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A bindi (from Sanskrit bindu, meaning "a drop, small particle, dot") is a forehead decoration worn in South Asia[1] and Southeast Asia. Traditionally it is a dot of red color applied in the center of the forehead close to the eyebrows, but it can also consist of a sign or piece of jewelry worn at this location.
Traditionally, married Hindu women wear a bindi. The traditional bindi is made with red sindoor powder or perhaps a black ointment. The bindi is a form of tilak, religious Hindu signs worn on the forehead. Nowadays, bindis are also worn by women who are not married, children, and by women who are not Hindu.
Outside South Asia, bindis may be worn by women of Indian origin. Western women who have converted to Hinduism, such as in the Hare Krishnas, may also wear bindis. Sometimes they are worn as a style statement. International celebrities such as Gwen Stefani, Shakira, Madonna, Avril Lavigne, Nina Hagen, Nelly Furtado, and Shania Twain have been seen wearing bindis.
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