Sikh Community

Sikh Community in Hamilton | General Information about the Sikh Community

Sikh Community in Hamilton

• Population in Canada:

  Around 400,000

• Population in Hamilton:

  Around 6,000

• History of immigration:

  Hamilton's Sikh community originally comes from India.

• Major Languages:

  English, Punjabi and Hindi

Common Foods

Basmati Rice, Whole wheat Dals Tandoori style of cooking.

Traditional Clothing

• Women's clothing:

  Punjabi Suits, Saris, Ghagra Chooli, Kurtas, and Pajamas are the traditional dresses.

• Men's clothing:

  Men clothing: Punjabi kurta pajama, Punjabi jutti, loongi and Dhotis.

• Children's clothing:

  Kurta pajamas, pants or shorts and shirt.

Art and Culture

• Musical Instruments:

  Sitar, Hum pet, Flute, Drums, Tabla and Drums are all popular instruments. (Photo Gallery)

  The Sitar is an instrument with a body often made from pumpkin gourd, and a long neck similar to lute. It has approximately 18 strings and is made from special wood.

  The sitar was popularized in the west in the 1960's by Indian virtuoso Ravi Shankar and has since been used in western rock music.

• Major sport activities:

  Cricket

• Music:

  Traditional music serves a social purpose and is customarily performed by a group of people known as griots. Soukous is the music of the city, upbeat and celebratory. This musical style blends Cuban rhumba music with some elements of American Jazz and rock. Other influences include European polkas and marches, gospel songs and sailor's ballads.

• Dance:

  Khatakh, Bharat Natyam, Odissi and Katha Kali.

• Visual Arts:

  Woodcarving is a popular art form, as are miniatures, paintings, murals and sculptures. Miniatures are paintings usually done on silk or paper with ink or dye.

• Architecture:

  Amber Palace in Jaipur, the palace in Fatepur Sikri, the Red Fort and course of Taj Mahal, both in Agra.

• Major Films:

  India's film industry is one of the largest in the world, producing about 800 feature films a year. Some famous ones are "Lagan" "Boot Polish" and "Shree 420".

• Major schools attended by community youth:

  Cathedral High School

• Major occupations of the community's members:

  Researchers, Doctors (3), Engineers, Electrician.

• Major businesses in Hamilton:

  Small to big business wage employees.

• Areas of residence of the community's members in Hamilton:

  Stoney Creek Hamilton and Downtown Hamilton.

General Information about the Sikh community

• Location:

  Stretches from Arabian Sea on the west to Bay of Bangal.

• Capital City:

  Delhi

• Holidays:

  Diwali Dassehra, Holi and Viashaki.

• Major Languages:

  Spanish: about 15 regional Languages include Hindi. Punjabi, Urdu, Gujrati, Hindi, English are used officially. Hindi (official), English (official), Bengali, Gujarati, Kashmiri, Malayalam, Marathi, Oriya, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, Kannada, Assamese, Sanskrit, Sindhi (all recognized by the constitution). There are also 1,600+ dialects.

• National Symbols:

  
  

  The flag has tricolor standard, with bands of saffron, white and dark green. The saffron represents courage, sacrifice, patriotism and reunion. It is also the color of Hindu people. The green stand for faith, fertility and the hope for unity and peace. In the centre of the white band is blue a wheel with 24 pieces. This is a Ashoka Chakra or "Wheel of law". The Chakra represents the continuing progress of the nation and the importance of Justice in life. Indian flag was officially adopted on July 22 1947 (National name: Bharat)

• National anthem:

  Jana Gana Mana ("The Minds of All People")listen