that are going to be hennaed, are covered with string – either
it is wound round the lower parts of a finger for example
leaving the upper parts free, or in olden times to obtain the
patterns on hands and feet, the string would be fashioned
into different shapes and laid across the appropriate part of
the body. Today stencils are used. The henna is not painted
on but is thickly applied in a paste over the hand, arm or
foot, and then bound with cloth to keep it warm to speed
up the activation process. Formerly, straw was used for its
warming properties. Thus, bound and pasted, the bride
passes the time with her friends – feet and arms aloft. The
process can take either a few hours or all night, depending
on the desired depth of color. The longer it is left on, the
deeper the red.
In Algeria, the girls will have a henna party, while the
mother-in-law applies the newly mixed henna on the bride’s
palm and wraps around the henna with white cloths. After,
she dresses in the traditional costume (embroidered with
gold and silver thread). The Groom will also have a henna
party with his male friends. His mother will make a fresh,
new henna for her son as she did for her daughter-in-law.
Another male party for the groom consists of riding horses
and shooting gunpowder in the sky, called Baroud in order
to expel negative energies.
Traditional Algerian Desert Dance - Traditional Algerian Desert
Dance in Wedding Party - dance called Baroud - Photo by Walidisa [CC
BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)]
In Libya, one celebration day is called nejma, meaning star,
when the bride gets hennaed up. The nejma ceremony refers
to the bride going outside in the night holding a mirror in
front of her to ‘catch the star’. It is a procession in which
the bride’s friends, neighbors and family members take part,
although this part of the tradition may be dying off. A child
38
The Belly Dance Chronicles
January 2020
walks in front of her holding a tray with candles for light,
eggs for fertility and a knife to keep away the evil eye. When
this is done, henna is applied.
Preparation of the Bride by the Neggafa – Bridal outfit
On the wedding day, the
Neggafa (a professional
make-up
artist
and
dresser) dresses the bride
in her wedding gown with
excessive jewelry, does her
make-up and her hair.
Years ago, the bride had
to wear 7 different outfits
(one outfit each day)
and jewelry. But in cities
like Algiers, the Neggafa
will change the bride’s
outfit every two hours.
They often are costumes
Tunisian Bride of Mahdia 1959
https://pro.magnumphotos.com/
and jewelry from various
image/PAR297632.html
regions of the Maghreb
[Public domain]
and today’s latest fashion
for the bride is to wear an Indian Saree. On the wedding day
in Tunisia, the bride wears a traditional dress, often with a veil
over the face for Tanzeel al-ser, in order to protect her shyness
and beauty from the envy and jealousy of other families. The
young man wears a jebba (caftan) and a seroual, a kind of
traditional Arab pants. La’russa, the bride, will be seated on a
special decorative chair in the groom’s house or in a wedding
hall in a hotel. Every bride should look like a royal queen
on her wedding day and the family will spend a fortune on
the wedding attire. Today, those who cannot afford so many
jewels and costumes can borrow or rent them. Years ago, the
bride would wear seven different outfits and jewelry, but today
things are changing without losing any of their authenticity.
It is known that the women of the old cities in the Maghreb,
such as Tlemcen, Constantine, Algiers, Fez, Mekness,
Casablanca, Tangiers, Tunis, Hammamet, and Tripoli, are
dressed with magnificence: Dozens of rows of pearls, massive
gold jewelry, gems, embroidery with gold and silver threads.
According to a great video by Al Jazeera World (26 Jun
2014), today in the Algerian ancient city of Tlemcen, a
traditional bridal gown is called lebset el-arftan). It is still