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Africa World Press 1998    The Art of African Fashion Setona: The Native Henna Artist in a Global Context    Written By: Salah M. Hassan
Setona, a henna artist from Sudan, is probably the best-known and most internationally marketed henna artist. Setona's story exemplifies the destiny of an artist in a changing world characterised by massive human mobility, dislocation, and globalisation. Hers is also the story of resilience and success in the face of all odds. After all, being a woman and an artist in a place where such a profession lacks the respectability it deserves, this is a remarkable achievement. Setona, whose real name is Fatma Ali Adam Uthman, was born in the province of Kordofan in western Sudan. She moved with her family to Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, when she was a child. Given the fact that she hails from a family of well-known musicians, it is not surprising that her first profession is really that of a singer and musician. Since 1989, Setona has been living in Cairo, Egypt, probably one of the many creative individuals forced to flee Sudan in the wake of that country's oppressive regime. She lives in the neighborhood of Al Halamiya with her husband, Ahmed, formerly a teacher in the Sudan as well as a musician who accompanies her in public performances with the lute, the popular Sudanese string instrument. Setona's music combines folk and contemporary Sudanese music with the traditions of women's lore and wedding songs. Setona has been credited, and with good reason, with the revival of henna body painting in Egypt. She may not be the only Sudanese henna artist in Cairo, but she is certainly the most celebrated thanks to her many artistic talents and entrepreneurial sophistication. What distinguishes Setona is her ability to market herself as a wedding consultant for 'Sudanese retrostyle' ceremonies, where she starts by applying the henna designs on the bride and teaching the women Sudanese dances, and ends with singing traditional songs during the ceremony itself. Setona's expertise in the traditional body care of Sudanese women known as Dukhan (vapor-bath) and Bakhur (the burning of incense to perfume the body) are also in demand. In other words, Setona draws on her knowledge of an entire set of traditions associated with body care and body painting in the		context of Sudanese wedding rites. Setona's considerable artistic and entrepreneurial success can be measured in many ways. Her skill in the art of henna painting has earned her the title of 'Queen of Henna' in Egypt, and the demand for her work is world-wide. Among her most famous clients is The-Artist-Formerly-Known-As-Prince, who reportedly, makes special trips to Cairo in order to be decorated by Setona. Five-star hotels in Cairo, such as the Meridian, Sheraton, and Hilton, book Setona well in advance for special wedding parties. Lately, Setona has taken to the stage, performing with the avant-garde Egyptian theatrical group EI Tali'aa, the Vanguards. She even had a minor cameo role in one of the most successful Egyptian movies in recent years, 'An Upper Egyptian in The American University." Setona's remarkable success in Egypt is not always viewed favorably by many of the exiled Sudanese intellectuals in Cairo. Some have criticised the Egyptian fascination with Setona as an act of appropriation that exoticises and stereotypes Sudanese culture. They compare the Setona phenomenon with the Western appropriation of African cultural products. Interestingly, many seasoned Sudanese musicians and singers, such as Mohammed Wardi and Mohammed El Amin, whose styles have defined modern Sudanese music for the last thirty years, and who have been residing in a voluntary exile in Egypt for the last ten years, never enjoyed Setona's success. Setona's popularity has also been attributed to the shift in Egyptian identity as Egyptians move away from pan-Arabism towards increasing awareness of their African heritage. Setona's international success must also be attributed to her shrewd entrepreneurial skills. Nevertheless, she could never have achieved such popularity without the current rise of henna art and African music in the West. Interestingly, her brochures and CD write-ups market her as the 'Black Magic Woman'. Such labeling is very revealing of Western marketing strategies and their capitalisation of the 'exotic', the 'magical', and the 'primitive' so popular in the West. Thus, Setona's success becomes more comprehensible when read within the context of the henna mania sweeping the West today.
@ Martin W. Riedel © dry bit 2000