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90-515: Mata Nihal Kaur (mother) Baba Daya Ram (father in law) Guru Har Rai ( Gurmukhi : ਗੁਰੂ ਹਰਿ ਰਾਇ, pronunciation: [gʊɾuː ɦəɾ ɾaːɪ] ; 16 January 1630 – 6 October 1661) revered as the seventh Nanak , was the seventh of ten Gurus of the Sikh religion. He became the Sikh leader at age 14, on 3 March 1644, after the death of his grandfather and the sixth Sikh leader Guru Hargobind . He guided

180-484: A call-and-response format alternating between various members of the gathered group. An instrument often played during these group musical performances by women is the ḍholkī (small, double-headed barrel) folk-instrument . Many Sikh homes have recorded Sikh music playing throughout the day. Its purpose is to create a setting of serenity and spirituality within the home. Sikhs opt to listen to this form of music when commuting. The recording of Sikh music has grown into

270-419: A case of mythology interacting with history, various instruments' origin is credited to Sikh gurus. The  tāūs  (bowed fretted lute) and dilruba are ultimately of Iranic origins, with the taus designed into a unique peacock shape and introduced into Sikh music by Guru Hargobind and the later dilruba invented by Guru Gobind Singh. The saranda is traced back to Guru Amar Das and Guru Arjun. Furthermore,

360-483: A large industry in its own right, which influences how people engage with it, including musical performers and their listeners. The manner of Sikh music recorded within the industry has diverged quite far from how Sikh music was traditionally performed. It is characterized by influences and adoptions of prevailing and popular tunes, trends, styles, and intricate instrumental accompaniment not observable in Sikh musical performances at gurdwaras. Accompanying video records of

450-443: A parallel Sikh tradition and criticized his grandfather and sixth Guru, Hargobind. The sixth Guru disagreed with Dhir Mal, and designated the younger Har Rai as the successor. Authentic literature about Guru Har Rai life and times are scarce, he left no texts of his own and some Sikh texts composed later spell his name as "Hari Rai". Some of the biographies of Guru Har Rai written in the 18th century such as by Kesar Singh Chhibber, and

540-485: A regular salary whilst employed at a gurdwara but they can also perform at private events for extra income. Ragi jathas performing at a ticketed venue is taboo. What is now termed "traditional" (but it is not truly historically accurate to apply this appellation to this type as truly traditional kirtan differs substantially from what is described here) ragi jatha kirtan performances in gurdwaras nowadays employ simple melodies which are set to basic varieties of tāl —usually

630-477: A strong sense of remorse for what had occurred, leading him to carefully ensuring his clothing does not harm any other plants for the rest of his life by being cautious through gathering his clothing while walking. This story depicts the Guru's sensitivity to harm of flora. Guru Har Rai is said to have participated in hunting much like the previous gurus. However in-contrast to his predecessors, he never actually killed

720-423: A traditional kirtankar family), his sons Avtar Singh and Gurcharan Singh, are important to note. Furthermore, Balbir Singh and Dyal Singh should also be mentioned. The ḍhāḍī tradition dates back to the time of Guru Hargobind. These dhadi performers sang odes of valour, such as heroic ballads ( vaars ). Two dhadi performers known by name during the period of the sixth guru are Bhai Abdallah, who played

810-448: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This Sikh biographical article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Shabad kirtan Whilst the term Gurmat Sangeet has come to be used as a name for all Sikh kirtan performed as per the prescribed ragas found within the Sikh scripture, Inderjit Kaur believes a more fitting term for the raga genre is "rāg-ādhārit shabad kīrtan". She further believes that

900-415: Is a badge of honour to be considered a talented performer of it. It is also said to be the sitting that is most inductive of producing a meditative experience for the participants, due to the combination of the early morning hours ( amritvela ), uninterrupted performance, and long lengths. In-regards to the other sittings, they tend to be much less structured and varied. The other sittings usually consist of

990-625: Is acceptable for ragis to attach a location-based or employment-based suffix to their name for disambiguation purposes, such as Dilli Vale ("from Delhi") or Hazuri Ragi Harmandir Sahib ("ragi in service at the Harmandir Sahib gurdwara"). The ragi jatha members tend to wear simplistic clothes, usually white or off-white long shirts and pants. Ragi males tend to wear white, navy, saffron, or black turbans and female ragis wear long scarves ( chunnī ). Younger ragis have started wearing different colours outside of traditional range. Ragis are paid

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1080-413: Is also expressed within the body of the hymns themselves, examples include the verse meter ( tāl ), chorus and verse marking and sequencing ( rahāu ), and aesthetic experience ( ras ). The musical lineage of Bhai Mardana continued after Mardana's death and his descendents carried-on with serving the Sikh gurus as musical performers. Some examples of descendents of Bhai Mardana who worked as musicians in

1170-441: Is associated in the Sikh tradition for his interest in the natural world. Guru Har Rai taught that the environment should be cared for by Sikhs. According to a traditional sakhi (with there existing variations of the same tale), when Guru Har Rai was a youth, he was strolling in a garden when the cloak of his garb happened to break a flower off of its stem after coming into contact with it. After seeing what had happened, he felt

1260-538: Is clearly marked as a composition of Guru Har Rai the seventh Mina Guru Miharban also used the marker leaving open the possibility of mistaken attribution. The Salok does not appear in any of the texts containing the writings of Miharban. At the same time no text about the Sikh Gurus lives reference Guru Har Rai writing Bani. It cannot therefore be securely attributed to Guru Har Rai. Gurus each had their own way of starting poems or couplets. Guru Har Rai's was: Through

1350-456: Is credited as establishing the rababi tradition in Sikhism. When Guru Nanak received a revelation, he would exclaim: "Mardaneya! Rabab chhed, bani aayee hai" ['Mardana, play the rabab, bani (sacred composition/verse) has occurred to me']. After Guru Nanak settled down in the locality he founded, known as Kartarpur , the accompanying verse compositions to the music him and Mardana conjured

1440-452: Is interspersed by supportive and harmonizing melodies played by the harmonium, with the drummer playing variations utilizing the tabla in "tempo and rhythmic variety". All these factors are geared towards producing a calm and spiritual setting and experience for the participants. Presentation and performance are the two important factors of the "traditional" ragi kirtan performance type. Lines from certain hymns tend to be repeated to allow for

1530-651: Is needed to look at the issue in further-depth, such as viewing the diverse rag-form and notation material, and also the identification of different rag versions with different taksāls (schools of music). Inderjit Kaur's research on ghar variants of different ragas links the usage of many of them to the Sikh gurus, which could legitimize their usage in contemporary Sikh musical performances. The Adi Granth compiled by Guru Arjan and completed in 1604 included musical verses from fifteen bhagat saints who belonged to varying religious backgrounds, along with his own works and that of his predecessory gurus. The second edition of

1620-541: Is the central native organizing and classification mechanism and scheme present within the Guru Granth Sahib, where various compositions and sections of the text are privided primarily based upon their accompanying rāg . It is a set of rules of how to build a melody which can ignite a certain mood in the reciter and listeners. There are primarily 31 ragas utilized within the primary Sikh scripture, with further variants ragas based upon these primary set. Whilst

1710-503: The Varan of Bhai Gurdas . There are also artistic depictions of Guru Nanak and Mardana as musicians amid various 18th and 19th century paintings, where Guru Nanak is shown singing whilst Mardana is playing his instrument. References made to music during the time of Guru Nanak found within the Varan of Bhai Gurdas, includes: ghar ghar hove dharamsāl, hove kīrtan sadā visoā Every house

1800-454: The durbar (court) of the Sikh gurus include: The rababi tradition formed out of the lineage of Muslim musicians and instrumentalists performing kirtan for the Sikh gurus and the Sikh community. These Muslim rababis of kirtan were called Bābe ke by the Sikhs, which meant "those of Baba Nanak". A later Muslim rababi who performed kirtan at Sikh shrines, including the Harmandir Sahib,

1890-647: The mridang . Guru Arjan was also the one who compiled the Adi Granth , the first edition of what would become the Guru Granth Sahib later-on, which was and remains the main source for Sikh religious musical theory and practice. Guru Arjan is further credited with establishing the practice of there being five kirtan chaukīs (sittings) at the Harmandir Sahib shrine in Amritsar. The five sittings of kirtan that were established by him are as follows: In

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1980-471: The Ānand ("Bliss") composition. As for the next guru, Guru Ram Das regulated the performance of the Lāvāṅ verses as kirtan to form the prime component of Sikh wedding ceremonies. According to popular Sikh tradition, Guru Arjan was a player of the sarandā (waisted bowed lute) and is also remembered as the inventor of the upright jọṛī (drum pair), which he had derived from an older instrument known as

2070-616: The Dasam Granth , the Varan of Bhai Gurdas, or the Ghazals of Bhai Nand Lal . No other literary work is allowed to be a source for Sikh religious kirtan. However, an exception exists for the dhadi tradition, which sing heroic ballads not sourced from the above texts. The central Sikh sacred text, the Guru Granth Sahib, contains 6,000 shabads , with most of them arranged methodically to music and authorship by their title, known as

2160-580: The Indian melodic system , is given. Secondly, various kinds of musical forms, such as pade , chhant , vār , ghōṛīān , and more, may also be expressed within the title. However, the true contents and meanings of these musical forms have mostly been lost to common knowledge and are now unknown. Finally, the final important piece of musical information provided in the title is the ghar (literally, “house”), differentiated by various accompanying numbers, whose meanings have also become lost. Musical information

2250-423: The sirlekh . Within the shabads, there are musical notations contained within them, known as rahāu (chorus) and ank (verse). The text itself provides the structure of the metre and rāg-dhyān shabads provide information on the aesthetics of the music. Sirlekh refers to the shabad titles and important information regarding music is expressed within it. Firstly, the type of rāg , a musical designation within

2340-455: The sārangī , and Bhai Nath, who played the ḍhaḍḍ (small handheld drum). The vogue of the Dhadi tradition rose quickly during this period. Dhadis usually perform in groups of three, where heroic ballads are musically performed but "interspersed with chanted narratives." The overall tone of a dhadi performance tends to be highly charged and is full of emotions. However, the source for

2430-441: The 18th century, no kirtan was being performed at the central Sikh shrine of Harmandir Sahib in Amritsar due to the reigning governments' genocidal policies enacted against the Sikhs. However, later on the same century, Jassa Singh Ahluwalia , who himself was a renowned kirtankar, restarted many Sikh musical traditions that had been on the brink of extinction. The various Sikh states (especially Patiala, Nabha, and Kapurthala) of

2520-486: The 19th century also did their part on ensuring the smooth passing of Sikh musical tradition throughout the generations by patronizing many Sikh musicians. In the early 19th century, the harmonium began to be used amongst local musicians, eventually including Sikhs, in the Indian subcontinent; however, its adoption would have devastating impacts on native Sikh instruments. The harmonium was easy to learn and play, plus it

2610-539: The 19th-century Sikh literature are highly inconsistent. Guru Har Rai provided medical care to Dara Shikoh , possibly when he had been poisoned by Mughal operatives. According to Mughal records, Guru Har Rai provided other forms of support to Dara Shikoh as he and his brother Aurangzeb battled for rights to succession. Ultimately, Aurangzeb won, arrested Dara Shikoh and executed him on charges of apostasy from Islam. In 1660, Aurangzeb summoned Guru Har Rai to appear before him to explain his relationship with Dara Shikoh. In

2700-399: The 8-beat kahirvā but also the 6-beat dādrā . The performance of gurbani kirtan within gurdwaras was simplified to allow for the gathered congregation ( sadh sangat ) to be able to follow along and sing with the performers, it also allows for the laypersons to internalize the message of the underlying hymn rather than focus too much on the musical expression itself. The singing by vocalists

2790-464: The Adi Granth was completed by Guru Gobind Singh, whom added the works of his father, the previous guru, Guru Tegh Bahadur. It is the second edition of the text that was renamed as the Guru Granth Sahib and given the mantle of being the guru of the Sikhs. Sikh musical tradition derives mostly from this scripture. Traditional Sikh kirtan only sings verses sourced from either the Guru Granth Sahib,

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2880-514: The Mughal persecution had created new problems for Guru Har Rai. The donation collectors, some of the Masands (local congregational leaders) led by Dhir Mal – the older brother of Guru Har Rai, all of them encouraged by the support of Shah Jahan , land grants and Mughal administration – had attempted to internally split the Sikhs into competing movements, start a parallel guruship, and thereby weaken

2970-518: The Sikh gurus actively patronized and encouraged the musical development of professional kirtan performers. The first decline of Sikh musical traditions began following the death of Guru Gobind Singh and execution of Banda Singh Bahadur in the early 18th century. After the death of Banda, the Sikhs had to disperse to places of safe haven during state persecution and thus their established musical institutions could not easily be sustained whilst they were fighting for survival. At many points during

3060-457: The Sikh musicology as a whole should be referred to as " gurmat sangīt shāstar/vigyān ", of which, raga kirtan is a genre found within. Musical expression has held a very important place within the Sikh tradition ever since its beginning, with Guru Nanak and his faithful companion, Bhai Mardana . Textual traditions connecting Guru Nanak and Mardana to music include the Janamsakhis and

3150-407: The Sikh religion. Thus a part of the challenge for Guru Har Rai was to keep Sikhs united. He appointed new masands such as Bhai Jodh, Bhai Gonda, Bhai Nattha, Bhagat Bhagwan (for eastern India), Bhai Pheru (for Rajathan), Bhai Bhagat (also known as Bairagi), as the heads of Manjis. He appointed his 5-year-old youngest son Har Krishan as the eighth Guru of the Sikhs before his death. Guru Har Rai

3240-477: The Sikh scripture, an act for which Guru Har Rai is remembered for excommunicating his elder son, and nominating his younger son Har Krishan to succeed him. Har Krishan became the eighth Guru at age five after Guru Har Rai's death in 1661. Some Sikh literature spell his name as Hari Rai . Some modern Sikhs refer to him as the Green Guru due to the sensitivity he displayed to the natural world. Guru Har Rai

3330-486: The Sikh scriptures and correct pronunciation of their contents (known as santhiya ). True mastery of kirtan requires a deep understanding and knowledge of Sikh philosophy, history, and culture. According to the late Bhai Avtar Singh, a preeminent ragi of his time, the most important criteria for becoming a good kirtankar was first living a life in-line with the principles set-out in the Guru Granth Sahib, and then an education in its prescribed ragas. During morning hours,

3420-415: The Sikh tradition, Guru Har Rai was asked why he was helping the Mughal prince Dara Shikoh whose forefathers had persecuted Sikhs and Sikh Gurus. Guru Har Rai is believed to have replied that if a man plucks flowers with one hand and gives it away using his other hand, both hands get the same fragrance. After Aurangzeb won the succession war in 1658, he summoned Guru Har Rai in 1660 to explain his support for

3510-484: The Sikhs for about seventeen years, till his death at age 31. Guru Har Rai is notable for maintaining the large army of Sikh soldiers that the sixth Sikh Guru had amassed, yet avoiding military conflict. He supported the moderate Sufi influenced Dara Shikoh instead of conservative Sunni influenced Aurangzeb as the two brothers entered into a war of succession to the Mughal Empire throne. After Aurangzeb won

3600-558: The Sikhs, the Sikh guru still helped the emperor's poisoned son, which is a reflection of Guru Har Rai's far-reaching compassion. The common Sikh belief is that Guru Hargobind, Guru Har Rai and Guru Harkrishan did not contribute to any Bani at all. This is not entirely true as Guru Har Rai is said to have written the Salok Mahalla Satvaan. This mahalla is in the Kiratpuri Bir of the Guru Granth Sahib. Although it

3690-664: The Sikhs. Many youth were trained in traditional Gurmat Sangeet at Bhaini Sahib through the Namdhari effort. The next push for the revival of Sikh traditional music was in 1991 during the Adutti Gurmat Sangeet Sammellan at Gurdwara Gur Gian Prakash, or the Jawwadi Taksal, in Ludhiana. The Jawwadi Taksal sought to bring back traditional instruments that the harmonium had supplanted and revive

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3780-531: The aforementioned being the Akhanḍ Kīrtanī style. The Akhand Kirtani style began in the early 20th century and was invented by the famous Randhir Singh of the Akhand Kirtani Jatha . The Akhand Kirtani style is distinguished by there being no pauses (which gives rise to its naming from the word akhanḍ , literally "unbroken") between hymns and compositions being performed, with the person leading

3870-573: The animals he hunted but rather kept them in a zoo located in Kiratpur. A traditional Sikh garden located in Kiratpur , known as Naulakha Bagh (meaning "garden of 900,000 plants"), was believed to have been founded and cared for by Guru Har Rai during his guruship period. It was large and contained many medicinal species of plants . One story narrates that Dara Shikoh was close to death after having been poisoned by tiger whiskers, as per tradition, and

3960-418: The central room, there is a dedicated space beside the sacred scripture for the rāgī jathā (ragi ensemble) on an elevated stage. The ragis sit on the elevated stage facing the gathered Sikh congregation in the room, who sit directly on the floor at a lower level. Kirtan is performed within the gurdwaras on both regular and celebatory days . For the major and popular gurdwaras, Sunday ( Aitavāra ) tends to be

4050-481: The congregation whilst the traditional instruments help create a meditative experience. Some scholarly work has been conducted to identify original raga traditions that were invented and performed by the Sikhs. The Punjabi University of Patiala conducted work in 1979 for this purpose, analyzing the musical traditions practiced by the eleventh-generation familial ragi brothers, Gurcharan Singh and Avtar Singh, eventually publishing their study of 500 shabad executions plus

4140-457: The day where more kirtan performances are held throughout the day whilst for other days, kirtan performances usually occur in the evening time. Kirtan within gurdwara is usually performed by the ragi jathi, typically consisting of three members in modern-times but four members in historical-times. Aside from being required to perform musically, they also are needed to perform the liturgy services. The ragis are traditionally all male and are given

4230-496: The executed Dara Shikoh. Guru Har Rai sent his elder son Ram Rai to represent him. Aurangzeb kept the 13 year old Ram Rai as hostage, questioned Ram Rai about a verse in the Adi Granth – the holy text of Sikhs. Aurangzeb claimed that it disparaged the Muslims. Ram Rai changed the meanings of the verse to appease Aurangzeb instead of standing by the Sikh scripture, an act for which Guru Har Rai excommunicated his elder son, and nominated

4320-437: The first chaukī (sitting) consists of a performance of the Āsā kī Vār , which is described as being the most explicitly-defined and unique of all the kirtan sittings, with the utilization of standardized melodies that date back to the time period of the Sikh gurus. One of the unique aspects of this sitting is that it is the only one where the drummer role within a kirtan group is required to sing certain verses solo. In-between

4410-457: The general Sikh laity. Instruments used in this form are often hand-held idiophonic percussion instruments, such as the chhaiṇā , chimṭā , and khaṛtāl . The manner of display of amateur forms of Sikh music often is in-contrast to the professional forms. Amateur performances of Sikh music tends to occur as part of a Nagar Kirtan procession on-foot, which occurs outside of gurdwaras' central darbar (court) hall , typically happening around

4500-475: The gurdwara complex or the local neighbourhood, where participation by the general Sikh public in singing the hymns as part of the ceremony is highly encouraged. The leader of the Nagar Kirtan procession gives out a call and the accompanying or observing sangat (congregation) reply with a response. Nagar Kirtans are characterized by their usage of handheld percussion instruments and a dhol secured over

4590-490: The harmonium, violin, mandolin, and electronic keyboard, and are at risk of extinction. The first effort to revive the musical traditions of the Sikhs in their autochenous form, incorporating both the historical instruments, metres, and modes, began in the 1930s–1940s by the Sikh Reht Maryada movement. During the 1970s, the Namdhari leader, Jagjit Singh, tried in his own effort to revive the musical traditions of

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4680-554: The harmonium. A blowback to the rabab instrument's usage in Sikh circles came in the aftermath of the partition of the Punjab in 1947, due to many Muslim rababi families migrating to their new homes in Pakistan or became pushed to the margins of society due to changing socio-cultural norms. The rabab was gradually replaced by the sarod , another stringed instrument, in Sikh musical circles. There have been attempts at reviving

4770-435: The honourifical prefix of Bhāī (literally, "brother"). In modern-times, there has been a rise of female ragi jathas , whose members are given the honourifical prefix of Bībī (literally, "lady"). Mixed-gender ragi jathas are exceedingly rare. Ragis are not allowed to use caste-based surnames and thus only keep the names ' Singh ' and ' Kaur ' as a surname, some may further add the word 'Khalsa' to their name. However, it

4860-583: The hymns they sing are not sourced from the sanctified works of literature, so the musical performances of dhadis is not classified as "Sikh shabad kirtan" but it still forms a vital and important part of Sikh musicology. A further difference between dhadi performers and other Sikh music traditions is that the dhadis perform whilst standing up, meanwhile the other Sikh musician types perform whilst sitting down. There are various genres, contexts, and musicians of modern Sikh music. Professional Sikh musical performances are usually done within gurdwaras . Within

4950-600: The kirtani group. With the Anand Karaj specifically, there is a particular arrangement to be followed. First, a group of compositions appropriate to the setting is performed. After, the shabad palai taiḍ ai lāgī (“connected to You”) is performed. Then the four verses of the Lāvān composition are performed. The last hymn performed is the viāh hoā mere bāblā (“the wedding has occurred, O Father”). Amateur expressions of Sikh music tends to rely upon more participation from

5040-513: The listeners to join in on the singing. Various genres found within the "traditional" ragi kirtan sub-type are gīt , ghazal , and bhajan . The most renowned and well-received performer of the "traditional" ragi kirtan style is Bhai Harjinder Singh Srinagar Vale. However, the truly traditional ragi kirtan style, as found in earlier times, employed stringed instruments rather than the now commonplace harmonium. It also involved more ragas in its performances. Traditional Sikhs attempting to revive

5130-458: The more historical expressions of their music, such as by playing instruments like the rabab, saranda, and taus, are referred to as the gurmat sangīt genre of kirtan. It is largely based upon the contemporary khyāl style of Hindustani classical music . There are two different kinds of shabad kirtan performances by ragi jathas: There now exists various Sikh educational institutions solely dedicated to teaching Sikh music, that specialize in

5220-463: The most-common name of God in Sikhism , Waheguru , is recited over-and-over again with increasing energy. The style is further characterized by a cyclical pattern of increasing intensity. Another tradition of amateur Sikh musical performance is the Istrī satsang , which involves Sikh women and girls convening together in gurdwaras during off-peak hours, often in the afternoon. It is characterized by

5310-402: The music records tend to display the typical ragi jatha trio with two harmonium-players and a tabla-player, with the supporting instruments and musicians invisible in the background not-in-view also playing along to produce the recording. A raga or raag (Punjabi: ਰਾਗ ( Gurmukhi ) رَاگَ ( Shahmukhi ); Rāg ) is a complex structure of musical melody used in Indian classical music and

5400-462: The newly-formed Pakistan, as the local Sikhs also left for India, leaving their traditional art in decline. These reoccuring disturbances also led to the decline of many aspects of Sikh musical tradition. Sikh music performed as per the musical modes, melodies, and forms prescribed as per the Guru Granth Sahib declined greatly. This was accompanied by a decline in the usage of traditional Sikh instruments, especially stringed-instruments (such as

5490-475: The notations by the two brothers under the title Gūrbāni Sangīt: Prāchīn Rīt Ratnāvalī . In 1991, during the traditional Sikh musicology campaign by the Ludhiana Jawaddi Kalan (Sikh school of music), an audio-recording effort of traditional Sikh ragi families' performances, in-order to document and preserve the Sikh music tradition, was overseen by Sant Succha Singh. A committee was formed for

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5580-411: The passing of Guru Nanak, his successors would continue to expand Sikh musicology and add new flavours and colours to it. Guru Angad , the second guru and immediate successor of Nanak, regularized the chanting of the Āsā kī Vār ("Ballad of Hope") composition in the early morning hours as a carol. Angad's successor, Guru Amar Das , institutionalized the practice of ending kirtan performances with

5670-465: The performance being a shared role that involves taking turns between men or women in the congregation. The goal of the Akhand Kirtani style is to ignite a "ecstatic fervor" amid members of the participating assembly, which is accomplished by sudden or gradual changes in tempo, rhythm, or volume. This style often involves the recitation and performance of group chantings of Naam Japna , where

5760-452: The performance of a few gurbani compositions and the performance draws to a close by singing the six stanzas of the Anand composition. The Āratī composition is performed during evening sittings. Another kind of session is known as Raiṇ sabāī (all night), which occur annually as events with various musicians taking part and ending with a Asa ki Vaar performance in the early morning-time. At

5850-523: The principle Sikh shrine, the Harmandir Sahib, kirtani sittings occur continuously all-day and all-night, from the beginning of dawn to past midnight, and are arranged based upon the time of day and season. During major life events ( sanskaras ), such as birth ( naam karan ), death ( antam sanskar ), marriage ( anand karaj ), and other ceremonies, kirtan performances are also held. The families celebrating these events can request particular hymns or compositions of their choosing to be sung and played by

5940-521: The professional tradition now known as rāgīs . Some notable Sikh kirtankars during the period of the Sikh gurus include: A renowned ragi or kirtankar during the reign of Maharaja Ranjit Singh's Sikh Empire was Bhai Mansa Singh, who performed at the Golden Temple. Similar to the rababi tradition, the ragi tradition also received the patronage of Sikh polities, such as by Nabha, Patiala, and Kapurthala. One notable ragi who received

6030-580: The purpose of identifying the authentic Sikh raga traditions and renditions of various raga types, known as the Rag Nirnayak Committee. The findings of the committee were commended upon by Gurnam Singh in 2000. A later and updated edition of the Gūrbāni Sangīt: Prāchīn Rīt Ratnāvalī provides the views of the late Bhai Avtar Singh Ragi on the subject of autochenous Sikh raga traditions and styles. Greater investigation

6120-428: The rabab, saranda, and tāūs [bowed fretted lute]) which were mostly supplanted by the introduced harmonium by the early-to-mid-20th century. Additionally in the same time period, traditional drum instruments, such as the mridang and jori, also became scarce amongst the Sikhs, having been replaced by the tablā . Changes can also be observed regarding the size of kirtan groups who were performing. Before, it

6210-485: The rababi tradition, as there still remains descendents of traditional rababi families living. Developing alongside the Rababi tradition discussed earlier as a parallel tradition were the kīrtankārs , who were Sikh kirtan singers. The institution was born out of a few amateur or non-professional singers during the period of the Sikh gurus. As time went-on, this amateur trend of Sikh singers eventually developed into

6300-548: The religious community's "identity, culture, and society." During the partition of Punjab in 1947, one of the three Sikh traditional music institutions, the Rababis, would suffer a deathblow it has not since recovered from, as many former Muslim rababis who had performed at Sikh shrines moved away to Pakistan and future performances by Muslim rababis at Sikh sites was barred by the Sikh clergy due to changing sociocultural norms. The Muslim rababis did not have any Sikh patrons in

6390-429: The shoulder by its player. Melodic instruments are not used during the procession due to their weight and immobility. However, many modern Nagar Kirtans have floats which allow a ragi jatha to be seated upon to play melodic instruments or simply opt to playing a pre-recording of Sikh music for the event. Some displays of amateur Sikh music have qawwālī -like characteristics, with a notable genre sharing features with

6480-469: The sponsorship of Sikh states was Baba Pushkara Singh. Bhai Sham Singh is renowned for his long service as a ragi at the Golden Temple, serving as a kirtan performer for some 70 years around the later 19th and early 20th century. Notable ragis of the early 20th century include Hira Singh, Santa Singh, Sunder Singh, Sammund Singh, Surjan Singh, and Gopal Singh. Later on in the same century, names of ragis like Bhai Jwala Singh (a tenth generation member of

6570-420: The succession war in 1658, he summoned Guru Har Rai in 1660 to explain his support for the executed Dara Shikoh. Guru Har Rai sent his elder son Ram Rai to represent him. Aurangzeb kept Ram Rai as hostage, questioned Ram Rai about a verse in the Adi Granth – the holy text of Sikhs at that time. Aurangzeb claimed that it disparaged the Muslims. Ram Rai changed the verse to appease Aurangzeb instead of standing by

6660-475: The tradition of appointing Manji (zones of religious administration with an appointed chief called sangatias ), introduced the dasvandh ("the tenth" of income) system of revenue collection in the name of Guru and as pooled community religious resource, and the famed langar tradition of Sikhism where anyone, without discrimination of any kind, could get a free meal in a communal seating. The organisational structure that had helped Sikhs to grow and resist

6750-478: The training of ragis. However, traditionally the training of ragis occurred at more general Sikh educational institutions (known as a ṭaksāl ), which had a section dedicated for the training of Sikh musicians, such as at the Damdami Taksal near Amritsar or Jawaddi Kalan in Ludhiana. Training of Sikh kirtanis usually starts when they are young and aside from their musical training, they are also educated in

6840-425: The treatments offered by his father, Shah Jahan, failed to absolve his illness. After trying every treatment with no resolve, Shah Jahan eventually made contact with Guru Har Rai for his assistance, with the latter freely offering it to the Mughal prince. Guru Har Rai sent medicinal plants to Shah Jahan to treat his son's condition. Despite the hostility that existed at that time between the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan and

6930-458: The two vocalists playing the harmonium alongside a drummer on the tabla. In recent times, the traditional raga based Sikh musical tradition (including singing the partal with a complex array of taals) has fallen out of favour and been replaced with "semi-classical, light, light, folk or even filmy" styles. However, efforts are being undertaken to revive traditional Sikh raga musical expression. Traditional Sikh instruments have been supplanted by

7020-464: The usage of raga metres and modes. In circa 2007, the SGPC made a similar push to resurrect the traditional Sikh instruments and ragas at its gurdwaras but this was a short-lived attempt and was given up on after three or four lessons due to the difficulty of teaching the musical performers the traditional methods and tools. It has been argued by Amandeep Singh (dilruba player) that the harmonium distracts

7110-460: The verses of the Asa ki Vaar, the kirtan group can implement verses from other compositions of their liking. No discourse occurs during this sitting and its time length is usually between two and three hours but it may be longer depending on how many other compositions were included to be interspersed between the hymns of the Asa ki Vaar. Kirtanis aim to be able to perform this specific sitting well as it

7200-411: The voice of Har Rai, the Guru. In 2011, 14 March was the date selected to celebrate Sikh Environment Day because it was the anniversary date of Guru Har Rai's gurgaddi (ascension to the guruship). In 2013, the president of EcoSikh described Guru Har Rai as the "green guru", emphasizing the Sikh guru's close-bond with nature, in a press-release statement. In 2013, a painting by Rahi Mohinder Singh

7290-501: The younger Har Krishan to succeed as the next Guru of Sikhism. He started several public singing and scripture recital traditions in Sikhism. The katha or discourse style recitals were added by Guru Har Rai to the sabad kirtan singing tradition of Sikhs. He also added the akhand kirtan or continuous scripture singing tradition of Sikhism, as well as the tradition of jotian da kirtan or collective folk choral singing of scriptures. The third Sikh leader Guru Amar Das had started

7380-563: Was Bhai Sain Ditta, who flourished during the early part of the 19th century. During this era, the Muslim rababi institution received patronage from various Sikh polities, such as Nabha , Patiala , and Kapurthala states. During the early 20th century, Muslim rababis who regularly performed at the Golden Temple were Bhai Chand, Bhai Taba, and Bhai Lal. By the 20th century, many rababis replaced their traditional rabab by swapping it out with

7470-481: Was a place of worship with constant kīrtan as on Baisakhi Regarding the Kartarpur chapter of Guru Nanak's life, Bhai Gurdas states: sodaru ārtī gāvīai amrit vele jāpu uchārā Sodar and Ārtī were sung, and in the early morning Jāp was recited Mardana was a player of the rabab (plucked lute), and would travel alongside Nanak and play the instrument when Nanak spoke his teachings. As a result of this, Mardana

7560-572: Was born to Ananti (also known as Nihal Kaur) and Baba Gurditta into a Sodhi Khatri household. His father died when he was 8 years old. At age 10, in 1640, Guru Har Rai was married to Mata Kishan Kaur (sometimes also referred to as Sulakhni) the daughter of Daya Ram. They had one daughter Rup Kaur and two sons, Ram Rai and Har Krishan (the latter of whom became the eighth Guru) . Guru Har Rai had brothers. His elder brother Dhir Mal had gained encouragement and support from Shah Jahan , with free land grants and Mughal sponsorship. Dhir Mal attempted to form

7650-510: Was easily transported, which led to it becoming popular and eventually replacing many local Sikh instruments. However, the harmonium is unsuited for playing traditional raga music because of its rigidness, fixed-state, and equal-temperament tuning that cannot create the microtonal inflections and ornaments required within raga music. Then around the turn of the 20th century, a group of Sikh scholars, namely Charan Singh, Kahn Singh Nabha , and Vir Singh , promoted traditional Sikh music as part of

7740-429: Was gifted to EcoSikh which depicts Guru Har Rai giving a tree to a petitioner to plant, however the tree species portrayed in the painting is an eucalyptus , a non-native species that was not found during the lifetime of Guru Har Rai, making the painting anachronistic . Mata Nihal Kaur Mata Nihal Kaur (died 29 September 1644), popularly known as Mata Natti , also known as Ananti , Nihalo , and Bassi ,

7830-448: Was normal for there to be four performers ( chaukī , literally, “four”, consisting of a vocalist, supporting vocalist, stringed melodic instrument player, and drummer) but the standard size of a kirtan group performance was reduced to a trio of three persons. This reduction in a role is due to the decline of stringed instruments, as before there was a dedicated stringed-instrumentalist in a kirtan group. Nowadays kirtan groups consist of

7920-483: Was recorded in various pothis , of which, the Guru Harsahai Pothi claims to be an extant text of this kind. During the time of Guru Nanak, the predominant musical tradition of the era was the dhrupad and dhamar , which ended up influencing this early Sikh musical expression. Later, other musical traditions, such as khayal , tappa , and qawwali , began to influence the Sikhs. After

8010-654: Was the head of the Guru's household during the Guruship periods of Har Rai and Har Krishan . She was responsible for the upbringing of the seventh Guru and infused the spiritual values of the House of Guru Nanak , the founder of Sikhism . She taught the young Guru-to-be the value of compassion, love, kindness, bravery, humility, etc. as was the case with all the mothers of the Gurus. She died in Kiratpur on 29 September 1644. This biography of an Indian religious figure

8100-536: Was the wife of Baba Gurditta . She was the daughter of father Bhai Rama and mother Sukhdevi, both of whom were Khatri Sikhs from the locality of Batala located in present-day Gurdaspur district . She was wed to Baba Gurditta on 17 April 1624. Nihal Kaur was the daughter-in-law of the sixth Sikh Guru , Guru Hargobind . She bore two sons, Dhir Mal (born 11 January 1627) and the seventh Sikh Guru, Guru Har Rai (born 18 January 1630). When Guru Hargobind passed and Mata Nanaki relocated to Bakala in 1644, Nihal Kaur

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