Why do Indian women have dots on their forehead?

[Hayduke_Lives]

http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&postid=2416667#post2416667
That thread got me to thinking: exactly what do those dots mean on Indian womens foreheads, and what is their origin?

[Thylacine]

Snopes has a brief discussion of it up. It was not a gender thing but some Hindu men have gradually stopped applying it.

[im2evil4u]

“A red dot is a symbol of one’s marriage and a black dot shows that the women is unmarried. But in the '90s, it is difficult to differenciate the married women from the unmarried ones as many young ladies match the bindhis on their foreheads with the colour of their saris as a fashion statement.”

[Hayduke_Lives]

Thanks!

[Guinastasia]

:smack:

im2evil4u, um, not QUITE.

Red is the traditional color, but that’s also changing – people now go with different colours depending upon their preferences. Traditionally, some unmarried women wore black dots, while married women sported red ones. Today, women often wear dots that match the color of their saris.

It is also HINDU, not INDIAN.

The position of the tilaka is standard: centre of the forehead. It represents a third, inner eye. Hindu tradition holds that all people have three eyes, the two outer ones used for seeing the outside world, the third one focusing inward toward God. As such, the red dot signifies piety as well as serving as a constant reminder to keep God in the front of a believer’s thoughts

[im2evil4u]

:smack: Guinastasia

I’ll have to speak to my friend Rashida Sheikh about her site references.

[Texican]

I had always heard the red dots were because {forefinger jabbing forehead} They-Just-Don’t-Listen!!!

ok, bad joke, but it is kinda funny