Veneration of the dead
An analysis of the veneration of the dead in Sikhi, compared to pre-existing institutions of Punjabi society.
What do Sidhu Moosewala, an Indus Valley noble couple and a Rajput folk hero have in common? The answer to this strange question will be discussed in the conclusion but for the astute amongst you, the answer should be glaringly obvious.
Veneration of the dead in ancient Punjab
It is thought that the emergence of venerating the dead occurred somewhere during the Upper Paleolithic era as society transitioned into a more complex hunter-gatherer system. The existence of burial sites with bountiful offerings is perhaps one of the obvious indicators in confirming that veneration of the dead did indeed exist then. In Rakhigarhi, a couple were found buried together with earthen pots and stone-bead jewellery, considered a typical burial during the Bronze-Age Harappan civilisation. It becomes of note how long veneration of the dead has occurred in Punjab.
The institution of the jathera
It is quite literally impossible to talk about folk Punjabi religion as a unified concept, the stratification of clans among rural society is not merely an occupational difference but a larger spiritual one. That being said, the concept of an ancestral worship shrine exists among many Punjabi communities, regardless of clans. The existence of the jathera (ancestral shrine) proves how much importance is placed by Punjabi society upon the worship of ancestors; these are usually visited during marriage to commemorate various folk heroes, often attracting the ire of orthodox Sikhs. The jathera represents a form of primitive religion, in which there is no direct link or clerical caste, but rather the ancestor represents an intermediary between the divine and the human.
The hierophants of Punjabi society
The Mirasis and to a lesser extent, the Sainis, were the hierophants of a past society, dominated by folk religion, bequeathing knowledge of local folk heroes as genealogist-bards. Those caste roles were superseded by the dhadis and kathavachaks, the hierophants of today’s society, instead using their art to showcase Sikh folk heroes.
The institution of the samadh
The samadh is a shrine to commemorate the dead, usually affiliated with Sikh or Hindu traditions. Across Punjab, samadhs act as an organic centre of influence. For example, the village Attari is synonymous with Sham Singh Attariwala, his influence amongst the local populace is embedded into the local folklore.
The concept of shaheedi
The institution of the samadh is intrinsically linked with shaheedi; those that give up their life as a martyr for the faith. Shaheeds are venerated widely across the Punjab landscape. The warrior-shaheed archetypes are often so influential in their own right that they pave the way for religious heterodoxy; examples include the current Baba Wadbhag Singh dera in Himachal and the previous Baba Banda Singh Bahadur dera in Jammu. Hence, these local shaheeds were successful in tying Sikhi to a region where shaheedi is a virtue of the highest order. Modern examples of the warrior-shaheed archetypes can be seen with Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and Bhagat Singh. This phenomenon of ancestral conversion, whereby Punjabi folk hero worship gave way for a more nuanced Sikh folk hero reverence, acted as a framework for the propagation of Sikhi.
Amritsar as the mahasamadh
Since the samadh represents a singular shrine to commemorate the dead, the exalted city of Amritsar represents a mahasamadh, where all the shaheeds of Amritsar are commemorated. It is evident to most Sikhs that the Harmandir Sahib is held in such high regard that Sikhs since time immemorial have given shaheedis to protect it without so much as a second thought. Amritsar is home to where shaheeds like Baba Deep Singh and Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale have given their lives. In addition, the modern city of Amritsar is dotted with samadhs, whether from the misl period or the insurgency period, hence proving Amritsar to be the culmination of the mahasamadh.
Inversion of folk culture
On rare occasions, this phenomenon can be reversed, with Punjabi folk heroes being Sikhicised. One example is the Rajput folk hero Baba Mati Minhas; his samadh currently co-exists alongside a Gurudwara in Jalandhar. Inside the samadh, there is a picture of Guru Gobind Singh and Baba Mati Minhas. This is an inversion of the typical ancestral conversion phenomenon previously mentioned; instead of Punjabi folk hero worship being supplemented with Sikh figures, Punjabi folk heroes are rather Sikhicised. The milieu of Punjab remains intertwined with Sikhi to the extent that inverted phenomena like these exist.
The mythical age
The purpose of institutions like the jathera and samadh are to keep ancestors alive in popular consciousness, achieving Eliade’s end goal of bringing back the mythical age. Whilst the jathera represents a form of clan-based ancestral worship, the samadh was a natural evolution beyond this to a more holistic local veneration of the dead, finding itself compatible with organised religion. Beyond that, the Gurudwara has served a natural evolution to the samadh, with widescale veneration of the dead. With each utterance of the sacred ardas, the hierophanic nature of venerating the dead is invoked.
Conclusion
To answer the question posed at the very start, what do Sidhu Moosewala, an Indus Valley noble couple and a Rajput folk hero have in common? They are all the by-products of a culture that held veneration of dead in high esteem.
Often non-Sikhs may find the extent to which Sikhs venerate the dead harrowing, not realising that Sikhs don’t lament death, particularly of shaheeds, in the same manner of other faiths. The Gurudwara, as the spiritual evolution of the samadh, and Amritsar, as the mahasamadh, represents this concept neatly. This often isn’t a fluid transition as samadhs, jatheras and Gurudwaras sometimes all intersect. As an example, the local jathera for my clan has since been operating as a Gurudwara, with an information board that eulogises a warrior ancestor becoming Sikh. Since Sikhi was propagated through the ancestral conversion framework, it caused a social upheaval in Punjab, in which occupations such as the dhadis and kathavachaks were created, in a total palingenesis of Punjabi society.