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HENNA

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Originally appearing in Volume V13, Page 272 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.

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HENNA , the See also:

Persian name for a small See also:

SHRUB

shrub found in See also:

India, See also:

PERSIA

Persia, the See also:

LEVANT

Levant and along the See also:

AFRICAN

African coasts of the Mediterranean, where it is frequently cultivated. It is the Lawsonia See also:

ALBA

alba of botanists, and from the fact that See also:

young trees are spineless, while older ones have the branchlets hardened into spines, it has also received the names of Lawsonia inermis and L. spinosa. It forms a slender shrubby plant of from 8 to To ft. high, with opposite See also:

LANCE

lance-shaped smooth leaves, which are entire at the margins, and bears small See also:

white four-petalled sweet-scented See also:

FLOWERS, ARTIFICIAL

flowers disposed in panicles. Its See also:

EGYPTIAN

Egyptian name is Khenna, its Arabic name Al Khanna, its See also:

INDIAN

Indian name Mendee, while in See also:

England it is called Egyptian See also:

PRIVET

privet, and in the See also:

West Indies, where it is naturalized, See also:

JAMAICA

Jamaica See also:

MIGNONETTE, or MIGNONNETTE (i.e. " little darling ")

mignonette. Henna or Henne is of See also:

ancient repute as a cosmetic. This consists of the leaves of the Lawsonia powdered and made up into a See also:

PASTE (O. Fr. paste, modern pate, Late Lat. pasta, whence also in Span., Port. and Ital., from Gr. 1r&vrrl or 1raara, barley porridge, or salted pottage, ir&ao'ety, to sprinkle with salt)

paste; this is employed by the Egyptian See also:

WOMEN

women, and also by the See also:

MAHOMMEDAN

Mahommedan women in India, to dye their See also:

FINGER

finger-nails and other parts of their hands and feet of an See also:

orange-red See also:

COLOUR (Lat. color, connected with celare, to hide, the root meaning, therefore, being that of a covering)

colour, which is considered to add to their beauty. The colour lasts for three or four See also:

WEEKS, EDWIN LORD (1849-1903)

weeks, when it requires to be renewed. It is moreover used for See also:

DYEING (0. Eng. dedgian, dealt ; Mid. Eng. deyen)

dyeing the See also:

HAIR (a word common to Teutonic languages)

hair and See also:

beard, and even the See also:

MANES

manes of horses; and the same material is employed for dyeing skins and See also:

MOROCCO

morocco-See also:

leather a reddish-yellow, but it contains no See also:

TANNIN, or TANNIC ACID

tannin. The practice of dyeing the nails was See also:

COMMON

common amongst the Egyptians, and not to conform to it would have been considered indecent. It has .descended from very remote ages, as is proved by the See also:

EVIDENCE (Lat. evidentia, evideri, to appear clearly)

evidence afforded by Egyptian mummies, the nails of which are most commonly stained of a reddish See also:

hue. Henna is also said to have been held in repute amongst the See also:

HEBREWS, EPISTLE TO THE

Hebrews, being considered to be the plant referred to as camphire in the See also:

Bible (See also:

SONG

Song of See also:

Solomon i. 14, iv.

13). " The See also:

CUSTOM (from O. Fr. costume, costume or coustume; Low Lat. costuma, a shortened form of consuetudo)

custom of dyeing the nails and palms of the hands and soles of the feet of an See also:

IRON [symbol Fe, atomic weight 55.85 (0=16)]

iron-See also:

RUST (O.E. rust, a word which appears in -many Teutonic languages, cf. Du. roest, Ger. rost); in origin it is allied with " ruddy " and " red," the reddish-brown powdery substance which forms on the surface of iron or steel exposed to atmospheric corrosio

rust colour with henna," observes Dr J. See also:

Forbes See also:

ROYLE, JOHN FORBES (1799—1858)

Royle, " exists throughout the See also:

East from the Mediterranean to the See also:

GANGES (GANGA)

Ganges, as well as in See also:

NORTHERN

northern See also:

Africa. In some parts the practice is not confined to women and See also:

CHILDREN, LAW RELATING TO

children, but is also followed by men, especially in Persia. In dyeing the beard the hair is turned to red by this application, which is then changed to See also:

black by a preparation of See also:

INDIGO (earlier indico, from Lat. indicum, the Indian sub-stance or dye; the Sans. name was niti, from nila, dark blue, and this through Arab. al-nil, annil, gives " aniline ")

indigo. In dyeing the hair of children, and the tails and manes of horses and asses, the See also:

PROCESS

process is allowed to stop at the red colour which the henna produces." See also:

MAHOMET (strictly MUHAMMAD, commonly also MOHAMMED)

Mahomet, it is said, used henna as a dye for his beard, and the See also:

FASHION (adapted from Fr. facon, agon, Lat. factio, making, facere, to do or make)

fashion was adopted by the caliphs. " The use of henna," remarks See also:

LADY (0. Eng. hlaefdige, Mid. Eng. ldfdi, lavedi; the first part of the word is hldf, loaf, bread, as in the corresponding hldford, lord; the second part is usually taken to be from the root dig-, to knead, seen also in " dough "; the sense development fr

Lady See also:

Callcott in her Scripture Herbal, " is scarcely to be called a caprice in the East. There is a quality in the See also:

drug which gently restrains See also:

PERSPIRATION (Lat. per, through, and spirare, to breathe)

perspiration in the hands and feet, and produces an agreeable coolness equally conducive to See also:

HEALTH

health and comfort." She further suggests that if the Jewish women were not in the See also:

HABIT (through the French from Lat. habitus, from habere, to have, hold, or, in a reflective sense, to be in a certain condition; in many of the English senses the French use habitude, not habit)

habit of using this dye before the See also:

time of Solomon, it might probably have been introduced amongst them by his wife, the daughter of See also:

PHARAOH (Par'oh)

Pharaoh, and traces to this See also:

PROBABILITY (Lat. probabilis, probable or credible)

probability the allusion to "camphire" in the passages in See also:

CANTICLES

Canticles above referred to. The preparation of henna consists in reducing the leaves and young twigs to a See also:

FINE

fine See also:

POWDER (through O. Fr. puldre, modern poudre, from Lat. pulvis, pulveris, dust)

powder, See also:

CATECHU

catechu or See also:

lucerne leaves in a pulverized See also:

state being sometimes mixed with them. When required for use, the powder is made into a pasty See also:

mass with hot See also:

WATER

water, and is then spread upon the See also:

PART

part to be dyed, where it is generally allowed to remain for one See also:

NIGHT

night. According to Lady Callcott, the flowers are often used by the Eastern women to adorn their hair. The distilled water from the flowers is used as a perfume.

End of Article: HENNA

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