Folk practices in Punjab

Such functional, fluid folk religion often takes form in seeking out help in the form of those regarded as healers and spiritual masters, often in times of anxiety, grief, or anger, in regards to ancestors, family, and death, and within "cognitive frameworks of illness and healing." ==Position in society==

Folk beliefs are most widespread in rural areas, The shrines of such folk heroes as Gugga Pir and Sakhi Sarwar are made and managed by followers who are often excluded from frameworks of formalized "high" religions in East Punjab, as embodied by the Jat influence on Sikhism, by Brahminical Hinduism, or by Sharia Islam, and fall outside of the scope of such hegemonic institutions, especially as religious identity has become increasingly polarized. The first formal studies of Punjabi folk religion took place in 1971. Despite being a crucial part of Punjabi religion, in which the inexplicable can be rationalized, its dismissal as superstition and the fact that it defies religious classification has meant that it has remained understudied. According to cultural historian Dr. Anne Murphy, == Folk deities, saints, and heroes ==

There are three prominent cults associated with folk deities found in Indian Punjab: Gugga, Sakhi Sarwar, and Seetla. Gugga is also known as Jahir Pir whilst Seetla is also known as Mata Rani. The central figures of folk religion cults in Punjab is organized around ancestor figures or folk heroes, consisting of various legends and rituals associated with them. Gugga was a Rajput prince who became a Sufi pir and is venerated as a serpent-deity, Sakhi Sarwar is said to have come from Baghdad and is worshipped for the protection of children and animals. Seetla and her sisters are worshipped for protection and to guard against some pustulate diseases. These three figures were historically worshipped across Punjabi society, irrespective of caste and creed. File:Miniature painting depicting the Punjabi folk deity Sakhi Sarwar, also known as 'Lakhdata'.jpg|Miniature painting depicting the Punjabi folk deity Sakhi Sarwar, also known as 'Lakhdata'. File:Illustration of Gogaji, based on a rock sculpture at Mandore, published in 'Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan' (vol. II).jpg|Illustration of Gogaji, based on a rock sculpture at Mandore, published in Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan (vol. II) File:Sanjhi Mata.jpg|Sanjhi Mata File:Peddu, brother of goddess sanjhi mata.jpg|Peddu, brother of Sanjhi Mata ==Punjabi folk cosmology==

Bhatti and Michon (2004), in their article Folk Practice in Punjab, published in the Journal of Punjab Studies by the University of California, believe that in Punjabi folk cosmology, the universe is divided into three realms: Devlok is the realm of the gods, saints and ancestors, existing in akash, the sky. Ancestors can become gods or saints. ==Punjabi ancestral worship==

Jathera—ancestral shrines According to Thapliyal (1979), the practice of ancestor-worship in India was introduced by the Kushans, who themselves had adopted it from the Chinese. As a result, the cult of Devaputra ("son of heaven") formed in the subcontinent, where small-shrines, known as Devakulas, arose that were dedicated to ancestors (pitrs), however this ancestor-veneration was admonished by the Brahmins. Jats, a large group of former nomads, had begun to turn to settled agriculture around the thirteenth century in central Punjab, facilitated by region's fertility and the use of the Persian water wheel. They brought with them their own beliefs centered on the worship of deities like Sakhi Sarwar and Gugga Pir, as well as their own independent social customs like widow remarriage and reverence for clan leaders, or vaderas, while building relationships with settled society, though often placed in the lower rungs of caste society. Their institution of jatheras and the veneration of vaderas and folk figures exist at the boundaries of the major organized religions of the region, coexisting comfortably alongside religious identities, and adding to Punjabi cultural identity, continuing to thrive and not fitting neatly into any clearly delineated, reified categories. A jathera may classified broadly into different types: founders (usually of a village), ancestors (often common-ancestors of a clan), martyrs (shahids), heroes, or anyone accomplished in some way or manner (jogis, sidhs, pirs, and bhagats). The local zamindar traditionally would venerate the jathera once annually. Some jathera shrines, such as that of Kala Mehar, have attempted to adopt elements of Sikh iconography/symbolism (such as being built to resemble a gurdwara) and other Sikh aspects to remain on the margins of the religion and become more acceptable to the population as a result, despite folk religion being in a state of "strained co-existence" with mainstream, institutionalized religion. Practice According to Bhatti and Michon (2004), a jathera is a shrine constructed to commemorate and show respect to the founding common ancestor of a surname and all subsequent common clan ancestors. In ancient times, it was normal for a village to comprise members of one surname. When people moved to form a new village, they continued to pay homage to the founding jathera. This is still the case for many people who may have new jathera in their villages but still pay homage to the founding ancestor of the entire surname. When members of a clan form a new village, they continue to visit the jathera in the ancestral village. If this is not possible, a link is brought from the old jathera to construct a new jathera in the new village. People visit the jathera when getting married, the 15th of the Indian month and sometimes on the first Sunday of an Indian month. The descendants of the elder go to a pond and dig earth and make shivlinga and some put it on the mound of their jathera and offer ghee and flowers to the Jathera.So, It is a form of shivlinga puja also. In some villages it is customary to offer flour. ==Shrines==

Bhatti (2000) states that there are shrines dedicated to various saints, gods and goddesses in Punjab which he has studied by reference to Punjabi folk religion. These include Sakhi Sarwar, Seetla Mata and Gugga. There are many shrines which represent the folk practices of the Punjab region. Snehi (2015) states that such shrines represent a discourse between different organised religions. Weekes (1984) discussing Islam states that: • "Punjabi folk religion weaves a rich variety of local mysticism — such as beliefs in the evil eye, the predictions of astrologers and the potency of amulets and potions — into the scriptural, universalizing traditions of Islam propounded by the ulama." Various other saints are also venerated in Punjab such as Khawaja Khidr is a river spirit of wells and streams. He is mentioned in the Sikandar-nama as the saint who presides over the well of immortality, and is revered by many faiths. The fair known as Chhapar Mela is organised annually. Many villages in Punjab, India and Pakistan, have shrines of Sakhi Sarwar who is more popularly referred to as Lakha Data Pir. A shrine of Sakhi Sarwar is situated in district Dera Ghazi Khan in Punjab, of Pakistan, where an annual fair is held in March. A 9-day fair is organised every year in Mukandpur, Punjab, India. Other shrines are in honour of Seetla Mata who is worshiped for protection against childhood diseases with notable fair being held annually in Ludhiana district and is known as the Jarag mela; Gorakhnath who was an 11th to 12th century Nath yogi and connected to Shaivism; and Puran Bhagat who is a revered saint in the Punjab region and other areas of the subcontinent. People visit Puran's well located in Sialkot, especially childless women travel from places as far as Quetta and Karachi. In Punjab, the terms marhī or samādhi refers to a funerary monument. == Punjabi occult ==

In Punjab, there is a belief in benevolent and malevolent spirits. Those who died a violent death (known as bir) and martyrs (known as shahid) may become malevolent spirits known in Punjab as birs, bhuts, baitals, prets, nuris, and churels, who haunt others. Benevolent spirits are known as paris, which are equivalent to the concept of fairies. There is also a belief in witches, with one type being the daans, with their feet pointed backwards, possessing inverted faces, and only attacking men. == Organised religion versus folk practices==

In 1708 whilst Guru Gobind Singh and his followers were travelling in Rajasthan on a missionary tour from Itmadpur to Chittaur, they set-up camp and rested in Naraina, where a Panj Piare quintet issued a gurmatta injunction against Guru Gobind Singh to pay 125 rupees for tilting an arrow from his forehead in the direction of the shrine of Dadu Dayal nearby as a mark of reverence (noticed as a transgression by Bhai Daya Singh), which was a test by the guru to see if his Sikhs understood that reverence of mausoleums are to be rejected. Guru Gobind Singh, pleased with the Sikhs for recognizing the perceived transgression, paid the injunction fee. In a verse found in the 33 Savaiye chapter of the Dasam Granth, it states that the veneration of tombs and mausoleums are to be shunned: Gor marhi mat bhul na manai ("worship not even by mistake [a] mausoleum or grave"). The Sikh reformers taught that women should shed any beliefs or practices rooted in Punjabi folk religion or else they were not good Sikhs. A woman-preacher of the Singh Sabha movement, named Bibi Devki, wrote literature in 1886 that condemned Punjabi folk religion, where in a fictional story a woman, characterized as a "bad" Sikh woman, proposes to her friend, who is an "ideal" Sikh woman, that they should pay a visit to the shrine of Heer to light lamps and pay respects. The friend refutes this idea as worshipping the dead and being against Sikh dharam. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, some radical Sikh youth destroyed the shrines of many Punjabi folk deities, however they were soon reconstructed. Despite regular suppression from organized religions, Punjabi folk religion is now growing in influence, with the shrines of folk deities and ancestors becoming more elaborate and grand. ==See also==

File:Lakh Data (Sakhi Sarwar) Shrine Jalandhar District.JPG|Lakh Data shrine of Sakhi Sarwar, Jalandhar District File:Masani Shrine Talhan Jalandhar.JPG|Masani shrine, Talhan, Jalandhar File:Gurudwara Sahib & Baba Bala ji Smadh Ghuriana.JPG|Baba Bala samadh, Ghuriana File:Tombs of Ustad in Nakodar.jpg|Tombs of Ustad in Nakodar File:Guru Bhag Singh Kartarpur Punjab India.JPG|Guru Bhag Singh Kartarpur Punjab India (Vadbhag) File:Swami Sarvanand Giri.JPG|Swami Sarvanand Giri File:Shrine of Bhagat Baba Kalu Ji Panchhat.JPG|Bhagat Baba Kalu Ji Panchhat File:Bhagat Baba Kalu Ji Panchhat.JPG|Bhagat Baba Kalu Ji Panchhat File:Shrine Baba Budda Ji Nakodar.JPG|Shrine Baba Budda Ji Nakodar File:Khidr.jpg|Khidr File:VeerGogaji.jpg|VeerGogaji ==References==