Who are the Siddis of India ?

The Siddis are not part of the original Negritos of India. They are descendants of Africans from North-East  and East Africa who were brought to India as slaves, soldiers or servants. These Siddis were mostly transported by boats.Some of the Siddis (Sheedis)  migrated via land; in the opposite direction of the Spice trail and settled in Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Gujarat.These people of African origin exist in large numbers across Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Goa and Hyderabad.

 

Most Siddis -- estimated to number between 20,000 and 30,000 in a nation of  over a billion people -- live in the western Indian State of Gujarat. Smaller populations are found in neighboring Maharashtra and two southern states, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.

The village of Jambur, Gujarat, deep in the Gir forest, is the site for one of two exclusively Siddi settlements. It is miserably poor. The headman explains that yes, everyone in Jambur is a Siddi. They speak the same Gujarati language and eat the same flavorful food as other villagers, but nevertheless stand out from their neighbors.On the way to Deva-dungar is the quaint village of Sirvan, inhabited entirely by Siddis, a tribe of African people. They were brought 300 years ago from Africa, by the Portuguese for the Nawab of Junagadh. Today, they follow very few of their original customs, with a few exceptions like the traditional Dhamal dance