SAINTS SPIRITS AND SACRED STONES

ON INDIA'S WESTERN COAST LIES A UNIQUE, YET LARGELY OBSCURE AFRICAN SACRED LANDSCAPE. THE WEEK TRAVELS TO THESE PLACES, WHICH SERVE AS MEMORY-KEEPERS OF SCORES OF AFROORIGIN MEN AND WOMEN WHO CAME TO THE SUBCONTINENT AS SLAVES, SOLDIERS AND TRADERS

- NIRMAL JOVIAL

Six kilometres from the industrial town of Jhagadia in Gujarat’s Bharuch district is a serene hill considered sacred. Part of the Satpura range, it has a cluster of dargahs of Sufi saints of African origin.

At the base of the hill, a large number of devotees live in Ratanpur, a quaint village whose name means ‘the land of gems’. The semi-precious agate stone was mined here to make exquisite beads.

Sidis of African descent form a significant share of the population of Ratanpur. The Africans had arrived centuries ago as sailors, soldiers and slaves. There are fewer than 1.5 lakh Sidis in India, and they are scattered across Karnataka, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Goa. But a vibrant tapestry of rituals, beliefs and legends ties them back to their Afro origin. For Sidis of Gujarat, Diu and Maharashtra, the hill near Ratanpur is the foremost sacred site.

Mahmad Rafik Abubhai Vajugada, a Sidi elder in Jamnagar who has relatives in Ratanpur, had arranged for my stay at the sacred hill. His sonin-law Firoj Malangbhai Sidi drove me to the hill in his autorickshaw. Once a professional dancer, Firoz has performed the Sidi Dhammal dance in more than two dozen countries.

I reached the top of the hill moments before the commencement of loban, a daily faith healing session, and stood looking up towards the dargah of Bava Gor, the most prominent of the Sidis’ ancestor saints. Rhythmic beats of the mugharman, a traditional drum that is central to Sidi rituals, could be heard.

As I began climbing the 50 steps to the dargah, I remembered a legend I had heard from Yasin Bawa, a Sunni Muslim who looked after the saint’s chilla (satellite shrine) in Kurla, Mumbai. “In the past,” said Bawa, “people accused of robbery or fraud were made to climb these steps with their legs chained. If the accused were innocent, the chain would break because of Bava Gor’s power. If guilty, they would not be able to enter the dargah.”