Sixteenth International Conference on the Arts in Society

Abstract

The word tradition associates with manifestation of handing over or passing on, these are culturally significant ideas, and specific practices which are preserved over a long period of time. Designs of traditional textiles are links between people and regional arts; they are reflections of art movements as well as notions of human stages of development. Knowledge of historic traditional textiles is directly involved in the re-birth of the cultural awareness of region. Pakistan has been a country with rich traditions emerging from various faiths which are reflected in the expression of regional folk textiles. Pakistan lies in an area where not only earlier known human civilizations flourished but it also witnessed continued march of vanguards of various civilizations from central Asia and Near East. The rich heritage of Pakistan’s textile craft has evolved over a long period of 5000 years. In this duration Pakistan became the crossroad of many splendid cultures and enriched the world with an amazing variety of cultural, religious, linguistic, and artistic expressions. This intermingling of cultures surprisingly influenced all kinds of arts and crafts, including textile arts. Due to diversified talents, interests, and inspiration, different regions have their special identity for unique folk textile crafts. In this land, the traditional textile artisans of the Punjab, Sindh, Pakhtonkhwah, Balochistan, and Kashmir have been pursuing their skills, as they have done for generations. Admitting diverse art heritage of distinctive regions of Pakistan, this paper provides an overview of some historic traditional textiles nurtured here.