Culture Sketch
Geographically, Punjabi is located between 280 and 340 N and 700 and 740 E, nearly a level plain, and drops in elevation from 300 to 100 meters, where the Indus turns into a single stream. The region’s history, cultural relations, settlements, religion, and expressive culture have never been isolated (Leaf, 1992). However, they have been impacted by colonization and genocide, which has led to changes in how the people have continued to interact. Since the region was an ancient civilization center, history and cultural relations, settlement, and economy have been profoundly shaped by the partitioning of the five rivers in Punjabi.
Threat to Cultural Survival
One of the issues that threatens Punjabi culture is colonization and genocide through which the regions experienced massive migrations attributed to the 1947 independence. The migrations led to the separation of the Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs. Further, due to the issue, how the Punjabis have settled in the region has changed (Leaf, 1992). Most farmers have built their houses in their fields while others have erected theirs outside the former rampant (Leaf, 1992). The changes mirror the increased integration and geographical mobility in the region. In addition to the traditional cattle population, most farmers have obtained new cow breeds, and men and women now participate in the professions and labor force.
Cultural Survival
Adapting to colonization and genocide in the region, the cultural changes that have occurred in Punjabi have forced the people to embrace a full occupation range that now exists in every comparable economic system. With this, a high craft and industrialization specialization degree incorporates both men and women despite women being fewer than men. Nearly all Punjabis, two-thirds of the population, have some form of private motorized transport vans, minibuses, or motor rickshaws due to settlement changes and the availability of paved roads and electricity (Leaf, 1992). The people have initiated divergent government policies whose far-reaching effects have been felt in every area of life.
Reference
Leaf, M. J. (1992). “Punjabi.” In Encyclopedia of World Cultures, Volume III, South Asia, edited by Paul Hockings, 236-242. New York: G.K. Hall & Company.