A maang tikka, known to some as a tikli,is a traditional South Asian accessory typically worn by brides from the center part of their hair to the forehead, over the ajna chakra.It symbolizes the brides third eye as well as the union between two people on a spiritual, physical and emotional level, according to BollywoodShaadis.com.So when ASOS, a British-based fashion retailer, put one up for sale on its website and labeled it a chandelier hair clip,many people of South Asian descent were not OK.NO Asos, it's not a chandelier for your bloody head. It's known as a 'tikli' in South Asian culture. #sayitlikeitis pic.twitter.com/y6XRcvCgLP aisha (@ashibob) April 4, 2017 My main issue with Asos was that they're blatantly selling something which is very likely a tikli/mang tika or whatever else it called. aisha (@ashibob) April 5, 2017 South Asian and Hindu accessories have been the target of cultural appropriation for a while, but especially since the rise of trendy festival wear.The bindi, for example, is typically worn by South Asian women to signify their marital status, to remind them of prayer or, like the maang tikka, mark the anja shakra. Today, some people wear itjust to look cool at Coachella.But ASOS apparent rebranding of the tikka was the last straw for many people.Some people assumed the company was too lazy to learn the South Asian accessorys real name. Others wanted ASOS to drop the chandelier nonsense and call it what it is.Dear @ASOS, one Twitter user wrote. If you really want to be a cultural appropriation enabler, the least you can do is call it a Tikka, not a chandelier hair clip!!Dear @ASOS, if you really want to be a cultural appropriation enabler, the least you can do is call it a Tikka, not a chandelier hair clip!! pic.twitter.com/qhuE99sQFt q (@brownbasic) April 6, 2017 If asos can take the time to design a tikli/tikka surely they can spare a second to respect its actual name ' Ignorant af https://t.co/4dQl3R4hde sanjana (@sanjanagxox) April 6, 2017 Wow really @ASOS''' The ignorance whether accidental or not is real. Brb going to put on one of my many chandelier hair clips fam https://t.co/i4xnBSC0dY Shehnaz Khan (@shehnazkhan) April 5, 2017 @ashibob @nikeshshukla Dear ASOS, This is a bloody chandelier it goes into your ceiling you dipsticks. Check your facts, numbskulls!! pic.twitter.com/5HumAqNslt Vijay Patel (@vjpatel01) April 4, 2017 Aisha Haque, a Bengali woman in London who goes by @ashlibob on Twitter, was one of the first people to call ASOS outon itschandelier hair clip, according to Globalnews.ca.She told the Canadian news site that ASOS, much like many other fashion companies, gets away with appropriating a culture she holds dear.You cant just blatantly take something from another culture and give no acknowledgment. That is highly offensive, Haque told Globalnews.ca.These big companies get away with it again and again, she added. Id like to tell people to start understanding what cultural appropriation is and that its very much okay to make noise when you see it happening.BUT don't tell me I'm wrong. Don't tell me I'm 'making a big deal for nothing'. aisha (@ashibob) April 5, 2017 Cultural appropriation is real. aisha (@ashibob) April 5, 2017 At the very least, ASOS appears to have noticed the chandelier backlash.As of Thursday evening, the Faux Pearl Chandelier Hair Clip was no longer available on the ASOS website, but slightly similar products, including one named the Orelia Semi Precious Festival Hair Tika were.ASOS did not immediately return The Huffington Posts request for comment.@peatreebojangle @ASOS Imagine going to the jewellers and asking for a 'Faux Pearl Chandelier Hair Clip' pic.twitter.com/UefdE1IXue Bollywood Queen' (@Bollywood_Divas) April 5, 2017 -- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
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