INSIDE THE GURU'S GATE - Anpere

creates a sense of communitas and a shared identity within the group, at the same
time as the Khalsa ideal marks out the borders of disciples given prior status.
CATEGORIZING SPECIALISTS
Maybe the strong emphasis on egalitarianism and equality among the Sikhs themselves
is a contributory cause as to why so little research has been conducted on the
different types of Sikh performers who comply with the Khalsa norm and operate as
religious “specialists” within the gurdwaras. Sikh apologetics often underline that the
Sikh community, unlike other religious traditions, does no have any hierarchal body
of ritually ordained clergymen or hereditary class of ritual specialists with unique
religious ranks that clearly separates the group of “priests” from “the laity”. 362 All
people dwelling within the house of the Guru should ideally be treated as equal disciples
who share responsibilities. But there are professional categories of Sikh specialists
or performers who by years of studies and training have pursued particular skill
and competence in the various Sikh performing arts – music, recitation, exposition ‒
and function as intermediaries to transmit and clarify the Gurus’ utterances and
teaching to ordinary people. In evaluations by the Sikhs themselves these performers
are often regarded as “knowledgeable” (viddvan) devotees, and some will be reckoned
to have been graced with extraordinary spiritual knowledge. Without any pretension
to exhaustively examine a subject that requires more field research, the following
section will exemplify how local Sikh performers can be motivated to pursue
carriers in religious vocations and the duties and qualifications which community
members consider crucial for performers who act as mediators of sacred words. According
Bauman’s (1977), the formal criterion for identifying “performance” as a
distinctive communicative frame “consists in the assumption of responsibility to an
audience for display of communicative competence.” 363 The performer’s competence
to act and speak in socially appropriate ways will be subject to evaluation by the
audience. It is when the given standards of competence are fully recognized and
accomplished by the performers that their renditions of the Gurus’ teaching will be
appreciated and regarded authentic by the Sikh congregation. 364
362
Leadership, however, does exist in the institution of jatedhar at the five Sikh “thrones” (takhts)
at Amritsar, Anandpur, Damdama, Hazoor, and Patna, as well as the “The Society of Saintly
People” (Sant Samaj), which is consulted in religious matters.
363
Bauman 1977: 11.
364
As Hymes writes, a “true performance”, i.e., a performance regarded authentic and authoritative
in view of the audience, is “when standards intrinsic to the tradition are accepted and realized”
(Hymes 1986: 18).
186
Published on www.anpere.net in May 2008