Gurbani Word Of The Day: bolee

ਬੋਲੀ (bolee)

Meaning: noun: Speech, language; dialect.

Quote:
ਘਰਿ ਘਰਿ ਮੀਆ ਸਭਨਾਂ ਜੀਆਂ   ਬੋਲੀ ਅਵਰ ਤੁਮਾਰੀ॥
ਘਰ ਘਰ ਵਿਚ, ਸਾਰੇ ਜੀਆਂ ਦੁਆਰਾ ‘ਮੀਆਂ’ (‘ਮੀਆਂ’ ਬੋਲਿਆ ਜਾ ਰਿਹਾ ਹੈ), ਤੁਹਾਡੀ ਬੋਲੀ ਹੋਰ ਹੋ ਗਈ ਹੈ।

ghar ghar meeaa sabhanaaṅ jeeaaṅ   bolee avar tumaaree.
In each and every home, ‘Mian’ (a Muslim term of address) is being used by most people; your speech has become different. -Guru Nanak Sahib, Guru Granth Sahib, 1191

Message: At the time of Guru Nanak, Mughals were ruling India. Though the Hindu leaders abhorred the Mughal rulers, yet in order to please them, many of them adopted the Muslim customs. Instead of wearing their traditional dresses (dhoti and saffron mark on their foreheads) they copied Muslims in every way.

The Muslim paraphernalia and the way of saying Namaz (the ritual prayers prescribed by Islam) had become common among Hindus. Their vocabulary had changed to Persian. Instead of using their own terms of address, they used Muslim terms. They addressed each other as – ‘Mian’.

Etymology: From Sanskrit boll (speak) → Prakrit bollaa (talk) → Sindhi bol/bolu/bolee, Lahndi/Punjabi and others bolee (language).

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