Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has a rich culture influenced by Pashtun traditions. The document provides an overview of the culture, including famous tourist attractions like Peshawar, Swat Valley and Khyber Pass. It also discusses the province's historic monuments, festivals like Buzkashi and Kamal Summer Festival, cuisine including kebabs and mantu, dances like Khattak and Mahsud Attan, dress, music genres like tappa and charbetta, and literary traditions. The economy relies on forestry and accounts for 10% of Pakistan's GDP.
2. CONTENT
TOPIC PAGE NO
CULTURE 5-6
FAMOUS TOURISTS ATTRACTION 7-12
HISTORIC MONUMENTS 13-14
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT 15
FESTIVALS 16-19
CUISINE 20-21
DANCE 22-24
SPORTS 25-26
DRESS 27-28
MUSIC 29-30
LITERATURE 31-32
3. INTRODUCTION
KPK, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, is one of the provinces of
Pakistan. It is located in the northwestern region of the
country along the border of Afghanistan. It was formerly
known as Northwest Frontier Province of Pakistan. Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa is the third largest province of Pakistan by
population and economic development but the smallest of the
four provinces by geographical point of view. Its capital is
Peshawar. Its population is 40,525,047. its area is
128,961sq.km. The majority of KPK‘ population are Pashtuns
but there are other ethnic groups like Hazarawals and
Chitralis.
5. KPK CULTURE
Pashtun culture is based on Islam and Pashtunwali,
which is an ancient way of life. They speak Pashto
language and wear Pashton dresses. The culture of the
Pashton people is highlighted since the time’s of
Herodotus (484-425 BC) and Alexander the Great, when
Alexander first explored Afghanistan and Pakistan region
in 3rd century BC. The Pashtun culture had little outside
influence in over ages and has retained a great degree of
purity in its cultural identity.
7. FAMOUS TOURISTS ATTRACTION
KPK is known as the tourist hotspot for adventurers and explorers. The
province has a varied landscape ranging from rugged mountains, valleys,
hills and dense agricultural farms. The region is well known for its ancestral
roots. There are a number of Buddhist archaeological sites from the
Gandhara civilization such as Takht Bhai and Pushkalavati.
8. PEWSHAWAR
Peshawar is the provincial capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The city is
home to a number of sites including Bala Hisar Fort, Peshawar Museum,
archaeological site of Gor Khuttree, Mohabbat Khan Mosque, old city of
Sethi Mohallah, Jamrud Fort, the Sphola Stupa and the most famous
market of Qissa Khawani.
BALA HISAR FORT GOR KHUTTREE
10. DERA ISMAIL KHAN AND SWAT
The city of Dera Ismail Khan is the entrance into the province from Punjab
and Baluchistan. It is best known for its Hindu ruins at Kafir Kot. In the
North, the region of Swat valley comes, which is a lush green paradise for
the travelers, full of charming spots like Marghazar, Miandam, Malam
Jabba, Gabina Jabba, Jarogo Waterfall and Kalam sub valley are worth
seen areas of Swat.
DERA ISMAIL KHAN
12. KHYBER PASS
The Khyber Pass is a mountainous pass in the northwest of Pakistan, at
the border with Afghanistan. It connects the town of Landi Kotal to the
Valley of Peshawar at Jamrud. Throughout history, it has been an
important trade route between Central Asia and South Asia. The summit of
the pass is 5 km (3.1 mi) inside Pakistan at Landi Kotal, while the lowest
point is at Jamrud in the Valley of Peshawar. The Khyber Pass is part of
Asian Highway.
13. HISTORIC MONUMENTS
There are plenty of archeological sites in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. A total 85
sites in the province were under the protection of the Federal Government.
Here is a list of some of the archeological sites in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Zuro Dheri
Handy side Fort
Tomb of Ahmad Shaheed Baralvi
Sahri Bahlol city remains
Hussai Dheri
Chargul Dheri
15. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
The economy of KPK is the 3rd largest in the country. The part of the
economy that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa dominates is forestry, where its share
has historically ranged from as low as 34.9% to as high as 81%, giving an
average of 61.56%. Currently, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa accounts for 10% of
Pakistan's GDP,20% of Pakistan's mining output and since 1972, it has
seen its economy grow in size by 3.6 times.
16. FESTIVALS
Buzkashi is a festival that is celebrated and is famous among Pashtun
people. This game is played by the people on the horseback and between
two teams. One match of this game can be continued for days but in
tournaments, it has some time limitations. Buzkashi is also known as
Kokpar and is famous in many other countries of Central Asia. Buzkahsi is
similar to another game known as polo that is also played on horseback.
But the difference between these two games is that polo is played with a
ball on the ground that they have to propel it towards the goal and match is
limited to one hour. Buzkashi is played with a headless goat and traditional
Buzkashi can be continued for days
18. KAMAL SUMMER FESTIVAL
Kamal or Swat Summer festival is a cultural and recreational event, held
every year in the month of July or August in the scenic valley of Kalam and
Mahodand,100 kilometers from Swat city, Pakistan. The festival is arranged in
the pattern of Shandur Polo festival. The days, when plain areas of Pakistan
are hot and humid, tourists are enjoying cold weather in Kalam. The festival is
organized by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Tourism Department in collaboration with
the Pakistan Army. Sports, cultural and recreational activities are arranged
during the week. multiple activities are arranged during the week long festival.
Paragliding, handicraft display, Jeep rally, Cycling, Canoeing, Cultural shows,
and Music concerts are the glimpses of the festival. Traditional Khattak dance,
horse dance, Chitral dance and regional dances are also part of the festival.
20. CUISINE
The cuisine of the Pashtun people is covered under Afghan cuisine and Pakistani
cuisine, and is largely based on cereals like wheat, maize, barley and rice as well as a
plethora of meat dishes that includes lamb, beef, chicken, and fresh fish. Accompanying
these staples are also dairy products (yogurt, whey, cheeses), including various nuts,
locally grown vegetables, as well as fresh and dried fruits. Cities such as Peshawar,
Jalalabad, Kabul, Quetta and Kandahar are known for being the centers of Pashtun
cuisine.
Sheikh Kebab (beef/mutton/chicken)
Chapli kebab
Beef Tikkha and chicken Tikkha.
Dam Pukh
Aushak
Mantu
Bolani
22. DANCE
Khattak dance is a swift martial attan dance usually performed while
carrying a sword and a handkerchief. It was performed by Khattak warriors
before going to wars in the time of Malik Shahbaz Khan Khattak, and then
Khushal Khan Khattak. It was used as a war-preparation exercise and is
known to be the only dance with swordplay Aside from the Pashtun's
classical literature, popular ballads, the Pashtunwali and the romantic
Zakhmi Dil.
23. MAHSUD ATTAN
This is a unique dance routine using rifles performed by the Mahsud tribe
of Pashtuns in south Waziristan. Originally it was performed during the
times of war but later became a cultural dance. The dancers dance empty
handed and require large drums. Nowadays it is performed with guns in
the dancer’s hand; loaded guns are taken in one hand, and to the beat of
the drum the dancers turn around and move in a circle.
24. WAZIRI DANCE
Waziristan, a region of Pakistan, is a large area and has a particular Pashtun
culture. Two drummers and a flute player play a particular tune. All the Wazirs
stand around them. Two people leave the circle, go dancing towards the
drummers, and come back dancing in the same manner. While performing,
both people turn around twice, once facing each other and once facing the
opposite direction.
25. DRESS
The traditional clothing in KPK is the khat partug which is a
shalwar kameez combination and is worn by men and women.
The khat is the shirt which fits closely to the body to the waist
and then flares out, either to the knees, or in the case of
women, to the ankles. The khat worn by women can be
elaborately embroidered at the neck with needle work.
The partug is a loose shalwar which has many folds and is
loosely brought together at the ankles. Men also wear a
turban while women wear a head scarf.
27. MUSIC
TAPPA: Tappa is the oldest and most popular genre of the Pashto
poetry. The Tappa is a composition in which the first line is shorter than the
succeeding one, yet it reflects all human feelings and aspirations elegantly.
It is also common among the Pashtuns that a boy of school would sing it,
the elders in their hujrahs, the women in their home and Godar alike. It is
the only song sung in the time of grief and on the occasion of marriage. In
music it is sung with the traditional Afghan musical instruments rubab and
mangai. Tappa has up to 16 different models of harmony and is being sung
with full orchestra. In hujrah it's sung with rubab and sitar.
28. ,
CHARBETTA: Charbetta is another popular genre, which consists of an
epic poem with special rhythms. There are four kinds of Charbetta's. Normally,
it's a poem of four lines but might also have six or eight lines. All aspects of life
are discussed in it. That includes the heroic deeds and heroism by legendary
figures and sometime expresses the romantic feelings. The tempo is usually
very fast and is sung by two or more singers as part of a chorus in which ones
singer reads the first line while the others follow the remaining. The singing or
recitation of a Charbetta is called Tang Takore. Traditionally Charbetta is
started just after the finishing of a Tappa.
NEEMAKAI: Neemakai has many different forms and normally women
compose it. It is usually very short (1 to 3 lines). The first lines are repeated in
the middle of the song and Tappa is usually added according to the subject
and circumstances. Most of these songs in Pashto culture have been
expressed in different areas about daily life and love.
29. LITERATURE
Afghanistan and K.P.K. were noted for its poetic language even before the
Islamic conquest of Afghanistan. The Pata Khazana contains Pashto
poetry written as far back as the 8th century. Some notable poets from the
region of Afghanistan-Pakistan include Amir Kror Suri, Khushal Khan
Khattak, Rahman Baba, Nazo Tokhi, Ahmad Shah Durrani, Timur Shah
Durrani, Shuja Shah Durrani, Ghulam Muhammad Tarzi, and Khan Abdul
Ghani Khan.
Pashtun men usually gather at special events and listen to Pashto poetry.
There are TV programs which broadcast such events to the wider Pashtun
audiences. One such program is on AVT Khyber channel in Pakistan, with
Amanullah Kakar as the presenter.
