B R Vibhute
HALIYAL: January 20 will be a day of joy and pride for members of the Siddi tribe of Haliyal taluk.
For, they and Barack Obama — who assumes charge on that day as the President of the USA — share a common African lineage.
The entire Siddi tribe, found mostly in Haliyal taluk and scattered in the taluks of Yellapur, Mundgod, Ankola, Sirsi, Joida and Karwar in Uttara Kannada district and Kalghatgi taluk of Dharwad district is elated that a black man, more specifically someone having an African descent, is today a symbol of the egalitarian and libertarian values that the world’s superpower stands for.
While much has been written tracing Obama’s ancestry — his father was from Kenya — the outer world knows little about the Siddi tribes who are planning to send a sweet gift to him as a mark of love when he takes charge of the world’s most powerful office.
One of the Siddi leaders of the taluk, Diyog Siddi, told to The New Indian Express that “It will be a great day of pride and rejoicing for us when Obama is sworn in as President.”
Diyog is now busy with his efforts to get a nod from the concerned authorities for the Siddis’ plan to despatch a bottle of honey (extracted by them) to Obama.
The papers seeking the permission are said to be lying on the table of the Deputy Commissioner of Uttara Kannada for his consideration. The Siddis are also planning a grand gala programme to celebrate the historic event.
Dark complexion, thick lips, curly hair and generally a robust physique are the common traits of the Siddis that make them totally different from other Indians.
According to certain historical records which Diyog refers to,
the migration of the African tribals into parts of India dates back to about a thousand years.
He says that they were all brought to India as slaves and labourers from Abyssinia, Zambia, Mozambique and other countries.
Many of them were also brought to the then Portuguese-ruled Goa.
From there, some of them migrated to Surat and Mumbai. It is said that the Portuguese bartered the African labourers for the spices.