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 ...

, sangat refers to the community of followers, sometimes referred to as a "congregation." There were Manji dioceses composed of sangats Sikhs in a particular area.

Guru Ram Das Guru Ram Das (Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਰਾਮ ਦਾਸ, pronunciation: ; 24 September 1534 – 1 September 1581), sometimes spelled as Guru Ramdas, was the fourth of the ten Sikh gurus. He was born to a family based in Lahore, who ...

, the fourth guru, established the masand system to oversee sangats. The sangats contributed their ''

dasvandh Dasvandh (, also translated as 'tithe', alternatively spelt as daswandh) is the one tenth part (or 10%) of one's income that one should donate, both financially (as a tithe) and directly in the form of '' seva'', according to Sikh principles. ...

'' tithe to their local religious overseer, who would submit them to the Sikh guru to form a common-fund. Over time, the masands became corrupt and therefore Guru Gobind Singh abolished them and established direct contact with the sangats himself, not relying on any intermediaries. After the abolishment of the masands, the sangats brought their donations to the guru themselves when they visited him during festivals.

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