Siddhis or sidi are a tribe of Sudanese natives who had come to Gujarat in Western India hundreds of years ago as salt workers. Siddi Tribes of Gujarat is one of those tribes who came to the state with the Arab merchants. Siddi Tribe in Gujarat is also reckoned as the Lost Tribe of Africa.The people stayed on in India and are still found in Gir in Gujarat as a distict tribe who are as African today as the day when they landed on Indian soil.
Siddhi tribe is also known by the names of Siddi, Sheedi and Habshi. This tribal community has occupied a considerable portion of the state of Gujarat. Apart from Gujarat, the Siddi tribal community resides in some parts of Karnataka, Goa and Maharashtra. The word Siddi is a derivation of the Arabic word `sayyid` or `saydi`. It means captive, or slave. Due to the rich heritage of the origin of the Siddi tribes, the anthropologists are being rightly attracted towards this Siddi tribal community and thus carried on several surveys on them over the years. Especially in Junagadh district of Gujarat, these Siddi tribes have got a major concentration.
Although Siddi tribes have adopted the native customs of the region, some African traditions and practices have also been preserved. The tribal community of Siddi is one of the primitive tribes, which have got the heritage of almost three hundred years. However, with the passage of time their ancient tradition and culture have also got a modernised shade. Various cultural forms, namely dance, music, folklores, etc are quite exquisite. Dhamal dance is one such dance form. However, today under the influence of the modern day trend and customs, maximum of these Siddi tribes have forgotten their original customs, thus nicely imbibing new things and beliefs.
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