There are religious and social festivals celebrated by the people of Balochistan. Two major religious festivals are Eid-ul-Azha and Eid-ul-Fiter. On these festivals people adorn their houses, wear new dresses, cook special dishes and visit each other. Eid-Meladun-Nabi is another religious festival. It is a celebration of the Holy Prophet’s birthday. Numerous colorful social festivals are also source of jubilation. Sibi festival that traces its roots to Mehergar, an archeological site of ancient human civilization, attracts people from across the country. It is attended by common folks, ministers and other government officials. Folk music performance, cultural dances, handicrafts stalls, cattle shows and a number of other amusing activities present a perfect riot of color. Buzkashi is a peculiar festival showing valour of Balochistan people. It is celebrated on horse-back by two teams that use their skills to snatch a goat from the each other.
Sibi lies 163 Kms. – 3 hrs. drive to the south east of Quetta at the mouth of the famous “Bolan Pass”. Since the 15th century, this town has been the meeting place of all the tribal chiefs of the area. The British carried on this tradition in the shape of an annual “Darbar” or meeting, combining it with a ‘Mela” (fair) where thousands of Baluchi tribesmen gathered along with their animals in mid February. This tradition still carries on and every year during February, Sibi has its famous SIBI MELA, where tribesmen flock from all over Baluchistan, parts of Sind and Punjab with their animals. The salient features of this “Mela” are horse and cattle and cultural shows, tent pegging, camel races, animal markets and exhibitions of handicrafts, tribal dresses and folk dances.
This festival is like Norouz of Iran, Afghanistan and Central Asia. In Northern Pakistan (Gilgit, Baltistan) Norouz is celebrated as a socio-religious festival. It is also celebrated with much fervour in Balochistan and in the urban centres of Karachi and Lahore. The day falls on 23rd of March but the celeberation continues for weeks. In Baltistan, the main feature of Norouz is gifting of coloured eggs to friends and polo matches. While in Balochistan, the festival is marked with outdoor feasts, and the traditional jumping over a fire to wash away sins and usher in a fresh start. The origins of this festival are pre-Islamic and date back to when Pakistan was part of the Achaemenid/Persian empire for several thousand years.
Sibi Mela
Sibi lies 163 Kms. – 3 hrs. drive to the south east of Quetta at the mouth of the famous “Bolan Pass”. Since the 15th century, this town has been the meeting place of all the tribal chiefs of the area. The British carried on this tradition in the shape of an annual “Darbar” or meeting, combining it with a ‘Mela” (fair) where thousands of Baluchi tribesmen gathered along with their animals in mid February. This tradition still carries on and every year during February, Sibi has its famous SIBI MELA, where tribesmen flock from all over Baluchistan, parts of Sind and Punjab with their animals. The salient features of this “Mela” are horse and cattle and cultural shows, tent pegging, camel races, animal markets and exhibitions of handicrafts, tribal dresses and folk dances.
Norouz
This festival is like Norouz of Iran, Afghanistan and Central Asia. In Northern Pakistan (Gilgit, Baltistan) Norouz is celebrated as a socio-religious festival. It is also celebrated with much fervour in Balochistan and in the urban centres of Karachi and Lahore. The day falls on 23rd of March but the celeberation continues for weeks. In Baltistan, the main feature of Norouz is gifting of coloured eggs to friends and polo matches. While in Balochistan, the festival is marked with outdoor feasts, and the traditional jumping over a fire to wash away sins and usher in a fresh start. The origins of this festival are pre-Islamic and date back to when Pakistan was part of the Achaemenid/Persian empire for several thousand years.
