Siddhi Dhamaal - Gujarats African Connection Meet the Siddhi’s, an African tribe in the rural interiors of Gujarat. An introductory Gujarati salutation of ”Kem cho bhai” to the Siddhis garners a casual reply “Majaa ma” in fluent Gujarati so much so that one is baffled by the exact pronunciation and tonality of the reply. How does an African speak such fluent Gujarati that the listeners are left bewildered at the sight? The Siddhi’s , popularly known as the Siddhi Badshahs have made Gujarat their home for hundreds of years. They are thought to have arrived in India in 628 AD from North-East and East Africa, long before the first slave ships started supplying labour to the cotton plantations of the American south. Many of them were soldiers in Muhammad Bin Qasim’s Arab army, but a large influx happened only during the 17th century, when the Portuguese slave traders sold large number of slaves to local princes. Gujarat has two completely Siddhi populated villages, Shivran inside the Gir forest region, and Jambur in the nearby Talala taluka, the rest of the Siddhis are known to have spread throughout the district of Junagadh and Bharuch. Physically imposing and gifted with the potential of becoming excellent athletes, the Siddhis represent the variety of Africa. One can spot the relatively light skinned Sudanic race, while a rare representative of the Khoisan race is also visible in the Siddhi villages. “History? All I know is that my ancestors are from Africa, and if you want details, I can tell you about my father and my grandfather, anything beyond that is a mystery to me” answered Wasim, a Siddhi from Shivran, when asked about his and people’s past. Lack of written traditions over the centuries has made it difficult for the Siddhi’s to stay true to their roots. At present, the Siddhis are like the average Gujarati, excluding the appearance. Most of the Siddhis are either labourers or involved in small business, however the one thing that makes them truly stand out is their reaction to a percussion instrument’s beats. Energetic, acrobatic and powerful are some of the words that can be used to describe their famous dance, Dhamal. For the Siddhi’s of Gujarat it’s their only “old” way of celebration and socialising. The need for an occasion to dance does not exist for the Siddhis, just the rhythm of the regular Dhol is enough. “Even a women carrying firewood, will drop the bundle and start dancing at the sound of the rhythm. The beat is irresistible to us,” chuckled Iqbal, Jambur’s village elder. A participatory dance, true to its African origin, has no spectator –performer divide in its original form. In a nearby all Siddhi Ashramshala, 13 year old Muhammad started playing his ‘Dhol’ and all of a sudden all his friends started dancing. Those who were chatting stopped their conversations, those who were playing, left their games midway and started dancing. Vivid expressions and timing is key to the dance. The rhythm builds up in volume and tempo as the dance progresses. The moves are simple in the beginning, bent knees and elbows thrown sideways in tandem with the rhythm, but as the tempo increases so does the difficulty of the moves and the energy displayed. An uninhibited display of energy and grace, the children look almost in a trance, nor caring, nor paying attention to non-siddhi observers who have gathered around. The young dancers would have danced until sundown had not the bell rang announcing the end of the break. “You tell me how long you want us to dance, you want us to dance the whole night, even that won’t be a problem” said Iqbal with a big grin. Iqbal is a village elder and also the leader of one of Jambur’s leading Dhamal troupe. “Earlier, Dhamal was our way of celebrating our life and reason for gathering, but recently we realised that it is a gift that we can share with our non-siddhi neigbhours too” he added. So what started as modest performances outside their villages, soon snowballed into a major point of attraction. They were invited to Sasan Gir, the administrative town inside the Gir national park, where they performed in front of dignitaries. Dhamal became a national sensation overnight post the ‘Khusbhoo Gujarat ki ad’ campaign. A participatory community dance soon became an international sensation, with Dhamal performers being invited to the U.K, U.S and East Africa. Overtime Dhamal dancers have tried to improvise and polish their dance moves. Some of the recent additions have been the face paints and the very popular stunt of breaking coconuts with their head. Dhamal’s as an art is evolving, thanks to its continuous exposure, but Dhamal has a ceremony of celebration within the community has not died away either. Till now Dhamal was treated as a product of their instinct to dance and move along with rhythm. The Siddhis had no means to tangibly connecting it with their origin from Africa, but with growing exposure they have come to understand how destiny has shaped this unique community. “We were supposed to be from Africa, but trust me I’m 100% Gujarati” said Iqbal, a Dhamal troupe member with a big and wholesome grin. (The article was originally published in the March, 2013 issue The Gujarat Quarterly) thegujaratblog.net/2013/07/siddhi-dhamaal-gujarats-african.html
Posted on: Fri, 27 Jun 2014 15:14:08 +0000
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