Mela Maghi (Punjabi: ਮੇਲਾ ਮਾਘੀ (Gurmukhi)), held at the holy city of Sri Muktsar Sahib each year in January or the month of Magh according to Nanakshahi calendar and it is one of the most important melas or fairs of India and the most impo…
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Mela Maghi (Punjabi: ਮੇਲਾ ਮਾਘੀ (Gurmukhi)), held at the holy city of Sri Muktsar Sahib each year in January or the month of Magh according to Nanakshahi calendar and it is one of the most important melas or fairs of India and the most impo…
01 · What it is
Living Tradition
Documented cultural tradition on record; family classification awaits an editor.
02 · Where & name
India
Placed on record in India.
03 · How it is doing
□□□□ (Not yet assessed)
Documented in open cultural records, but no cited field assessment of its current vitality has been added here yet.
04 · Proof & reuse
2 cited sources
Every claim links to a public record below. Free to quote, teach, and share under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Chapter Takeaways
HistoryIn Sikhism, the Magha mela – along with Diwali and Vaisakhi – were three festivals recognized by Guru Amar Das who urged Sikhs to gather for a community festival (1552–1574 CE).
Common Questions Answered on Record
What is Mela Maghi in plain words?
Mela Maghi (Punjabi: ਮੇਲਾ ਮਾਘੀ (Gurmukhi)), held at the holy city of Sri Muktsar Sahib each year in January or the month of Magh according to Nanakshahi calendar and it is one of the most important melas or fairs of India and the most impo…
Where is Mela Maghi practised or documented?
Sources on this page place Mela Maghi in India.
What is the current condition of Mela Maghi today?
□□□□ (Not yet assessed): Documented in open cultural records, but no cited field assessment of its current vitality has been added here yet.
How do I cite or share this Mela Maghi entry?
Cite as: "Mela Maghi." folkroom, https://folkroom.org/art-forms/mela-maghi, text CC BY-SA, with attribution.
Mela Maghi (Punjabi: ਮੇਲਾ ਮਾਘੀ (Gurmukhi)), held at the holy city of Sri Muktsar Sahib each year in January or the month of Magh according to Nanakshahi calendar and it is one of the most important melas or fairs of India and the most important of all religiously significant gatherings of the Sikhs. 1
History
In Sikhism, the Magha mela – along with Diwali and Vaisakhi – were three festivals recognized by Guru Amar Das who urged Sikhs to gather for a community festival (1552–1574 CE). It is popularly known as Maghi, and it now marks the memory of the forty martyrs during a Muslim-Sikh war (1705 CE) during the time of the Guru Gobind Singh. The largest Maghi gathering is found in Muktsar. According to Pashaura Singh and Louis Fenech, Guru Amar Das built Goindwal Sahib as a Sikh pilgrimage site (tirath). He also built a baoli – stepped water tank – at Goindwal for ritual bathing.
Shri Guru Gobind Singh ordained Maghi as one of the three festivals that would be celebrated by the Sikhs. The other two are Baisakhi and Bandhi chor divas (Diwali)
After the battle of Sri Muktsar Sahib which took place on 3rd May 1705, (21 Vaisakh 1762 Bikrami calendar) Maghi came to be associated with the forty Sikhs and the battle of Sri Muktsar Sahib.
The Maghi fair is held to honour the memory of the forty Sikh warriors killed during the Battle of Muktsar in 1705. Muktsar, originally called Khidrana, was named as Muktsar ("the pool of liberation") following the battle. These forty Sikhs, led by their leader Mahan Singh, had formally deserted Sri Guru Gobind Singh ji in the need of hour, and signed a written memorandum to the effect. When Mai Bhago, a valiant and upright lady, heard of this cowardly act, she scolded the Singh's and inspired them refresh with spirit of bravery for which Sikhs are known. Hence, the unit returned and joined the Guru who was already engaged in action at Khidrana. All forty of them attained martyrdom. 1
The text above is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Mela Maghi”, available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. 1
Mela Maghi is occasion when Sikhs commemorate the sacrifice of forty Sikhs, according to the structured record cited below. This entry was generated automatically from that record and has not yet been reviewed by a person familiar with the tradition. 2