Event involving crocodiles and almond delicacies lingers on

Young Sheedi girls carry homemade sweets to be distributed among devotees and attendees of the festival. (AN photos)

Crocodiles at Manghopir shrine in Karachi. (AN photos)

Sheedi men performing Dhamal — a dance form of Sufi whirling popular in Pakistan — at the annual Manghopir festival. (AN photos)

KARACHI: Pakistan’s Sheedi community is known for peculiar beliefs, but it stands out for its unique annual affair – the Sheedi Mela – a centuries-old festival with several strange events.
This year’s Sheedi festival, which concluded on Sunday in Karachi, was yet again a unique display of rituals, beliefs and culture.
The spot of the festival – shrine of Manghopir – is adjacent to the city’s Sultanabad area and had been less than a kilometer from a shadow “Taliban court” before the law enforcement agencies launched a counterterrorism offensive in 2013, clearing the area of insurgents.
“Only four of the community leaders were secretly performing the [festival] rituals during the days of militancy,” recalled Ghulam Abbas Sheedi, one of the community elders, while talking to Arab News.
The festival is marked by a chain of rituals ending with Dhamal – a dance form of Sufi whirling performed in Pakistan – which marks the start of the fourth and last day of the festival.
“The new generation is least interested in continuing the legacy after a gap of several years,” said Farzand Ali, one of the devotees.
The event, which now draws just a few hundred people, would be attended by thousands of community members from lower Sindh and Balochistan, added Ghulam Abbas.
Sheedi is a community in Pakistan with African descent, speaking Sindhi and Balochi languages, depending on which of two provinces – Sindh and Balochistan – they belong to.
“Our native language is Swahili, which is spoken in African countries but we can’t speak that now,” he said.
On Sunday at noon, the Sheedi community women started preparing khutti, a sweet substance made of wheat, almond and pistachio for distribution among the devotees.
Meanwhile, the men were busy heating up their Mogarmaan – a "dhol" (drum) made of camel’s skin, before goat’s blood was rubbed on it.
After the job was done, community elder Ali Bux distributed a drink called "Piala", which is made of almond and pistachio, among six men and three women, including Mehrunisa, the woman leader. She, along with other womenfolk, rallied to the crocodile pond while doing Dhamal on her way.
As the rally reached the pond side, Khalifa Sajjad, the caretaker of the pond, brought a reportedly 127-year-old Mor Sawab – wrongly called Mor Sahib – the chief crocodile, at the side for the final but important ritual: the garland ceremony.
Sajjada Nasheen (the holy successor), at this point, feeds meat and halwa (a sweet) made of almond and desi (homemade) ghee to the chief crocodile. An orange color, locally known as Sindor, is rubbed on the forehead and back of the reptile, and then the oldest of the elders puts a garland around the neck of Mor Sawab before pushing him back into the water. The step is followed by greetings.
“Though the crocodile is one of the most dangerous reptiles on earth, these never harm the devotees. Common people are not allowed to go near the pond,” Sajjad told Arab News.
“There used to be 40 crocodiles during our childhood,” Sadique Sheedi, a 60-year-old man from Lyari area, told Arab News, adding there are now more than 100 but the space remains the same.
Khalifa Sajjad said he had asked the authorities to enlarge the pond.
“It used to be a big event. Tents would be set up 20 days before the start of the festival, which would be attended by thousands of the community members from Sindh and Balochistan,” said Abida, a 65-year-old woman from MoHajjir Camp, whose husband used to be chief of one of the four community groups.
Kharadar Makan, Lasi Makan, Hyderabadi Mmakan and Belarah Makan were the four major groups, each performing the rituals for one day during the four days of the festival, she said. Now they do it together and the reason is the low number of attendees because people have lost interest.
“We are trying to revive it. Last year it was brief as it was held after seven years. This year the attendance has increased,” said Abida, adding: “We will make it a big event again.”