OK, good bit of culture here...
My grandma sent me a letter a couple weeks ago asking "What is the deal with the dot on the women's heads?" I thought I would go straight to an Indian woman and ask, here is the letter I got back:

Hi Clay,
Please find some information gathered about 'dot on forehead'. Iapologise for the delay.

An Indian woman can be clearly identified by the colourful markingcalled the bindi is placed almost in the center of her forehead rightabove the meeting point of the eyebrows.A majority of the femalepopulation-whether young or old, modern or traditional wears eitherthe traditional blood red bindi or coloured ones to match theiroutfits. The bindi stands out markedly outside India as an alien culture.

Even in India it is only the Hindus who follow this practice ofapplying kumkum (vermilion) or wearing the bindi which plays a verysignificant role in their lives. The Christians in India do not wearthe bindi though the church nowadays does encourage them to retaintheir Indian identity by taking on Indian names and dressing like anIndian. The Muslim women however have not adopted this Hindu custombecause they believe that their fate is written on their forheads andputting on a bindi would amount to marking their fate.Bindis show evidence of having existed in the country since the 4thcentury. It was transformed from a decorative addition to becoming asymbol of a woman's wedded state during the era of Mahabhrata whichwas the time India introduced several regressive steps relegating theHindu woman to a secondary status. The Hindu girls and women must weara bindi, as a bare forehead is a sign widowhood. Even in modern Indiathe Hindu widow unquestioningly accepts this practice and does notwear a bindi unless it's small insignificant dot of black declaringher loss.

Traditionally, married women only work the kumkum powder which wasused to apply a round bindi with the tip of the middle finger. Alwaysred in colour kumkum was made at home from haldi, turmeric and alum.The red colour of the sindoor and kumkum was determined by the colourof blood. Animal sacrifice was a common practice and the blood o thesacrifice was smeared on the forehead of the Goddess Devi and thedevotees. Fortunately, the more gory blood was replaced by the moreacceptable kumkum powder. The Goddesses from the Hindu pantheon arenow offered kumkum which is revered and worn by both men and woman.The kumkum plays a very auspicious role in India. It is offered to amarried woman every time she visits your home as well as on specialoccasions like Sankranti and navratri to the longevity of theirhusband's lies. The kumkum is also smeared on to the edges of amarriage invitation card and placed before the idol of worship beforethe invitations are sent out. In north India, as part of the weddingrites, is the ritual of applying sindoor on the bride's forehead andon the top of her head, where she parts her hair in south India theday the bride steps into her husband's home for the first time, ananimal is sacrificed and the fresh blood is applied to her forehead.This practice exists amongst the non-brahmins.

Hope this provides enough information. Please lemme know if you needany other information i will respond with out delay.Have a pleasant weekend.

Best Regards,Anupama.


~~~~~cse