1/2/2002
Festival of 'Sheedi Mela' Visual Report by Akhtar Soomro.

Once a year Sheedis come from far and near to attend the festival of 'Sheedi Mela' and to pay homage to their patron saint, Khawaja Hassan ul Maroof Shaikh Sultan Baba Manghoopir.

(Click on small photos to see larger pictures)

	Dressed in traditional clothes and jewellery, and in a profusion of styles and colours, men and women, old and young are swept along by the spirit of the festivities and break into the 'Dance of Ecstasy' which they call the Dhamal. This is a medley of folk music and sacred songs accompanied by the slow beating of drums. As the music fills the air the rhythm of drums quickens and the tempo builds in a romantic crescendo.
The Sheedis are a unique ethnic group with dark features whose ancestors are believed to have travelled from Africa. Each year they meet in a small arid and windswept village to the north west of Karachi to pray for themselves and for others, particularly the sick and the unhappy.
	Slowly the procession of pilgrims gathers its chorus of believers and as rose water is sprinkled an aura of spirituality descends on the celebration. A few devotees slip into a trance. Quickly they are garlanded with flowers. Now in Dhamal the procession sways to the beat of the sacred drums. More and more become captivated and entranced.
	As the good spirits take over, there is much rejoicing at this spiritual nirvana. Those who have reached the ecstatic state are garlanded again in obeisance to the supernatural and are led to the mausoleum of the Manghoopir for the final rites.
For the believers, the festival of 'Sheedi Mela' is an unmissable event.