page_title: Siddis of Karnataka
section_title: Occupation
hierarchical_section_title: Siddis of Karnataka / Occupation
caption_attribution_description: English: Siddi Farmer in the fields of Yellapur District, Karnataka, India.
context_page_description: The Siddis of Karnataka are an ethnic group inhabiting India. Members are descended from Bantu peoples from Southeast Africa that were brought to the Indian subcontinent as slaves by Portuguese merchants. There is a 50,000 strong Siddi 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 Kalghatgi of Dharwad district. Many members of the Siddi community have migrated to Pakistan after independence and have settled in Karachi and Sindh. Recently, they have come into the limelight by Sneha Khanwalkar's soundtrack 'Yere' for MTV Sound Trippin'.
context_section_description: Almost all Siddis today subsist as agricultural and casual labourers, contractual or in some cases bonded,  some also work as domestic help. The earliest Siddhi settlers who fled Goa and entered the Karnataka forests of North Canara, made the forests  their home and started cultivation.  In some of the villages in these areas, they form the earliest settlers.
caption: Siddi Farmer in the fields of Yellapur District, Karnataka, India.
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