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Siddi Folk Dancers

8:36 PM / Posted by Unknown /


Siddi Folk Dancers, originally uploaded by Raveesh Vyas.

This is the best part of their performance but unfortunately it wasn't well timed. Let me describe what's going on in here.
That weird crown-like formation on that guy's head is actually a coconut bouncing off his skull. This particular part of their performance seems very ritualistic. The entire group chants "La ilaha ila Allah" while the person breaking the coconut prepares himself by praying to Allah. Then he tosses the coconut which breaks into pieces upon impact. In case you are wondering that the coconut might be fake, it is passed around in the audience for inspection first.

About Siddis: They are community of people of African origin. They were brought to India during the second millennium by the Nawab(s) of Junagadh from Abyssinia which is now known as Ethiopia. Most of them live in the forests in Saurashtra. Some of the Siddis rose to powerful positions in kingdoms and even ended up running their own state. Jafarabad, a town in Gujarat is one such city which was a kingdom of the Siddis.

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