Punjabi folk music (

Shahmukhi Shahmukhi (, ) is a Persian alphabet, Perso-Arabic alphabet script used historically by Punjabi Muslims (primarily in present-day Punjab, Pakistan, Pakistani Punjab) to write the Punjabi language. It is generally written in the Nastaʿlīq Callig ...

: پنجابی لوک موسیقی pa, ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ਲੋਕ ਸੰਗੀਤ or Punjabi Folk) is the

traditional music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...

on the traditional musical instruments of the

Punjab region Punjab (; Punjabi Language, Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also Romanization, romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the I ...

of the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...

. There is a great repertoire of music from the time of birth through the different stages of joy and sorrow till death. The folk music invokes the traditions as well as the hardworking nature, bravery and many more things that the people of Punjab get from its gateway-to-India geographical location. Due to the large area with many sub-regions, the folk music has minor lingual differences but invokes the same feelings. The sub-regions,

Malwa Malwa is a historical region of west-central India occupying a plateau of volcanic origin. Geologically, the Malwa Plateau generally refers to the volcanic upland north of the Vindhya Range. Politically and administratively, it is also syno ...

Doaba Doaba also known as Bist Doab, is the region of Punjab, India that lies between the Beas River and the Sutlej River. People of this region are given the demonym "Doabia". The dialect of Punjabi spoken in Doaba is called "Doabi". Th ...

Majha Majha ( Punjabi: ਮਾਝਾ (Gurmukhi), (Shahmukhi); ''Mājhā'') is a region located in the central parts of the historical Punjab region split between India and Pakistan. It extends north from the right banks of the river Beas, and reaches ...

Pothohar The Pothohar Plateau ( ur, ) is a plateau in north-eastern Pakistan, located between Indus River and the Jhelum River, forming the northern part of Punjab. Geography Potohar Plateau is bounded on the east by the Jhelum River, on the west by the ...

, and hills areas, have numerous folk songs. Punjabi dance OP Bhangra music which is a genre of Punjabi modern music invented in Britain by the Punjabi diaspora.

General features of musical style

Rhythm

The rhythm of Punjabi folk music is very simple. unlike the rhythms of Bhangra music which are generally complex

Melody

Some songs like Heer and

Mirza Mirza may refer to: * Mirza, Kamrup, town in Assam, India * Mirza (name), historical royal title & noble * ''Mirza'', the genus of giant mouse lemur * "Mirza", song by Nino Ferrer * ''Mirza – The Untold Story'', Punjabi action romance film wri ...

are sung using the traditional compositions. Due to the lack of musicianship Punjabi folk genre is committed to re using melodies created hundreds of years ago albeit with new lyrics.

Folk songs

Punjab has folk songs on birth, marriage, funeral, death, love, separation, beauty, social and economical status, village lifestyle, food, nature, bravery, folklores and folktales, folk romances, folk and historical heroes, festivals and many more. The songs of professional castes of Punjab are also included in the folk songs. They can be divided into the following categories:

Occasion for singing

Controversy

Punjabi folk music is associated with a traditional lifestyle and culture. Many of the themes associated with the songs of today, which are mostly relevant in Bhangra songs, involve the promotion of the ills of Punjabi society such as the caste system and substance abuse as well as superstitious beliefs. Many revolutions in Punjab such as the Sikh revolution were in direct opposition of Punjabi folk songs.

Life-cycle rituals

A large part of Punjabi folk songs presents the picture of incidents from birth to death relations, relatives also including the songs on other occasions, festivals and fairs. The songs by women represents their soft feelings, nature, hobbies and lower social status in limited circle while the songs by men represents their freedom, strength and hardworking. The folk songs starts from the birth of a child then name ceremony, marriage, relations, relatives and much more. There are many songs on the different stages of a marriage like Suhag, Ghorhian, Sehra, Sithnian. Suhag is related to bride while Ghorhian and Sehra are related to groom. A daughter's feelings have a special place in the Punjabi folk songs in which she address to his father asking to find her a better home, good people (in-laws) and many more. By length and mood, the different kinds of songs includes Suhag, Ghorhian, Bolian, Tappe, Sithnian, Chhand, Heara, Lorian etc.

Fairs and festivals

Every festive occasion has music associated with it.

Lohri ''Lohri'' is a popular winter Punjabi folk festival celebrated primarily in Northern India. The significance and legends about the Lohri festival are many and these link the festival to the Punjab region. It is believed by many that the festiva ...

and

Maghi Maghi is the regional name of the Hindu festival of Makar Sankranti celebrated in Punjab, Haryana Jammu division and Himachal Pradesh.In Himachal, the festival is also known as ''Maghi Saaji'' or ''Magha Ra Saza''. In Bihar and Nepal it is also ...

are associated with the change of season while Visakhi is a harvest festival. Men dance Bhangra and women dance

Giddha Giddha ( pa, گدها, ਗਿੱਧਾ, ) is a popular folk dance of women in the Punjab region. The dance is often considered derived from the ancient dance known as the ring dance and is just as energetic as bhangra; at the same time it mana ...

. The month of

Sawan Sāwaṇ or Sāuṇ ( pa, ਸਾਵਣ, ਸਾਉਣ, ) is the fifth month in the Nanakshahi calendar. Many Indian calendars started in different eras such as Shaka Calendar (national calendar of India) traditional Vikrama as well as the Nanak ...

is one of great joy for females in which they celebrate the festival of

Teeyan Teeyan ( pa, ਤੀਆਂ) is the regional name of the festival of Teej which is celebrated throughout Punjab which is dedicated to the onset of the monsoon and focuses on daughters and sisters. Celebration The festival is celebrated during the m ...

. The married ones come back to their parents' home and meet their family and friends and in an open ground they dance Giddha. They wear colorful dresses like

Phulkari Phulkari ( pa, ਫੁਲਕਾਰੀ) refers to the folk embroidery of the Punjab. Although Phulkari means floral work, the designs include not only flowers but also cover motifs and geometrical shapes. The main characteristics of Phulkari embr ...

, and adorn their hands with

Mehndi Mehndi () is a form of body art and temporary skin decoration from the Indian subcontinent usually drawn on hands or legs. They are decorative designs that are created on a person's body, using a paste, created from the powdered dry leaves of ...

and glass bangles.

Types of textual themes

Romantic

Jugni Jugni is an age-old narrative device used in Punjabi folk music. It is the traditional music of the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent. Jugni is sung at Punjabi weddings in India, Pakistan, US, Canada, Australia and UK. In folk music, i ...

, Mahia, Tappe, Jindua, Dhola,

Kafi Kafi ( pa, ਕਾਫ਼ੀ (Gurmukhi), (Shahmukhi), Hindi: काफ़ी, Urdu: کافی, Sindhi:ڪافي) is a classical form of Sufi music mostly in the Siraiki, Punjabi and Sindhi languages and originating from the Punjab, and Sindh ...

an, Dohre, Bolian, Sadda, Jhokan and the folk romances of

Heer Ranjha ''Heer Ranjha'' (or ''Heer and Ranjha'') ( pnb, , ਹੀਰ ਰਾਂਝਾ ) is one of several popular tragic romances of Punjab, other important ones being "Sohni Mahiwal", "Mirza Sahiban" and " Sassi Punnhun". There are several poetic na ...

Mirza Sahiban ''Mirza Sahiban'' ( pa, ਮਿਰਜ਼ਾ ਸਾਹਿਬਾਂ, , ') is one of the four popular tragic romances of the Punjab. The other three are ''Heer Ranjha'', ''Sohni Mahiwal'' and ''Sassi Punnun''. There are five other popular folklor ...

Sohni Mahiwal Sohni Mahiwal or Suhni Mehar ( pa, , ਸੋਹਣੀ ਮਹੀਂਵਾਲ is one of the four popular tragic romances of Punjab including Sindh. In Sindh Sohni's shrine is in Shahdadpur Town of Sangar District. The others are Sassi Punnun, Mirza ...

Sassi Punnun Sassi Punnuh or Sassui Punhun ( sd, سَسُئيِ پُنهوُن) is a love story from Punjabi, Sindhi, and Balochi folklore. The story is about a faithful lover who will endure any difficulty while seeking her beloved husband who was separated ...

are main folk love songs. Heer and Mirza are sung using traditional compositions.

Heroic

In heroic or bravery, the folk song includes about the Punjabi heroes like

Dulla Bhatti Dulla Bhatti (also known as Dullah Bhatti and Rai Abdullah Bhatti) is a Punjabi folk hero who supposedly came from the Punjab region and led a revolt against Mughal rule during the reign of the Mughal emperor Akbar. He is entirely absent f ...

, Raja Rasalu, Jagga Jatt, S.

Bhagat Singh Bhagat Singh (27 September 1907 – 23 March 1931) was a charismatic Indian revolutionary* * who participated in the mistaken murder of a junior British police officer * * in what was to be retaliation for the death of an Indian nationa ...

, S.

Udham Singh Udham Singh (born Sher Singh; 26 December 1899 — 31 July 1940) was an Indian revolutionary belonging to Ghadar Party and HSRA, best known for assassinating Michael O'Dwyer, the former lieutenant governor of the Punjab in India, on 13 Mar ...

, Sucha Soorma and Jeona Morh.

Religious

Songs about worship, religious ceremonies and festivals represents the religious feelings.

Sikhism Sikhism (), also known as Sikhi ( pa, ਸਿੱਖੀ ', , from pa, ਸਿੱਖ, lit=disciple', 'seeker', or 'learner, translit=Sikh, label=none),''Sikhism'' (commonly known as ''Sikhī'') originated from the word ''Sikh'', which comes fro ...

is closely related with music. The sixth

Sikh guru The Sikh gurus ( Punjabi: ਸਿੱਖ ਗੁਰੂ) are the spiritual masters of Sikhism, who established this religion over the course of about two and a half centuries, beginning in 1469. The year 1469 marks the birth of Guru Nanak, the found ...

Guru Hargobind Gurū Hargobind (Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਹਰਿਗੋਬਿੰਦ, pronunciation: l 19 June 1595 – 28 February 1644), revered as the ''sixth Nānak'', was the sixth of ten Gurus of the Sikh religion. He had become Guru at the young age of e ...

, established the singers called '' Dhadis'' to sing the

Gurbani Gurbani ( pa, ਗੁਰਬਾਣੀ) is a Sikh term, very commonly used by Sikhs to refer to various compositions by the Sikh Gurus and other writers of Guru Granth Sahib. In general, hymns in the central text of the Sikhs, the Guru Granth Sahib, ...

, ''Vaars'' (English: heroic ballads) and other folk genres using the normally two folk instruments, Dhad and

Sarangi The sārangī is a bowed, short-necked string instrument played in traditional music from South Asia – Punjabi folk music, Rajasthani folk music, and Boro folk music (there known as the ''serja'') – in Pakistan, India and Bangladesh. It is ...

. The other religions like

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

have Qawwalis, Naats and

Hamd Hamd ( ar, حمد, ḥamd, praise) is a word that exclusively praises God - whether written or spoken. Thus, The word "Hamd" is always followed by the name of God (Allah) - a phrase known as the Tahmid - "al-ḥamdu li-llāh" (Arabic: ) (English ...

s and

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...

have Bhajans and Punjabi hav
Punjabi songs

Instruments

Punjabi singers may sing unaccompanied or along with such traditional instruments as

dhol Dhol (IPA: ) can refer to any one of a number of similar types of double-headed drum widely used, with regional variations, throughout the Indian subcontinent. Its range of distribution in India, Bangladesh and Pakistan primarily includes nort ...

tumbi The tumbi or toombi ( pa, ਤੂੰਬੀ, pronunciation: ''tūmbī''), also called a tumba or toomba, is a traditional musical instrument from the Punjab region of the northern Indian subcontinent. The high-pitched, single- string plucking ins ...

dhadd Dhadd ( pa, ਢੱਡ), also spelled as Dhad or Dhadh is an hourglass-shaped traditional musical instrument native to Punjab that is mainly used by the Dhadi singers. It is also used by other folk singers of the region. Design and playing T ...

sarangi The sārangī is a bowed, short-necked string instrument played in traditional music from South Asia – Punjabi folk music, Rajasthani folk music, and Boro folk music (there known as the ''serja'') – in Pakistan, India and Bangladesh. It is ...

gharha Ghara is an earthen pot made in India and Pakistan. It is used for storing drinking water and keeping it cool. The word ''ghara'' has cognates in Pahari, Bengali and Odia languages that can all be traced to the Sanskrit word ''ghaṭa'' meaning ...

, gagar, chimta, or

algoze Alghoza is a paired woodwind instrument. It is traditionally used by Baloch, Saraiki, Sindhi, Kutchi, Punjabi and Rajasthani folk musicians. It consists of two joined beak flutes, one for melody, the second for drone. The flutes are either ...

, Iktara, Bugchu, Chhaine, Kainchi, Sapp, Kato.