Afghanistan's+Culture

[|Dictionary.com][|Afghan Culture][|The World Factbook][|The World Factbook]AFGHANISTAN'S CULTURE

[|MAPS AND INFORMATION ABOUT AFGHANISTAN FROM NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC]
 * GENERAL**

DO PEOPLE IN AFGHANISTAN WATCH MOVIES?

I learned in class that under the Taliban people were not allowed to watch movies because the Taliban thought it was to westernized. They could also not watch TV or listen to music.

I also learned that the people under the Taliban's rule that they could not watch anything or sing or dance. The reason the people weren't allowed to do these things is because the Taliban thought a lot of the things were inappropriate. In english class we watched a movie called Osama about the Taliban. The Taliban hates everything about the western part of the world.. The Taliban hates that there is music, dancing, television stations, and radio stations. The things that I listed are not allowed under the Taliban. Anyone who breaks these rules will be punished.

I went to [|kwintessential] and learned that, traditionally, the women and men have very different duties in Afghanistan. Women do all of the housework, although sometimes they have jobs in the city. Men in the traditional family are the "bread winners", and have jobs to support their family.

What kinds of jobs do they have in the city? It's interesting that they would have the right to have a job.


 * What other obligations do women have? **

I found this article from the [|New York Times] and it was about a girl named Mariam was forced at age eleven to marry someone she didn't know and was abused by her husbands mother for a long time and ran away. It also talked about how women have more rights since the constitution after the Taliban fell.

Some obligations women have are that they have to follow the rules of their religion, wear a burqa when in public, and have a man as their chaperone when outside. In Afghanistan it is extremely strict so they have to be aware that they follow the rules. I recieved these facts from the book I am reading, Breadwinner.

I learned from [|rawa.org] that women cannot talk to male doctors or shop keepers. Also, they are not allowed to use cosmetics or do work out of home.

1400 years ago, Islam made sure that men and women were equal, and gave them some rights, For example, they hadf the right to inheritance, the right to vote, the right to work, and the right to choose who they wanted to marry. Unfortunatelly, for centuries, women have not had any rights because of the government or by their close male family members. The Taliban gave women almost no rights at all. Infact, they were not allowed to work, leave the house withouta male escort, forced to be almost completelly covered, and to go to a male doctor. [|afghan-web.com] In class, we also discussed that the job of a woman is to the do the housework. Every single day. This was the life of Sharbat Gula, the woman who was photographed as a teen by Steve McCurry.

According to [|Oxfam], there are many different ethnic groups in Afghanistan. I learned that the main groups were the Pashtuns, Tajiks, Hazaras and Uzbeks, yet ninety percent of the people of Afghanistan are Muslims, who are divided into two groups called the Sunnis and the Shias.

I went to [|National Geographic] and found out that the Hazaras make up one fifth of Afghanistan's population which I thought was amazing because they are the outsiders of the country.

I was curious as to who the Hazaras were and where they came from, so I went to the National Geographic website. I found that they came from an isolated region in the highlands of Afghanistan. From what I have read, I do not think that the Hazaras were truly outsiders of the country. They were known as this because the ruling Taliban considered them unbelievers to their faith, or even animals. The Taliban thought that they did not look the way Afghans should look because their somewhat Asian features set them apart. The Taliban also thought that the Hazaras did not worship the way Muslims worship. When the Buddhas fell, the Taliban forces were burning down villages in Hazarajat, the home of the Hazaras, to show that the region was not possible to live in. Today, it is one of the safest regions in Afghanistan.

I went to [|National Geographics] and learned that Buddha statues were destroyed in March 2001 by Taliban rockets. These Buddha statues had been there for over 1500 years. Many missionaries and Silk Road traders would visit there often. They destroyed the Buddhas because they were non-Islamic idols, and the Taliban wanted to proclaim their religon.

I went to [|Oxfam] and found that the two main languages of Afghanistan are Dari and Pashtu. However, there are over thirty additional languages spoken there.

Phastu and Dari are the official languages of Afghanistan. Though Phastu was declared the national language even though only 35% speak Phastu. 80% of people in Afghanistan are muslim.

Pashtu is also written Pushtu. It was declared the National Language of the country during the beginning of Zahir Shah's reign, even though Dari has always been used for business and government transactions. Both of them belong to the Indo-European group of languages. Turkic languages (Uzbek and Turkmen) are spoken by about 11% of the population. There are also many other languages spoken in the country (Baluchi, Pashai, Nuristani, and more) and bilingualism is very common. [|kwintessential.co.uk]

While on [|Afghanistan Online], I saw the Dari alphabet. Unfortunately, I couldn't copy and paste it, so if you click on the link, you can see it.

Just adding on to what lili said I also read kwintessential and also found out (like said before) that about 35% of Afganistans population speaks Pastu, but Dari is most commonly spoken having 50% of Afgans.

On this website:KHPALA PASHTO, I discovered what the Pashtu writing looks like: ژبې تر ووسه پورې خپل هغه ځای نۀ دی نيوولی چې د کوم پۀ صحيح معنې سره جوګه دا. څرنګه به چې تاسو د دې سره اتفاق وکړئ چې د تېکنالوجي پۀ دې ووسني وخت کښې د هر شي د پراختيا او لوړتيا د پاره د کمپيوټر پۀ کار کښې راوستل ډېر مهم دي. دې د پاره مونږ دا کوشش وکړو چې داسې يو کمپيوټري پوستکالی جوړ کړو چې د هغي پۀ مرسته سره د پښتو وئلونکي او د پښتو سره مينه لرونکي د خپلې ژبې د پراختيا او لوړتيا د پاره کمپيوټر پۀ کار کښې راولي. نن مو دا مقصد تر څۀ ځای پورې تر لاسه کړو او د الله تعالیٰ پۀ خوښې سره به پۀ راتلونکي کښې به نوره او نوره بريالي هم تر لاسه کړو. د دې نه پر څنګ خپله پښتو يو څو نورو چارو باندې هم بوخت ده چې تاسو به د دې وېبځي پۀ کتون کښې ترې خبر شئ. The English translation is below: As you would agree that in the present technological age, the use of computers is must for development. Therefore, endeavor was made to develop a software that will enable all the Pashto speaking and Pashto loving people to make use of computers for the development and advancement of this wonderful language. Today, that goal has been achieved to some extent and Insha-Allah endeavors will continue to do more and more. Apart from this, KHPALA PASHTO has several other plans, which you would come to know about during a tour of the site. ||
 * The objective of creating this web site is to work for the development of our language- the Pashto language, the language of the Afghans. We are very proud of our language, culture, values, and traditions. However, it is very sad to note that the Pashto language has not yet achieved its place, which it deserves very much.
 * The objective of creating this web site is to work for the development of our language- the Pashto language, the language of the Afghans. We are very proud of our language, culture, values, and traditions. However, it is very sad to note that the Pashto language has not yet achieved its place, which it deserves very much.

According to [|Afghanistan Online], Afghanistan's food is very unique. It is neither too spicy, nor too bland. One dish is challow, or white rice. Another dish, a dessert, is sheer yakh, which is Afghan ice cream. Afghans often eat meat, including beef and lamb. Food is well appreciated. Sometimes, even stepping on a piece of dropped bread can be considered sinful. A typical Afghan diet includes flat bread, or nan, yogurt, called mast, fruit and vegetables, and meat and rice. [|Afghanistans] [|Here is a photograph of sheer yakh.] [|Here is a photograph of beef with challow.]

I went to the site [|Afghanistan, Journey to the land of Afghans]. I learned that Afghan food is not just from Afghanistan but from the neighboring regions of Afghanistan and from the major ethnic groups the Pashtuns, Tajiks, and Uzbeks. Afghanistan cuisine is the blending of cooking methods of the three ethnic groups. Influence from India is obvious because of the use of spices, like saffron, coriander, cardamom and black pepper. The Afghans prefer cuisine that is not spicy or hot.

I learned from [|britannica.com] that religion is a daily custom for Afghans and very constricted practices were set by the Taliban.

According to [|afghanistans.com], Afghan jobs for village men and women is to work on the fields, but the women only work during harvest. For the older children, their job is to watch the younger children and influence the flocks.


 * What is the main religion of the Afghan people? **

According to “afghanistans.com”, the main religion of the Afghan people is Muslim. About 99% of all Afghanistan people are Muslim (that is a LOT of people). There are very few Jews, Sikhs, Hindus, and Parsis. The mullah, or male spiritual leader, is very important. He has the power to settle disputes, family feuds, local water disputes, and medicines. He conducts sermons, prayers, marriages, and funerals.

Afghanistan is an almost entirely Muslim nation— ninety percent of their population is Sunni Muslims and other Afghan Muslims are either Sufis or Shiites.

I agree with the text above, but after researching on The World Factbook, it said that 80% of people are Sunni Muslims,19% Shia Muslims, and 1% other.

Also, from [|About.com], it said that the separation of these two sub-groups was not because of spiritual differences, but political differences. These two sub-groups share some spiritual ideas, and most people do not call themselves one or the other. They prefer to call themselves, "Muslims."

Afghanistan is mostly Muslim, three fourths are sunnites from the Hanaif branch. The other people, the Ḥazāra and Kizilbash, practice Ithna Ashari Isma ili she'ite Islam. Another religon that is practiced widley is Sufism. [|Britannica]

I learned from [|afghanconsulateistanbul.com] that Islam is the major religion of Afghanistan.

I agree with the comment above me. Islam is the main religion of Afghanistan. MUSLIMS are the people who practice Islam. **What religion do the Taliban practice (how is it different from what the typical Afghan practiced before the Taliban)?** The Taliban practice very srtict Islam with very strict sharia. Sharia are the religious laws of Islam. Afghans practice very strict Islam like the Taliban Because of the Taliban's rule. [|Taliban religion]

The Taliban ruled under very strict Islam rules. Religious schools were built in Afghanistan after Islam came in the seventh century and the Taliban became an important part of the social fabric: running schools, mosques, shrines, and other various religious and social services, and serving as Mujahideen (holy warriors) when necessary. [|Infoplease.com]

The Taliban follows strict Islamic rules such as women can't go outside without an escort and a burka, or a long sheet like dress that covers a woman's whole body. Typical Afghans practice a much less harsh interpretation of the Qu'uran, the Muslim version of the bible. Most Muslims don't believe such strict rules the Taliban follows.

Does everyone in Afghanistan study the same reliigion or are they allowed to choose

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I went to U.S Department, and found some information. The constitution in Afghanistan states that the president and vice president are supposed to be Muslim. This doesn’t apply to ministers or members of parliament. The constitution also declares the official “religion of the state” is Islam. It seems to me from reading this, that many people are Islam. There was a new constitution written in 2004. It states that “Followers of other religions are free to exercise their faith and perform their religious rights within the limits of the law.” From the reading, I am not really sure if this is followed through. As I further read, it says that non-Muslims do not have the right to marry, or convert their religion. So, it doesn’t seem that the constitution is being followed.======

I was reading about Afghanistan's culture on [] and found out that on the holy month of Ramadan, there is a huge fast from dawn to dusk and they are only allowed to work six hours per day. Also, foreigners are not required to fast, but they must not eat, drink, smoke, or chew gum in public.

If a male were to go to Afghanistan, it would be appropriate for him to wear shoes and a suit. Although if he is from Afghanistan the traditional dress is a long shirt with long pants to go with it.[|Kwintessential] [|Picture of male traditional dress]
 * How do men dress in Afghanistan? **

Men wear an overshirt(payraan), a hat or cap(kullaa), and shoes or footwear. Men's clothes feature few decorative details. [|Book Rags]

Men in Afghanistan wear Pevahan Tunban witch means dress and trousers, also refered as kamiz Shalwar, with a gold stitched waistcoat. They also wear paizar witch means footwear. 70% wear traditional Afghan clothing and 30% wear western style clothing like jeans with a shirt and suites. [|Afghan Clothing]

[|Afghan Clothes] Traditional Men in Afghanistan wear suits and dress shoes, if wealthy. If not, traditional Afghan clothing consisting of long shirts and trousers. [|Al Queda Dress] Al Queda members wear a traditional style dress which is a camo print versus a solid color. It is not the correct type of camo for the desert, because desert wear is normally tan, where as dark greens and browns would be worn in the woods or greenland not sandy areas.

Afghan men wear a lot of different turbans, even under the Taliban’s control, the Taliban rules as a strict Islamic government that controls much of the country, there are differences in the way people cover there heads. Like the Taliban members, they wear a very long turban, sometimes two twisted together, with one end hanging loosely over there shoulder. But the ambassadors of Afghanistan wear a solid black turban tied above his forehead. Some afghan men don’t where turbans at all they wear a hat or cap (kullaa). For more information goo [|The Seatle Times], on this website you can also see different types of turbans.

Afghan men wear tubans on their heads. Black turbans are used when you are at a young age. White turbans are used when you are in about 7th grade or older. Alex O'Conner was telling me about this.

​ do men wear clothing s us americns wear?

No, men wear Pashtuns they are dresses with embroidery made of silk. according to [|Afghan style.]

Women follow a strict dress code. The clothing must cover the entire body, the material shouldn’t be thin, the clothes should hang loosely, and it should not consist of bold designs. Women’s clothing is not allowed to resemble men’s clothing in any way. Also, clothing should not be worn for the purpose of attracting attention. [|Islam for Today]
 * How do women dress in Afghanistan?**

Women should not wear clothing just to get ahead in their society [|Islam for Today]

For my paragraph I

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Though, if they are working in business, women need to wear knee-length, loose fitting business skirts with loose professional pants underneath. Also, they should wear head scarfs. [|Kwintessential]======

Women in Afghanistan have a very strict dress code. It is important to follow it because it is a sign of modesty. Allah (god) made these rules so; it is disrespectful to break them. [|Islam for today] supplied these facts.

Mrs. Cerniglia told me to look up the word "hijab" on google for my five paragraph essay, so I did, and found out that a hijab is a headscarf worn by muslim women. To learn more, go to http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&client=safari&rls=en&defl=en&q=define:hijab&ei=9yyHS_qNM8-Xtgff0cihDw&sa=X&oi=glossary_definition&ct=title&ved=0CAgQkAE

Afghan women wear a long knee lenth dress with trousers known as panabbi. The dress called perahaan is usually made from either cotton, polyester, or silk. The younger women wear bright colors and the older women wear dark colors. [|Afghan Clothing]

The head scarves that women wear are called burkas. The Bukas are long headresses that cover a womens face. A couple reasons why are because, many Muslims believe god requires them to cover their hair. Head covering shows purity and godliness. This is also accentuates the womens beauty and takes away from the hair and body, which draws attention to her face.

Many women wear jewelery. Jewelery is collected to show wealth. [|Afghanistans]

The Afghanistan women must always dress modestly and conservatively. The general rule is to show as little flesh from the neck down but in business they should wear knee-length dresses with formal trousars and wearing a headscarf is advised. I found this information on [|Kwintessentail.]

Children in Afghanistan wear almost the same thing as the adults. Girls wear a knee-length dress over trousers. Boys wear cotton pants and a shirt. [|Afghan Culture]

It is amazing how kids in Afghanistan can sit in a crowded room and have a whole day of school in a hot and they don’t even have chairs. School is so important to them because not every one can go to school and they are very fortunate to be able to learn. Classroom

Until recently,girls were not even allowed to go to school, neither universities. Since the Taliban fell in 2001, though, more and more girls entered schools. Now there are more than there ever were. Now Afghanistan has more rights for girls and boys. There is more information on this in [|BBC]

Within the schools that Greg Mortenson built, 44,000 out of 58,000 students were girls.[|Greg Mortenson biography]


 * What is the national sport of Afghanistan? **

Buzkashi. This means goat grabbing. To learn more go on to [|Afghanistan online]

I went on [] and I found out that Buzkashi is a main sport in Afghanistan. It says that they believe that it began with the Turkic-Mongol people and is shared with the people of Northern Afghanistan. This is a great website with a lot of information. Please check it out.

In Buzkashi, a carcass is placed in the center of a circle surrounded by players on two teams. The object of the game is to bring the carcass into the scoring area. Buzkashi is an extremely dangerous sport, which can result in serious injury. The winners recieve prizes ranging from money to new turbans and clothes. [|Afghanistan Online]

I was reading[| Afghanistan online] also, and the people there play all kinds of sports, but the main sport is Buzkashi. It is played on horseback. Then there is football,(soccer), with cricket following.

I also found out that the national sport is Buzkashi. I found this infomation at [|afganistan.org]

I found on the [|afghanistan.org] website that winners are awarded prizes of "chapan", turbans, cash or rifles.

Buzkashi is the national sport of Afghanistan and the most popular. It means “goat grabbing” or “goat killing”. It is played by putting a headless carcass of a goat, calf, or sheep in a circle. Players on horseback, try to catch the carcass and bring it back to their goal line. [|Kidz World] supplied this information.

Afghans also play polo and ghosai, which is like wrestling. [|Afghanistans]

What is ghosai, and how is it played?

I learned on [|Afghan web] that historians believe buzkashi started with the Turkic-mongols.

If the government knew that Osama bin Laden was going to attack the USA on Sept. 11,2001, why didn't they try to stop him, instead of turning their heads and letting him put his words into actions?

I was reading on the web on noticed an amazing article about Afganistans hidden treasure(s). When the US force attcked the Taliban, most of the people fled to Afghanistan. A team of locksmiths poened every safe and found gold. Five moinths later a team opened footlockers and found a 2,000 year old ivory carvings and glasswear.

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The culture of Afghanistan reflects its ancient roots and position as a crossroads for invading ethnic groups and traditions. A camel caravan of nomads often looks like a circus parade, with the animals decked out in woven finery. The Islamic traditions of fine calligraphy and graphic arts are evoked in the fine filigreed flourishes that decorate many buildings.======

After looking up on The World Factbook, I learned that the ethinic groups of Afghanistan vary. They are Pashtun, Tajik, Uzbek, Aimak, Turkmen, Baloch, and other. Percentage wise, it goes Pashtun 42%, Tajik 27%, Hazara 9%, Uzbek 9%, Aimak 4%, Turkmen 3%, Baloch 2%, and other 4%.

While watching a video in class, I was wondering why the Taliban thinks they are nice to women? In the video, there were women being hit and that doesn't seem like they were being nice.

I don't think that the Taliban think they are being kind to women. They treat them very harshly, but I imagine that they think they are only helping their religion. I think that it is very unfair how the Taliban treated women. The Taliban shouldn't think that they can hurt and be so discriminating to women just because the women do not agree with their religion.


 * Do the people of Afghanistan have pets? If they do, what kind of pets?**

I went to [|Humane Society International,] and found that there are many stray animals in Afghanistan. People in Afghanistan are just beginning to take in pets.Most of the dogs and cats are strays. The woman who wrote this article, Carly Kuma adopted a stray dog from Afghanistan who’s mother was poisoned by local authorities. While in Afghanistan Carly, said,"I had always been an animal lover, and the city was full of emaciated, sickly stray dogs and cats. My happiest hours in Afghanistan were spent nursing these animals back to health."

Afghans eat everyday which is rice and nan which is bread. They eat meat in their dish and along with vegetables. A person is to mix the meat, vegetables, and rice altogether.
 * What foods make up a traditional Afghanistan meal?**

I think that a traditional meal would be rice, nan, and tea. Nan is actually like pita bread. Occasionally, when people even have enough money, they buy things like vegetables, or soap.

The prefered meat in an Afghan meal is chicken, lamb, or veal. Vegetables are usually used in stews and the rice is slowly cooked with cumin or dill and often garnished with nuts and slices of burnt orange peel. Their bread, known as nan, is light and crusty. [|Afghan Meals]

According to Dictionary.com halal means slaughtered or prepared in the mannered prescribed by Islamic law, it can also mean of or pertaining to halal meat. Halal is a noun somthing can be a halal meat or halal animal.

== Adding on to the comment above this a commonly used word in Islam is halal and haram. Halal means food that is allowed and considered to be an approved thing to eat. Haram is when a food is considered not aloud and disapproved or prohibited. Carnivorous animals are considered haram same with pork and wine. For more information go to [|Islamic food.com]. ==

Today in Afghanistan, Afghan food is full of flavor because of regions that neighbor Afghanistan. The major ethnic groups that do this are Pashtuns, Tajiks and Uzbeks. The Influence of India spread spices like saffron, coriander, cardamom and black pepper. The Afghans prefer food which is neither too spicy nor hot. They use the crops they grow such as corn, wheat, and rice in their meals. Some traditional dishes that an Afghan family may eat are  Afghan Kofta, Nan-i-Afghan , Quroot , Osh Pyozee , Sher Berinj , Qabli Pulao , Mantu , Dampukht and Kababs. They also eat fruits like grapes and apricots. Their favorite drink in Afghanistan is tea. [|Food in Afghanistan]

Afghanistan is expanding the Pomergrante export. THis is occuring becouse the price of the fruit is about 54 cents a pound. this is due to cold storing. To find more information go to [|National Geograghic]

What are the most common jobs that an Afghan would do?

The Taliban spokeman said the Qu'ran words, which was mostly everything the Taliban did not door follow.