Engaging and resourceful ethnography
The Guru's Gift is co-authored by Dr. Cynthia
Mahmood, an anthropologist who also wrote
Fighting For Faith and Nation: Dialogues with
Sikh Militants. Stacy Brady, the other co-author
and one of Dr. Mahmood's students.
This book is first of its kind in Sikh
women's studies. It draws and engages the reader
into a variety of experiences of young Sikh
women with whom research was conducted. These
women have much to share; their ability to
fluently communicate in English breaks away many
barriers that often prevent anthropologists from
conducting groundbreaking research like the
present one. As a Sikh, I found the study
illuminating because many issues faced by North
American Sikh women are often not discussed.
From Mahmood's and Brady's work, it is
refreshing to see that the North American Sikh
women truly understand that they derive their
equality from divine revelation imparted to the
Sikh Gurus (founders of the religion) and not
from any new-age movement. Their interviews are
stimulating and their struggle to take back
their rights is inspiring. The co-authors have
been successful in creating an atmosphere
conducive to open dialogue by creating
persisting relationships with these young women
and thus establishing a new standard in
anthropological research. Stacy Brady calls it
"covenantal relationship," which is "a close and
enduring relationship that operates under
openness and informed consent and with mutually
beneficial research and shared objectives." She
believes that these women were not merely
"subjects" of research but became her friends
and (fictive) sisters. Such mutually beneficial
relationship is essential for the success of any
anthropological endeavor, where a group decides
to impart sensitive information to a relative
newcomer, the anthropologist.
Apart from gender equality, Mahmood and Brady
have been successful in facilitating discussion
on a myriad of issues that require resolution by
the Sikhs. They range from the more frequent
ones like the antithetical influence of
sub-caste during marriage, arranged marriage and
the role of turban among Sikh women to the less
likely and foreign ones such as homosexuality.
Many of the issues, such as homosexuality
touched upon by their interlocutors, are largely
unknown to the Sikhs. However, since the Sikhs
reside in a multi-faceted North American
society, discussion on such issues is essential
as Sikhs shall have to address them in relation
to other communities or perhaps even their own.
The Sikhs, as a people (quom), have a
personal law and a code of conduct that is
dynamic and evolving. The Sikh Rehat Maryada,
the present code of conduct that is followed by
all committed Sikhs, was written after all major
representative organizations of the Sikhs in the
Punjab--the Sikh homeland--and abroad,
deliberated for more than 20 years over the
vital issues affecting the Sikhs and Sikhism.
The document is cherished by the Sikhs because
it is a result of consensus among the Sikh
community. The Sikh Rehat Maryada does not
address many new issues, such as euthanasia and
abortion, because they were less critical or
even unknown in 1930s when the Sikhs ratified
their code of conduct. Works such as Mahmood's
and Brady's are essential because they encourage
the Sikhs to engage in open debate on these
issues that were left unaddressed by the
charismatic community of the Sikhs.
The subject of Sikh women wearing a turban as
a means of differentiating themselves from
others has received extensive treatment in this
book.
Mahmood's and Brady's study on North American
Sikh women makes an engaging and resourceful
ethnography. It highlights Sikh women attempting
to retain their identity in North American and
Punjabi cultures, both of which are often at
conflict with the Sikh culture that Sikh women
are striving to fully revive.