Human Dignity in the Folk Poetic Genre (Landay)

Abstract

The landay is a folkloric poetic genre of the Pashto language, consisting of 
two hemistiches—one with nine syllables and the other with thirteen. From 
a thematic perspective, it encompasses a wide range of subjects. The landay 
also reflects the mythic history and philosophical worldview of the ancient 
Bactrian Aryans. Among its various themes, many landays embody 
features of Human Dignity. Human Dignity, originally a philosophical 
term, is used in literature to express notions of philanthropy, humanity, 
freedom, honor, kinship bonds, and love. Poetry—and art in general—
represents the inner world of human beings, and an essential part of that 
inner world relates to concepts of humanity and human values; when these 
appear in poetry, the resulting literature is considered Human Dignity. Due 
to the broad historical development of Human Dignity, this concept is 
commonly divided into literary, philosophical, religious, and other 
branches. Within Pashto literature, the landay stands out as a folkloric 
genre that exhibits the most vivid and abundant Human Dignity qualities 
compared to other poetic form.  The purpose of this study is to demonstrate 
that Human Dignity is in the priority of Islamic values. The research is 
bibliographical in nature and employs an analytical–descriptive method. 
Findings show that the landay may be considered the most Human Dignity 
poetic form in Pashto literature.