The Siddi, also referred to as Sheedi, Sidi, or Siddhi, are an ethnic group primarily residing in Pakistan and India. They are distinguished by their ancestral origins in the Bantu peoples of the Zanj coast in Southeast Africa.
Historically, the majority of the Siddi population arrived in the Indian subcontinent through the Indian Ocean slave trade. Other members of the community migrated to the region as merchants, sailors, indentured servants, and mercenaries.