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Cultural Complexity
Not a single village in the Punjab is
homogeneous. Every community has its own social customs which are different
to some extent from those of others. Religion further determines this
cultural difference and mode of living. Even when a Jat and a Khatri are
next-door neighbours,
some of their cultural traits remain different from each other. The practice
of widow remarriage, for instance, is accepted by Jats but it is almost
a taboo among the Khatris. The Jats and the Khatris are further sub-divided
into many clans which have their characteristic differences in customs
pertaining to birth, death, marriage, etc. Then there are the erstwhile
low-castes who differ from all the other people in their habits and social
customs. Besides, the three geographical strips, Majha, Malwa and Doaba
have certain local cultural traits. It is marvelous that under all these
peculiarities a thread of homogeneity binds the Punjabis together as a
whole. The Greeks, the Scythians, the Parthians, the Huns, the Pathans
and the Mughals came here, settled down and got woven into its cultural
fabric.
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