From Tradition to Inspiration: Lok Virsa Folk Heritage in Pakistan

Pakistan’s ancient history as the Indus Valley, diversified geography, have shaped its melting pot cultural legacy of Lok Virsa Folk Heritage. Pakistani traditional arts include:-

Painting and calligraphy

Pakistani painting and calligraphy date to the Mughal period. Notable painters and calligraphers are:-

Abdur Rahman Chughtai
Sadequain
Gulgee
Jamil Naqsh

Mosques, Shrines, temples, structures, and texts are decorated with painting and calligraphy. Some of the Shrines are awe-inspiring in their glasswork.

Some of the paintings are so intense, it seems like the picture is alive.

Pottery and ceramics

The Pakistani pottery and ceramics represent many locations and civilizations. These towns have mentioned in ancient scrolls, that’s how vintage their history is.

Multan blue pottery
Tharparkar black pottery
Hala glazed pottery
Harappa Terracotta Pottery
Mohenjo-Daro terracotta pottery

Just one look at the blue pottery pattern tiles and you’d want to have them installed all around your house.

Textiles and embroidery

Textile and embroidery arts in Pakistan demonstrate handicraft talent and ingenuity. Famous textile and needlework forms include-

Khaddar
Chak embroidery. The vivid stitching of Baluchistan brings fabrics to life.
Hand-woven cotton fabric
Ajrak (block-printed shawl)
Ralli (patchwork blanket)
Phulkari (flower embroidery)
Cholistani needlework of the Thar Desert of Sindh offers intricate geometric designs and mirror work for clothes and household goods.

The Indus Valley (Pakistan) was trading in fine hand-woven cotton with Mesopotamia when there were only three civilizations in the world.

Music and dance

Pakistan’s vast musical and dance tradition represents numerous faiths, sects, and ethnic groupings. The genres are:-

Qawwali – devotional music
Ghazal – poetry of love
Bhangra – Punjabi
Khatak – Pashtun War Dance
Luddi – Pothwari
Classical Thumri – Classical religious storytelling

Pakistani festive occasions are not complete without one or a combination of these forms of entertainment.

Visual Art

Visual art has many forms.

Pakistani Truck art

Amongst visual arts, Pakistan Truck Art is the most famous as they are more of mobile masterpieces with vibrant colors and elaborate designs. Trucks are painted with bright floral, geometric, calligraphic, and hero and religious pictures.

Some Pakistani trucks are so beautifully decorated that I’d take days to fully appreciate the artwork on them.

Miniature Art

In miniature art, the Mughal influence is evident in the delicate brushstrokes. Gold and precious stones embellish these exquisite works of art depicting epics, courtly life, and nature.

Miniature art tells a complete story of the time and this form of art pervades the complete Muslim arc from Pakistan to the West Coast of North Africa.

The Art of Storytelling

Stories handed down through generations preserve customs. Legends about supernatural animals, valiant heroes, and daily life provide wisdom and amusement, typically with music and gestures.

Even the prehistoric Reg Vega religious text is said to have been written in the Land that is Pakistan now – and it is mostly storytelling.

Ancient folk stories of love and longing still find their way in present-day poetry. Every region has its own lovers to refer to.

Sohni-Mahiwal
Heer-Ranjha
Momal-Raano
Yusuf Khan-Sherbano
Sheerin-Farhad

The art of Craftsmen

Craftsmen provide vitality to commonplace items via wood carving, ceramics, metalwork, and basket weaving. Family-inherited methods and themes generate distinctive and practical objects.

Animal Decorations

Animal Decorations have intricate geometric and floral motifs with mirrors and cowrie shells.

Even the Camel Mahouts give their animals a decorative shave to make them look beautiful

Colorful accessories of Sindhi Ladies

Sindhi ladies use lavishly embroidered shawls, and bracelets, frequently with silk thread and mirrors.

Pashtun and Sindhi Caps

Peshawari Cap of Pashtun men’s costumes include intricately embroidered skullcaps from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, complete with multicolored tassels.

Stone and Wooden artwork

Stone and pottery work has been going on for several thousands of years

Lacquerware

Gilgit-Baltistan’s painted woodenware with floral and geometric themes brings traditional appeal to any area.

Sindh’s cobalt blue pottery

With elaborate motifs and a glazed finish, is a gorgeous decorative item or utilitarian dinnerware.

Multan’s Tile Work

The city’s tile-work talent is evident in its geometric and floral designs on buildings and monuments.

Leather Craft

Sindh and Punjab artists use ancient methods and elaborate embossing to create purses, saddles, Chappal, closed jodhpurs, and other goods from leather.

Metal Works

Utensils and decoration pieces made of brass have a huge fan base in Pakistan

Basket Weaving

Pakistani communities, especially in Baluchistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, create functional and attractive baskets from natural materials like reeds and palm leaves.

These materials have found their way into the material used to create visual art.

Performing Arts expression

Pakistani performing arts are therapeutic even in today’s time.

Devotional Poetry

Famous Sufi poets wrote mystic poetry that conveys love, devotion, and spiritual insight and is commonly sung and repeated in gatherings:-

Shah Bulleh Shah
Lal Shahbaz Qalandar
Shah Bhittai

Puppet Arts

Traditional puppet performances in Sindh and Punjab use colorful puppets constructed from wood, cloth, or leather to entertain audiences with folklore and comedy.

Folk Music

Pakistani regions have distinct musical traditions of Folk Music, ranging from melancholy Balochi melodies to exuberant Punjabi Dhol drumming.

Pakistan’s Annual Lok Virsa (Folk Heritage) Festival

This inspiring festival is held every year in the month of November in Islamabad and people anxiously wait to see what new is on display that year.

This time, a wooden work artisan from Panjgur Baluchistan displayed his scaled-down model of colorful fishing boats that are handcrafted in coaster workshops

Conclusion

Pakistan has such an ancient history to draw inspiration from, it’s no wonder that every artisan has a tradition of excellence and inspiration that goes way beyond Pakistan’s border.

Also see, Modern Art Forms in Pakistan