Henna Body Art

The cultures of India, Africa and the Middle East all have traditions of painting with henna dye on the skin. In India it is called “mehndi”, in North Africa it is called “anella”, and in West Africa “lalle”. The word henna comes from Arabic, so in the middle east “hinna” means both the dye and the design. On this site you can learn not only what henna designs mean, but also how to “think like a computer scientist”. That is, to see the patterns as a kind of “algorithm” (set of rules). This will allow you to create your own henna designs using the software, and help your community connect culture and computing.