Henna Night

Finally Yasmin was seated upon a double chair, comfortably. Everyone gathered round her. Her family took a seat on the near by chairs beside Yasmin. She was smiling and was full of joy. The sparkle in her eyes, told Nadia she was happy and excited about the occasion. Her eyes were glowing, like the colours of the sunset. All her clothes, shoes were matching, and looked stunning. Everything had gone according to plan, expressed Nadia’s friends. As it was an Asian wedding the occasions are held over a number of days, so everything had to be perfect. Her friends sorted out her lehngha before she sat down. Everyone then, took a seat, and one by one went up to speak to Yasmin. The yellow dazzling sheet with golden threads was removed from above Yasmin’s head. A number of flowers fell towards the floor of the hall, emitting a fresh rosy smell.

 Yasmin’s family were also seated on the stage near Yasmin. There were balloons behind the stage, giving a colourful effect of the stage. To have balloons was Yasmin’s idea as she had seen them at a previous Henna Night and decided that she would prefer them rather than just having more banners. Red, yellow and orange balloons were all attached on the wall designed in a heart shape. At the sides of the stage were tinsel and banners. At the right hand side corner of the stage, there was a white cake which looked similar to a wedding cake. Yasmin’s friends had specially ordered the cake a month in advance, and the cake was looked delicious. Nadia began to feel like a child again, wanting to eat the cake now, rather than later. The cake had blue and red icing which wished Yasmin a happy Henna night.

Meanwhile, a few balloons were out of place, so Yasmin’s friends were altering some parts of the stage. Yasmin’s parents had organised three people who were professional photographers and cameramen to record the function. Once everything was set, the function was recorded. Indian music was played on full power, as though people wanted to hear the music in the surrounding streets. The music had a fast rhythm, and in Nadia’s opinion the music was good to dance to. Yet again, everything was the choice of Yasmin, as it was a day for her to remember. At a Henna night function, there are many traditions which are followed. Later, Yasmin’s family had taken their seats at the table opposite the stage. Nillah, who is was one of Yasmin’s first cousins, was sitting next to Yasmin with a silver plate. People began to walk in Yasmin's direction.

The tradition of the function involved a person sat next to the bride to wave an amount of money around her head several times and then insert the money into a pot. This is called Salami. Many people were waiting in a long line to sit next to Yasmin to follow the tradition. However, this tradition also is thought to bless the bride, and to give prayers of a happy marriage to the couple. This was an old tradition which had always been followed for many generations. The shining silver plate was held by Nillah and Nadia. The plate had colourful fruit pieces and Asian sweets on little sticks. Each person, who came up to Yasmin, took their choice of sweet from the silver plate and gave it to Yasmin to eat it. The Asian sweets were very brightly coloured. The apple green, the glowing orange and bright pink sweets were also traditional, although the taste did not appeal to Nadia. She preferred ordinary chocolate. The dazzling colours of the Asian sweets were very appealing to the younger children. Usually only Asian sweets are normally given, but as Yasmin was not that fond of Asian sweets, she chose to have a variety of fruit as well, so a compromise was made.

After that tradition another tradition followed, whereby people drew patterns on Yasmin’s hands using Henna. The Henna was in a special tube, which enabled it to be applied easily. The Henna would stay on, for a few hours, leaving a pattern in a reddish brownish colour, once washed off. After that, special glittering Henna could be applied from another tube to go over the original pattern, to give a shimmering effect. The glitter used in Yasmin’s Henna was golden to match with her jewellery. She was wearing a round spiralling necklace, made from twenty four karat gold, dangling below her neck, with white gold in between. Nadia thought Yasmin’s selection was very good, she had only seen this particular type of spiralling jewellery for the first time. Her jewellery was part of a set which included ear rings made from silver, diamond rings, the golden necklace, silver bangles and a gold forehead Tikkah. A Tikkah, is a piece of jewellery which is placed dangling down from the forehead, and is fastened with a pin into the hair of the bride, so the Tikka would be secure It is traditional fro the bride to have a Tikkah on her forehead.

Nillah and Nadia were providing people with the Henna tubes to use and also held a silver dish, with Asian sweets and fruits. The fruits and Asian sweets were given to the bride by the guests who were attending the Henna night. Mainly Yasmin chose to eat fruits as the Asian sweets were too sweet for her taste. Many people had given gifts, and household items such as, crockery. Nadia’s family had gifted her a new jewellery set. However, Yasmin’s parents had bought her a new car, but that was a surprise.

Towards the end of the function, there were dances in time with the Indian music playing. There were many dances performed by my cousins and Yasmin’s friends. Nadia did not dance, as she was not enthusiastic and did not consider herself as good as the others. The function was very lively and nearly everyone was there. Nadia in particular had enjoyed the function greatly and looked forward to the wedding. Once the function had ended, the photographers took final photos inside and outside in the hall gardens and when Yasmin left with her friends, everyone began to move, preparing to go home as the function had come to an end. Yasmin had left first as it is traditional for the bride to do so. It was the end of a long lively day, which Nadia will always remember.