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Sacred site, India

Amritsar

The city of the Golden Temple, at the heart of Sikh kesh, uncut hair, and the dastar, the turban.

Amritsar is the spiritual centre of Sikhism, home of the Harmandir Sahib, the Golden Temple, completed in 1604. For Sikhs, hair is a matter of faith: kesh, uncut hair, is one of the five articles Guru Gobind Singh asked the Khalsa to keep in 1699. In Amritsar's streets and bazaars the dastar is everywhere, tied in many styles and colours, and the city's shops sell turban cloth by the metre.

Kesh and the five Ks

Sikhs who take amrit, the initiation of the Khalsa, keep the five Ks: kesh, uncut hair; kangha, a wooden comb; kara, a steel bangle; kachera, an undergarment; and kirpan, a small sword. Uncut hair is seen as living in the form God made. It is combed twice a day with the kangha, tied in a joora on top of the head and covered. Many Sikhs who are not initiated also keep kesh. All visitors to the Golden Temple, whatever their faith, cover their heads.

The dastar

The dastar is a long cloth, often five to seven metres, wrapped over the joora. Styles differ: the tall, pointed Patiala shahi, the round Morni, and the large dumalla, often worn by Nihang warriors and some women. Boys begin with a patka, a square cloth tied over the knot, and many learn to tie a full turban at a dastar bandi ceremony. Turban-tying contests and free turban camps are held in Punjab, and Turban Day events are held by Sikhs abroad.

Hairstyles of Amritsar

KeshUncut hair, one of the five KsDastarThe Sikh turbanPatkaPatkaThe head covering of young Sikh boys

Still to be written: Turban.

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

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