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Different Henna Styles: Arabic and Indian Patterns

I’m in Harare, Zimbabwe at the moment and one of my mother’s friends pointed out that my henna was an Arabic design. Since then I’ve been wondering what the difference between Arabic and Indian designs are as well as what I actually prefer. Having done some research, this is what I found;

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This is a lovely example of an Arabic Design

The Arabic Henna Style has a lot of bold lines, leaves and floral patterns. The designs rely on a spatial quality rather than covering the entire area. The designs often leave big spaces between patterns made up of large shapes and some solid shapes, i.e.  completely filled with henna.

 

Indian Henna Designs are known for their coverage and narrative quality. They incorporate a story into the design such as a wedding scenario or musical instruments.  Indian designs often center on motives such as peacocks and paisleys with floral or lacy patterns.  They don’t often leave much space as Arabic patterns do and larger shapes are close together and usually filled with tiny intricate patterns. The designs often have a repetitive quality with parallel shapes or lines and are from the fingertip to elbow in terms of length. You can find out about motives here; Henna designs and what they could mean?

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This is the perfect example of henna with a narrative quality

Modern day brides have adapted a trending Indo-Arabic henna style for their special day. A combination of the two styles has a greater tendency to be a unique pattern. As far as my personal style of henna, I like to keep things simple and pretty. You can check out My Designs or visit my Facebook Page Henna By Vanz

While researching traditional Arabic and Indian henna, I also came across these henna designs; Moghlai Henna, Pakistani Henna, Moroccan Henna and Khaliji Henna. I’m going to try out some of these for my next blog!

 

 

 

 

 

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About Me

There are many people who are henna crazed and I am definitely one of them. This blog is primarily to satisfy my own curiosity as well as spread my knowledge on the subject. I say curiosity because although I’ve grown up with a strong Indian cultural background, I find that I still have questions about henna and its role in Indian traditions and celebrations. So for those who want to know more about this amazing art form, this is definitely for you!

 Henna has been my passion for a long time. I am a self-taught henna artist with almost five years of experience. My designs started off as very simple doodles but after being at art school where I was studying a Bachelor of Arts in Fine Art, nothing gives me greater pleasure than creating designs with a bit of a story behind them. All my designs are done free hand. I adore this art form as it can look traditional and modern yet always trendy!

Technique wise it started off as experimental and I have learnt mostly through trial and error. My most recent event was The Cape Town Diwali Festival where I was asked to promote DSTV India. I have done henna for smaller functions since then; bridal henna as well as small henna parties.

I really hope that this the information presented will be informative, interesting and most of all helpful.

Pictures have been taken from various sites as well as my own collection. Enjoy!