Voicing Sikh spiritual sovereignty in musical practices and indigenous knowledges

Abstract: Sikh musical heritage represents a pre-colonial system of knowledge in danger of disappearing. Established in the late 15th century by Gurū Nānak, Gurbānī sangīt (the body of Sikh devotional repertoires) transmits Sikh indigenous knowledge through a spiritual-aesthetic praxis that unites self and other in interconnected oneness.However, the assimilative forces of colonialism, nationalism, and globalization have contributed to the process of homogenization, coercive transformation, and erasure of Indigenous knowledge and Sikh spiritual-aesthetic praxis. The participants in this panel have pioneered new approaches to the study and revival of Sikh musical heritage, by introducing decolonial stances in their scholarship, praxis, activism, teaching, and performances in India, the US, and Europe.

Presenter bio: Nirinjan Kaur Khalsa-Baker, Ph.D., is Senior Instructor Theological Studies at Loyola Marymount University. Her ethnographic research and publications investigate historic, modern and transnational Sikh Kirtan. She is the first female exponent of the Sikh drumming tradition on the jori-pakhawaj.

Bhai Baldeep Singh is 13th generation exponent of Gurbāṇī Saṅgīta who has revived near-extinct Sikh musical compositions, instruments, and pedagogies through Anad Foundation, Anad Recordings, and Anad Conservatory.

Francesca Cassio, Sardarni Harbans Kaur Chair in Sikh Musicology and Professor of Music at Hofstra University, New York. Dr. Cassio is a scholar and singer who has conducted extensive research in India, authoring works on Indian music (, the yoga of sound, music therapy, Gender Studies, intercultural education, ethnomusicology and music pedagogy.

Affiliation: Loyola Marymount University