Sidi Communities

Jambur village consists of only Sidi families and most of the Sidi men from the village work in the neighboring town of Talala.

The Sidis of Jambur village in Gujarat are poor and most of the families cannot afford to send their children to schools.

Women members of the sidi community organization talking with the local women of the Chhachhar village.

The sidi community organization Samasta Sidi Aadijati Samaj Utkarsh Samiti that works for the welfare of sidi people organizes monthly meetings in different sidi villages to raise social awareness.

Sidi men in front of the modest shrine dedicated to the Hindu deity Hanuman. While the sidi residents of the Shirvan village are Muslims, some of them also worship the god Hanuman.

Members of the Sidi community in Talala, Gujarat have been trying to address the problems faced by the sidi residents living in interior Gujarat.

Pathway leading to a sidi village in interior Karnataka

Local Sidi men in front of a motorbike repair shop in Jamnagar.

An old wooden storage trunk used by the family to keep good clothes and other valuables. Seen here is also racks with stainless steel utensils, which are treasured possessions of this family in Sirvan Village, Gujrat.

Sidi men as well as Sidi women serve as caretakers of the memorial shrines dedicated Bava Gor and his siblings

Most of the Sidi homes in the interior of Gujarat are modest mud plastered homes with a multi-purpose interior space that function as a kitchen and sleeping area. The veranda serves as the living and entertainment room of the house.

Majority of the Sidis living in the villages of Gujarat are extremely poor and often cannot offered to construct proper homes nor repair their existing homes. Most of these homes do not have proper doors and the villagers often repurpose found materials to seal their entrances and roofs.

The space in front of the modest Sidi homes serve as social space where the family meets and greets friends and where the children play

Seen here is a typical Sidi village with small mud houses. Domestic animals and cattle are kept in the small empty grounds in front of their homes.