Siddi Food Habits Essay

Food Habits

The Siddi are non-vegetarian. They eat buffalo meat, eggs, fish, fowls and goat meat. Bajri (spiked millet) and rice constitute their staple food. They consume all varieties of pulses like gram, Lur (pigeon pea), masur (lentils), etc. Groundnut oil is used as cooking medium. They also consume roots and tubers which they gather from the forest. They use all kinds of vegetables and fruits which are locally available to them. Consumption of milk and milk products is quite low among them. Lately, there has been an increase in the use of pulses and vegetables because of the soaring prices of non-vegetarian items. They abstain from eating beef. Their clans are known as Morewana, Parmar, Mori, Bagia, Sirwan, Valia, Mosangra, Chovert,

These folk songs are sung at the time of 'Dhamal dance (traditional folk dance) which is extremely popular in Saurashtra. Both males and females participate in rasda dance but the dhamal dance is performed exclusively by men only. They also have their traditional musical instruments. The Siddi accept both cooked and un-cooked food from any Hindu or Muslim except from the lower communities. They maintain linkages with regards to economic matters with the Kunbis, Lohanas, Memon, etc. Several of them work as labourers. Amongst the Siddi, there are some teachers, doctors and members in defense services. Education: The attitude of the Siddi towards formal education is favorable for boys but it is not favorable for girls. Boys study up to secondary level and the girls up to primary level. Boys, drop-out from formal education is high due to economic reasons. In case of girls, it is due to both social as well as economic reasons. They avail of both modern and traditional Medicare facilities. The attitude towards family planning programmed is favorable. They prefer to have at least three children. Some of the Siddi have been benefited from the rural development program for the development of agriculture. Firewood, cow dung cakes are their main fuel resources. Their attitude towards saving has been found to be favorable but a large section is still dependent on money lenders. Occupational Aspects:

According to the author to counter their current socioeconomic conditions, the Siddis have been encouraged to perform their dances as symbols of the diversity of India and as 'survivals ' of 'African lineage’. This ritual music and dancing provided means whereby a new collective Siddi identity emerged through ritual interactions. Goma drumming and dancing are still considered by many people of all ages and men and women alike as sacred actions. In this way the collective social identity of Siddi is constructed in ritual terms along with economic terms. As music and dance performances were intricately linked to the formation of a collective Siddi identity, practices of goma and dhamal strengthened solidarity, the emergence of a common symbolic universe and a defense against the stigma attached to dark skin in Gujarati schemes of social classifications. In the collective self-image proposed by the Siddi community, dark skin and curly hair are considered positive. It consists of embodied signs of the gifts the Siddi received from their ancestor saints, most importantly their music. And this is one main reason as to why they have since