The Piri system (also known or spelt as Peerah or Peehri) was part of the Sikh missionary administrative organization founded by the third Sikh guru,

Guru Amar Das Guru Amar Das (Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਅਮਰ ਦਾਸ, pronunciation: ; 5 May 1479 – 1 September 1574), sometimes spelled as Guru Amardas, was the third of the Ten Gurus of Sikhism and became Sikh Guru on 26 March 1552 at age 73. Befor ...

, for the purpose of propagating

Sikhism Sikhism is an Indian religion and Indian philosophy, philosophy that originated in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent around the end of the 15th century CE. It is one of the most recently founded major religious groups, major religio ...

amongst women (especially women from Muslim backgrounds). The system was significantly expanded by the seventh

Sikh Guru The Sikh gurus (Punjabi language, Punjabi: ਸਿੱਖ ਗੁਰੂ; Hindi: सिख गुरु) are the spiritual masters of Sikhism, who established the religion over the course of about two and a half centuries, beginning in 1469. The year ...

Guru Har Rai Guru Har Rai (Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਹਰਿ ਰਾਇ, pronunciation: ; 16 January 1630 – 6 October 1661) revered as the ''seventh Nanak'', was the seventh of ten Gurus of the Sikh religion.Sikh Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Si ...

missionary seat and administrative unit. The Piris were sub-centres under the Manji system.

Etymology

A ''Piri'' is a very small wooden cot (taken as the ''seat of authority'' in this context) from which the

Sikh Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Si ...

''Piris'' (female Sikh preachers, holders of seat of religious authority) would teach

specifically to other women. The word Manji also means a wooden cot, similarly used to denote a ''seat of Sikh religious authority'' for preaching

to the general public.

History

Founding

trained and appointed 52 women alongside 94 men as missionaries for the spread of

.Piri system
/ref> 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 women (especially women belonging to Muslim backgrounds). 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 Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

. 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. The head leaders of the Piri system were

Mata Bhani Bibi Bhani (Gurmukhi: ਬੀਬੀ ਭਾਨੀ; January 19, 1535 – April 9, 1598), also known as Mata Bhani (Gurmukhi: ਮਾਤਾ ਭਾਨੀ), was the daughter of Guru Amar Das, the third Sikh Guru. She played a central role in the history ...

, Bibi Dani, and Bibi Pal, all of whom had been appointed by Guru Amar Das himself and were intellectual types. Besides the dissemination of Sikhism, the ''piris'' also taught women about social and religious norms. 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''. The number of ''Piri'' centres was 52, which were under the purview of 22 ''Manjis''.

Expansion

Guru Har Rai Guru Har Rai (Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਹਰਿ ਰਾਇ, pronunciation: ; 16 January 1630 – 6 October 1661) revered as the ''seventh Nanak'', was the seventh of ten Gurus of the Sikh religion.masand A masand was a representative, religious preacher, and tithe collector in Sikhism. They were an officially appointed missionary minister representing the Sikh Guru, who baptized conversions to Sikhism, and collected '' dasvandh'' (tithe) as an of ...

'' Dhir Mal and heretical Mina sect always tried to preclude the advancement of the Sikh religion. Earlier, the ''Piri'' system was founded by

. To reform the corrupted ''

Masand A masand was a representative, religious preacher, and tithe collector in Sikhism. They were an officially appointed missionary minister representing the Sikh Guru, who baptized conversions to Sikhism, and collected '' dasvandh'' (tithe) as an of ...

'' system,

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.

References

{{Sikhism Gender and Sikhism Sikh practices

Etymology

History

Founding

Expansion

See also

References