Afroindia

Among the lesser known communities of the African diaspora are the Sidis of India. People of African descent have lived in India since at least the 8th century.Most Sidis came to India as merchants, sailors or mercenaries. Others were brought as slaves, first by the Arabs and later by the Portuguese and the British. Whereas in the New World most African slaves worked on plantations, in India they occupied positions as soldiers, body guards and servants in the households of various Rajas and Sultans.Sidis live in various parts of India, where they constitute a tiny minority — some tens of thousands of people amongst a population of more than a billion. The largest concentrations of Sidis are in the western Indian state of Gujarat.Though some educated and entrepreneurial Sidis now count themselves among India's growing middle class, taken as a whole, the Sidis constitute one of the poorest communities in India.Sidis woman with her grandson.Sidi family with their goats.A Sidi girl with a bandaged finger.Recent generations have seen increased intermarriage between Sidis and others, and some in the Sidi community no longer appear typically African.Sidi girls.Sidi youth.Over the centuries, Sidis have largely assimilated into Indian culture. Though Sidis have largely assimilated into Indian culture, African traditions passed down from generation to generation remain in the Sidis' music and religious practices.There exist Hindu and Christian Sidi communities, but the majority of Sidis are Sufi Muslims. As for other Sufis in South Asia, saint worship is an important part of their religious tradition.A Sidi performs a ritual at a shrine to the saint Bhava Gor, the most revered of the Sidis' saints.Sidis showing devotion at a shrine to their most honored saint Bhava Gor. The highlight of the Sidis' ritual calendar is a celebration called 'Urs, marking the anniversary of Bhava Gor's death.Preparing for the 'Urs — a celebration marking the death anniversary of the Sidis' ancestral saint Bhava Gor.To the sound of African rhythms and devotional songs sung in Swahili, the 'Urs begins with a ritual procession to the local Bhava Gor shrine.A procession marking the death anniversary of the Sidi saint Bhava Gor.Central to the "Urs is a ritual called Dhammal, which involves sacred drumming, dancing and singing devotional songs praising the saint Bhava Gor.Dhammal: a ritual that involves drumming, dancing and singing Swahili devotional songs praising the saint Bhava Gor.Drumming and dancing at a Sidi Dhammal.An important part of a Sidi Dhammal is an ancient rite of spirit possession — probably related to the spirit possession cults found in East Africa.A man possessed by the spirit of a Sidi saint being restrained.Sometimes the spirit possession is brough on by ecstatic dancing. Other times it is precipitated by the inhalation of smoke from a sacred censer.A Sidi woman possessed by a spirit. Spirit possession.A man collapses — possessed by a spirit.A Dhammal in full swing at a shrine to the Sidi saint Bhava Gor.Dancing at a Sidi Dhammal.A woman dances at a Sidi Dhammal.At a Sidi Dhammal a man being restrained — possessed by the spirit of a Sidi Saint.Spectator at a Dhammal.A couple possessed by the spirit of a Sidi saint dance at a Sidi Dhammal.Spirit possession at a Sidi Dhammal.A man possessed by a spirit at a Sidi Dhammal.At a Dhammal, the drumming, dancing and singing continue late into the night, and sometimes until morning.