Thatha or Thathi (English - Beard Band) is a type of cloth used by some Sikhs to fix their beards after spraying them with hair spray such as Taft, Fixo, Swift or with water or oil. Many orthodox Sikhs prefer to keep an open beard as a sign of respect, but some modern Sikhs prefer tying beards for neatness and appearance or even for the nature of the job such as Defence or Policing. This consists of spraying the beard with hair spray or beard spray, then tying it with rubber or beard pin. A thathi is tied on the chin This process takes 30 minutes to an hour.
The trimming and/or cutting of hairs is strictly prohibited in Sikhism. Hence, the cutting of the beard is also not allowed. In essence only cutting/trimming of hairs (hence beard) is prohibited. But uncut beards and uncut hairs must also generally be kept according to standards of neatness and traditionalism. As of now, keeping hair using a rubber band or hair gel is accepted as a standard.
Some Sikhs contend that the question of open versus fixed beard is not relevant. They contend that Guru Gobind Singh Ji told Sikhs to keep uncut hair, and they maintain their beards by sporting uncut beards.
References
- Singh Trehan, Manjeet (19 July 2018). "Don't die like a fool on the road..." The Tribune. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
- McLean, Tanara (5 October 2018). "The lengths one man went to for a beautiful beard". CBC. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
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