Precarity in Identity: Sheedi Muslims in Pakistan

Precarity in Identity: Sheedi Muslims in Pakistan

Written By Sahar Ahmed

We are living in an interesting moment in history. The Black Lives Matter movement is gaining momentum globally, and Black History Month is becoming not only an avenue for visibility, but also a protest site for Black rights in places like the United States and the United Kingdom. This has also raised the very important question of colourism in South Asia.

When we talk about discrimination by ethnicity or racism, South Asia tends to participate in the conversation in terms of colourism only. That is, of course, a serious problem across South Asia, in every community and creed, and across borders. But it’s been very easy for South Asian countries to talk about how far away Black Lives Matter is from the lived reality of people in the Indian subcontinent, because of a misplaced comfort that comes from a belief, that there are no Black people amongst us. This is patently false, and for Pakistan, the reality of the existence of Black Muslim Pakistanis could no longer be ignored when Tanzeela Qambrani became a legislator for the provincial assembly of Sindh Province.

Tanzeela is a Sheedi –  a term often considered to be derogatory, used against Pakistanis of African descent but a term that Tanzeela has reclaimed powerfully for herself and her community. Sheedis are black, and there are a lot of them in Pakistan. It is a reality that cannot be ignored.

The Sheedis are mainly descendants of Africans brought as slaves to the subcontinent by Europeans from West and East African regions, mainly from the so-called ‘big lake area’, which is surrounded by countries such as Uganda, Tanzania, Republic of Congo and Kenya. At this point in time there are anywhere between 50,000 and 250,000 Sheedis in Pakistan  – a ridiculously large margin of error, complicated by the fact that the Pakistani census doesn’t take into account whether a Pakistani is Black, or not. But even these unofficial estimates tell us that with anywhere between 50,000 and 250,000 Sheedis in Pakistan, they are the largest group of people of African descent in any South Asian country. With Tanzeela Qambranis’ rise to fame, Sheedi culture has also come into the public eye.

Devotees of the Sheedi ethnic group play traditional music — AFP (https://www.dawn.com/news/1399778)

Tanzeela is unapologetically Muslim and unapologetically of African descent – every time she comes into public she wears her traditional headdress, which signifies her Tanzanian roots – but also is firmly and unapologetically Pakistani. This intersection of identities is important for us to understand who the Sheedis are, and the rich and varied life experiences they have, which are different to, yet the same as, those of other Pakistanis.

For Muslim History Month, however, an integral part of Sheedi identity is their Muslim-ness. Or rather how they have uniquely combined their African ancestry with the Islam of South Asia, particularly the Islam of Sindh, which is a rare blend of syncretism between Sufi Islam, Hinduism, indigenous animism and Christianity, unlike any found in other parts of the country.

In recent times, there has been an increase in right-wing religious organisations setting up in predominantly Sheedi neighbourhoods in Pakistan, in metropolitan cities like Karachi, for example, in the sprawling suburb of Lyari, which have a very strict Barelvi or Wahhabi outlook towards Islam. Irrespective of this, Sheedis have long practised Islam, on their terms.

This uniquely Sheedi Islam can be seen in the annual Sheedi Mela, which happens at Mangho Pir, which is the shrine of the Sufi saint Haji Syed Shaikh Sultan. This Mela, or festival, is an incredibly interesting mix of South Asian Sufism and indigenous African animism with a new kind of devotion not seen in any other part of the country. All accounts of the Sheedi Mela talk about Sheedi women who can be seen wearing bright ornamental outfits and dresses, influenced heavily by African roots, who come to the Sheedi Mela from across Pakistan, but predominantly from Sindh and Balochistan, the regions where Sheedis mainly live. Sheedis who come to the Mela partake heavily in music and dance, again music laced with African roots. A lot of the music and singing that takes place at the Mela is in Swahili, a language which they admit to not even understanding anymore, but they guard it fiercely because it allows connection to a past they no longer have. The dance and music also seem to be uniquely African in nature, as it is unlike any other found in Sindh or Balochistan.

Devotees of the Sheedi group pray at the shrine — AFP (https://www.dawn.com/news/1399778)

Another fascinating aspect of the Sheedi Mela is the revering of the crocodiles found at Mangho Pir. The shrine is located next to a large swamp, where hundreds of crocodiles are found.  They’re fed by devotees year-round, and attendees of the Mela, and are fed meat and sweets alike. They receive prayers, mannats, blessings and sacrifice. There is always one special crocodile, who is the oldest and biggest crocodile – Mor Saheb – who is garlanded, adorned with coloured powder, and in an interesting ritualistic experience, is deemed to be a direct connection to, or even a manifestation of the Sufi saint himself. This kind of Sufi devotion and worship is not alien to South Asia nor even to Pakistan specifically. Sindh has a long history of similar kinds of devotional acts and rituals around Sufi saints and their shrines, and all sorts of legends that include animals and nature. However, the Sheedi Mela is one of a kind, and the incorporation of music, dance and worship is unlike any other Sufi practice.

Crocodiles being revered at the Sheedi Mela or Fair at Mangho Pir (https://www.dawn.com/news/1399778)

It is important to be aware of the risk of exoticising and othering the Sheedis when we look at their religious practises, and of our discussions taking on an inherently colonial hue (which has been done in the past by British colonisers who wrote about “Black Indians” in the 18th and 19th century). This is particularly so in a country like Pakistan where deviations from mainstream Islam can be dangerous.

We don’t want to call their practices “their Islam” but if we don’t acknowledge them for being their own people with their differences, we run the risk of erasing the Sheedis, and allowing an assimilation, which washes out their identity. Many Sheedis have, in fact, talked about exactly this in the form of marrying outside their ethnic community, where the result has been the dilution of their racial markers, their facial features, their hair, etc. Tanzeela Qambrani has talked at length about this during many fiery public speeches where she demands recognition and mutual respect from those she calls “white Pakistanis”.

It’s important to recognise that not all Sheedis are Muslim, as can be seen in the fact that Black communities in India (known as Siddis) who share a common origin with the Sheedis, tend to predominantly be either Hindu or Christian. However, Sheedis in Pakistan are proud of their Muslim heritage, and are proud of their ancestry that includes prominent Muslims, with many wanting to refer to themselves as Bilali – a term that connotes that they are of the people of Hazrat Bilal, an African companion of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

Therefore, to think about Sheedis without thinking of them as Muslims is a disservice to them, and for any comprehensive understanding of Muslims in the region, Sheedis must be included, understood, and adequately represented.

References:

Mridula Chari, Meet the fast disappearing community of Indians and Pakistanis of African originhttps://qz.com/india/440978/meet-the-fast-disappearing-community-of-indians-and-pakistanis-of-african-origin/

 

(The views expressed in this article are the author’s own. Content can be used with due credit to the author and to ‘Zariya: Women’s Alliance for Dignity and Equality’)