THE CULT OF BABA GHOR AND ITS ROLE IN SHAPING IDENTITIES IN GUJARAT

Abstract

Baba Ghor’s cult is a very popular one in Gujarat, but there is not much information available about it. There are no primary sources that mention about Baba Ghor and his followers. The passing references about the cult often come from the much later colonial authorities. In order to reconstruct the history of Baba Ghor’s cult, one has to rely on folk legends and narratives offered by the followers of the cult. In this paper, the people of African descent are referred as Badshah, a term which they like to use for themselves. The paper is an attempt to reconstruct the history of the cult by taking into account a few legends that were narrated by the followers of the cult. This paper is heavily based on the field research conducted at various places that are attached to the cult of Baba Ghor in Gujarat.

Keywords: Badshah, Urs, Jambur, Dargah, Ratanpur