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Domestic Customs Among Muslim Women In The Greater New Orleans Area By Denese Neu Islam And The Muslim Population Of Southeast Louisiana
Palestinian Wedding Traditions As in all religions, weddings combine sacred ritual with family and community celebration. The ceremonies are centered on the religious rite but the service and celebration usually incorporate cultural traditions and customs of the bride and groom's heritage. The Muslim wedding is a grand affair and has three phases: pre-wedding, wedding, and post-wedding. Each one consists of particular rituals. Beyond this, the Muslim wedding traditions reflect the diversity of the Muslim world and they vary based on the country of origin and ethnicity. For example: an Indian Muslim wedding greatly differs from a Palestinian Muslim wedding. These differences are apparent in the clothes, decorations, food, music, and social customs. The Palestinian wedding celebration is a three-day affair of hospitality, a virtue of Islam. The generosity of food and gift were displayed throughout the festivities. Most brides have a henna party, a pre-wedding event for women only, where they gather to dance, eat, and have henna designs applied to their hands. This celebration features several cultural traditions, from the foods that were prepared by women of the community to traditional dances. At a Friday night pre-wedding party in April, 2009, at a country club hall, many women wore thobes while the younger women were mostly dressed in American-style clothing. Most wore headscarves, but not all. Many women sat and visited with each other while others danced to pre-recorded Middle-Eastern disco. As the dancing continued, a few belly dancing belts were passed around and accepted. These gold belts adorned with coins were placed over the woman's dress and she proceeded to dance. At this private celebration of women, some women felt free to demonstrate their skills in this folkloric Middle Eastern dance. Belly dancing is a talent gifted to only some, but all appreciate watching the dancers and all move to the music. Called raqs sharqi (the improvisational solo dances best known by Westerners) or raqs baladi (an improvised social dance at gatherings), this dance has many regional forms with distinctive dance moves. Much of the dancing at the henna party was the dabka, the most popular folk dance among Middle Easterners. As a line dance, the women formed circled and proceeded to stomp the ground in rhythm to the recorded music. Square pieces of bright, colorful cloth were passed around to the dancers who held them up and waved them to the rhythm. Vocalization of the dancers and watchers added to the energy. This Palestinian custom is very similar to the use of the white kerchief used during a New Orleans second line. The dancing continued as individuals waited for henna application. After a few hours, the men arrived to participate in the meal. Upon their arrival, the music and dancing stopped. The men were served first and seated themselves in a separate room. The women then lined up at the buffet table covered with traditional foods. The central purpose of this party is the application of henna designs to the bride's hands. The use of henna is a folkloric tradition that can be traced back to ancient civilizations. The art form has been adopted as a mainstream trend but the significance of the practice remains strong among the Muslim immigrant communities. The henna plant is believed to bring love and good fortune, and to protect against evil. This belief makes it easy to understand why is has been traditionally practiced for wedding celebrations. After completing the bride's hands, women and girls patiently waited their turn. As henna artist Lema Hamdah applied these temporary works of art at a recent wedding party, she did not use a pattern but had her own particular style. A book of designs sat nearby. It held patterns of butterflies and flowers along with some sketches by the artist, but no one selected from the book. The artist worked for several hours hunched over the hands and only took a break when the meal was served. The young girls were awed by how effortlessly she created the art. Lema again applied henna to the hands of wedding guests at the next night's wedding celebration. The Saturday night henna party was held in the ballroom of a downtown hotel. A live band was flown in and performed for the hundreds of guests in attendance. As guests arrived, many of the women, wearing elaborately decorated thobes, took to the dance floor and again formed the circle for dabka. The energy of the rhythm climbed as they awaited the arrival of the bride and groom. Keeping with tradition, close family members escorted each of them into the ballroom and onto the dance floor. All of the guests stood and cleared a way to allow the couple to dance. For several minutes they danced alone and then slowly they were joined by immediate family. After a short while, everyone who wished to dance had joined the celebration. Plates of pastries arrived on the tables and guests were provided tea and coffee as the dancing and rituals continued until the meal was served. Following dinner were more songs and dancing. On the following day, the guests gathered again for a more formal celebration of the marriage. Self-Taught Henna Artistry Lema Hamdah moved to New Orleans from Palestine after her marriage seven years ago. She is a quiet woman with a generous spirit and a sense of modesty that makes her reluctant to be photographed. In addition to her self-created designs for henna tattoos, she also draws and works to develop herself as an artist. One of her sketches is of a fleur-de-lis that she adapted from an image she saw at the New Orleans French Market. Other sketches are of people and flowers, and a few are recognizably Palestinian images. One of these, she explained, depicts the strife of her homeland. Within her artwork are some of the motifs that appear in her henna patterns. Lema learned henna techniques only after moving to New Orleans and receiving requests from other women at the mosque who admired her drawings. She is now asked to do henna at parties a few times a month but limits this to parties for friends. The best atmosphere, one in which Lema feels comfortable and can really concentrate on her designs, is achieved among groups of women she knows. As a self-taught henna artist, Lema is helping to keep the tradition of Palestinian henna alive. She knows of only one other woman at her mosque who does henna; she is Pakistani. Although uncertain about the details, Lema explains that patterns and designs are different, based on a woman's origins. The more elaborate henna designs are traditionally from India and Pakistan. In other Middle Eastern countries, the henna wedding tradition is simpler, sometimes simply a red dot in the palm. More recently, the elaborate designs are spreading into other areas and groups. She describes her technique as free-form, in which she begins to draw and does not really think about what she is fully preparing. For brides, however, she creates a sketch to assure her work. This sketch will be approved by the bride and other significant women and will allow her to avoid errors during application. Her technique includes particular patterns, such flowers, wavy lines, and curls. Using a store-bought kit, she starts with a simple flower then applies the design up the finger and onto the hand. Each step appears effortless as she adds the waves, curls, and more flowers. She might extend the motif to a second finger, and most designs stretch from the wrist to the cuticle. She finishes the art with small, precise dots that border the primary elements within the design. The tool she uses is similar to the cone used for cake decorating. It is a squeezable cone with a pen tip for application. The henna is not expensive and one cone will last for approximately 60 applications. In addition to applying the pattern, Lema also advises on how to preserve the henna art. The longer the ink is on the hand, the darker the design. The ink should be allowed to fully dry and should not be washed off quickly. Applying a damp paper towel to remoisten the ink will also help set the design. Because henna is considered auspicious by many, the women take steps to make it last longer. They might cover their hands to keep the ink on overnight and take precautions to reduce unnecessary contact with water. Lema is not offended that henna has become a fashion in the United States. As a Muslim, she explains that she would not apply henna to a man because there are religious beliefs about touching, although she does apply henna to non-Muslim women. If someone asked her to apply a henna design other than her own, she would restrict drawing to what is culturally acceptable. She explains that she would not apply foul language or images of alcohol, which are forbidden in Islam.
Video of Lema Hamdah applying henna to the bride's hand. Video: Denese Neu.
Next - Hospitality, Food, Home, and Clothing / Teaching Cultural Traditions
Denese Neu has a doctorate in Urban Studies from the University of New Orleans. She runs a consulting practice specializing in heritage, health, and sustainability issues; conducts independent research; and is an adjunct professor now residing in Chicago. She did this research as part of the New Populations Project in 2009. |
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