Henna Hands

Intro

Henna – also known as mehndi – is the ancient Indian art of painting the body with a reddish-brown paste made from the dried leaves of the henna plant. The designs are intricate and beautiful, and fade with time.

Mehndi has roots in various parts of the world but is perhaps most widely known for its appearance on the hands and feet of Indian brides. According to lore, the deeper the colour of the mehndi, the happier the marriage will be…

This simple activity gives you the chance to create your own mehndi design. Don’t worry, there won’t be any tattooing! You’ll just draw around your hands onto paper and create a pattern inside it. You can use simple lines and flowers or more detailed patterns – it’s up to you.

It’s a great activity 1-on-1 or in a small group of up to 6

What you need

Fine pointed felt pens Pencils Plain paper Images of henna designs – see links in the activity

The Activity

Invite the person or group to sit at a table
Show images of decorated hands for inspiration: · Image 1 · Image 2 · Image 3 · Image 4
While doing this, talk about henna and its history
Encourage the person or group to talk about the art of henna. Maybe someone has had henna for a celebration? Give everyone time to share their experiences
Give each person a sheet of paper and pencil
Guide each person to place their non-drawing hand on the page and draw around it with the pencil – assist where needed (see top tip below)
Once each person has drawn around their hand, go over the line with a darker felt pen
Invite them to choose a coloured pen
Encourage each person to draw a henna design within their hand shape. They can draw anything – wavy lines, dots, flowers, circles, leaves, etc
Keep the henna images nearby to inspire people
Once finished, share the designs within the group and put them on display

Top tip

Some people may feel upset about how the outline of their hand looks, as it might evoke negative feelings about ageing. If so, it may be helpful to have some ready-drawn hand outlines to give out instead