Mehndi

The first lot to be put up was a tin of sugar biscuits and a jar of ‘mendy’, a pomade of native origin for dyeing the hair black.

She was thirteen, a young bride whose small palms had been stained burgundy with mehndi for a man she knew nothing about, not even his name.

Then came the Mehndi ceremony – where henna is painted on the bride's hands and feet, and the bride and groom's family try to outdo each other in singing and dancing.