Punjabi folk music (, or Punjabi Folk) is the

traditional music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...

on the traditional musical instruments of the

Punjab region Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

of the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...

. There is a great repertoire of music from the time of birth through the different stages of joy and sorrow till death. The folk music invokes the traditions as well as the hardworking nature, bravery and many more things that the people of Punjab get from its gateway-to-India geographical location. Due to the large area with many sub-regions, the folk music has minor lingual differences but invokes the same feelings. The sub-regions Bar,

Malwa Malwa () is a historical region, historical list of regions in India, region of west-central India occupying a plateau of volcanic origin. Geologically, the Malwa Plateau generally refers to the volcanic plateau, volcanic upland north of the ...

Doaba Doaba, also known as Bist Doab or the Jalandhar Doab, is the region of Punjab, India that lies between the Beas River and the Sutlej River. People of this region are given the demonym "Doabia". The dialect of Punjabi spoken in Doaba ...

Majha Majha ( ''Mājhā''; ; from "mañjhlā" )Punjabi language, Punjabi: ਮਾਝਾ , is a region located in the central parts of the historical Punjab region, presently split between the republics of Pakistan and India. It extends north from the ...

Pothohar The Pothohar Plateau (, : ''Pо̄ṭhoā̀r Paṭhār''; , ''Satāh Murtafā Pо̄ṭhohār''), also spelled Pothwar, is a plateau in the Sind Sagar Doab of northern Punjab, Pakistan, located between the Indus and Jhelum rivers. Etymology A l ...

, and hills areas, have numerous folk songs. Punjabi dance OP Bhangra music which is a genre of Punjabi modern music invented in Britain by the Punjabi diaspora.

General features of musical style

Rhythm

The rhythm of Punjabi folk music is very simple. unlike the rhythms of Bhangra music which are generally complex

Melody

Some songs like Heer and Mirza are sung using the traditional compositions.

Folk songs

Punjab has folk songs on birth, marriage, funeral, death, love, separation, beauty, social and economical status, village lifestyle, food, nature, bravery, folklores and folktales, folk romances, folk and historical heroes, festivals and many more. The songs of professional castes of Punjab are also included in the folk songs. They can be divided into the following categories:

Occasion for singing

Controversy

Punjabi folk music is associated with a traditional lifestyle and culture. Many of the themes associated with the songs of today, which are mostly relevant in Bhangra songs, involve the promotion of the ills of Punjabi society such as the caste system and substance abuse as well as superstitious beliefs. Many revolutions in Punjab such as the Sikh revolution were in direct opposition of Punjabi folk songs.

Life-cycle rituals

A large part of Punjabi folk songs presents the picture of incidents from birth to death relations, relatives also including the songs on other occasions, festivals and fairs. The songs by women represents their soft feelings, nature, hobbies and lower social status in limited circle while the songs by men represents their freedom, strength and hardworking. The folk songs starts from the birth of a child then name ceremony, marriage, relations, relatives and much more. There are many songs on the different stages of a marriage like Suhag, Ghorhian, Sehra, Sithnian. Suhag is related to bride while Ghorhian and Sehra are related to groom. A daughter's feelings have a special place in the Punjabi folk songs in which she address to his father asking to find her a better home, good people (in-laws) and many more. By length and mood, the different kinds of songs includes Suhag, Ghorhian, Bolian, Tappe, Sithnian, Chhand, Heara, Lorian, etc.

Fairs and festivals

Every festive occasion has music associated with it.

Lohri Lohri is a midwinter folk and harvest festival that marks the passing of the winter solstice and the end of winter. It is a traditional welcome of longer days and the sun's journey to the Northern Hemisphere. It is one of the Indian harvest fes ...

and

Maghi Maghi is the regional name of Makar Sankranti, the Indian harvest festival celebrated on winter solstice. Maghi falls on the first day of the month of Magh and is celebrated in Punjab, Haryana, Jammu and Himachal Pradesh. It follows on the heel ...

are associated with the change of season while

Vaisakhi Vaisakhi, also known as Baisakhi or Mesadi, marks the first day of the month of Vaisakh and is traditionally celebrated annually on 13 April or sometimes 14 April. It is seen as a spring harvest celebration primarily in Punjab and Northern In ...

is a harvest festival. Men dance Bhangra and women dance

Giddha Giddha () is a popular folk dance of women in the Punjab region. The dance is often considered derived from the ancient dance known as the ring dance and is just as energetic as bhangra; at the same time it manages to creatively display femi ...

. The month of

Sawan Sāwaṇ or Sāuṇ (Shahmukhi: ; Gurmukhi: , ) is the fifth month in the Punjabi calendar and the Nanakshahi calendar. Many Indian calendars started in different eras such as Shaka Calendar (national calendar of India) traditional Vikrama a ...

is one of great joy for females in which they celebrate the festival of

Teeyan Teeyan (), also known as Teeyan Da Teohar (trans: the festival of women) or Teej, is a festival celebrated throughout Punjab which is dedicated to the onset of the monsoon and focuses on daughters sisters, and mothers. Celebration The festival ...

. The married ones come back to their parents' home and meet their family and friends and in an open ground they dance Giddha. They wear colorful dresses like

Phulkari Phulkari (; ) refers to the folk embroidery of the Punjab region and Gulkari of Sindh in South Asia. Although ''phulkari'' means 'floral work', the designs include not only flowers but also cover motifs and geometrical shapes. The main charac ...

, and adorn their hands with

Mehndi Mehndi () is a form of temporary skin decoration using a paste created with henna. In the West, mehndi is commonly known as henna tattoo, although it is not a permanent tattoo. Mehndi is a popular form of body art in South Asia and resembl ...

and glass bangles.

Types of textual themes

Romantic

Jugni Jugni is an age-old narrative device used in Punjabi folk music. It is the traditional music of the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent. Jugni is sung at Punjabi weddings in India, Pakistan, US, Canada, Australia and UK. In folk music, ...

, Mahia, Tappe, Jindua, Dhola,

Kafi Kafi is a classical form of Sufi music in the Punjabi and Sindhi languages that originated from the Punjab and Sindh regions of South Asia. Some well-known Kafi poets are Baba Farid, Bulleh Shah, Shah Hussain, Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai, Sa ...

an, Dohre, Bolian, Sadda, Jhokan and the folk romances of

Heer Ranjha '' Ranjha'' () is a classical Punjabi folk tragedy with many historic poetic narrations; with the first one penned by Damodar Gulati in 1600s, on the preexisting oral legend; and the most famous one, ''Heer'', written by Waris Shah in 17 ...

Mirza Sahiban ''Mirza Sahiban'' () is a classical Punjabi folk tragedy, originally recorded in literary form by the 17th-century poet Pilu. Set in a village in Jhang, the tragedy follows the romance between two youths, belonging to chieftain families ...

Sohni Mahiwal ''Sohni Mahiwal'' () or ''Suhni Mehar'' is a traditional Punjabi– Sindhi folk tragedy. Set in central Sindh or northern Punjab, depending upon the version of the tragedy, the folktale depicts the separation of two lovers and their tragic d ...

Sassi Punnun ''Sassui Punnhun'' or ''Sassi Punnu'' is a traditional Sindhi, Balochi, and Punjabi tragic folktale. Set in Sindh and Makran, the tragedy follows the story of a faithful lover who endures many difficulties while seeking her beloved husband ...

are main folk love songs. Heer and Mirza are sung using traditional compositions.

Heroic

In heroic or bravery, the folk song includes about the Punjabi heroes like

Dulla Bhatti Rai Abdullah Khan Bhatti (23 July 1547 – 26 March 1599) popularly known through his moniker Dulla or Dullah Bhatti, was a Punjabi folk hero who led a revolt against Mughal rule during the reign of Emperor Akbar. He is entirely absent f ...

Raja Rasalu Raja Rasalu is a legendary prince and protagonist of the ''Adventures of Raja Rasalu'', a Punjabi folktale. According to the story, he is son of Raja Sálbán, the king of Sialkot, and a younger brother of Puran Bhagat. Monarchs of Sialkot in ...

Jagga Jatt Jagga Jatt or Jagga Daku, originally known as Jagat Singh, was a 20th century heroic rebel of Punjab. He is known as the Robin Hood of Punjab for "robbing from the rich and giving to the poor", as is typically believed about Robin Hood as well. ...

, S.

Bhagat Singh Bhagat Singh (27 September 1907 – 23 March 1931) was an Indian anti-colonial revolutionary who participated in the mistaken murder of a junior British police officer in December 1928 in what was intended to be retaliation for the deat ...

, S.

Udham Singh Udham Singh (born Sher Singh; 26 December 1899 – 31 July 1940) was an Indian revolutionary belonging to Ghadar Party and HSRA, best known for assassinating Michael O'Dwyer, the former lieutenant governor of the Punjab in India, on 13 March ...

, Sucha Soorma and Jeona Morh.

Religious

Songs about worship, religious ceremonies and festivals represents the religious feelings.

Sikhism Sikhism is an Indian religion and Indian philosophy, philosophy that originated in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent around the end of the 15th century CE. It is one of the most recently founded major religious groups, major religio ...

is closely related with music. The sixth

Sikh guru The Sikh gurus (Punjabi language, Punjabi: ਸਿੱਖ ਗੁਰੂ; Hindi: सिख गुरु) are the spiritual masters of Sikhism, who established the religion over the course of about two and a half centuries, beginning in 1469. The year ...

Guru Hargobind Guru Hargobind (Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਹਰਿਗੋਬਿੰਦ, pronunciation: l 19 June 1595 – 28 February 1644) was the sixth of ten Gurus of the Sikh religion. He had become Guru at the young age of eleven, after the execution of his ...

, established the singers called '' Dhadis'' to sing the

Gurbani Gurbani (, pronunciation: , lit. the Guru's words) is a Sikh term, very commonly used by Sikhs to refer to various compositions by the Sikh Gurus and other writers of Guru Granth Sahib. In general, hymns in the central text of the Sikhs, the Gu ...

, ''Vaars'' (English: heroic ballads) and other folk genres using the normally two folk instruments, Dhad and

Sarangi The sārangī is a bowed, short-necked three-stringed instrument played in traditional music from South Asia – Punjabi folk music, Rajasthani folk music, Sindhi folk music, Haryanvi folk music, Braj folk music, and Boro folk music (the ...

. The other religions like

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

have Qawwalis, Naats and

Hamd Hamd () is a word that exclusively praises God - whether written or spoken. Thus, The word "Hamd" is always followed by the name of God (Allah) - a phrase known as the Tahmid - "al-ḥamdu li-llāh" (Arabic: ) (English: "praise be to God"). The ...

s and

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...

have Bhajans and Punjabi hav
Punjabi songs

Instruments

Punjabi singers may sing unaccompanied or along with such traditional instruments as

dhol Dhol () can refer to any one of a number of similar types of double-headed drum widely used, with regional variations, throughout the Indian subcontinent. Its range of distribution in Indian subcontinent primarily includes northern areas such ...

tumbi The tumbi or toombi (, pronunciation: ''tūmbī''), also called a tumba or toomba, is a traditional musical instrument from the Punjab region of the northern Indian subcontinent. The high-pitched, single-string plucking instrument is associated ...

dhadd Dhadd (), also spelled as Dhad or Dhadh is an hourglass-shaped traditional musical instrument native to Punjab that is mainly used by the Dhadi singers. It is also used by other folk singers of the region. Design and playing The dhadd is mad ...

sarangi The sārangī is a bowed, short-necked three-stringed instrument played in traditional music from South Asia – Punjabi folk music, Rajasthani folk music, Sindhi folk music, Haryanvi folk music, Braj folk music, and Boro folk music (the ...

gharha Ghara is an earthen pot made in the Indian subcontinent. It is used for storing drinking water and keeping it cool. The word ''ghara'' has cognates in Pahari, Bengali and Odia languages that can all be traced to the Sanskrit word ''ghaṭa'' me ...

, gagar, chimta, or algoze, Iktara, Bugchu, Chhaine, Kainchi, Sapp, Kato.