Insight into the most colourful people of the world:Romanies

Romani (Gypsies) originating in the Punjab region of northern India as a nomadic people, entered Europe between the eighth and tenth centuries. They were called "Gypsies" because Europeans mistakenly believed they came from Egypt. This minority is made up of distinct groups called "tribes" or "nations."

Common beliefs:

In many communities, the common belief is that Gypsies are people who don’t have a permanent house & go from one place to another without any real goals or purposes. They are believed to be vagabond people living in horse drawn colourful Caravans, telling fortune with Tarot cards, tinkering with Violins, panning for gold in the river, people engaging themselves in fist fights, drugs, alcohol, free lifestyle & free culture. They were usually considered as untrustworthy group always indulging themselves in petty thefts.

 They are dispersed, but their most concentrated populations are located in Europe, especially Central, Eastern and Southern Europe (including Turkey, Spain and Southern France). The Romani arrived in Mid-West Asia and Europe around 1007. Since then they are traveling from one country to another.When the Gypsy started jumping countries, they weren't really welcomed by the most communities, as they lived,looked & spoke very differently. they were often harassed because of the same reason. Which is also the probable reason their worldwide wandering & very weird lifestyle.

Keeping aside all the conventional thoughts, there are lots of things that we don’t know about them. Romani people actually are the member of a group of Caucasoid people with dark skin & black hair, found throughout the world & believed to have originated in India: they are conventionally known as metalworkers, musicians, fortunetellers.

Their different names:

Their names are as diverse as their populations are widespread: they are generally called as Roma or Romani people. In the Romani language, Rom is a masculine noun, meaning 'man of the Roma ethnic group' or 'man, husband', with the plural Roma. Romani is the feminine adjective, while Romano is the masculine adjective.

 They are widely called Gypsy though that creates a misconception about their origin. This minority group is known as ‘Gitanos’ in Spain, as ‘Tsingani’ in Central & Eastern Europe, ‘Koli’ in Persian, ‘Mustlane’ in Estonian, ‘Gitan’ in France & several other names across the world.

 Romani’s also refer to call themselves by various names: ‘Kale’ in Finland & Portugal, ‘Manush’ in France & ‘Shinti’ in Germany & Eastern Europe.

Their Root lies in India:

A multitude of different sources including medieval texts suggest that modern day Romani gypsies migrated from northern and northwestern India to the European continent somewhere between the 12th and 16th centuries. This is, of course, a vague timeline since there is no “hard” evidence to suggest exactly when or why they migrated.

Tracking down these details regarding the Romani is made even more difficult when you understand that they do not keep written or oral record of their own histories. Plus they are traditionally very secretive and wary of sharing information or forming relationships with persons they consider “outsiders” (i.e. non-gypsies).

The connection between the Romani and Indian people was first made when modern linguists realized that the language spoken by modern Romani gypsies is descended from Indo-Aryan dialect languages such as; Punjabi, Bengali, Hindi, and Marwari. More exactly, Romani shares the basic lexicon with Hindi and Punjabi. It shares many phonetic features with Marwari, while its grammar is closest to Bengali,as well as the Indian particularity for cleanliness in regards to the human body.

This correlation is supported by strong genetic DNA evidence which proves that Romani people are, in fact, of Indian decent. This also explains why the core Romani population (i.e. those which have not had significant genetic mixing with the native European population) share a lot of the physical traits which are common among the native Indian population such as similar skin color, facial features, haircolor and type, cultural similarities, etc.

Their Root lies in India

Why did the Romani people leave India?

While no one knows exactly why or when the Romani people left India to eventually find their way to Europe, Some historians suggest, the Romanies left India due to caste based oppression while some suggest they were lured with the offer of social elevation to higher caste if they participated in wars in West Asia. Arab invasion also happened around the same time and there are chances they left to escape the persecution that were followed as an aftermath of the invasion. The North West was a door through which several looters and invaders made their way into India. These looters on their way back took slaves from the plundered lands. As for example, Mahmud of Ghazni reportedly took 5,00,000 prisoners during his invasion of Punjab and Sindh.

There is another explanation of sorts that has been retold for centuries in “epic poem” fashion across India and the Middle East which uses semi-mythological means to describe the origin of the Romani people. Known as the Shahnameh legend - it goes like this;

The Sasanian King, who was known as Bahram, learned that the poor in his realm could not afford to stop working in order to enjoy the finer things in life, like the ability to sit and enjoy good music. He was distraught over this and so he asked the King of India to send him ten-thousand flute players. When the musicians arrived to Bahram’s kingdom he gave them each an ox, a donkey, and a wagon-load of wheat so that they could live off of his land and play music for his peasantry - but, as you can probably imagine, that is not what happened.

Those pesky flute players ate the oxen and all of the wheat in just one years time instead of learning to work and grow their own food. After 1 year, they came back to King Bahram starved to the bones, begging at his feet for more food. The King was so enraged with their actions that he refused them anything more and demanded that they leave his realm to perpetually roam the Earth and starve.

Thus, they became the Romani or “traveller people”

The story of their travel:

After leaving northern India, the Romanies traveled further West in search of safety and opportunity. For centuries, Romanies took refuge in Syria, Turkey, Lebanon and Egypt. And around 900 AD, they started passing through the Balkans into Central and Eastern Europe.

Romany Migration Path

With the passage of time, most Romani went to Europe, In some Eastern European countries. By the 14th century, the Romanies had reached the Balkans and Bohemia; by the 15th century, Germany, France, Italy, Spain and Portugal; and by the 16th century, Russia, Denmark, Scotland and Sweden.

Some Romanies migrated from Persia through North Africa, reaching Europe via Spain in the 15th century. The two currents met in France. Romanies began immigrating to the United States in colonial times, with small groups in Virginia and French Louisiana. Larger-scale immigration began in the 1860s, with groups of Romnichal from Britain. The largest number immigrated in the early 20th century, mainly from the Vlax group of Kalderash. Many Romanies also settled in Latin America.

Now, there is almost 12million Romani population in the whole world. They form up to 12 percent of the total population of Romania and Bulgaria. The Roma are also numerous in Turkey, which has about 2.75 million Romani, according to The New York Times: Other European countries with large Roma populations include Russia, Slovakia, Hungary, Serbia, Spain and France.

Though concentrated in Europe, there are also Romani populations on every occupied continent — about 1 million live in the United States, and roughly 800,000 in Brazil. But no matter where they go, the Roma have faced discrimination and persecution.

Persecution & their struggles:

The Romani faced horrific persecution,Shortly after arriving in Europe, the Romani were enslaved in many regions, a cultural heritage that continued into the 19th century in countries like Romania. In England, Switzerland and Denmark, the Romani were put to death throughout the medieval era. Many countries, such as Germany, Italy and Portugal, ordered the expulsion of all Romani.

There are countless reports of Roma children being abducted from their parents, women who had their ears cut off, and Romani who were branded with hot irons. In an effort to force assimilation, the use of their native language was forbidden in some countries; other places forbade the Roma to marry among themselves.

Perhaps the most devastating persecution of the Romani occurred during World War II, when they were among the first targets of Nazi atrocities, according to the BBC. An estimated 2 million Romani died in concentration camps and through other means of extermination.

Romanies in concentration camp

In the post-war era, the Romani remained an oppressed group, especially in the Soviet Union. As recently as the 1980s, Roma women in Czechoslovakia were forced to undergo sterilization to limit the Romani population.

Their rich culture:

Across centuries, the survival of Romani culture in Europe has depended upon a range of artistic forms – including oral history, storytelling, music, dance, theater, metalwork, woodwork and painting – as well as everyday labor practices that perform intelligible Romani identities and narratives for both the community itself as well as for non-Roma.

Having a rich & fascinating culture,The Romani are often celebrated for their musical heritage, which has influenced jazz, bolero and flamenco music, as well as classical composers including Franz Liszt.

cultural heritage

Romani music plays an important role in Central and Eastern European countries such as Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Albania, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia and Romania, and the style and performance practices of Romani musicians have influenced European classical composers year after years. The Romanies of Turkey have achieved musical acclaim from national and local audiences
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Dances such as the flamenco of Spain and Oriental dances of Egypt are said to have originated from the Romani.

The original traveling Romani populations supported themselves as performers, artisans and tradespeople, according to the Roma Support Group (RSG) an organization created by Roma people to promote awareness of Romani traditions and culture.

Family relationships play an important role in traditional Romani society, and often form the backbone of larger community groups. Roma people frequently identify with ethnic subgroups or "nations," which share similar language variations, dress styles and occupations, according to the RSG.

Romani Art:

Romani contemporary art is art created by Romani people. It emerged at the climax of the process that began in Central and Eastern Europe in the late-1980s, when the interpretation of the cultural practice of minorities was enabled by a paradigm shift, commonly referred to in specialist literature as the Cultural turn. The idea of the "cultural turn" was introduced; and this was also the time when the notion of cultural democracy became crystallized in the debates carried on at various public forums. Civil society gained strength, and civil politics appeared, which is a prerequisite for cultural democracy. This shift of attitude in scholarly circles derived from concerns specific not only to ethnicity, but also to society, gender and class.

 

Famous Romani Personalities:

 Many famous artists, scientists and performers are proud of their Roma origin, but there were those stars that we all seem to know all about, except that they are of Roma origin. Among them there are: British actor Michael Caine, one of the greatest filmmakers in the world cinema Charlie Chaplin, American actor Yul Brynner, famous German footballer, Michael Ballack; the great painter who has created more than 6,000 paintings, sculptures and drawings, Pablo Picasso; and the famous pin-up goddess and sex symbol of the 40s Rita Hayworth, etc.

famous Romanies

Religion:

While it's believed that the Roma were originally Hindu, over the centuries, most Romani have adopted the religions of their host countries. The majority of Roma communities now practice a form of Islam or Christianity that retains some Romani influences.

Roma efforts combat persistent prejudice:

Many Romani still face persecution and discrimination, and are denied rights and services in the countries where they live. Authorities in Italy have denied housing to Roma families — even those born in Italy — on the grounds that people living in cheap, makeshift metal containers in isolated Roma camps already have permanent housing, according to the Guardian.

And in 2013, about 10,000 Roma were expelled from France after their camps were destroyed, according to the Baltimore Sun.

However, recent decades have also seen Roma organizations and individuals working to secure rights for Roma worldwide, to preserve Roma traditions and culture, and to provide resources for Roma communities. For example, the Roma Education Fund supports education programs to assist Romani students and to help integrate Roma into education systems worldwide that have historically excluded them. And Hungarian politician and Romani activist Ágnes Osztolykán received the 2011 International Women of Courage Award from the U.S. State Department, recognizing her efforts promoting Roma recognition and rights in Hungary.
By- Primavera 

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Romani_people

https://www.livescience.com/amp/40652-facts-about-roma-romani-gypsies.html

https://www.financialexpress.com/photos/business-gallery/209935/the-roma-celebrating-indian-roots-of-charlie-chaplin-elvis-presley-pablo-picasso/lite/