186
Kingdom
of Saudi Arabia
Seen by a Diplomat’s
Spouse
skilful women who make what looks like beautiful gloves
of henna, and in rich families it is the maids who do this.
Recently, read-made moulds have become fashionable
and they do the trick just the same, easily, without much
effort. The pre-wedding night is spent by the bride and her
friends and relatives dying their hair and certain parts of
their bodies with henna, spending long hours in this ritual,
all the while leaning on cushions.
Light color henna is used for embellishment of hands
with dappling and drawings. owever, recently ready-made
moulds have come to be sued It is dissolved in hot water
and the dark type is dissolved in coffee drinks. After drying,
the dappling on the hands is wiped with olive oil in order
to fix the drawings. These unusual gloves remain fixed on
the palms of hands for about two weeks and are gradually
wiped out as a result of washing and with the passage of
time. Some amateurs repeat the drawings perpetually with
new dozes of henna so that they remain constantly.
Kohl (eyeliner) is used on a large scale. It is a kind of
powder which is obtained by burning mandal and laden
and some other elements which I know nothing about. It
is conserved in small metal or glass vials and is drawn by
a wooden or copper rod in a small quantity with which
the eyelids are dyed from the inside. It is reported that
this substance has an antiseptic effect and is very useful
in conditions of bright sun, imparting a special radiance to
the eyes. It is used even for children. Recently, kohl has
been mixed with beeswax and other bee materials which
are said to enhance its benign effects and from which light
adornment pens are used.
187
Kingdom
of Saudi Arabia
Seen by a Diplomat’s Spouse
Even before school age, I had come to know that
certain perfumed oils were used in the Arabian Peninsula,
tens of centuries ago, since the era of Queen Bersheba.
The tradition of incense and perfuming has come to the
country from ancient India and Indonesia, as well as
Yemen, from where the famous “perfume road” began,
crossing the Arabian Peninsula and reaching Europe.
The first time I got interested in perfumes was during my
sojourn in Yemen. But I came to really appreciate them in
Saudi Arabia, where I became exceedingly fond of them.
Perfumes are essential elements in the daily life of
Saudis and form part of social life. Thus in addition to
the beneficial properties, they perform some symbolic
functions. Thus burning incense at the end of a banquet
or visit is a sign to the guests that the reception time is
drawing to an end. Any significant event must necessarily
be associated with such burning of incense and perfuming,
whether at a wedding or on the occasion of the birth of a
baby, of circumcision or merely on the advent of a holiday.
I should point out that for each of such occasions there
are special materials prepared therefor. These include tree
twigs or perfumed juicy wood, balls made of fragrant
wheat, the juice of special trees, together with their skins
and roots. After the incense burning, the fragrant perfume
remains in the air, the hair and clothes, for two to three
days.
The glass windows of most stores exhibit incense
receptacles, hundreds of beautiful boxes, glass vases, big
and small jars, glass receptacles that are filled with fragrant
roots, rods, balls and perfume materials and oils. Almost