*Ani, Kelechi Johnmary and **Anyaoha, Nkechinyere
J. (2012) Female Body Decorations: A Study on Uli
and
Henna
Adornments
in
S.
E.
Ododo
(Ed.)
Fireworks for a Lighting Aesthetician: Essay and
Tributes in Honour of Duro Oni @ 60, Lagos: Centre
for Black and African Arts and Civilization, pp. 565572
Abstract
The Uli and the Henna are flowering plants used since antiquity
to decorate different parts of human body. They are of different
colours and are used in the act of tattooing the body. This work
traces the historical origin of the Uli and the Henna. It showed
that they were widely used by women to promote their image in
different historical epochs. Ironically, while there has been the
resurgence in the use of henna in the post-independence era, in
Northern Nigeria and all parts of the globe on one hand, the use
of Uli to promote female adornment has virtually disappeared in
Igbo land, in the post colonial era, due to the imperial influence
of colonial body decoration culture as well as the push and pull
effect from other forces of globalization in the cultural dynamism
of the Igbo society. The work presented a number of pictorial
examples of both the Uli and Henna forms of body adornments. It
showed the foundation and value of both forms of decorations.
Introduction
It is after all common to the human race and
to women especially to attempt to enhance
natural beauty by some form of decoration.
Amongst many people, this is confined to
costume
or
hairstyle
or
to
paint
such
prominent parts as the face or fingernails, but
the African man carries the art considerably
further. Living in a hot climate, he has more
exposed parts of his body to decorate, and he
does this with the thoroughness with which he
would decorate a calabash or any other vessel
(Trowel 145).
Randall and Polhemus wrote that human beings are the only
known species that deliberately alters their appearance through
the customization of their body. They alter their appearance
through what they wear, adorn, tattoo, plastic surgery, body
building etc. Human civilization in every part of the globe has
revealed that women are continuously improving their aesthetic
consciousness. Ball revealed that the practice of tattooing is one
of the oldest art forms discovered by archaeologists. The oldest
evidence of tattooing entered the archaeological record only a few
years ago, when the complete body of an Iceman was found
frozen in a glacier in the Alps, some 5,000 years old. In the ideas
of Randall and Polhemus, this ancient hunter’s body was
adorned with 15 tattoos.
Man engages in all forms of aesthetic adornments that
would enhance their appearance. From the Jews to Arabs and
the Latin Americans as well as other parts of the globe, the
engagement in body painting has advanced that it is easy to
behold men of different age-bracket that have tattooed or
designed their body in one way or the order. The African societal
history over the ages has been characterized by women’s act of
designing one object or another in order to enhance their beauty
and physical image. Cristina has shown that the act of intricate
body design was used to exhibit African design in Egypt (18).
Negri showed that ladies painted meaningful patterns in the form
of free hand designs all over history (14).
Traditionally, body design was fundamental in the fashion
culture of the Nigerian woman, which made the act to be part of
her cultural heritage. From pre-colonial times till date, it is widely
used by the female folk in different ethnic groups that cut across
the Nigerian nation. The Uli body designed is popular amongst
the Igbo people in the South Eastern part of Nigeria, while the
Henna is widely used amongst the Shuwa Arab, Kanuri and
Hausa people of Northern Nigeria. Basden pointed-out that Uli
body design was an aspect of Igbo woman’s body adornment,
unlike the henna that was introduced into Northern parts of
Nigeria by the wives of Arabic merchants and Islamic scholars in
pre-colonial times.
However, the rise of colonialism brought the domineering
Western perception of female body aesthetics into the country.
This led to the dwindling nature of the use of traditional female
body decorations in Igbo land. Globalization has impacted in
opposite way on both the Uli and henna body adornments. The
powerful wave of global cultural imperialism promoted by the
multi-media
networks
has
destroyed
the
culture
of
Uli
adornment. Among some ethnic groups in Nigeria, like the Igbo
people, traditional body decoration is fast disappearing; but
amongst the Kanuri and Shuwa Arab people found in Northern
Nigeria, it is experiencing resurgence and its use could easily be
observed in all knocks and crannies of the society. This work is
therefore centred on a comparative study on Uli and Henna body
designs.
The Uli could be linguistically traced to the Igbo word, Uli.
When the Igbo man says that O na-ede Uli na-aka, it means that
he or she is a good painter, writer or designer. Udechukwu
showed that Uli proper is drawing on the human body with
indigo pigment” (8). Both the Uli and Henna represents a tree or
shrub that grows in different parts of the globe. The people widely
planted the tree from which they grew the leaves for the body
adornment. It is worthy of note that Uli here is different from the
Uli musical instrument which is widely used amongst the
Hawaiian people.
Henna is derived from an Arabic word. Murja wrote that
henna (Nalle in Kanuri) is a Persian name given to a small shrub
(lowsonia-inermes) that is widely found in Asia, Australia and
along the African coast of the Mediterranean, where it is
frequently cultivated (5). Basden has shown just like the henna
has multiple names across the globe, the Uli “possess merit and
were known by specific names in the different localities” (330).
The Uli is central in the Igbo aesthetics, “which provides sources
from which Igbo artists such as body and wall decorators derived
their design motifs which when properly drawn and painted are
praised as manifest aesthetics and once used on the body as
decorations and skilfully drawn, they elicit positive aesthetic
response” (Aniakor 5). Thornton wrote that Henna body designs
were widely used in many parts of Northern Nigeria during the
colonial era. Today, different species of these shrubs are found in
West India, Bangladesh, Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, United
Arab Emirate, Yemen, Tunisia, Libya, Morocco, Egypt, Somalia,
Sudan and Nigeria. Again, while the domestication of the shrub is
growing in Rimangado and Doreye of Kano State and other parts
of Northern Nigeria, it is gradually going extinct in the ecosystem
of the Igbo society. While Negri stated that Uli body painting was
“the loveliest of the body painting arts”, one can simply argue
today that the henna is the most widely used body adornment
design in Nigeria (14).
Foundations of Uli and Henna Motifs
The natural environment of man is the basic source of
motifs used in both the Uli and the Henna adornments. The body
decorations often connote or represent one natural thing or
event. Nwankwo gave the typology of Uli motifs to include:
 types derived from water (like fish motifs),
 types derived from firmaments (like moon motifs),
 types derived from vegetable materials (like spirals and
lines from plant tendrils),
 types derived from
techniques
of
execution and
compositional layout (like shape and style-based
motifs like concentric lines)
 types derived from bush animals (like scorpion and
python-shaped motifs) and
 types derived from geometric shapes (like rectangular
and triangular-shaped motifs) (29-30).
The henna motifs as it is found in global discourse today
cover
the
above
typology
and
include
a
complex
multi-
dimensional motif, especially amongst the Indians and the Arabs.
While traditional artists have tried to conceptualize motifs in line
with the geo-cultural environment, the influence of hi-tech multimedia systems have carried the wave of the globalization of
motifs, that there is increasing integration and adaptation of
motifs from different regions of the globe by Uli and henna
artists, while giving them the cultural trait of the artist’s
aesthetic environment.
It becomes imperative to state that the Uli and Henna motifs
are inexhaustible. Both the Uli and Henna artists paints
prominent parts of the body like the face, the chest (breasts), the
belly, the hands, the legs, and broader parts of the face, neck,
buttocks and the thighs. The body decorator(s), both in the Uli
and Henna adornments tries to arrange his or her drawings in a
dynamic, rhythmical and impressive pattern, while considering
the body structure of the person they are decorating. Enekebe
noted that the adornment “found suitable on the body of a
plumpy person by the decorator may not be equally suitable on a
slim-individual (25). In order words, the body decorator must
consider the body surface of the client”. The Uli and Henna
adornments:
Are drawn from the vegetal environment, largely
though from plant and animal life and in some
cases extended to include the firmaments with its
symbols of the crescent moon. There are plant
tendrils (because of their delicate form), the
partridge (for its dotted spots… etc (Aniakor 5).
Nevertheless, there are some decorations that differentiate
the Uli body decorations from the henna. The Oji-Ugo (Eagle’s
kola) adornment was often adorned on very beautiful ladies and
ladies from high-social class to identify them as unique ladies
and women in the larger Igbo society. Again, the Eke (python) and
the Mmuo (masquerade) adornment are found amongst priestess
and traditional medicine men. However, the Ije Agwo (snake
movement) adornment brings to the fore-front the link between
body painting and door/ pottery decoration of the historic Nri
culture.
Selected Examples of Uli Body Motifs
Selected Examples of Henna Body Motifs
Conceptual Account of Body Adornment Value
Myers has shown that the process of adornment often
involves not only time and energy but also pain and discomfort.
But notwithstanding the pains, discomfort, cost and energy
wasted in the body decoration process, people still engaged in it
for many reasons. Finkelstein; Villiquette, Murray, and Creyer
showed that it is engaged by many people who perceive it as a
vehicle for self-expression. Those who engaged in permanent form
of Uli body decoration, like the Eke (python) and Mmuo
(masquerade) by the traditional medicine men and priestess; uses
it more for group membership, social status and personal
identity. The choice of a particular form of henna adornment
represents status and marital accomplishments in Kanuri,
Shuwa Arab, North Africa, Middle East, India etc for over 5,000
years. Thornton argued that they use the henna as a wonderful
art for marking celebrations.
Henna decoration is not specific to a particular tribe or
ethnicity as the Uli is to the Igbo people. Both the Uli and the
henna are not equally inclined to people of a particular religion.
Christians, Muslims and the adherent of African Traditional
Religion adorns their body with one form of Uli or Henna
decorations. They are used for both traditional and contemporary
events in different forms. However, using Thornton’s idea, it is
noteworthy that “in certain cultures, the application of henna is
thought to bring a bride- luck, passion, fertility and prosperity in
her new marriage. It is quite common to see brides, who
incorporate jewels and glitters into their henna designs”.
The pre-wedding decoration using Uli and henna is popular
amongst the Igbo on one hand, and the Kanuri as well as the
Shuwa Arab people on the other hand. The days before and after
the
wedding
decorations
of
of
a
all
bride,
parts
records
of
the
extra-ordinary
bride’s
body
forms
for
of
greater
attractiveness to the groom. Intricate decorations that look very
beautiful are often chosen by the decorators for the bride. The
time of pre-wedding decorations allows the bride to relax after a
long time of pre-wedding stress anxieties. When the decoration is
going on, she would be enjoying a wonderful time with her
friends, relatives and well wishers that are often invited to
partake in the process. Nevertheless, the henna and traditional
Uli pre-wedding decoration is often a private affair carried out by
close relatives or friends. It creates a lovely ambience for the
marriage ceremony. Experts in body adornments create and recreate beautiful body tattoos that would project spectacular and
breathtaking aesthetic value on the bride.
However, many of the young girls who engage in these
henna body decorations often goes into the act as a means to
boast their dressing culture, body shape, value system, and
interest. Undoubtedly, Blumer and Goffman have shown that
body adornment has become a way for human beings to present
their desired self-image to others Hence, one could easily state
unequivocally
that
ladies
use
the
Uli
and
Henna
body
decorations, symbols, motifs etc as a non-verbal means of
communicating,
constructing,
revising,
generating
and
maintaining symbolic and connotative messages that are vital for
their self-identity.
The importance of body adornment cannot be neglected in
human history. Over the years, man decorates themselves to
appeal to the aesthetic need of human race. It is noteworthy that
in every society across the globe, body adornment is often used to
achieve different objectives. For instance, the musician, actors/
actresses, traditional medicine men/ priests etc, often engage in
body adornment as a way of maintaining a unique identity from
other members of the global village. Several sensitizing concepts
are use by every group to introduce their cultural theme(s) in the
act of body adornment (Blumer 147-148). Uli body decorations is
centrally important to the traditional Igbo society, especially the
adherents of the African Traditional Religion because of the link
between the body adornment and traditional Igbo wall painting
(Udechukwu 8), as well as the mystical tenets of African
Traditional Religion, as practised by the Igbo traditionalists.
Velliquette and Murray have shown that “the socialsymbolic role that tattoos have played in society varies a great
deal, depending on factors such as historical period, geography,
economic development, innovation and cultural diffusion” (70).
Sanders revealed that in ancient societies, adorning the body
with tattoos were associated with permanent feature of man’s life,
social and tribal connections, or celebrated appearance style that
showed considerable continuity through dozens of generations.
Agbogu and Enekebe have argued that in the past, the Uli
decoration was an ‘alternative’ for women’s dress before the
introduction of clothing into the Igbo society. Velliquette and
Murray have documented that the current trend in tattooing has
been explained as serving a number of social-symbolic roles (70-
71). Some of the roles include, mark of affiliation, expression of
group commitment and belongingness, mark of personal identity,
mark of resistance, mark of identity change etc.
Conclusion
The fact that women of all ages have engaged in one act or
the order to improve their physical image and impress their male
counterparts, has remained an age-long tradition of mankind.
While many of our ladies engage in western model of body
decorations, many of them are still promoting the traditional
approach to body adornment. This work has accounted for a
study of the Uli and Henna body decorations. It found out that
the two modes of body decorations are used in different parts of
Nigeria, with the Uli used amongst the South-Eastern Nigeria,
while the Henna is used in the whole of Northern Nigerian region
to the larger Arab world. The paper noted that the wave of
imperialism has drastically reduced the Uli culture amongst the
Igbo people, while the Henna has flourished notwithstanding the
treats
of
globalization.
The
work
therefore
calls
for
the
modernization and acculturation of the traditional Uli body
decoration culture amongst the Igbo people and the increased
promotion of the henna body adornment amongst the Northern
Nigerian ladies, as a way to promote and preserve the cultural
heritage of our people.
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