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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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