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ABSTRACT
The Siddi community came to India mostly as slaves and sailors. In the Princely State of Hyderabad, Siddis were closely linked to the ruling elites of the Asaf Jahi dynasty (1724–1948) as soldiers, guards, riders and stable keepers. They worked in Nizam’s army, police forces and formed the Nizam’s Royal Body Guards, the Siddi Risala, which was exclusively made of people from African descent. As pre-colonial slavery in the Indian Ocean was not race specific, this article argues that in contemporary popular understanding, the stereotypes assigned to Siddis and their self-realization of a black African identity are deeply embedded in a global matrix of knowledge production. For example, Siddis are seen as an exotic presence who are ‘discovered’ every time someone publishes on them. Based on my fieldwork among Siddis in Hyderabad and Gujarat, this article elaborates on the idea of how race is constructed in a non-western location. The meanings immanent in race as a category do not preclude understandings borrowed from western discourse. I further argue that there is no authentic Siddi identity and the history that Siddis have come to internalize cannot be understood without locating it in the matrices of knowledge production.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.
Notes
1. A popular Hyderabadi Riddle describing a Custard Apple. It translates as:
“A green mosque, with white rooms
Sitting in those rooms are black mystics.”
2. Alcoff, “Philosophy and Racial Identity,” 13–16.
3. See Michell and Johar, “The Maratha Complex at Ellora,” 70.
4. See Eaton, New Cambridge History of India, 105–28.
5. Alpers, East African Slave Trade, 3–26; Chauhan, Africans in India, 222–3; Oka and Kusimba, “Siddi as Mercenary,” 233; and also see Sadiq Ali, The African Dispersal, 157–192.
6. See Harris, African Presence in Asia, 3–26.
7. See Adi, Black British History, 1–32; and Kaufmann, Black Tudor, 10–19.
8. Bernasconi, “Introduction,” 1–7; and David, “Negroes,” 8–18.
9. Niro, Race, 56–8.
10. Klarer, Piracy and Captivity in the Mediterranean, Chapter 2.
11. Eze, “The Color of Reason,” 119. A 1684 essay attributed to Bernier, titled ‘A new division of the earth, according to the different species or races of men who inhabit it’, indicated that species and races were seen as similar categories.
12. Eze, “The Color of Reason,” 109–31. Kant lectured extensively on Anthropology and Physical Geography, which he treated as twin sciences. As the human was treated as both a physical and a moral agent, Kant studied race, racial classifications, skin colour, phenotypes etc. under Physical Geography, where, different races are also conceived as manifesting biological origins and distinct classes, geographically distributed. Taking skin colour as evidence of a ‘racial’ class, Kant classified humans into: white (European, yellow (Asian), black (African) and red (American Indian). Similar to Rousseau, Kant clearly differentiates between ‘state of nature’ and ‘state of human nature’, where the latter signified what humanity has attained. The ‘state of human nature’ for Kant offers ‘radical autonomy’ to the human society, which forms the ‘essence of humanity’, that is, this autonomy should be understood as individual freedom offering the possibility of self-improvement. In Kant’s exposition non-European people lacked the moral character for self-development, such that, they lack character presumably because they lack adequate self-consciousness and rational will, for it is self-reflexivity (the ‘ego-concept’) and the rational principled will which make the upbuilding of (moral) character possible through the (educational) process of development of goodness latent in/as human nature.
13. Vernet, “Slave Trade and Slavery,” 37–76.
14. Machado, “A Forgotten Corner of the Indian Ocean,” 19–26.
15. Ibid.; also see, Pinto, “The African Native in lndiaspora,” 383–5.
16. Freitag and Von Oppen, “‘Translocality’: An Approach,” 1–21.
17. Singh, “African Indians in Bollywood,” 280–1.
18. See Campbell, “Slave Trade,” 19; El Edroos and Naik, Hyderabad of Seven Loaves, 13–31; and Harris, The African Presence in Asia, 114.
19. Khalidi, “The Hadhrami Role,” 67–81; Khalidi, Muslims in the Deccan, 61–76; Khalidi, “The Arabs of Hadramawt,” 52–75; and Sadiq Ali, The African Dispersal, 193–201. The history of Deccan sultanates in many ways can be defined as the history of resistance to Mughal imperial expansion down into the Deccan: that is, the instability caused by both internal power politics and external contingencies and interferences. The conquest of Deccan started with Mughal emperor Akbar and continued with Jahangir, Shahjahan who defeated and integrated the Ahmednagar (Nizamshahi) in 1636 and Aurangzeb who consolidated Deccan into the Mughal Empire with the eventual defeat of Bijapur (Ahmadshahi) in 1686 and Golconda (Qutubshahi) in 1687. Surrendered soldiers and mercenaries, which included many Hadramis and Siddis, from these kingdoms were absorbed into the Mughal armies as they advanced into the Deccan. The Mughal Emperors administratively and militarily controlled the Deccan through their viceroy, who resided in the city of Aurangabad. Qamar ud-Din Khan had served as a viceroy for the Mughals in the Deccan and had successfully defended the Mughal Empire against the rising Maratha power, earning him the title Nizam ul-Mulk, which means ‘administrator of the country’. In 1724, he was bestowed with the title Asaf Jah or ‘an Asaph in dignity’, where Asaph was the name of the prime minister of King Solomon. Nizam ul-Mulk established his own dynasty as a weakened Mughal Empire started disintegrating. Thus, most of Deccan came to be divided between Nizam ul-Mulk and the Marathas. In 1763 the then Nizam Salabat Jang relocated the Capital of the Asaf Jahi dominions to the city of Hyderabad, the seat of power of the Golconda kingdom and the Qutabshahi dynasty, which over time became synonymous with the Asaf Jahi Dominions.
20. Khalidi, Muslims in the Deccan, 77–100.
21. Yimene, “Identity Formation and Fracture,” 127–45.
22. See note 19 above.
23. Manger, The Hadrami Diaspora, 42–64.
24. For example, Daniel Van Der Meulen and Dr. Hermann Von Wissmann in their 1932 historic memoir of travel through Hadramawth as Dutch colonial officials mention the presence of Africans numerous times:
We saw in Makalla negro soldiers and Arab soldiers from the Yafi’ tribe in the hinterland of Aden. The negroes are slaves. Their numbers are decreasing in modern times of anti-slavery action. The Kathiri sultans have slave soldiers too, but we saw only a few in their territory (Meulen and Wissmann, Hadramaut, 19).
When we could not succeed in inducing our thoroughly satiated Bedouins to move, we went ahead with our negro soldiers” (Ibid, 28)
Even among the very rich and the Sultans, the big earthenware cups are passed from guest to guest. One sees the soldiers and slaves drink out of them too” (Ibid, 44).
In order to give pleasure to the family we take some more photographs of grown-ups and children. The household slaves and their jet-black children are with us in the madjlis; they serve round coffee and tea and many sweets, and talk with us, but nevertheless remain modestly in the background. One can see from the many negro types in the streets and plantation that there are great many slaves in Wadi Do’an. They are employed to work on land or as domestic servants (Ibid, 69).
25. Khalidi, “The Hadhrami Role,” 80–1; and Manger, The Hadrami Diaspora, 55. After the annexation of the Hyderabad State in 1948 Nizam’s forces were disbanded and government departments were dissolved leaving many unemployed and unemployable.
26. For more details on the evolution of AIMIM in the context of Hyderabad politics, see Moid, “Muslim Perceptions and Responses,” 233; and Rao and Thaha, “Muslims of Hyderabad,” 193.
28. Carrington and Mcdonald, “Introduction: ‘Race’, Sport and British Society,” 1–27; and Fleming, “Racial Science and South Asia,” 106.
29. Campbell, “The Afro-Asian Diaspora,” 41.
30. Huggan, The Postcolonial Exotic, 13–17.
31. Meiers, “Per/forming African Identity,” 91–3; and Shroff, “Sidis and Parsis,” 159–77.
32. Catlin-Jairazbhoy, “A Sidi CD?” 178.
33. See, headlines linking Siddis in Karnataka to President Obama’s swearing in and subsequent visit to India:
‘Sweet Gift for Obama from Karnataka’s Siddis,’ The New Indian Express, 13 January 2009, http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/karnataka/article22666.ece. Accessed 8/5/2015.
‘Siddis Elated at Swearing-in,’ The New Indian Express, 21 January 2009, http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/karnataka/article27943.ece. Accessed 8/5/2015.
‘Siddis to Fete Obamas One Year in Office,’ The New Indian Express, 29 November 2009, http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/karnataka/article161772.ece. Accessed 8/5/2015.
‘Uttara Kannada’s Siddis Want to Meet Their Hero Obama,’ The New Indian Express, 9 December 2014, http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/karnataka/Uttara-Kannada’s-Siddis-Want-to-Meet-Their-Hero-Obama/2014/12/09/article2562501.ece. Accessed 8/5/2015.
‘Siddis celebrate as Obama formally becomes US President,’ The Times of India, 21 January 2013, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Siddis-celebrate-as-Obama-formally-becomes-US-President/articleshow/18109085.cms. Accessed 8/5/2015.
‘Letdown for Barack “kin” – Karnataka tribe’s request for meeting turned down,’ The Telegraph, 13 January 2009, http://www.telegraphindia.com/1150124/jsp/nation/story_9989.jsp. Accessed 8/5/2015.
34. Meier, “Per/forming African Identity,” 89.
35. Documented during ‘Siddi Sufi Jikri Documentation and Translation Workshop’ in Ahmadabad in April, 2015. Example,
Aye ho dariya Jhang Ke
Mare Vasila Banke
Mere sangh yuhin rehna
Mari Vasila Banke…
Rhyme and music was based on the popular Bollywood song Aaye ho meri zindagi mein from the film Raja Hindustani (1996). Wasim Bhai – on the Musinda drum – made up an on the spot adaptation of the Bollywood song Tu Cheez Badi Hai Mast Mast from the film Mohra (1994) to prove this point.
36. Some Jikrs have references to places also, for example: ‘Allah yallah Zanjira, Zanjira, allah yallah Boghdadi Zanjira,’ or ‘Bolo Ratani ke Mombasa Bolo Haji ke Mombasa.’ For more, see Catlin-Jairazbhoy, “A Sidi CD?” 194.
37. Bilal was Prophet Mohammed’s contemporary and first muezzin in Islamic History. He hailed from Ethiopia, however, in Gujarati Siddi oral traditions he is said to be a Makua as many Siddis in Gujarat are of Makua descent. Makua are a tribe found in north Mozambique and were forced into slavery for centuries by the Portuguese, the Arabs, the Swahilis and other warring tribes. However, there is an alternative mythology around Bilal which claims that he was Ethiopian/Habshi or Nubian/Nobi. Bilal features in the Salvat, as well as jikrs.
In the Salvat for example,
Medine mein he Bilal ho ya le, ho Bilal
Hazrat ke pyare vo ho ya le, ho Bilal
An example of a jikr is: ‘Medina mein ya Bilal sidi Medina ala tera’.
38. There are over 25 Siddi Jamaats in Gujarat today and over 152 Bava Gor Chillas or Memorial Shrines in the region.
39. Documented during ‘Siddi Sufi Jikri Documentation and Translation Workshop’ in Ahmadabad in April, 2015. Certain words that were identified, for example, in Swahili Matoto means a ‘Child’ (both Male and Female), however, the Gujarati Siddis have indigenized the word such that Matoto means a ‘Male Child’, Matoti means a ‘female child’ and Matota is the collective plural. Another word was Ugali which means ‘porridge’ in East Africa and ‘cooked rice’ in Gujarati or Morungo which means God or specifically, the Great Soul in Swahili. Further, the phrase ho yale is used in many jikrs which could be an incantation used in the East African Coast by workers while at work. Some words which could not be identified were dom, musale, Kabyta etc.
40. Meier, “Per/forming African Identity,” 87.
41. See select headlines like: ‘Africa’s lost tribe, the Siddis face poverty in India,’ The Economic Times, 5 March 2008, http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2008-03-05/news/27702866_1_siddis-slaves-jambur. Accessed 8/5/2015; ‘African by origin, Indian by nationality and Gujarati by speech,’ The Hindu, 2 November 2011, http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/variety/african-by-origin-indian-by-nationality-and-gujarati-by-speech/article2591916.ece. Accessed 8/5/2015; Seervai, ‘Uncovering India’s Siddi Community,’ http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2013/03/24/uncovering-indias-siddi-community/. Accessed 8/5/2015; ‘Siddis: Little known Indians of East African descent (Feature, with images),’ Business Standard, 20 September 2013, http://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ians/siddis-little-known-indians-of-east-african-descent-feature-with-images-113092000141_1.html.Accessed 12/5/2016.
42. Media coverage of 2015 Workshop tended to focus on the appearance of Gujarat Siddis, and by extension on their dances – Dhammal and Goma performances. For example, the print version of the Times of India news story titled ‘75,000 Africans assimilate completely into Gujarati culture’ on this workshop, instead of carrying photos of the group that was helping in documenting the Jikris, carried an inaccurate photo from some other time/event of Siddis with white painted faces in peacock feathers and blue animal skin print outfits.
43. Gilroy, The Black Atlantic, 1–40.
44. Zeleza, “African Diasporas,” 1–19.
45. Obeng, “African Indian Cultural Articulation,” 116.
46. See Basu, “Ritual Communication,” 233–53; Basu, “Redefining Boundaries,” 62–85; and Catlin-Jairazbhoy and Alpers, Sidis and Scholars.
47. In Gujarat, Siddis of Saurashtra have been given the Schedule Tribe status, whereas, the rest fall under Other Backward Classes (OBC) category. Siddis from Amreli, Bhavnagar, Jamnagar, Junagadh, Rajkot and Surendranagar in Gujarat, Siddis from Daman and Dui, Siddis of Goa and Siddis of Uttar Kannada District have been listed under the Schedule Tribes (ST) category by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of India. The National Commission lists Gujarat Siddis who are not under Schedule Tribe (ST) category as Other Backward Classes (OBC) category, Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, Government of India. Further, the Tribal Research and Training Institute, Tribal Development Department, Government of Gujarat, does not list Gujarat Siddis under the Schedule Tribe (ST) category but under Primitive Tribal Group (PTG) category.
48. See articles in Natrajan and Paul Greenough, Against Caste; and Warner, “American Caste and Class,” 234–7.
49. The United Nations-sponsored World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance at Durban in 2001.
50. De Reuck and Knight, Caste and Race.
51. Berreman, “Stratification, Pluralism, and Inter-Action,” 45–73.
52. Gujarat Siddis have been petitioning the government authorities and enabling a discourse to support their demands through researchers/academicians, social activists and media to get state-wide ST Status for all Siddis with Gujarat domicile.
53. Based on fieldwork conducted in 2014–15. Also, there is a Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) office next to the Siddi neighbourhood of A C Guards, none of the workers at that party office engage with the Siddis for mobilization as most Siddis are AIMIM voters.
54. Catlin-Jairazbhoy, “A Sidi CD?” 178–211.
55. See note 30 above.
56. Steene, “‘Hindu’ Dance Groups,” 138.