UNDERSTANDING OF RITUALS AND PRACTICES AT THE GURDWARA SRI JANAM ASTHAN, NANKANA SAHIB

Abstract

This research examined the rituals and the interfaith relationship of a one of the holiest Sikh holy places of Punjab, the Gurdwara Sri Janam Asthan, Nankana Sahib, Pakistan, the birth place of Guru Nanak Dev Ji. The study examined how the practices carried out at the Gurdwara serve as sources of religious piety, group belongingness, cultural memory and interreligion co-existence in a place defined by hundreds of years of shared sacred practices. The theoretical background, based on the theory of ritual and communitas developed by Victor Turner (1969). The practices of the Gurdwara are performative and transformative that create collective affect and temporary social egalitarianism. The theory of religious pluralism and interfaith spatiality by Diana Eck (2001) views the Gurdwara as a dialogic sacred space in which Sikhs, Muslim and other visitors engage in a common spiritual experience. This ethnographic study design was qualitative. A Six month of immersion fieldwork involving participant observation, field notes, and thirty semi-structured interviews were conducted with granthis (scripture readers), pilgrims, and local residents of various faith backgrounds. A six section culturally modified interview guide was piloted. Field notes were made on the spatial arrangement, affective atmosphere and ritual performances at some of the most significant events that included prakash (scriptural opening), langar (community kitchen), kirtan (devotional singing) and Gurpurab celebrations. They were analyzed thematically according to Braun and Clarke (2006) and came up with four core themes, which included: ritual meaning, spiritual emotion, sacred community, and collective identity. It has been found that kirtan, langar, and seva (voluntary service) as ethical and inclusive practices represent the vision of equality and oneness of humanity that Guru Nanak provides, which creates what Turner describes as a communitas of the sacred. The Gurdwara turns into a living interfaith place whereby Sikh ethics of humility and service are combined with more general ethics of pluralism and hospitality. The research provides new ethnographic knowledge in anthropology of Sikhism, ritual studies and interfaith dialogue in South Asia. It is a strength that it maintained the field engagement, incorporation of the voices of the participants, and inclusion of the lived religious experience and theoretical analysis.