The Multifarious Faces of Sikhism
throughout Sikh History
Page 3 of 4
Nirankaris
cont'd
In the 1860s Nirankaris began heavily promoting
the ‘Anand’ form
of Sikh marriage as opposed to the Brahmanical
form of ‘Vedic’
marriage. This Sikh form of marriage already
existed amongst the Akali Nihangs.
Lavan
Fresco from the walls of Baba Atal Gurdwara,
Amritsar, depicting
the wedding of Akali Guru Nanak Dev Ji Maharaj,
circa late 19th century
One has to concede that the form the ceremony
existed in was not exactly as it is now within
mainstream Sikhism - which is in most part a
Nirankari form. In the 1880s, M. A. Macauliffe,
whilst commenting in his paper, ‘The
Sikh Religion under Banda and it’s Present
Condition’ discussed the lives
of the only Sikhs who he saw still clinging
onto the original Khalsa traditions in the post-annexed
Punjab:
‘Among the
religious orders of the Sikhs in the Panjab,
the Akalis may be said to preserve whatever
remain of the customs of the last Guru.
When they marry, they do not like the other
Sikhs, call a Brahmin to perform the nuptial
ceremony. A Sikh priest is summoned. He
reads the Anand, or epithalamium, composed
by Guru Amards. A sheet is then thrown over
the bride bridegroom, the well-known chadar-dalna
marriage ceremony of the Panjab. The
holy Granth is used as a witness on the
occasion, instead of fire, which is an invariable
concomitant of Hindu marriage ceremonies,
Karaparshad is then offered to the Granth,
and distributed among the guests, after
which the ceremony is complete.
The Sikh priest, who has favoured me with
this information, considers this marriage
knot superior to the elaborate one of the
Hindus. It is cheap, simple, and
equally efficacious.’ ‘Western
Image of the Sikh Religion, A Source Book,
edited by Darshan Singh, Pa. 279-280
