As a child growing up in Bombay I heard on and off about the Habshis/ Khapris fleeing into the jungles.
Could someone say what was their fears? I presume by “Abhar” you mean to say thank you. Thank you, Venantius J Pinto On Sun, May 10, 2020 at 3:46 AM Voznadik Vojem <voznadikvo...@gmail.com> wrote: > The answer may lie hidden and buried deep inside North Canara in > Karnataka. To say that East African came to Goa is an understatement. In > fact, majority of East Africans were brought to Goa as slaves. > To understand we have to go back 6th or 7th century when Arabs took control > of Swahili Coast(much of East Africa), and captured Bantu (Janz)people to > be traded as slaves to Persian Gulf and as far away as to China and India. > Ostensibly, slave trade from the East African coast to Goa existed long > before Portuguese and English mastered it. Much changed after the slavery > was abolished by Indian Slavery Act of 1843. > Fearing for their safety, the Bantus in Goa, took refuge deep in the > jungles bordering Goa. In some villages in Goa, the Bantus were > colloquially referred to as "Habshis". Nowadays, the Bantu people are > known as "Siddis". The Siddis of Goa are mainly concentrated in Uttara > Kanada and till today speak in Konkani. > > Abhar, > Voznadik Vojem >