Tales from Baobab Country

Dafa sop! According to my host mom, I am a little bit everywhere, meaning I dove into nearly every aspect of Senegalese life. For instance, during my last few weeks I did henna on my hands and feet with my host mom and had my hair braided by my host cousin.

This was taken just after Nana had finished.

I paid Nana, my host cousin, about $4 for her to braid my hair. It took about three hours and was not very painful. The afternoon I spent with the family lasted upwards of six hours, including hair braiding, walks to the boutique, buying mads at the corner stall, and eating mangoes from the tree next door. I just took out the braids after about two weeks of wearing them! It was so much more convenient to have my hair pulled back with the heat, and not having to deal with the frizzy mess that my hair was in Senegal.

Maman Bolo mixing the henna in the morning to use that evening. The henna was a dirt-like consistency, and is sitting on the plate in the picture.

Many senegalese women decorate their hands and feet with henna. You can buy many different kinds of henna powder at the markets, which either create a red or black dye on the skin. I chose the more natural red, and then purchased adhesive tape to create the designs. I taped

my own hands and feet at night. My host mom prepared the powder by adding water and gave it extra color by adding dried hibiscus leaves to the mix when she soaked it. She applied the dirt-like mixture to my hands and feet, covered them with leaves from the tree behind our house, and then sealed them with plastic bags. I then slept with my hands and feet covered. She scraped off the henna and the tapes with a spoon in the morning. I had to wash my feet many times to get it all off, but it turned out really well. When I walk around Dakar, many men and women say “say foudon, dafa rafeet torop” or “your henna, it is very beautiful.”

Sama foudon, my henna, on my hands and feet. I also have a small design on my palms, and the entire underside of my feet are dyed also.