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Description

Explore the art and traditions of henna by creating a decorated henna hand. Activity from scouts.org.uk

All materials © The Scout Association

Resources

A4 paper
Brown pens/pencils
World map

Instructions

LEARN ABOUT HENNA
The person leading the game should ask if anyone knows what henna is, and everyone should share their ideas.
[Henna is a plant that’s crushed and mixed with water to make a brown paste. The paste is painted onto hands and feet, and it stains the skin for between one and four weeks. People create beautiful designs, especially for special celebrations such as weddings and festivals.]

The person leading the game should show everyone the examples of henna designs, and explain that these are sometimes called mehndi.

Everyone should think about where henna is common and share these ideas. The person leading the activity should explain that henna designs are common in counties including India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan. Everyone should try and find these countries on a world map (you could use an atlas or an online service like Google Earth or Google Maps.
[If anyone has a connection to these countries, or knows anything about them, they could share what they know with the group. Some people may even have had henna themselves, or seen family members or friends with it.]


MAKE A HENNA HAND
Everyone should draw around their hand and wrist on a piece of A4 paper and cut it out.
[People could work in pairs, and draw around a friend’s hand, if that’s easier.]

Everyone should use brown pens to draw intricate designs on their paper hands. They should be inspired by the traditional henna patterns, because this activity is all about taking part in an activity from another country.
[It’s important to use brown pens (instead of black ones) because black henna is not safe to use on skin.]

Everyone should show their henna hands to the group and admire everyone’s designs.


REFLECTION
This activity helped you to respect others, and reminded you that you’re an international citizen. Learning about international traditions can help us understand and trust people from different backgrounds. Everyone should sit and put their henna hands in front of them. They should look at their hands—how do we use our hands to celebrate or express ourselves? We might clap, or fingerspell, or wave our hands to show clapping in British Sign Language (BSL). We may also shake hands with people, or wave. Not everyone uses henna, but lots of people use their hands in different ways to express themselves.

Tags

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Badge Links

• The Great Indoors - International
• The Great Indoors - Spiritual
• World - Foreign activity