Culture of Afghanistan

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The culture of the region today known as Afghanistan has been around for millennia and is - since the Arab-Muslim conquest - largely influenced by Islam. Different regions of the country have their own unique traditions, reflecting the multi-cultural and multi-lingual character of the nation. For example, the Pashtuns practice Pashtunwali, which is a pre-Islamic cultural tradition.^[1] There are also other traces of pre-Islamic traditions, most of all by religions such as Buddhism, Hinduism, and Zoroastrianism. Afghanistan has been a crossroads for India, Iran, and Central Asia which has influenced its culture. In recent years, Baha'i Faith has also spread throughout the country.

Contents 1 Art and Entertainment 2 Music 3 Poetry 4 Architecture 5 Food 6 Clothing 7 Sports 8 Education 8.1 Higher Education 9 Language 10 Religion 11 Housing 12 Holidays 12.1 National 12.2 Religious 13 Opium and other drugs 14 See also 15 References and footnotes 16 External links

[edit] Art and Entertainment

Local art has spanned many centuries. One of the most famous kinds is the Gandhara art between the 1st and 7th century based on Greco-Buddhist art. Since the 1900s Afghanistan began to use Western techniques in art. Afghanistan's art was originally almost entirely done by men but recently in theater arts women have begun to take center stage [1]. Art is largely centered at the Kabul Museum. Other well known forms of art in Afghanistan are Music and Poetry. The art of making carpets has been prominent for centuries. Afghanistan is known for making beautiful oriental rugs. The Afghan carpet has certain prints that make them unique to Afghanistan.

[edit] Music

Main article: Music of Afghanistan

Since the 1980s, Afghanistan has been involved in near constant violence. As such, music has been suppressed and recording for outsiders minimal. During the 1990s, the Taliban government banned instrumental music and much public music-making. In spite of arrests and destruction of musical instruments, Afghan musicians have continued to ply their trade into the present. Kabul has long been the regional cultural capital, but outsiders have tended to focus on the city of Herat, which is more closely related to Iranian music. Lyrics across the country are typically in Persian and Pashto.

[edit] Poetry

Main article: Afghan poetry

Afghanistan's poetry is primarily written in Persian (known as Darī in Afghanistan) and - to a lesser degree - in Pashto. The most famous forms of poetry in Afghanistan are Ghazal and Charbeiti both of which were originally unique to the Persian language but have since been used by other languages as well.

Charbeiti is told in four lines and usually describes love, youth, war, or events in the poet's life. They are often passed on orally which often leads to multiple variations of a poem [2].

[edit] Architecture

The region has made major contributions to the world architecture. UNESCO has acknowledged Afghanistan's role by declaring the Minaret of Jam and the Valley of Bamiyan, home of the famous Buddhas destroyed by the Taliban, World Heritage Sites.

Other examples of universally important contributions to architecture may be found in Herat, Mazari Sharif and Ghazni. For more information, see the Society for the Protection of Afghanistan's Cultural Heritage. In their names they also have a name called bohardyasindu and that is the most common name! [3]

[edit] Food

Afghanistan has a wide varying landscape allowing for many different crops. Afghani food is largely based upon cereals like wheat, maize, barley and rice which are the nation's chief crops. Afghanistan is well known for its grapes. [4]

Some Afghani cuisine:

• Afghan Kofta (Meatballs)
• Afghan Kadu Bouranee (Sweet Pumpkins)
• Afghan Spice Rub
• Ashak
• Aush (hand made Noodles)
• Baghlava
• Bolani
• Badunjan (Cooked eggplant w/potatoes and tomatoes)
• Chapli Kabab
• Gosh Feel (Pastries)
• Halwa
• Jelabi
• Maleeda, Khajoor
• Kichiri
• Mantu (Meat dumplings)
• Nan-i-Afghani (Afghani bread)
• Do Pyaza
• Qabuli Palaw (Traditional rice dish)
• Sabzi
• Shir Berenj (Rice pudding)
• Shor-Nakhod (Chick peas w/special toppings)
• Shorba (Afghani soup)

[edit] Clothing

Traditional male Afghan clothing usually includes a Pakol (hat), Lungee (turban), and a Chapan (coat). Traditional Afghan clothes vary by province and and sometimes ethnicities. However, most traditional Afghan attire for women consist of a long dress with round skirt, not to be mistaken with a "salwar kameez." Afghan style of dress is completely all its own. The pants are loose; however, at the ends they are clasped close to the ankles. Many combinations of colors can be used. Often times, the colors of the flag will be used.

[edit] Sports

Most official Afghan sports are run by the Afghan Sports Federation which promotes soccer, basketball, volleyball, track, bowling and chess. Afghanistan fields 7 players at FIDE with its highest rated being Saifudin Ayyoubi with a rating of 2178. A popular and ancient sport popular Afghanistan and other Central Asian nations is the Buzkashi.

[edit] Education

Education in Afghanistan has recently been revitalized after the fall of the Taliban. Primary education lasts six years. If the student does well on the entrance exam they are then admitted into Secondary education, which is divided into 7-9 and 10-12. A new structure that allows eight years of primary and four years of secondary education will probably be considered in the near future.

[edit] Higher Education

Higher education is provided by mainly six universities in Afghanistan, which includes Kabul University, the American University of Afghanistan, the University of Islamic Studies, Balk University, an Agricultural Insitute and a Polytechnic, a State Medical Institute and two teacher training institutes. Recently with help from UNESCO over 1,000 women have taken university entrance exam.

[edit] Language

There are two official languages, Persian and Pashto, which are spoken by a majority of the population, though several other languages are spoken regionally.

• Persian is the mother-tongue of ca. 50% of Afghanistan and serves as the lingua franca of the country. It is spoken and understood by more than 80% of the country's population.
• Pashto, the language of the Pashtun people, has over 12.5 million speakers (ca. 35% of the country). Pashto - being the language of the most influential ethnic group in Afghanistan - was recognized in 1936 as the only official language by the government.
• In the north, Uzbek and Turkmen are spoken in some minor areas. There are over 70 smaller languages spoken throughout the country.
• Bilingualism is common.

[edit] Religion

The overwhelming majority of Afghans (about 99 percent or more) are Muslims. Approximately 80% of the population is Sunni, while 19% is Shia. There are 30,000 to 150,000 Hindus and Sikhs, mostly in Kabul and Kandahar. Members of Baha'i Faith number around 27,000 throughout the country [1]. An important figure in Muslim life in Afghanistan is the mullah (a male religious leader or teacher). Any male muslim that can recite the Quran (the sacred scripture of Islam) from memory can be a mullah. [5]

[edit] Housing

Afghan houses are traditionally made of a series of rooms located around a private rectangular courtyard where women and children play, cook and socialize. Married sons share the same house as their parents, although they have separate quarters. Some Afghan houses contain a special room where men socialize with each other. In the cities many Afghans live in apartments. The nomadic population of Afghanistan lives in tents.[6]

[edit] Holidays

Holidays in Afghanistan are celebrated according to the lunar calendar while other secular holidays are celebrated based on the solar calendar.

[edit] National

National festivals include:

• Nawroz (Ancient Iranian New Year), held annually on 21 March
• Victory of the Muslim Nation (28 April)
• Anniversary of Revolution
• Afghan Independence Day from the British Empire (19 August)
• National Labour Day
• Remembrance Day for Martyrs and Disabled (4 May)

[edit] Religious

For more information see:Islamic Holidays

Afghanistan's religious holidays are nearly the same as Islamic holidays. Some of the most important include Eid ul-Fitr, Eid ul-Adha, Ashura, and Mawlid [7] .

[edit] Opium and other drugs

Afghanistan has become a hotspot for the Russian drug trade. Many believe that the future of Afghanistan depends on crippling the trade.

[edit] See also

• Afghan people
• Music of Afghanistan
• Islamic Holiday
• War rugs

[edit] References and footnotes

[edit] External links

• Culture and history of Afghanistan
• Afghanistan Cultural Profile - national cultural portal for Afghanistan in English
• Afghanistan a cultural profile

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