They were listed as an 'agricultural tribe' by the British Raj in 1925, a term that was then synonymous with classification as a ' martial race'. People of the Awan community have a strong presence in the Pakistani Army and a notable martial tradition.

Historians describe them as valiant warriors and farmers who imposed their supremacy on the Janjua in part of the Salt Range and established large colonies all along the Indus to Sind, and a densely populated center not far from Lahore. Legend has it that their origins go back to Imam Ali and his second wife, Hanafiya. The Awan deserve close attention, because of their historical importance and, above all, because they settled in the west, right up to the edge of Baluchi and Pashtun territory. However, they are also described as having Jat origins.

Elias notes that the Awans believe themselves to be of Arab origin, descended from Ali ibn Abu Talib and that the claim of Arab descent gives them 'high status in the Indian Muslim environment'. He recited some of these poems in such a way that the listeners, for whom these poems were ambiguous, meaningless and far from poetry, they too became enchanted by them even managing to discover in those poems a bit of poetry.Awan ( Punjabi and Urdu: اعوان) is a Punjabi Muslim tribe living predominantly in the northern, central, and western parts of Pakistani Punjab, with significant numbers also present in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Azad Kashmir, and to a lesser extent in Sindh and Balochistan. Then, Famous actor and broadcaster Zia Mohiuddin experimented with reciting Noon Meem Rashid's poems at various events. When new poetry appeared in the form Azad Nazm, it found no takers as no one seemed willing to listen to it. … Anis ne is andaz se paDhi ki mujhe sho’le bhadakte hue dikhai dene lage aur main un ka padhna-sunna mein aisa mahv hua ki tan-badan kaa hosh na rahaa.” Sho’le tirii talaash mein baahar nikalte hain Saato.n Jahannum Atish-e-Furqat mein jalte hain “Ek martaba Ittefaqan Anis Ki Majlis mein shirkat hui. A contemporary of famous Marsiya-reciter Meer Anis, and who didn’t find favor with Anis’s Marsiya composition, wrote: Although Taht-ul Lafz recitation is common in Mushairas, but those who recited Marsiyas (elegies) in this manner in mourning assemblies, turned it into a dramatic artform. However, in Taht-ul-Lafz, one enjoys the full effect of poetry with the grandeur of words and the crescendo of the rise and fall of the reciter’s voice. If read in Tarannum, the reciter’s tone and voice largely draw the attention of the audiences.

Poetry that’s recited without a Tarannum (tune) is known as ‘Taht-ul-Lafz’, or differently, ‘Taht Mein Padhna’.

Zaat sindhi poetry