«*» RUKHSANA«*» Crocodiles of Mangho Pir

Crocodiles of Mangho Pir

(My Tour to Karachi :: December 5-7, 2011)

 

As if the origins of Pir Mangho were not mysterious enough, let us turn our attention to a 200 ft x 400 ft water pond adjacent to the shrine. Photo to the left shows this pond. This pond is home to approximately 100 crocodiles. Once again I was able to research at least 5 more legends and a scientific theory about how the crocodiles came to live in Manghopir area. I found some of the myths quite amusing. Make your own mind about any shade of truth in them.

 

(i)  According to the first myth, Baba Farid Ganj Shakar gifted these crocodiles to Pir Mangho on his visit to the area. Why was Baba Farid traveling with crocodiles is unclear.

 

(ii)  Second myth says that crocodiles were brought to Manghopir by a saint called Mor Mubarak (the blessed Peacock) from a cave in Korangi. Korangi is a Karachi town located some 50 km to the east of Manghopir.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(iii)  Another version of the same myth says that Mor Mubarak had brought these crocodiles from a small brackish pit located in Waghodar area. Mor Mubarak's tomb is also located in Waghodar, some 120 km upstream from Hub Dam. A perennial lake here still houses 10 marsh crocodiles that have been living here since Hub River flowed full. Therefore it is suggested that Manghopir crocodiles may have come downstream from here.

 

(iv) According to fourth myth, the famous saint of Sehwan Sindh, Lal Shahbaz Qalandar once visited the area. He was pained to see the area very inhospitable therefore with his miracles he caused a hot spring to issue forth as well as some date palms to spring up from the ground. The crocodiles were originally the lice in Lal Shahbaz's hair which he gifted to Pir Mangho. He put them in the pond and each of them turned into a crocodile.

 

(v)  The fifth myth, which I think is the most amusing, says that crocodiles were actually the lice in the hair of Pir Mangho. One day the lice were itching 'pir sahib' so much that in anger he stamped his feet on the ground and two sulfur pools were formed, in which the lice jumped and later grew up to become crocodiles.

 

Some people have tried to give scientific explanation to crocodiles' presence. These crocodiles were carried through some heavy floods, during ancient times and later gathered at this pond. Archaeological investigations have also suggested the existence of a Bronze Age settlement (2500-1700 BC) near Manghopir, who worshipped crocodiles.

 

The Festival of Mangho Pir

Karachi has a sizable population of people of African origin. They are the descendants of those slaves who were brought from Oman to Makran in the past. Later, recurring famine brought them liberty. Every year the Sheedis, the local name for Afro-Pakistanis, gather in Manghopir area, where they erect a temporary colony and live there for an entire week with their families and dance and sing.

 

The week long festival is called Sheedi Jaat. The date of the festival is decided with mutual consultation among notables of the five socio-cultural groups of the Sheedi tribe each year. The five groups of Sheedi community are Lasi, Hyderabadi, Kharadari, Lasbela and Sheedis. The festival is arranged in moderate climate, thus its timings differ from year to year.

 

The festival is a curious combination of solemn spiritual rituals and cultural celebrations. These include collective sessions of meditation accompanied by sacred lyrics often rendered by an elderly woman or man in a soulful voice, followed by dhamaal sessions. There are songs in a bizarre blend of Balochi, Urdu and Gujrati, with a few Swahili words, celebrating blackhood. Most of the songs contain the refrain of Sheedi Basha (read Badshah) meaning the black king. And, of course, with the singing comes dancing in typical African rhythms and African dance called Leva.

 

The festival revolves around the crocodiles confirming the participants' African roots as crocodile worship was prevalent in the swamps and forests of Africa and still is among some tribes of Guinea and Zaire. During the festival people make their pledges at the shrine of Pir Mangho through offering fresh meat (believed to be the sacrificial) to the crocodiles along with crumbled bread and halva. Sheedis believe that the creatures do not harm the saint's followers. Owing to this belief, when a crocodile dies, it is buried with equal respect and formalities just as human being. There is also a reserved place for burying such dead crocodiles.

 

The highlight of the Manghopir festival is a garlanding ceremony, during which the Holy Successor (gaddi nasheen) puts a garland around the neck of the Chief of the Crocodiles called the Mor Sahib (Mr. Peacock) scents him with perfume and adorns his forehead with a sindoor. The image to the left shows feeding of Mor Sahib in 1878. He is 12 feet long and is over 100 years olds.

 

Success of this rite depends solely on the mood of old creature, but according to his keeper, he obliges most of the time and presents himself for the ritual. If the mood of Mor Sahib Crocodile is not so good then a bribe in the form of chunks of fresh meat does the trick. The rest of the crocodiles are six to seven feet in length. People here believe the crocodiles won't attack them because they (crocodiles) are the disciples of Manghopir and keeping their strong belief in my mind, I also got courage and opportunity to sit among these crocodiles. The annual festival provides the sheedis with an opportunity to strengthen their community ties and reaffirm their roots, although many of them are unaware of their African heritage and some deny that their ancestors were slaves and instead insist that they are descendants of black soldiers in the army of Mohammad Bin Qasim.

 

Thus what happens here may be described as some pagan rituals of worshipping crocodiles along with Islamic influence. This festival is organized by the All Pakistan Sheedi Federation with Jamal Ghulam Akbar Sheedi as its general secretary. In 1960s the population of crocodiles had dropped to just three. The pond in which they live had silted to a shallow depth of 3 feet and it was making crocodiles life miserable. Because of strong conservatory efforts of Wildlife conservation society of Pakistan the number of crocodiles has reached up to 100.

 

Now the pit has become too small for them and many a times cannibalism ensues due to mutual fight for space and grabbing for food. To overcome these problems, I personally contacted WWF-P (World Wide Fund for Nature – Pakistan) in year 2005. Dr. Ejaz Ahmed (Deputy Director General WWF-P) assured me regarding arrangement of proper food and care of crocodiles and for cleansing of dirty water of the pond. But as the pond was also under supervision of the Auqaf Department (Sindh) because the crocodiles pond is considered an integral part of the shrine; they could not take necessary actions.

 

It is really discouraging that Auqaf department is not playing its proper role and thanks to the large number of devotees, who flock to the shrine, the caretakers get a periodic supply of meat. Anyone desirous of having his wish fulfilled, slaughters a goat or sheep and offers some meat to the crocodiles.

 

Regards,

 

Farhan Wilayat Butt