The art of henna inscribed on UNESCO’s intangible heritage list

While the motifs and designs may vary from region to region (from Amazigh inspiration in North Africa to complex floral creations in the Arabian Peninsula), many of the rituals associated with the use of henna are common to all countries, and are still very much alive in Morocco.

Henna powder is in fact an everyday product, and its bronze-green powder can be found in any herbalist’s shop, alongside black soap and ghassoul, the essential products for a hammam session.

‘Henna symbolises the life cycle of an individual, from birth to death, and is present at all the major stages of a person’s life’, states the Unesco text. In Morocco, it is used on all the major occasions, including weddings, engagements, christenings, circumcisions and Eid festivities, when naqqacha (women who specialise in henna tattoos) compete in terms of talent.