Translating the Guru’s Words to Local and Translocal Contexts: Oral and Written Exeges among Contemporary Sikhs

The project investigates contemporary Sikh katha – oral and written “storytelling” or expositions of doctrines, collective history and the Sikh scripture (Guru Granth Sahib) – and which functions traditional and new forms of expositions have for the Sikh understanding of religion, especially in the Sikh diaspora.

The research project investigates how the Sikhs have developed oral and written katha – exegetical expositions of their canonized scripture Guru Granth Sahib – and which functions traditional and new forms of the expositions have for religious learning and understanding. Although an extensive migration from the “homeland” Punjab has increased the cultural and linguistic diversity in the Diaspora, the Sikhs continue to ritually use their scripture in the original script and language. The means to overcome the limitations posed by a closed canon is to create oral and written katha on the Sikh scripture and history. The exegetical tradition is a significant aspect of the Sikh religious life which has been neglected in the study of Sikhism. During the last decades the Sikhs have also taken active use of modern media to transmit new forms of expositions through translocal networks. Based on field work in Punjab and in Sweden the project investigates contemporary manifestations of Sikh katha and how the Sikhs are culturally translating religion, history and the teaching of the scripture to a heterogeneous Diaspora.