Building Bridges: The Cultural Integration of Africans in India - Navami Jayashankar
Building Bridges: The Cultural Integration of Africans in India
The African descended communities, mostly Siddis have played a huge role in integrating the vibrant African culture with the local heritage to create distinctive utterance. One of them is the Goma dance, a vibrant and expressive form of art in the Siddi community. The word “Goma” is understood to be derived from the Swahili word “ngoma” meaning “drum” or “dance”. It is a vibrant, communal dance full of great African heritage but has ingrained itself within the Indian cultural settings as it comes out as a blend of two cultures. The dance centralizes around drums as it plays a key role in most African music styles. People gather in a circle or in a line emphasizing unity among all and start chanting and singing songs of resilience, heritage, community etc. while stomping and jumping to the beats of the drum. Goma is performed largely during communal gatherings, religious festivals, weddings and other events but it is also a way for the Sidis to keep their slowly dying heritage alive.
Music, another major element holding up the heritage, acts as a major aspect as it blends both the cultures together harmoniously. Sidis have won by integrating Indian musical elements to traditional African music.Adding to the major African musical instruments like ngoma drums and bells and rattles they have poured Indian influences into the music by adding dhol and other percussion instruments. This blending of musical influences makes the music portray both the identities beautifully. Indian folk music often does involve call and response singing which African traditional music also possesses embodying their integrated cultural experience. The themes of the songs sung by Sidis are often embedded with their rich ancestry, heritage, their struggles and resilience.
These act as a form of storytelling for the younger ones allowing them to understand their ancestry and their journey throughout the years. By blending in both the cultural aspects they ended up creating a unique sound which speaks volumes about both the identities. The fusion in music is a major example for their cultural integration in India and reflects on their identity as Africans in India.
Another part where the culture intertwines is in the religious practices and ceremonies. The siddi community in India has a captivating blend of both the African religious practices and the local Indian religious practices. Most of the siddis from gujarat and karnataka follow Islam but they have incorporated certain elements emphasizing their African heritage into the religious practices shaping a distinctive form of worship reflecting the twofold identity.
The siddi community pays homage to Bava Gor, a venerated sufi saint who has African roots and is a protector as well as a spiritual figure for them. His shrine near Gir in Gujarat is a destination for pilgrims. The use of the African inspired rituals of drumming, chanting and dancing that often connects religious ceremonies with African touch signifies the linkage of their African heritage while honoring a figure within their local religious context.
The celebration of Urs, a festival commemorating the death anniversary of a sufi saint. During Urs siddis perform the goma dance as a devotional act expressing their reverence which makes their way of celebrating the Urs be different with the integration of African elements unlike the other Muslim communities in India. The rhythmic drumming and chanting creates a spiritual yet energetic atmosphere blending in the African and Sufi traditions.
The siddis have successfully merged themselves into the social grounds of Indian society while preserving a sense of cultural uniqueness. Intermarriages are seen very common in the siddi community as it is also a form of cultural integration. Many siddis often married into local Indian communities majorly into Muslim communities which breaks all the cultural walls that may have built up. Intermarriage acts as a bridge breaking all the differences and building familial connection which integrates two different cultures.
Linguistically, most Siddis have adopted indigenous tongues such as Gujarati, Kannada and Marathi languages.Even so, some siddis still use distinct Swahili phrases and words within the family, as it also helps in keeping their African origin alive.
In terms of their occupation, siddis traditionally worked as farmers, fishermen and
laborers which linked them to the economic and social fabric of their communities. As of
today, many siddis work in the fields of teaching, business etc and hence are
contributing to the economic and social life of India. Apart from looking at the benefits,
people from the community work hard to uphold the old traditions like the Goma dance
etc. retaining their culture.
Another element that helped in the integration is the distinctive cuisines the siddi community developed combining African-Indian flavors and ingredients. Cassava dishes, a staple in siddi cuisine especially in Gujarat, is made of Cassava which is a root vegetable native to Africa usually by frying or boiling them and serving with Indian chutneys or masalas creating a delicious fusion. Another thing about their cuisine is the use of tamarind and coconut as they are commonly used in siddi dishes adding a tangy creamy texture. As most of the siddis live near the coastal area this combination is mostly seen in seafood dishes. These foods reflect the integration of African heritage and Indian culture with the blending of African and Indian flavors adding much more to the culinary diversity of India.
As a way to preserve their culture the siddis have worked hard to ensure that their traditions are not forgotten.The annual siddi festival in Gujarat is one of the main cultural events that takes place to ensure that the traditions and heritage stays the same. A festival which celebrates traditional siddi music, Goma dance and storytelling sessions about the ancestral heritage of the community makes the younger generation and the whole of India knowledgeable about siddis. Even music and dance troupes from the siddi community have emerged and can be seen at many cultural events around India. It is through these festivals and performances that the traditions are kept alive. Through these efforts to keep their traditions alive we can see how traditions can go hand in hand with modernity.
From royal courts wielding influence to the siddi communities preserving the rich heritage, the African influence has made a permanent mark in India’s cultural and social aspect. Siddis legacy through their music, dance, food, religious practices not only reminds us of struggles of migration but also makes us realize the many ways in which a community can prosper, a remarkable example found in the beauty of cultural integration.
Works cited:
● Ragatip.”The music of the Siddis: African folk rhythms in India”.July 29, 2020.
● Rajani Govind.” Africans in the India story”.The Hindu, march 24,
20https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/africans-in-the-ind
ia-story/article7963082.ece
● "From Africa to India: Sidi Music in the Indian Ocean Diaspora." , directed
by Amy Catlin, and Nazir A. Jairazbhoy. , Apsara Media for Intercultural
Education, 2006. Alexander Street,
https://search.alexanderstreet.com/view/work/bibliographic_entity|video_
work|3409533.
● “Siddi”.Wikipedia,The free encyclopedia,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siddi#:~:text=The%20Siddis%20of%20Karna
taka%20
● Reddy, Sumanth. Siddi Life and Their Sense of Belonging in Karnataka, India.
https://www.focusongeography.org/publications/articles/siddi/index.html
● United Nations.”The Siddis : India's Forgotten Africans “. Youtube, February
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