Culture of Pakistan: Encyclopedia - Culture of Pakistan

Culture of Pakistan

Pakistan has a rich and unique cultural heritage, and has actively preserved its established traditions throughout history. Many cultural practices and monuments have been inherited from the rule of Mughal emperors.The rich traditions of Pakistan before it was subjugated by Mughuls no more exist in the country.

Pakistani society is largely multilingual and multicultural. Religious practices of various faiths are an integral part of everyday life in society. Education is highly regarded by members of every socio-economic stratum. The traditional family values are highly respected and considered sacred, although urban families have grown into a nuclear family system, owing to the socio-economic constraints imposed by the traditional joint family system. Past few decades have seen emergence of a middle class in cities such as Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Hyderabad, Faislabad, Sukkur, Peshawar, Gujarat, Attobabad and Multan. The North-western part of Pakistan, bordering with Afghanistan, is highly conservative and dominated by regional tribal customs dating back to hundreds of years.

Culture of Pakistan - Roots

Pakistan has a very rich cultural and traditional background going back to Indus Valley Civilization, 2800 BC–1800 BC. The region that is now Pakistan has in the past been invaded and occupied by many different peoples, including Greeks, White Huns, Persians, Arabs, Turks, Mongols and various Eurasian groups. There are differences in culture among the different ethnic groups in matters such as dress, food, and religion, especially where pre-Islamic customs differ from Islamic practices.

The pleasures of Pakistan are ancient: Buddhist monuments, Hindu temples, Palaces and Monuments built by Emperors, tombs, pleasure grounds and Anglo-Mogul mansions - some in a state of dereliction which makes their former grandeur more emphatic. Scuplture is dominated by Graeco-Buddhist friezes, and crafts by ceramics, jewellery, silk goods and engraved woodwork and metalwork.

Culture of Pakistan - Film and television

Traditionally, the government-owned Pakistan Television (PTV) has been the dominant media player in Pakistan. However past decade has seen emergence of several private TV channels (news , entertainment) such as the GEO TV, AAJ TV, ARY and a dozen or so more channels. Traditionally the bulk of TV shows have been plays or soap operas---some of them critically acclaimed. Various American, European, Asian and Indian TV channels and movies are available to a majority of the population via Cable TV.

Pakistani music is represented by a wide variety of forms. It ranges from traditional styles (such as Qawwali) to more modern forms that try to fuse traditional Pakistani music with western music. A famous Pakistani musician, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan is internationally renowned for creating a form of music which synchronized Qawwali with western music. Popular forms of music also prevail, the most notable being Film music and Urdu Pop music. In addition to this are the diverse traditions of folk music.

An indigenous movie industry exists in Pakistan, and is known as Lollywood as it is based in Lahore, producing over forty feature-length films a year. In contrast, Indian movies are popular in Pakistan despite a ban on the screening of Hindi films since the Indo- Pakistan War 1965.

Culture of Pakistan - Sexual conservatism & cultural taboos

Pakistanis are highly spiritual people. The translation of Pakistan's name meaning land of the pure, implies spiritual purity. And one of the pillars of this spiritual purity is sexual purity, which over time, has become a part of the Pakistani sense of national identity.

Sexual purity does not imply not having sex —- in fact, both Pakistani men and women are highly sexual people who engage frequently in sex —- rather it only implies a complete avoidance of pre or extra marital sex and sexually deviant behaviour.This does not mean that pre-marital sex is absent in the country, indeed it has been noted by various NGO's that the Pakistani youth is sexually active.

The roots of this spirituality are based on the Islamic faith, which prescribes strict sexual conservatism, especially when compared to the west. Therefore, the following norms of a western society are usually strict cultural taboos in Pakistan:

• Public displays of affection, even by married couples. This however varies from place to place.
• Wearing of bikinis at the beach, or at a public swimming pool, where men might be present (although women do wear bikinis at women only private club swimming pools. Once again there is great varience here.
• Consumption of alcoholic beverages. (Having alcohol in public is illegal. But wine shops, especially in Karachi and the Sindh province and Islamabad operate freely. However, there are not many bars. Pakistan does have a few notable companies making local alcohol beverages out of which beer made by Murree Bewries, is the most popular).

Some strict cultural taboos in the west, are the norm in Pakistan, such as:

• The staying of children in their parents' house after a certain age. In Pakistan, the girl child is supposed to go away any time between around age 18 to age 25, to her new home after marriage. But the boys are there always - acting as the parents' social security, since there is no government run official 'social security' that is administered.

The boys stay with their parents all their lives (at least one of the sons does) and take care of them in their old age. This being the reason for the commonly strong desire in Pakistani parents to have sons as compared to daughters. In fact, if a young man moves out of his parents' family home and gets a place of his own, the move is usually considered highly offensive and insulting to the parents. It therefore, only rarely happens, especially if the son is an only child or an only son.

Culture of Pakistan - Adherence to monogamy

Contrary to popular belief, although the law of Islam and Pakistani law allow Muslim men to have up to four wives under certain strict conditions, monogamy is in reality the norm in the vast majority of Pakistan. It is highly unusual for a Muslim Pakistani man to have more than one wife.

Culture of Pakistan - Globalization

Increasing globalization has increased the influence of "Western culture" in Pakistan. Pakistan ranks 46th in the world on the Kearney/FP Globalization index [http:/.com/issue_marapr_2004/countrydetail.php]. Many Western restaurant chains have established themselves in Pakistan, and are found in the major cities.

A large Pakistani diaspora exists in the West. Whereas Pakistanis in the United States, Canada and Australia tend to be professionals, the majority of them in the United Kingdom, Germany and the Scandinavian nations comes from a rural background and belongs to the working class. A large number of Pakistani expatriates are also living in the Middle East. These emigrants and their children influence Pakistan culturally and economically, keeping close ties with their roots by travelling to Pakistan and especially by returning or investing there.

Culture of Pakistan - Sports

The most popular sport, followed religiously in Pakistan, is cricket. Pakistan has historically produced several multi-talented players who have been among the best batsmen and bowlers in the world. Almost every district and neighborhood in Pakistan has its cricket team and most people start playing from a young age. Pakistan has won several important international cricket events, including the pinnacle of cricket, the World Cup in 1992.

Hockey is also among the popular sport in Pakistan. Pakistan has won the gold medal at the Olympics and the Hockey World Cup a few times.

Squash is another sport that has a large following. Jahangir Khan and Jansher Khan are considered legends of the sport and have won several World Squash Championships and other tournaments.

Football or Soccer is played in Pakistan as well, though mostly on a local level.

Polo is believed to have originated in the Northern parts of Pakistan, and continues to be an important sport there with large competitions throughout the year.

Tennis is also very popular and Pakistanis compete in various international events.

Athletics Pakistanis compete in various athletic events including Swimming.

Other popular sports followed on TV include Formula-One motor racing, Basketball (NBA), Rugby, Table-Tennis, Chess, Badminton.

Culture of Pakistan - Mercantile culture

Pakistan's service sector accounts for 53% of the country's GDP. Wholesale and retail trade is 30% of this sector. Shopping is a popular pastime for many Pakistanis, especially among the well-to-do and the thirty-million strong middle class. The cities of Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar, Islamabad, Faisalabad and Quetta are especially known for the great contrast in shopping experiences - from burgeoning bazaars to modern multi-story shopping malls. In particular, Lahore and Karachi are peppered with colourful shopping plazas.

Culture of Pakistan - Food

Pakistani food is good and similar that of northern India, with a dollop of Persian, Turkish and Middle Eastern influence thrown in for good measure. This means menus peppered with baked and deep-fried breads (roti, chapattis, puri, halwa and nan), vegetables, meat curries, lentil mush (dhal), spicy spinach, cabbage, peas and rice, and of course that staple of hippies, the sturdy Hunza pie. Street snacks are popular in cities - samosas and tikkas (spiced and barbecued beef, mutton or chicken) - are delicious, while a range of desserts will satisfy any sweet tooth. The most common sweet is barfi (it pays to overlook the name), which is made of dried milk solids and comes in a variety of flavours. Though Pakistan is officially 'dry', it does brew its own beer and spirits which can be bought (as well as imported alcohol) from designated bars and hotels.

See also

• Music of Pakistan
• Lollywood
• Murree Beer
• Sufi-Rock
• Filmi-Pop
• AAJ TV
• GEO
• Karachi
• Lahore
• Indus Valley Civilization

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Category: Pakistani culture

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Culture of Pakistan", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki