I am currently doing research on Sikhs in WW1, and Sikh soldiers who fought for or against the British more generally. I have been spending a lot of time examining photographs from this time period. One image that has been recurring is the adoption of Sikh attire, in particular the turban/pagri by non-Indians. For example, there was a famous warrior who fought against the Sikhs in the Sepoy mutiny, Sir Dighton Probyn, who famously sported Indian dress in battle and when posing for a painting of himself. There was also Alexander Gardner, a soldier in Maharajah Ranjit Singh's army. Why do you think they might have taken this on? I think it certainly has to do with orientalism and the fearsome reputation of the Sikhs as representatives of a martial race. Has anyone come across any research in this area?
Try this: Dharvan, P. 2011, When Sparrows Became Hawks: The Making of the Sikh Warrior Tradition, 1699-1799. Oxford
Hi. You want to get in touch with anthropologist Harjant Gill at Towson University, the filmmaker of "Roots of Love" about Sikh conflicts of modernity vis a vis hair cutting. He is very knowledgeable and accessible.
Dear Angela, although your interest is very specific, the following book might help you getting some ideas on how to answer the various questions you have:
Tobin, B. F. (1999). Picturing imperial power: Colonial subjects in eighteenth-century British painting. Durham, N.C: Duke University Press.
In anthropology, some consider the practice of wearing the enemies' costumes as a kind of symbolic exocannibalism, i.e., the symbolic consumption of outgroup-members as an anticipated or subsequent celebration of victory against the opponents. At the same time the practice might represent the idea that "eating" your opponents will endow you with those characteristics of your enemies that you need in order to overcome them.
Good success with your research!
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