INSIDE THE GURU'S GATE - Anpere

parents will thus wait until the child is old enough to go on a pilgrimage. Some parents
had chosen to celebrate the name-giving ceremony either in connection with the
child’s birthday or during a Sikh festival like Guru Nanak’s birthday or Vaisakhi. As
they presented the child before the Guru Granth Sahib and took help of the Guru to
get a name which their child would need and be identified with in the society, sacred
places and times associated with the Sikh Gurus were considered auspicious for the
occasion. To invoke divine blessings they would arrange an unbroken recitation of
the Sikh scripture and adjust the favorable ending to the day of the name-giving
ceremony.
According to the stipulated procedure of Nam karan ceremony today, the granthi
seats himself behind the scriptural throne and opens the Guru Granth Sahib at
random to take a Hukam. The first letter of the first word of the Hukam is the letter by
which the child’s name will be formed. For instance, if the first word begins with the
letter “h” then the child can be given the name Hardeep, Harpreet, Harmeet, or any
other Sikh names that begin with the letter “h”. Ideally the granthi will propose a
suitable name to be publicly announced, but the parents may just as well pick a name
by themselves and consult the family or the congregation. 604 The name selected
should be a conventional Sikh name which carries religious signification. Proper
names which start with the letter “h” would thus be Hardeep (“light of God”), Harpreet
(“love of God”), Harmeet (“friend of God”), and so on. Most of the Sikh names
are unisex in the sense that the same name may be selected for both a male and female
child. When the name has been announced in the gurdwara the congregation
approves the selection by crying out the Sikh jaikara (Jo bole So Nihal ‒ Sat Sri Akal).
After this, six stanzas of the hymn Anand Sahib are sung and the granthi will perform
an Ardas in which he invokes blessings for the child and presents the naming ceremony
as an offering to the Guru. Karah prashad is served to the congregation and the
family may distribute additional food either in the gurdwara or at the house to celebrate
the event.
TYING THE TURBAN
The wearing of the Sikh turban ‒dastar or pagri ‒ is regarded mandatory for all male
Amritdhari and Keshdhari Sikhs. The Sikh code of conduct makes the wearing of turbans
optional for women, although a few sectarian groups within the Sikh community,
such as followers of Akhand Kirtani Jatha and the American Sikh Dharma
movement, have come to regard it compulsory for both sexes. The meanings and
significations of wearing a turban are multiple as Sikhs in the modern world have to
justify the custom to authorities and the civil society in different cultures. 605 Even if
the turban is not one of five symbols Amritdhari Sikhs should wear it has gained a
strong symbolic value for a religious and ethnic Sikh identity that is unquestionable.
Those who are well-acquainted with the turban culture of the Punjab can easily
604
For the customs of picking names for Sikh babies, see Sodhi 1984.
605
For symbolic interpretations of the dastar, see articles in Mohinder Singh 2000.
360
Published on www.anpere.net in May 2008