Punjabi culture
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Punjabi Culture is the culture of the Punjab region. It is one of the oldest and richest cultures in world history, dating from ancient antiquity to the modern era. The Punjabi Culture is the culture of the Punjabi people who are now distributed throughout the world. The scope, history, sophistication and complexity of the culture are vast. Some of the main areas include, Punjabi Philosophy, poetry, spirituality, education, artistry, music, cuisine, science, technology, military warfare, architecture, traditions, values and history.
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[edit] Ancient Punjabi Culture
Ancient Punjabi Culture during the period of the Indus valley civilization is one of high sophistication and many world firsts, such as the world's first planned cities. Ancient Punjabi Culture is a counterpart of ancient Chinese culture, Mesopotamian, Egyptian and of ancient Greece. Some scholars believe, at its peak, it surpassed the sophistication and cultural achievements of its counterpart fellow cultures, during this time, to become the worlds leading advanced civilization.
Ancient Punjabis were renowned for their architectural excellence and gave their civilization a highly distinct look with baked-brick urban architecture. The written alphabet of the Ancient Punjabis is yet to be cracked and deciphered; it remains one of the only ancient cultures whose literature remains unread and unknown.
Some of the unusual features of the civilization were the almost complete lack of weapons excavated by archaeologists, this in sharp contrast to its counterpart cultures. Archaeologists believe this indicates the civilization was remarkably peaceful. The other unusual feature was the lack grandiose temples or palaces, archaeologists believe this indicates that the civilization was non hierarchical in power structure, this is almost completely unique in world history.
Ancient Punjabis enjoyed and were fascinated with games, this is supported by the very large number of games artefacts, such as dice, excavated by archaeologists.
[edit] Middle Age Punjabi Culture
Middle Age Punjabi Culture, during the period of foreign invasions, saw the already very high number of layers and complexity of the Punjabi Culture increase to another level. During this time contributions from Greek, Persian, Mongol and Afghan influences were incorporated into the enormous complexity and sophistication of the Punjabi Culture. During this period saw the birth and rise of a new world-religion in Punjab, Sikhism, this had a dramatic effect on the culture and gave it an additional dimension. This further increased the martial and military dimensions of the Punjabi culture and of the Punjabi People.
[edit] Modern Punjabi Culture
Due to the large number of Punjabi People distributed throughout the world, Pakistan and India, many people are increasingly experiencing the culture and becoming influenced by it. Traditional Punjabi culture is being strengthened and expanded in the Western world (e.g. U.S., UK, EU, Canada and etc), the scope is huge, ranging from Punjabi Philosophy, poetry, spirituality, education, artistry, music, cuisine, architecture and etc.
Punjabi Music
Bhangra is one of the many Punjabi musical art forms that is increasingly being listened to in the west and is becoming a mainstream favourite. Punjabi music is being used by western musicians, in many ways, such as mixing it with other compositions to produce award-winning music. In addition, Punjabi Classical music is increasingly becoming popular in the west due to the beauty of sounds of the Punjabi language and its composition.
Punjabi Cuisine
Punjabi Cuisine has an immense range of dishes and has become world-leader in the field so much so that many entrepreneurs that have invested in the sector have built large personal fortunes due to popularity of Punjabi Cuisine throughout the world.
Punjabi Poetry
Punjabi Poetry is renowned for its extremely deep meaning, beautiful, exciting and hopeful use of words. The poetry is one of the deepest insights into the Punjabi mindset. The large number of Punjabi poetry masterpieces are being translated throughout the world into many languages.
- See also: Punjabi Kisse
[edit] Punjabi Culture in the Western world
Due to the values and heritage of the Punjabi Culture, the Punjabi people have become one of the most successful and wealthiest sections of society in the west, this is in addition to on average being the wealthiest in Pakistan and India.[citation needed]
