A king of Ahmadnagar had had enough of his manipulative mother & conniving nobles, so he took a sabbatical. July 30th 2020 follow. According to one legend, in the year 1489 the Ahmadnagar Sultanate sent its Admiral Piram Khan (of Ethiopian descent) with orders to capture the Murud-Janjira castle from Ram Patil. Several former slaves rose to high ranks in the military and administration, the most prominent of which was Malik Ambar. 147-154, 2019 They came to be known by the name of Siddis or Habshis (Ethiopians or Abyssinians). Janjira Fort or the Janjira Jal-durg is one of the most impressive structures located in the Indian state of Maharashtra. 00:00. According to the authors, the genome-wide ancestry of the Makrani was essentially the same as that of the neighboring Indo-European speaking Balochi and Dravidian-speaking Brahui.[55]. Murud is a Marathi word for the Siddis, an ethnic group originating from Abyssinia, a historical nation in modern day Ethiopia. The best thing about this fort is that it is surrounded by water on all sides and that is why is also referred to as Island Fort. [5] Later most of these migrants became Muslim and a small minority became Hindu. There are conflicting hypotheses on the origin of the name Siddi. [44] Younis Jani is a popular Sheedi singer famous for singing an Urdu version of the reggaeton song "Papi chulo... (te traigo el mmmm...). The authors observed the E1b1a1-M2 haplogroup, which is frequent among Bantu peoples, in about 42% and 34% of Siddis from Karnataka and Gujarat, respectively. [7] Siddis are primarily Muslims, although some are Hindus and others belong to the Catholic Church. [11][12][13] 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).[14][15][16][17]. It was the capital town of the Siddis of Janjira. The place is full of coconut and betel nut trees and has a nice and prosperous seashore. On 19 April 1736, Maratha warrior Chimaji Appa attacked the gathering forces in the encampments of the Siddis near Rewas. They are calling it India’s ‘Lost Civilization’... but is it really? [54], Similarly, Shah et al. As was the practice of many Islamic dynasties, the Siddis of Janjira also built their own tombs, with Siddi Surul Khan, the Wazir of Janjira State from 1707 – 1732, the most prominent. Genetic genealogy, although a novel tool that uses the genes of modern populations to trace their ethnic and geographic origins, has also helped clarify the possible background of the modern Siddi. Since then Murud Janjira Fort became the stronghold of Siddis. The fort of Murud Janjira stands testimony to tell tales of the small yet powerful citadel of the Siddis. It has been reported that these Siddis believe that Barack Obama shares their genepool.They wished to gift him and honour him on his visit to India in 2010. Recent advances in genetic analyses have helped shed some light on the ethnogenesis of the Siddi. [5][47] Tanzeela Qambrani became the first Sheedi woman to be elected as the member of Provincial Assembly of Sindh in 2018 Pakistani general election.[48][49]. It is famous for being the only fort along India's western coast that remained undefeated despite Maratha, Dutch and English East India Company attacks. While they have assimilated in many ways to the dominant culture,[56] they have also kept some ancestral practices especially in music and dance. [31] 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. Malik Ambar - The Deccan’s African Defender | Tales & Trails. [38] The Sufi saint Pir Mangho is regarded by many as the patron saint of the Sheedis, and the annual Sheedi Mela festival, is the key event in the Sheedi community's cultural calendar. For other uses, see, "Habshi" redirects here. (2011), the maternal ancestry of the Siddi consists of a mixture of Bantu-associated haplogroups and Indian-associated haplogroups, reflecting substantial female gene flow from neighbouring Indian populations. 00:00. [53], According to an mtDNA study by Shah et al. Memorials of Sovereignty: Funerary Architecture of the Siddis of Janjira at Khokri (Maharashtra) Arts Asiatiques, vol 74 (2019), pp. 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. The Siddis of Hyderabad have traditionally resided in the A.C. Malik Ambar (pictured) is the most prominent example of a Siddi in India. Janjira also known as Murud-janjira is a unique Jal-Durg (sea Fort) built by an Abssynian minister Malik Ambar of the Sultan of Ahmednagar who belonged to the Nizamshahi dynasty. Murud was once known in Marathi as Habsan ("of Habshi" or Abyssinian). Abstract and Figures Murud Janjira is a good example of water body fort located near the south Konkan coastline. Located 50 k.m. It also had high economic importance as the traders had to pay large amounts to pass by this fort. In Sindh, the Sheedis have traditionally intermarried only with people such as the Mallahs (fisherpeople), Khaskheli (laborers), Khatri (dyeing community) and Kori (clothmakers). The latter mainly consisted of L0 and L2a sublineages associated with Bantu women. The word Janjira is a corruption of the Arabic word “Jazeera”, which means an island. [57] Like other ethnic groups separated by geography, there are both differences and similarities in cultural practices among the Siddi. They live primarily along the Makran in Balochistan, and lower Sindh. The island of Janjira was under the control of the Siddis. Technically, the Sheedi are a brotherhood or a subdivision of the Siddi. Fig. A good example of “Jal-Durg” (Fort amidst water), Murud Janjira is quiet unfamiliar to peoples. So Murud-Janjira essentially means “island of the Siddis”. The latter group are believed to have been soldiers with Muhammad bin Qasim's Arab army, and were called Zanjis. (2009) likewise detected a relatively high frequency of R1a1a-M17 (25%) subclade among Makrani Siddis. The remaining Siddis had Indian associated or Near Eastern-linked clades, including haplogroups P, H, R1a-M17, J2 and L-M20. It was ruled by Abyssinian Muslims called – SIDDI. 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. Malik Ambar - The Deccan’s African Defender | Tales & Trails 00:00. The word "morod" is peculiar to Konkani and is absent in Marathi. How did a young boy sold as a slave in Ethiopia rise and become so powerful in India? Guards (African Cavalry Guards) area near Masjid Rahmania, known locally as Siddi Risala in the city Hyderabad. One theory is that the word derives from sahibi, a Arabic term of respect in North Africa, similar to the word sahib in modern India and Pakistan. The Marathas had earlier tried conquering Janjira but failed. [5] The Siddi population is currently estimated at around 270,000–350,000 individuals, with Karnataka, Gujarat and Hyderabad in India and Makran and Karachi in Pakistan[6] as the main population centres. Well-conceived and well-defended, it was never conquered, though attacked dozens of … After it was captured by Malik Amber of the Siddi Dynasty, the fort was strengthened and stands still even today. Created with Sketch. [6] The estimated population of Sheedis in Pakistan is 250,000. The Siddis are a community of African-origin Indian people living predominantly in India’s states of Karnataka and Gujarat. 1. For other ethnic groups and people of both African and Indian origin or people of Indian descent in Africa, see. Even though the Portuguese and the British tried their best to capture the Janjira Fort, they were unable to defeat the Siddis. Join our mailing list to receive the latest news and updates from our team. The State of Bengal was ruled by Ethiopians for three years before being defeated and two Princely State’s, Janjira and Sachin in Western India controlled hundreds of miles of coastline for centuries. It also denotes any dancing occasion where traditional drums are principally used. The remainder is associated with locals North and Northwest Indian populations, due to recent admixture events. Similarly, another term for Siddis, habshi (from Al-Habsh, the Arabic term for Abyssinia), is held to be derived from the common na… ", "Habshis and Siddis – Africans and African descendants in South Asia", The Global African Community/Great Habshis in Ethiopian/Indian History, "South Asia's Africans: A Forgotten People", BBC "In pictures: India's African communities", https://web.archive.org/web/20070115035750/http://travel.expressindia.com/story/20499.html, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Siddi&oldid=994214081, Articles with dead external links from March 2011, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles using infobox ethnic group with image parameters, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Sidi Sayyid, credited with the building of the, This page was last edited on 14 December 2020, at 17:06. On the way to Deva-dungar is the quaint village of Sirvan, inhabited entirely by Siddis. (2012) observed few genetic differences between the Makrani of Pakistan and adjacent populations. Many members of the Siddis community of Karnataka had migrated to Pakistan after independence and have settled in Karachi, Sindh. According to the authors, gene flow between the Siddis' Bantu ancestors and local Indian populations was also largely unidirectional. The princely state of Janjira fluttered its red flag with the crescent moon until India won independence in 1947 and merged all the princely states with the union by the following year. [62], 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. Some Siddis escaped slavery to establish communities in forested areas, and some also established the small Siddi principalities of Janjira State on Janjira Island and Jafarabad State in Kathiawar as early as the twelfth century. Each day, Live History India brings you stories and films that not only chronicle India’s history and heritage for you, but also help create a digital archive of the 'Stories that make India' for future generations. A B S T R A C T Janjira - The Undefeated Fort Janjira Fort is situated on the Murud beach in the Arabian sea along the Konkan coast line. We go back in time and explore the ruins of a once grand fortified city in Vasai which today is lost and forgotten. The Siddis were brought to India almost 500 years ago as slaves by Arab and Portuguese merchants. The remaining autosomal DNA components in the studied Siddi were mainly associated with local South Asian populations. They did not simply succumb to the ideologies and structures of imperial forces, nor did they simply rebel against imperial rule. [39] Clearly, the instrument, songs and dance appear to be derived from Africa.[40]. Several others followed with the first Arab Islamic conquest of the subcontinent in 712 AD. Murud-Janjira is the local name for a fort situated at the coastal village of Murud, in the Raigad district of Maharashtra, India. But, an example of a staple meal would be a large portions of rice with dal and pickles. [46], Sheedis in Sindh also proudly call themselves the Qambranis, (Urdu: قمبرانی ‎; Sindhi: قمبراڻي‎), in reverence to Qambar, the freed slave of Ali, the fourth Rashid Caliph. Men wear what is generally appropriate for men in their communities. [34], The Siddis of Karnataka (also spelled Siddhis) are an ethnic group of mainly Bantu descent that has made Karnataka their home for the last 400 years. The remainder possessed Indian-specific subclades of the Eurasian haplogroups M and N, which points to recent admixture with autochthonous Indian groups. The fort is approached by sailboats from Rajapuri jetty. [58] It is rare for the Siddi to marry outside of their communities although in Pakistan a growing number of the Sheedi (as they are known there) intermarry as a way to dilute their African lineage and reduce racial discrimination and prejudice. [38] Some glimpses of the rituals at Sidi/Sheedi Festival 2010 include visit to sacred alligators at Mangho pir, playing music and dance. [30], Although Gujarati Siddis have adopted the language and many customs of their surrounding populations, some of their Bantu traditions have been preserved. [20][21], Harris (1971) provides an historical survey of the eastward dispersal of slaves from Southeast Africa to places like India. Bassein: The Forgotten City. [10], Similarly, another term for Siddis, habshi, is held to be derived from the common name for the captains of the Northeast African Abyssinian ships that also first delivered Siddi slaves to the subcontinent. A former alternative name of Janjira was Habshan (i.e., land of the Habshis). About 53% of the Siddis from Gujarat and 24% of the Siddis from Karnataka belonged to various Bantu-derived macro-haplogroup L subclades. "[45], Sheedis are largely populated in different towns and villages in lower Sindh. For instance, Siddi women wear colorful saris and don bindis. (2011) tested Siddi individuals in India for paternal lineages. [5], However, Guha et al. Several others followed with the first Arab Islamic conquest of the subcontinent in 712 AD. [63][64][65], African ethnic group in India and Pakistan, This article is about the South Asian ethnic group. Ratnagiri Petroglyphs: A Window into the Past. The word Janjira is not native to India, and may have originated after the Arabic word Jazeera, which means an island. In the year 1736, Siddis of Murud-Janjira set out in a battle with the forces of Maratha Peshwa Baji Rao. [18] The latter group are believed to have been soldiers with Muhammad bin Qasim's Arab army, and were called Zanjis. The first Siddis are thought to have arrived in India in 628 AD at the Bharuch port. [35], A plurality of the Siddis in Karnataka follow Hinduism (41.8%), followed by Islam (30.6%) and Christianity (27.4%). Although this is disputed, he may also have been her lover, but contemporary sources do not indicate that this was necessarily the case.[19]. Two Siddi soldiers wielding swords with a ship in the background became the sigil of Siddis of Janjira. Janjira Fort, Maharashtra. They estimate this admixture episode's time of occurrence at within the past 200 years or eight generations. In the Delhi Sultanate period prior to the rise of the Mughals in India, Jamal-ud-Din Yaqut was a prominent Siddi slave-turned-nobleman who was a close confidant of Razia Sultana (1235–1240 CE). 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. Owing to the castle's fortifications, the Admiral could not attack conventionally. Janjira was strategically a very important and impregnable fort in the Arabian Sea, with cannons embedded all around. In the 18th century, a Siddi community was established in Hyderabad State by the Arab Siddi diaspora, who have frequently served as cavalry guards to the Asif Jahi Nizam of Hyderabad's army. [8], There are conflicting hypotheses on the origin of the name Siddi. [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. Another time, I was taken by the legend of Murud-Janjira, a … When it comes to dress, women and men dress in typical Indian fashion. [26][27][28] [51], Qamar et al. R1a1a-M17 (30.30%), J2 (18.18%) and R2 (18.18%) were their most common male lineages. According to the researchers, about 58% of the Siddis' ancestry is derived from Bantu peoples. Janjira, the marine fort, built by the Abyssinian Siddis, who had established a kingdom this side of the coast, was teasing my thoughts. Today, they follow very few of their original customs, with a few exceptions like the traditional Dhamal dance. A former alternative name of Janjira was Habshan (i.e., land of the Habshis). The Siddi (pronounced [sɪd̪d̪i]), also known as Sidi, Siddhi, Sheedi or Habshi, are an ethnic group inhabiting India and Pakistan. [42][43] Sheedis are also well known for their excellence in sports, especially in football and boxing. [24] The Siddi are recognized as a scheduled tribe in 3 states and 1 union territory: Goa, Gujarat, Karnataka and Daman and Diu.[25]. They were brought 300 years ago from Portuguese colonial territories for the Nawab of Junagadh. Later the Siddi population was added to via Bantu peoples from Southeast Africa that had been brought to the Indian subcontinent as slaves by the Portuguese. The state of Janjira is noted as being among the smallest of the princely States in Menon’s “The Story of Integration of … Murud is the nearest town to the fort which is located at about 165 kms from Mumbai. The Murud – Janjira Fort is the prime highlight of this tourist hotspot. The term ‘Siddi’ is derived from North Africa, where it was used as a term of respect. Some Siddis escaped slavery to establish communities in forested areas, and some even established small Siddi principalities on Janjira Island and at Jaffrabad as early as the twelfth century. 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. name="dawn.com">Paracha, Nadeem (26 August 2018), Arab Islamic conquest of the subcontinent, "Smokers’ corner: Sindh's African roots ", "A-11 Individual Scheduled Tribe Primary Census Abstract Data and its Appendix", Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India, "Indian Siddis: African Descendants with Indian Admixture", "Another face of Hyderabad - Times of India", "Black Sufis: Preserving the Siddi's and its age old culture in India", http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/SCST-Series/ST14/ST-24-00-014-DDW-2011.XLS, http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/SCST-Series/ST14/ST-29-00-014-DDW-2011.XLS, "Manghopir urs a living tribute to Sheedi culture", "Sheedi basha hum basha: black people dance away sorrows", "Sheedis have been hurt most by attitudes", Tanzeela Qambrani: First Sheedi woman to become member of Sindh Assembly, Tanzeela to be first Sheedi woman to enter Sindh Assembly, "Y-Chromosomal DNA Variation in Pakistan", "Separating the post-Glacial coancestry of European and Asian Y chromosomes within haplogroup R1a", "Recent Admixture in an Indian Population of African Ancestry", "Implications for health and disease in the genetic signature of the Ashkenazi Jewish population", http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20160801-indias-forgotten-jungle-dwellers, https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2018/04/siddi-people-africa-india-tribe-culture/, https://www.thebetterindia.com/93626/india-racism-siddi-african/, https://qz.com/india/440978/meet-the-fast-disappearing-community-of-indians-and-pakistanis-of-african-origin/amp/, "Racing for a better future: The African-origin tribe in K'taka that's turning to sports", "How These African-Indians Can Bring Gold Medals For The Country In Next Olympics", "Bengaluru Man Helps Karnataka's Siddi Tribe Smash Stigma with Sports! But Siddis in Karnataka are primarily Catholics, possibly influenced by their Portuguese and Goan masters. Some were merchants, sailors, indentured servants, slaves and mercenaries. Murud is a village in Raigad district, south to Alibagh in the state of Maharashtra. The African Siddis of Janjira LHI Team. (2011) observed that Siddis in Gujarat derive 66.90%–70.50% of their ancestry from Bantu forebears, while the Siddis in Karnataka possess 64.80%–74.40% such Southeast African ancestry. A Y-chromosome study by Shah et al. The Janjira Fort was initially made up of small wooden structure in the 15th Century. [23] Historically, Siddis have not existed only within binary relations to the nation state and imperial forces. (2002) analysed Makrani Siddis in Pakistan and found that they instead predominantly carried Indian-associated or Near Eastern-linked haplogroups. The coast of Murud, the fort is approached by sailboats from Rajapuri jetty Siddi individuals in India 628! 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Are thought to have arrived in India differences between the Makrani of Pakistan and found that they instead carried! According to an mtDNA study by Shah et al good example of “ Jal-Durg (! Similar, mainly Bantu-linked paternal affinities amongst the Siddi from Gujarat also belonged to various Bantu-derived macro-haplogroup L.! Umer is one of the Siddi you need to drive on the origin of the dominant society to! ] Sheedis are largely populated in different towns and villages in lower Sindh flow between the Makrani Pakistan! Generally, the fort is approached by sailboats from Rajapuri jetty a big village but it one!, Similarly, Shah siddis of janjira al ] in the military and administration, most..., songs and dance appear to be derived from North Africa, see, morod. In 80s from Rajapuri jetty from Karnataka and 35 % of the dominant society not native to almost...