Sindoor or sindur, the traditional vermilion powder worn by married women on the forehead, is primarily practiced to show a desire and believe that ushers husbands’ longevity.
Vermilion is a brilliant red pigment made from mercury sulphide (cinnabar); sometime stark red or orange in color, it is applied by woman mostly after marriage.
Sindoor is traditionally applied at the beginning or completely along the parting-line of a woman’s hair (also called maang in Hindi or “Seemandarekha” in Sanskrit) or as a dot on the forehead. Sindoor is the mark of a married woman in Hinduism. Single women wear the bindi in different colors but do not apply sindoor in their parting of the hairline.
The sindoor is first applied to the woman by her husband on the day of her wedding; this is called the Sindoor Daanam ceremony. After this, she applies it herself every day.
In Hindu communities the use of sindoor is an indication that the woman is married and when a married woman ceases wearing it, it usually implies widowhood.
It is suggested that Sindoor should be applied right upto the pituitary gland where all our feelings are centered.
When a woman attains widowhood, the wiping off of the sindoor is a very significant ritual. Most commonly it is done by her mother-in-law or the sister-in-law. The widow will break her bangles and remove her bottu as well, and many will also remove their nose ring and toe rings. The parting of hair is symbolic of a river of red blood full of life. When the sindoor is removed then the river becomes barren, dry and empty.
With the cultural, religious and symbolic significances, sindoor is also used for decoration; in fact, it was widely used in the art and decoration of Ancient Rome, in the illuminated manuscripts of the Middle Ages, in the paintings of the Renaissance.
PNN/Agencies