Posted
on January 16, 2014
One
of the most important gatherings of the Sikhs is happening this week.
Called Mela Maghi, the fair honors the memory of forty Sikh warriors
killed in battle in 1705.
It
sounds to me more like a county fair than like a religious gathering.
There are merchants hawking their wares with displays of everything
from costume jewelry and knickknacks to high-end electronics and
tractors. The two biggest circuses set up their tents, and there are
rides for the kids. There are sideshows such as the Wall of Death,
where people ride motorcycles along the vertical wall of a wooden
cylinder, and perform stunts as well.
However,
on this un-narrated YouTube video of the fair, I definitely
heard some singing and chanting that could have been religious in
nature, and I saw people putting offerings on a shrine. I wonder if
the people beating shoes onto the ground were participating in a
religious ceremony of some sort?
 |
| I read that 99% of all U.S. men who wear turbans are Sikhs. But I bet most of them are often assumed to be Muslim. |
I
bought my very first computer, waaaaayyyy back in the late 1970s,
from a man who had a full beard and who wore a turban on his head and
a small, curved blade (kirpan) in his belt. Those characteristics told me that this
man practiced Sikhism, which is said to be the fifth largest religion
in the world.
 |
| Kirpan |
 |
| Because sikhs are required to carry their kirpans at all times, there have been debates about whether or not kirpans should be allowed in public places where other weapons are not. |
Sikhism
is also one of the youngest of the major religions, since its founder
lived from 1469 to 1539. Some of the core beliefs include that there
is one god, that men and women are equal and have the same rights and
responsibilities, and that honesty and giving to the needy are some
of the most important virtues. Although Sikhism arose in India, Sikhs
don't believe in the caste system (a system in which rigid social
classes are determined by heredity) that was prevalent in Hindu
thought.
Find
out more about Sikhism here.
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