ABSTRACT
This chapter charts the first generation of Sikh women's lives and songs after settling in rural California in the mid-century. Using Ocean as Method, this chapter analyzes women's critical role in creating sacred spaces in monthly prayer gatherings, as well as their contributions to the local gurdwara (Sikh houses of worship). It examines women's public performance of their Sikh faith and identity in Yuba City's Nagar Kirtan (a traveling court of divine music). The ocean, and water in numerous forms, figured prominently in the sacred songs performed by women. Particular attention is paid to women's performance of the Bārah Māh (Song of the Twelve Months) composition by Guru Arjan from the Guru Granth Sahib in which the blessed bride navigates the faithful toward union with the Divine One. It also emphasizes the powerful role of female affinities and devotional singing in forming crucial forms of support in women's lives, which are understood as forming the “Boat” that carries the soul across the “Terrifying World-Ocean” in Sikh metaphysics.
