I met with the women who wanted to do rangoli at 10 am again, and offered them a simple pattern.    It was a hot day, and I didn't want to endanger the rangoli workers by keeping them too long unsheltered from the sun. 

The fishy shaped patterns in the outer perimeter are symbols of  "bees".  Erfan Mahlodji showed me this traditional Persian pattern, and told me that bees are beloved by God, and that they are messengers between people and the divine.  These patterns are used in Iranian henna art.  The five lines on each arm of the pattern symbolize fingers reaching out to blind any "evil eye" that might be attracted to the pattern,  with the intent of spoiling the sacred space. These patterns are used in Moroccan henna art.  The 8 rays of the pattern extend the cleansing energy of the fire, so this pattern was an eclectic gathering of henna symbols..   I wanted this pattern to be a metaphoric vehicle for dancers who wished to trance and send or receive messages from the divine as they circumambulated the fire into the night.

Again, we started by drawing concentric circles into the sand with a stick and string attached to a central spike.  Then we laid out the diameter with a tight string, made a perpendicular, then bisected angles and bisected again.  The only tools needed for a layout are two sticks and a long piece of string.  We made the pattern with 40 pounds of rice flour.  We put the flour into ziploc baggies and cut the corner off so it would pour out.  Indian women are deft with the rice flour, quickly drawing the lines perfectly just running the flour through their fingers.  We're not so skillful or experienced, but we manage.  People ornamented this with cut flowers and fruiting branches.  We were done by 1 pm.  We headed for the showers and the pool!

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