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Re: Red Mark on Forehead
Greeting AFedel,
: I'd like to post what I hope is not an insensitive question: can someone
: tell me what the red dots on some women's foreheads mean? I've been told
: alternately that they have to do with devotion to Shiva, and that they are
: a caste mark. Are one or both of these true? Are there some additoinal
: cultural things that don't "offically" go with the mark but everyone
: understands? Hope I'm not being offensive, but my 5 year old daughter
: asked me and I don't want to guess.
The 'dot', as many call them, is called a talik. I have never seen a
woman wear one except until they are married. Many more Americanized
women of Indian descent do not wear them in an effort to better
assimilate. But its a safe bet that if a woman is wearing a talik, they
are married.
Men have taliks also, although they are larger and similar in shape to an
elogated pigeon egg. I have seen men wear taliks only in ceremonial
functions. The actual design of the talik varies with the division of
Hinduism the person comes from.
When engaged in meditative practice, one of the practices include
meditating upon the talik area. It tends to feel swelled or large or
heated after a short time. The alleged purpose of the talik it to cool
or calm down the apparent swelling. (No swelling or heat actually
occurs, its just apparent.) But because the relgious class in Indian
society is more honored than in other relgions, they have become more
popular.
Bests,
Jay
