Pre-Twentieth-Century Sikh Sacred Music: The Mughals, Courtly Patronage and Canonisation

Abstract

This article discusses the canonisation and institutionalisation of Sikh sacred music (kirtan) at the courts of the ten Sikh gurus and the later Sikh maharajas in Lahore and Patiala. At the same time, it emphasises possible parallels with what happened musically at the Mughal court. Essentially, the article argues that pre-twentieth-century Sikh sacred music was Hindustani (classical) music because of its performance practice, instruments used, music theory and the interactions between Sikh court musicians and those of the Mughal and other North Indian courts, as well as of different Hindustani music lineages (gharanas). Ultimately, it underlines the importance of contextual history, for example in terms of Mughal culture, the imperial encounter and globalisation, in forming a firm understanding of continuity and change over five centuries of kirtan performance practice.