Kaur
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Kaur (Gurmukhi Script: ਕੌਰ ) in Sikhism (meaning: "Princess or Lioness") is a mandatory middle name or last name for female Sikhs, in the same way as Singh is for male Sikhs. [1] [2]
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[edit] History
Kaur, is term used by Sikh women either as the final element of a compound personal name or as a last name. It cannot be regarded as a true surname or family name. It goes back to Sanskrit, Kumari meaning ‘Girl’, ‘Daughter’, which was reduced to Kuar and then changed into Kaur by metathesis. Among Sikhs, female names are often derived from male names by the addition of Kaur to the male name: e.g. Mahinder Kaur, from the male name Mahinder. [3] [4]
The tenth guru of Sikhs, Guru Gobind Singh, made it mandatory for Sikh females to use the name Kaur and for Sikh males to use the name Singh, when he administered Amrit (baptism) to both males and female Sikhs. All female Sikhs were asked to use the name Kaur after their forename and males were to use the name Singh. This custom further confirmed the equality of both genders as was the tradition set by the founder of Sikhism, Guru Nanak.
Guru Gobind Singh said,
"You are my beloved, my daughters. You must be respected. How can this world be without you?".
"You don’t have to take anybody else's name. You are an individual, you are the equivalent of a prince, and you keep Kaur as your given name.
Kaur provides Sikh women with a status equal to all men. This was also intended to reduce the prejudice created by caste-typing based on the family name. Prejudice based on caste was still rampant during Guru Gobind's time (17th century). This particularly affected women who were expected to take their husband's family name upon marriage. [5][6]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Kaur - SikhiWiki, free Sikh encyclopedia
- ^ Banswara
- ^ kaur Name Meaning and Origin - Ancestry.com
- ^ Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4
- ^ Dr. McCleod, Head of Sikh Studies, Department of South Asian Studies, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
- ^ Khushwant Singh, A History of the Sikhs, Volume I
[edit] External links
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