Taken from Facebook Page-Sukha the sacremental cannabis drink of the nihang wariors
The Bhangi Misl is one of the twelve misls of the eighteenth century of the Sikh principalities. It acquired its name from the heavy indulgence of its members of "bhang" (hemp/Canabis sativa) a psychoactive drug which grows wild throughout Asia and is found in the jungles of Punjab, and is particularly abundant along its river banks. Labeled today as an entheogen ("creates god within," en- "in, within," theo- "god, divine," -gen "creates, generates") the drug has long been in use by the Sadhus of India and warriors going into battle.
Guru Nanak while held captive by Babar was offered another form of the drug by the soon to be Mughal Emperor of India, the Guru refused preferring the permanent 'Bhang' of the Naam.
When pounded in a mortar with a pestle and sifted through a piece of coarse cloth, a thick liquid of green colour is produced. It is an intoxicating drink that soothes the effect of heat in summer. A particular group of Dal Khalsa liberally indulged in this drink, and profusely entertained others with it. At the time of fighting, it made its users furious and reckless. Because of their heavy ritualistic use of Bhang, this fighting 'tribe' jatha of the Khalsa came to be called the Bhangi Misl. This misl was the largest in size and controled the largest area of the Panjab.
The founder of the jatha, i.e. band of warriors, that later acquired the dimensions of a misl was Chajja Singh of Panjvar village, near Amritsar, who had taken pahul from the hands of Guru Gobind Singh who soon had many Sikhs from the Majha area joining his band.
He was succeeded by Bhuma Singh, a Dhillori Jatt of the village of Hung, near Badhni in present day Moga district, who made a name for himself in his famed skirmishes with Nadir Shah's troops in 1739.
Their nom de plume attracted the sweeper class, the Hindu Bhangi to join them, turning those condemed to a life of collecting human waste into warrior as they too took Pahul. They were freely welcomed by this band of the Khalsa, some were even offered important posts. Although the majority of the soldiers of Bhangi misls were Jats(Hindu low caste), there were substantial numbers of converted Sikhs from other lower Hindu castes.
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