West Punjabi

expand_more Description

The people of Punjab Province, Pakistan speak six major dialects of Punjabi and variously identify as landowning, tenant, farming and non-farming castes, as well as a number of different ethnic groups. Development of the canal system and colonies beginning in the late nineteenth century transformed the region into the country’s food basket, growing wheat, rice, chickpeas, cotton and sugar cane. Although caste and ethnicity mediate traditional social relationships, class relations between landowner and tenant also play a role. Most Punjabis are Muslims, led by various kinds of religious practitioners and following local saint cults.

Identifier

Region

• Asia

Subregion

• South Asia

Subsistence Type

• intensive agriculturalists

Samples

• EA
• SCCS

Countries

• Pakistan