The Folkloric Study Of Bannu

Folk Songs and Proverbs

Abstract

Folklore is the collective wisdom of people framing a specific structure of life’s related practices of a specific culture and geography. The compound word of English “Folklore” derived from “Folk” people and “Lore” wisdom, first used by William John Thomas in 1846. This compound word is prior to Culture word 20 years earlier. Folklore was first used for habits, customs, myth, songs and provebs. Culture isn’t a natural framed structuralism but evolved in a society by social practices and experiences. The structures evolved in a society are resultantly acceptable norms, values, traditions and customs along with instruments of farming and wearing.

Bannu folklore comes within the domain of Pashtuns’ belt but along with similarities, it keeps something related to the Bannu’s locality and region which in fold adding varieties of folk songs and idioms to Pashto Folklore. These specific varieties enrich Pashto Folklore in terms of native expeditions, romance, events and every day happenings ever held on this region and stored in the collective memory. These happenings could flourish the names of men, towns, villages, streets, tombs, fields, weddings and grievances.

This paper is solely adding Bannu’s related folk songs and idioms to Pashto literature.

Keywords: Folklore, Folk songs, Folk proverbs, Collective Wisdom