Siddi

Siddi
The Siddi, also known as the Sheedi, Sidi, or Siddhi, are an ethnic minority group inhabiting Pakistan and India. They are primarily descended from the Bantu peoples of the Zanj coast in Southeast Africa and Ethiopia, most whom came to the Indian subcontinent through the Arab Slave Trade. Others arrived as merchants, sailors, indentured servants, and mercenaries. The Siddi population is currently estimated at around 1,300,000 individuals, with Karachi and Makran in Pakistan and Karnataka and Gujarat in India serving as the main population centres.
Etymology
There are conflicting hypotheses on the origin of the name Siddi. One theory is that the word derives from sahibi, an Arabic term of respect in North Africa, similar to the word sahib in modern India and Pakistan. A second theory is that the term Siddi is derived from the title borne by the captains of the Arab vessels that first brought Siddi settlers to India; these captains were known as Sayyid. A different name occasionally used for the Siddi is the term "Habshi". While originally used to refer specifically to the Habesha peoples, Ethio-Semitic-speakers from Abyssinia, the term later became more broadly used to refer to Africans of any ethnicity, but not necessarily referring to the Siddi specifically.
Siddis are also sometimes referred to as Afro-Indians. Siddis were referred to as Zanji by Arabs; in China, various transcriptions of this Arabic word were used, including Xinji (辛吉) and Jinzhi (津芝).
History
The Siddi population derived primarily from Bantu peoples of Southeast Africa who were brought to the Indian subcontinent as slaves. Most of these migrants were or else became Muslims, while a small minority became Hindu. The Nizam of Hyderabad also employed African-origin guards and soldiers.
The first Siddis are thought to have arrived in India in 628 AD at the Bharuch port. Several others followed with the first Arab Islamic conquest of the subcontinent in 712 AD. The latter group are believed to have been soldiers with Muhammad bin Qasim's Arab army, and were called Zanjis.
Some Siddis escaped slavery to establish communities in forested areas. Siddis were also brought as slaves by the Deccan Sultanates. These Siddis embraced Deccani Muslim culture, and identified with the Deccani Indian Muslim political faction against the Iranian Shia immigrants. Several former slaves rose to high ranks in the military and administration, the most prominent of which was Malik Ambar.
Geographical distribution
India
Harris (1971) provides a historical survey of the eastward dispersal of slaves from Southeast Africa to places like India. Hamilton (1990) argues that Siddis in India, their histories, experiences, cultures, and expressions, are integral to the African Diaspora and thus, help better understand the dynamics of dispersed peoples. More recent focused scholarship argues that although Siddis are numerically a minority, their historic presence in India for over five hundred years, as well as their self-perception, and how the broader Indian society relates to them, make them a distinct Bantu/Indian. Historically, Siddis have not existed only within binary relations to the nation state and imperial forces. They did not simply succumb to the ideologies and structures of imperial forces, nor did they simply rebel against imperial rule. The Siddi are recognized as a scheduled tribe in 3 states and 1 union territory: Goa, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Daman and Diu.
Hyderabad
In the 18th century, a Siddi community arrived with the Arab, and frequently served as cavalry guards to the Asif Jahi Nizam of Hyderabad's army. The Asif Jahi rulers patronised them with rewards and the traditional Marfa music gained popularity and would be performed during official celebrations and ceremonies.
Gujarat
Supposedly presented as slaves by the Portuguese to the local Prince, Nawab of Junagadh, the Siddis also live around Gir Forest National Park and Wildlife sanctuary. On the way to Deva-dungar is the village of Sirvan, inhabited entirely by Siddis. They were brought 300 years ago from Portuguese colonial territories for the Nawab of Junagadh. Today, they follow very few of their original customs, with a few exceptions like the traditional Dhamal dance.
Although Gujarati Siddis have adopted the language and many customs of their surrounding populations, some of their Bantu traditions have been preserved. These include the Goma music and dance form, which is sometimes called Dhamaal (Gujarati: ધમાલ, fun). The term is believed to be derived from the Ngoma drumming and traditional dance forms of the Bantu people inhabiting Central, East and Southern Africa. The Goma also has a spiritual significance and, at the climax of the dance, some dancers are believed to be vehicles for the presence of Siddi saints of the past.
Goma music comes from the Kiswahili word "ngoma", which means a drum or drums. It also denotes any dancing occasion where traditional drums are principally used.
The majority of the Siddis in Gujarat are Muslims (98.7%), with very few following Hinduism (1%).
Karnataka
The Siddis of Karnataka (also spelled Siddhis) are an ethnic minority group of mainly Bantu descent that has made Karnataka their home for the last 400 years. There is a 50,000-strong Siddhi population across India, of which more than a third live in Karnataka. In Karnataka, they are concentrated around Yellapur, Haliyal, Ankola, Joida, Mundgod and Sirsi taluks of Uttara Kannada and in Khanapur of Belgaum and Kalaghatagi of Dharwad district. Many members of the Siddis community of Karnataka had migrated to Pakistan after independence and have settled in Karachi, Sindh.
A plurality of the Siddis in Karnataka follow Hinduism (41.8%), followed by Islam (30.6%) and Christianity (27.4%).
Pakistan
In Pakistan, locals of Bantu descent are called "Sheedi". They live primarily along the Makran in Balochistan, and lower Sindh. The estimated population of Sheedis in Pakistan is 250,000. In the city of Karachi, the main Sheedi centre is the area of Lyari and other nearby coastal areas. Technically, the Sheedi are a brotherhood or a subdivision of the Siddi. The Sheedis are divided into four clans, or houses: Kharadar Makan, Hyderabad Makan, Lassi Makan and Belaro Makan. The Sufi saint Pir Mangho is regarded by many as an important Wali of the Sheedis, and the annual Sheedi Mela festival, is the key event in the Sheedi community's cultural calendar. Some glimpses of the rituals at Sidi/Sheedi Festival 2010 include visit to sacred alligators at Mangho pir, playing music and dance. Clearly, the instrument, songs and dance appear to be derived from Africa.
In Sindh, the Sheedis have traditionally intermarried only with people such as the Mallaahs (fisherpeople), Khaskheli (laborers), Khatri (dyeing community) and Kori (clothmakers). Most Sheedis today are of mixed heritage and can be found in Sindh where the main language is Sindhi.
Sindh
Sheedis are largely populated in different towns and villages in lower Sindh. They are very active in cultural activities and organise annual festivals, like, Habash Festival, with the support of several community organisations. In the local culture, when there is a dance it is not performed by some selected few and watched idly by others but it is participated by all the people present there, ending difference between the performers and the audience.
Sheedis in Sindh also proudly call themselves the Qambranis, in reverence to Qambar, the freed slave of Ali, the fourth Rashid Caliph. Tanzeela Qambrani became the first Sheedi woman to be elected as the member of Provincial Assembly of Sindh in 2018 Pakistani general election.
Culture
The culture of the Siddi is indicative of both the length of time they have been in India and their East African origins. The Siddis are primarily Muslims. National dress for Siddis is Sari, Kameez and their own traditional African clothing for women, for the men they wear kameez and their unique clothing. While they have assimilated in many ways to the dominant culture, they have also kept some ancestral practices especially in music and dance. Like other ethnic groups separated by geography, there are both differences and similarities in cultural practices among the Siddi.
Generally, the Siddi primarily associate and marry members of their own communities. It is rare for the Siddi to marry outside of their communities although in Pakistan a growing number of the Sheedi intermarry as a way to dilute their African lineage and reduce racial discrimination and prejudice.
Siddi communities, although classified as a tribe by the Indian government, primarily live in agricultural communities where men are responsible for the farming and women are responsible for the home and children. Outside of their communities, men also tend to be employed as farm hands, drivers, manual laborers, and security guards.
When it comes to dress, women and men dress in typical Indian fashion. Siddi women wear the garments predominant in their locale, which can be colorful saris accessorised with bindis. Men wear what is generally appropriate for men in their communities.
As in other aspects of life, the Siddi have adopted the common dietary practices of the dominant society. An example of a staple meal would be a large portions of rice with dal and pickles.
Athletics has been an important part of the Siddi community and has been a means to uplift youth and a means of escape from poverty and discrimination.
Religion
Siddis are primarily Muslims, although some are Hindus and others belong to the Catholic Church.
Films and books
From Africa...To Indian Subcontinent: Sidi Music in the Indian Ocean Diaspora (2003) by Amy Catlin-Jairazbhoy, in close collaboration with Nazir Ali Jairazbhoy and the Sidi community.
Mon petit diable (My Little Devil) (1999) was directed by Gopi Desai. Om Puri, Pooja Batra, Rushabh Patni, Satyajit Sharma.
Razia Sultan (1983), an Indian Urdu film directed by Kamal Amrohi, is based on the life of Razia Sultan (played by Hema Malini) (1205–1240), the only female Sultan of Delhi (1236–1240), and her speculated love affair with the Abyssinian slave Jamal-ud-Din Yakut (played by Dharmendra). He was referred to in the movie as a habshee.
A Certain Grace: The Sidi, Indians of African Descent by Ketaki Sheth, Photolink, 2013.
Shaping Membership, Defining Nation: The Cultural Politics of African Indians in South Asia (2007) by Pashington Obeng.
Inside a Lost African Tribe Still Living in India Today (2018) by Asha Stuart
#unfair (2019) a film produced by Public Service Broadcast Trust directed by Wenceslaus Mendes, Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, Anushka Matthews, Mohit Bhalla
See also
Afro-Iranians
Afro-Asians in South Asia
Africa–India relations
Sri Lanka Kaffirs
List of Scheduled Tribes in India
References
External links
"Karnataka's Indian-African Tribe", The Wall Street Journal, 26 March 2012.
Alice Albinia, Empires of the Indus, W. W. Norton & Company, 2010, 52–78.
Shanti Sadiq Ali, The African Dispersal in the Deccan: From Medieval to Modern Times, Orient Blackswan, 1996.
Ababu Minda Yimene, An African Indian Community in Hyderabad: Siddi Identity, Its Maintenance and Change, Cuvillier Verlag, 2004, p. 201.
Omar H. Ali, The African Diaspora in India, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, The New York Public Library.
Abdulaziz Y. Lodhi, "Bantu origins of the Sidis of India", in Pambazuka News, 29 October 2008.
"Habshis and Siddis – Africans and African descendants in South Asia", ColorQ World.
The Global African Community/Great Habshis in Ethiopian/Indian History
History of the Ethiopian Diaspora
Shihan de Silva Jayasuriya, "South Asia's Africans: A Forgotten People", History Workshop, 5 February 2011.
Lord of All He Surveys, The Express Travel
Ethnic groups in India
Ethnic groups in Pakistan
People of African descent
Muslim communities of Karnataka
Sindhi tribes
Africa–Pakistan relations
Africa–India relations
Social groups of Gujarat
Social groups of Balochistan, Pakistan
Social groups of Sindh
Social groups of Karnataka
Tribal communities of Gujarat
African diaspora in India
African diaspora in Pakistan
Immigration to India
Immigration to Pakistan