Poetry of the modern-day region called Afghanistan has ancient roots, which is mostly written in Dari and Pashto. [1] Afghan poetry relates to the culture of Afghanistan and is an element of Afghan literature.
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The region called Afghanistan nowadays was noted for its poetic language even before the Islamic conquest of Afghanistan in the 7th through 11th centuries. The Pata Khazana, if authentic, contains Pashto poetry written as far back as the 8th Century. Some of the famous poets who were born or lived in the region of present-day Afghanistan include Rumi, Khushal Khan Khattak, Rahman Baba, Ahmad Shah Durrani, Timur Shah Durrani, Shuja Shah Durrani, Ghulam Muhammad Tarzi, Ghulam Habib Nawabi, Massoud Nawabi, Homaira Nakhat Dastgirzada and many others. [2]
The nation also has a number of female poets, such as Rabia Balkhi, 17th century Nazo Tokhi, and others.
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Ahmad Shāh Durrānī, also known as Ahmad Shāh Abdālī, was the founder of the Durrani Empire and is often regarded as the founder of modern Afghanistan. In June 1747, he was appointed as King of the Afghans by a loya jirga in Kandahar, where he set up his capital.
Pashtuns, also known as Pakhtuns, or Pathans, are a nomadic, pastoral, eastern Iranic ethnic group primarily residing in northwestern Pakistan and southern and eastern Afghanistan. They historically were also referred to as Afghans until 1964 after the term's meaning had become a demonym for members of all ethnic groups in Afghanistan.
Dari, Dari Persian, or Eastern Persian is the variety of the Persian language spoken in Afghanistan. Dari Persian is the Afghan government's official term for the Persian language; it is known as Afghan Persian or Eastern Persian in many Western sources. The decision to rename the local variety of Persian in 1964 was more political than linguistic to support an Afghan state narrative. Dari Persian is most closely related to Tajiki Persian as spoken in Tajikistan and the two share many phonological and lexical similarities. Apart from a few basics of vocabulary, there is little difference between formal written Persian of Afghanistan and Iran; the languages are mutually intelligible. Dari Persian is the official language for approximately 35 million people in Afghanistan and it serves as the common language for inter-ethnic communication in the country.
Pashtunistan or Pakhtunistan is a historical region on the crossroads of Central and South Asia, located on the Iranian Plateau, inhabited by the Pashtun people of southern and eastern Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan, wherein Pashtun culture, the Pashto language, and identity have been based. Alternative names historically used for the region include Pashtūnkhwā or Pakhtūnkhwā (پښتونخوا), Pathānistān, or simply the Pashtun Belt.
Pashto is an Eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family, natively spoken in northwestern Pakistan and southern and eastern Afghanistan. It has official status in Afghanistan and the Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It is known in historical Persian literature as Afghani.
The music of Afghanistan comprises many varieties of classical music, folk music, and modern popular music. Afghanistan has a rich musical heritage and features a mix of Persian melodies, Indian compositional principles, and sounds from ethnic groups such as the Pashtuns, Tajiks and Hazaras. Instruments used range from Indian tablas to long-necked lutes. Afghanistan's classical music is closely related to Hindustani classical music while sourcing much of its lyrics directly from classical Persian poetry such as Mawlana Balkhi (Rumi) and the Iranian tradition indigenous to central Asia. Lyrics throughout most of Afghanistan are typically in Dari (Persian) and Pashto. The multi-ethnic city of Kabul has long been the regional cultural capital, but outsiders have tended to focus on the city of Herat, which is home to traditions more closely related to Iranian music than in the rest of the country.
The Yusufzai or Yousafzai, also referred to as the Esapzai, or Yusufzai Afghans historically, are one of the largest tribes of Pashtuns. They are natively based in the northern part of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, to which they migrated from Kabul during the 16th century, but they are also present in parts of Afghanistan, including Kunar, Kabul, Kandahar and Farah. Outside of these countries, they can be found in Ghoriwala District Bannu, Balochistan Sibi (Akazai), Chagai (Hassanzai) and Rohilkandh.
The Mohmand or Momand is a prominent tribe of Pashtun people.
Khošāl Khān Khaṭak (Pashto: خوشال خان خټک; Urdu, Persian: خوشحال خان خٹک; 1613 – 20 February 1689), also known as Khushal Baba, was a 17th-century Pashtun poet, chief, and warrior. Khushal Khan served the Mughal Empire protecting them from Pashtun warriors over most of his lifespan. After being expelled from his tribal chiefdom and replaced with his son by his Mughal superiors, Khushal Khan turned against the Mughals. Afterwards, Khushal preached the union of all Pashtuns, and encouraged revolt against the Mughal Empire, promoting Pashtun nationalism in the last years of his life through poetry. Much of Khushal's poetry is in Pashto but some is also in Persian. Khushal is considered the "father of Pashto literature" and the national poet of Afghanistan.
The culture of Afghanistan has persisted for centuries and encompasses the cultural diversity of the nation. Afghanistan's culture is historically strongly connected to nearby Persia, including the same religion, as the people of both countries have lived together for thousands of years. Its location at the crossroads of Central, South and Western Asia historically made it a hub of diversity, dubbed by one historian as the "roundabout of the ancient world".
The Durrānī, formerly known as Abdālī (ابدالي), are one of the largest tribes of Pashtuns. Their traditional homeland is in southern Afghanistan, straddling into Toba Achakzai in Balochistan, Pakistan, but they are also settled in other parts of Afghanistan and parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
New Persian, also known as Modern Persian is the current stage of the Persian language spoken since the 8th to 9th centuries until now in Greater Iran and surroundings. It is conventionally divided into three stages: Early New Persian, Classical Persian, and Contemporary Persian.
The Pashto media includes Pashto literature, Pashto-language newspapers, magazines, television and radio stations, as well as Pashto films and Pashto internet. Pashto media involves the Pashtuns of Pakistan, Afghanistan and the Pashtun diaspora around the world.
Pashto literature refers to literature and poetry in Pashto language. The history of Pashto literature spreads over five thousands years having its roots in the oral tradition of Tappa. However, the first recorded period begins in 7th century with Amir Kror Suri. Later, Pir Roshan (1526–1574), who founded his own Sufi school of thoughts and began to preach his beliefs. He gave Pashto prose and poetry a new and powerful tone with a rich literary legacy. Khair-ul-Bayan, oft-quoted and bitterly criticized thesis, is most probably the first book on Sufism in Pashto literature. Among his disciples are some of the most distinguished poets, writers, scholars and sufis, like Arzani, Mukhlis, Mirza Khan Ansari, Daulat and Wasil, whose poetic works are well preserved. Akhund Darweza (1533–1615), a popular religious leader and scholar gave a powerful counterblast to Bayazid’s movement in the shape of Makhzanul Islam. He and his disciples have enriched the Pashto language and literature by writing several books of prose.
The Pashtun tribes, are tribes of the Pashtun people, a large Eastern Iranian ethnic group who speak the Pashto language and follow Pashtunwali, the social code of conduct for Pashtuns. They are found primarily in Afghanistan and Pakistan and form the world's largest tribal society, comprising over 60 million people and between 350 and 400 tribes and clans. They are traditionally divided into four tribal confederacies: the Sarbani (سړبني), the Bettani (بېټني), the Ghurghusht (غرغښت), the Karlani (کرلاڼي) and a few allied tribes of those that are Ismailkhel, Khel, Ludin, Sakzai, and Zai.
Abdul-Hai Habibi was a prominent Afghan historian for much of his lifetime as well as a member of the National Assembly of Afghanistan during the reign of King Zahir Shah. A Pashtun nationalist from Kakar tribe of Kandahar, Afghanistan, he began as a young teacher who made his way up to become a writer, scholar, politician and Dean of Faculty of Literature at Kabul University. He is the author of over 100 books but is best known for editing Pata Khazana, an old Pashto language manuscript that he claimed to have discovered in 1944; but the academic community does not unanimously agree upon its genuineness.
Nāzo Tokhī, commonly known as Nāzo Anā, was an Afghan poet and writer in the Pashto language. Mother of the famous early-18th century Afghan king Mirwais Hotak, she grew up in an influential family in the Kandahar region. She is remembered as a brave woman warrior in Afghan history and as the "Mother of the Afghan Nation".
Massoud Nawabi also known as Ustad Nawabi, was an Afghan poet, writer, and founder of the Educational Committee for Afghan Refugees (ECAR), Afghan Cultural Center, Ghulam Habib Nawabi, Chief Administrator of the Afghan Ibn-e-Sina University and Principle of Ariana Mahajir High School. Massoud Nawabi was the Son of Ghulam Habib Nawabi, who was the last of the great Persian Poet and among the first to introduce modern Dari poetry to Afghanistan.
Afghan literature or literature of Afghanistan refers to the literature produced in the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. Influenced by Central and South Asian literature, it is predominantly written in two native and official languages of Afghanistan, Dari and Pashto. Some regional languages such as Uzbek, Turkmen, Balochi, and Pashayi also appears in Afghan literature. While Afghanistan is a multilingual country, these languages are generally used as oral compositions and written texts by the Afghan writers and in Afghan curriculum. Its literature is highly influenced by Persian and Arabic literature in addition to Central and South Asia.
Kirka Sharif is an Islamic shrine located in Kandahar, Afghanistan. The shrine became notable in English literature during the Second Anglo-Afghan War, when neighboring British-India was trying to establish friendship with Afghanistan. The shrine houses a Middle-Eastern style mantle or cloak, believed to be the cloak of Muhammad, as worn by the Islamic prophet Muhammad during the Night Journey in the year 621.
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