HERITAGE AND CULTURE

HAZARA DIVISION
ARTS AND CRAFTS
INTRODUCTION:
• Hazara (‫ )هزارهـ‬is a region in the northeastern part of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It is located
east of the Indus River and comprises seven districts: Abbottabad, Battagram, Haripur, Mansehra, 
Upper Kohistan, Lower Kohistan.

• Due to the high altitude, temperatures in Hazara are cooler than on the plains, though Abbottabad at 1,200
meters (3,900 ft) still has maxima around 32 °C with high humidity in June and July. Further up, temperatures
are cooler, often cooler than the Northern Areas valleys due to the cloudiness. In winter, temperatures are cold,
with minima in January around 0 °C and much lower in the high mountains. Snowfalls are not uncommon even
at lower levels.

• Major ethnic groups of the Hazara region are the Hindkowans (who speak various Hindko dialects), Pashtuns
 (speakers of Pashto) and Kohistanis (speakers of Indus Kohistani).

• Haripur District was ranked first in Pakistan, while Abbottabad and Mansehra were in the top three for the
province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, on the basis of education, literacy rate and quality of attained education.
 ABBOTTABAD
Abbottabad itself is a small neat and clean town, surrounded by green hills. It is a
popular summer resort, located at the end of Murree-Abbottabad hill tract, noted for its
gardens, golf course and pine covered hills. Abbottabad, apart from being famous for
its educational institutions and Military Academy, also serves as the gateway to almost
all-beautiful places in Pakistan.
The Cantonment area of Abbottabad is still very British. The European bungalows, the
club, the church and cemetery are still there. 

HARIPUR:
Located at 81 km from Islamabad on Hasan Abdal-Abbottabad road, Haripur was
founded in 1822 by Hari Singh, a general of Ranjit Singh's army. He was the
Governor of Hazara in 1822-23. A fort built by the Sikhs called Harikishan Garh is at
present being used as a police station. There is also a British cemetery.
 MANSEHRA:
Mansehra is named after Man Singh, its Governor General under Ranjit Singh.
This town is at a distance of 24 km to the north of Abbottabad. It has a very lively
bazaar. The major tourist attraction of Mansehra are the three granite boulders
on which edicts of Ashoka the Great have been inscribed. 
ARTS AND CRAFTS OF THE REGION:

Arts:
• Dance:
The people of Hazara are famous for performing their dance “Luddi” on joyous occasions.
• Music:
The music played and enjoyed by the people is a mix of music from “DHOL”, “DHOLAK”,”TABLA”
and “FLUTE”

• Literature:
There are a number of notable people famous for their work in the field of literature, the poetry
written by the people is often in Urdu or their native language, that is, Hindko. A number of books
and prose have been written in Pushto as well. For Example: Qateel Shifai - Urdu poet

• Entertainment:
Not many people have gone to the business of entertainment, because of the conservative nature
of people, but those who have, have made their way to the big screen. Popular examples are,
Afzal Khan - actor, comedian, Hania Amir – Actress.
CRAFTS:
• Kasheeda
It is the art of stitching silk or gold thread on different cloths. Normally the women in the villages do it. Shawls
of different types are stitched beautifully.
• Gumanz Sazi
It is a professional work of making combs from wood. Now-a-days it is replaced by plastic combs. But hand
made combs are preferred in religious duties. There are two kinds of combs made of wood. One for combing
hair and other for combing beard at the time of ablution (Waddu) . It is a very ancient craft.
• Wood Work
It has been a very old profession. Carving and embellishment is done on wood which is used in doors and
pillars and on the frame of the doors. Nowadays woodcarving is being done on tables and other furniture.
• Woollen Carpet Weaving
Handwoven woolen carpets are made in special looms called 'Kady’. Some times they are woven with hands.
It has been an art in Pashtoon instead synthetic carpets are being used. However, in some places still carpet
of wool is woven by hands.
• Shama Sazi
Shama Sazi is the art of making candles. Making candles in moulds has been the profession of some people
here. Nowadays wax is used in making candles.

Embroidered woolen garments, carved furniture of walnut wood and woolen

rugs are the specialties of Hazara.
FOOD:
• Haripur is rich in fruits and vegetables, it is famous for its guavas and red blood oranges.
• Chicken karahi, chicken korma, chicken sajji.
• Hot coffee and local tea are widely enjoyed in the winters.
JEWELRY:
The woman of Hazara used to wear beautiful and heavy jewelry made of silver and gold.
 ABBOTTABAD:
• HISTORY:
Abbottabad was founded and named after major James Abbott in January 1853, as the head quarters of
Hazara district during the British raj after the annexation of Punjab.
• OCT 2005 EARTHQUACK:
In oct 2005, Abbottabad was devastated by the Kashmir earthquake. Although most of Abbottabad
survived, many of the buildings were destroyed or severely damaged.
• OSAMA BIN LADIN:
on 2nd may 2011, Abbottabad gained world wide attention, when the us president Barak Obama
announced that Osama bin laden had been killed in his compound in the city.
GEOGRAPHY: The city is bounded at all four sides by the Sarban hills from which residants and tourists can view
the region and city. The location of the city and the hills allows Abbottabad to experience pleasant weather in summer
and cold winter.
The main landmark of Abbottabad is Fawara chowk, found at the start of the city.

Abbottabad Fawara Chowk

GURDWARA :
IN GURADWARA BAZAR, BENEATH THE ARCH, IS
A FORMER GURDAWARA BUILT IN 1943,
ABANDONED AT PARTITION AND NOW USED AS
MUNICIPAL OFFICES. .
a Abbottabad, in the past, was a beautiful valley, having British style architecture, the remains of which can be
r seen around the Fawara chowk and surrounding areas.

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ILYASI MASJID :
ILYAI MASJID, THE OLDEST AND LARGEST MASJID
OF ABBOTTABAD BUILT OVER STREAM OF WATER
THAT FLOWS FROM MOUNTAIN, AS AN ATTRACTION
FOR TOURISTS WITH SPICY PAKORAS BEING SOLD
LIKE HOT CAKES OUTSIDES THE MASJID.
ABBOTT MUSEUM :
ABBOTT MUSEUM
ESTABLISHED BY
HAZARA UNIVERSITY
INAUGURATED BY NISAR
KHAN THE THEN
MINISTER TO CREATE
AWARENESS AMONG
THE MASSES
REGARDING THEIR RICH
CULTURE TO PRESERVE
CULTURE OF HAZARA
AND TO ENCOURAGE
PEOPLE OF HAZARA TO
BE PROUD OF THEIR
RICH CULTURE HAS
BEEN SEALED BY T.M.O
ABBOTTABAD FOR
UNKNOWN REASONS.
 HARIPUR:
HISTORY:
Named after its discoverer, Haripur was founded by a Sikh General, Hari Singh Nalwa in 1822 and it became the
headquarter of Hazara in 1853.
LOCATION:
Haripur is one of the main city of Hazara Division, with Swabi in its west, the federal Islamabad into the north
and is 35Km apart from the beautiful Abbottabad in its south direction. It is a hilly as well as plain area.
The city lies on the historical Karakoram Highway also known as the silk route.
NOTABLE PEOPLE:

Many big, notable and historical personalities like Field Marshal General Ayub Khan the military dictator and the
president of Pakistan and Air Marshal Anwar Shamim have represented this land in forces of Pakistan and on
political basis.

The people of Haripur enjoy music and arts. The poet of Haripur was Qateel Shafai and the folk artist is Afshia
Zabi a renowned singer of Pakistan.
FAMOUS PLACES:
Haripur can be called as the main gateway between the Hazara Division, Khyber Pakhtunkhawa and Federal
capital Islamabad.
Haripur it self does not have any famous places but it acts as a connecting bridge to many historical cities with
rich culture and tradition such as Taxila which is one of the most important cities of Indus Valley Civilization.
Taxila is located in the north of Haripur at a distance of almost 40 kilometers.
 MANSEHRA:
HISTORY: 
Mansehra was founded by a Sikh Governor, Mahan Singh Mirpuri, in 1818. the town is named in the honor of this
person.
LOCATION:
The region in the east of Khyber Pakhtunkwa is known by the name “Mansehra”. It is the district in the province,
which is close to the Abbottabd city. By road; Mansehra can be reached from Islamabad and Peshawar city in three
to four hours. Mansehra is the main junction connecting other places of the northern regions
GEOGRAPHY:
 It is considered as an important tourist location due to the Kaghan Valley area being located in the
district and the Karakoram Highway passing through the district.

Mansehra is the doorways to northern areas; such as Kaghan Valley, Naran, Shogran, Lake Saiful Mulook
and Babusar Top. 
LANGUAGE:
The predominant language is Hindko, which according to the 1981 census data for the Mansehra Tehsil
was the language of communication within 72% of households. Pashto had a share of 14%. There are
also speakers of the widely dispersed Gujari language, particularly in the Kaghan Valley. Amb was a 
Tanoli princely state in Mansehra from 1857 to 1973. The local variety is intermediate between the
eastern dialects of Gujari (spoken in Azad Kashmir) and the western group (from Chitral, Swat and 
Gilgit).  There is also a small community in the village of Dani in Oghi Tehsil who speak the endangered 
Mankiyali language. Many people can write and speak English.
ASOKA ROCK EDICTS AT MANSEHRA:
HISTORY:
The Maharaja, Asoka, the grand son of Chandra Gupta Moria ascended to throne in 274bc. The unpresented
bloodshed during raid on the neighbouring country of his empire and his subsequent inclination towards the
Buddhist faith contributed a lot to change his ideas. Thereafter, the king Asoka started to hate from wars and
devoted himself exclusively for the welfare of mankind and even formulated royal decrees/orders called
Dharma, also as to run his vast kingdom in light of these principles. He inscribed them on huge rocks and pillars
at various places in south asia in local script “Kharoshti” the language used in these inscription is known as
Gandhari Parkrit.
ASOKA EDICTS IN MANSEHRA:

The general theme of the edicts is moderation and gentleness. This lesson the king had learned
from the misery and destruction caused by his early conquest of the kaungas of eastern india. Now
even animals should be spared formerly in the royal kitchen each day many thousands of living
creatures were slain to make curries. At present only three living creatures namely two peacoks and
one deer are killed daily. Even these three creatures shall not be slaughtered in future and more
positive steps had also been taken. Healing herbs had been alive for men and beasts. Trees had
been planted and wells dug beside the roads. Moral agents censors of the law of piety had been
appointed to inculcate obedience, liberality and avoidance of excess amongst all classes of the
empire and apparently amongst neighbouring peoples, but all the good will must be combined with
efficiency.
LIBRARY OF MANSEHRA:
CULTURAL FESTIVAL:
Hindu of Mansehra gathers at the top of Bareri Hills to worship Devi (as Durga) and present offerings, which
are taken by the Brahmin of Mansehra. The ceremony last for only one day every year. There is also an old
temple in the nearby village of Chitti Gatti – dedicated to Shiva in the region.
That’s all folks

PRESENTED BY:
SANAN (3)
WASIF (5)
ZAINAB (6)
FAZAL (18)
MARIYANA (23)
HAMZA (45)