"Nihangs or Nihang Singhs, originally
known as Akalis or Akali Nihangs, are endearingly designated
the Guru's knights or the Guru's beloved, for the military ambience
they still carry about them and the heroic style they continue
to cultivate. They constitute a distinct order among the Sikhs
and are readily recognised by their dark blue loose apparel
and their ample, peaked turbans festooned with quoits, insignia
of the Khalsa and rosaries, all made of steel. They are always
armed, and are usually seen mounted heavily laden with weapons
such as swords, daggers, spears, rifles, shot-guns and pistols."
"The Encyclopaedia of Sikhism", Ed-Chief
Harbans Singh