Re: Why is it that henna not prescribed for men?
Posted by Kree Arvanitas on May 11, 2000 at 14:33:38:
In Reply to: Why is it that henna not prescribed for men? posted by Babaganooj on May 10, 2000 at 23:13:26:
: Or at least that's the impression I have
: so far having grown up in an Arab society.
: Just being nosy, and curious.
: Babaganooj
Catherine has (as usual) written a pretty comprehensive answer. I
wanted to mention though, that my experience of doing henna on ethnic
populations locally, and also from traveling in Morocco, is that (1)
customs vary greatly from country to country, and (2) customs are
changing. I witnessed many young men waiting to get henna from
street vendors in Morocco, which surprised my Moroccan friends who
haven't been home in awhile. I also noticed a much more relaxed
attitude on the part of younger Middle Eastern men, especially
Egyptian, Israeli, Syrian and Iranian, who enjoy henna and have
gotten henna at parties and at fairs. Whereas, my contact with
Kuwaiti and Saudi people have been that the men have tended to be
more conservative and less likely to try it out.
My feeling is that from a ritualistic standpoint it remains the
reserve of women in most Arabic communities. But from the standpoint
of fun, men participate too!
