Why do indians wear bindis

In Hinduism, in the ancient days, married women used them as a sign of representing their status. However, in the current decade, Bindi has transformed into a fashion statement worn as a decoration by women. In the traditional Aryan Society, during a marriage ceremony, the husband makes a tilaka or a red dot on his wife's forehead.

Bindi could be an extension of the custom practiced by the ancient Aryans. Another connection with the past is in the Indus Valley civilization. Archaeologists have found feminine figures with red marks on their foreheads. These marks could probably be a red Bindi.

Different cultures and religions apart from Hinduism also consider wearing a Bindi as auspicious. In Hinduism, there are various concepts associated with it.

Both men and women wore Bindi in the ancient period. Traditionally, it is a red dot mostly made from Kumkum between the eyebrows. Nowadays, women wear different colors of Bindis. In the early days, only married women wore red Bindi as a sign of representing their marriage.

However, women generally wear them without any difference. It was in BC the saints wrote the Vedas. In the Vedas, there is a detailed description of the seven Chakras in our bodies.

These Chakras are associated with the flow of energy in our bodies. They provide us with the life force. There are points linked to different Chakras. Agna is the sixth Chakra, and it is present in our forehead between our eyebrows. It is a site of intuition and intellect. By wearing a Tilak or a Bindi at the central point of our forehead can aid us in balancing the Chakra and improve our concentration.

However, most women now wear artificial Bindis. My skin is also very fair, however I have always respected my Indian heritage. I have my left nostril pierced only after careful research, for my union. Many people have the nostril piercing for fashion but i wear mine without fashion in mind, it is a symbol. I am very intrigued with body modification, and am planning my bindi implant. I know I will get a lot of comments. I like honoring heritage and religion.

I choose to where my bindi on my fair skin with my head held high. I guess the author of this article must hate George Harrison. He also used his platform as a celebrity to organize the Concert for Bangladesh. I wear what I want and think everyone else should..

Let people live and enjoy each others ways , foods, spirit ,and so on.. I have a question. I would like to wear bindis as a representation of my third eye and for luck. Would it be offensive if I were to wear a bindi? I ask because I would hate to offend a culture that I have tons of respect for.

I feel you have every right being that 1 parent is South Asian. I am not, but I am Hindu. I have been wearing different types of bindis lately. Such as the crystal beaded ones, the different colored felt ones and just kumkum. I get stared at, especially by children and a few times I have been laughed at by teen girls. This just shows the ignorance and lack of knowledge people have. I am half Indian and half Norweigian, and I feel like im on both sides of this argument and can take neither.

My grandmother have me bindis as a child and told dm there were a symbol of beauty and good luck. Ivd with them all my life since a young age. Because I look mostly white. I wear Bindis for cutural and spiritual purposes. Bindis also can be found in ancient Kemet aka egypt. There is a lot of history not being added in the article and how or where the Bindi originated. Western existence is based on taking everything from non westerners and ideolizing it for profit!!!!!!! Westerners have been developing and progressing the world for the past few centuries.

Khem you are correct and hit the nail right on. I was thinking that the Bindis was also worn in Egypt. I am hindu. I am christian and I dont say people who wear clothing or jewelry with a cross on them appropriating my religion even though i always use the sign if the cross for things on a daily basis. Excuse me? Please do your research before this. Hindu is a religion not a culture. Easily offended and easily judging people! Overall you seem very uptight, judgemental and ignorant. Hi, I have a few questions here.

I just want to see if my use of a bindi would be considered cultural appropriation. So I was born into a Christian family, but did not practice the religion at all, in fact I spent more time studying my dreams and connecting with nature.

I studied the chakras, astral projection, and meditation. I felt connected to Hinduism, but also connected to other religions, cultures and philosophies.

Many of them share the same morals, and those I live by. I have actually had dreams where Ganesh and Saraswati appeared in them, and Green Tara. Dance is my main form of meditation, and I study classical Indian and belly dance. When I wear a bindi, it is for a performance, for a song that has deep spiritual meaning. When I do counselling, I wear a bindi, and also during moon ceremonies.

So I would like to know if this is offensive? I know what a bindi is. I am white. We are all citizens of this planet, this time around. While my culture is not South Asian this time around, I know that I have had at least one lifetime as an Indian man as I had a spontaneous regression. I believe in reincarnation, and I believe that we will be a part of many different cultures and both sexes, throughout our lifetimes on Earth. It goes both ways.

I will be sensitive to you, but to say that marking the forehead belongs to only your group, is xenophobic. No one says you have to live in Asia to be a certain religion, so why do you have to live in India to be hindu. I love my country. I alone genetically share DNA with people from approx 15 different countries.

As a result of my ancestors migration to this country which is made up of many many different cultures I do not have just one influence or tradition. Those who come here from other places need to be informed this is a new birth of a nation. We all bring something to the table and a new culture will arise in time. Anyone can be any religion they want, but people are born into a culture. There is a difference between religion and culture!

I know of the Penal gland the third eye also the culture I am white. Am I being disrespectful? Fantastic article. It annoys me to see my religion being turned into a fashion statement. But when I see groups of girls my age wearing them, it just makes me cringe. If anything, as a Hindu I would welcome anybody who embraces my culture. I think its funny that this article was written by a muslim, a culture where the bindi is forbidden.

I love wearing my bindi because I feel it connects me to the women in my family, my grandmothers and ancestors. It certainly makes me feel LESS self-conscious and more free to express my religion and heritage in america.

Lol yes I totally agree with u Poornima!! I love u for what u said! My Muslim Fijian Husband and I laughed at this article!! You stole the words right out of my mouth! U go girl!! Thank you mrs khan, thank god there are some practical and not-tediously-politically-correct people left in the world. Wow, thank you so much for this response.

I personally love India and Indian culture although I am a 17 year-old Mexican-American and currently living in Mexico. I am going to wear a Sari for my high school graduation coming up and I wanted to go full out with the Bindi and henna tattoo, but I had to do my research and know exactly what a Bindi represents before wearing it and that was what brought me here. I can say I was so discouraged! As a Mexican, I love seeing when people from other cultures wear our typical Mexican dresses and see people wear charro sombreros.

Sometimes we are mocked just like all cultures are mocked but I do not condemn these people for being ignorant, it happens. We are all ignorant in one way or another but I am thankful for articles and insights like these. I absolutely love America as a nation its not mine but i think its telling that the people disparaging the article are clearly neither hindu nor indian with the exception of the lady below.

Thanks for breaking it down, I was feeling greatly discouraged by the article. I want to wear a sari for a special event and I wanted to try wearing the Bindi but in no means of disrespect or to ridicule Hindu or Indian culture. I am a white British woman and religious studies student and I have converted to Hinduism.

I wear a bindi almost everyday as a symbol of my religion, just like my Grandmother wears a cross as a symbol of her religion. You are Hindu so why would you even ask that????

Also it has nothing to do with color so why even take it there? Are you trying to pick a fight? What about our products and lifestyles? Yet no one cries foul …or worries about it. Appreciation and honor of a culture is a two-way street. If something in your culture was made fun of in the past, but is now in the positive lime-light, maybe adjust your thinking to the idea that while it may not be what you would like to see, but at least the intent is a positive one?

So what if Selena Gomez wears a bindi? Yet no one bats an eye and just moves on with life. Yes, the Bollywood copy of Hollywood is tacky and embarrassing as hell, but there is a difference between that type of appropriation and a woman wearing a bindi as nothing but a fashion accessory.

There is a differnce between a non-Hindu woman wearing a bindi with no understanding of its meaning and significance and Indian women wearing Ralph Lauren and Nine West, as American consumer brands are aggressively marketed around the world and American companies aim for those women to wear their products.

I think this article is a real shame, a lot of western women embrace Hindu culture and incorporate it into their own; the wearing of a bindi as a symbolic representation of their own third eye chakra.

It would be nice to think that trend and popular culture could do some good in all of this, an opportunity of creating a familiarity among impressionable people of what a cultural aesthetic represents, I understand that you seem less than impressed by Selena whateverhernameis. But is the point in harmony among humanity not acceptance?

And is this article not just another form of separating us all and making us stand apart rather than being a unit? I think this argument hypocritical and flawed.

This article is absolutely ridiculous. What if a young woman decided to research bindis, knew the significance and as a result decided that she would wear one and fully respected Hindu traditions in doing so. How would you know that? I have a feeling that you would not bother asking and would be extremely quick to judge. This is just as bad as judging people for wearing any item of clothing. Lots of fashion items from different cultures are being embraced as the world develops and I would be proud, not bitter.

The world is changing. You are talking about someone with an earnest heart and the author is talking about girls who wear it for fun like a shade of lipstick they wipe off at the end of a concert.

You should attack the bullies, not people trying to preserve their culture as a culture and not a festival costume. Wearing a Bindi is not the same as wearing blue jeans or a certain shirt. One is a piece of clothing the other is a symbol of something significant and sacred to their religion. Given that a number of other cultures throughout history have also worn decorative forehead marks for a variety of reasons, perhaps it would be less offensive if people used a different name?

Yes, that was sarcastic. I see the Bindi ridiculed in so much media. There is nothing wrong with it, I completely respect the culture. Western culture is still very dominant in the world today and this unfortunately often leads to mistreatment of minorities so, as a white person and as a decent human being, you need to be more mindful of other cultures.

Your need to wear a bindi as a fashion statement does not outweigh the importance of protecting the sacredness cultural traditions. I been practicing the religion for many years, and so on. I wear the bindi because I am married, and not as a fashion statement. I think people who wear it for kicks, or to be trendy is kind of insulting for people who wear it for the right reasons, and who appreciate the culture, religion, and follow it completely.

Not everything needs to be a trend. It is quite clear that you do not respect the culture. How do you respect their culture? By not saying mean things about them? By not teasing them and calling them names? Sorry, not enough. If you even had an ounce of respect for this culture you would not be wearing a Bindi. Respecting the culture would be doing research on it.

Respecting the Hindu philosophy and all it entails and getting a full understanding of what you are wearing and why you are wearing it.

You want to know why? I agree with you. She explained it as a Blessing. I thought it was very gracious and wore it all day with pride. So what if someone from the motherland gifts it to you when not in the motherland and you decide to purchase them from then on out.

Is that fine as well? As a non-Indian woman wearing a bindi with a colorful experience of online attacks, I wanted to write about this topic. Cultural appropriation is a very sensitive subject, many people fear that the deep significance of a tradition or symbol will be lost or misused if others start to use it.

The bindi is an iconic South Asian symbol, so should women who do not originate from South Asia be allowed to wear one? Our world is shrinking, people are mixing, cultures are merging our marriage is one example of that and therefore cultural appropriation is inevitable, but is it always a bad thing? Many think it is. I personally feel we should all attempt to understand and acknowledge the significance of the symbols we adorn ourselves with.

We should learn what our wardrobes represent and assess whether that conflicts with our personal ethos. We should learn the history and try to understand the sacred significance of the things we wear so we are able to respect them. If we all took more time to understand the cultures of the people who live among us, surely it would go beyond dressing appropriately and dissolve some poisonous prejudices.

My experience, as a non-Indian woman married to an Indian man living in India, has been the opposite. On the days I have forgotten to wear a bindi, aunties have offered me a bindi from their handbags, my grandmother-in-law has been deeply hurt and a priest appeared from nowhere whilst I was waiting in a restaurant and poked me between the eyes with a stick covered in Vermillion.

As someone who will not do something just because someone has told me to, I had to make a choice whether or not to wear a bindi. I asked Indian women what the bindi meant to them and tried to uncover the ancient symbolism. Afterwards, I thought long and hard about what the bindi means to me. I wear a bindi as a reminder that I am more than this body, I am a soul. When I notice the small red dot in the mirror, I find focus.

I am conscious that there is more to me than this reflection! We do, however, need to respect that the symbol is sacred to some if we choose to wear it. Unfortunately, even if you do respect the bindi but are not South Asian, you may still be subjected to those online attacks if you chose to wear one.

I feel like those who make this malicious attacks are disrespecting the bindi themselves by being so cruel and hateful. We must remember that whilst the cultural appropriation police are busy behind their computer screens attacking young women for wearing a bindi, there are many more South Asians who feel honored that the world finds the bindi beautiful.

Not only should we be respectful of cultural and sacred symbols, we should also respect each other. Something I read hope it helps someone. While it is shallow and ridiculous and should not be done, you overstate your case. Which is also disrespectful. This culture is VERY different from the dominant culture here in America, but that should not subject it to mockery, ever.

Thank You Fatima. I am glad that there are people even from Islamic Culture who could see the blatant abuse thrown at our civilization by the west. They just want to mock our culture,and abuse everything that this civilization has in a very brutal manner. How every crime or negativity that happens in India like rape is attached to Indian Culture or lets say Hindu culture,while America tops in rapes shows their clean attitude to our people. This is honestly amazing and so true.

Reading this, when you said that you were made fun of when you were younger for bracing your own culture, I remembered how my classmates would make fun of Indian people by calling them Dot-Heads and what not.

The people who call Hindus Dot-Heads are not the same people who wear Bindis. All white people do not think alike. To think they do is nothing short of racism. And yes racism comes in all colors. Not your culture, not your choice, your comments just add another layer of racism to the argument. Do you even have a spiritual tradition of your own, where do your own ancestors come from? Are Indians being Westernised because they are appropriating culture.

Oh I forgot — they are the same poor subjugated colonialised as they were back in the s. You need to step outside of your small little world and use a Google search engine and expand your horizons! Also to use your logic, are South Asians who wear Western clothing insulting Western culture??? Of course not! Not fair for you to come down on her like that really. I can see her point but yours to as well with a certain degree of correction on your part.

Firstly, the Bindi is more than just a fashion statement. If you did your history you would know that firstly only married women wore them signifying that they were married of course.

It then became a representation of the third eye being open. So wearing it just because you think it looks cool is somewhat disrespecting to a degree. I believe that is the point this female who wrote this article was trying to convey. It shows your mentality or lack there of. My daughter was asking asking about the Bindi and I was explaining to her the meaning of it.

I decided to double check myself and found this article. I apologize Fatima for their ignorance and disrespectful behavior. Not all of us are like that. I love the culture and beliefs. Thank you for sharing your feelings and I wish I could repost this. Yes, ikr! Im South indian and i hate when people take cultural attire. People used to make fun of me saying ur so indian.

I agreed with Armani! Times have changed and we should change too! Old fashioned take it the hardest! Nushrat J. As a South Asian, I want to express how much frustration I feel towards the people who think they can take advantage of the little things my culture has to offer.

My culture is a way of life that is part of the human race. Using a bindi or any other object from my background gives people the sense that my culture is a thing to play around with, to use for your own entertainment. Influences from America and Europe are so strong in South Asia, that is redefined my culture completely. The most insulting thing a person can do is to turn this sacred way of life into a fashion trend, and I hope this article and comments like mine can show people how demeaning it is to people who are truly of that culture, when you practice culture appropriation.

I completely respect your culture. All of you are ridiculous! What ever the case may be we all live on this earth together. Have you ever seen a white woman wearing a bindi and asked her about It? Like it was mention by nushrat the culture has changed from adopting western and European influence, you say it like it is bad. I am positive! Over time things change, and sometimes other people have better ideas than us, so does that make it wrong to think it is a good idea?

Or to like it? I am white and live in the United States. I have always felt spiritual but want no part in Christianity. I had seen women in their bindi and it makes them look beautiful, but I would never just adopt this custom for fashion! So I researched a lot about bindis, spirituality, and Hinduism. So I now choose to wear my bindi, it makes me feel Amazing! I wear my bindi and feel serene, connected with the earth, confident and beautiful.

I have taught myself about the subject and intend no disrespect, i wear my bindi with pride confidence and respect for its origin and originators. If this is still offensive to you I can make up my own center of the forehead adornment, call it something else.

I am not embarrassed to copy a wonderful tradition. What do you think people have been doing since the beginning? Hey lady, I want to tell you,since when do you own the right to decorate your third eye alone? How can a place that is so young be dominant? I agree with the author. The crucifix has been trivialized in such a way for ages.

Native or non. I got bullied at school and it had nothing to do with religion or culture. Bad example Sarah. The majority of comments by the bashers, are made out of ignorance and selfishness.

They only want to appease what they want to be true. A person wanting it to be true does not make it true. In your example, there is a big difference between a cross and a crucifix. Avani is an avid reader and a lover of learning. She enjoys writing and seeks out new adventures everyday. Her passion is representation and equality for people all over the globe. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy and European users agree to the data transfer policy.

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