THE HENNA CEREMONY
The Henna Ceremony is originally a Jewish custom, still practiced today by many Sephardic communities. Henna stands for Channa, a Hebrew name meaning grace and loveliness. The letters in this name stand for the three commandments which are incumbent, by tradition, upon a woman in marriage:
“chet” stands for challah, the Shabbat bread
“nun” stands for niddah, the laws of family purity
“heh” stands for hadlakat nerot, the lighting of the Shabbat candles.
Thus, the Jewish couple celebrates and welcomes their new upcoming responsibilities with the symbolic custom of henna.
Among the Bene Israel, the Henna Ceremony is customarily held on the evening prior to the wedding. In their respective homes, henna is placed on the bride and the groom’s index fingers upon which the wedding ring will be placed the next day. Sweets are fed to the bride and groom to represent sweetness in life, and rice is thrown over them to represent fertility and luck. In addition, well wishers present gifts to the mothers of the couple. The mothers respond by presenting gifts to each of the female guests. Household gifts are also presented to the bride and groom. (In this respect, it is similar to what happens at a bridal shower here.)
On this same evening, the traditional Bene Israel prayer (Eliyahu Hanabi) for happy occasions is recited. This prayer invites the prophet Elijah to bless the occasion. This prayer includes a Torah portion from Genesis 49, 25-26, which is followed by the blessing of Jacob to his grandchildren, Ephraim and Menashe. A platter containing parched rice (mezonot), a variety of five fruits (haetz, ha’adama) and scented flowers or cloves (b’samim), is placed on the table and is distributed to the participants. These are symbolic of the burnt offerings given during the times of both temples. This is followed by dinner.
Later, representatives from the groom's family arrive laden with two complete sets of wedding finery for the bride. These include two sarees or dresses, and a complete set of gold jewellery.