Cultural Heritage of Afghanistan

Sharing the poetry, music, and storytelling traditions from the rural and urban areas of northern Afghanistan.

A ‘Falak’ Song. A story and oral tradition capturing the mysticism, friendship, and misery of remote mountain life on both sides of the Oxus River in Afghanistan and Tajikistan

This is a ‘Falak’ song by Mir Dawlat from the Shpoon village of Kuf Ab district, formerly part of Darwaz district in Badakhshan province. In the song, Mir initially remembers the name of God and his Prophet Mohammad. He evokes the feeling of happiness at being able to see his guest friends, and shares a profound sense of hospitality. He then allows his song to translate into 'moans and groans' of pain, which is traditional for most 'Falak' songs.
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‘The Blind Eye’ – can a poem without pain be poetry?

‘The Blind Eye’ is a story of love, pain and understanding by Mirza Abdul Latif Nahif, from Obaghn village of Shekay district in Badakhshan, Afghanistan. The story says that a man without understanding will be like a blind eye, that a life without love would be like a kindle with no light, and that a poem without pain will fail to carry meaning and shine bright.
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Shor Chai or Sheer Chai?

A local food and tradition from the province of Badakhshan in northern Afghanistan. It is still said that a Badakhshani can live without anything, but not without Shor Chai…
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