A masand was a representative and tithe collector in

Sikhism Sikhism (), also known as Sikhi ( pa, ਸਿੱਖੀ ', , from pa, ਸਿੱਖ, lit=disciple', 'seeker', or 'learner, translit=Sikh, label=none),''Sikhism'' (commonly known as ''Sikhī'') originated from the word ''Sikh'', which comes fro ...

. They were an officially appointed missionary minister representing the

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 ...

Guru Guru ( sa, गुरु, IAST: ''guru;'' Pali'': garu'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan- Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: traditionally, the guru is a reverential ...

, who baptized conversions to Sikhism, and collected ''

dasvandh Dasvandh ( pa, ਦਸਵੰਧ, also transcribed as daswandh) is the one tenth part (or 10%) of one's income that one should donate, both financially and directly in the form of '' seva'', according to Sikh principles. It falls into Guru Nana ...

'' ("the tenth" of income) as an offering to the Sikh community and religious establishment. 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), 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.

History: Origin and Structure

It is unclear when the m''asand'' system started. It began with

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. Bef ...

in some accounts, by

Guru Ram Das Ram Das (Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਰਾਮ ਦਾਸ, pronunciation: ; 24 September 1534 – 1 September 1581) was the fourth of the ten Gurus of Sikhism. He was born in a family based in Lahore. His birth name was Jetha, and he was ...

in other accounts, or Guru Arjan by still other accounts. A masand was appointed for each religious administrative unit called the Sikh Manji, a system that was founded by

. This system was expanded by later Sikh Gurus.

Role in Sikhism

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. 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 Muhi al-Din Muhammad (; – 3 March 1707), commonly known as ( fa, , lit=Ornament of the Throne) and by his regnal title Alamgir ( fa, , translit=ʿĀlamgīr, lit=Conqueror of the World), was the sixth emperor of the Mughal Empire, ruling ...

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.

Abolition of the Masand system

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. 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.

List of Masands

* Bidhi Chand (during the time of Guru Hargobind) * Ramdas Ugar Sain (during the time of Guru Tegh Bahadur)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'', http://www.jstor.org/stable/44147507. Accessed 12 Dec. 2022.

References