#sheedi

The Sidi Project - Luke Duggleby

Few need introducing to the Western movement of slaves from Africa across the Atlantic Ocean. Much has been documented and studied of about this horrific piece of history. But this wasn’t the only slave route that existed; a far older eastern movement of slaves was forcibly taking people to the opposite side of the world. Between the first and 20th century, beginning with Arabs and the Ottomans, and later continued by the Portuguese, the Dutch, French and the British, an estimated 4 million African’s were taken from their homes, mostly in East Africa, and across the Indian Ocean.

During this time there was also a voluntary migration of African’s as travelers and traders to countries around the peripheries of the Indian Ocean and further east. India and Pakistan were major destinations for African slaves who were favoured by the warring Maharajah’s, admiring their physical strength and loyalty, and who, continuously feuding with each other, needed protection. As well as soldiers or bodyguards African’s worked for the wealthy or colonial powers of the time as domestic slaves, concubines, agricultural workers, wet nurses. With the abolition of the slavery, came the end of this horrific mass forced movement of people around the mid-nineteenth century.

At the time of abolition slaves were freed by their owners, or they had already earned their own freedom, but were unable to return to their homeland. So they stayed and formed their own communities, becoming part of South Asia’s complex cobweb of cultures. Whilst many aspects of their African ancestry have disappeared as they have become assimilated in to their host countries society, some remain. Many retain their African appearance and all have a passion for music and dance, which retains a truly African style and rhythm.

Generally known throughout South Asia as Habshis, a word that derives from the Arabic word Habish, on a more local level they are known as Sheedi in Pakistan, Sidi in India and Kaffir (with no racist connotations) in Sri Lanka. Numbers vary depending on whom you ask and the lack of a recent and accurate census in either countries, has only led to the inaccurate estimates. But generally it is accepted that Pakistan has the largest population upwards of 50,000, followed by India with a loosely estimated population of around 25,000. Sri Lanka has one of the smallest with as little of a thousand remaining. Yet what is fascinating in India about the history of Africans on the sub-continent, is the position of power that some were able to attain becoming powerful rulers in their own right. 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. Descendants of these dynasty’s still survive today.

There! I said in the past that i should totally make a personification for Hunza Valley, so here he is!! He represents the northern-most region of Pakistan (province gilgit Baltistan) Hunzai people are also called Burusho people, and their origins are a much debated topic. I can’t give a clear answer to which group they belong to, therefore i’ll associate them as they are, i.e Burusho group. They follow different sects of Islam and inhabit the Northern-most region of Pakistan. Burushos as a people group are also found in neighboring regions of Chitral and Kohistan (both of KPK). The Valley is naturally very beautiful and the crime rate is near zero!  The people of that region are very healthy as they consume domestic grown organic food and have high life expectancies. (Though this also means less infrastructural development, as that region is hard to travel to due to the slippery snow and mountains but Hunza Valley is also a popular tourist spot.)

Hunza’s character is rather mischievous and that of fun-going. He likes messing around with other districts and has a easy going attitude.

Now that Hunza is in the Picture, we can fully grasp the two extremes of Pakistani ethnicity-groups >:D

:D

(Sheedi) The black community in Pakistan

“What It Means to Be Black and South Asian” by Iman Sultan https://link.medium.com/pq1gxp8zJab

Pakistan just appointed its first-ever Sheedi, female MPA

Tanzeela Qambrani is only 39 years old and a mother of three and she just occupied a women’s reserved seat in the regional parliament of southern Sindh Province. Qambrani is a part of the Black minority of Pakistan whose nomination by PPP, now chaired by Bilawal Zardari Bhutto, comes as a huge victory in our journey towards a more progressive and inclusive governing body.

In her speech, she…