Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 08.djvu/492

LEFT SIKHS 428 SIKKIM enlied)" is the posthumous son of Sig- mund, son of Volsung, a descendant of Odin. After obtaining the golden treas- ure by slaying the dragon Fafnir with his good sword, Gram, he eats the monster's heart, and thus acquires the power of un- derstanding the songs of birds. He then rides through a volume of flame sur- rounding a house in which the fair Bren- hyldr (Brunhild) lay asleep. He wakes Brenhyldr, to whom he plights his troth, and then rides to the palace of Giuki the Niflung, whose wife gives him a potion which causes him to forget Brenhyldr, and he marries Gudrun (Chriemhild), Gi- uki's daughter. Her brother Gunnar (Gunther) determines to marry Bren- hyldr, but is unable to ride through the flames; so his mother by her arts causes Sigurd to go through the flames and bring away Brenhyldr in the form of Bunnar. Sigurd then resumes his shape, and Bren- hyldr is handed over to Bunnar. When Brenhyldr hears the true story of her res- cue, her love for the hero turns to hatred, and she seeks to slay him. Sigurd is eventually killed by Gunnar's half broth- er. His death revives Brenhyldr's love, and she dies of a broken heart. SIKHS, a religious sect in Hindustan, which worships one only and invisible God. Its founder was Nanak Shah, born in 1469 in the province of Lahore. He labored to lead the people to a practical religion, to a pure worship of God and love to mankind. He died about 1540. Of his successors, Arjun-mal gave stability and unity to the religion by publishing Nanak's writings in the Adi-Granth, the first sacred book of the Sikhs. The Sikhs had now rejected the authority of the Koran and the Vedas, and thus aroused the enmity both of the Mohammedans and Brahmans. Arjun-mal was thrown into prison, where he died. His son and suc- cessor, Har Govind, transformed the Sikhs from peaceful believers into valiant war- riors, and under his reign began the bloody contest with the Mohammedans. The real founder of the Sikh state was Govind Sinh or Singh, the 10th ruler from Nanak. He abolished the system of castes and gave all men equal rights. His followers, owing to their valor in the pro- tracted contest with the Mohammedans, received the title of Sinhs or lions. Go- vind Sinh wrote the Dasema Padshah ke Granth, or book of the 10th prince, which, besides treating of religious subjects, con- tained the history of the author's exploits. The Sikhs hold it in equal veneration with the Adi-Granth. Govind Sinh died in 1708, and the Sikhs gradually yielded to the superior power of the Mohammedans. A small number of the Sikhs escaped to inaccessible mountains, and preserved the doctrines of their fathers and an inextin- guishable hatred toward the Mohamme- dans. After Nadir Shah's return to Per- sia they left the mountains and subdued all Lahore. The Sikhs then broke up into a number of independent communities, each governed by a sirdar; but in 1792 Runjeet Singh established himself as des- potic ruler of the Sikhs, with the title of Maharajah. After Runjeet Singh's death in 1839 a period of anarchy followed. In 1845 (first sikh war) the sikhs were de- feated by Sir Hugh Gough at Ferozeshah and again in January and February of 1846, by Gough and Sir H. Smith. A treaty was signed by which Great Britain held the city of Lahore, and a British resident took supervision of the govern- ment. In 1848 a general revolt broke out, and it was evident that the Sikhs had resolved on a decisive struggle, being as^ sisted by the Afghans. In this the second Sikh war, Lord Gough advanced with an army against them, but received a severe check at Chillianwalla, Jan. 13, 1849. Both armies were then reinforced, and on Feb. 21, at Gujerat, the power of the Sikhs was completely broken. The Sikh dominion was proclaimed at an end, and the Punjab was annexed to the British Empire in India, the Maharajah Dhulip Singh receiving an annuity of $245,000. The bulk of the Sikhs are of Jat origin and number over 3,000,000. During the mutiny the Sikhs displayed the utmost loyalty to the British. Bodies of Sikhs did efficient service in France, and in other military areas during the World War. SI-KIANG, or WEST RIVER, China, by far the most important of the streams which unite to form the Canton river. It is navigable for vessels drawing 12 feet 75 miles from the sea. SIKINO (ancient Sikinos), a small is« land of the Cyclades, in the Grecian Ar- chipelago, E. of Melos; area, 17 square miles. The surface is lofty, but the soil is fertile. The staple product is wine. SIKKIM, a native State in the Hima- layas, between Nepal and Bhutan, in po- litical connection with the government of Bengal; area 2,818 square miles. It is important as containing the most direct trade routes from India into Tibet, which have hitherto been kept closed by the jeal- ous influence of the Chinese Government. The ruling family is Buddhist in religion and of Tibetan descent. In 1836 the san- itarium of Darjeeling was ceded to the British in consideration of a payment at first of $3,000, now of $6,000, per annum. In recent years much has been done to develop the transit trade with Tibet. The lieutenant-governor of Bengal has had