| dc.description.abstract | Through the re-examination of previously referenced sources and current scholars who hold weight within the field of Sikh martyrology, it is evident that numerous concepts within the study have either been reduced or overlooked altogether. More specifically, there is a lack of intimate research on the dynamic concept of shaheedi pehre (the invocation of martyrs), which requires more attention. Stated differently, current research within the field only concerns itself with the symbolism behind martyrdom rather than the martyrs themselves – including their post-death realms and lives. In conducting this research, we will survey Sikh historical texts and hagiographies to, first and foremost, posit a better understanding of the role of shaheedi pehre. Concurrently, we will also analyze the Sikh sentiments behind commemorating Shaheeds and their shaheed ganj (martyr-shrines) and mentions of the cosmic realm of Shaheeds (known as the shaheedi mandal) that is seen as affecting both Sikhs and non-Sikhs on Earth. The key methodology behind this dissertation will be a historical analysis of literature that involves accounts from the early 1700s to the late 1900s. Beginning with the re-examination of Suraj Prakash and Panth Prakash, both texts that already hold weight within this field, we will come to appreciate overlooked notions of martyr-veneration and post-martyrdom positionality and actions. Building off this restructured base, we will then look to analyze a previously unmentioned account found within Naveen Panth Prakash about a Shaheed displaying agency within both private and public forms of shaheedi pehre. Working from this new analysis, we will look to a Sikh hagiography, Do Gursikh Nirmolak Heerey, which is being posited for the first time within the sphere of Sikh martyrology. From this text, we will not only look to more recent accounts of shaheedi pehre but give the term a new definition within the study: when a Shaheed possesses a host body to give counsel. Taking all this information into account, a thread of summaries will be posited that will not only make sense of the history but give a call to action for future research and questions that remain. | |
