The Siddi Goma troupe of India. Photo/WMJ van KESSEL
The Siddi — The 1400 Year History of Africans In South Asia
By dopper0189, Black Kos Managing Editor
The Indian subcontinent is home to over 1.7 billion people or about 22% of the world’s total population. In the ages of antiquity no empire (with the notable exception of China) has been as large, wealthy, and powerful as India for as long a period of time. For the purpose of this diary when I refer to India, I will speaking of the entire Indian subcontinent. As the modern nations of India, Pakistan, later Bangladesh and Sri Lanka were formed out the 1947 political fragmentation of what was historical a united Indian empire. To be more accurate this diary is about the people of African decedent who live in South Asia.
Siddi Folk Dancers, at Devaliya Naka, Sasan Gir, Gujarat.
During almost all of recorded history, Indian sailors and traders traveled the relatively warm calm waters of the Indian Ocean from present day Indonesia all the way to Mozambique. India traded extensively with all these area, and vice versa. One of the least recognized historical facts in the West is the presence of people of African descent in India. I may be speculating, but I believe that’s because people from Southern India share the darker skin tones of black Africans. Thus this migration hasn’t been as noticeable to Western eyes. Never the less, Africans have been present in India for fourteen centuries. People of African descent in South Asia are known as the Siddi.
On a personal note, my family is from the Caribbean where there are a large number of people of East Indian decent, with some countries in the Caribbean being as much as 50% East Indian (that’s a whole other example of unrecognized facts). I personally have a number of people with East Indian blood in my family. The Caribbean is one of the world’s great melting pots, as evident in Jamaica’s and Trinidad’s curry dishes, introduced by East Indian indentured workers almost two centuries ago. I have always had a fascination with Indian culture, but it was only as an adult I realized that historically the Indian subcontinent had both a significant presence and contact with ancient Africa. With our next President being a woman of African (trough Jamaica) and South Asian (via India) descent I thought this would be a great time to explore this link.
There are various 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.
Similarly, another term for Siddis, habshi, is held to be derived from the common name for the captains of the Abyssinian (Ethiopian/Eritrean) ships that also first delivered Siddi slaves to the subcontinent. As we get closer to the modern era Siddis are starting to be referred to as Afro-Indians.
The first Siddis are thought to have arrived in India at the port of Bharuch in 628 AD. Several others followed with the first Arab Islamic conquest of the Indian subcontinent in 712 AD. This latter group are believed to have been soldiers in Muhammad bin Qasim's Arab army. This group of enslaved Muslim African soldiers were called Zanjis. Some Siddis escaped slavery to establish communities in forested areas, or places Janjira Island as early as the twelfth century. A former alternative name of Janjira was Habshan (i.e., land of the Habshis). One of the greatest stories of Africans in India revolve around the story of Queen Razia Sultan and Jamal-ud-Din Yakut.
Queen Razia was one of India’s most valiant queens and history tells the tale of her suspected liaison with her confidant and ally, Jamal-ud-Din Yakut. Whether or not they were actual lovers is unclear, but the outrage that this alleged dalliance sparked in the 13th century Mamluk Dynasty is well recorded. Much of the resentment against Yakut arose from the fact that he was a slave-turned-nobleman of African origin, and not from the ethnic-Turkish clique that dominated the nobility in the Delhi-based Sultanate. Conferred the title of Amir al-Umara (Amir of Amirs), by Queen Razia, Jamal-ud-Din Yakut was the first African to occupy a prominent position in India.
Queen Razia Sultan and Jamal-ud-Din Yakut may have been India’s true Othello story
Yakut is only one of many Africans to have left their mark on Indian history. Many of these Africans proved themselves while in the service of local rulers. They enjoyed a great degree of social mobility, some of them going on to become military commanders, aristocrats, statesmen and even founders their own kingdoms
India’s Siddi population was later swelled via the forced migration of Bantu peoples from Southeast Africa brought to the Indian subcontinent Indian subcontinent as slaves by the Portuguese. Most of these migrants either were or became Muslims. The Nizam of Hyderabad also employed African-origin guards and soldiers.
But even before to the rise of the Islamic Mughals empire in India, several former African slaves rose to high ranks in the military and ruling class. The most prominent of these Africans was the famous Malik Ambar.
Malik Ambar of Ahmadnagar — Wikipedia Commons
Malik Ambar was the regent of the Nizamshahi dynasty of Ahmednagar from 1607 to 1627. During this period he increased the strength and power of Murtaza Nizam Shah II and raised a large army. He raised a cavalry which grew from 150 to 7000 in a short period of time and revitalized the Ahmadnagar sultanate and repelling Mughal attacks from the North. By 1610, his army grew to include 10,000 Habshis and 40,000 Deccanis. Over the course of the next decade, Malik Ambar would fight and defeat Mughal emperor Jahangir's attempts to take over the kingdom.
As I wrote earlier most people in the West are unaware of the eastward African slave trade from Southeastern Africa to places like India. But the Siddis in South India are a significant social portion of the African Diaspora whose histories, experiences, cultures, and expressions are integral part of Indian history.
Although the Siddis have always been a numerical minority, their fourteen hundred year historic presence in India, their own self identity, and how the broader Indian society relates to them, marks them as distinctly Afro-Indian. Historically the Siddis have existed in a sort of ethnic limbo. Siddis maintained their own culture and did not succumb to the structures of imperial forces, but also they didn’t rebel against imperial rule. But a group of Siddi near the modern Indian tech capital of Hyderabad have had an outside influence on India culture.
Ikhlas Khan, African prime minister of Bijapur India, c. 1650
In the 18th century, a Siddi community was established in Hyderabad by a group of the Siddi diaspora, who had served as cavalry and guards to the Asif Jahi Nizam of Hyderabad's army. The Asif Jahi rulers patronized them with rewards and the traditional Marfa music gained popularity and would be performed during official celebrations and ceremonies. The Siddis of Hyderabad by tradition began to reside in the A.C. Guards (African Cavalry Guards) area near Masjid Rahmania, known locally as Siddi Risala in the city Hyderabad.
Another group of Siddi that that became to influence India music were originally sold as slaves by the Portuguese to the local Prince, Nawab of Junagadh about 300 years ago. This group of Siddis live around Gir Forest National Park and Wildlife sanctuary. Today, they follow very few of their original customs, with a few exceptions like the traditional Dhamal dance.
Although Gujarati Siddis have generally adopted the language and customs of the surrounding general populations, some of their Bantu traditions have been preserved. These include the Goma music and dance form, which is sometimes called Dhamaal (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 Swahili word "ngoma", which means drums. It also denotes any dancing occasion where principally traditional drums are used. The majority of the Siddis in Gujarat are Muslims.
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Today the city of Bangalore, India’s Silicon Valley, symbolizes the success story of modern India. There Indians keep the books of major American enterprises and work the call centers for corporations around the world. But directly to the North of Bangalore, in the same state of Karnataka, Sidis battle to keep access to their lands in the forests. Hundreds of years ago, their ancestors fled from slavery in Portuguese-ruled Indian city enclave of Goa to the mostly inaccessible forests of the interior.
The Siddi near Bangalore built villages, similar to the maroons in the Caribbean. They subsist on forest produce and tilling small plots of cleared land. It is widely shared belief by these Siddis believe that President Barack Obama share their genealogy, as Obama’s father was originally from Mombasa (in modern day Kenya) where traditions say their ancestors hail from. These Siddi widely celebrated his visit to India in 2010.
The Siddis near Bangalore have preserved elements of their African heritage, expressed by their music, songs, stories and uniquely African musical instruments. These performances are closely linked to Sufi sects, a mystical version of Islam that allows for culturally heterodox practices. These black Sufi practitioners venerate a black saint known as Gori Pir (Pir Mangho). Local oral tradition has it that Gori Pir came to Gujarat in the 15th century as a merchant from Africa, accompanied by his sister and several brothers.
Else where in South Asia, in Pakistan locals of African Bantu descent are called "Sheedi". The estimated population of the Sheedi in Pakistan is over 250,000. In the city of Karachi, the main Sheedi center is the area of Lyari and other nearby coastal areas. The Sheedi consider themselves a brotherhood or a subdivision of the Siddi. The Sheedi are divided into four clans, or houses: Kharadar Makan, Hyderabad Makan, Lassi Makan and Belaro Makan.
The Sufi saint Pir Mangho (Gori Pir in India) is regarded by many as the patron saint of the Sheedi, 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 include visit to sacred alligators at Mangho pir , dancing and playing music. The instrument, songs, and dances are clearly derived from Africa.
The Sheedi are very active in cultural activities and organize many annual festivals, such as the Habash Festival. In the local Sheedi culture, dancing is not performed only by a select few and watched idly by onlookers. Sheedi dancing is participated by all the people present, with little difference between the performers and the audience.
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Famous Sheedi include the historic Sindhi army leader Hoshu Sheedi and Urdu poet Noon Meem Danish. Sheedis are well known for their excellence in sports, especially in soccer and boxing. Qasim Umer is a famous cricketer who played for Pakistan in 80s. The musical anthem of the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party, "Bija Teer", is a Balochi song in the musical style of the Sheedi with Black African style rhythm and drums. Younis Jani is a popular Sheedi singer famous for singing an Urdu version of the reggaeton song "Papi chulo... (te traigo el mmmm...)."
The Sheedi in Sindh proudly also refer to themselves the Qambranis, in reverence to Qambar, the freed slave of Ali. A politician from this area Tanzeela Qambrani became the first Sheedi woman to be elected as the member of Provincial Assembly in Pakistan’s 2018 general election.
Finally on the South Asian island of Sri Lanka , the self described Sri Lankan Kaffirs are an ethnic group who are partially descended from Bantu slaves who were brought by 16th century Portuguese traders to work as laborers and soldiers in wars against the Sinhala Kings. The term Kaffir is an obsolete term once used to designate natives from the African Great Lakes and Southern Africa coasts. Although in modern South Africa it has became a racial slur. "The Kaffirs speak a distinctive creole partially based on Portuguese. Their cultural heritage includes the dance styles Kaffringna and Manja and their popular form of dance music Baila.
Although most Westerner may be unaware of the eastward African slave trade from Southeastern Africa that gave rise to the Siddi. But the Siddi in South Asian a part of the African Diaspora that had a significant impact on Indian history and cultures. Although the Siddis have always been a minority in South Asia, their over five hundred years historic presence, and their own self identity, marks them as distinctly Afro-Indian. Today the contribution of the Siddi are an integral part of modern South Asian culture.
Sources:
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News round up by dopper0189, Black Kos Managing Editor
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The vice president dominated the debate against the former president by simply showing the country what a normal presidential candidate looks like. But will it matter? The Grio: Kamala Harris was fine
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To be fair, those who contend that Harris beat Trump like he stole something (an election, perhaps) are not wrong. For most of the debate, he was angry, flailing and flustered; she was composed and on message. Trump vomited vile, racist, absurd conspiracy theories like Joe Rogan had a baby with Marjorie Taylor Greene while Harris stuck to her talking points. She was smart, articulate and, more importantly, presidential. Conversely, there is only one way to encapsulate the dotardly juvenile belligerent incompetence that defined Harris’ outmatched opponent’s behavior:
Donald Trump was Donald Trump.
To paraphrase the late great orator Dennis Green, “They were who we thought they were.” Harris is a professional politician who currently holds the second-highest-ranking job in American government. For the entirety of the two decades that Harris has served in elected office, no one has credibly accused her of being unqualified or unprepared. She figuratively stepped into the ring with Trump and delivered a technical knockout, but her debate performance was not “awesome” or “amazing”; it was Kamala Harris-like. She performed like a prosecutor or a senator or a politician who has never lost a race in her entire career. She looked like a president of the United States debating an entitled, inept, racist, hyperbolic liar who makes up for his political ineptitude by being racist and lying a lot.
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A bomb threat prompted a major police response in Springfield, Ohio, on Thursday morning, according to the city commission office.
The threat was sent via email "to multiple agencies and media outlets," the office said.
Explosive-detecting K-9s helped police clear multiple facilities listed in the threat, including two elementary schools, City Hall and a few driver’s license bureaus, Springfield Police Chief Allison Elliott told reporters. The county court facilities were also cleared "out of an abundance of caution," she said.
The FBI is working with local police to help identify the source of the threat, Elliott said.
Though it is not yet known if they are connected, the threat comes after baseless rumors spread online in the wake of viral social media posts claiming Haitian migrants were abducting people's pets in Springfield order to eat them. The rumors were amplified by right-wing politicians, including former President Donald Trump and his running mate Sen. JD Vance.
"In Springfield, they're eating the dogs," Trump said at Tuesday night’s presidential debate. "The people that came in, they're eating the cats, they're eating, they're eating the pets of the people that live there.”
A spokesperson for the city of Springfield told ABC News these claims are false, and that there have been "no credible reports or specific claims of pets being harmed, injured or abused by individuals in the immigrant community."
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As soon as she arrives at the headquarters of Rosas de Ouro, a popular samba school in São Paulo, Leci Brandão apologises for being late. Coupled with the megacity’s usual traffic, her agenda at its legislative assembly kept her busy longer than expected. “My mission is trying to solve other people’s problems,” she says after greeting school staff. A lawmaker with Brazil’s Communist party since 2011, Brandão – who turns 80 on Thursday – is the first Black woman to occupy a seat in São Paulo parliament this long and only the second Black congresswoman in its history.
While she had never imagined herself in office, institutional politics unfolded as an extension of her music. Brandão is also a trailblazing samba musician, one of the first female composers in the male-dominated genre, breaking through in 1976 with politically engaged songs that exposed and opposed the conservatism and inequalities of Brazilian society.
Until the early 1980s, progressive songs were often censored as an oppressive military regime run by Brazil’s armed forces had been ruling the country since 1964: composed in 1978 but unreleased for seven years owing to tensions with her label, which thought her music too heavy, Brandão’s Zé do Caroço tells the true story of a favela leader who helped raise his community’s political consciousness. It remains a resistance anthem to this day.
Writing political songs “results from my life condition”, says Brandão. “I was born as a Black girl who grew up poor. I felt the need to express what I witnessed and experienced. If it weren’t through songs, maybe I’d be a journalist,” she says, sipping water and touching up her red lipstick.
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Extreme religious groups and political parties are targeting schools around the world as part of a coordinated and well-funded attack on gender equality, according to a new report.
Well-known conservative organisations aim to restrict girls’ access to education, change what is on the curriculum, and influence educational laws and policies, according to Whose Hands on our Education, a report by the Overseas Development Institute.
Tactics include removing sex education from schools, banning girls from learning, reinforcing patriarchal gender stereotypes in textbooks and rejecting gender-inclusive language in schools.
Ayesha Khan, senior research fellow at the ODI and one of the authors of the report, said: “Education is a key enabler for gender equality and has the power to shape lives.
“This research shows how a small group of highly financed anti-rights organisations and politicians and militant groups are intent on disrupting the transformative opportunities that education provides,” she said.
These organisations have received billions of pounds in funding to advance their agenda, according to evidence in the report. At least $3.7bn (£2.8bn) was channelled to anti-gender equality organisations globally between 2013 and 2017.
In Africa, more than $54m was spent by US-based Christian groups between 2007 and 2020 to campaign against LGBTQ+ rights and sex education.
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