23/09/2021
The Pashtun Culture Day is celebrated every year on September 23. This cultural day was mutually decided by Pashtun leaders and elders during a three day event marked as โWorld Pashto Conferenceโ in 2015 in Quetta.
Pashtun, Pakhtoon, Pathan or Khan, all these names are used for one of the most bravest people on this earth, whose cultural and traditional heritage is so rich that it may take a whole book to define it.
The Pashtuns have a rich background in the narratives of world history and this rich history carries symbols of cultural heritage, traditions and not to mention, the attires that the Pashtuns wear that differentiate them.
Before we start on how to dress up like a Pashtun, letโs talk a bit about the history of Pashtuns, who are these people exactly? Why they are so well acclaimed in the books of history? Where does this beautiful culture come from? And how has this culture grown over the years?
There are many theories which state the origins of the Pashtun ethnicity, the most suitable and logical ones emphasize that these Pashtuns are either a descent from the Sakas or the A***n dynasty. There is also a popular theory that suggests that Pashtuns descended from the exiled lost tribes of Israel.
However, the fact that remains constant to this day is that the Pashtuns are an Iranian ethnic group that were further divided into many tribes and clans, around 350-400 clans. At the present, majority of the Pashtuns live in Afghanistan and Pakistan. From Paktiya, Kandahar in Afghanistan to KPK and Quetta in Pakistan. You will find them all over the globe now!
The Pashtuns have integrated their culture with that of Pakistan in an artistic fashion. These areas serve as the cultural centers for the Pashtun heritage as these areas mostly consist of Pashtuns. The Pashtuns have lived through all the significant events in history, whether it may be the Lodhi Dynasty, the Mughal Dynasty or the British rule over the sub-continent, they were there for all of it. Not only were these ethnic tribes present for these events, they fought against these rules too when these rules undermined their sovereignty and threatened the Pashtun values and customs.
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