Culture of Afghanistan
By : Abu Mohammad Hamkar
The culture of Afghanistan has been around for over twomillenniums, tracing record to at least the time of theAchaemenid Empire in 500 BCE.[1][2] Afghanistantranslates to the "place of Afghans" or "land of the Afghans" in the nation's official languages, Pashto and Dari (Persian).[3][4] It is mostly a tribal society with different regions of the country having their own separate tradition, reflecting the multi-cultural and multi-lingual character of the nation. In the southern and eastern region, as well as western Pakistan which was historically part of Afghanistan, the Pashtun people live according to thePashtun culture by following Pashtunwali, which is anancient lifestyle that is still preserved until today.[5] The northern and central regions of Afghanistan are culturally Persian or Tajik with some small regions being Turkic. The western region of Afghanistan has a mixture of both Pashtuns and Tajiks,[6][7][8] Some of the non-Pashtuns who live in close proximity with Pashtuns have adopted Pashtunwali[3] in a process called Pashtunization (or Afghanization) and many Pashtuns have adopted Persian culture and language in places where Tajiks constitute the majority.
Afghanistan has been the main crossroads for Central Asia, South Asia, and the Middle East, and has influenced its culture.[9] Besides being devout Muslims, the people of Afghanistan are generally very shy and private by nature.
