How henna boom creates jobs, income in Nigeria

Weddings in northern Nigeria are synonymous with henna but now in daily life, it has become an essential beauty item, as has been for antiquities. Now transcending tribes, race, religion and regions, Daily Trust reports on the booming henna business. For centuries, women have used henna to adorn themselves, drawing patterns on their hands and […]

Weddings in northern Nigeria are synonymous with henna but now in daily life, it has become an essential beauty item, as has been for antiquities. Now transcending tribes, race, religion and regions, Daily Trust reports on the booming henna business.

For centuries, women have used henna to adorn themselves, drawing patterns on their hands and feet. Henna also known as “lalle” or “kunshi” in the northern part of Nigeria has been a part of the culture for at least a thousand years, according to Nigerien archaeologist Djibo Hamani. He says henna is still found growing in archeological ruins in these parts of the world as quoted in ayibamagazine.com.

The culture is so widespread, from Egypt, where it is thought to have originated from—with mummies found with traces of henna in their hair and nails, to India where it became popular, to Arabia, where Muslim women were encouraged by Prophet Muhammad (SAW) to apply it. In the Wolof language, it is called fudden, and the related word, puddi is used in Fulfulde to refer to henna and today in northeastern Nigeria (Borno), it is  referred to as nalle, borrowed from the Tuareg, anella. This word was later Hausanised and became lalle.

Henna leaves plucked from the tree are ground into a paste and used by women to dye their nails and skin with intricate patterns. The powder, when mixed with water to the consistency of paste, is left on for 2-4 hours on the nail. For red henna, it’s mixed with water but for it to give a wonderful maroon color, it is mixed with hibiscus (zobo), a small quantity of petrol, muhallabiya and other things. For black, it is hydrogen, and some still use the muhallabiya. The white one normally comes in its watery form and does not need any other mixture. In order to get a beautiful and neat drawing, a cone is normally used which is made from nylon while cellophane tapes are used to hold it firm.

According to Firdaus Abdullahi a henna artist we met in Kabusa district, henna does not just differentiate the hands of the women from men but also nourishes the skin, gives it a glow and makes it soft, and also serves as medicine for Herpetic whitlow.

She said, “I’ve been in this business for more than five years now and have not faced that much of a challenge  because people do henna often, although some people do henna occasionally. That is during weddings, naming ceremonies, Eid festivals and a lot of happy occasions but still some people do henna regularly. And henna does not cost much but the other things you include while mixing it are what cost and also not all of them are costly.”

Another henna artist, Rahma Ibrahim, said, “To learn the henna art, it takes more than just passion but also dedication and practice, because when you learn, you learn only the basics. For you to be very good at it, you need to constantly practice. I also learned henna and with passion, dedication and practice, I can say I’ve made it because I’m good at it now and also have taught dozens of people who are now also good at it.”

According to her, the three colours of henna have different appeals. “The most used are the red and black. I myself have not used white henna because there is not much demand for it.”

For her, the henna business has paid off.  “I am a henna artist and henna art is what I do for a living and I have to say I earn enough to sustain myself and there is no big challenge in the business so far because the rate of people that do henna is increasing rapidly. Although there are henna artists everywhere but still, that hasn’t affected us in anyway because we have a lot of people patronizing us so everyone has her customers.”

Hajara Danlami, a customer at Kabusa district said, “I like henna very much and do it every time.”

“As soon as the henna fades, I go to get a new one done and have been coming to Firdaus Abdullahi for more than a year now,” she said.

Hauwa Musa from Kubwa said, she’s facing a lot of challenges using cone to draw her patterns and often employs cellophane tape and razor to cut out her designs, then put the strips on the hands and leg of her models and then fill it with henna. According to her, this has caused her many customers as people prefer the ones who use cones, which is a faster method.

“Even though I face these challenges but still there are people that patronize me and I earn something good from it, but not as much as before.

Sadiya Mujaheed from Mpape says she’s a henna artist and she buys her henna products from different places, from Kano, Maiduguri, Wuse Market and Mpape Market here in Abuja. She said business booms between Wednesday and Friday. “It’s always busy because of weddings during the weekends,” she said.

“In a week I earn more than N20,000 because I often decorate brides and I charge brides nothing less than N5,000 each.”

Fati Aliyu Shu’aib from Maitama, offers home services to her clients. “To learn the art of henna it doesn’t require much. It is something you can easily learn by paying attention and making or creating your own pattern/designs, henna requires more practice to perfect our designs, though people sees it as a gift,”she said.

But beyond just the aesthetic appeals of henna, it is believed to have medical benefits. It is said to protect weak nails from chipping, breaking, and flaking. If the nails have a fungal infection, henna could eradicate it.

It is also used to rid one of athlete’s foot and similar fungal ailments that affect the feet. Henna aids in the softening and shedding of calloused skin, leaving it smooth and soft.

Ashiru Musa a retailer from Kabusa said he buys henna on wholesale in small quantities and sells it on retail as there is not much henna artists around the area but still he gets good patronage.

Malam Ibrahim Hassan a wholesaler at Wuse market says he sells henna on wholesale and gets very good patronage, not only him but also the other wholesalers. He said in a bad week he earns N20,000.

“There is a time that I earn more than N50,000 in a week that is mostly when Eid festivals are approaching because the demand for henna during that time is very high and those are the times that we will be asked of a particular brand of the henna and we won’t have it due to the high demand of it.