The culture of Kashmir encompasses the spoken

language Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of ...

, written

literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to ...

cuisine A cuisine is a style of cooking characterized by distinctive ingredients, techniques and dishes, and usually associated with a specific culture or geographic region. Regional food preparation techniques, customs, and ingredients combine to ...

, architecture, traditions, and history of the Kashmiri people native to the northern part of the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographical region in Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian Ocean from the Himalayas. Geopolitically, it includes the countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, In ...

. The culture of Kashmir was influenced by the Persian as well as Central Asian cultures after the Islamic invasion of Kashmir. Kashmiri culture is heavily influenced by

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 ...

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

and later by

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...

Early History

''Vedic'' art and culture grew in Kashmir, and some early Vedic hymns were composed there. The '' Bharata Natya Shastra'', which is notable as an ancient encyclopedic treatise on the arts which has influenced dance, music and literary traditions in Indian culture, originated in Kashmir. 2nd century BC writer ''Patanjali'' compiled his compendium on

Yoga Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consciou ...

in Kashmir. The ''

Panchatantra The ''Panchatantra'' (IAST: Pañcatantra, ISO: Pañcatantra, sa, पञ्चतन्त्र, "Five Treatises") is an ancient Indian collection of interrelated animal fables in Sanskrit verse and prose, arranged within a frame story ...

'' is also said to have originated in this region. At the time when ''Pali'' was the primary language for Buddhist literature in the rest of India, all the Buddhist literature produced in Kashmir was in Sanskrit. Kashmiri women held high status in society, as ''Bilhana'' records that Kashmiri women were fluent both in Sanskrit and Pali. ''Kosh Shastra'', a work on the science of sex, second to the ''

Kamasutra The ''Kama Sutra'' (; sa, कामसूत्र, , ; ) is an ancient Indian Sanskrit text on sexuality, eroticism and emotional fulfillment in life. Attributed to Vātsyāyana, the ''Kama Sutra'' is neither exclusively nor predominantly ...

'', was developed in Kashmir. Some more examples of the major texts that also originated in Kashmir are the ''Vigyan Bharaiv Tantra'', ''Yoga Sutras'', ''Sapndi Karkika'' Tantra Loka and ''Para-Trisika-Vivarana''.

Cuisine

Rice is the staple food of Kashmiris and has been so since ancient times. Meat, along with rice, is the most popular food item in Kashmir. Kashmiris consume meat voraciously. Despite being Brahmins, most

Kashmiri Hindus Kashmiri Hindus are ethnic Kashmiris who practice Hinduism and are native to the Kashmir Valley of India. With respect to their contributions to Indian philosophy, Kashmiri Hindus developed the tradition of Kashmiri Shaivism. After their exodus ...

are meat eaters. Kashmiri beverages include ''Noon Chai or Sheer Chai and Kahwah or Kehew''. The Kashmir Valley is noted for its bakery tradition. Bakers sell various kinds of breads with golden brown crusts topped with sesame and poppy seeds. ''Tsot'' and ''tsochvor'' are small round breads topped with poppy and sesame seeds, which are crisp and flaky; ''sheermal'', ''baqerkhayn'' (puff pastry), ''lavas'' (unleavened bread) and ''kulcha'' are also popular. ''Girdas'' and ''lavas'' are served with butter. Kashmiri bakerkhani has a special place in Kashmiri cuisine. It is similar to a round naan in appearance, but crisp and layered, and sprinkled with sesame seeds. It is typically consumed hot during breakfast. File:The Great Kashmiri Salt tea.png, Kashmiri Samovar and Noon Chai File:Rogan josh02.jpg, Rogan Josh

Festivals

Kashmiri Hindus

Primary festivals of Kashmiri Hindus include: * Herath (Shivaratri) * Khetchmaavas * Navreh * Zyeth Atham * Tiky Tsoram * Pann * Gaad Batt

Kashmiri Muslims

Primary festivals of Kashmiri Muslims include: *

Eid al-Adha Eid al-Adha () is the second and the larger of the two main holidays celebrated in Islam (the other being Eid al-Fitr). It honours the willingness of Ibrahim (Abraham) to sacrifice his son Ismail (Ishmael) as an act of obedience to Allah's com ...

Eid al-Fitr , nickname = Festival of Breaking the Fast, Lesser Eid, Sweet Eid, Sugar Feast , observedby = Muslims , type = Islamic , longtype = Islamic , significance = Commemoration to mark the end of fasting in Ramadan , date ...

* Shab-e-barat * Shab-e-Mehraj * Eid-e-Meelad Un Nabi *

Nowruz Nowruz ( fa, نوروز, ; ), zh, 诺鲁孜节, ug, نەۋروز, ka, ნოვრუზ, ku, Newroz, he, נורוז, kk, Наурыз, ky, Нооруз, mn, Наурыз, ur, نوروز, tg, Наврӯз, tr, Nevruz, tk, Nowruz, ...

Language and literature

Kashmiri () or Koshur (; ), is a language from the Dardic subgroup of

Indo-Aryan languages The Indo-Aryan languages (or sometimes Indic languages) are a branch of the Indo-Iranian languages in the Indo-European language family. As of the early 21st century, they have more than 800 million speakers, primarily concentrated in India, P ...

, spoken by around 7 million

Kashmiris Kashmiris are an Indo-Aryan peoples, Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group speaking the Kashmiri language, living mostly, but not exclusively, in the Kashmir Valley of Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), Jammu and Kashmir, India.(a) (subscriptio ...

, primarily in the Indian territory of

Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir may refer to: * Kashmir, the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent * Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), a region administered by India as a union territory * Jammu and Kashmir (state), a region administered ...

. There are also speakers in parts of the neighbouring Pakistani territory of

Azad Kashmir Azad Jammu and Kashmir (; ), abbreviated as AJK and colloquially referred to as simply Azad Kashmir, is a region administered by Pakistan as a nominally self-governing entitySee: * * * and constituting the western portion of the larger K ...

. The official languages of Jammu and Kashmir are

Koshur Kashmiri () or Koshur (, /kəːʃur/) is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by around 7 million Kashmiris of the Kashmir region, primarily in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. In 2020, the Parliament of India passed a bill to make ...

Dogri Dogri ( Name Dogra Akkhar: ; Devanagari: डोगरी; Nastaliq: ; ) is an Indo-Aryan language primarily spoken in the Jammu region of Jammu and Kashmir, India, with smaller groups of speakers in adjoining regions of western Himachal Prad ...

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' scheduled languages of India. Kashmiri has

split ergativity In linguistic typology, split ergativity is a feature of certain languages where some constructions use ergative syntax and morphology, but other constructions show another pattern, usually nominative–accusative. The conditions in which ergat ...

and the unusual verb-second word order. Although Kashmiri was traditionally written in the Sharda script, it is not in common use today, except for religious ceremonies of the

Kashmiri Pandit The Kashmiri Pandits (also known as Kashmiri Brahmins) are a group of Kashmiri Hindus and a part of the larger Saraswat Brahmin community of India. They belong to the Pancha Gauda Brahmin group from the Kashmir Valley, a mountainous region l ...

s. Today it is written in

Perso-Arabic The Persian alphabet ( fa, الفبای فارسی, Alefbâye Fârsi) is a writing system that is a version of the Arabic script used for the Persian language spoken in Iran (Western Persian) and Afghanistan (Dari Persian) since the 7th ce ...

and

Devanagari Devanagari ( ; , , Sanskrit pronunciation: ), also called Nagari (),Kathleen Kuiper (2010), The Culture of India, New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, , page 83 is a left-to-right abugida (a type of segmental writing system), based on the ...

scripts (with some modifications). The Perso-Arabic script is recognised as the official script of Kashmiri language by the Jammu and Kashmir government and the

Jammu and Kashmir Academy of Art, Culture and Languages The Jammu and Kashmir Academy of Art, Culture and Languages (also known as Cultural Academy) is a Society registered with Government as a Cultural organization dedicated to the promotion of regional languages, art and culture including theatr ...

. Nowadays, the Perso-Arabic script has come to be associated with Kashmiri Muslims, while the Devanagari script has come to be associated with the Kashmiri Hindu community.

Music

Early History

The Bharata Natya Shastra is notable as an ancient encyclopedic treatise on the arts one which has influenced dance, music and literary traditions in India, originated in Kashmir.

Present day

Kashmiri Music primarily includes: * Chakri * Henzae * Rouf or Wanwun *

Ladishah Ladishah (also spelled Ladi Shah or Laddi Shah) is a storytelling musical genre originated in Jammu and Kashmir with its roots in traditional and humorous folk singing originally sung by minstrels while locally wondering from one place to ano ...

* Sufiana Kalam (Kashmiri Classical)

References

* the word koshur(𑆑𑆳𑆯𑆶𑆫𑇀) written on New Testament in Kashmiri, (manuscript)

External links

{{Kashmir Valley Culture of Kashmir

Culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups ...