Looking for magic

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Posted by Natasha Papousek on November 11, 1999 at 14:41:00:

I have been challenged by my ME Folklore Studies prof to find magical
meanings behind the uses of henna.

He says that in rural Turkey henna is used in 3 main occasions: on the
hands of young men going off to military service, on the hands of
brides going to their husband's homes, and on the horns of rams about
to be sacrificed for the el Eid celebration after Ramadan. He
speculates that what these three henna rituals have in common is
preparation for sacrifice or departure (in the case of the woman
leaving her father's home).

I know henna is considered baraka (or blessed and blessing-giving) and
that there is a rich Berber tradition in Morocco of protection symbols
to ward off djinn and other evils.

Does henna promote fertility? Is it transition-easing or transition-
marking? Proxy for blood? (CCJ, I know you touched on that one once)

Any other thoughts?


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