A masand was a representative, religious preacher, and tithe collector in Sikhism.[1][2] They were an officially appointed missionary minister representing the Sikh Guru, who baptized conversions to Sikhism, and collected dasvandh ("the tenth" of income) as an offering to the Sikh community and religious establishment.[1] A masand forwarded the collected amount to the Sikh guru.

Etymology

The word masand (Punjabi: ਮਸੰਦ) is an adaptation of the Persian term ‘masnad’ (Punjabi: ਮਸਨਦ),[3] which refers to ‘a seat’ that is at a lower level than the throne. The Guru was the highest authority while masands were emplaced to spread the message of Sikhism and given the authority to baptize individuals converting to Sikhism. During conversions happening in the absence of the Guru, the new convert would touch the feet of the masand or drink the water they had dipped their toe in, in order to become initiated into the Sikh religion.[4]

History

Origin and structure

It is unclear when the masand system started. It began with Guru Amar Das in some accounts,[1] by Guru Ram Das in other accounts,[5][2] or Guru Arjan by still other accounts.[6] A masand was appointed for each religious administrative unit called the Sikh Manji, a system that was founded by Guru Amar Das.[7][8] This system was expanded by later Sikh Gurus.[9]

Role

Sikh Gurus had established a Masand system of Sikh representatives who taught and spread the teachings of the Sikh Gurus and also collect monetary offering to maintain armed legion of saint-soldiers.[2] It was comparable in its conception to the diocese and wilayats of Christianity and Sufism.[10] Over time, this system became corrupted.The masand system was critical in empowering Sikhism with an independent economic resource pool, that helped pay for gurdwara (temple) building, for building a Sikh army and the upkeep of Sikh soldiers, as well routine expenses such as langar (kitchen) which offered a free meal to visitors to the Sikh temples.[5]

The Masands were appointed to collect revenue and gifts from the distant dharamsals and congregations for the central Sikh authority, where they were responsible for bringing it to.[10] The Masands from various parishes would congregate with the Sikh guru at his durbar (court) on the occasion of Vaisakhi and present the funds and offerings of the dharamsals under their management to him.[10] They managed distant congregations at a regional and provincial level, such as their finances and inns, and conducted missionary activities.[10] They were assisted in their duties by gumashitas (deputies), which they had the power to appoint.[10] The gumashitas helped manage the group of dharamsals in a province or region, especially ones located in small towns, under the purview of a masand head.[10] Some Masands grew in prominence and influence to such a level that even regions falling out of their assigned region were controlled by them, such as in the case of the Masands of Patna, Burhanpur and Kabul managing the dharamsals located in northeast India, south India, and the Pashtun belt region comprising modern-day Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.[10]

Masands who were unable to attend the meeting with the Sikh guru at his durbar would present their collections and offerings in the form of a hundi (bill of exchange).[10]

The manji and masand system of revenue collection for Sikh temples and other purposes was a source of major dispute between the Sikh Gurus and the Mughal emperors. For example, Aurangzeb seized the tithe collections by the masands for use by the Mughal treasury, and demolished Sikh temples throughout Punjab to emphasize the Islamic character of the Mughal Empire.[11]

Positions of local Masands was not dynastic nor inheritable and it was not a professional duty as they still had to live the life of a householder.[12] They were not allowed to claim divine status for themselves.[12]

Masands should not be confused with Manjidars.[13]

Abolition

Overtime, a few masands became corrupt and started treating themselves as Gurus to collect money for their personal motives. Hence, Guru Gobind Singh ordered Sikhs not to recognize those masands as authority figures and prohibited having any type of relationship with them or their deputies.[14] According to early Sikh literature including rahitnamas, the Sikhs, under Guru Gobind's command, punished, beat and killed certain masands whose corruption, exploitation, and greed or inability to deliver sufficient money and resources had affronted the Guru.[15][16]

List of Masands

During the time of Guru Hargobind

During the time of Guru Tegh Bahadur

During the time of Guru Gobind Singh

See also

  • Manji system, Sikh missionary administrative organization aimed towards the masses
  • Piri system, a sub-system of the Sikh missionary administrative organization aimed towards women

References

  1. 1 2 3 Charles E. Farhadian (2015). Introducing World Religions. Baker Academic. p. 342. ISBN 978-1-4412-4650-9.
  2. 1 2 3 Jain, Harish C. (2003). The Making of Punjab. Unistar Books. pp. 274–275.
  3. ↑ Singh, Satbir (1957). Sāḍā itihāsa: Pañjāba dā itihāsa, Volume 1.
  4. ↑ Lewis R. Rambo; Charles E. Farhadian (2014). The Oxford Handbook of Religious Conversion. Oxford University Press. pp. 494–495. ISBN 978-0-19-971354-7.
  5. 1 2 Sushil Mittal; Gene Thursby (2006). Religions of South Asia: An Introduction. Routledge. pp. 244–245. ISBN 978-1-134-59321-7.
  6. ↑ History of Sikh Gurus Retold: 1469-1606 C.E Volume 1, Surjit Singh Gandhi (2007), Atlantic Publishers & Dist, Page 321
  7. ↑ William Owen Cole; Piara Singh Sambhi (1995). The Sikhs: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices. Sussex Academic Press. pp. 20–21. ISBN 978-1-898723-13-4.
  8. ↑ Louis E. Fenech; W. H. McLeod (2014). Historical Dictionary of Sikhism. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 29–30. ISBN 978-1-4422-3601-1.
  9. ↑ Page 95, Sikhism Origin and Development, Dalbir Singh Dhillon. Atlantic Publishers & Distri
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Dhillon, Balwant Singh (November 1997). "Dharamsala: An Early Sikh Religious Centre". Institute of Sikh Studies.
  11. ↑ Arvind-Pal Singh Mandair (8 August 2013). Sikhism: A Guide for the Perplexed. Bloomsbury Academic. pp. 52–53. ISBN 978-1-4411-0231-7.
  12. 1 2 Dhillon, Balwant Singh (November 1997). "Dharamsala: An Early Sikh Religious Centre". Institute of Sikh Studies.
  13. ↑ Dhillon, Balwant Singh (November 1997). "Dharamsala: An Early Sikh Religious Centre". Institute of Sikh Studies.
  14. ↑ Page 135, The History of Sikh Gurus, Prithi Pal Singh, Lotus Press, Jan 1, 2006
  15. ↑ Grewal, J. S. (25 July 2019). Guru Gobind Singh (1666–1708): Master of the White Hawk. Oxford University Press. pp. 88–92. ISBN 978-0-19-099038-1.
  16. ↑ Lorenzen, David N. (9 November 1994). Bhakti Religion in North India: Community Identity and Political Action. State University of New York Press. p. 44. ISBN 9781438411262.
  17. 1 2 Macauliffe, Max (1909). The Sikh Religion: Its Gurus, Sacred Writings and Authors. Vol. 3–4 (1st ed.). Clarendon Press. p. 155.
  18. 1 2 Malhotra, Karamjit K. “Professor J.S. Grewal Prize: IN SEARCH OF EARLY SIKH ART.” Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, vol. 71, 2010, pp. 397–408. JSTOR, JSTOR 44147507. Accessed 12 Dec. 2022.
  19. ↑ Gandhi, Surjit Singh (2007). History of Sikh Gurus Retold: 1606-1708 C.E. Vol. 2. Atlantic Publishers & Dist. pp. 833–834. ISBN 9788126908585.
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