A Brief History

of the Roma

There are more than twelve million Roma located in many countries around the world. There is no
way to obtain an exact number since they are not recorded on most official census counts. Many Roma
themselves do not admit to their true ethnic origins for economic and social reasons. The Roma are a
distinct ethnic minority, distinguished at least by Rom blood and the Romani, or Romanes, language,
whose origins began on the Indian subcontinent over one thousand years ago. No one knows for certain
why the original Roma began their great wandering from India to Europe and beyond, but they have
dispersed worldwide, despite persecution and oppression through the centuries.

There have been several great migrations, or diaspora, in Romani history. The first was the initial
dispersal from India about a thousand years ago. Some scholars suggest there may have been several
migrations from India. The second great migration, known as the Aresajipe, was from southwest Asia
into Europe in the 14th century. The third migration was from Europe to the Americas in the 19th and
early 20th centuries after the abolition of Romani slavery in Europe in 1856-1864. Some scholars
contend there is a great migration occurring today since the fall of the Iron Curtain in Eastern Europe.

Simplified map of possible migration routes

from India to Asia, Africa and Europe.
The Romani language is of Indo-Aryan origin and has many spoken dialects, but the root
language is ancient Punjabi, or Hindi. The spoken Romani language is varied, but all dialects
contain some common words in use by all Roma. Based on language, Roma are divided into three
populations. They are the Domari of the Middle East and Eastern Europe (the Dom), the
Lomarvren of Central Europe (the Lom), and the Romani of Western Europe (the Rom). There is
no universal written Romani language in use by all Roma. However, the codification of a
constructed, standardized dialect is currently in progress by members of the Linguistic
Commission of the International Romani Union.

There are four Rom "tribes", or nations (natsiya), of Roma: the Kalderash, the Machavaya, the
Lovari, and the Churari. Other groups include the Romanichal, the Gitanoes (Calé), the Sinti, the
Rudari, the Manush, the Boyash, the Ungaritza, the Luri, the Bashaldé, the Romungro, and the
Xoraxai. The first European descriptions of the Roma upon their entering Europe emphasized
their dark skin and black hair. Through integration with Europeans over the centuries, Roma today
can also be found with light skin and hair.

Romani culture is diverse and there is no universal culture per se, but there are attributes
common to all Roma: loyalty to family (extended and clan); belief in Del (God) and beng (the
Devil); belief in predestiny; Romaniya, standards and norms, varying in degree from tribe to tribe;
and adaptability to changing conditions. Integration of many Roma into gajikané (non-Roma, or
foreign) culture due to settlement has diluted many Romani cultural values and beliefs. Not all
tribes have the same definition of who and what is "Roma." What may be accepted as "true-
Roma" by one group may be gadjé to another. Romani culture is diverse, with many traditions
and customs, and all tribes around the world have their own individual beliefs and tenets. It
would be invalid to generalize and oversimplify by giving concrete rules to all Roma. Despite
what some groups may believe, there is no one tribe that can call themselves the one, "true"
Roma.
 Origins of the Romani People
by Ian Hancock

The Roma have been made up of many different groups of people from the very beginning, and
have absorbed outsiders throughout their history. Because they arrived in Europe from the East,
they were thought by the first Europeans to be from Turkey or Nubia or Egypt, or any number
of vaguely acknowledged non-European places, and they were called, among other things,
Egyptians or ‘Gyptians, which is where the word "Gypsy" comes from. In some places, this
Egyptian identity was taken entirely seriously, and was no doubt borrowed by the early Roma
themselves. In the 15th century, James the Fifth of Scotland concluded a treaty with a local
Romani leader pledging the support of his armies to help recover "Little Egypt" (an old name
for Epirus, on the Greek-Albanian coast) for them.

It was not until the second half of the 18th century that scholars in Europe began to realize that
the Romani language, in fact, came from India. Basic words, such as some numerals and
kinship terms, and names for body parts, actions, and so on, were demonstrably Indian. So—
they concluded—if the language were originally Indian, its speakers very likely must be as
well. Once they realized this, their next questions were the obvious ones: if Roma were indeed
from India, when did they leave, and why, and are there still Roma in that country?

At the very beginning of the 11th century, India came under attack by the Muslim general
Mahmud of Ghazni, who was trying to push Islam eastwards into India, which was mainly
Hindu territory. The Indian rulers had been assembling troops to hold back the Muslim army
for several centuries already, deliberately drawing their warriors from various populations who
were not Aryan. The Aryans had moved into India many centuries before, and had pushed the
original population down into the south, or else had absorbed them into the lowest strata of
their own society, which began to separate into different social levels or castes, called varnas
("colors") in Sanskrit.

The Aryans regarded Aryan life as being more precious than non-Aryan life, and would not risk
losing it in battle. So the troops that were assembled to fight the armies of Mahmud of Ghazni
were all taken from non-Aryan populations, and made honorary members of the Kshattriya, or
warrior caste, and allowed to wear their battledress and emblems.

They were taken from many different ethnic groups who spoke many different languages and
dialects. Some were Lohars and Gujjars, some were Tandas, some were Rajputs, non-Indian
peoples who had come to live in India some centuries before, and some may also have been
Siddhis, Africans from the East African coast who fought as mercenaries for both the Hindus
and the Muslims. This composite army moved out of India through the mountain passes and
west into Persia, battling with Muslim forces all along the eastern limit of Islam. While this is
to an extent speculative, it is based upon sound linguistic and historical evidence, and provides
the best-supported scenario to date. Because Islam was not only making inroads into India to
the east, but was also being spread westwards into Europe, this conflict carried the Indian
troops—the early Roma—further and further in that direction, until they eventually crossed
over into southeastern Europe about the year 1300.

From the very beginning, then, the Romani population has been made up of various different
 peoples who have come together for different reasons. As the ethnically and linguistically
mixed occupational population from India moved further and further away from its land of
origin (beginning in the 11th century), so it began to acquire its own ethnic identity, and it was
at this time that the Romani language also began to take shape. But the mixture of peoples and
languages didn’t stop there, for as the warriors moved northwestwards through Persia, they
took words and grammar from Persian, and no doubt absorbed new members too; and the same
thing happened in Armenia and in the Byzantine Empire, and has continued to happen in
Europe. In some instances, the mingling of small groups of Roma with other peoples has
resulted in such groups being absorbed into them and losing their Romani identity; the Jenisch
are perhaps such an example. In others, it has been the outsiders who have been absorbed, and
who, in the course of time, have become one with the Romani group.

In Europe, Roma were either kept in slavery in the Balkans (in territory that is today Romania),
or else were able to move on and up into the rest of the continent, reaching every northern and
western country by about 1500. In the course of time, as a result of having interacted with
various European populations, and being fragmented into widely-separated groups, Roma have
emerged as a collection of distinct ethnic groups within the larger whole.

The Honorable Ian F. Hancock, of British Romani and Hungarian Romani descent, represents
Roma on the United States Holocaust Memorial Council. He is professor of Romani Studies at
the University of Texas at Austin, and has authored nearly 300 publications. In 1997, he was
awarded the international Rafto Human Rights Prize (Norway), and in 1998 was recipient of
the Gamaliel Chair in Peace and Justice (USA).

There have been many large-scale, state-sponsored persecutions, or pogroms, against the
Roma throughout European history. The Nazi terror of World War II is the most infamous and
is responsible for the deaths of up to 1.5 million Roma in the Porrajmos (Holocaust). The
recent collapse of the communist governments of Eastern Europe have rekindled anti-Roma
sentiment in Eastern and Western Europe. Violent attacks against Romani immigrants and
refugees have been permitted to occur with little or no restraint from government authorities.
The Romani people remain the least integrated and the most persecuted people of Europe.
Almost everywhere, their fundamental civil rights are threatened. Racist violence targeting
Roma is on the rise after the fall of Communism. Discrimination against Roma in employment,
education, health care, administrative and other services is observed in most societies, and hate
speech against them deepens the negative anti-Roma stereotypes which are typical of European
public opinion.

Anti-Roma attitudes also exist in the Americas to one extent or another. Misrepresentations of
the Romani people in the popular press, books, films and television have contributed to
negative stereotypes and characterisations. Special "Gypsy" units in some local police forces
exist to warn the gadje population of "Gypsy" activities.
In the last few years, the Roma issue has been addressed by various non-governmental
organisations, national as well as international. Different approaches - economic, social,
political, cultural, and others - have been applied in the hope of improving the living standards
of the Roma, of promoting a more just social policy, of strengthening Roma cultural identity, or
of encouraging Roma political participation. Solutions have been sought in the context of the
struggle against racism and nationalism, as well as in the context of enhancing cultural
pluralism. These recent projects are fragments of a growing all-European Roma movement that
is now only in its formative stage. The shape of this movement is still amorphous and
incomplete. There still exists no significant internationalised human rights strategy initiative
to monitor the human rights situation of the Roma and to provide legal defense in cases of
human rights abuse.
 The spoked-wheel image above represents a sixteen-spoked chakra, adopted at the First World
Romani Congress in London in 1971 as the international Romani symbol. The chakra is a link to
the Roma's Indian origins (the 24-spoked Ashok Chakra is in the center of the national flag of
India, the Tiranga) and represents movement and the original Creation. The green and blue flag
with a red chakra in the center was adopted as the Romani flag, as well as the motto "Opré Roma"
(Roma Arise). The song "Gelem, gelem," also known as "Djelem, djelem" and "Opré Roma," was
selected as the Romani anthem. April 8 was proclaimed International Romani Day. There have
been four World Romani Congresses to date. Among the chief goals of these meetings are the
standardization of the Romanes language, reparations from World War II, improvements in civil
rights and education, preserving Romani culture, and international recognition of the Roma as a
national minority of Indian origin. Among the chief Roma organisations, the International Romani
Union has consultative status to the United Nations Social and Economic Council.

The Romani people have been known by many names, including Gypsies (or Gipsies), Tsigani,
Tzigane, Cigano, Zigeuner, and others. Most Roma have always referred to themselves by their
tribal names, or as Rom or Roma, meaning "Man" or "People." (Rom, Roma, Romani, and
Romaniya should not be confused with the country of Romania, or the city of Rome. These names
have separate, distinct etymological origins and are not related.) The use of Rom, Roma, Romani,
or the double "r" spelling, is preferred in all official communications and legal documents. In
response to the recommendations put forth by Roma associations, the Council of Europe has
approved the use of "Rroma (Gypsies)" in its official documents (CLRAE Recommendation 11 -
June 1995). The trend is to eliminate the use of derogatory, pejorative and offensive names, such as
Gypsies, and to be given proper respect by the use of the self-appelation of Roma, or Rroma.

Romani Customs and Traditions:

Important Notes

It is necessary when describing Romani customs and traditions to explain some important points
that may clarify some facts presented. Most of the customs and traditions expressed in this
section refer to those observed by the older European Roma groups, except where noted.

The Romani population has been a composite one from the very beginning, with different ethnic
groups brought together during their initial great migration from India. The Romani population
and the Romani people came into being outside of India, though the various ethnic elements
began inside India. This is supported linguistically and increasingly more on the basis of history.
For the extensive amount of Persian and Byzantine Greek influence upon the Romanes language,
members of the migration out of India stayed in these areas long enough for this to occur, and
they no doubt brought members of those populations into the evolving Romani population.

The fragmentation of the Romani population occurred on a major scale after their arrival into
Europe in the 14th century. Once in Europe, their particular ability to adjust to outside groups
continued, and in some places, the Romani element was dominant enough to assimilate
outsiders. In other places, the Romani element was too small to maintain its discrete identity and
it was lost, while contributing to the group into which they were absorbed. The Romani
population has grown differently in different places, to the point that one group may deny the
legitimacy of another group. But all groups maintain to a greater or lesser degree the barrier
between who is Roma and who is not. Thus there are populations of Romani who have
incorporated a substantial foreign genetic element from outside of India, but who remain in
terms of their own self-perception Roma, and who speak Romanes. Despite what some groups
may believe, there is no one group that can call themselves the one, "true" Roma.

The use of the names Rom and Roma, or Rrom and Rroma, are used here instead of the words
Gypsy and Gypsies. When necessary to explain a point within a cultural or historical context,
sometimes Gypsy and Gypsies may be used. Some Romani groups do not call themselves Roma,
such as the Romanichal, Gitanos, Kalé, Sinti, Manush, and others, but refer to other groups as
Roma. Many Roma groups or nations refer to themselves as Roma, or Rom. These include the
older European nations such as the Kalderasha, and others, such as the German Roma. In
contrast, some Roma groups do not call themselves Roma and use "Roma" to refer to other
tribes. For more information, see Self-Identification of Rroma. To add more confusion, all
Roma are Gypsies, but not all Gypsies are Roma. For an explanation, see The Struggle for the
Control of Identity.
Gypsies, although pejorative to Roma, is still a proper name, and as such, must always be
capitalised.

Marimé, the Roma pollution code, refers both to a state of pollution as well as to the sentence of
expulsion imposed for violation of purity rules or any disruptive behavior. Marimé is a core
element of Roma society and culture and it pervades every part of traditional Roma life. The
majority of Roma adhere to the concept of marimé and its many different names, such as
moxadó, melali, mageradó, mokadi, kulaló, limaló, prastló, palecidó, pekelimé, gonimé or
bolimé.

Today, the following characteristics apply to the many Roma groups and communities around
the world:

(1) Roma may be nomadic, semi-sedentary, or sedentary

(2) Roma speak many dialects of Romanes, and some Roma may not speak Romanes at
all

(3) Roma may live in rural or urban areas

(4) Some Roma groups are predominately illiterate, while other tribes stress at least a
minimum of literacy in their host country's language for its community members

Integration and assimilation into gajikane society have always threatened the preservation of
Roma customs and traditions. The Roma ability to adapt to new environments in order to survive
has been responsible for the loss of many customs forgotten with time. Understanding these
threats can prevent the further loss of a unique and ancient culture's customs and traditions.

With so many variations in culture, generalities must be used in these articles. For specific
information on certain groups or nations, please refer to the Further Reading list for sources.
 Roma in
Culture and the Arts

The Roma have been known as entertainers in every country they have traveled. In eastern Europe,
the Roma have been known as skilled acrobats, bear trainers, horse trainers, musicians, dancers and
singers. They have owned and operated traveling carnivals and circuses. They have been prized by
royalty as court musicians for their mastery of musical styles.

Roma have contributed their own unique styles to middle eastern music, Jewish klezmer music,
flamenco music and dance, jazz, and they have influenced other artists in their music and art, among
them Liszt, Bizet, Brahms, Dvorák, Verdi, Rachmaninov, and Bartok.

Many well-known modern entertainers have claimed Romani ancestry, including the actor and
Roma activist, Yul Brynner; the comedian, Charlie Chaplin; the actress, Rita Hayworth; the actor,
Michael Caine; and the actor and director Bob Hoskins. The Gipsy Kings are perhaps the best known
Roma musical entertainers in the world today.

The Romanes language has not had many important authors, primarily because of the absence of a
universal standard in written Romanes. Among Roma authors are the novelist Mateo Maximoff, a
Kalderash Rom, writing in French, translated by others into English and other languages. Papusza,
the Romni poetess from Poland, is being "rediscovered" by new readers. Today, important Roma
authors are emerging from Europe with critical acclaim, writing in Romanes.

Inclusion in this list of links does not necessarily assume endorsement by Patrin of any organisation,
individual or viewpoint represented.

Cimbalom musician.