Kumkum

KumKum powder from Mysore, India

Holi celebrations, Pushkar, Rajasthan

Kumkum

Kumkum and Soubhagya or Tillo or Tillak - Only married women should wear this circular vermillion dot on the forehead called soubhagya or tillo of kumkum which is made of turmeric, alum and lemon juice.

Kumkuma is a powder used for social and religious markings in India. It is either made from turmeric or saffron. The turmeric is dried and powdered with a bit of slaked lime, which turns the rich yellow powder into a red color.

In India, it is known by various names including kuṅkumam (Sanskrit कुङ्कुमम्), kumkuma (Telugu కుంకుమ, kunku (Marathi कुंकू), kumkum (Bengali কুমকুম, Hindi कुमकुम), kunkumam (Tamil குங்குமம்), Kannada ಕುಂಕುಮ ), Kungkumam (Malayalam കുങ്കുമം).