A village of Africans in South India

A village of Africans in South India

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A village of Africans in South India. African Indians? Strange but true! We all know about the rather large population (larger before Idi Amin) of Indians in east and south Africa especially. But did you know about the Africans called Siddis living in a village in the hills of Karnataka in South India? I didn't either until one day I saw some people in the market in Gokarna, Karnataka that looked like Africans but dressed like Indians and spoke Kannada, the local language. I needed to know more about these people.
I have to admit I was rather gobsmacked (I'm from USA but I just love that word haha). I asked my local friend (I used to live in Gokarna off and on for around 10 years) about these people. After learning that they were bought and transported by the British as slaves in the 15th century and given to a local King, their story became more and more interesting. On a trip to a local village of Tibetans in an attempt to see the Dalai Lama (which failed and is another story) I passed nearby their area yet didn't stop. Yes. Tibetans and Africans living near each other in South India. The world is truly an amazing place. Even these years later, the idea of Africans living in a remote village in India interests me so much. I hope you find this story fascinating as well.

Next I"ll include a couple of videos about these amazing people. Sadly enough they are part of the lowest caste system and face many hardships. The young man in the first video I find quite amazing because firstly he's learned English somehow and is working so hard to help improve the situation for his commmunity. The Siddis are farmers and not well educated. Apparently, they are forced only to learn Kannada and Konkani, the local languages. The second video is an African man who goes around the world connecting with the diaspora of African communities in remote places such as this. I think it must have been shocking for them to see him. The Siddis are quite shy as well since they rarely leave their village. So here are the videos and I hope you enjoy!