Origin 1600 to 1700
The cloths in which the Guru Granth Sahib is wrapped and covered. A set covers the volume when it is closed, drapes the seat on which it rests, and is folded back when it is opened for the day.
The word means a covering cloth, and the sets are made in silk and brocade, often heavily embroidered, and frequently given to a gurdwara as an offering to mark a birth, a marriage, a recovery or a death. Presenting rumalas is among the commonest ways a Sikh family makes an offering, and a large gurdwara accumulates far more than it can use.
They are the vestments of the Guru, in the plain sense that a sovereign is dressed. The volume is covered when at rest, uncovered when in session, wrapped for the journey to the resting room at night, and never left uncovered and closed. Handling them is done with covered head and washed hands, and worn or damaged rumalas are not discarded with refuse but disposed of respectfully.
The volume of donated cloth has become a practical problem that Sikh institutions discuss openly. Gurdwaras receive far more than can be used, and the accumulated surplus is redistributed to smaller gurdwaras, given away, or in some cases returned to donors with a request that the money be given to the langar or to relief work instead, an argument, made from within, that an offering which merely accumulates is not doing what an offering is for.
Facts
Use
Who May Handle ItAdherents of the tradition 2 ConsecrationNot consecrated; an instrument, not a consecrated object 2 Physical Form
MaterialSilk, brocade, cotton or other cloth, often embroidered 1 Origins
Origin Period Learn More
The Cloths That Dress the Scripture
The rumala sahib are the cloths in which the Guru Granth Sahib is wrapped and covered, and they belong to the treatment of the scripture as a living and honoured presence.
Wrapping and draping
A set of rumala sahib covers the volume when it is closed, drapes the seat on which it rests, and adorns the space around it, so that the scripture is clothed and its resting place made fitting, in the way the person of an honoured sovereign would be attended. The cloths are often of rich fabric, embroidered and fine, and their provision and changing are acts of service and devotion, the offering of a set of rumala being a common way for a Sikh to make a gift to the gurdwara.
Part of the court of honour
Like the canopy, the raised seat and the whisk, the rumala sahib follow from the standing of the Guru Granth Sahib as the living Guru, and they are among the marks of royal and reverent honour arranged around it, so that the scripture is not stored but enthroned and attended. The clothing of the volume in fine cloths expresses the same conviction as the other elements of its ceremonial care, that the book holds the authority and the presence of the Gurus. The rumala are thus both a practical covering that protects the scripture and a devotional offering, and they take their meaning from the honour paid to the Guru present in the volume they wrap.
Donated Rather Than Commissioned, and What Happens When One Wears Out
Rumala Sahib are silk, brocade or fine cotton cloths, frequently embroidered, and unlike most furnishings a gurdwara owns, they are typically donated by individual families rather than commissioned wholesale by the institution, an act of seva that makes gifting a rumala a common and personal form of devotion.
A specific market of embroiderers
Professional textile artisans in Punjab produce rumala specifically for this purpose, embroidering verses, floral motifs or symbols to order for families who want to mark an occasion, a birth, an anniversary, a death, by donating a cloth for the scripture rather than a plaque or a monetary gift alone.
Custody, laundering and retirement
Sevadars are responsible for changing and laundering rumala on a regular schedule, handled with the same care given to any object that dresses the Guru Granth Sahib directly. A rumala too worn for that use is not thrown away, gurdwaras commonly cut worn cloths down into smaller ritual pieces, give them to devotees as blessed keepsakes, or retire them respectfully rather than treating them as ordinary worn out fabric.
A textile trade with its own reputation
Certain towns in Punjab have built a specific reputation for fine rumala embroidery, similar to how other regions became known for particular textile crafts, and families sometimes seek out a specific workshop by name when commissioning a cloth for an important occasion rather than buying whatever is available locally, treating the donation as a considered gift rather than a routine purchase.
Cross-Tradition Connections
Belongs to Tradition
Element Of
The cloths in which the scripture is wrapped when it is not being read, changed and offered by the congregation.
Implement Of
Related To
Rumala Sahib cloths wrap and cover the Guru Granth Sahib when it is closed and drape its seat when it is open.
Sources
1. J.S. Grewal, The Sikhs of the Punjab (New Cambridge History of India II.3)
J. S. Grewal, Cambridge University Press, 1998on the treatment of the Guru Granth SahibView the Source 2. The Encyclopaedia of Sikhism
Harbans Singh (editor-in-chief), Punjabi University, Patiala, 1998on the rumala and the ceremonial care of the scriptureView the Source Sikh Rahit Maryada, the Sikh Code of Conduct
Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, 1945On the covering of the Guru Granth Sahibthe holders' own accountView the Source Historical Dictionary of Sikhism, 3rd edition
Louis E. Fenech and W. H. McLeod, Rowman and Littlefield, 2014View the Source Reader Challenges (0 open reader challenges)
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