Saraiki Culture

Saraiki culture

Saraiki culture is the culture of the Saraiki people, residing in Pakistan and outside Pakistan.

Religion

Almost 99% population in Saraikistan region is Muslim. Islam came to this region with the Arab conquest of Sindh in eighth century. Majority of Muslims are Sunnis while Shia population is also in considerable size. The region is home to many Sufism. There is a saying in Persian that Multan is the 'city of dust (because of its sandy climate), summer, beggars and graveyards' (Gard, Garma, Gada o Goristan).It is also called as the city of saints (madinatul Auliya مدینۃالاولیا). The city has been a focal point for many religions, in particular becoming a central abode for Sufism, the mystical side of Islam. The city has attracted Sufi saints from far places of the globe. Multan has been the centre of Suhrawardiyya, one of the major Sufi orders, called as Tariqa. It has the shrines of Hazrat Baha-ud-din Zakariya andHazrat Shah Rukn-e-Alam.

Tomb of Sufi poet Khwaja Ghulam Farid(Rajan Pur

Similarly, Uch Sharif has been the centre of Qadiriyya Sufi order. Allama Iqbal while referring to the two great Sufi saints of Saraiki region,Khwaja Ghulam Farid and Muhammad Suleman Taunsvi, said that this region can not be empty from spirituality. The tomb of Sakhi Sarwar in Dera Ghazi Khan is also very popular shrine in Pakistan.

Saraiki literature

Saraiki literature is the literature of the Saraiki dialect of Western Punjabi Language, which is mostly spoken in central Pakistan. The main Saraiki-speaking areas are Multan, Bahawalpur, Dera Ghazi Khan and Dera Ismail Khan. Most Saraikis are Baloch, Khans, Pathans, Syeds, Gailanis, Qureshis or Non Natives of Punjab who immigrated lately in the last 500 years.

The separate Seraiki identity stems from the fact that many Immigrant Baloch and Pukhtoon population who inhabited the lands of Punjab refused to integrate into the culture of Punjab and rather they tried to carve out their own identity different from the people of Punjab.For example Durranis, Rabbanis, Niazis and Tareen tribes were the part of Afghan Empire and later they looted, killed and took away most of the lands from local people of South Punjab. Still Tareens and Durranis are feudals of South Punjab on the same land which they captured and snatched from local population during Durrani empire time. Even tough Ranjit Singh later attacked Multan and Bahawalpur regions and as a result many Afghans ran away and they had taken their lost lands back but still some Afghans remain behind. The reason of the separate identity away from Punjab stems from the racist point of view where Punjabis are considered lower caste converts from Hinduism while Syeds, Gailanis, Rabbanis, Durranis, Niazis Baloch etc. consider themselves as a ruler and super class. The same reason led to the strange phenomenon in Mianwali district where Niazi people called themselves Seraiki while they live in North Punjab and their language is pretty closer to Northern Dialects of Punjab but still they are adamant not to call themselves Punjabi at all.Saraiki is also spoken widely in the Sindh and Baluchistan provinces of Pakistan.

Since the start of consciousness-raising efforts about common ethnic dialect in the 1960s, the number of Saraiki publications has increased. Most of the writings from the 1960s to the 1980s were political in nature and are coloured by the ethnopolitical aims of the writers. Even though the number of publications has increased in the last and present decade, the Saraiki intellectuals themselves admit that there is not much readership, except perhaps for the works of some renowned contemporary poets, especially of the revolutionary poet Shakir Shujaabadi. Although writings in all the regional dialects are suffering from lack of readership for similar reasons, in the case of Saraiki there are two additional reasons. Firstly, most of the writers bring in colloquial phraseology (which varies from one variety to the other) in their writings and secondly, many writers, in their zeal to prove the antiquity of Saraiki and to promote its Indo-Aryan feature, tend to use more Sanskrit words instead of the more common Arabic-Persian words in order to distinguish it from Punjabi and Urdu, thus blocking the understanding of their general readers.

Poetry

Since the name of the Seraiki came into being after the creation of Pakistan, so much of the literature in this language is pretty recent. Seraiki language was standardized in the 1960s so no written Seraiki literature existed before that. The recent Saraiki is famous for its Sufi poetry.

Shakir Shujabadi (Kalam-e-Shakir, Khuda Janey, Shakir Diyan Ghazlan, 
Peelay Patr, Munafqan Tu Khuda Bachaway, Shakir De Dohray are his famous books) is very well recognized modern poet.

Saraiki singers

Some of the singers who performed recently in Seraiki are:

• Abida Parveen
• Mansoor Malangi
• Nadeem Abbas
• Shazia Khushk
• Talib Hussain Dard
• nadeem lonay wala

Clothing

People usually wear Shalwar kameez, which is the national dress of Pakistan. The traditional male dress is Lungi with Chola (kameez).The tradition male dresses suthaNrshalwar, Ghayiroli Saraiki Shalwar SuthaNrShalwar,The tradition put Rumal or Pashmina or Shaal on shoulder .Shalwar with Kamez. Chadar is also an important part of male and female dress. Women wear bochanrr and men wear Patka on the head. Women also used to wear ghagra but it is not used only for wedding and parties.

Cuisine

Saraiki cuisine (Saraiki: سرائیکی کھانا) refers to the native cuisine of the Saraiki people in central Pakistan. The style of cooking is present in the Saraiki-speaking region of southern Punjab, as well as parts of southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, northern Sindh and northeasternBalochistan. Saraiki food comprises many unique local dishes, and also shares influences with neighbouring regional cuisines. The metropolitan city of Multan is a hub of Saraiki cooking.

Dishes

Mango is a seasonal fruit of the region during summers.

Sohan halwa is a traditional speciality of southern Punjab, particularly Multan. It is a halwa dessert that is prepared by boiling a mixture of water, sugar, milk and cornflour until solidified. Saffron is used for flavoring while ghee is used to prevent it from sticking to the pan. Almonds, pistachios and cardamom seeds are added as additives.The southern Punjab cities of Dera Ghazi Khan, Bahawalpur, Uch Sharif, Rajan Pur and Mailsi are also known for their sohan halwa products.

Sohan Halwa

Traditional sports

Geeti Danna (Saraiki: ڳیٹی ݙنڈا)is one of the famous traditional sports especially for boys in rural areas along with other sports like Baandar Killa [باندر کلّا], Pittu Garam [پٹّو گرم],Stapu [سٹاپو] and Kabaddi [کبڈی].

Baandar Killa,Kabaddi,Stapu,geeti Dannda

Art and music

Jhumar

See also: Jhumar

Jhumar or Jhoomar is the traditional Saraiki folk dance. It is a lively form of music and dance that originated in the Multan and Balochistan. It is slow and rhythmic. The word "Jhumar" comes from jhum/jhoom, which means swaying. The songs evoke a quality reminiscent of swaying. The content of these songs is varied; they are usually love with emotional songs, too. The Jhumar is a dance of ecstasy. Jhumar is performed usually at the wedding ceremonies. It is a living demonstration of the happiness. The dance is mostly performed by the Balochi and Saraiki people of Southern Punjab. The emphasis of Jhumar is recreating the gaits of animals and birds. The movement of animals, the ploughing of the field, sowing of seeds and harvesting are shown in the original progression. The dance is also performed in circle, to the tune of emotional songs.

Performed exclusively by men, it is a common feature to see three generations — father, son and grandson — dancing together at weddings. The dance is without acrobatics. Each region of Southern Punjab has its own variation of Jhumar. The movement of the arms only is considered its main forte. Feet are musically placed in front and backwards, and turns are taken to the right. Sometimes the dancers place one hand below the ribs on the left and gesticulate with the right hand. This dance does not tire out its performers, and it is normally danced on moonlight nights in the villages away from the habitation. The dancers let-off a sound, "Dee Dee," in tune with the beat of the dance which adds to its grace.

Jhumar

List of Saraiki tribes

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Most Saraikis are Baloch , Sindhis, Pathans, Syeds, Gailanis, Qureshis who are Non Natives of Punjab who immigrated lately into South Punjab. The separate Seraiki identity stems from the fact that many Immigrant Sindhi, Baloch and Pukhtoon population who inhabited the lands of Punjab started speaking Punjabi with a different dialect due to their mother tongues giving rise to Seraiki. For example Durranis, Niazis and Tareen tribes are part of pashtun tribes residing in south Punjab. At the moment Niazis and Durranis are feudals of some parts of South Punjab on the land which they captured and snatched from local population during their peak times. Even tough Ranjit Singh later attacked Multan, Bahawalpur and Mianwali regions and as a result many Pashtuns ran away and they had taken their lost lands back but still some Pashtuns remain behind. The same reason led to the strange phenomenon in Mianwali district where Niazi people called themselves Seraiki while they live in North Punjab and their language is pretty closer to Northern Dialects of Punjab but instead of referring to themselves as Punjabi often call themselves Punjabi Pathan or Seraiki.
Below is a list of Saraiki-speaking tribes. Saraiki population is divided into two groups: tribes that belong to the Jat original South Saraikii community and those who are migrant either Sindhi Baloch or Pashtun by origin. Other than those two categories, there are a number of Saraiki tribes that either claim Arab ancestry or else form distinct communities.

Saraiki Tribe List

A Abbasi Arain Ahmadani B Baloch Batwani Bozdar Bugti Buledi Borana Badani Babbar Bappar Bhutta Bhurgri Bhatti

C cheenna , chhina Chandia Chutani changwani Chughtai Charhoa

D درولی Dawach:BALUCH TRIBE: Dreshak Dasti Domki Dregh Damani Dhareja Dhobi Dahot G Ghunia Gabol Gaanga Gurmani Gadhi (Baloch tribe) Gola Gopang Gorchani Gulfad Gazar

H Hooth Haans Harkari Hiraj Hajana

J Jagirani Jatt Warya Jakhrani Jamali Jatoi Jara Jatwal Jattak Jiskani Jangla Jhabail Jootah

K Khawaja KalasnR Khera Kalati [Kalroo ] Kharral Khetran Khosa Khor Khunara or kanera khel Khunara kukara Khushk Korai Kulachi Kupchani Kalhora Karori KUODAN Khan (Saraiki Pathans) M Magsi Makwal Magi Machhi Marri Mastoi Mishori Ahmed pur lamma Marath Mazari Mirani Mohana Moor Mughal Manais Maibal

Lakha Labar Lashari(Baloch) Leghari Lalera Lar Lehri Lund Langrial

N Niazi Nutkani Nizamani Nareja Nadri

P Panwar Pasoi Parara Pitafi

Q Qaisrani / qusmani

R Rid Rind Ranjhanii

S Sanwla Siyyal Sippal Sinawan Sanjrani Shar swarkup(baloch tribe) sekhani(Baloch tribe) shiekh(meeran pur)

Soomra* U Umrani Uttera

W Wado Watto Warrun

V Veha Vermani

Jat clans

A Aheer Aulakh Attar

B Baghela Bharwana Bhullar Bohar Bosan

C Channar Chadhar Changar Chauhan Chhachhar Chhajra Charhoa

D Dab Daha Daher Daulatana Dawana Dhandla Dhandu Drigh Dytt

G Ghallu Gilotar Gondal Gazar

H Hanjra Hattar

` J Jakhar Jamra Jhammat Jhullan Johiya Juta Jhatial

K Kalasra Kanji Kanju Katewa Kathia Karlu Khar Kharal Khichi Khokhar kukara Kewad Koreja (khokhar)

Lakha Labar Lali Lalika Langah Langrial Lodhra Lohanch

M Mahaar Mahar Mahra Mahtam Makwal Mallana Manjotha Marral Meo Mallanhans Malik Manais

N Naich Naul Nonari Noon niazi

R Ranjhani Ranjhani

S Sangi Sagla Sahota Sahotra Sahu Saharan Salara Samma Samtia Sameja Sandhila Shajra Sial Sippal Soomra Solanggi Samore

T Talokar Thaheem Traggar Turkhel

U Unar Uttra

W Wagha Waiha Waince Waseer Wasli

Other Muslim tribes

A

• Aarbi
• Arain
• Alizai

B

• Bodla

C

• Chishti
• Chagatai (alternative spelling Chughtai)
• Charhoa
• Chandor or Chandol Belong from Yaman

D

• Dhobi

G

• Gazar

Ghunia

H

• Hans

J

• Jhabel
• Jhandir

K

• Kakakora
• Khagga
• Kewad

L

• Lohar
• Lodhi

M

• Mallaah
• Miana
• Mirasi
• Mohana
• Mussali
• Mughals (minority of Chughtais in Southern Punjab of Pakistan)

P

• Pathan (including Babar{Shirani}, Khakwani, Alizai, Tareen, Jaffar{Shirani}

Q

• Qureshi

S

• Sayyid

Seraiki Hindu community

Historically, the Arora were a Hindu community settled in southern Punjab who also spoke Seraiki, or Multani as they call it. Other Hindu communities lived in south Punjab included the Bhatia, Labana and Mahtam.^[1][2] After the independence of Pakistan in 1947, the minority Hindus and Sikhs migrated to India while the Muslims refugees from India settled down in the Seraiki speaking region of Pakistan.

Hindu castes

A

• Arora

B

• Bhatia

L

• Labana

M

• Mahtam
• Marecha
• Meghwal

O

• Odh

V

• Vagri

what is Saraiki?

Saraiki Dialect

 Saraiki (Shahmukhi: سرائیکی) is the southern dialect of Western Punjabi of the Indo-Aryan language family. An organization namely Saraiki Academy was founded in Multan on 6 April 1962.^[3] It is spoken by 17 million people (2007) across the South Punjab, southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and border regions of North Sindh and Eastern Balochistan, with some 20,000 migrants and their descendants in India who migrated as a result of the independence of Pakistan, as well as overseas, especially in theMiddle East. Saraiki is also spoken by some Hindus in Afghanistan, though the number there is unknown.

Language or dialect

Because Sindhi, Punjabi and Urdu are spoken in a region that has witnessed significant ethnic and identity conflict, all have been exposed to the dialect-versus-language question. A century ago, each of these languages had a central standard on which its literature was based.

Since recently Saraiki has been regarded as a language with its own standard, as opposed to a dialect of Punjabi. However, this is controversial. The development of the standard written language began after the founding of Pakistan in 1947, driven by a regionalist political movement. The national census of Pakistan has tabulated the prevalence of Saraiki speakers since 1981.

On the other hand Saraiki is also considered a dialect of Punjabi, because Saraiki is mutually intelligible with and morphologically and syntactically similar to standard Punjabi, as agreed by local linguists such as Harjeet Singh Gill and Henry A. Gleason, Narinder K. Dulai,Omkar N. Koul and Siya Madhu Bala, Amar Nath Malik and Afzal Ahmed Cheema as well as modern linguistics organizations such as the UCLA Language Materials Project (LMP) along with modern linguists such as Cardona^[15] and N. I. Tolstay classifying Saraiki as a dialect of Punjabi.

In Sindh province (Pakistan) it is considered a dialect of Sindhi spoken in the ten northern districts of the province. There is also a debate about it being the earliest form of theUrdu language after the first Muslim ruler in (historical) India and made Multan the capital of Sindh.

Etymology

The word "Sarāiki" originated from the word "Sauvira", a kingdom name of ancient India, also mentioned in the Sanskrit epic Mahabharata. By adding adjectival suffix "-ki" to the word "Sauvirā" it became "Sauvirāki". The consonant 'v' with its neighboring vowels was dropped for simplification and hence the name became "Sarāiki". Although George Abraham Grierson reported that "Sirāiki" (that was the spelling he used) is from a Sindhi word sirō, meaning 'of the north, northern', Christopher Shackle: asserts that this etymology is unverified. Another view is that Saraiki word originates from the word Sarai.

The most common rendering of the name is "Saraiki". However, "Seraiki" and "Siraiki" have also been used in academia until recently. Precise spelling aside, the name was adopted in the 1960s by regional social and political leaders. A Saraiki Academy was founded in Multan on 6 April 1962, which gave the name of universal application to the Saraiki. Currently, "Saraiki" is the spelling used in universities of Pakistan (the Islamia University of Bahawalpur, department of Saraiki established in 1989,Bahauddin Zakariya University, in Multan, department of Saraiki established in 2006, and Allama Iqbal Open University, in Islamabad, department of Pakistani languages established in 1998), and by the district governments of Bahawalpur and Multan,as well as by the federal institutions of the Government of Pakistan like Population Census Organization and Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation.

Two of the native scripts, Gurmukhi and Devanagari, use the 'a' spelling (or rather, its native equivalent), which indicates that the vowel of the first syllable is a short /a/. In the Gurmukhi and Devanagari spellings given above, this is manifested by the lack of any vowel diacritic. As is standard for native Indo-Aryan orthographies, the absence of any diacritic over a consonant indicates that a short /a/ is spoken after that consonant.

History

The name "Saraiki" (or variant spellings) was formally adopted in the 1960s by regional social and political leaders who undertook to promote Saraiki dialects of Punjabi.

Geographic distribution

Pakistan

Today, millions of people from North Sindh, South Punjab, South Khyber Pukhtunkhwa and Eastern Balochistan province speak Saraiki.

The first national census of Pakistan to gather data on the prevalence of Saraiki was the census of 1981. In that year, the percentage of respondents nationwide reporting Saraiki as their mother tongue was 9.83. In the census of 1998, it was 10.53 out of a national population of 132 million, for a figure of 13.9 million Saraiki speakers resident in Pakistan. Also according to the 1998 census, 12.8 million of those, or 92%, lived in the province of Punjab. Following is the distribution of Saraiki in the four provinces of Pakistan:

Punjab	Sindh	Khyber Pakhtunkhwa	Balochistan
Multan	Dadu	Dera Ismail Khan	Jafarabad
Bahwalpur	Ghotki	Tank	Naseerabad
Dera Ghazi Khan	Jacobabad	Bannu	Jhal Magsi
Lodhran	Naushahro Feroze		Musa Khel (as second language)
Muzaffargarh	Kashmore		Barkhan
Rahimyar Khan	Shikarpur		Sibi
Rajanpur	Sukhar
	Khairpur
	Qamber Shahdadkot
	Larkana

In Punjab Saraiki region is categorized as the combination of four sub-regions:

• Roh: means mountains, referred to the Sulaiman Mountains in Dera Ghazi Khan and Rajanpur districts.
• Rohi: Cholistan Desert in Bahawalpur and Rahim yar khan districts
• Thal: Thal Desert in Layyah, and Muzaffargarh districts
• Daamaan: meaning the foothills, referred to the foothills of Sulaiman Mountains in Dera Ismail Khan and Dera Ghazi Khan. It may also referred to the plain areas around Multan and Lodhran.

In Sindh the native dialect of North ten districts is Saraiki. In Balochistan the native dialect of Daroug and Rakni, Barkhan, Sibi, Naseerabad, Jafferabad and Jhal magsi is Saraiki. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa the native dialect in DI khan, Tank and Lakki Marwat is Saraiki.

India

According to the Indian census of 2001, Saraiki is spoken in urban areas throughout northwest and north central India by a total of about 70,000 people, mainly by the descendants of migrants from western Punjab after the independence of Pakistan in 1947. Some of these speakers are settled in Andhra Pradesh who went and settled there before the independence because of their pastoral and nomadic way of life, and these are Muslims.Out of these total speakers of the language, 56,096 persons report their dialect as Mūltānī and by 11,873 individuals report their dialect as Bahāwalpurī. One dialects of Saraiki that is spoken by Indian Saraikis is Derawali, spoken by Derawals inDerawal Nagar, Delhi who migrated to India during the independence.The dialects of Saraiki spoken in India are "Bahawalpuri (Bhawalpuri, Reasati, Riasati), Jafri, Jatki, Siraiki Hindki, Thali". Saraiki is spoken in Faridabad, Ballabhgarh, Palwal, Rewari, Sirsa, Fatehabad, Hisar, Bhiwani, Panipat districts of Haryana, some area of Delhi and Ganganagar district, Hanumangarh and Bikaner districts of Rajasthan.

Afghanistan

In Afghanistan, Kandhari, a dialect of Multani Saraiki is a mother tongue of the Hindki. Before the influx of Pathans into the region, the most common spoken dialect in Kandahar was Saraiki, namely the Kandhari or Jataki dialect.

Saraiki alphabet
ا ب ٻ پ ت ٹ ث ج ڄ چ ح خ د ڈ ݙ ذ ر ڑ ز ژس ش ص ض ط ظ ع غ ف ق ک گ ڳ ل م نݨ و ہ ھ ء ی ے

Saraiki numerals

The Saraiki numerals (also called Arabic–Indic numerals and Arabic Eastern numerals) are the symbols (٠‎ ١‎ ٢‎ ٣‎ ٤‎ ٥‎ ٦‎ ٧‎ ٨‎ ٩‎) used to represent the Hindu–Arabic numeral system in conjunction with the Arabic alphabet in the countries of the Arab east, and its variant in other languages and countries.

Hindu–Arabic	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
Saraiki	٠	١	٢	٣	٤	٥	٦	٧	٨	٩

Saraiki in academia

Department of Saraiki, Islamia University, Bahawalpur was established in 1989 and Department of Saraiki, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multanwas established in 2006. Saraiki is taught as subject in schools and colleges at higher secondary, intermediate and degree level. Allama Iqbal open university Islamabad,and Al-Khair university Bhimbir have their Pakistani Linguistics Departments. They are offering M.Phil. and Ph.D in Saraiki. Associated Press of Pakistan has launched its site in saraiki also.

Saraiki media[edit]

Television channels[edit]

Main article: Television in Pakistan

Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Monday said southern Punjab is rich in cultural heritage which needs to be promoted for next generations. In a message on the launch of Saraiki channel by Pakistan Television (PTV) in Multan, Prime Minister Gilani said the step would help promote the rich heritage of ‘Saraiki Belt’.^[39]

TV Channel	Genre	Founded	Official Website
Waseb TV (وسیب)	Entertainment		http://www.waseb.tv/
Kook TV (کوک)
Rohi TV (روہی)	Entertainment		http://www.rohi.tv/
PTV MULTAN (پی ٹی وی ملتان)	Entertainment		http://ptv.com.pk/ (presents programmes in Saraiki)
PTV National (پی ٹی وی نیشنل)	Entertainment		http://ptv.com.pk/ (presents programmes in Saraiki along with other regional languages)