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{{Short description|Sikh community kitchen where a free meal is served to anyone without distinction }}
{{For|the Sufi practice|Langar (Sufism)}}
[[File:Langar.jpg|thumb|A community meal in progress at a Sikh langar|261x261px]]
{{Sikh practices}}
In [[Sikhism]], a '''langar''' ({{lang-pa|ਲੰਗਰ}}, 'kitchen'<ref name=maha5>Pashaura Singh, Louis E. Fenech, 2014, [https://books.google.com/id=CzYeAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT530&dq=mahaprasad+similar+to+langar&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiO9qGZxbDfAhVLtI8KHZ18Cw8Q6AEINTAC The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies]{{dead link|date=July 2019}}</ref>) is the community kitchen of a [[gurdwara]], which serves meals to all free of charge, regardless of religion, [[caste]], gender, economic status, or ethnicity. People sit on the floor and eat together, and the kitchen is maintained and serviced by Sikh community volunteers.<ref>{{cite book|author=Mark McWilliams|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yj8QDgAAQBAJ|title=Food & Material Culture: Proceedings of the Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery 2013|publisher=Oxford Symposium|year=2014|isbn=978-1-909248-40-3|page=265}}</ref> The meals served at a langar are always [[vegetarian]].<ref>William Owen Cole and Piara Singh Sambhi (1995), The Sikhs: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices, Sussex Academic Press, {{ISBN|978-1898723134}}, page 148</ref>

== Etymology ==
''Langar'' is a Persian word that was eventually incorporated into the Punjabi language and lexicon.<ref>Kathleen Seidel, ''[http://www.superluminal.com/cookbook/essay_serving_love.html Serving Love]'', ''Serving the Guest: A Sufi Cookbook", September 2000. Accessed 15 January 2010.</ref><ref>{{citation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pNmxzoKBm30C&pg=PA245|title=My Hindu Faith and Periscope, Volume 1|author=Satish C. Bhatnagar|date=November 2012|page=245|isbn=9781466960978}}</ref><ref>{{citation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=knA9NptP7xsC&pg=PA1130|title=A Comprehensive Persian-English Dictionary|page=1130|isbn=9788120606708|last1=Steingass|first1=Francis Joseph|year=1992}}</ref>

==Origins==
Concept of charity and providing cooked meals or uncooked raw material to ascetics and wandering yogis has been known in eastern cultures for over 2000 years. However, in spite of institutional support from several kings and emperors of the Delhi sultanate (up to the Mughal empire), it could not be institutionalized into a sustainable community kitchen, but continued as volunteer-run free food opportunities. Such distribution of free food was often limited to specific Hindu festivals or events at dargahs of Sufi saints. Exclusion of people based on castes and religion, further limited their outreach, which makes it questionable if they can be truly called 'community kitchens'. However, the community kitchen started by the Sikh Gurus, was universal and accepting of people from all faiths and backgrounds, a tradition which has continued to this day. The type of food served and the method of cooking employed, further helped make Sikh langar universally accepted by all faiths and castes.

Several writers such as Gurinder Singh Mann and Arvind-Pal Singh Mandair have alluded to this fact of cooked food (or raw material) being provided to travelers, ascetics and wandering yogis,<ref>{{Cite book|last=Mann|first=Gurinder Singh|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PC4d-5xrysIC&q=langar+nath+yogis&pg=PA140|title=The Making of Sikh Scripture|date=2001-05-03|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-802987-8|language=en}}</ref> free food distribution practices being in vogue in fifteenth century among various religious groups like [[Hindus|Hindu]] [[Nath]] [[Yogi]]s and [[Muslims|Muslim]] [[Sufism|Sufi]] saints.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Singh|first1=Pashaura|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8I0NAwAAQBAJ&q=langar-type+nath+yogis&pg=PA319|title=The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies|last2=Fenech|first2=Louis E.|date=March 2014|publisher=OUP Oxford|isbn=978-0-19-969930-8|language=en}}</ref><ref name="Mandair2013p252">{{cite book|author=Arvind-Pal Singh Mandair|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BEP0Ty-GuVEC|title=Sikhism: A Guide for the Perplexed|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|year=2013|isbn=978-1-4411-1708-3}}</ref> However, no evidence exists of formal institutionalized community kitchens, providing cooked free meals, continuously, over a period of time by any particular community.

The roots of such volunteer-run charitable feeding is very old in Indian tradition; for example: Hindu temples of the [[Gupta Empire]] era had attached kitchen and [[almshouse]] called ''[[Dharamshala (type of building)|dharma-shala]]'' or ''dharma-sattra'' to feed the travelers and poor, or whatever donation they may leave.<ref>{{cite book|author=Manabendu Banerjee|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=U_YyAAAAIAAJ|title=Historical and Social Interpretations of the Gupta Inscriptions|publisher=Sanskrit Pustak Bhandar|year=1989|pages=83–84}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Vasudeva Upadhyay|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zIgBAAAAMAAJ|title=The Socio-religious Condition of North India, 700-1200 A. D.: Based on Archaeological Sources|publisher=[[Munshi Manoharlal]]|year=1964|page=306}}</ref> These community kitchens and rest houses are evidenced in epigraphical evidence, and in some cases referred to as ''satram'' (for example, ''Annasya Satram''), ''[[choultry]]'', or ''chathram'' in parts of India.<ref>[a] {{cite book|author=Prabhavati C. Reddy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TkUsAwAAQBAJ|title=Hindu Pilgrimage: Shifting Patterns of Worldview of Srisailam in South India|publisher=Routledge|year=2014|isbn=978-1-317-80631-8|page=99}};

[b] [http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-sundaymagazine/sanctuaries-of-times-past/article487938.ece Sanctuaries of times past] The Hindu (June 27, 2010)</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Singh|first=A.K.|year=2002|title=A Śaiva Monastic Complex of the Kalacuris at Chunari in Central India|journal=South Asian Studies|publisher=Taylor & Francis|volume=18|issue=1|pages=47–52|doi=10.1080/02666030.2002.9628606|s2cid=191573026}}</ref> In fact, Sikh historian Kapur Singh refers to Langar as an [[Aryan]] institution.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Siṅgha|first=Prakāsha|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q4XXAAAAMAAJ&q=Langar+Aryan+institution|title=Community Kitchen of the Sikhs|date=1994|publisher=Singh Bros.|isbn=978-81-7205-099-3|language=en}}</ref> Such kitchens were limited to sangrand or masya or other specific festivals. Often, these kitchens precluded lower castes and hence it's questionable if they can be called 'community kitchens'. Due to the cooking practices of various religions and yogi orders, many would stay away from such 'free-meals'. For example, Hindus would not attend Muslim langars and vice versa. However, the community kitchen started by the Sikh Gurus, was universal and accepting of people from all faiths and backgrounds, a tradition which has continued to this day.

The Chinese Buddhist pilgrim [[Yijing (monk)|I Ching]] (7th century CE) wrote about monasteries with such volunteer-run kitchens.<ref>{{cite book|author=William M. Johnston|author-link=William M. Johnston|title=Encyclopedia of Monasticism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iepJAgAAQBAJ |year=2013|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-136-78716-4|pages=953–954}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author1=Nancy Auer Falk|author2=Rita M. Gross|title=Unspoken worlds: women's religious lives in non-western cultures|url= https://archive.org/details/unspokenworldswo00falkrich|url-access=registration|year=1980|publisher=Harper & Row|isbn=978-0-06-063492-6|pages=[https://archive.org/details/unspokenworldswo00falkrich/page/210 210]–211}}</ref> The institution of the Langar emerged from [[Fariduddin Ganjshakar]],<ref>{{citation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L2l56GzQ7d0C&pg=PA45|title=Epilogue, Vol 4, Issue 1 |page=45}}</ref><ref>{{citation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6fI7AQAAIAAJ|title=Transactions, Volume 4|publisher=Indian Institute of Advanced Study|author=R. Nivas|others=The word langar, and this institution has been borrowed, so to speak, from the Sufis. The khanqas of the Chisti and other Sufi saints had a langar open to the poor and the rich, though the Hindus mostly kept away from them. To make the Brahmin sit with the pariah and do away with untouch- ability, and to make the Hindus and Muslims eat from the same kitchen and destroy all social|page=190|year=1967}}</ref> a Sufi Muslim saint living in the Punjab region during the 13th century. This concept further spread and is documented in ''Jawahir al-Faridi'' compiled in 1623 CE.<ref>{{cite book|author=Barbara D. Metcalf|author-link=Barbara D. Metcalf|title=Moral Conduct and Authority: The Place of Adab in South Asian Islam|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y5-vzVq8hdkC |year=1984|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-04660-3|pages=336–339}}</ref>

The concept of langar—which was designed to be upheld among all people, regardless of religion, caste, colour, creed, age, gender, or social status—was an innovative charity and symbol of equality introduced into Sikhism by its founder, [[Guru Nanak]] around 1500 CE in North Indian state of Punjab.<ref name="Mandair2013p252" />

The second Guru of Sikhism, [[Guru Angad]], is remembered in Sikh tradition for systematizing the institution of langar in all Sikh temple premises, where visitors from near and far could get a free simple meal in a simple and equal seating.<ref name="Mandair2013p252"/>{{Rp|35–7}}<ref>{{cite book|author1=Pashaura Singh|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8I0NAwAAQBAJ|title=The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies|author2=Louis E. Fenech|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2014|isbn=978-0-19-969930-8|page=319}}</ref> He also set rules and training method for volunteers (''[[sevadar]]s'') who operated the kitchen, placing emphasis on treating it as a place of rest and refuge, and being always polite and hospitable to all visitors.<ref name="Mandair2013p252"/>{{Rp|35–7}}

It was the third Guru, [[Guru Amar Das]], who established langar as a prominent institution, and required people to dine together irrespective of their caste and class.<ref>{{cite book|author=Eleanor Nesbitt|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zD8SDAAAQBAJ|title=Sikhism: A Very Short Introduction|date=28 April 2016|publisher=OUP Oxford|isbn=978-0-19-106277-3}}</ref> He encouraged the practice of langar, and made all those who visited him attend langar before they could speak to him.<ref>{{cite book|last=Singh|first=Prithi Pal|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EhGkVkhUuqoC&pg=PA38|title=The History of Sikh Gurus|publisher=Lotus Press|year=2006|isbn=81-8382-075-1|location=New Delhi|page=38|chapter=3 Guru Amar Das}}</ref>

==Contemporary practice==
[[File:A group of volunteers helping with daily food preparation for Langar at the Golden Temple.jpg|thumb|250px|Volunteers helping prepare food for Langar at the [[Golden Temple]]]]
Langars are held in [[gurdwara]]s all over the world, most of which attract members of the [[homeless]] population. The volunteers feed people without any discrimination, alongside the Sikh devotees who gather.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-magazine-monitor-31557192|title=Why homeless Britons are turning to the Sikh community for food|date=22 February 2015|access-date=2 April 2018|via=www.bbc.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.thenational.scot/news/14903892.on-the-streets-with-the-sikh-charity-helping-to-feed-those-most-in-need/ | title=Scotland: Sikh charity feeds those most in need | work=[[The National (Scotland)|The National]] | date=July 14, 2016 | access-date=September 30, 2019 | author=Paterson, Kirsteen }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.sbs.com.au/language/english/sikh-volunteers-take-hot-food-to-homeless-in-melbourne | title=Sikh volunteers take hot food to homeless in Melbourne | publisher=[[SBS Punjabi]] | date=March 8, 2017 | access-date=September 30, 2019 | author=Shamsher Kainth}}</ref> Almost all gurdwaras operate langars where local communities, sometimes consisting of hundreds or thousands of visitors, join for a simple vegetarian meal.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Harold Coward|author-link=Harold Coward|author2=Raymond Brady Williams|author3=John R. Hinnells|author3-link=John R. Hinnells|title=The South Asian Religious Diaspora in Britain, Canada, and the United States|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Zsj7MfYXSZ4C |year=2000|publisher=SUNY Press|isbn=978-0-7914-4509-9|pages=196–198}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Bhog#In Sikhism|Bhog]]
* [[Prasad|Prasad (Hinduism)]]

==Notes and references==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
* {{cite journal | last1=Desjardins | first1=Michel | last2=Desjardins | first2=Ellen | title=Food that Builds Community: The Sikh Langar in Canada | journal=Cuizine: The Journal of Canadian Food Cultures | publisher=Consortium Erudit | volume=1 | issue=2 | year=2009| doi=10.7202/037851ar| doi-access=free }}

{{Sikhism}}

[[Category:Punjabi words and phrases]]
[[Category:Sikh practices]]
[[Category:Sikh terminology]]
[[Category:Vegetarian dishes of India]]
[[Category:Free meals]]
[[Category:Punjabi cuisine]]

Langar (Sikhism) - Revision history

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