The wedding season with colourful henna (nakreezay in Pashto) tradition begins in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in late September, reaches its peak towards the start of March and culminates in mid April.
Pashto folk songs especially tappa — a two-line couplet attributed mostly to women — is replete with references to nakreezay and deeva (lamp) because women used to take mehndi (henna) in the light of candles to bride’s home at night and sing wedding songs in KP villages. The tradition though very interesting used to be simple. It plays an important role on every happy occasion for women whether Eid festivals, wedding or engagement or even birth of a male child in a typical Pashtun society.
But over the last few years the tradition has taken an altogether new shape as about 400 shops have sprung up in various parts of the city selling henna sets comprising various items including mehndi cones, hand-woven and colourfully decorated baskets, thaal (platter), earthen pitchers, bangles, rings, deevas and artificial and real flowers, the price of which ranges from Rs300 to Rs6,000. The tradition is fast travelling from city to villages in and around Peshawar. Most items used in the henna set are hand made by Peshawari artisans.
Women throng these shops during wedding and engagement season, select and buy different items for their henna sets lending a unique colour and taste to the centuries-old nakreezay and deeva tradition. “Mehndi and deeva both symbolise a peaceful life for the couple drenched in love and respect for each other. Moreover nakreezay represents love for woman while enlightening deeva is reflective of a man’s devotion in Pashto code,” explains Janwali selling mehndi sets in Khyber Bazaar, Peshawar.
Javed Khan, a shopkeeper, says: “The tradition used to be very simple in villages, only a few young women would take ground henna in a basket or thaal (platter) in the light of earthen deevas consuming kerosene oil while singing wedding songs laden with praise for bride, her bridal dress and bridegroom’s brawny, tall and surging youth. Now the tradition has taken many shapes, not only young girls but boys also accompany them. The colourful mehndi tradition has travelled from city to far flung villages as well.”
Sehba Khan and Aishma Khan, two teenage sisters, who had come from Daudzai village near Peshawar to posh Sadder bazaar to buy henna set for celebrating their elder brother’s wedding said: “We want to select different beautiful items like mehndi cones for colourful palm patterns and bangles, rings and bunch of real Peshawari flowers to celebrate our elder brother’s wedding.”
Remixed by popular Pashto singer Rahim Shah, folk songs are on the lips of every woman. A popular Pashto song says:
Maa pey sezey – zey pa makeezuno yara hujray laa bala deeva warray
Shpa da da nakreezu jenakai thambal waheena
Khalaq da harkhwa na pa wadah raghaledeena
(Your walking towards hujra with an enlightening candle in fact makes me jealous of our extreme pleasure. It is henna night, therefore, beating of drums and songs is heard as people from far and wide have gathered here to celebrate it)
The henna tradition begins a month before the wedding ceremony. The bride is surrounded by her close friends while applying mehndi and tattooing her hands with a variety of designs and patterns amid folk songs and dance. The girls, mostly close friends, apply henna paste on the palms of the shy bride with beating of drum. A popular folk song, Shpa da nakreezu jeenakai tambal waheena, is often sung on such occasions blend with emotions and happy moments.
Dawn
