MARRIAGE PLANNING – Sindoor
Sindoor is vermilion, powdered red lead, applied as a dot on the forehead, like the regular 'bindi' or in the parting of the hair by all married Hindu women. To those uninitiated to the tradition, the application of sindoor may appear ornamental, but to Indians, application of sindoor carry deep social significance. Most of all it indicates the married status of the Indian women. Sindoor applied in the parting of hair is also seen as the visible expression of a woman's desire and prayers for her husband's longevity.
Sindoor is first applied to a woman by the husband during the marriage ceremony. The custom called sindoor dani is one of the most important part of the Hindu wedding ceremony. Subsequent sindoor is applied by the wife as part of her dressing routine. Use of sindoor is prohibited for widows.
Tradition of wearing sindoor is said to have started 5000 years ago. Female figurines excavated at Mehrgarh, Baluchistan, show that sindoor was applied to the partition of women's hair even in early Harappan times. It is interesting to note that the ancient tradition has still not lost its charm and married ladies still consider it important to wear sindoor and carry forward the tradition.
History and Significance of Sindoor
Sindooor or vermilion holds lot of importance in Indian society. The tradition of application of sindoor in the parting of hair by married Hindu women is considered extremely auspicious and is being carried on since centuries.
Sindoor is first applied to a woman by the husband during the marriage ceremony. The custom called sindoor dani is one of the most important part of the Hindu wedding ceremony. Subsequent sindoor is applied by the wife as part of her dressing routine. Use of sindoor is prohibited for widows.
Tradition of wearing sindoor is said to have started 5000 years ago. Female figurines excavated at Mehrgarh, Baluchistan, show that sindoor was applied to the partition of women's hair even in early Harappan times. It is interesting to note that the ancient tradition has still not lost its charm and married ladies still consider it important to wear sindoor and carry forward the tradition.
History and Significance of Sindoor
Sindooor or vermilion holds lot of importance in Indian society. The tradition of application of sindoor in the parting of hair by married Hindu women is considered extremely auspicious and is being carried on since centuries.
Symbolic of Married Hindu Woman:
In traditional Hindu society, wearing sindoor is considered must for married Hindu women. It is a visible expression of their desire for their husbands' longevity. Traditionally therefore, widows did not wear vermilion.
Sindoor is applied for the first time to a Hindu woman during the marriage ceremony when the bridegroom himself adorns her with it. The ceremony is called Sindoor-Dana and is very much in vogue even in present times. Religious scholars say that there has been no mention of this ceremony before the Grihasutras hence it is considered to be a relatively new practice.
The tradition of wearing Sindoor by married women has been explained with the help of mythology. Scholars say that red is the color of power while vermilion is a symbol of the female energy of Parvati and Sati. Hindu mythological legends regard Sati as the ideal wife who gave her life for her husband's honor. Every Hindu wife is supposed to emulate her. Hindus believe that Goddess Parvati protects all those men whose wives apply vermilion to their parting of hair.
History of Sindoor:
Tradition of wearing Sindoor or vermillion is said to have traveled through more than 5,000 years of Hindu culture. Female figurines excavated at Mehrgarh, Baluchistan, show that sindoor was applied to the partition of women's hair even in early Harappan times. Besides, legends says that Radha, the consort of Lord Krishna, turned the kumkum into a flame like design on her forehead. In the famous epic Mahabharata, Draupadi, the wife of the Pandavas, is believed to have wiped her sindoor in disgust and despair. Use of Sindoor has also been mentioned in The Puranas, Lalitha Sahasranamam and Soundarya Lahharis.
Astrological Significance of Sindoor:
According to Hindu astrology, Mesha Rashi or the House of Aries is on the forehead. The Lord of Mesha is Mars and his color is red. It is believed to be auspicious. This is why red sindoor is applied at the forehead and at the parting of the hair. Both are signs of saubhagya (good fortune). Sindoor is also considered to be the symbol of the female energy of Parvati and Sati.
Use of Sindoor During Festivals:
Both Sindoor and kumkum have social and religious significance attached to them. In North India, it is customary for a husband to apply sindoor on his wife's forehead during important festivals such as Navaratri and Sankranti. Besides, Sindoor and kumkum are also offered to Gods mostly in temples dedicated to Shakti, Lakshmi and Vishnu.
Physiological Significance of Sindoor:
It is interesting to note that that the application of sindoor by married women carries physiological significance too. This is so because Sindoor is prepared by mixing turmeric-lime and the metal mercury. Due to its intrinsic properties, mercury, besides controlling blood pressure also activates sexual drive. This also explains why Sindoor is prohibited for the widows. For best results, Sindoor should be applied right upto the pituitary gland where all our feelings are centered.
Expert's Advice on Sindoor
These days, markets are being flooded with spurious sindoors which may be extremely harmful for the human body. Experts therefore advice caution in the use of sindoor and recommend consumers to use only good quality products.
Adulteration in the manufacturing of sindoor is mainly done to reduce the cost or production by using cheaper substitutes or to give the sindoor an attractive red color. Unfortunately, the consumers have to pay dearly for this compromise on quality by the sindoor manufacturers. Experts warn that a spurious quality sindoor can trigger hair loss, and even cause edema and erythema. When laced with Rhodamine B dye or mercury sulphite (used to get bright red color), sindoor may even cause hereditary disorders or skin cancer.
Experts therefore strongly recommend consumers to read the ingredients carefully before buying sindoor. But a sad factor is that branded sindoor and kumkum, even the liquid sindoor marketed by the reputed cosmetic company usually does not carry the mandatory label of ingredients. Adding to the toxicity problem are a flood of unbranded products on the markets. Even big shops in urban markets sell spurious or unbranded products without a list of ingredients. Authorities must therefore make it mandatory for the manufacturers to list the ingredients and reveal the harmful effects of it.
Beauty Experts advise consumers to discontinue the use of a particular brand of sindoor if rashes or hair loss is observed in the area of the application of sindoor. One must also visit the doctor in case of rashes occur and immediately get it treated to prevent the spread of infection.
To avoid the ill-effects of chemical sindoor and for safe use, beauty experts recommend the use of herbal sindoor. A Herbal sindoor is usually prepared with herbs and flowers such as hibiscus, marigold, safflower and sandalwood
Traditional Sindoor
Sindoor carries deep religious and social significance in Indian society. It is considered to be last of the traditional Solah Sringar or the 16 arts of embellishment of married Indian woman. Application of sindoor or vermilion in the parting of hair by woman not just enhances her beauty but also signifies her marital status. It is fascinating to note that even after 5000 years, the traditional Sindoor is very much in vogue. Married Indian women still consider it important to wear sindoor. Though many women wear it all times, most women wear sindoor especially on important occasions such as weddings or festivals.
Preparation of Sindoor:
While sindhoor was the ancient name given to the very toxic, red, mercury oxide, as a cosmetic, its most common base is turmeric powder which becomes red when mixed with lime juice or lime powder (calcium compound), moistened in water, or with alum, iodine and camphor, or with oil and sea shell powder (calcium salts), or aguru, chandan and kasturi. It can also be made of sandalwood mixed with musk, or from a mixture of saffron ground with kusumbha flower.
Color experts say that in olden days sindhoor was made with a special type of red marble stone, covered with turmeric and a little oil and left undisturbed for a few days, after which it turned into red powder. In Tamil language, turmeric powder is known as manjal and the final product is called manjal kunkumam.
Contemproary Sindoor
It is delightful to note that even after centuries, Sindoor has not lost its traditional charm. Vermilion or Sindoor is still very much an important part of sringar of a married Hindu women. Here we shall discuss some trends seen is the use of sindoor in contemporary times.
Sindoor being Sported by Men:
Recently, a surprising trend has been noticed in the use of sindoor. It is now being sported by men. In a fashion show held recently, a leading fashion designer made his male models wear thick and long streak of sindoor. The idea caught the attention and is being copied by other models.
Colorful Sindoor:
Yet another innovative method of using sindoor was noticed in a popular Hindi daily. Here a leading lady used to wear sindoor of a color that matched her dress. So if she wore a blue color saree the color of the sindoor would be blue, likewise yellow with a yellow saree.
Sindoors Laced with Chemicals:
Unfortunately, the menace of adulteration which is commonly observed in case of cosmetics has been noticed in the manufacturing of Sindoor too. Today, most modern cosmetic product manufacturers produce sindoor and kumkum from synthetic materials, lead, zinc and industrial dyes. It is also called red lead (Pb3O4). Manufacturers follow no single method. Some mix oxidized metals and substandard oil to bring about the texture. Now that sindoor is also available in liquid form, scientists worry that it would not be surprising if the red sindoor color was attained by adding Rhodamine B dye, which can induce hereditary disorders. Red is also being derived from mercury sulphite, which can cause skin cancer. All these toxic substances can trigger hair loss, edema and erythema. It is recommended that consumers read the ingredients used before buying sindoor.
Herbal Sindoor:
To give consumers a safer means to follow the tradition, some cosmetic giants in India have come up with Herbal Sindoor. Extremely safe to use, Herbal sindoor is prepared with precious herbs and flowers such as hibiscus, marigold, safflower and sandalwood. It is hoped that other sindoor manufacturers too will follow the example and provide non-toxic sindoor to the consumers.
Liquid Sindoors:
In this jet fast age when people want everything convenient and comfortable liquid sindoor is being preferred over traditional powder sindoor. Some times sindoor is also available in the stick like form. This type of sindoor is extremely convenient to apply and it does not cause any mess. Ladies who prefer to apply a trace of it on the forehead (as is the trend) prefer liquid sindoors.
Sindoor Daani:
Though liquid sindoor is being very much preferred, traditional Sindoor Daani does finds it due place in the dressing of the married women. Sindoor Danis or the container for keeping power sindoor comes in various contemporary and ethnic designs. Besides, having their social significance, sindoor daanis also carry tremendous artistic worth.
