Siddi

The Siddi (pronounced [sɪdːiː]), also known as the Sheedi, Sidi, or Siddhi, are an ethnic minority group inhabiting India and Pakistan. 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.[6] Others arrived as merchants, sailors, indentured servants, and mercenaries.[7] The Siddi population is currently estimated at around 300,000 individuals, with Karnataka, Gujarat and Hyderabad in India and Makran and Karachi in Pakistan[8] serving as the main population centres.

This article is about the South Asian ethnic group. For other uses, see Siddi (disambiguation).
"Habshi" redirects here. For the ethnic group in Ethiopia and Eritrea, see Habesha peoples. For other uses, see Habash (disambiguation).
"Afro-Indian" and "Afro Indian" redirect here. For other ethnic groups and people of both African and Indian origin or people of Indian descent in Africa, see Indo-African (disambiguation). For people of both African and Indigenous American (i.e. "Indian") origin, see Black Indians in the United States and Zambo.

Siddi, Sheedi
Siddi community in India
Total population
1,300,000 (estimated)
Regions with significant populations
 Pakistan250,000 to 1 million[1][2][3]
 India25,000–70,000[4]
    Karnataka10,477 (2011 census)[5]
    Gujarat8,661[5]
    Daman and Diu193[5]
    Goa183[5]
Languages
Sidi language (historically)
Balochi (Makrani dialect), Sindhi, Gujarati, Marathi, Konkani, Kannada, Swahili, Telugu, Urdu, Hindi, English
Religion
Predominantly: Sunni Islam; minority: Hinduism, Christianity (Catholic)

Etymology
A Siddi girl from the town of Yellapur in Uttara Kannada district, Karnataka, India.

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.[9] 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.[10] 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.[11][12]

Siddis are also sometimes referred to as Afro-Indians.[13][14][15] 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).[16][17][18][19]

History

The Siddi population derived primarily from Bantu peoples of Southeast Africa who were brought to the Indian subcontinent as slaves.[7] Most of these migrants were or else became Muslims, while a small minority became Hindu.[9] The Nizam of Hyderabad also employed African-origin guards and soldiers.[20][21]

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.[22] 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.[23] Several former slaves rose to high ranks in the military and administration, the most prominent of which was Malik Ambar.[24]

Geographical distribution

India
Sidis of Madras

Harris (1971) provides a historical survey of the eastward dispersal of slaves from Southeast Africa to places like India.[25] 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.[26] 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.[27] The Siddi are recognized as a scheduled tribe in 3 states and 1 union territory: Goa, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Daman and Diu.[28]

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.[29][30][31]

Gujarat
See also: Sachin State
Siddi Folk dancers, at Devaliya Naka, Sasan Gir, 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.[32] 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.[33]

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).[34] 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.[35] 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.[36]

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%).[37]

Karnataka
Main article: Siddis of 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.[7] There is a 50,000-strong Siddhi population across India, of which more than a third live in Karnataka.[38] 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%).[39]

Pakistan

In Pakistan, locals of Bantu descent are called "Sheedi". They live primarily along the Makran in Balochistan, and lower Sindh.[8] The estimated population of Sheedis in Pakistan is 250,000.[3] 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.[40] 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.[40] Some glimpses of the rituals at Sidi/Sheedi Festival 2010 include visit to sacred alligators at Mangho pir, playing music and dance.[41] Clearly, the instrument, songs and dance appear to be derived from Africa.[42]

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.[43]

Sheedis in Sindh also proudly call themselves the Qambranis, in reverence to Qambar, the freed slave of Ali, the fourth Rashid Caliph.[7][44] Tanzeela Qambrani became the first Sheedi woman to be elected as the member of Provincial Assembly of Sindh in 2018 Pakistani general election.[45][46]

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,[47] they have also kept some ancestral practices especially in music and dance.[48] 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.[49] 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.[50]

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.[48] Outside of their communities, men also tend to be employed as farm hands, drivers, manual laborers, and security guards.[47]

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.[51] Men wear what is generally appropriate for men in their communities.[47]

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.[49]

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.[52][53][54]

Religion

Siddis are primarily Muslims, although some are Hindus and others belong to the Catholic Church.[55]

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.[56]
  • 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

References
  1. https://behanbox.com/2020/09/03/first-african-pakistani-lawmaker-fights-discrimination-to-rise-up-in-politics-interview-with-tanzeela-qambrani/
  2. https://minorityrights.org/minorities/sheedis-2/
  3. Paracha, Nadeem (26 August 2018), "Smokers’ corner: Sindh's African roots ", Dawn.
  4. "The Siddis: Discovering India's little known African-origin community". The New Indian Express. 2 March 2018. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  5. "A-11 Individual Scheduled Tribe Primary Census Abstract Data and its Appendix". Census of India 2011. Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
  6. Ewald, Janet (November 2008). "No Objection to a Wandering Unsettled Life:" Bondsmen and Freedmen in the Ports and at Sea of the Indian Ocean World, c. 1500‐1900" (PDF). 10th Annual Gilder Lehrman Center International Conference, Yale University.
  7. Shah, Anish M.; et al. (15 July 2011). "Indian Siddis: African Descendants with Indian Admixture". American Journal of Human Genetics. 89 (1): 154–161. doi:10.1016/j.ajhg.2011.05.030. PMC 3135801. PMID 21741027.
  8. Abbas, Zaffar (13 March 2002). "Pakistan's Sidi keep heritage alive". BBC. Retrieved 26 December 2016. One of the Pakistan's smallest ethnic communities is made up of people of African origin, known as Sidi. The African-Pakistanis live in Karachi and other parts of the Sindh and Baluchistan provinces in abject poverty, but they rarely complain of discrimination. Although this small Muslim community is not on the verge of extinction, their growing concern is how to maintain their distinct African identity in the midst of the dominating South Asian cultures.
  9. Albinia, Alice (2012). Empires of the Indus: The Story of a River. UK: Hachette. ISBN 978-0393063226.
  10. Vijay Prashad (2002), Everybody Was Kung Fu Fighting: Afro-Asian Connections and the Myth of Cultural Purity, Beacon Press, ISBN 978-0-8070-5011-8, ...since the captains of the African and Arab vessels bore the title Sidi (from Sayyid, or the lineage of the prophet Muhammad), the African settlers on the Indian mainland came to be called Siddis...
  11. "Ḥabshī | African and Abyssinian enslaved persons | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
  12. Péquignot, Sofia (16 September 2021), "Siddi (of Karnataka)", Brill’s Encyclopedia of the Religions of the Indigenous People of South Asia Online, Brill, retrieved 11 June 2023
  13. Ali Al'Amin Mazrui, Toby Kleban Levine (1986), The Africans: a reader, Praeger, ISBN 978-0-03-006209-4, ...continue to exist in three main communities. These Afro-Indians, known as 'Siddis' ...
  14. Joseph E. Harris (1971), The African presence in Asia: consequences of the East African slave trade, Northwestern University Press, ISBN 978-0-8101-0348-1, In fact, it is frequently said that Afro-Indians in western Gujarat are descendants of escaped slaves....
  15. Ruth Simms Hamilton (2007), Routes of Passage: Rethinking the African Diaspora, Michigan State University Press, ISBN 978-0-87013-632-0
  16. David Brion Davis, Challenging the Boundaries of Slavery (Harvard University Press, 2006), p. 12.
  17. Ci Hai 7(1): 125.
  18. Roland Oliver, Africa in the Iron Age: c.500 BC-1400 AD, (Cambridge University Press, 1975), p. 192.
  19. F. R. C. Bagley et al., The Last Great Muslim Empires, (Brill: 1997), p. 174.
  20. "Hyderabad's African old guard". 4 August 2003. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  21. "Another face of Hyderabad". The Times of India. 4 May 2007. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  22. Yatin Pandya, Trupti Rawal (2002), The Ahmedabad Chronicle: Imprints of a Millennium, Vastu Shilpa Foundation for Studies and Research in Environmental Design, The first Muslims in Gujarat to have arrived are the Siddis via the Bharuch port in 628 AD ... The major group, though, arrived in 712 AD via Sindh and the north.... With the founding of Ahmedabad in 1411 AD it became the concentrated base of the community....
  23. Eaton (2007). Slavery and South Asian History. p. 8. ISBN 978-0253116710.
  24. "Malik Ambar: The African slave who built Aurangabad and ruined the game for Mughals in the Deccan". The Indian Express. 15 May 2020. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  25. Harris, J. E. (1971). The African Presence in Asia: Consequences of the East African Slave Trade.
  26. Obeng, P. (2007). Shaping Membership, Defining Nation: The Cultural Politics of African Indians in South India, p. xiii.
  27. Obeng P (2003). "Religion and empire: Belief and identity among African Indians in Karnataka, South India". Journal of the American Academy of Religion. 71 (1): 99–120. doi:10.1093/jaar/71.1.99.
  28. "List of notified Scheduled Tribes" (PDF). Census India. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 November 2013. Retrieved 15 December 2013.
  29. "'Marfa' band of the Siddis 'losing' its beat". The Hindu. Hyderabad, India. 10 July 2011. Retrieved 19 September 2011.
  30. Yimene, Ababu Minda (2004). An African Indian Community in Hyderabad: Siddi Identity, Its Maintenance and Change. Cuvillier Verlag. ISBN 978-3-86537-206-2.
  31. Ali, Shanti Sadiq (1996). The African Dispersal in the Deccan: From Medieval to Modern Times. Orient Blackswan. ISBN 978-81-250-0485-1.
  32. "Siddis stray from tradition". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 11 July 2012. Retrieved 5 December 2004.
  33. Shekhawat, Rahul Singh (n.d.), "Black Sufis: Preserving the Siddi's and its age old culture in India"
  34. Journal of the Indian Anthropological Society, vol. 28, Indian Anthropological Society, 1993, The word goma is derived from the Swahili word for dance, ngoma, which in the East African ... Siddi servants used to perform goma dances with drums....
  35. Stuart Sillars, ed. (2017). The Shakespearean International Yearbook: Volume 13. Routledge. p. 22. ISBN 978-1351963497. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
  36. Shihan de S. Jayasuriya, Richard Pankhurst (2003), The African Diaspora in the Indian Ocean, Africa World Press, ISBN 978-0-86543-980-1, At the climax, when large numbers of people are simultaneously possessed, the presence of Sidi saints among the living is experienced through the bodies chosen by the saints as vehicle. This happens during dancing sessions called damal or goma ...
  37. Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner. "Gujerat: ST-14 Scheduled Tribe Population by Religious Community". Census of India 2011. Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. Retrieved 13 August 2021. Statistics spreadsheet
  38. Samuel, Richard (20 January 2020). "How the Siddi community has been thriving through music and dance". The Hindu. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  39. Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner. "Karnataka: ST-14 Scheduled Tribe Population by Religious Community". Census of India 2011. Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. Retrieved 13 August 2021. Statistics spreadsheet
  40. Sheedi Mela begins with ritual aplomb, The News International, 7 July 2008.
  41. "شیدی میلہ" (in Urdu). Archived from the original on 16 June 2010. Retrieved 4 October 2009., BBC Urdu, 18 June 2010
  42. "Manghopir urs a living tribute to Sheedi culture", Dawn 16 July 2007.
  43. Bhurgari, M. Hashim (24 October 2009). "Sheedi basha hum basha: black people dance away sorrows". Dawn. Retrieved 16 October 2012.
  44. "Sheedis have been hurt most by attitudes". Dawn. 23 June 2008. Retrieved 30 December 2013. Sindhi Sheedis call themselves Qambrani, out of reverence for Hazrat Qambar, a servant of Hazrat Ali (AS).
  45. Tanzeela Qambrani: First Sheedi woman to become member of Sindh Assembly
  46. Tanzeela to be first Sheedi woman to enter Sindh Assembly
  47. Vallangi, Neelima. "India's forgotten African tribe". BBC. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  48. "Filmmaker Inspired to Make Documentary About Siddi Tribe". Culture. 13 April 2018. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  49. "I Met The Siddi People of India And It Widened My Perception of What It Means To Be 'Indian'". The Better India. 30 March 2017. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  50. Chari, Mridula (20 June 2015). "Meet the fast disappearing community of Indians and Pakistanis of African origin". Quartz India. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  51. Staff writer (5 March 2008). "Africa's lost tribe, the Siddis face poverty in India". The Economic Times. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  52. Bhat, Prajwal (31 March 2019). "Racing for a better future: The African-origin tribe in K'taka that's turning to sports". The News Minute. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  53. Dabas, Maninder (14 March 2019). "How These African-Indians Can Bring Gold Medals for the Country in Next Olympics". indiatimes.com. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  54. "Bengaluru Man Helps Karnataka's Siddi Tribe Smash Stigma with Sports!". The Better India. 17 June 2019. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  55. Shanti Sadiq Ali (1996), The African dispersal in the Deccan, Orient Blackswan, ISBN 978-81-250-0485-1, Among the Siddi families in Karnataka there are Catholics, Hindus and Muslims... It was a normal procedure for the Portuguese to baptise African slaves ... After living for generations among Hindus they considered themselves to be Hindus.... The Siddi Hindus owe allegiance to Saudmath ...
  56. "Sidi lights". Mint. 8 March 2013. Retrieved 17 March 2013.
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