Henna

 Hello everyone, this was a paper I wrote for a class this semester and felt like it would fit on here. It's a pretty long one so take your time reading this!

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    Scrolling through TikTok, I watch as women, Black, White, East Asian, Southeast Asian, South Asian, and other races dye their hair with this paste called “Henna”. Wanting to know what people online think about the use of something from a region of cultures where everything is made fun of, I eagerly open the comments. The top comment says, “Looks like duck poop lol.” I sigh. This is my culture, as I am Pakistani and Muslim. And boy, has it been a rough 21 years being Pakistani and Muslim. I have had to fight for my right to exist growing up on Long Island, New York. One of these fights was related to henna, or as it is called in Urdu, the language of Pakistan; Bangla, the language of Bangladesh; Hindi, The language of India; and overall South Asia, Mehndi (meh-hen-dee).

            Growing up as one of seven Pakistanis and one of 10 South Asians on Long Island wasn’t easy. My twin and I were constantly bullied by the White kids, being told at the age of 8 that we were SO WEIRD for not celebrating Christian nor Jewish holidays. On September 11^th every year, people would stare at us as we walked through the halls- not because we were popular or so beautiful that people just had to stop and stare when we passed- but because they saw our skin color and blamed us for September 11^th. They expected us to apologize for the planes that we never flew! We would show up at school on our version of Christmas, Eid. And even though the two holidays are comparable, our classmates never understood it or tried to understand it. Many times, at school people would start a yearly rumor- that we were planning on building bombs and destroying our school. Oh yes, at the age of 12 we definitely knew how to build bombs, especially after not learning how to cut wood. Henna especially was hard to understand for our non-Muslim and non-South Asian classmates, and there is a plausible reason for that. People don’t know what exactly henna is.

            As a South Asian, I was taught from the very first day of preschool to spread and teach my culture. This includes henna, as it has both religious and cultural ties. But before I talk about the cultural significance, what exactly is henna? Lawsonia inermis, otherwise known as the Henna plant, is a plant used to dye both hair and skin naturally. This plant was the blueprint for what would soon become temporary tattoos. However, not many people know that the trendy temporary tattoos they get while visiting Morocco know where the actual origin of henna is from. “The plant is believed to have originated in the Middle East and North Africa, and then spread across Asia thousands of years of ago.” (Begum, 2023) Interwoven into the deep cultures of Pakistan, India, as well as the rest of South Asia, this dye has become a part of multiple celebrations. Worn for Eid, Diwali, Weddings, Engagements, this paste is multi-functional, even being used to cool people down during extremely hot seasons and their flowers are used to make perfume! Even mummies have been found to have henna on their toes (Gode, 1947)

            Henna is not only for decorative purposes. The patterns themselves have deeper meanings, with significance in our culture. Each motif holds a significant meaning in these patterns. “Floral designs represent joy, fertility, and new beginnings. Paisleys symbolize abundance and prosperity, common in South Asian and Persian henna art.” (Serinear Fjord, 2025) Other cultures also add their own twists on the henna patterns such as dots and lines, or eyes, as they believe it to be an artistic symbol of their cultures. Henna is also used to create henna crowns for cancer patients as an alternative to wigs. (Fjord, 2025) Not only aesthetically, but henna has also been used traditionally for medical reasons as well. “People apply it to their feet and hands to avoid fungal pathogens, hair to combat lice and dandruff, as well as the treatment of liver and digestive disorders, reductions in tissue loss in leprosy, diabetic foot disorders, and ulcers.” (Semwal, et al. 2014) This means that people have used henna in history like Vick’s VapoRub- the cure all for everything! All jokes aside, it is quite impressive the amount of uses this one plant species provides.

            Henna, Lawsonia inermis, is not only used for human issues. It is also used for plants themselves! A big problem with growing rice is that since it is anaerobic (meaning it grows in the field with water flooding its area) rice is often subject to fungal pathogens, such as brown spot in the water. A study back in 1987 found that you could use the leaf extracts to fight these fungal pathogens. “The antifungal activity of the leaf extract of L. inermis to D. oryzae is evident from its inhibitory effect of spore germination.” (M.R. Natarajan, D. Lalithakumari, 1987) D. Oryzae doesn’t have a common name, but it is a species of fungal pathogens that causes brown spot that can cause major health issues in people if consumed. So not only using henna for humans is beneficial, but using it for plants as well can help plants and in turn help humans as well. 

            When I was a kid, I visited my motherland, Pakistan. More specifically, Nazimabad, Karachi, Pakistan. While staying over at my cousins, I found out they made henna themselves. It’s easy to do when it grows wild in Pakistan. But how exactly do you make it? You see, you crush the leaves, stems and flowers into a fine powder and mix this powder with water. (Begum, 2023) This was my favorite part of visiting my cousins and my motherland. Henna is a part of me. It was there at every event of my life. Even the negative ones.

            You’re probably sitting here wondering what event in my life made me decide to write about this. As said earlier, growing up as a Pakistani Muslim on Long Island, New York was not easy. Yearly people would accuse us of making bombs. One year, a kid at our school reported us and the police actually came to our house to investigate if we were! My family faced neighbors who stopped talking to us or never did in the first place. We were/are also the only Pakistani Muslim family on the block. And yet, despite all of that I still was open to sharing my culture. In eighth grade, my twin and I joined this group of outcasts. But even a group of outcasts can make you feel like an outcast. On Eid of this year, my twin and I showed up with wet henna on our hands and arms to the cafeteria. Excitedly talking to them, hoping we could share this piece of culture with them, a little bit got on my “friend” James. Immediately, he hollered “GET THAT DUCK SHIT OFF OF ME!” Only two nearby tables heard this hollering, but it was enough to make me reel back and feel mortified. I thought we could trust them. My mistake. I laughed at his freaking out, to hide the shame I felt, and went on the bus home tearing up. I continued to be friends with them up until the COVID – 19 pandemic, mainly because of a series of decisions that made me hate who they were. My twin and I dropped them as friends especially after they showed us their true colors.

            Since that moment, I have become more cautious of people. And being the only Pakistani up here at SUNY Cobleskill, I stick to one motto: if they ask, I will answer. But I will not talk about my culture more than that. I have however, found great comfort in my culture, especially henna. Something that was used to shame me is now my greatest tool to use as an introduction to my culture. I find people often complain about the earthy smell. There is an earthy smell to the henna paste, but I love it. It brings back so many memories of weddings, laden with beautiful marigolds and garlands. So many memories of Eid- the Pakistani sweets we ate, the bright company, taking pictures in our new clothes, and the money we were given. This one plant has genuinely brought me so much joy and been there for me when nothing else was.

            People often judge Henna without knowing what it actually is, and therefore, they make jokes that end up being disrespectful and hurtful to the cultures that use it. I’ve seen such casual racism being used against South Asians, some even rubbing mud on their face to imitate South Asia’s biggest movie genre, Bollywood. While I have moved past all the racism and Islamophobia I faced, it can cause many South Asians growing up in America to hate themselves and their culture. Jokes like “it looks like duck poop lol” can tear a whole community apart and cause young South Asians to start trying to fit into White society by making fun of their own people and perpetuating racist stereotypes against us. Henna is so much more than just “duck sh*t”. It can be used for temporary tattoos, to cool down on hot days, and help plants such as rice.

            Closing the comments, I exit the app on my phone. I turn to Inaya, my twin, and say “Wanna watch a movie?”

 

 

 

 

References:

Gode, P. K. “STUDIES IN THE HISTORY OF INDIAN PLANTS—HISTORY OF MENDĪ OR HENNA (BETWEEN B. C. 2000 AND A. D. 1850).” Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, vol. 28, no. 1/2, 1947, pp. 14–25. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/44028042. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.

Begum, Tammana. “The Henna Plant: Transcending Time, Religion and Culture.” Natural History Museum, 2023, www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/the-henna-plant-transcending-time-religion-and-culture.html.

Serinaer, Fjord. “The Art of Henna and Its Cultural Significance.” Serinaer Fjord, 22 Jan. 2025, serinaerfjord.com/the-art-of-henna-and-its-cultural-significance/

Semwal, Ruchi et al. “Lawsonia Inermis L. (Henna): Ethnobotanical, Phytochemical and Pharmacological Aspects - Sciencedirect.” ScienceDirect, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Twshane University of Technology, 1 June 2014, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0378874114004115.

NATARAJAN, M. R., & LALITHAKUMARI, D. (1987). LEAF EXTRACTS OF LAWSONIA INERMIS AS ANTIFUNGAL AGENT. Current Science, 56(19), 1021–1022. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24090133