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Playable heritage game

Mehndi henna pattern drawing

Also known as mehndi

Mehndi is the art of drawing with henna paste, in a fine cone, on the hand and palm: leaf shapes, curling vines, rings, dots and wave bands are laid out in balanced panels that dry to a reddish brown.

Play the previewAbout this tradition
Mehndi henna pattern drawing: photograph by Rangbaz
Photo: Rangbaz, CC BY-SA 4.0, source on Wikimedia Commons
Mehndi henna pattern drawing: the game in attract modeLive previewPlay

Runs in your browser, works offline once loaded.

How to play

  1. Choose a henna shade and a motif from the strip under the palm panel.
  2. Touch a square to draw there: the same motif appears on the opposite side of the centre line, as on a symmetrical hand.
  3. Copy the small design shown above the panel, then press Check.
Rules at a glance
  • The panel is mirrored left to right, so each motif you draw is repeated on the opposite side.
  • Leaves and spirals lean outward on each side, as they would if drawn by hand along the centre line.
  • A square counts only when its motif and its shade both match the design; three stars need a nearly perfect copy.

About the tradition

Henna drawing is practised across South Asia, the Middle East and North Africa; artists trace the designs by hand, and styles differ from town to town.

Origins

A living tradition passed from person to person; it is not tied to a single dated origin. It belongs to the cultural world of South Asia.

Credits

Sources

Get the app

Mehndi henna pattern drawing is one of 20 paper and paint crafts in the Paper & Paint of the World app for iPhone, iPad and Android. Submitted to the App Store and Google Play; in review. Store links appear here the day it goes live. One app, many traditions, no account needed.

See all 20 paper and paint crafts in the app

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