smart Meriem gets into the carriage, where Misha and Mitya are already waiting for her. :))

About the Night of Henna I will copy from the magazine, we had about the same:

"The ancient Turkish rites of "henna night" are very beautiful and meaningful. The bride dresses up in a special dress - bindalli. This is a luxurious, expensive dress, completely covered with beautiful traditional embroidery of the finest handmade work. Usually, bindalli (dress for "henna night") is a family heirloom, it is carefully kept in the family, used only for this ceremony and passed down from generation to generation.

(Yeah, that means we will marry Yasmin in a beautiful car dress!). Further more:

"... The bride's face is covered with a red veil covered with gold sequins and sequins - no one can see the girl's face through such a veil, while the bride herself will see everyone. ... The bride and her bridesmaids with lighted candles in their hands bypass everyone guests, and during this procession, the bride’s head is showered with coins symbolizing wealth and fertility… Trays with fruits, nuts, oriental sweets appear. touch the bride to the depths of her soul, and she bursts into tears. And not in vain: the tears of the bride on the "night of henna", according to Turkish beliefs, will bring the girl good luck and happiness in marriage. "

Our "lamentations" were quite cheerful - music was playing, an Alanian singer sang soulfully, a ruddy cheerful uncle cheerfully mumbled on the drummer, lanterns were lit, guests and neighbors danced heartily on a small patch of the yard. It was fun, sincere, very cozy at this holiday, it's a pity that I had to leave early - to put the gavriks to bed. But F. stayed (he dances with his sister) and even made a video about what happened next.

"After bitter girlish sobs to these ritual chants, the bride is seated on the sofa, and her future mother-in-law pours a full spoonful of henna into each palm of the girl and puts a gold coin in it. These gold coins in the palms of the bride symbolize good luck, wealth and abundance - wishes to the girl from her future family.Henna is brought, and the woman of all those present at the ceremony, who is the happiest in marriage, takes over. It is this woman who is given the honorable right to perform the henna ceremony. A woman paints the bride's palms, fingertips and big toes with henna. Unmarried bridesmaids also have their hands painted with henna - according to Turkish beliefs, this will help them get married in the near future.The pattern applied with henna during this traditional ceremony on the “night of henna” will most clearly appear on the bride directly on the wedding day. Traditionally, during the henna process of this pre-wedding ceremony, the groom's initials may be artfully woven into the henna designs on the bride's hands. On the wedding night, the groom will have to find these initials on the bride's hand, and if he fails to do this, he will have to give her a gift.