Menstruation and Henna: Pollution and Purification - The Henna Page

not only a symbol that a woman was a pure and suitable sexual partner, the patterns negotiated
her reproductive health and spousal relationship.
Henna, Jinn and the Evil Eye
Figure 18: Khamsa patterns to blind the Evil Eye, from 19th century Morocco
Henna and henna patterns were drawn to protect a woman from jinn and the Evil Eye. The most
widespread protective are variants of diamonds and stars, used from North Africa to Arabia and
Yemen and Persia. The diamond shapes with a dot at the center represent an eye that stares back
forcing the Evil Eye to blink and not see the wearer.
“Menstruation and Henna, Pollution and Purification”, was written by Catherine Cartwright-Jones as partial completion
of the requirements for a Master’s degree in Liberal Studies focusing on henna, under the supervision of Dr. A Smith
and Dr. N Ammar, Kent State University, Kent Ohio, USA
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