For many years, Gopi Sanna Siddi has been called “crazy” by the people in her village of Kuntagani in Hulasihonda, Karnataka. She wears a delirious smile, talks to herself, and loves telling stories about friendship between animals, birds, and wronged women finding freedom.

Gopi belongs to the community of Siddis—a distinct ethnic group with African ancestry. 

It’s been 35 years since her husband left her for another woman. But Gopi doesn’t let this bother her. Her will of steel is what helps her fight for what’s hers—whether it is getting her farmland of arecanuts from encroachers or putting up a fight to get her book of stories self-published. 

In fact, Gopi had even pawned her jewellery and borrowed money from the people she worked for to get her book published. 

“Gopi is strong-headed, free-spirited and unfazed. Her no-holds-barred personality has earned her the reputation of being a maverick by those who find her too strong and overbearing. But it is her struggles in life that have made her who she is: a vibrant teller of stories of pain, wisdom and resilience,” says Savita Uday, Founder of BuDa Folklore, an NGO in Angadibail in Uttara Kannada, Karnataka, which is dedicated to conserving, educating and promoting the indigenous culture and folklore of the region.

Uday encountered Gopi 10 years ago when she was looking for someone to work at her home.

“She is a treasure trove of stories—of grief, freedom, and ecology. They are stories she had grown up listening to, from her mother and grandmother, and she wanted to narrate them to people she met,” says Uday.

In many ways, her storytelling is an act of reclaiming her voice and place in society, says Nishanth Gurumurthy, a filmmaker from Bengaluru who has made a documentary on Gopi. 

The community Gopi belongs to—the Siddis—have lived in India for centuries, concentrated in the states of Karnataka and Maharashtra, forming a vital part of the country’s cultural mosaic. The Siddi population in India is estimated at 20,000–50,000, with a significant number residing in Karnataka’s Uttara Kannada, Dharwad, and Belagavi districts. 

The Siddis, who trace their roots to East Africa, arrived in India in the 7th century through trade, migration, and forced displacement. They were brought in as slaves, mercenaries, or sailors, and later assimilated into Indian society. Over time, many of them adopted the local languages and customs, while maintaining elements of their African heritage, such as music and dance forms like Dhamal, which echo their ancestral traditions.

Challenges and marginalisation

Reports show that Siddis face poverty, limited access to education, healthcare, and stable employment. They also face an identity crisis, as their African physical features make them susceptible to social discrimination and stereotyping, often resulting in their exclusion from mainstream Indian society. 

As many of them depend on forest resources, the Siddhis also have to deal with forest rights and livelihood issues, and bureaucratic barriers that hinder their access to land and rights under the Forest Rights Act. Despite being granted scheduled tribe status in Karnataka in 2003, the community’s space and voice in policy-making remain negligible. 

In many ways, these challenges have brought out the storyteller in Gopi, says Gurumurthy. 

“Do I belong to the home that I was born into, or the home that I was married into, or to the forests that I have protected all my life? Where is my home?” Gopi asks in the film, giving viewers a glimpse into the segregation and displacement her community has faced historically. 

She talks about how speaking her mind has often earned her the ire of society, adding to the discrimination against her community that is already prevalent. 

Gopi recalls how as a child, when she went into town, people would called her “African” or “Negro”, and she would run back home to her grandmother and ask her why they did that. She would tell Gopi that their ancestors were of African origin and brought as slaves to this land in a ship. 

“She wasn’t sure herself, because she was born here as well. The migration happened a few generations before her,” says Gopi. 

Like many of her community members, Gopi has a photograph of Barack Obama in a folderfile. 

The Siddis draw inspiration and pride from their perceived connection to Barack Obama—a connection that stems from their shared African ancestry and the symbolic resonance with Obama’s rise to power. They see this as a symbol of empowerment, resilience, and the potential to overcome systemic challenges.

A teller of truth and stories

As a single mother and an inheritor of vibrant folklore from her ancestors, Gopi was roped in by BuDa Folklore to conduct storytelling sessions with school students from across Karnataka. 

Through her stories in Konkani and Kannada, she takes her audience on a journey into the sacred relationship the Siddis and other local communities like Hallakis share with their land, forests and sea. 

Gopi, who is a wild honey collector, talks about the ancient knowledge of medicinal herbs that her community members hold. She narrates riveting stories of a snake and a mongoose fighting with each other and a fox that feasts on a farmer’s sugarcane harvest, highlighting human-wildlife conflict. She also touches upon the different kinds of ants in the region, each distinguished by unique appearances and characteristics.

BuDa Folklore takes these stories to the children of local government schools to strengthen their connection to their land, heritage, and generational wisdom. The NGO also works with urban schoolchildren across the country to instill curiosity and wonder in them about dying traditions, folklore and cultural practices.

“Sometimes it is mystifying to see how the city children, despite language barriers, grow so fond of me. When it’s time to go home, they embrace me affectionately and say their goodbyes. I let them go with a heavy heart. The sadness I feel at their leaving is at times unbearable,” says Gopi.

Gurumurthy’s film Gopi, is an earnest dedication to her resilience and a spotlight on her life and work. Produced by Gurumama Films with BuDa Folklore as the associate partner, the film is being screened at various locations across the country as part of the ongoing All Living Things Environmental Film Festival.  

In 2021, Gopi had 1,000 copies of her book of stories published, of which only a few were sold. In August that year, heavy trains submerged her village and destroyed all her belongings, including her books. Gopi also lost one of her dogs to sickness around that time.

“I am a little disappointed and do regret having lost so much money,” she says. “But I still feel good that I have come this far in life. People have identified me with love and respect. I’m not afraid of pain anymore. I will just dust myself and continue my journey.”