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Concept
Siddi
Summary
The Siddi (sɪdːiː), also known as the Sheedi, Sidi, or Siddhi, are an ethnic minority group inhabiting India and Pakistan. They are primarily descended from the Bantu peoples of the Zanj coast in Southeast Africa and Ethiopia, most whom arrived to the Indian subcontinent through the Arab Slave Trade. Others arrived as merchants, sailors, indentured servants, and mercenaries. The Siddi population is currently estimated at around 300,000 individuals, with Karnataka, Gujarat and Hyderabad in India and Makran and Karachi in Pakistan serving as the main population centres.
There are conflicting hypotheses on the origin of the name Siddi. One theory is that the word derives from sahibi, an Arabic 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. A different name occasionally used for the Siddi is the term "Habshi". While originally used to refer specifically to the Habesha peoples, Ethio-Semitic-speakers from Abyssinia, the term later became more broadly used to refer to Africans of any ethnicity, but not necessarily referring to the Siddi specifically.
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).
The Siddi population derived primarily from Bantu peoples of Southeast Africa who were brought to the Indian subcontinent as slaves. Most of these migrants were or else became Muslims, while a small minority became Hindu. The Nizam of Hyderabad also employed African-origin guards and soldiers.
The first Siddis are thought to have arrived in India in 628 AD at the Bharuch port. Several others followed with the first Arab Islamic conquest 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.
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