Thatha or Thathi (English - Beard Band) is a type of

cloth Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not the ...

used by some

Sikh Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism, Sikhism (Sikhi), a Monotheism, monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Gu ...

s to fix their

beard A beard is the hair that grows on the jaw, chin, upper lip, lower lip, cheeks, and neck of humans and some non-human animals. In humans, usually pubescent or adult males are able to grow beards. Throughout the course of history, societal at ...

s after spraying them with hair spray such as Taft, Fixo, Swift or with water or oil. Many

orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...

Sikhs prefer to keep an open beard as a sign of respect, but some modern Sikhs prefer tying beards for neatness and appearance or even for the nature of the job such as Defence or Policing. This consists of spraying the beard with

hair spray Hair spray (also hair lacquer or spritz) is a common cosmetic hairstyling product that is sprayed onto hair to protect against humidity and wind. Hair sprays typically consist of several components for the hair as well as a propellant. Ingr ...

or beard spray, then tying it with rubber or beard pin. A thathi is tied on the chin This process takes 30 minutes to an hour. Trimming /cutting of hairs is strictly not allowed in Sikhism. Hence cutting of beard is also not allowed. Currently most of the Sikhs who do not cut beard use hair rubberband or hair gel to tug/set their beard hairs. In essence only cutting/trimming of hairs (hence beard) is prohibited. How uncut beard and uncut hairs are kept needs to be wisely decided. As of now keeping a hair rubberband or hair gel tugged beard is accepted as a standard. Why I mentioned “How uncut beard and uncut hairs are kept needs to be wisely decided.”is because a Sikh male who keeps his hairs on head uncut may say that I am keeping my hairs uncut but I want to go for pony tail. Accepted way of keeping uncut hairs in Sikhism is Turban for males and for females they may choose to go for braids and /or turban. Same way as of now keeping a hair rubberband or hair gel tugged beard is accepted as a standard.The question of open versus fixed beard is not seen as worthy of debate, according to some Sikhs; they contend that

Guru Gobind Singh Ji Guru Gobind Singh (; 22 December 1666 – 7 October 1708), born Gobind Das or Gobind Rai the tenth Sikh Guru, a spiritual master, warrior, poet and philosopher. When his father, Guru Tegh Bahadur, was executed by Aurangzeb, Guru Gobind Si ...

told Sikhs to keep uncut

hair Hair is a protein filament that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Hair is one of the defining characteristics of mammals. The human body, apart from areas of glabrous skin, is covered in follicles which produce thick terminal and f ...

and they very well maintain their beards by sporting uncut beards

References

{{Sikhism-stub Indian fashion Indian headgear Sikh culture