Re: woad
Posted by Catherine Cartwright Jones on February 28, 2000 at 14:34:47:
In Reply to: woad posted by sarah on February 25, 2000 at 03:59:40:
There are certainly places where henna and indigo were used together
as women's body ornamentation. Indigo has 10 times the dyeing power
of woad, so people would certainly have used that before woad .... and
indigo and henna grow in similar climates.
In Armenia, Turkey and Persia, in about 1600, there are mentions of
blue floral patterns all over a woman's bosom and arms, accompanying
hennaed hands ..... but it's difficult to tell from the texts if the
blue is tattoo, body paint or indigo .....
For large body work, I'd use Mehron blue body paint. Looks good, easy
to use, safe. For fine work, I'd use navy blue "Ultraliner"
waterproof eyeliner.
One source of woad body dye, reported in about 100 BCE .... that
actually sounds credible and functional to me, though I've never tried
it, is that women chewed woad seeds until they released dye, then spat
that into a pot for painting. The ladies had blue lips and tongues
.... and you have to make your peace with wearing someone's spit as a
fashion statement .... but in terms of convenience and function, it
rings true. Saliva and mastication could realease dye
efficiently .... spit's a good binder .....
I have no idea whether or not woad seeds are harmful to chew .....