(Published first in the Bangkok Post, April 2014)
“ Do you want to see a habshi?’, asks my guide pointing to an African boy sitting under a tree as we enter Gir in Gujarat- home to the famous Asiatic lions.
Habshi or negro are the words used (not pejoratively) by the locals for Siddis- the people of African origin, sprinkled in Junagadh district of Gujarat.
Dark skin, curlicues of hair, snub nose and thick lips, the Siddis are unmistakably African. Yet they are as much Gujarati as the next fellow.
They speaks Gujarati and broken Hindi with the local accent and share the same mannerism and general demeanor.
“ They say our ancestors were brought here as slaves from Africa more than 500 years ago”, says Ibhrahim, a Siddi who invites me in his house with the familiar Gujarati hospitality. He is a guide at Gir National Park, and existential issues are the last thing on his mind. He , along with other Gir inhabitants , is engrossed with the quotidian. The Supreme Court had ordered some of the Asiatic lions to be sent to Madhya Pradesh (MP) in April 2013. He skips the questions on his pedigree to talk about it.
“ The lions will be poached in MP. Poaching is rampant there. The poachers from MP come here to kill lions. Two years ago the poachers from MP had killed two lions and two cubs“, he said.
He is however quick to lay claim to his African ancestry to bolster his argument. “African are inextricably linked to the Lions. Wherever there are lions you have Africans. There are no Siddhis in MP. That is not the lion’s home”, he says.
In Zambur village 20 kms from Gir, where many Siddi families live together, it is a veritable Africa. But only from a distance. The villagers are so culturally, socially and linguistically assimilated to the local milieu that where they to be transplanted to Africa they would be completely lost.
There are over 50 thousand Siddis in India making for a unique racial minority along with the Parsis , Jews and the Chinese . But unlike other groups, the Siddis have lived on the margins of Indian society. They have always been a poor lot and have been eking out a living in rural pockets of India. One third of them live in Karnataka. Others in Gujarat and a tiny fraction are found in Maharashtra. Just like other inhabitants of these states they are culturally diverse from each other. They also do not share the same religion. They are Christians in Maharashtra and are Sufi Muslims in Gujarat.
The Siddis were brought to India almost 500 years ago as slaves by Arab and Portuguese merchants. Some Siddis also came as merchants but most of them worked as slaves and since then remained in India as part of the African diaspora. Over time, the Siddis were completely Indianised but they kept their African genes alive by marrying within their community.
Where do the Siddi’s fit in the complex caste system of India? In pre-Independence India they were outside it and were put even below the untouchables in the social hierarchy.. Today, along with several other India tribes , the government of India accords them the status of a Scheduled Tribe, making them eligible for reservation in government jobs.
But Bosco Kaweesi- President Siddi Educational Society has been fighting for a special status for the Siddis. According to him the Siddis face discrimination including racism wherever they go in India and the government needs to take some steps to alleviate their plight.
“ Only a few weeks ago a Siddi man was harassed by a judge when she demanded where he was from. His reply that he was Indian and had his ancestral village in rural Maharashtra did not cut any ice with her”, he says.
Most of the Siddis are farmers or laborers and some like the Siddis of Gir become guides or drivers.
In tourist crowded Gir, they have cashed in on their African lineage by evolving a exotic dance which involves fire breathing, gymnastics and a lot of prancing to the beat of the drums. Tourists are regaled by what they see as an African dance by Africans.
Many however claim that Siddis music has some resonance of Africa in their beats and rhythm harking to the southeast African Bantu tribes to whom they own their lineage.
This is amazing 🙂 thank you for posting this.
Glad you liked it
Good evening.
How do i get in touch with Bosco Kaweesi, President of SIDDI Education society? Do you have his direct email and contact information? It would be much appreciated.
Hope this message finds you well.
Respectfully,
Dr. Uhuru~
can you give further more data about siddi tribes on my mail?
i want data about their lifestyle and about their economical and social activities.
-thanks in advance
i have some information about sidi community…
can you share with me that information?
Thanks Sanjay for the posting I always wondered how black Indians looked just like me but dare not ask them a question now I understand.thanks a lot.
thanks for the information
nice photos
can we do a study camp from the college
if there is any NGOs looking forward to contact
the camp will be to see the and study about the tribes for 4 days
Hi,
Would you please send Bosco Kawessi contact details?
Thank you
The Siddi tribe more than likely are of the lost Tribes of Israel. Their story fits the curses in Deuteronomy.
Dear, I liked you that you have written about them siddi, have also studied their dark facts about their website. I am very impressed with you and walking on the same path, I want the world to be aware of our facts. The historians have been working with a very misconception, spreading their senseless ideas about us, the sidi nation is inhabited in the region for centuries. Just description I wrote.
http://www.sheedi199.com