The Mysteries of Manghopir: Shrine, Crocodiles, and Sulphur Springs (Part 1 of 2)

Owais Mughal

One of the faint memories of my childhood is our family visit to the Crocodile pond of Manghopir, which is the largest colony of crocodiles in Pakistan.

But as we will dsicover in this two-part series of articles, Manghopir is much more than just that. The mysteries of Manghopir are many, they have enthralled many and will surprise those not already familiar with them.

For more than seven hundred years Manghopir was located north of present day Karachi but in the last twenty years or so it has almost become part of the Karachi city proper.

Manghopir is famous for three major attractions. The shrine of Saint Sakhi Sultan which is located on a hill at an altitude of approximately 600 ft. Adjacent to the shrine is the second attraction in the form of a crocodile pond with a hundred plus docile crocodiles lying lazily there. A kilometer away from this shrine-crocodile pit complex is the third attraction in the form of hot water sulfur springs. I will look today at the history of the shrine and the crocodile pond and return in the next installment with more on the wonderful festival of Sheedi Jaat of the Afro-Pakistani community and the sulphur springs.

Who was Pir Mangho? This is a question shrouded in mystery which is laced with both myths and facts. The myths seem to have an upper hand on facts. Among all other things it is also not clear that who is actually buried in the shrine. Is it some saint called Sakhi Sultan or a saint called Mangho or are these two people one and the same person. The mysteries here are even more profound than the ones about Garhi Shaho in Lahore that ATP had featured earlier (see here).
The photo to the right shows the shrine of Manghopir. I was able to find at least four legends describing the origins of Pir Mangho. I am however, not going to draw a conclusion on what legend seems right or wrong. I’ll leave that to our readership.

(i) According to first legend once there lived a bandit by the name of Mangho Wasa. He was notorious for looting caravans. Once the famous saint Baba Farid Ganj Shakar (AD 1173-1266) was passing near the present day Karachi on his way to perform Hajj (pilgrimage) in Mecca when Mangho Wasa looted him. This also brought Mangho in direct contact with Baba Farid. The divine sight and righteous personality of Baba Farid impressed Mangho Wasa so much that he converted to Islam. He became one of the disciples and started practicing sufism. Baba Farid was so pleased with Mangho that he titled him a saint (pir). Thus from that day onwards Mangho came to be known as Pir Mangho and the locality became famous as Manghopir. According to this legend, it is indeed Pir Mangho Wasa who is buried in the shrine and is now called Sakhi Sultan Manghopir.

(ii) Another legend says the person buried at Manghopir is infact Hazrat Khwaja Hasan Maroof Sufi Sakhi Sultan Baba (this got to be the longest name ever). When Mangho Wasa the bandit visited the shrine, he out of repentance for his sins, converted to Islam and served the wayfarers all his life. The shrine is now known as Manghopir in association of Mangho Wasa dacoit who turned into a pious soul in his later life. The person buried in the shrine is however Sakhi Sultan and not Mangho Wasa. Where is Mangho Wasa buried then? This legend is silent on that question.

(iii) The third legend says that Mangho came from Arabia in the 13th century. Soon after his arrival, he went into a meditation for 40 years in a nearby cave. He became popular as a saint because of the devotion he showed in his 40-year meditation and hence the people named him Pir Mangho. He is said to have lived to the age of 150. This legend is silent on why Mangho chose this area to go into a 40 year meditation

(iv) Fourth legend comes from Alexander F Baillie’s book “Kurrachee: Past, Present and Future” where he writes: Pir Mangho is the proper designation of the shrine, to which Hindus and Muslims both resort in large numbers. It is sacred to the memory of a Saint, whose original name was Kamaldin, but whose designation was changed to that of Pir Mangho when his bones were removed to that place and interred under a mosque

As if the origins of Pir Mangho were not mysterious enough, let us turn our attention to a 200 ft x 400 ft water pond adjacent to the shrine. Photo to the left shows this pond.

This pond is home to approximately 100 crocodiles. Once again I was able to research at least 5 more legends and a scientific theory about how the crocodiles came to live in Manghopir area. I found some of the myths quite amusing. Make your own mind about any shade of truth in them.

(i) According to the first myth, Baba Farid Ganj Shakar gifted these crocodiles to Pir Mangho on his visit to the area. Why was Baba Farid traveling with crocodiles is unclear.

(ii) Second myth says that crocodiles were brought to Manghopir by a saint called Mor Mubarak (the blessed Peacock) from a cave in Korangi. Korangi is a Karachi town located some 50 km to the east of Manghopir.

(iii) Another version of the same myth says that Mor Mubarak had brought these crocodiles from a small brackish pit located in Waghodar area. Mor Mubarak tomb is also located in Waghodar, some 120 km upstream from Hub Dam. A perennial lake here still houses 10 marsh crocodiles that have been living here since Hub River flowed full. Therefore it is suggested that Manghopir crocodiles may have come downstream from here.

(iv) According to fourth myth, the famous saint of Sehwan Sindh, Lal Shahbaz Qalandar once visited the area. He was pained to see the area very inhospitable therefore with his miracles he caused a hot spring to issue forth as well as some date palms to spring up from the ground. The crocodiles were originally the lice in Lal Shahbaz’s hair which he gifted to Pir Mangho. He put them in the pond and each of them turned into a crocodile.

(v) The fifth myth, which I think is the most amusing, says that crocodiles were actually the lice in the hair of Pir Mangho. One day the lice were itching ‘pir sahib’ so much that in anger he stamped his feet on the ground and two sulfur pools were formed, in which the lice jumped and later grew up to become crocodiles.

Some people have tried to give scientific explanation to crocodiles’ presence. These crocodiles were carried through some heavy floods, during ancient times and later gathered at this pond. Archaeological investigations have also suggested the existence of a Bronze Age settlement (2500-1700 BC) near Manghopir, who worshipped crocodiles.

Sohrab K. H. Katrak who was mayor of Karachi in 1942-43, in an essay about Karachi, writes about Manghopir in following words:

Twelve miles away from Karachi is a place called Magarpeer. It is a well-known swamp fed by a hot spring of reputed medical value. Adjoining it is a shrine of Pir Mangho, an ancient Mussalman saint, which is visited by hundreds of pilgrims every week. The swamp is filled with huge alligators (known as ‘muggers’), some forty in number. The name was changed from Pir Mangho to Mugger Pir during the British regime.

About a mile from this pond of alligators is a Lepers’ Asylum, in the building of which a very prominent part was taken by Sadhu Navalrai and his son Sadhu Hiranand, the two celebrated saintly Sindhis of Hyderabad.

There is plenty here for man or crocodile to ‘chew on’ so let me leave it at this for the first installment. To read more interesting stuff about the Afro-Pakistani festival of Sheedi Jaat and the frolics at the sulphur springs and public baths click here to Read Second Part of the Mysteries of Manghopir

Photo Credits: Clicking on individual photos will take you to their source sites.

References:

(i) Crocodile Specialist Group Newsletter, Volume 23, No 3, July 2004 - September 2004.
(ii) Insight Guide Pakistan, Third edition 2000.

(iii) Karachi During the British Era - Two histories of a Modern City: Oxford University Press, 2007