As he dangles his writhing baby over the open jaws of a hungry-looking crocodile, you would be forgiven for thinking this man had lost his mind.
But there is method in his madness, for he is a Sheedi devotee seeking blessings for his five-month-old son.
The terrifying event is part of an annual spiritual festival in Karachi, which sees a community of African-descended Pakistanis appease the crocodile – which is regarded as sacred.
During the Sheedi Mela, devotees make pledges to a shrine for the reptiles and then head for the water to offer them fresh goat meat.
Acceptance of the meat is regarded as a sign of luck and property and the faithful believe the beasts won’t attack because they are the disciples of the saint, Khwaja Hasan.
The festival begins with a procession of girls who carry dishes of meats and sweets to the crocodile shrine, while Sheedi elders offer prayers and devotees dance in bare feet.
Crocodiles are so revered in the community that they are buried with the same respect as human beings.
Re: Annual Spiritual Festival In Karachi - SHEEDI MELA
Hard to believe but its true
The Sheedi Mela or Sheedi Jaat or Pir Mangho Urs (Urdu: شیدی میلا is an annual spiritual festival in Manghopir neighborhood of Gadap Town in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. Pir Mangho Urs is the most important event in the cultural calendar of the Sheedi community—a community of African-descended Pakistanis. It is held every year at the shrine of Manghopir, usually in the summer, for four days, with the exact dates decided upon by the community leaders. The Sheedi Mela is separate from the Manghopir Urs which marks the death anniversary of Mangho Pir and is held in the Islamic month of Dhu al-Hijjah.
The festival is famous for the role of the sacred crocodiles of the shrine, and the African-influence rituals of the Sheedi community. The festival attracts many people of all ethnic groups. People make their mannats (pledges) at the shrine of Pir Mangho through offering fresh meat (believed to be the sacrificial) to the crocodiles. Shedis believe that the creatures do not harm the saint’s followers and because of this bury crocodiles with equal respect and formalities as they would give a human being. There is place reserved for burying dead crocodiles near the shrine.
