MAKEUP AS DEVOTION: Using Makeup As Part of Worship in Christianity, Islam and Judaism
Nendie Pinto-Duschinsky
MAKEUP AS DEVOTION: CONTENTS THE ORIGINS OF MAKEUP IN WORSHIP KOHL EYE MAKEUP IN ANCIENT EGYPT FRAGRANCE AND HENNA MARKING ADULTHOOD HEAD COVERING, THE VEIL AND EYE MAKEUP MARRIAGE EPILOGUE
MAKEUP AS DEVOTION THE ORIGINS OF MAKEUP IN WORSHIP The history of wearing makeup can be traced to the earliest human. We have painted our faces to worship a higher spirit since prehistory. In the earliest cave paintings, spirits have taken on supernatural forms, often half-man or woman and half animal, and these gods have painted faces. Before Judaism, Christianity and Islam which believe in one God, ancient religion was largely animistic: the ancient peoples considered certain animals, plants and geographic features to be the homes of spirits.
- A Decorated Hemba woman from The Congo. The red pigment used is associated with the supernatural.3
- The paint was thickly spread on this child’s face and the pattern was scratched in with fingertips.
The earliest spiritual marks of mankind were left on cave walls in natural, ground pigment blown through the artist’s fingers and on bone carvings. In June 2012, in El Castillo Cave, what may be the world’s oldest stencil handprints were discovered. At 40,800 years old these even may be the handprints of Neanderthals.
Helen Hales of the Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford says, “Evidence in rock paintings and engravings show that men and women have decorated themselves since Upper Palaeolithic times (50,000 years ago). Colours were derived from the natural environment red and yellow clays (ochres), white lime, black charcoal or manganese, plant dyes, and even insect secretions. Body painting was linked with the development of language, abstract thought and cultural creativity that allowed humans to experience and engage with the world in new quasi-religious ways. As hunter-gatherer societies became more sedentary, body art grew more refined.” It is believed by some authorities that the worship and the makeup of ancient people’s were influenced by powerful drugs, such as Opium, which grew around them and were imbibed and used in anointing oils as part of the worship of spirits. Could the dots, intricate patterns and bright colours in today’s makeup hark back to early ritualistic trances and hallucinations? In 2010, Genevieve Von Petzinger published radical new evidence suggesting that the marks in many cave paintings from different continents had similar symbols and that these constituted language. For instance, she believed a “w” symbol was used as a shorthand for a Woolly Mammoth, the shape representing the tusks. Humans had written messages 70,000 years earlier then previously had been thought. Some of these symbols appear on human bones and on jewellery found in burials in caves. Perhaps, early body marking contained sacred meanings or status designations. Again, Helen Hales says, Painting the face may have been a way of reconnecting with the dead . In Northern Ghana, men paint themselves in white clay to resemble a skeleton, consciously reminding those present of the threat of death and disorder in the world. Right: The ‘White Lady’ or ‘Horned Goddesss’ (c.70006000BC), the earliest phase of rock painting in the Sahara.The painting from Algeria shows dotted body-painting or tattooing.
Above : A ‘mud man’ from the Asaro river region of Oceania. As the clay cracks and peels off, it may symbolize the flesh of a decomposing body.
KOHL EYE MAKEUP IN ANCIENT EGYPT In ancient Egypt as early as 4000 B.C., a mineral called ‘galena’ was mined in the desert, mixed with soot or oil- (depending on your social class) and turned into ‘kohl’. Cosmetic pots, perfume and oil decanters were so important they were placed in burials so that the dead might travel to the after life with possessions they could use there.The coffins or sarcophagi often contain portraits or objects which show what Egyptian faces looked like. Kohl was originally used as a medicine to disinfect the eyes, sensitive to the plagues of flies, gnats and mosquitos in Egypt. Blindness was widespread and much more common than it is now. Ironically, the medicinal mixtures of Kohl used many poisonous ingredients. In the British Medical Journal, Kohl’s ability to ward off the sun was referred to as the forefather of sunglasses. However,’The Eye’ also had special significance in Egyptian religions, as it was a powerful sign of protection. Therefore, it is not surprising that eye makeup evolved into such an important practice. In The Eye Book, author Ian Grierson says that “Egyptian male or female wouldn’t be seen without kohl. Even statues had to have a daily makeover; nothing escaped without having kohl around his or her eyes. Cleopatra had her own exclusive pattern of eye makeup, which was basically to colour the upper lid dark blue and the lower one green. “The British museum recently discovered a blue pigment used in makeup that is believed to be the first artificial, luminescent pigment and it was used in eyeshadow, alongside crushed beetles to give luminescence and sparkle. ‘.
Left : The mother-in-law of Amenhotep III’s mummy mask is adorned with inlaid blue glass makeup. Gilded paster on linen, semiprecious stones glass. c.1390-1352 BC.
In Ancient Egypt, the eyes of newborn babies were lined with Kohl in the shape of the Eye of Horus to ward off evil spirits. Adults used green pigment made of Malachite from the Sinai dessert on their lower eyelids to invoke Horus, the God of The Sky. The eye of Horus was made up of symbols which were used as a way to measure the ingredients in medicines and pigments. Although the eye was human, Horus had a Peregrin Falcon’s head. In one myth Horus made a gift of his own eye to Osiris to help him rule the netherworld. Osiris ate the eye and was restored to life. As a result, the eye became a symbol of life and resurrection. In her book, For Appearance Sake, Victoria Sherrow writes, “People also modify their eyes to fit a culture’s ideas about beauty. The Mayans who flourished until C.E 900 preferred crossed eyes, so they hung objects between a baby’s eyes so the child would develop a cross-eyed gaze. Usually, this object was a ball of pitch that was hung from a headboard placed between the baby’s ears”.
Above : Merit, wife of royal Architect Ka,, was provided for in her afterlife with a richly decorated box of flasks and jars of her favourite fragrances and cosmetics. 18th Dynasty, reign of Amenhotep III c. 1386- 1349 BC.
Makeup was applied using highly-valued mirrors which were made of polished copper, bronze, silver, gold or obsidian. Helen Hales says that “The Romans believed that if you broke a mirror, a piece of your soul would be trapped within it until the body renewed itself in its seven-yearly cycle [... ‘]To this day, it is said that a broken mirror brings seven years’ bad luck. Yet the connection between mirrors and misfortune is not just a European phenomenon: the Basotho people of southern Africa believe that if a crocodile snaps at a man’s reflection in water, he will die shortly afterwards”. The Talmud is the Jewish book of learning which accompanies The Torah, the Jewish holy book. Norman Rubin writes, “that the use of makeup has had strict codes within ancient Israelite religious practices. Since the application of kohl on the eye lids was considered labor it was forbidden on the Sabbath”. The temple priests distinguished between healing ,which was to embellish one eye with kohl and makeup, which was to embellish two eyes. The use of kohl for painting the eyes is mentioned three times in the Bible, always with disapproval by the Prophets - [2 Kings, 9:30; Jeremiah 4:30; Ezekiel 23:40]. In contrast, Job named one of his daughters “Keren Happukh” - “horn of eye paint” (Job 42:14). It’s written in The Talmud that Kohl was considered so important by the Ancient Israelites that there was even a strike when it was in shortage.
Left : Silver mirror of Princess Sathathoryunet, 12th Dynasty. Right : The ancient Egyptian pattern of cosmetic eye decoration survived into the Christian era. This illustation shows the mummy mask of a young woman with plaited hair from the first century AD. Galenite was used for the eyebrows, and copper hydrosilicate was mixed into eye makeup to guard against infection.
FRAGRANCE AND HENNA The Talmud contains a wealth of information on the marketing of cosmetics. The perfume dealers had their shops in the market where scents and cosmetics for women were usually sold - Street of the Perfumers. Today there is a narrow street in the Shouk (market place) in the Old City of Jerusalem that is called in Arabic, ‘Shuk ha-Besamim’ (‘The Street of the Spices’). According to the Temple purity laws, bad breath was a reason for a divorce. Therefore, perfume sellers sold specially prepared peppercorns, ginger, cinnamon sticks, and various tastes of gum. It was the wife’s duty to beautify herself so as to appear pleasing to her husband. It says in Psalms that “Oil and perfume bring joy to the heart” .The ‘Mishnah’ (containing Jewish law) decreed that a husband must give his wife ten dinars for her cosmetic needs. William Arthur Poucher, an expert in fragrance who lived in the 19th century wrote, In the Koran, in the Suras, there are frequent references to aromatic substances and there is no doubt that the Arabs’ love of perfumes helped them to appreciate the teachings of this religious work to a much greater degree. Musk was of course one of their most esteemed perfumes during the Mehdi- or preparation for the Islamic wedding.
Above : Myrrh Illustration from an Arabic traslation of De Materia Medica by Dioscorides. 11th Century.
“the body of the bride is anointed by women with oil on the eve of her wedding, perfumes are applied to the bride’s hair, special creams are used on the skin, the bride is fed with special dishes and her hair is washed with amber and jasmine extracts. Arabian kohl or Arabian eye liner is applied, and her hands and feet are painted with henna.”
Left : Traditional henna patterns prevents hostile forces from working evil magic on the ‘soul material’ that is lift behind in the footprints.
Right : The intricate and finely painted patterns on the hands are applied before a wedding to give strong protection.
MARKING ADULTHOOD Today many religions include an important “rite of passage” from childhood to adulthood. This idea reaches into prehistory “In Anglo-Saxon times, children learned spoken charms or doggerels to say while swinging a jingle they carried around with them. These were similar to counting rhymes, such as ‘eeny meeny, miny moe’ still used today.” The doggerels were poorly written poetry meant to ward off bad luck and often used for humorous purposes, as they were considered so crudely and badly written”. In modern day Catholicism, a teenager takes part in Confirmation by attending a special Mass. Taking part in this ceremony enables a baptised person to confirm the promises made on their behalf at baptism. It is a sign of full membership in the Christian community. In Catholic Confirmation, a baptised person believes that he or she is receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit. A bishop usually conducts the service, but there are variations in how it is carried out. It is customary for both boys and girls to dress well for the ceremony. Boys usually wear a suit while girls wear dresses. Unlike First Holy Communion dresses, which tend to be very formal, the dresses that are worn for Confirmation are usually simpler dresses. This ceremony is the first time a girl may wear makeup as part of worship. The makeup is usually understated as girls of confirmation age are considered young adults in the Church. Too much makeup may be perceived as a distraction from the purity of worship. This idea of makeup as a distraction from worship may come from a story in the Bible; the wearing of makeup is not widely supported in the Bible, perhaps because it is seen as pagan. The ancient Israelites were kept as slaves by the ancient Egyptians, who wore heavy makeup (both men and women) as part of their practice of worship . Even today, a woman wearing heavy makeup is referred to as a ‘Jezebel’. This refers to the Jewish story of Jezebel in Kings in the Old Testament. Jezebel was a promiscuous and treacherous pagan queen. She became associated with false prophets. In some interpretations, her dressing in finery and putting on makeup before her death led to the association of the use of cosmetics with “painted women” or prostitutes. Another reason that wearing makeup in worship might be seen as controversial is that in Judaism, Catholicism and Islam the faithful include washing with water as part of worship. In the Catholic rite of Baptism, the baby is washed clean of the ‘original sin’ with holy water, and in Islam, the faithful must wash their feet before prayer. Judaism often requires hand washing before beginning a religious ceremony.
In Latin American countries, a “Quinceanera the celebration of a girl’s fifteenth birthday with a special Catholic Mass, a bit like the Confirmation. In Mexico, the birthday girl, known as the quinceanera, is decorated with elegant makeup. Traditionally, this would be the first time she was to wear makeup, although that is no longer the case in many families. The quinceanera is expected to wear a formal evening dress. Traditionally, the dress worn by the quinceanera is a long ball gown. Alongside the Mass is a “ceremonia de la ultima muneca” (literally “ceremony of the last doll”), during which her father presents her with a doll usually wearing a similar dress and makeup as the quinceanera .The ceremony of the last doll is based on a Mayan tradition, and it is related to the birthday girl’s receiving and renouncing the doll, as she grows into womanhood.
Above : Young worshippers being Confirmed at a Catholic Ceremony in Angola.
According to Jewish law, when boys reach 13 and girls become 12, they take part in a “coming of age” ceremony called a Bar Mitzvah for a boy and a Bat Mitzvah for a girl. This literally means that you become “the son or daughter of the Commandment”. It is traditional to give a gift of jewellery to the female, and the boy receives his first tallit, or prayer shawl. For many jewish girls, this is the first time they may wear makeup in Synagogue to signify their transition to adulthood. Many girls will have their hair and makeup done by professional makeup artists, who may come to their homes for the special day.
Above : A 12 year old girl at her Bat Mitzvah.
In Islam, the wedding is the equivalent puberty rite for a girl, marking her transition from girl and daughter to woman and wife. After marriage, a girl may move to the home of her husband’s family, her movements may be restricted, and she may receive greater respect and authority. Threading has long been popular in many Arab countries, and was well known from Indian and Persian culture. The Arabic word for threading is ‘khite’; in Egypt it is called ‘fatlah’. Threading the entire face is widely practiced amongst Iranians, but it was originally only done when a woman was getting married. In ancient Persia, threading was a sign that a girl had reached adulthood and become a woman.
Left : A muslim woman making the rite of passage from childhood to adulthood by marrying.
HEAD COVERING, THE VEIL AND EYE MAKEUP The wearing of the veil or ‘hijab’ or ‘niqaab’ in Islam is a tradition that comes originally from the Jewish Custom of covering the head in humility for prayer at the ancient Israelite temples. In Islam, there is much debate about whether wearing kohl eye makeup is a ‘sunnah’ which literally means “ well trodden path” or custom, or whether makeup comes under the heading of “adornment which the woman is required to conceal”. Many women who choose to wear the hijab, a veil, or the niqaab, which leaves only their eyes visible, choose to wear eye makeup. Some only wear eye makeup for their husband and may remove it before prayer. In Islam, it is written in the Koran that Mohammed (the messenger of Allah) himself wore Kohl eyeliner. The Qu’ran says “Treat your eyes with kohl, for it nourishes eyes and eyelashes.” Because of this one Iman says: It is said that wearing kohl (eyeliner) is one of the sunnas of the Prophet. It is allowed. Makeup is different. in Surat al-Nur, Allah says: “And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that they should not display their beauty and ornaments except what must ordinarily appear thereof; that they should draw their veils over their bosoms and not display their beauty except to their husbands, ...”. (Qur’an 24:31).
Above : A woman wearing a Niqaab and kohl eye makeup.
It was roughly in the 7th Century, when most Arab tribes converted to Islam. Makeup was still considered a form of medicine. Perhaps, many of the elaborate eye makeups we see now derive from the bridal customs extant across the Levant. This trend may have originally stemmed from trade with Egypt, Greece and Rome. As the Romans spread their empire throughout the globe, they took eyeshadow with them. Historical evidence suggests that eye shadow was known as “fucus” in Greece in the 7th and 8th century B.C. Fucus generally was comprised of greens and blues which were made from stones like lapis lazuli and malachite. This was quite famous in Greece, and the export of it was an important aspect of the Greek economy. The Greeks exported eye shadows around the Mediterranean along with cosmetic powders, paints, skin glosses and hair dyes. Many Muslim women today wear eye makeup that might be seen as the most similar to that of the ancient Egyptians and ancient Greeks, with the use of brightly coloured eyeshadows and kohl. This might be because many Islamic countries are also extremely hot, and eye makeup has long been seen as a shield against sunburn. The eye is important for many women in Islam, because if they choose to wear the niqaab it will be the only part of their body which is visible. “Women and girls cover their heads at a Traditional Latin Mass. Headcover is a symbol of humility before God. It is a gesture that acknowledges God’s authority over a woman. Wearing a veil is mentioned by St. Paul in 1 Corinthians, “But every woman praying or prophesying with her head uncovered disgraces her head ...” (1 Corinthians 11:5) and “That is why a woman ought to have a veil on her head, because of the angels” (1 Corinthians 11:10). This last verse is relevant because Catholics believe angels are present at Mass. In Spain, Latin America and Ireland a mantilla is a lace or silk veil worn over the head and shoulders, often over a high comb called a peineta. Goya painted several women in mantillas; this style survives almost unchanged to the present day. Among some exceptionally Orthodox Jewish married women, like the Lubavitch, a Sheitel ( a wig or half-wig ) is worn over a shaved head in order to conform with the requirement of Jewish Law for a woman to cover her hair. Once a woman is married, according to this belief,her hair is viewed as a sensual and private part of a married woman’s appearance. By covering her hair (even with a wig, which may be mistaken for real hair) a woman is expressing her exclusive devotion and unique connection to her husband.
On the Sabbath, which is the weekly festival which begins on a Friday night, many orthodox women will dress up to look their best. They are not allowed to labour or work on the Sabbath, so orthodox women get around this by applying their makeup the night before if it contains dyes, or by using mineral makeup, which as it is powdered, is not considered to contravene the conditions in the Talmud. Amongst Christian women in Harlem, New York, it has become customary to choose an elaborate hat as a head covering. Called “Church Hats� these are often very expensive, custom-made hats with feathers, gold silks or tulles and large brims. It is considered the more lavish the hat, the more expensive it is, the more it demonstrates a commitment to worship.
Left : A young bride has her Sheitl (or wig) styled.
Right : The sitter of this painting by Francisco de Goya is wearing a mantilla. Portrait of DoĂąa Isabel de Porcel c.1805
MARRIAGE The most elaborate makeup that we see in worship is reserved for the marriage ceremony. In Morocco, the Berber community are called a Semitic people. The Arab and Jewish communities come from the same forebears who are all Semites. Today’s Berbers are Muslim, however, a significant Christian minority still remains. They have retained some of their original beliefs, and many of their marriage rituals contain spirit references and elements retained from earlier ancient religions. Tatiana Wilde writes one of the most famous Berber gatherings is the wedding moussem (religious festival) of the Ait Haddidou tribe near Imilchil in the High Atlas. Every September this tribe meets to celebrate the feast day of Sidi Mohammed el Maghani, the patron saint of the Ait Haddidou, and also to remember the sad Romeo and Juliet-esque legend that inspired the festival.The story goes that lovers Tislit and Isli, unable to marry because of their feuding families and unable to live without each other, decided to drown themselves in nearby lakes. But even in death they remained apart as a mountain separated their lakes and thus prevented their souls from meeting in the afterlife. Today, the Imilchil festival is held to enable the men and women of different local tribes to meet and later marry whom they choose. Dozens of potential brides, dressed in blue, white and red shawls, their cheeks rouged and their eyes lined with kohl, come to sing, dance, feast and flirt with their white-robed male counterparts.
Above : As part of their rite every Lubinje bride must have their faces decorated meticulously and exquisitely. The bride’s costume, which gives her the appearance of a living doll, protects her from the “evil eye, and discourages gossip and speculation.”
In the Muslim Trebesh community of Lubinje in Kosovo, every bride must have her face decorated meticulously and exquisitely, “while their bodies are covered with five to six layers of traditional handmade costumes and accessories that bulk you up and weigh you down.” Following the decoration process, documented in photographs by Yll Citaku, “the bride is taken to her husband’s house by horse [...]” “Her head is covered with a veil to hide her face until she reaches her new home. Once there, the bride has to stand inside a room flanked by her husband’s mother and sister, who attends to the new bride’s every need. Meanwhile, the entire village visits in order to see and welcome the bride into the community.” The bride’s costume, which gives her the appearance of a living doll, protects her from the “evil eye, and discourages gossip and speculation.” In a traditional Catholic wedding, the bride wears a veil to cover her face. As to her makeup, one Catholic missionary writes, the general rule concerning bridal make-up is, ‘Be attractive but not an attraction.’ Wearing no make-up can be just as much of an attraction as wearing too much. Using make-up is more a cultural matter not a Christian matter Most Western bridal makeup is natural looking and made to appear as if the bride is not wearing heavy makeup. In African and Asian Catholic weddings, the bride often wears more richly coloured lipsticks and eye makeup.
Above : The L’Omo Tribe in Ethiopia decorate themselves with flowers, berries, butterfly wings and plants from their surroundings.
In the Yemen, Ben Zion David writes that “Bridal outfits were similar in fashion for both Jewish and Muslim brides, however there were differences. A golden outer coat was worn by both of them. However, the pants legs for the Jewish bride had a star motif made out of silver and red silk. This pattern was known to be exclusively Jewish. Because the silversmiths and jewellery makers were Jewish, and the only occasion women were allowed to be lavish was for the bride, she was completely covered with elaborate jewellery. The decorations included amulet cases together with rows and rows of necklaces, dangled with bells and corals, which at the time represented the ultimate beauty. In addition, there were temple ornaments on the headgear, as well as filigree bracelets, orderly arranged up to the elbows and filigree rings on every finger.� Bridal Makeup is often associated with great expense and in some cultures a year or more’s wages may be spent on preparing the bride for the ceremony. The bride is often seen as representing her family, community or tribe as a whole ,and so great care is taken over her presentation.
- A christian bride in a traditional white muslin veil.
- A Jewish Yemenite bride decorated with silver filigree jewellery.
Right : This Berber woman from the High Atlas is protected by the tattoos on her nose, under her mouth and round her eyes. The silver jewellery is ornamented with the sun and the moon as a talisman.
EPILOGUE After exploring in this film some of the religious and social customs surrounding the wearing of makeup, it is evident that makeup and adornment are common threads running throughout human history and relate to a lost moment in which art and spirituality were inseparable. Nendie Pinto-Duschinsky
