Siddis, a diasporic community of African-Indians which has approximately 50, 000 members, is spread chiefly in three states of India— Karnataka, Gujarat, Maharashtra. Siddis are descendants of Bantu people of Southeast Africa who first left their homelands in 628 AD from East and North East Africa due to Arab invasion while successive waves of them came to India as slaves with Arabs, Portuguese etc. Due to their stay in different parts of India an interaction between African heritage of Siddis with the host cultures of India has taken place, giving rise to syncretic intangible cultural heritages such as Goma/ Dhamal dance form, folk songs, religious customs and folk lores. The collision of African culture with dominant cultures in India led to collusion between different ways of life and hybrid forms of behaviour were constructed. In the intermingling of these different cultures which shared same space and time, the identity concerns of Siddis can be seen only a stream in the ocean of shared behaviours and patterns. Further, to evaluate Siddi heritage which this community came to possess due to its location in a distinct culture separate from its own, it is necessary to investigate the slow process of emergence of the syncretic heritage over time. Siddi beliefsystem shows the influence of Hindu/Muslim host culture while preserving traces of a culture which faced the twin challenges of migration and integration in an alien cultural space. Their cultural expressions in the form of Goma/Dhamal music and dance, folklores, superstitions, customs, sayings etc. are channels through which their syncretic culture finds expression. The essence of Siddis’s belief system shows vestiges of their African descent along with a layering of host culture thus showcasing the intensity of the cultural encounter. My paper would investigate cultural transformation undergone by the Siddis during their stay in India and how they have faced the challenges of acculturation.
Associate Professor, Dept. of English Govt. P.G. College Ateli, Mahendergarh (Haryana)
