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Though it was a son, brother and husband who entered the river, the mythic initiation endows him with his fundamental humanity. Located in the amniotic waters, he goes through the process of physical drinking, which gives him the metaphysical insight into the Divine. He responds in a sensuous, poetic outpouring, and is honored with gender-inclusive clothing from the Divine court. Unlike other initiation rites, there are no additions to or subtractions from the body: no tattoos, circumcision or scarring marked his transition. In Guru Nanak’s case, his new identity is marked by the unity of bana (the material cloth) and bani (poetry); sirpao (dress) and nam (word).
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Nikky-Guninder Kaur Singh (Sikhism: An Introduction (International Library of African Studies))