If you are interested in having a traditional Jewish henna ceremony, for a marriage or for any other happy occasion, or interested in having me speak to a group about Jewish henna traditions, please contact me!
See here for an overview of Jewish henna traditions in general, and Jewish henna in Israel today.
This information is the result of my own research. Please do not copy this information without proper citation.
See here for an overview of Jewish henna traditions in general, and Jewish henna in Israel today.
This information is the result of my own research. Please do not copy this information without proper citation.
Jewish Henna Traditions in India
A Bene Israel bride being hennaed in Mumbai.
There were several distinct Jewish communities in India. The Jews of Kerala, sometimes known as Cochin Jews or Malabar Jews, did not practice regular henna use (Kerala is too far south for henna cultivation and so henna was not generally used in the area until the mid-20th century).
The Baghdadi Jewish community, centred mainly in Kolkata and Mumbai, was formed from Jewish merchants and traders from Iraq (and some from Syria). Their henna traditions, for the most part, were similar to those practiced in Iraq.
One interesting custom in this community was the use of henna to mark a handprint (panja, Sanskrit 'five') on the wall during the sheshe ceremony, a celebration on the sixth or seventh night after a child's birth. This was apparently a unique innovation among Baghdadi Jews in India; in Baghdad this was done not with henna but with saffron (similar traditions, using saffron, turmeric, and/or indigo to decorate the walls, the mother and/or the child, have been recorded among Kurdish, Persian, and Yemenite Jews).
The Baghdadi Jewish community, centred mainly in Kolkata and Mumbai, was formed from Jewish merchants and traders from Iraq (and some from Syria). Their henna traditions, for the most part, were similar to those practiced in Iraq.
One interesting custom in this community was the use of henna to mark a handprint (panja, Sanskrit 'five') on the wall during the sheshe ceremony, a celebration on the sixth or seventh night after a child's birth. This was apparently a unique innovation among Baghdadi Jews in India; in Baghdad this was done not with henna but with saffron (similar traditions, using saffron, turmeric, and/or indigo to decorate the walls, the mother and/or the child, have been recorded among Kurdish, Persian, and Yemenite Jews).
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The Jews of the Konkan coast, known as Bene Israel, developed their own henna traditions, for which they used the Marathi word mendi or mendhi. The earliest record of it is from John Wilson, a Scottish missionary, who wrote in 1847 that among the Bene Israel the mendi ceremony was performed, for the groom, five days before the wedding.
At the ceremony, the bride traditionally wore a green sari with green bangles (five on one hand, four on the other). Before the bride and groom were hennaed, it was customary to henna a small boy and girl to act as 'substitutes' for the bride and groom and thereby confuse the Evil Eye (this was similarly practiced among Kurdish Jews). It was traditional to have a family member henna the index finger of the bride and groom, and so if a professional henna artist was hired to decorate the bride's palms they would be asked to leave the index finger blank (professional artists have grown more popular in recent years with the influence of Bollywood). In the past, the henna used for the bride's index finger was taken from the henna used at the groom's ceremony. |
 A small girl hennaed as a 'decoy' for the bride, Mumbai.  A Bene Israel groom, having his index finger hennaed by his mother. |
A Bene Israel bride being hennaed by a professional artist, Ahmedabad, ca. 1970. Note the index finger left blank.
The henna ceremony was linked to a unique Bene Israel ceremony known as malida, which included blessings and prayers addressed to the prophet Elijah while a special plate with sweets, fruit, parched rice, coconut, spices and sugar is passed around; the plate itself is also called malida. During the mehndi ceremony, fruit from the malida plate is wrapped in the bride’s sari near her belly; this has been interpreted as a ritual to promote the bride’s fertility.
During the mehndi ceremony, the bride and groom were surrounded by symbolic objects: a seven-wicked lamp (protection), rice (for fertility), candies (for sweetness), coconut (for nourishment), coins (for prosperity), and betel nuts (for protection against the evil eye, from its pleasant fragrance). Guests would approach the couple to throw rice over them or wave coins and banknotes around their head, to promote happiness, prosperity, and good luck.
During the mehndi ceremony, the bride and groom were surrounded by symbolic objects: a seven-wicked lamp (protection), rice (for fertility), candies (for sweetness), coconut (for nourishment), coins (for prosperity), and betel nuts (for protection against the evil eye, from its pleasant fragrance). Guests would approach the couple to throw rice over them or wave coins and banknotes around their head, to promote happiness, prosperity, and good luck.
A Bene Israel bride in Mumbai, her hands already professionally hennaed, receiving the traditional forefinger henna from her sister, 1980.
Sources and References:
Elias, Flower, and Judith Cooper. 1974 The Jews of Calcutta.
Hyman, Mavis. 1995 Jews of the Raj.
Isenberg, Shirley Berry. 1988 India’s Bene Israel: a comprehensive inquiry and sourcebook.
Kehimkar, Haeem Samuel. 1937 The History of the Bene Israel of India. Published posthumously; originally written 1897.
Musleah, Ezekiel. 1975 On the Banks of the Ganga: the sojourn of the Jews in Calcutta.
Slapak, Orpa (ed.). 1995 Yehudei Hodu: bene-yisrael, kochinim, bagdadim [English title: The Jews of India: a story of three communities].
Weil, Shalva. 1977 Bene Israel Indian Jews in Lod, Israel: a study of the persistence of ethnicity and ethnic identity.
Wilson, John. 1847 The Lands of the Bible Visited and Described in an Extensive Journey Undertaken with Special Reference to the Promotion of Biblical Research and the Advancement of the Cause of Philanthropy, Vol. II.
Hyman, Mavis. 1995 Jews of the Raj.
Isenberg, Shirley Berry. 1988 India’s Bene Israel: a comprehensive inquiry and sourcebook.
Kehimkar, Haeem Samuel. 1937 The History of the Bene Israel of India. Published posthumously; originally written 1897.
Musleah, Ezekiel. 1975 On the Banks of the Ganga: the sojourn of the Jews in Calcutta.
Slapak, Orpa (ed.). 1995 Yehudei Hodu: bene-yisrael, kochinim, bagdadim [English title: The Jews of India: a story of three communities].
Weil, Shalva. 1977 Bene Israel Indian Jews in Lod, Israel: a study of the persistence of ethnicity and ethnic identity.
Wilson, John. 1847 The Lands of the Bible Visited and Described in an Extensive Journey Undertaken with Special Reference to the Promotion of Biblical Research and the Advancement of the Cause of Philanthropy, Vol. II.
Pictures from:
Slapak, Orpa (ed.). 1995 Yehudei Hodu: bene-yisrael, kochinim, bagdadim [English title: The Jews of India: a story of three communities].
The Oster Visual Documentation Center of Beit haTfutsot: The Museum of the Jewish People, www.bh.org.il.
The Oster Visual Documentation Center of Beit haTfutsot: The Museum of the Jewish People, www.bh.org.il.