Music of living: an autoethnographic study of Sikhi through Gurbani Kirtan

Gurbani kirtan is a musical and singing form of devotional worship in the Sikh faith. Gurmat sangit is a term used to describe gurbani kirtan performed on traditional stringed instruments that were customary during the Sikh Guru period (late 15th – 17th century). In seeking authenticity and a closer connection to the Sikh heritage there has been an increased interest in kirtan performed on traditional stringed instruments within the British Sikh diaspora. This research uses autoethnography under the umbrella of integrated crystallization to explore the practice of kirtan as a method for cultivating Sikhi, the living of the Sikh teachings, through a relationship with its music. Crystallization is a methodology that combines multiple methods (journaling, interview, questionnaire, reflection on kirtan practice etc.) and genres (storytelling, audio sounds, imagery) into a single output (thesis), In choosing autoethnography within crystallization to highlight the researchers' positionality is intentional to decentre the ego’s need to create absolutes and equally important as the content. Approaching kirtan as a feature of lived religion this research combines theory (ethnographic, historical, and textual sources), praxis (reflections on learning and playing kirtan) and gurbani (wisdom of the Sikh Gurus) to create rich and deliberately partial narratives. The research contributes multiple perspectives on the subject of kirtan by an exploration of the places where gurbani kirtan is passively encountered, actively engaged, and uniquely lived and understood through the eyes of the author. The vision is to motivate readers to ‘not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise; [but to] seek what they sought’ by reflecting on their own experiences and recontextualising their understanding of those experiences from an encounter with my shared narrative to discover coherence in the embodiment of realisation.

Citation

Kaur-Bring, N. (2024) Music of living: an autoethnographic study of Sikhi through Gurbani Kirtan. University of Wolverhampton. https://wlv.openrepository.com/handle/2436/626100

Publisher

University of Wolverhampton

URI

https://wlv.openrepository.com/handle/2436/626100

Type

Thesis or dissertation

Language

en

Description

A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirement of University of Wolverhampton for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy.

Collections

Theses and Dissertations