How long is sikhs hair

Select free newsletters: The Weekender. Today's Highlights. Christian Science Perspective. The Explainer. By Staff. Mark Sappenfield Editor. Subscribe to insightful journalism. You've read of free articles. Subscribe to continue. Mark Sappenfield. Our work isn't possible without your support. Digital subscription includes: Unlimited access to CSMonitor. The Monitor Daily email. No advertising. They emphasize the equal emphasis that a Sikh must place on spiritual aspirations as well as obligations to society.

No, there is no particular color for Sikhs or Sikhism. These represent traditional colors for Sikhs. The reason for doing so is strongly rooted in the culture of South Asia. Guru Gobind Singh wanted to remove these barriers between people, and create an egalitarian society. The word Singh means Lion and the word Kaur denotes royalty — a sovereign princess.

As in every religion, there are people at different levels of observance and commitment to their faith. Some Sikhs choose to their family or caste name for personal reasons or to distinguish themselves for official written records.

Often, but not always, these individuals have maintained Singh and Kaur as middle names. Sikh Gurus strongly forbade all rituals and superstitions. Sikhs are thus not allowed to eat any food prepared through a ritualistic process e. There is no mandate allowing or disallowing Sikhs to eat meat — it is a personal choice.

Some Sikhs, through their interpretation of Sikh teachings, may choose to be vegetarians. Sikhs are also not supposed to drink alcohol or consume any other intoxicants. They are pledging their commitment to the Sikh faith and agreeing to live their life as a Sikh.

This means that they must wear the five articles of faith and use Singh or Kaur as their last name. There is no prescribed age at which a Sikh should be initiated; they can choose to do so whenever they are ready. According to the Rehat Maryada, only those who understand the significance of the ceremony and carry its discipline with sincerity should be initiated. It is important to note that once a Sikh is initiated, they are committed to this lifestyle and as outlined in Rehat Maryada. The founders of the Sikh faith started the practice of maintaining hair unshorn.

Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Sikh Guru, gave the Sikhs 5 articles of faith including unshorn hair and the dastaar turban , which, as a whole, comprise the daily uniform of a Sikh. In other words, keeping hair kesh and wearing a dastaar turban form an external identity for a Sikh. But, as in every religion, there are people at different levels of observance and commitment to their faith. Everyone is on their own personal journey. Some Sikhs may cut their hair, but that does not exclude them from the Sikh community.

Initiated Sikhs are not supposed to cut hair from any part of their body. All Sikhs, men and women are thus supposed to have unshorn hair and remain unshaved. Sikhs can wear any color or style of turban, and there are no significant colors.

I will not critique any reasons, as I am not in a position to unearth the validity of each claim, but rather I present them to you so you can judge for yourself. Yet, no one has given me a convincing answer as to why it is essential or why the Gurus commanded Sikhs to keep long hair. Throughout my life, I keep getting half-baked, unsubstantiated answers. So, I decided to go on a quest, compiling all the solid answers that I could find.

Below is a brief summary of the different reasons I could find that people give for why Sikhs keep uncut, long hair. Through this research, my personal reasons for keeping kesh have become clearer and more resolute. Different reasons resonate with different people. Hopefully, this may help you find your reasons too. I hope you enjoy this catalogue and find a reason that works for you.

Look after your hair and comb kanga it twice a day…. In ancient India, it was a general practice with Hindu sages and ascetics to keep long hair tied in a knot on top of their head and keep a long beard. Gurdev Singh hypothesizes in his paper, Perspectives on the Sikh Tradition, that Guru Gobind Singh wanted his Sikhs, despite being householders, to also be karma yogis, or practical saints.

Kesh was a way to symbolize this balance. Long hair serves as a reminder for Sikhs to behave like the saints and Rishis of the past, Sidhu, GS. GS Sidhu in his paper, A Brief Introduction to Sikhism, writes that long hair across the panth builds collective consciousness among Sikhs; it is a mark of dedication and group consciousness. A Sikh collective consciousness is a set of shared beliefs, values, history, ideas, and moral attitudes which serves as a unifying force within the panth.

It plays a role in uniting Sikhs to achieve communal goals and overcome obstacles. Such solidarity facilitates the advancement of Sikh interests, objectives, and standards within the panth and also, beyond it. Lastly, collective consciousness in the Sikh context can endow the Sikh panth with unique agency: it contributes to an individual Sikh to think and act in a way that reflects the panthic values.

This often promotes positive behavior and deters negative behavior. Sexual dimorphism is the presences of physically obvious differences between the male and female. Some colors like orange, blue, and white are traditionally worn during religious celebrations or occasions. Red is traditionally worn during Sikh weddings.

I have more than 20 different turbans, each a different color. The Sikh turban is a long piece of cotton, typically up to six yards long and one to two yards wide. Your mileage may vary. Mine sure does. I tend to wear shorter, narrower lengths of fabric, which I re-tie every day. To put it on, I fold the cloth several times a process called making the pooni into a single layer that I then wrap concentrically around my head in four layers or a larh , but more often Sikhs wrap turbans around five or more times.

You can watch a similar process at your own risk here. A dumalla is a larger, rounder turban. There is a smaller round turban tied by some Sikh men. Sikh women who tie turbans tend to wear round ones as well. Within this style, there are regional differences — British Sikhs and African Sikhs tend to wear smaller, sharper turbans using starched cloth compared to North American Sikhs, whose turbans are generally softer. Indian Sikhs will often tie larger turbans. Apparently, size matters.

I typically get my turbans from South Asian fabric shops, online turban retailers, or at Sikh festivals. As for care, many people will hand wash their turbans, though I put mine in the washing machine set on the delicate cycle and hang to dry.

When I was a kid and my hair got long enough, my mother would tie on me until I could what is known as a patka — basically, a rectangular cloth tied around my head like a bandana that covered my bun of hair. Most boys will wear a patka until they learn how to tie the full turban, and many will instead have a handkerchief just covering their hair bun on the top of their heads.

Sikh men will also often wear a patka when playing sports. Sikhs are supposed to keep their heads covered when in public.