Piri (Sikhism)

The Piri system (also known or spelt as Peerah[1] or Peehri[2]) was part of the Sikh missionary administrative organization founded by the third Sikh guru, Guru Amar Das, for the purpose of propagating Sikhism amongst women (especially women from Muslim backgrounds).[3][1][2] The system was significantly expanded by the seventh Sikh guru, Guru Har Rai. Each Piri was a Sikh missionary seat and administrative unit. The Piris were sub-centres under the Manji dioceses.[2]

Etymology

A Piri is a very small wooden cot (taken as the seat of authority in this context) from which the Sikh Piris (female Sikh preachers, holders of seat of religious authority) would teach Sikhism specifically to other women. The word Manji also means a wooden cot, similarly used to denote a seat of Sikh religious authority for preaching Sikhism to the general public.

History

Founding

Guru Amar Das trained and appointed 52 women alongside 94 men as missionaries for the spread of Sikhism.[4][5] For the Piri system, it involved an appointed preaching official and missionary for Sikh assemblies and congregations whom were all women and instructed to spread Sikhism amongst womankind (especially women belonging to Muslim backgrounds).[1] According to W. Owen Cole, establishment of the manji and piri systems may have been motivated by the large amounts of new converts coming into the Sikh faith, especially in the Punjab.[1] However, many of these converts brought in beliefs and practices of their original faith, so the preachers were appointed to instruct them on proper Sikh orthodoxy and orthopraxy, essentially motivating them to choose the Sikh faith and all that comes with it, even if it involves discarding their old ways of spirituality in the process.[1] The head leaders of the Piri system were Bhani, Bibi Dani, and Bibi Pal, all of whom had been appointed by Guru Amar Das himself and were intellectual types.[6] Besides the dissemination of Sikhism, the Piris also taught women about social and religious norms.[6] According to Harish Jain, rather than being a separate system from the Manji system, the Piri system was rather a sub-centre of each Manji diocese.[2] The number of Piri centres was 52, which were under the purview of 22 Manjis.[2]

Expansion

Guru Har Rai faced some serious difficulties during the period of his guruship. The corrupt Masands, Dhir Mal and Minas always tried to preclude the advancement of the Sikh religion.

Earlier, the Piri system was founded by Guru Amar Das. To reform the corrupted Masand system, Guru Har Rai expanded the Piri system by establishing additional female Sikh 'missionary' seats called Piris after the small cot (manji) used by the Guru's representatives. He also tried to improve the old corrupt Masand system and appointed pious and committed personalities, such as Suthre Shah, Sahiba, Sangtia, Mian Sahib, Bhagat Bhagwan, Bhagat Mal and Jeet Mal Bhagat (also known as Bairagi), as the heads of Manjis.[5]

References

Cole, W. Owen (2004). Understanding Sikhism. Understanding Faith. Dunedin Academic Press Ltd. ISBN 9781906716912. Guru Amar Das appointed twenty-two manjis, women and men, whose primary function was to preach and teach the practice of Nam simran. This decision is indicative of the expansion of the still young movement and the consequent need to respond to the proliferation of sangats. In addition, some women, known as peerahs, were appointed to preach among women, Muslims in particular. The appointment of manjis and peerahs may be taken as a sign that the still young Panth was expanding steadily, and possibly spectacularly, in the area where Punjabi was the major regional language. The assemblies were intended to wean Sikhs away from major Hindu events, possibly challenging them to decide which of the two paths they would follow. At first, the baoli sahib seems contrary to the teachings of Guru Nanak that pilgrimage and bathing at tiraths to remove ritual pollution, in which he did not believe, were futile. It must be explained in terms of the third Guru's recognition that there were already people joining the Panth who did not necessarily share the beliefs of its founder in the essential inwardness of spirituality, the realisation of liberation through Nam simran and not outward religious forms. Even though Guru Nanak's death lay only a generation in the past or less, and there were many of his early followers still living, it was necessary to adjust to the changing circumstances that Guru Amar Das faced. That he did so is a sign of wisdom.
Jain, Harish (2003). The Making of Punjab. Unistar Books. p. 273. After attaining the Guru's mantle, he [Guru Amar Das] visited various places to propagate the message of the faith. He reorganised the Sikh faith and established 22 centres, each called a 'manji', and 52 sub-centres, each called a 'peehri' for this purpose.
Saith, Ashwani (2019). Ajit Singh of Cambridge and Chandigarh: An Intellectual Biography of the Radical Sikh Economist. Cham: Springer International Publishing. p. 317. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-12422-9. ISBN 978-3-030-12421-2. S2CID 194267065. Guru Amar Das is known and respected for several edicts and progressive practices within the Sikh faith, but above all, he was a powerful proponent of gender equality which was one of his principal teaching planks; he initiated the piri system whereby there could be female preachers in the faith, and with his practice following his preaching, he passed on the mantle of Guru not to his son but on merit to his son-in-law; maybe there was an inherited gender gene at work!
Chawla, A.S.; Singh, Dharminder; Kaur, Jasleen. "7.2 - Established the Sikh Administration System". Management Perspectives of Sikh Religion. Guru Amar Das established the Manji System to propagate Sikhism in a logical and planned way. He divided Sikh congregation areas into 22 Manjis and a local preacher was made in-charge of each Manji. He trained the group of 146 followers, out of which 52 were women, to attend to the spiritual needs of the people. He also appointed preachers called Masands, who went across the country to spread the gospel of Sikhism.
Piri system
Iftikhar, Rukhsana (2016). Indian Feminism: Class, Gender & Identity in Medieval Ages (1st ed.). Notion Press. ISBN 9789386073730. Guru Amar Das started Pin [sic] system for the regeneration of the society, which was entrusted with the task of educating women in religious and social norms. The whole organization was handled by intellectual women; Bibi Bhani, Bibi Dabi [sic] and Bibi Pal (these women were devotees of Guru Amar Das and helped him in educating women) were those who contributed in this system.

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[:0-1] Cole, W. Owen (2004). Understanding Sikhism. Understanding Faith. Dunedin Academic Press Ltd. ISBN 9781906716912. Guru Amar Das appointed twenty-two manjis, women and men, whose primary function was to preach and teach the practice of Nam simran. This decision is indicative of the expansion of the still young movement and the consequent need to respond to the proliferation of sangats. In addition, some women, known as peerahs, were appointed to preach among women, Muslims in particular. The appointment of manjis and peerahs may be taken as a sign that the still young Panth was expanding steadily, and possibly spectacularly, in the area where Punjabi was the major regional language. The assemblies were intended to wean Sikhs away from major Hindu events, possibly challenging them to decide which of the two paths they would follow. At first, the baoli sahib seems contrary to the teachings of Guru Nanak that pilgrimage and bathing at tiraths to remove ritual pollution, in which he did not believe, were futile. It must be explained in terms of the third Guru's recognition that there were already people joining the Panth who did not necessarily share the beliefs of its founder in the essential inwardness of spirituality, the realisation of liberation through Nam simran and not outward religious forms. Even though Guru Nanak's death lay only a generation in the past or less, and there were many of his early followers still living, it was necessary to adjust to the changing circumstances that Guru Amar Das faced. That he did so is a sign of wisdom.

[:1-2] Jain, Harish (2003). The Making of Punjab. Unistar Books. p. 273. After attaining the Guru's mantle, he [Guru Amar Das] visited various places to propagate the message of the faith. He reorganised the Sikh faith and established 22 centres, each called a 'manji', and 52 sub-centres, each called a 'peehri' for this purpose.

[3] Saith, Ashwani (2019). Ajit Singh of Cambridge and Chandigarh: An Intellectual Biography of the Radical Sikh Economist. Cham: Springer International Publishing. p. 317. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-12422-9. ISBN 978-3-030-12421-2. S2CID 194267065. Guru Amar Das is known and respected for several edicts and progressive practices within the Sikh faith, but above all, he was a powerful proponent of gender equality which was one of his principal teaching planks; he initiated the piri system whereby there could be female preachers in the faith, and with his practice following his preaching, he passed on the mantle of Guru not to his son but on merit to his son-in-law; maybe there was an inherited gender gene at work!

[4] Chawla, A.S.; Singh, Dharminder; Kaur, Jasleen. "7.2 - Established the Sikh Administration System". Management Perspectives of Sikh Religion. Guru Amar Das established the Manji System to propagate Sikhism in a logical and planned way. He divided Sikh congregation areas into 22 Manjis and a local preacher was made in-charge of each Manji. He trained the group of 146 followers, out of which 52 were women, to attend to the spiritual needs of the people. He also appointed preachers called Masands, who went across the country to spread the gospel of Sikhism.

[Piri_system_at_Sikh_Wiki-5] Piri system

[:3-6] Iftikhar, Rukhsana (2016). Indian Feminism: Class, Gender & Identity in Medieval Ages (1st ed.). Notion Press. ISBN 9789386073730. Guru Amar Das started Pin [sic] system for the regeneration of the society, which was entrusted with the task of educating women in religious and social norms. The whole organization was handled by intellectual women; Bibi Bhani, Bibi Dabi [sic] and Bibi Pal (these women were devotees of Guru Amar Das and helped him in educating women) were those who contributed in this system.