Folk practices in Punjab

Such functional, fluid folk religion often takes form in seeking out help in the form of those regarded as healers and spiritual masters, often in times of anxiety, grief, or anger,[10] in regards to ancestors, family, and death,[11] and within "cognitive frameworks of illness and healing."[12]

Folk beliefs are most widespread in rural areas,[4] and this "popular religion" has been described as the religious practices of Punjab's "subordinate social sector," with miracle-working saints, malevolent deities, evil spirits, witchcraft and other occult practices, and village sites, where these practices are often centered. Saint veneration often revolves around pirs, and along with the patronage of shrines whose lore drew freely from the normative traditions of formalized religions, was practiced syncretically across religious lines.[12]

The shrines of such folk heroes as Gugga Pir and Sakhi Sarwar are made and managed by followers who are often excluded from frameworks of formalized "high" religions in East Punjab, as embodied by the Jat influence on Sikhism, by Brahminical Hinduism, or by Sharia Islam, and fall outside of the scope of such hegemonic institutions, especially as religious identity has become increasingly polarized.[9] The sharpening of religious boundaries through revivalist and reformist movements in the region during colonial times also had an effect on the position of folk beliefs in Punjabi society, which often transcended such boundaries.[13]

The first formal studies of Punjabi folk religion took place in 1971.[14]

Despite being a crucial part of Punjabi religion, in which the inexplicable can be rationalized, its dismissal as superstition and the fact that it defies religious classification has meant that it has remained understudied.[4] Its transcendence of religious boundaries is manifested in its eclectic integration of Sufi, bhakti, and tradition beliefs in the occult, possession, and exorcisms. According to Ballard, there is prejudice against this dimension of Punjab religious practice.[4][5]

According to cultural historian Dr. Anne Murphy,

Folk traditions have played a crucial generative role in postcolonial scholarly, artistic and literary worlds, representing a kind of response to colonial hegemony and modernity; at the same time, they represent a continuing subaltern cultural formation that at times resists incorporation by these same forces.[15]

Bhatti and Michon (2004), in their article Folk Practice in Punjab, published in the Journal of Punjab Studies by the University of California, believe that in Punjabi folk cosmology, the universe is divided into three realms:[16]

Devlok is the realm of the gods, saints and ancestors, existing in akash, the sky. Ancestors can become gods or saints.[16]

Bhatti (2000) states that there are shrines dedicated to various saints, gods and goddesses in Punjab which he has studied by reference to Punjabi folk religion. These include Sakhi Sarwar, Seetla Mata and Gugga.[24] There are many shrines which represent the folk practices of the Punjab region. Snehi (2015) states that such shrines represent a discourse between different organised religions.[2]

According to Singh and Gaur (2009), these shrines represent inter-communal dialogue and a distinct form of cultural practice of saint veneration.[3] Rouse (1988) regards pirs as the folk-religion representatives and fakirs as the caretakers of shrines. These categories are discussed in an Islamic context.[25] Weekes (1984) discussing Islam states that:

• "Punjabi folk religion weaves a rich variety of local mysticism — such as beliefs in the evil eye , the predictions of astrologers and the potency of amulets and potions — into the scriptural , universalizing traditions of Islam propounded by the ulama."[26]

Various other saints are also venerated in Punjab such as Khawaja Khidr is a river spirit of wells and streams.[27] He is mentioned in the Sikandar-nama as the saint who presides over the well of immortality, and is revered by many faiths.[27] He is sometimes pictured as an old man dressed in green, and is believed to ride upon a fish.[27] His principal shrine is on an island of the Indus River by Bhakkar in Punjab, Pakistan.[27] Gugga Pir is a hero-deity from whom protection against snakebites is sought. He is one of an array of heroic, martial, and saintly figures of the region venerated for folk purposes.[15] The fair known as Chhapar Mela is organised annually.

Many villages in Punjab, India and Pakistan, have shrines of Sakhi Sarwar who is more popularly referred to as Lakha Data Pir. A shrine of Sakhi Sarwar is situated in district Dera Ghazi Khan in Punjab, of Pakistan, where an annual fair is held in March. A 9-day fair is organised every year in Mukandpur, Punjab, India.

Other shrines are in honour of Seetla Mata who is worshiped for protection against childhood diseases with notable fair being held annually in Ludhiana district and is known as the Jarag mela;[28] Gorakhnath who was an 11th to 12th century[29]Nath yogi and connected to Shaivism; and Puran Bhagat who is a revered saint in the Punjab region and other areas of the subcontinent.[30] People visit Puran's well located in Sialkot, especially childless women travel from places as far as Quetta[31] and Karachi.

• Folk religion
• Elite religion
• Punjabi folklore
• Punjabi folk music

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  Lakh Data shrine of Sakhi Sarwar, Jalandhar District
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  Masani shrine, Talhan, Jalandhar
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  Baba Bala samadh, Ghuriana
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  Tombs of Ustad in Nakodar
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  Guru Bhag Singh Kartarpur Punjab India (Vadbhag)
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  Swami Sarvanand Giri
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  Bhagat Baba Kalu Ji Panchhat
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  Bhagat Baba Kalu Ji Panchhat
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  Shrine Baba Budda Ji Nakodar
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  Khidr
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  VeerGogaji
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  Rig Veda originated in the Punjab region
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  Jain temple dedicated to Vijayanandsuri in Gujranwala, Punjab.