20 MORE religions and faith practices 349

Robyn Lebron

and the long undergarments (kach). Men usually cover their hair with
a turban made from a long thin strip of material wound around their
head, and women cover their head and shoulders with a long scarf
called a chuni. What a Sikh wears other than that can vary enormously.
Whether wearing traditional clothing or not, a Sikh is very concerned
about retaining the five Ks as far as possible. It is important that the five
Ks are never removed from a Sikh without their consent…If they do
have to be removed, they must be treated with utmost respect (for
example, do not place them on the floor or near to anyone’s feet as these
are unclean places).28

Alcohol and Narcotics: Sikhs spend their lives looking to become one
with God, and discovering the holy within themselves. Because this
spark of holiness is within us all, a Sikh considers one of their first
duties is to look after their body and care for it as the container of
their soul. To this end, Sikhs avoid any substance that has been seen
to do any damage—temporary or permanent—to their bodies. For
this reason, alcohol, tobacco and all narcotic or intoxicating drugs are
banned substances for Sikhs, both under general consensus and more
specifically in the Gurū Granth Sāhib. Any baptized Sikh who is found
to have taken any of these substances will not only have to do a penance
in front of their entire community, but may even have to face the shame
of being re-baptized all over again to wash away their transgression.29

Eating Meat: One area of prohibition that is still often debated is
the injunction to refrain from eating some meats. Translations of the
Gurū Granth Sāhib seem simply to forbid the eating of meat that has
been ritually slaughtered or prepared for another religion—such as
‘•Š‡”  ‘” ŠƒŽƒŽ meat. This certainly ties in with the Gurus’ aim

to remove unnecessary ritual from their lives, and in fact is one of the
four founding taboos in Sikhism…For some Sikhs, this
prohibition extends to cover all meat and meat products,
no matter how the animal is slaughtered, and may even include
eggs, fish, milk and other dairy products too. For others, the
meaning is much more limited and all meat apart from halal,
kosher, beef and pork products may be eaten.30