Sonda Graveyard

History

The village was founded by Jam Tamachi in the third quarter of the fourteenth century, in the Samma period. The Makhdum family who settled there — among them Makhdum Ramzan Vedani, Mula Ari, Mula Bayazid and Mula Abu Bakar — were widely revered, and it is around their graves that the cemetery grew. The carving style arrived in the subcontinent during Samma rule and carries a strong Gujarati influence.

Historical Significance

Sonda is the largest of Sindh's carved-stone necropolises after Makli, and its stonework preserves a tradition of figurative and decorative carving that is unusual in Muslim funerary art.

Architecture

The graveyard's yellowish stone tombs were once elaborately worked, and enough of that carving survives to show what the site was.

Why Visit

For the carving. Women's and children's graves here are marked with the jewellery they wore — bangles, necklaces, earrings, anklets — cut into the stone.

Interesting Facts

• The graves of women and children are carved with their jewellery: bangles, necklaces, earrings, anklets
• Tombs carry Quranic verses, floral and geometric patterns, and human figures
• The village was founded by Jam Tamachi in the later fourteenth century
• The carving tradition shows strong Gujarati influence, arriving in Sindh under the Sammas