Henna Party

My Roommate, Tzipporah, is planning to get married yud-daled Kislev 5769 (December 10th 2008). Her family, who come from the Yemen, have the tradition of making a celebration before the wedding. During the celebration it is customary to dress the kallah (bride-to-be) in a beautiful gown, cover her with a vail, sing, dance, and put henna on the palms of her hands. Before she left Israel for New York, where she is to be married, she invited me to her Henna party here.

I had no idea what to expect from the party, but since I had been to her family's house for a few Shabbatot (Jewish Sabbaths) I felt a little more comfortable there. As soon as I got there, she was rushed into the far room, and we were all given lit candles. She was brought out, covered in a vail, and we danced and sang her to the seat of honor. Sitting around Tzipporah, we were all served delicious Yemenite foods, like special breads, sauces, and treats.

One of the women there was holding a basket with the bowl of henna dye in the center. We all stuck our candles in the dye, and we danced in a circle as the candles melted down, covering the henna with hot wax. There were women playing drums and singing as we danced. They taught a new twist to the traditional Jewish dance (where all the women hold hands in a circle), and I learned a new step. At some point, the music overtook me, and I decided to show off some belly dancing moves that I had picked up from here and there. The women were cheering me on, so I gave a kind of performance for the kallah and the guests. Afterwards, many women came to me to tell me what a mitzvah (deed that is for the sake of G-d) it was that I danced and celebrated with the kallah. I could tell that all my friends there, Tzipporah included, had a great time dancing.

Once all the candles burned out, the hot wax was mixed with the henna. Everyone got a turn to come to the kallah and smear some of the henna on her palms. The women there also encourged all the guest to smear some on our own palms, possibly for good luck (the language barrier made it hard to know exactly why I was doing anything that night).