Tracing the Roots: Origin and Evolution of the Indigenous Dardic Torwali Culture of Swat

Abstract

The people of the Torwali community are enriched in culture and traditions from a historical point of view. They have their rituals, customs, and colorful culture just like all the other communities of northern Pakistan. They are the Dardic type of people living with all the other Dardic communities, like Gawri, Kalasha, and Shina. They are not probed and studied historically. So, this article comprises the living traditions and culture of the Torwali people. This work is done with the help of Secondary as well as Primary sources and Data. In the secondary data, some books and research articles are reviewed and studied to get the most relevant Data for this Article. While for primary Data, some interviews are also conducted at the indigenous level. And for interviews, relevant people are approached and questioned. This article is based on the qualitative approach of the research. Interviews are conducted where the Data from the books are felt insufficient for the analysis. The people of this community have two main Dialects, spoken in Bahrain and Chail Valley. The dominant Dialect is the Bahraini Dialect. Their language has its literature and history. A lot of proverbs are spoken and used in their locality. They have their poetry and Grammar. They have their food items and cuisine still in use and famous. A lot of shops and foods are in the market of Bahrain. They have their indigenous style of clothing. There are also some social evils in the Torwali community. Economically they have a multitype of economy consisting, of agriculture, animal keeping, tourism, and some seasonal work. They are probed in this article very deeply and have tried to explore their culture. They should have explored on official and academic levels so that they may be introduced to the people who are unknown to them.