Handbook on Sikhs for the Use of Regimental Officers
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CBN BRNCH GenColl — \ i (t / 4 # HANDBOOK ON SIKHS FOR THE USE OF l$egt mental t^ffteeta BJ?C ^ Captain R?W?TALCON it 4th Sikh Infantry, Punjab Frontier Force (Lately Officiating District Recruiting Officer, Sikh District.) 2111 a b a b a D PRINTED AT THE PIONEER PRESS 1896 HS432. .^S-F3 X. 4 » • ✓ * t J * > * 9 • > * •>> J \ </^r - tc l Sj / DEDICATED TO MY ASSISTANT AND TRUE HELPMATE. ir. m, 3f, PREFACE. IN venturing to offer this book to Regimental Officers I much regret that want of time, (9 months in the Sikh Distiict) did not allow me to tour over all the Sikh tracts and so give me the opportunity of making it as complete and thorough as I could have wished. Sketchy as it is, however, I hope that it may help those Officers not yet acquainted with the Singh, and who are brought into contact with him, to better understand and appreciate that splendid pattein of a native soldier, simple in his religion, worshipping the one God ; broad in his views; free in not observing the prejudices of caste • manly in his warlike creed, in his love of sports and in being a true son of the soil; a buffalo, not quick of understanding, but brave, strong and true. Free use has been made of the following books :— Dr. Trumpp’s translation of the Adi Granth; Sir Lepel Griffin’s Rangit Singh; The Census Reports of 1881 and 1891 ; the Gazetteers of the various Sikh districts (and in¬ formation given me by some of the Deputy Commissioners of those districts); the Panth Parkas; and the Sanskar Bagh, a recent book edited by the Hon’ble Baba Khem Singh, C. I.E., of the Viceroy s Council, supplemented by personal experience ; and I have spared no pains to make the book as complete as possible. CONTENTS. PAGE Chapter I.—Introductory and explanatory .. I „ II.—The Sikh religion 11 „ III—On caste, as affecting Sikhs 23 „ IV.—Manners and customs 37 „ V.—Districts, castes, and tribes, with relation to their value for military purposes .. ., 61 „ VI.—Notes on recruiting .. 104 Maps of the Sikh tehsils and of the Sikh tribes 61 & 102 Illustrations. in — 113 Appendix. i39 ' i L . e HANDBOOK ON SIKHS FOR THE USE OF REG1 MENTAL OFFICERS. CHAPTER I. Introductory and Explanatory. Sikhism is a religion, distinct and separate from, but with Sikhlsm* weakening tendencies, which slowly increase, towards its parent religion, Hinduism. It was originally started by a Hindu Fakir, a khatri by caste, called Nanak, born A.D. 1469, in what is now the Sharakpur tehsil of the Lahore district, and was nothing more than a Hindu sect; he called himself their Guru, i.e., spiritual teach- Guru- er, and his followers Sikhs, i.e.> disciples, learners. There were Sikhs- nine other Gurus after him, that is ten in all, also khatris by caste, as follows :— Nanak, Har Govind, The ten Gurus. Angad, Har Rai, A mar Das, Har Kishn, Ram D^s, Teg Bahadur, Arjan, Govind Singh, by whom the original small and peaceful sect was transformed gradually into a powerful and warlike political force, a religion distinct from Hinduism and directed against Muhammadanism ; its popularity being the result of its broad views, the opportunities for fighting and plunder offered by its leaders, and its stand against Muhammadan oppression, and it finally culminated, as a religious body, by the revolt against Brahminism of its tenth and last Guru, Govind Singh, the warrior priest, born, A.D. 1660, often Govind Singh. known as the Tenth King (Daswain Badsha). After his death, A.D. 1708, there was an interregnum, in which the bolder and more pushing of the Sikhs formed various misls or Misis. confederacies, by collecting round them bands of robbers and be¬ came powerful chiefs; of these misls, twTelve became most prominent,—vtg., The Ahluvvalia, Bhangi, Kanheya, Ramgarhia, * 2 HANDBOOK ON SIKHS FOR THE Sukarchakia, Nakkais, Phulkian, Singhpuria, Krora Singhia, Nish- ania, Dulelwala, and Shahids, and from the Sukarchakia misl Maharaja, Ran- came Ranjit Singh, a Jat by caste, Sansi by tribe, born, A.D. 1780, jit Singh. who rapidly overcoming the other misls by his genius, formed the Sikhs into one united nation, and became their king. Sikh and Singh. A Sikh is a follower of any of the ten Gurus, but not neces¬ sarily a follower of the tenth Guru, Govind Singh. A Singh is a follower of the tenth Guru, Govind Singh, who has taken his oath of initiation, which carries with it the surname of Singh ; and he alone is counted the true Sikh now-a-days. The Sikh, who is not a Singh, is really a Hindu sectarian ; the Singh is a believer in a religion, which is distinct from Hinduism. The Granth. The Granth or Granth Sahib, i.e., the book, is the sacred scriptures of the Singh or true Sikh, composed by Guru Govind Singh, the tenth Guru, and is sometimes called the eleventh Guru. The Adi Granth. It is an adaptation of the Adi Granth, which is the compilation of the verses and teachings of the earlier Gurus, especially Nanak and of other Hindu sectarians, collected together by Arjan, the fifth Guru. The Granth has portions of the Adi Granth in it. The Adi Granth, so called to distinguish it from the later Granth, is known as the book of Nanak, and is reverenced by the Singh, just as by other Sikhs, for the Singh does not renounce the other nine Gurus. Sikhs reverence the two Granths as being the visible sign of the Guru (their mediator with God) and bow down before them as if in the presence of the Guru himself, and consider their wTords as sacred. I he original Adi Granth of Arjan is still to be seen at Kartarpur in the Jallandhar district, and the Granth of Govind Singh at Naderh fre-named Abchalnagar) in the Central Provinces in Hyderabad, Deccan. The Granth used in Dharmsalas is kept on a small wooden stool or stand called a Manji, bedecked with silk clothes, in which it is carefully wrapped, when not in use. The two Granths are difficult books to read, being exceedingly obscure, but much of their teaching, especially that of tbe Adi Granth, is of great beauty and truth. USE OF REGIMENTAL OFFICERS. 3 The man who officiates at the services in the Dharmsala and expounds the Granth is called the Granthi—he is the Sikh priest, The Granthi. but any one of the congregation may assume to the office, as it is a profession which is not the exclusive privilege of any particular caste, though often hereditary Khatris of the Bedi and the Sodh tribe, i e., of the same caste and tribe as Guru Govind Singh, and the other Gurus are hereditary Gurus by descent, and are held in somewhat the same respect by the Sikh as Brahmins are by Hindus, and are given the title of Baba, and these are perhaps the best Granthis for regiments, but other castes frequently per¬ form this duty, and pujaris or paid worshippers at the services of the larger Sikh temples often become Granthis. The Granthi, in virtue of his office, receives offerings (certain fees) on holy days, and on occasion of administering the initiatory oath to a Sikh candidate. At the ceremonies of birth, marriage and death of all but the very strictest Singhs, the Brahmin, though a Hindu, officiates just as he does with Hindus. \ The Dharmsala, or abode of religion, though not peculiar to The Dharmsala the Sikh, having originated with the Hindu, is the Sikh place of prayer, wherein the Granth is kept and read, hence it is sacred ground, only to be entered with bared feet, (as a substitute, how¬ ever, for the leather boot or shoe, numdah slippers may be worn, and are kept for this purpose at the entrance to some of the larger temples.) It is usually a plain building, with a dome on the top, distinguishing it from the conical shape of the top of a Hindu Shivdwara, or temple, (house of Shiv) and is known as the Gur- dwara, or house of the Guru ; the better ones have outside the building a very tall flag on a gilded staff, which flies only on great occasions ; and inside, as a canopy to the Granth, a richly worked silk phulkari or curtain suspended by the corners so as to form a roof: a regular feature too of the larger Sikh temples is the sacred tank or bathing pool, where the important ceremony of asnan or washing takes place, by which sins are washed away and other rewards can be obtained. Inside the temple seated in a circle with the sacred Granth as the head, are the pujaris or regular worshippers; the musicians, who are not necessarily 4 HANDBOOK ON SIKHS FOR THE Sikhs (Mirasis, a caste of Muhammadan musicians, being fre¬ quently employed); and one of the officiating Granthis, whoseever turn of duty it may be, and as these chant or play, or portions of the sacred book are read, the people pass in, cast their offerings inside the circle and out again (the offerings are divided by the temple attendants, part being retained for cost of repairs to the building). The celebrated Golden Temple, or Durbar Sahib, at Amritsar is richly gilded outside and beautifully inlaid with mosaics, the approach being of marble. The Dharmsala used to be a regular feature of the Sikh tracts in older times as a religious monastery, having much land attached to it, in charge of Mohants and Gurus who were often Sadhs, pious followers of the earlier Gurus, and not Singhs—they had many disciples, fakirs in appearance and habits, robed in saffron, and the Dharmsala was a regular almshouse and rest- house for travellers, who got free food and bedding for the night supplied them : these have mostly decayed and many have disap¬ peared, but the entertainment of travellers at the village Dharam- sala is still often kept up from the malba, a village fund collected from the villagers, and used by the village lambardar or head-man for this and other purposes.