Culture of Sindh

The Culture of Sindh (سنڌ جي ثقافت) has its roots in the Indus Valley civilization. Sindh has been shaped by the largely desert region, the natural resources it has available, and continuous foreign influence. The Indus or Sindhu River, which passes through the land, and the Arabian Sea (Which defines its borders) also supported the seafaring traditions among the local people. The local climate also reflects why the Sindhis have a language, folklore, traditions, customs, and lifestyle that are so different from the neighbouring regions. The Sindhi culture is also practised by the Sindhi diaspora. History of Sindh The roots of Sindhi culture go back to the distant past. Archaeological research during the 19th and 20th centuries showed the roots of social life, religion, and culture of the people of the Sindh: their agricultural practises, traditional arts and crafts, customs and traditions, and other parts of social life, going back to a mature Indus Valley Civilization of the third millennium BC. Recent research has traced the Indus Valley civilization to even earlier ancestry. The excavations of Mohen-Jo-Daro have unfolded the city life of a civilization of people with values, a distinct identity, and a distinct culture. Therefore, the first definition of the Sindhi culture emanates from that of the 7000-year-old Indus Valley civilization. This is the pre-Aryan period, about 3,000 years BC, when the urban civilization in Sindh was at its peak. In Sir Mortimer Wheeler's book, Civilization of the Indus Valley and Beyond, it is said that; "Civilization, in a minimum sense of the term, is the art of living in towns, with all that the condition implies in respect of social skills and disciplines." When people speak of Sindhi civilization, they have to concern themselves mainly with the material and concrete side of human habitation, of which Sindhi culture is the only essence called the superstructure. The present-day Sindh, along with the Northern part of the Indus Valley Civilization (around 3000 to 2500 BC), is located in its urban civilization.