The
culture of Asia is
human civilization in
Asia. It features different kinds of
cultural heritage of many
nationalities,
societies, and
ethnic groups in the region, traditionally called a continent from a Western-centric perspective, of Asia. The region or "
continent" is more commonly divided into more natural geographic and cultural
subregions, including the
Central Asia,
East Asia,
South Asia (the "
Indian subcontinent"),
North Asia,
West Asia and
Southeast Asia. Geographically, Asia is not a distinct continent; culturally, there has been little unity or common history for many of the cultures and peoples of Asia.
Asian art,
music, and
cuisine, as well as
literature, are important parts of Asian culture.
Eastern philosophy and religion also plays a major role, with
Hinduism,
Taoism,
Confucianism,
Buddhism,
Christianity and
Islam; all playing major roles. One of the most complex parts of Asian culture is the relationship between traditional cultures and the
Western world.
The four
South Indian states and northern parts of
Sri Lanka share a
Dravidian culture, due to the prominence of
Dravidian languages there.
Bangladesh and the state of
West Bengal share a common heritage and culture based on the
Bengali language.
Nepal,
Bhutan, the states of
Sikkim,
Arunachal Pradesh,
Ladakh in the state of
Jammu and Kashmir and parts of the states of
Himachal Pradesh,
Uttaranchal have a great cultural similarity to
Tibet,
Tibetan Buddhism being the dominant religion there. Finally the border states of
Assam,
Meghalaya,
Mizoram,
Manipur,
Nagaland and
Tripura have cultural affinities with
South East Asia.
Hinduism,
Buddhism,
Jainism and
Sikhism, the four major world religions founded in the region that is today's India, are spread throughout the subcontinent.
Islam and
Christianity also have significant region-specific histories. While 80% of Indians are Hindus and Nepal is a Hindu-majority State,
Sri Lanka and
Bhutan have a majority of Buddhists.
Islam is the predominant religion of
Bangladesh,
Pakistan.
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