Renegotiating Orthopraxy in the Presence of the Bani Guru

Bibliographic Data

ID12891640
AuthorsNirinjan Kaur Khalsa (University of Michigan, corresponding author)
Year2014
Volume10
Issue3
Pages313-334
Publication date2014-09-02
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueSikh Formations (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1744-8727 • E-ISSN: 1744-8735
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/17448727.2014.971512
OpenAlexW2002582178
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited10

This article examines the intersection between Sikh scripture as text and as ‘Living Guru’ (Bani Guru) enlivened through the performative practice of Gurbani Kirtan (singing devotional ‘Gurbani’ hymns enshrined in Sikh scripture). It ethnographically explores how practitioners negotiate between the diverse lived practices and orthopraxic conventions surrounding the physical and intangible forms of the Guru as Bani (Gurbani). Today, Gurbani Kirtan is sung and played in diverse musical styles, locations, and contexts and can be accessed through mass media technologies. These innovative practices raise questions about how Sikhs are to maintain the respect and devotional intentionality usually accorded the Gurbani while allowing for the possibility of future practices. This article questions orthopraxic notions by recognizing that Gurbani Kirtan offers an experiential methodology with the goal of embodying the Bani as Guru (Gurbani) within the self, thus transforming Sikh subjectivity altogether

Aesthetics · Art · Epistemology · Linguistics · Negotiation · Performative utterance · Reading (process · Social science · Sociology · Subjectivity · Philosophy · South Asian Studies and Conflicts · South Asian Studies and Diaspora · Theatre and Performance Studies

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