Coordinates	58°00′″N56°19′″N
Group	Siddis(सिद्दी شیدی સિદ્દી ಸಿದ್ಧಿಗಳು)
Population	20,000 – 55,000 (estimated)
Popplace	Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka states of India, Sindh and Balochistan provinces of Pakistan and southern coastal Iran (where they are considered Arabs).
Languages	Gujarati, Marathi, Kannada, Konkani, Sindhi, Makrani dialect of Balochi
Religions	Mainly Sufi Sunni Islam, with Hindu and Catholic Christian minorities }}

The Siddi, Siddhi, or Sheedi (}}; Hindi: सिद्दी or शीदि; Gujarati: સિદ્દી; Kannada: ಸಿದ್ಧಿಗಳು), also known as Habshi, are an Indian and Pakistani ethnic group of Afro-Arab and/or Black African descent. The Siddi population is currently estimated to be 20,000–55,000, with Gujarat in India the main population centre. Siddis are mainly Sufi Muslims, although some are Hindus and some Roman Catholic Christians. Villages in the forests of northern Karnataka, for instance, have residents who likely are descended from Mozambican/Angolan slaves who escaped from Portuguese traders and ships.

Etymology of name

There are conflicting hypotheses on the origin of the name ''Siddi''. One theory is that the word was a term of respect in North Africa, similar to the word ''sahib'' in modern India and Pakistan. 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''.

Similarly, another term for Siddis, ''habshi'' (from ''Al-Habsh'', the Arabic term for Abyssinia), is held to be derived from the common name for the captains of the Ethiopian/Abyssinian ships that also first delivered Siddi slaves to the subcontinent. The term eventually came to be applied to other Africans and not only to emancipated Siddis. In time, it came to be used to refer to their descendants as well. It is sometimes pronounced "Hafsi" and is considered an insult.

Siddis are also sometimes referred to as Afro-Indians. 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).

History

The first Siddis are thought to have arrived in the Indian subcontinent in 628 CE at the Bharuch port. Several others followed with the first Arab Islamic invasions of the subcontinent in 712 AD. The latter group are believed to have been soldiers with Muhammad bin Qasim's Arab army, and were called ''Zanjis''.

Most Siddis, however, are believed to be the descendants of slaves, sailors, servants and merchants from East Africa who arrived and became resident in the subcontinent during the 1200-1900 CE period. A large influx of Siddis to the region occurred in the 17th century when Portuguese slave traders sold a number of them to local princes.

In Western India (the modern Indian states of Gujarat and Maharashtra), the Siddi gained a reputation for physical strength and loyalty, and were sought out as mercenaries by local rulers, and as domestic servants and farm labor. 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. A former alternative name of Janjira was Habshan (i.e., land of the Habshis). 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 (1205–1240 CE). Although this is disputed, he may also have been her lover.

As a power centre, Siddis were sometimes allied with the Mughal Empire in its power-struggle with the Maratha Confederacy. However, Malik Ambar, a prominent Siddi figure in Indian history at large, is sometimes regarded as the "military guru of the Marathas", and was deeply allied with them. He established the town of Khirki which later became the modern city of Aurangabad, and helped establish the Marathas as a major force in the Deccan. Later, the Marathas adapted Siddi guerrilla warfare tactics to grow their power and ultimately demolish the Mughal empire. Some accounts describe the Mughal emperor Jahangir as obsessed by Ambar due to the Mughal empire's consistent failures in crushing him and his Maratha cavalry, describing him derogatorily as "the black faced" and "the ill-starred" in the royal chronicles and even having a painting commissioned that showed Jahangir killing Ambar, a fantasy which was never realised in reality.

Some Indian Siddis are descended from Tanzanians and Mozambicans brought by the Portuguese. While most African slaves became Muslim and a small minority became Christian, very few became Hindu since they could not find themselves a position in the traditional Hindu caste hierarchy.

Siddis of India

Siddis of Gujarat

Supposedly presented as slaves by the Portuguese to the local Prince, Nawab of Junagadh, the Siddis also live around Gir Forest National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary, the last refuge in the world of the almost extinct Asiatic Lions, in Junagadh a district of the state of Gujarat, India.

On the way to Deva-dungar is the quaint village of Sirvan, inhabited entirely by Siddis, a tribe of African people. They were brought 300 years ago from Africa, by the Portuguese for the Nawab of Junagadh. Today, they follow very few of their original customs, with a few exceptions like the traditional Dhamal dance.

Although Gujarati Siddis have adopted the language and many customs of their surrounding populations, some African traditions have been preserved. These include the ''Goma'' music and dance form, which is sometimes called ''Dhamaal'' (Gujarati: ધમાલ, fun). The term is believed to be derived from the Ngoma drumming and dance forms of Bantu East Africa. The Goma also has a spiritual significance and, at the climax of the dance, some dancers are believed to be vehicles for the presence of Siddi saints of the past.

Siddis of Karnataka

The Siddis of Karnataka () (also spelled Siddhis) are a tribe of African descent that has made Karnataka their home for the last 400 years. There is a 50,000 strong Siddhi population across India, of which more than a third live in Karnataka. In Karnataka, they are concentrated around Yellapur, Haliyal, Ankola, Joida, Mundagod and Sirsi taluks of Uttara Kannada and in Khanapur of Belgaum and Kalagatgi of Dharwad district. Their language is a mixture of Konkani and Marathi, but they also speak Kannada. Many members of the Siddis community of Karnataka had migrated to Pakistan after independence and have settled in Karachi, Sindh. The majority of the Siddhis in Karnataka are descendants of Siddhi slaves who were brought from East Africa (mostly Mozambique) and Ethiopia to Goa by the Portuguese, British and the Arabs between the 16th and 19th centuries. During the Goan Inquisition, some of these slaves were freed and some escaped into the forests of the neighbouring Karnataka state. It has been reported that these Siddis believe that Barack Obama shares their genepool and that they wanted to gift a bottle of honey to him on his visit to India in 2010.

Sheedis of Pakistan

In Pakistan, locals of Black African descent are called "Makrani", "Sheedi" or "Habshi". They live primarily along the Makran Coast in Balochistan (see also Makrani), and lower Sindh. In the city of Karachi, the main Sheedi centre is the area of Lyari and other nearby coastal areas. Technically, the Sheedi are a brotherhood or community distinct from the other Afro-Pakistanis. The Sheedis are divided into four clans, or houses: Kharadar Makan, Hyderabad Makan, Lassi Makan and Belaro Makan. 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. Some glimpses of the rituals at Sidi/Sheedi Festival 2010 include visit to sacred alligators at Mangho pir, playing music and dance. Clearly, the instrument, songs and dance appear to be derived from Africa.

Linguistically, Makranis are Balochi and Sindhi and speak a dialect of Urdu referred to as Makrani. In Sindh, the Sheedis have traditionally intermarried only with lower caste Muslims such as the Mallahs (fisherpeople), Khaskeli (laborers), Katri (dyeing caste) and Kori (clothmakers). This accounts for the existence of non-African features such as the straight nose and lighter skin among some Sheedis. In Makran, many have intermarried with the Baloch.

Famous Sheedis include the historic Sindhi army leader Hoshu Sheedi and Urdu poet Noon Meem Danish. Sheedis are also well known for their excellence in sports, especially in football and boxing. The musical anthem of the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party, "Bija Teer", is a Balochi song in the musical style of the Sheedis with Black African style rhythm and drums. Younis Jani is a popular Sheedi singer famous for singing an Urdu version of the reggaeton song "Papi chulo... (te traigo el mmmm...)."

Most Makranis in Pakistan have Black Africans links from the female side. Many Sindhi feudals imported African female slaves; so did the Omani Arabs of Gwadar, an coastal city of Balochistan which was in control of Oman in the 17th century. According to Dr. Sengupta's seminal study, the Y-DNA analysis reveals E3a at a frequency distribution of 5%. On the other hand, mtDNA analysis reveals approx 40% L1a, L2a, L2b, L2d.

Famous Siddis or Sheedis

Jamal-ud-Din Yaqut, confidante of Razia Sultana

Yakut Khan, naval admiral

Malik Ambar, prime minister of Ahmadnagar Sultanate

Hoshu Sheedi, Sindhi commander

Noon Meem Danish, Urdu poet

Nawab of Janjira

Juje Siddi, former Indian national football team and Salgaocar SC goalkeeper

Films

''From Africa...To Indian Subcontinent: Sidi Music in the Indian Ocean Diaspora'' (2003) by Amy Catlin-Jairazbhoy, in close collaboration with Nazir Ali Jairazbhoy and the Sidi community.

''Mon petit diable (My Little Devil)'' (1999) was directed by Gopi Desai. Om Puri, Pooja Batra, Rushabh Patni, Satyajit Sharma.

''Razia Sultan'' (1983), an Indian Urdu film directed by Kamal Amrohi, is based on the life of Razia Sultan (played by Hema Malini) (1205–1240), the only female Sultan of Delhi (1236–1240), and her speculated love affair with the Abyssinian slave Jamal-ud-Din Yakut (played by Dharmendra). He was referred to in the movie as a habshee.

See also

African Pakistani

Afro Asians (African Asians)

Chaush

List of Scheduled Tribes in India

Lyari

Makrani

Malunga

Manghopir Urs

Murud-Janjira

Noon Meem Danish

Pir Mangho Urs

Pir Mangho

Sheedi

Sheedi Mela

Sri Lanka Kaffirs

Siddis of Karnataka

Zanj

References

External links

Alice Albinia, Empires of the Indus, W. W. Norton & Company, 2010, 52–78.

Shanti Sadiq Ali, The African Dispersal in the Deccan: From Medieval to Modern Times, Orient Blackswan, 1996

Ababu Minda Yimene, An African Indian Community in Hyderabad: Siddi Identity, Its Maintenance and Change, Cuvillier Verlag, 2004, pg 201

Omar H. Ali, The African Diaspora in India, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, The New York Public Library

Bantu origins of the Sidis of India; By Abdulaziz Y. Lodhi (2008-10-29) in PAMBAZUKA NEWS

Indians of African Origin

Black, Indian, & Hindu

Habshis and Siddis – Africans and African descendants in South Asia

The Global African Community/Great Habshis in Ethiopian/Indian History

History of the Ethiopian Diaspora

Historical overview of South Asian communities with African roots by Dr Shihan de Silva Jayasuriya

Pakistan's Sidi keep heritage alive

BBC: The lost Africans of India

BBC In pictures: India's African communities

http://travel.expressindia.com/story/20499.html

http://www.cybernoon.com/DisplayArticle.asp?section=xtras&subsection;=womensextra&xfile;=January2007_extraspecial_standard805&child;=extraspecial

Category:Ethnic groups in India Category:Ethnic groups in Pakistan Category:Peoples of the African diaspora Category:Muslim communities Category:Muslim communities of India Category:Sindhi tribes Category:Africa–Pakistan relations Category:Africa–India relations Category:Social groups of Gujarat Category:Social groups of Sindh Category:Tribal communities of Gujarat Category:Muslim communities of Gujarat Category:African diaspora Category:Immigration to India

ca:Habshis de:Siddi (Volk) gu:સિદ્દી hi:सिदी new:सिद्दि pt:Siddis ru:Сидди zh:希狄

Coordinates	58°00′″N56°19′″N
name	K. J. Yesudas
background	solo_singer
birth name	Kattassery Joseph Yesudas
alias	Gana Gandharvan, Dasettan
born	January 10, 1940Fort Kochi, Cochin, India
origin	Kochi, Kerala, India
genre	Indian classical music playback singing Music Director
occupation	Singer, composer
years active	1961 - present
website	www.yesudas.com
notable instruments	}}

Kattassery Joseph Yesudas ; born 10 January 1940) is an Indian classical musician and playback singer.

Yesudas sings Indian classical, devotional, and popular music. He has recorded more than 50,000 songs in many languages including Malayalam, Tamil, Hindi, Kannada, Telugu, Bengali, Gujarati, Oriya, Marathi, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Tulu, Malay, Russian, Arabic, Latin and English during a career spanning five decades. He has performed in most Indian languages except Assamese, Konkani and Kashmiri. He also composed a number of Malayalam film songs in the 1970s and 1980s. He is fondly called ''Gana Gandharvan'' ().

He has won the National Award for the Best Male Playback Singer seven times, the most by any Indian singer, and the State Award for the Best Playback Singer more than thirty times by the Governments of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and West Bengal. In 2002, he was awarded the Padma Bhushan by the Government of India for his contributions towards the arts.

Early life and background

K. J. Yesudas was born in Fort Kochi, Kingdom of Cochin, into a Catholic family, to Augustine Joseph and Alicekutty. His father, who was a well-known Malayalam classical musician and stage actor, was his first ''guru''. Later he joined the R.L.V. Music Academy in Thrippunithura and underwent training. For a brief period, he was with Sri Vechur Hari Hara Subramania Iyer, after which he took advanced training from Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavatar.

Career

The first song recorded by Yesudas is ''Jaathi Bhedam Matha Dwesham'' (music: M B Sreenivasan) on 14th Nov 1961, which he usually sings in all the special occasions in front of the audience. Yesudas began his career in playback singing in the Malayalam movie ''Kaalpadukal'' and Kollywood movies in the early 1960s. He sang in Tamil for ''Bommai'' first (music: S. Balachander), but the first released movie was ''Konjum Kumari'' (music: Veda). By the 1970s he entered Bollywood. His first Hindi song was for the movie ''Jai Jawan Jai Kissan'' (1971), but the first released movie was ''Chhoti Si Baat''. He has sung Hindi songs for many leading actors in Hindi cinema including Amitabh Bachchan, Amol Palekar and Jeetendra. He has sung many evergreen Hindi film songs for popular music directors including Ravindra Jain, Bappi Lahiri, Khayyam, Rajkamal and Salil Chowdhury. Almost all of the Hindi movie songs that he sang are popular even today . He has received seven National Film Awards for the best singer, which is a record no Indian singer has equalled. In 2006, he sang 16 film songs in four South Indian languages on the same day at AVM Studio, Chennai.

Yesudas has performed in many major cities around the world. In 1965, he was invited by the Soviet Union government to perform at music concerts in various cities in the USSR and also sang a Russian song on Radio Kazakhstan. In 2001 he sang for album Ahimsa in Sanskrit, Latin and English and in a mix of styles including New Age and Carnatic. In his music concerts in the Middle East he sings Arabic songs in the Carnatic style. He frequently serves as a cultural ambassador for India through his performances abroad, promoting Indian music.

In 1970, he was nominated to head the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Academy and was the youngest person ever to occupy the post. In 1971, during the Indo-Pakistani War, Yesudas traveled all around Kerala with his musical troupe to raise funds for the Indian Prime Minister's National Defense Fund. He also became Senate member of International Parliament for Safety and Peace. On 14 November 1999, UNESCO presented Yesudas with an honorary award for "Outstanding Achievements in Music and Peace" at the "Music for Peace" event in Paris, a concert held to mark the dawn of the new millennium and whose attendees included artistes such as Lionel Richie, Ray Charles, Montserrat Caballé, and Zubin Mehta. In 2009 Yesudas began a cross-country musical campaign against terrorism in Thiruvananthapuram, with the motto 'Music For Peace'. Kavita Karkare, wife of Hemant Karkare, handed over the torch to Yesudas to mark the launch of the 'Shanthi Sangeetha Yatra'.

He is often preferred by music directors/producers to render the songs which require the power factor and extreme variations in ragas, mainly in the big-budget movies. The song "Aadiyusha Sandhya" from the movie ''Pazhassi Raja'' is an example of his voice clarity even at the age of 69. Thiruvarur Bakthavathsalam, a mridangam musician, has accompanied him in many concerts.

Scholarship

Completed the ''Ganabooshanam'' course at R.L.V. Music Academy, Thripunithura, Cochin

Graduated from the Sree Swathithirunal Music Academy, Trivandrum

Trained under K. R. Kumaraswamy (former principal of the Music College, Kochi), Kunjuvelan Aasan (a disciple of Nadaswara Vidwan Rajaratnam Pillai), Augustine Joseph, Dekshinamoorthi Swamikal V. Dakshinamoorthy, Ramakutti Bagavathar, Sivaraman Nayar, Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer and Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavatar

Role models

Sree Narayana Guru’s great message, "One caste, One religion and One God for all humanity", influenced young Yesudas in his dealings with his fellow men. He had his own heroes among the musicians too. Mohammed Rafi, Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavatar and Balamurali Krishna are the ones he admires the most.

Personal life

Yesudas is married to Prabha for more than 30 years. They have three sons, Vinod, Vijay and Vishal. The second son Vijay Yesudas is a budding musician who won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer in 2007. The family is currently settled in Chennai and Trivandrum. He also owns estates in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA and Flower Mound, TX, USA for personal and business reasons.

Notable facts

After winning the Kerala State Award for Best Playback singer on numerous occasions, he asked that he be ruled out of contention so that to give his peers and newcomers a chance of winning. Despite his request, he was still awarded this award multiple times in the following years.

Playback singer Unni Menon, who was singing track songs for other prominent singers, got a break when Yesudas, after hearing the track songs Unni Menon had sung for the Malayalam film ''Kadathu'', asked the music director Shyam to record and release the songs as they were. Yesudas was of the opinion that the songs did not need to be rendered by him, as Unni Menon had already done it well and there was no need for improvement.

Harivarasanam, a devotional song composed by Sri Kambakkudi Kulathur Srinivasa Iyer, recited before closing the temple at Sabarimala was sung by Yesudas. Though there have been many different renditions of this song by many different renowned singers, Sabarimala officially uses K. J. Yesudas' voice for Harivarasanam every day.

Awards and honours

Yesudas has recorded over 40,000 songs and has won scores of accolades including the coveted Padma Shri (1975), Padma Bhushan (2002) and seven National Awards for Best Playback Singer. He is the only singer who has been accorded the title ''Asthana Gayakan'' (official singer) of Kerala State.

National Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer a record seven times by the Government of India

Kerala State Film Awards a record 24 times for the best playback singer by the Government of Kerala

Tamil Nadu State Film Awards five times for the best playback singer by the Government of Tamil Nadu

Andhra Pradesh State Film Awards four times for the best playback singer by the Government of Andra Pradesh

Karnataka State Film Awards five times for the best playback singer by the Government of Karnataka

West Bengal State Film Awards one time for the best playback singer by the Government of West Bengal

Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (1992)

D. Phil by Annamalai University, Tamil Nadu (1989)

D. Litt by Kerala University, Kerala (2003)

D. Litt by Mahatma Gandhi University, Kerala (2009)

Swaralaya - Eenam Awards 2010 - Decade's Best Talent in Malayalam Music

Swathi Sangeetha Puraskaram in 2011, highest music award given by Government of Kerala

In films

Prem Nazir ''Kayamkulam Kochunni'' ''Nirakudam'' ''Nandanam (film) ''Boyy Friend''

Year !!Film !! Stars!! Director !! Role
1965	''Kavyamela''	|	M. Krishnan Nair	as himself
1966	|	Sathyaneshan Nadar>Sathyan	P. A. Thomas	as a Suruma Seller
1977	|	Kamal Haasan	A. Bhimsingh	as himself
2002	Nandanam''||	Prithviraj Sukumaran>Prithviraj	Ranjith (director)>Ranjith	as himself
2005	|	Manikuttan	Vinayan	as himself

Music festival

For the past 30 years Yesudas has been visiting Kollur Mookambika temple, Udupi, Karnataka on his birthday to sing keerthans of Saraswati devi, the Goddess of knowledge, music and the arts. The music festival started on his 60th birthday. The nine-day music festival begins every January at Kollur Mookambika Temple. On January 10, 2010, he celebrated his 70th birthday (Sapthathi) at Kollur Sri Mookambika Temple with ‘Sangeetharchana’ (classical devotional songs), along with 70 singers before goddess Mookambika on Sunday. The Sangeetharchana included "Pancharatna Gayana" of Thyagaraja’s poems. He also took part in the Vidyarambha function. All India Radio broadcasted the special Sangeetharchana all over Kerala.

Music award

Swaralaya Yesudas award is a prestigious award for music artists in recognition of their outstanding performance. The award is instituted jointly by Swaralaya, an organization that promotes music and Kairali Channel, based in Trivandrum, Kerala. Awards have been given annually since 2000. Yesudas presents the awards at a ''Gandharva Sandhya'' every January.

Music company

In 1980 Yesudas established the Tharangani Studio at Trivandrum. In 1992 the office and studio were moved to Chennai, Tamil Nadu and the company was incorporated in the US in 1998. Tharangni Studio and Tharangni Records became a recording center in Kerala which, for the first time, brought out audio cassettes of Malayalam film songs in stereo. The record company also had a voice mixing studio in Studio27, Chennai. The studio continues to produce and present events of Yesudas both for film and Indian classical music concerts throughout the world.

See also

List of K. J. Yesudas concerts

K. J. Yesudas discography

Swaralaya Yesudas Award

List of Carnatic singers

References

External links

K.J. Yesudas's web site

Article on Yesudas: For me music is God

Interview with Yesudas: "Religions and races should not be obstacles but challenges for us"

Category:1940 births Category:Living people Category:Bollywood playback singers Category:Carnatic singers Category:Hindustani singers Category:Indian Roman Catholics Category:Indian male singers Category:Indian film singers Category:Kannada playback singers Category:Kerala State Film Award winners Category:Kollywood playback singers Category:Malayalam playback singers Category:Malayali people Category:Recipients of the Padma Bhushan Category:Recipients of the Padma Shri Category:People from Kerala Category:People from Kochi Category:Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Category:Tamil playback singers Category:Telugu playback singers

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