Khalsa bole

Khalsa bole (Gurmukhi: ਖ਼ਾਲਸਈ ਬੋਲੇ or ਖ਼ਾਲਸਾ ਬੋਲੀ; Ḵẖālasa'ī bōlē, Ḵẖālasā bōlī; meaning "words of Khalsa"; alternatively transcribed as Khalsa boli) is a bravado-based language variety developed and spoken by members of the Akali-Nihang sect of Sikhism.^[8] It has also been described as a coded language.^[9] Sant Singh Sekhon describes the lect as a "grandiloquent patois" that "comprises euphemisms and jargon symbolic of high-spirited confidence and courage".^[10] The Nihangs use certain vocabulary with distinct semantics.^[11]

Khalsa bole
Gar Gaj Bole, Nihang Singh de Bole, Khalsa de bole
ਖ਼ਾਲਸਈ ਬੋਲੇ, ਖ਼ਾਲਸਾ ਬੋਲੀ, ਗੜਗੱਜ ਬੋਲੇ
Pronunciation	Ḵẖālasa'ī bōlē, Ḵẖālasā bōlī
Era	17th or early 18th century to present
Language family	Indo-European Indo-Iranian Indo-Aryan Northwestern Punjabi Khalsa bole
Early forms	Proto-Indo-European Proto-Indo-Iranian Proto-Indo-Aryan Vedic Sanskrit Classical Sanskrit debated Prakrit[a][1] debated Apabhraṃśa Old Punjabi[2][3][4][5][6][7]
Writing system	Gurmukhi
Sources	Punjabi and its dialects (mostly), Old Hindi, Persian
Language codes
ISO 639-3	–

Names

Other common names for the lect are Gar Gaj Bole (ਗੜਗੱਜ ਬੋਲੇ; meaning "words that thunder"), Nihang Singh de Bole ("words of the Nihang Sikhs"), Nihang Bola ("Nihang speak"), and Khalsa de bole ("words of the Khalsa").^[12][13][10]

Purpose

The dialect encompasses the Sikh philosophical concept of remaining ever optimistic, known as Chardi kala.^[14] The unique dialect serves martial and mental objectives, such as helping the speaker and listeners remain in high-spirits in the face of adversity.^[15][16] It serves as a verbal act of dissent in the face of troubling circumstances.^[13]

"There is a great degree of general Sikh ambivalence towards the Nihangs and their deras. There is no real knowledge but through the construction of the Sikh past by ragis and dhadis and others involved in the invention of Sikh tradition, they seem to have made sacrifices for the faith and qaum. One possible consequence of their relative isolation could be the development of coded language. Sekhon (1997: 229) attributes these different meanings of the words as metaphors of optimism and belief in the inevitable achievement of the goal: 'Taking a meal of parched gram of necessity a Nihang would describe himself as eating almonds. Even now onions for Nihangs are silver pieces, rupees on the other hand mere pebbles, and a club the repository of wisdom.’ "

— Pashaura Singh, Louis E. Fenech, The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies (2014), page 380

An account of Khalsa bole published in 1903 is as follows:^[17]

"One branch of them [Nihangs] will never use a word of the feminine gender, and others will add the word Singh or lion -the distinctive suffix of Sikh names) [sic] after almost every substantive they use. The Akáli is full of memories of the glorious days of the Khálsa: he is nothing if not a soldier-a soldier of the Guru. He dreams of armies, and he think in lakhs [hundred of thousands]. Often if an Akáli wishes to imply that five of his order are present, he will say 'Five lakhs are before you'; or if he would explain that he is alone, he will say that he is with 'one and a quarter lakhs of the Khálsa.' You ask him how he is, and he replies that 'the army is well'; you enquire where he has come from, and he says, ' The troops marched from Lahore.' At the end of his prayers he shouts. 'Sat Srí Akál' ('God the Immortal is True') as loud as he can, and if he is given money to buy 'karah parshad and requested to do so', he utters this Jaikára or cry of victory, as it is called."

— Guide to the Darbar Sahib or Golden Temple of Amritsar (1903), page 34

History

Origin

Some claim it was invented by Banda Singh Bahadur, the early 18th century Sikh general and martyr.^[12]: 120 Sikh scholar, Piara Singh Padam, claims it originated earlier in the 17th century, during the time of the Sikh gurus.^[18] The dialect developed during the period of intense persecution of the Sikhs by the Mughal and Durrani empires in the 18th century.^[19] During that period, Sikhs vacated for the mountains, jungles, and deserts to escape the genocidal policies enacted against them.^[19]

"Guru Gobind Singh would rename some of the smaller or weaker Singhs in the ranks of the Khalsa Army. He would bestow them with lofty titles such as ‘Dharti-Hallaa Singh' (literally, the Earth-shaker). This would not only send fear and doubt deep within the ranks of the enemy soldiers, but encouraged the Singhs in the Khalsa Army to fight heroically with courage and confidence and honour the names given to them by the Guru."

— Nihang Darshan Singh, audio recording, July 2006^[20]

Jasbir Singh Sarna claims the language variety evolved during the time-period of Nawab Kapur Singh.^[21]

Accord to Sant Singh Sekhon, the Nihangs developed the special vocabulary full of euphemisms and parallels to common words and phrases to complement their martial role and character.^[10] The terms were used by Nihangs to "make light of hardships", to describe enemies in a bold and provocative manner, and to belittle/ridicule things of worldly comfort.^[10]

Present-day

Group of Nihang Sikhs

The dialect is still used by some modern Sikhs, especially the Akali-Nihangs.^[22] Nihangs still employ Khalsa Bole in their encampments and also when they talk to members of the general public.^[10] The Khalsa Bole used by Nihangs today with the public are for the purpose of comedy but also secrecy.^[10] The euphemisms used by the Nihangs can be interpreted as derogatory.^[10]

Many modern Nihangs are ridiculed for using their dialect.^[13] They are often the target for jokes by outsiders.^[13] Many of the terms of Khalsa Bole have been forgotten and lost.^[10]

Linguistic sources

Khalsa bole sources its vocabulary from "a mixture of Punjabi, Old Hindi, Persian and other dialects used in various regions of India".^[23][15]

List of vocabulary examples

Khalsa bole words and phrases with figurative and literal meanings

Word or phrase	Figurative meaning/Euphemism for	Literal meaning/Meaning in the common language	Reference(s)	ਗੜਗਜ ਬੋਲੇ	ਆਮ ਭਾਸ਼ਾ ਵਿੱਚ ਮਤਲਬ
airāvat	he-buffalo	legendary elephant	[10]	ਐਰਾਵਤ	ਝੋਟਾ
akal dān	wooden club; a baton	dispenser of wisdom	[12]: 120 [10]	ਅਕਲ ਦਾਨ	ਡੰਡਾ
ākaṛbhann	disease, especially fever	that which shatters arrogance	[10]	ਆਕੜਭੰਨ	ਬੁਖਾਰ
amritī	broth of gram flour	name of sweetmeat	[10]	ਅਮਰਤੀ	ਕੜ੍ਹੀ
aṅgīṭhā	funeral pyre	fireplace	[10]	ਅੰਗੀਠਾ	ਚੀਤਾ
añjanī	night	antimony powder	[10]	ਅੰਜਨਿ	raat
athakk	emaciated pony	tireless	[10]	ਅੱਥਕ	khachar
baṭerā	brinjal, eggplant	quail	[10]	ਬਟੇਰਾ	ਬੈਂਗਣ
bhoiṅsūrs	turnip	oil pig	[10]	ਭੋਈਸੁਰਸ	ਸ਼ਲਗਮ
brahma ras	sugarcane	drink of the gods	[10]	ਬ੍ਰਹਮਰਸ	ਗੰਨਾ
būndī	boiled gram	sweets	[10]	ਬੂੰਦੀ	ਉਬਲੀ ਦਾਲ
chalākā	thick needle	clever man	[10]	ਚਾਲਕਾ	ਸੂਆ
chalākan	spud, hoe (tool)	clever woman	[10]	ਚਲਾਕਣ	ਖੁਰਪਾ
chāndanī-pulāo	parched millet	dish of cooked rice	[10]	ਚਾਂਦਨੀ ਪੁਲਾਓ	ਖਿੱਚੜੀ
charandāsī	shoes	maidservant, attached to the master's feet	[10]	ਚਰਨਦਾਸੀ	ਜੁੱਤੀ
chimanī begum	opium	humorous name for a woman	[10]	ਚਿਮਾਨੀ ਬੇਗਮ	ਆਫ਼ੀਮ
dharamrāj dī dhī	sleep, sleeping	daughter of the mythical Dharam Rāj, dispensar of Divine justice, daughter of the angel of death	[10][24]	ਧਰਮਰਾਜ ਦੀ ਧੀ	ਨੀਂਦ
dharamrāj dā puttar	fever	Dharam Rāj's son	[10]	ਧਰਮਰਾਜ ਦਾ ਪੁੱਤਰ	ਬੁਖਾਰ
dhūṛkoṭ	woman's heavy skirt	the fort of dust	[10]	ਧੂਰਕੋਟ	ਘੱਗਰਾ
dusāṅgā	trousers	fork	[10]	ਦੁਸਾਂਗਾ	ਪਤਲੂਨ
fateh kumait	black-coloured club	winning bay horse	[10]	ਫਤਿਹ ਕੁਮੈਤ
gaṅgā jal	liquor	water of the Ganges	[10]	ਗੰਗਾ ਜਲ	ਸ਼ਰਾਬ
guptā	dumb	secretive	[10]	ਗੁਪਤਾ	ਬੋਲਾ
harā	dried	green	[10]	ਹਰਾ	ਸੁੱਕਾ
harn hoṇā	to flee	to become a deer	[10]	ਹਰਨ ਹੋਣਾ	ਭੱਜ ਜਾਣਾ
hukam sat	dead	true order	[10]	ਹੁਕਮ ਸੱਤ	ਮਰਨਾ
ilāchī	a twig of palāhi or acacia chewed to cleanse teeth	cardamom	[10]	ਇਲਾਚੀ
indrāṇī	emaciated mare	Indra's consort	[10]	ਇੰਦ੍ਰਾਣੀ	ਮਰੀਅਲ ਘੋੜੀ
jagat jūṭh	hukkā; hubble-bubble	universal pollution	[10]	ਜਗਤ ਜੂਠ	ਹੁੱਕਾ / ਤੰਬਾਕੁ
joṛ melnī	sewing needle	match-maker	[10]	ਜੋੜ ਮੇਲਣੀ	ਕੱਪੜਾ ਬੁਣਨ ਵਾਲੀ ਸੁਈ
kalgā	bala person	plume	[10]	ਕਲੰਗਾ	ਗੰਜਾ
kanūngo	stick, walking-stick	a revenue official	[10]	ਕਾਨੂੰਗੋ	ਸੋਟੀ
kaṭṭā	elephant	young buffalo-calf	[10]	ਕੱਟਾ	ਹਾਥੀ
khaṇḍ	ashes	sugar	[10]	ਖੰਡ	ਸੁਆਹ
kotal	charpoy, bedstead	horse of good breed	[10]	ਕੋਤਲ	ਮੰਜਾ
kūch	death	march	[10]
kuhī	sickle	bird of prey	[10]
lāchīdāṇā	millet	cardamom seeds	[10]
mahāṅ prasād	meat curry	supreme dish	[10]
māmalā lainā	to collect victuals or donations	to collect land revenue	[10]
nākhāṅ	fruit of banyan tree	pears	[10]
nihakalaṅk	earthen pitcher	without blemish	[10]
pañj isnānā	washing of face, hands, and feet only	five times bath	[10]
parī	sheep	fairy	[10]
pauṇ turaṅg	jaded, worn-out pony	flying horse	[10]
pauṇ parkāsh	fan	lighter of wind	[10]
phirnī	hand-operated millstone	circulator	[10]
rajjī	ladle	satiated	[10]
rāmbāgh	forest	garden of Rāma	[10]
rāmjaṅgā	gun, musket	Rāma of battle	[10]
rāmlaḍḍū	watermelon	sweet balls of Rāma	[10]
roṛ	kidney bean	gravel	[10]
Roop Kaur, Rup Kaur, rūpkaur	pitcher in which milk is boiled	beautiful princess, woman's name	[10]
rūp ras	salt, salt water	silvery drink	[10]
sabaz pulāo	dish made of sarsoṅ (mustard) leaves	green dish of rice	[10]
sadā gulāb	acacia tree	perennial rose	[10]
safājaṅg	hatchet	cleanser in battle	[10]
saugī	green gram grain	dried grapes	[10]
shahidī deg	drink prepared from hemp	martyr's cooking-vessel	[10]
shāh jahāṅ	poppy plant	king of the world	[10]
sirkhiṇḍī	raw sugar	woman with untied scattered hair	[10]
sodhaṇā	to punish; to beat	to apply correction	[10]
sukhdeī	mattress	woman, bringer of comfort	[10]
sukhnidhān	drink of hemp	treasure-house of comforts and happiness	[10]
sundarī	broom	beautiful woman	[10]
ṭhīkarī	coin, rupee	shard	[10]
ujāgar	earthen lamp	well-known, shining	[10]
quilla dhana	urination or defecation	collapse/conquer a fort, Chittor or Multan	[8][22]
Nihal Kaur, nihalkaur	blanket	woman's name, meaning "content princess"	[15]
larki	green chillies	girl	[15]
rupa, ruppā	onion	beautiful, beauty, silver piece	[15][9][24][10]
dhid phookni, tid fookni	tea	stomach burner	[15][24]
thokhay baj	(spoon) of sugar		[15]
akaash pari, akāshparī	goat	sky fairy, fairy of heaven	[15][10]
larraaki	refers to an individual with a martial spirit	red chillies	[15]
akkar-bhan	fever		[15]
sukha	Cannabis concocted beverage (bhang), tranquilizer	peace of mind, happiness, pleasurable	[15][24]
araakis	horses		[15]
thanedaar	donkey	station house officer	[15]
qazi, kaji, kāzī	cockerel,[note 1] cook	judge in the field of Islamic jurisprudence, interpreter of Islamic law	[15][24][10]
chhauni, chhauṇī	undergarments (kacchera), the camp of Nihaṅgs	encampment, cantonment	[15][10]
aflatoon	quilt	braggart, bragger, boaster	[15]
aandey	potatoes	eggs	[15]
aring baring	lying down	wrestling	[15][24]
Basant Kaur, basantkaur	corn, maize	combination of Basant (Spring festival) + Kaur (princess) meaning "spring princess", a woman's name	[15][24][10]
billa	Englishman	tomcat	[15][24]
bhuchanger	children	snake	[15]
chugal	mirror	back-biter, tattler	[15][24]
DC	limper		[15][24]
dhullay	meat		[15][24]
gobinday, gobindā	watermelon(s), melon(s)	a man's name	[15][24][10]
gobindyia, gobindī	carrot(s)	a woman's name	[15][24][10]
jahaj, jahāz	cart, bullock-cart	ship	[15][24][10]
sarb ras, sarab ras	salt	essence of life, manifold flavour	[15][24][10]
siropa	beating	robe of honour	[15][24]
tehsildar	intelligent	tax official of a tehsil (administrative unit)	[15][24]
Teja Singh, tejasingh	train	Sikh man's name, meaning Fast[25] Lion	[15]
athak savārī, athakk savārī	pair of shoes or slippers	tireless mount	[12]: 120 [10]
charāī karnā, chaṛhāī karnā	to die	to invade, charge or set out on an expedition	[12]: 120 [26][10]
lakh netarā, lakhnetarā	blind in one eye	one with 100,000 eyes	[12]: 120 [10]
mast, mastana, mastānā	empty of personal supplies, empty of provisions	in a state of ecstasy, carefree	[12]: 120 [24][10]
savā lakh	approach of one Nihang Sikh	125,000-strong army	[13][12]: 120 [22][26]
	eating almonds	eating parched gram	[9]
rupee	pebbles	rupee currency	[9]
	a quarrelsome woman	red chilli	[19]
garamjal	beverage concoction made of cannabis and hot water	hot water	[19]
khoti chuṅghāṇā	smoking, hukkā, pipe	kissing a female donkey, sucking a she-ass smoking	[19][10]
golee	medicinal pill, tablet, or capsule	bullet	[27][28]
veer	brother	brave	[18]
fauj	oneself	army	[18]
mithe parshad	old bread, leftover roti or chapati more than a day-old	sweet and blessed bread or sacrament	[18][24]
tar pulaw, tar pulāo	dry bread or meal	aromatic gravied rice, juicy dish of rice	[18][10]
langar mast	nothing to eat, hunger	happy time, intoxication	[18][26]
chhapa maarna	showing up spontaneously to the homes of friends or relatives	guerilla ambush, surprise attack	[18]
Dharamraj di dhee di sewa	being ill	being cared for by the angel of death's daughter	[18]
jān bhai	personal horse	dearest brother, blood brother	[18][24]
Pathan sira	cauliflower	Pashtun head[note 2]	[18][24]
chhilad, chhillar	money, rupee, coin	tree bark, husk	[18][10]
resham	Jute (bast fibre)	silk	[18][10]
budhiye	young lady	old lady	[18]
panjwan, pañjavāṅ	clarified butter, ghee	fifth	[18][10]
chaiwan	cooking oil		[18]
chup	sugar	silence	[24]
choona, chūnā	flour	lime-stone powder, lime	[24][10]
panj ratnee	wine, alcohol	five jewelled	[18]
titari	karela (bitter melon or bitter gourd)		[18]
karadhee	radish		[18]
garday	rice		[24]
samudar	milk	ocean, sea	[15][24][10]
kastoora, kastūrā	pig	musk-deer	[24][10]
kesar	turmeric	saffron	[24][10]
badam	groundnuts, chickpeas, grams, parched grams	almonds	[24][10]
aaracaa	horse		[18]
harni, harnī	louse, lice, fly	doe	[18][10]
baaj	iron rod	hawk, falcon	[18]
bhuchangee, bhuhhangi	son	snake	[24]
aakarhpun	fever or bodily illness	arrogance	[24]
irāqī	miserable pony, horse of poor quality	Arab or Iraqi steed, thoroughbred from Iraq	[26][10]
bata	iron bowl		[24]
birajkay	seated	holding court	[24]
gurh	jaggery (unrefined cane sugar)		[24]
heeray	white hairs	diamonds	[29]
hulla	hurry	blast of eastern winds	[24]
jhatanga	goat		[24]
kulga	baldy (bald person)		[24]
laraki	chilli, spice	shrew	[24]
mamla	money	revenue	[24]
morcha	endeavour	front line	[24]
parsram	axe		[24]
patwari	cat	tax-collector/village accountant	[24]
bhootni, bhūtanī	rail locomotive (train), dust storm	female ghost, witch	[24][10]
subhedar	sweeper	governor/warrant officer	[24]
theekar, ṭhīkar	body	shell, broken piece of pottery	[24][10]
dhokhay baaj	spoon	imposter	[24]
vaheer	mobile		[24]
ghorrhey	jutti shoes	horses	[24]
shaheedi maar	punishment to the guilty	a martyr's beating	[24]
sawaayaa	A little	one and a quarter	[24]
haraa pallaa	grass	green rice	[24]
sheesh mahal	shanty, crumbling shack through which the sky peeps	palace of mirrors, glass palace	[24][10]
swarag	calamity	heaven	[24]
hazaar mekhee	worn-out scarf		[24]
gurmukhi parshad	coarse grain	blessed sacrament from the mouth of the Guru	[24]
dabrroo ghusrooh	individual lacking in Sikh conduct		[24]
sūrmā	blind person	wide-awake hero, hero, warrior	[30][10]
	half-blind man	argus-eyed lion	[30]
chubāre chaṛhiā	deaf person	one on the upper storey	[30][10]
	baptised Sikh	brother of the golden cup (actually an iron vessel)	[30]
tankhāh	to be fined by the community for a fault, penalty for breach of religious code	getting one's salary, salary	[30][10]
	big stick	lawyer	[30]
	to speak	roar	[30]

See also

• Chardi kala
• Punjabi language
• Punjabi dialects and languages
• Sant Bhasha

Further reading

• Padam, Piara Singh (1985). Khalsa Bole ਖਾਲਸਈ ਬੋਲੇ [Khalsa language] (PDF) (in Punjabi).
• Bedi, Daljit Singh. Nihang Singha De Khalsai Gadgaj Bole ਨਿਹੰਗ ਸਿੰਘਾਂ ਦੇ ਖਾਲਸਾਈ ਗੜਗੱਜ ਬੋਲੇ [The Khalsa of the Nihang Singhs roared] (in Punjabi).
• Singh, Teja (1929). Humour in Sikhism (PDF) (2nd ed.). Amritsar: The Star Book Depot.

Notes

1. Paishachi, Saurasheni, or Gandhari Prakrits have been proposed as the ancestor Middle Indo-Aryan language to Punjabi.

1. This is due to the Qazis being associated with the Islamic call to prayer (azhan), a likeness is made to the call of a cockerel, and them demanding the non-Muslims of an area pay the Jizya tax, which was despised by the non-Muslim commoners, was a call of nature.
2. Please see Afghan-Sikh Wars for background information on historical Afghan-Sikh relations.