Why Do Some Cultures Wear a Red Dot on Their Forehead?
There are numerous reasons why individuals wear a bindi, and some of these reasons include helping the individual strengthen their concentration, enhance their beauty, reveal their marital status and retain energy. Spiritually, in Hindu culture, the bindi is in place to remind a person of life’s purpose, or the eventual achievement of self realization.
The bindi is worn in areas of the world such as India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Mauritius and Southeast Asia. When individuals wear a bindi, it is usually located in the center of the forehead by their eyebrows. While red bindis are common, this is not their universal color. For example, black bindis might be used to mark a widow’s loss. Bindis are applied using a small amount of vermillion powder and the individual’s fingertip. It takes a lot of practice to achieve the perfectly round shape.
