Pakistani folklore

Pakistan has a wide variety of folklore, mostly circulated regionally. However certain tales have related variants in other regions of the country or in neighbouring countries. Some folktales like Shirin and Farhad are told in Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, Turkey and almost all nations of Central Asia and Middle East with all having claimed the folklore to have originated in their land. By "Pakistani mythology" is meant the myths and sacred narratives of the culturally and linguistically related group of ancient peoples who inhabited the ancient Pakistan and its borderlands.

Provincial folklore

The provinces of Pakistan are known by the love stories in their folklore that have been immortalized by singers, reciters and storytellers of the regions.

Baloch folklore

The Balochi folklore is alive with the love story of Hani and Shah Murad Chakar, Shahdad and Mahnaz, Lallah and Granaz, Bebarg and Granaz, Mast and Sammo, etc. While the war tales of the Baloch are stirring. Baloch dancing, the chap, has a curious rhythm with an inertial back sway with every forward step and Baloch music has a unique flavour of its own.

Kashmiri folklore

Kashmiri in the north is equally rich in folklore.

Pakhtun folklore

In the Pukhtun areas of the northwest, the Northwest Frontier Province is the home of energetic warlike dancers, the most prominent being the Khattak dance, which bears the name of the tribe that dances it. The romantic tale of Adam Khan and Durkhanai features a lute player (rabab)whose music earns the love of a beautiful girl, although she hasn't seen him yet!

Punjabi folklore

In Punjab, many folk taleshave been revered worldwide, especially in the Punjabi diaspora in UK and USA. The tale of two lovers, Heer and Ranjha is based in the Pakistani part of Punjab, in a city called Jhang. Today it is celebrated in songs, movies, theatre, and quotations. One may call a romantic person a Ranjha, meaning he is a devoted lover. Similarly a girl in love may be called "Heer." Apart from the epic of Hir and Ranjha, the Punjab has a rich tradition of ballads, folktales and folk music and dance. The folklore of the Potohar Plateau of the north shows a local variant, while the lush green irrigated agriculture of the central plains is home to more sophisticated forms of folklore. The oldest living urban centre of Multan in the south has the gentler forms of music and dance.

Seraiki folklore

Seraiki in the south is equally rich in folklore.

Sindhi folklore

Sindh in the south is equally rich in folklore, and the love story of Sassi, who pines for her lover Punnu is known to and sung at every Sindhi settlement.

Cultural folklore

The Muslim high culture of Pakistan and rest of South Asia emphazied Arabic, Persian and Turkish culture. The Islamic mythology and Persian mythology is part of Pakistani folklore as Islamic religion and Persian culture dominated Pakistan. The children were educated with learning Arabic, Persian languages and the their folklore. The Shahnameh, One Thousand and One Nights and Sinbad the Sailor were part of the education of Muslim children in Pakistan before English education was imposed by the British colonialism.

See also

* Adam Khan And Durkhanai
* Arabian mythology
* Gulistan of Sa'di
* Hatim al-Tai
* Heer Ranjha
* Islamic mythology
* Shirin and Farhad
* Layla and Majnun
* LiLa Chanesar
* Mirza Sahiba
* Momal Rano
* Mullah Nasreddin
* Noori Jam Tamachi
* One Thousand and One Nights
* Paristan
* Peri
* Persian mythology
* Rostam and Sohrab
* Rostam
* Sassi Punnun
* Shah Jo Risalo
* Shahnameh
* Sinbad the Sailor
* Sohni Mahiwal
* Turkish folklore
* Yusuf and Zulaikha

References