[indistinct speaker] narrator: curator and historian of the schomburg center in new york, sylviane diouf, who has tracked the siddi people's journey from the african coast to the indian subcontinent, explains the roots of the siddis currently residing in gir. sylvianene: the siddi today are the descendants of the 1800s people, as well as some africans who arrived, actually, later. narrator: among them were imran's ancestors, who were brought to india in the 19th century. narrator: with the passage of time, some escaped slavery, establishing communities in forested areas. but totoday, life fofor thousanf siddis, such as imran, is far from glamorous. most live on the fringes of society in abject poverty. narrator: they listened. and today imran and his friends support themselves by performing african dances, spiked with a bit of drama for visitors. [drums beating] and when he's not dancing, he works in gir forest as a guide. narrator: besides their strength, the siddis say that the nawabs also believed that they held a special relationship with the asiatic lions and to nature itself. narra