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PHOTOS: Henna Tattoos That Celebrate Eid, the Festival of Breaking the Fast

By Nicole Levy | July 6, 2016 8:18am | Updated on July 6, 2016 10:03am
 A henna design by Sidrah Mirza combining geometric grid patterns, floral motifs and paisley prints
A henna design by Sidrah Mirza combining geometric grid patterns, floral motifs and paisley prints
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Sidrah Mirza

The Islamic holy month of Ramadan, which Muslims observe by fasting every day from sunrise to sunset, ended Tuesday, marking the beginning of a religious holiday called Eid al-Fitr.

Muslims celebrate the "festival of breaking the fast" by gathering with friends and family to eat and pray.

Women also often adorn their hands with henna tattoos, elaborate floral and geometric designs dyed onto the skin with a paste made from the leaves of the henna plant.

They do so following the example of the Muslim prophet Muhammad, who stained his own hair with the pigment, explained Pakistan-born henna artist and Greenwood Heights resident Sidrah Mirza. 

Henna can be used to signify all kinds of joyous occasions, "but a lot of people, because it's so not mainstream in the United States — people kind of look at you like what is that crap on your hand — tend to do it just for their wedding or the big holidays " said the artist, 31, who works as a geologist with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers but decorates hands whenever she has free time.

In the days leading up to a major celebration like Eid, Mirza and Nicole Najmah Abraham, 36, a graphic designer who does henna work on the side at clients' homes and at her mosque in Bed Stuy, keep relatively busy.

 Sidrah Mirza, 31, and Nicole Najmah Abraham, 36, dye the hands of Muslim women in New York City for special occasions, like holidays, weddings and births.
Henna designs by two New York City-based henna artists
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While Mirza's art draws significantly on architectural influences such as the traditional floral and geometric designs seen on mosques in India and North Africa, Abraham's designs are less traditional, often incorporating her clients' names and gold accents.

"A lot of my clientele are African-American, and they like the fact that I freestyle," Abraham said. On Monday night, a client brought a photo of Rihanna's henna-inspired hand tattoo as a model for the artist, who said she takes such input and "remixes" it to make it her own.

Take a look at some of Mirza and Abraham's designs, which may appear on the streets of New York City in the slideshow.