The Lom people or tr, Lomlar, also known in tr, Poşa as (Bosha or Posha) by non-Loms ( hy, Բոշա, ka, ბოშა, tr; russian: Боша) or Romani (russian: армянские цыгане; hy, հայ գնչուներ) or Caucasian Romani (russian: кавказские цыгане), are an ethnic group originating from India. Their

Lomavren language Lomavren ( hy, Լոմավրեն ') is a nearly extinct mixed language spoken by the Lom people, that arose from language contact between a language related to Romani and Domari and the Armenian language. Names The language is also known as ''Bos ...

is a

mixed language A mixed language is a language that arises among a bilingual group combining aspects of two or more languages but not clearly deriving primarily from any single language. It differs from a creole or pidgin language in that, whereas creoles/pidgin ...

, combining an Indo-Aryan substrate with

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

Number

The exact number of existing Bosha is difficult to determine, due to the dispersed and often mostly-assimilated nature of the group. Estimates suggest only a few thousand of the people can be found across

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ' ...

and

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, while the Armenian Government's census reports only 50 living in the former.

Distribution

Concentrations of Bosha can be found in

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and i ...

and

Gyumri Gyumri ( hy, Գյումրի, ) is an urban municipal community and the second-largest city in Armenia, serving as the administrative center of Shirak Province in the northwestern part of the country. By the end of the 19th century, when the city w ...

in Armenia. Some of the Bosha in Armenia have adopted the

Armenian language Armenian ( classical: , reformed: , , ) is an Indo-European language and an independent branch of that family of languages. It is the official language of Armenia. Historically spoken in the Armenian Highlands, today Armenian is widely spoken th ...

and assimilated with the larger Armenian population.Wixman. ''The Peoples of the USSR''. p. 30 In Georgia they live in such cities as

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Kura River with a population of approximately 1.5 million p ...

, Kutaisi, Akhalkalaki and Akhaltsikhe. They are noted for such occupations as sievemakers. In Turkey the Lomlar adopted Islam at the 19th century and assimilated

Turkish culture The culture of Turkey ( tr, Türkiye Kültürü) combines a heavily diverse and heterogeneous set of elements that have been derived from the various cultures of the Eastern Mediterranean, Eastern Europe, Caucasia, Middle East and Central Asia t ...

. They mostly live in

Artvin Artvin ( Laz and ; hy, Արտուին, translit=Artuin) is a city in northeastern Turkey about inland from the Black Sea. It is located on a hill overlooking the Çoruh River near the Deriner Dam. It is a former bishopric and (vacant) Armeni ...

Rize Rize (Greek: ρίζα, Laz: რიზინი, Georgian: რიზე, , Ottoman Turkish: ريزه) is the capital city of Rize Province in the eastern part of the Black Sea Region of Turkey. Rize is a typically Turkish provincial capital w ...

Ardahan Ardahan (, ka, არტაანი, tr, hy, Արդահան, translit=Ardahan Russian: Ардаган) is a city in northeastern Turkey, near the Georgian border. It is the capital of Ardahan Province. History Ancient and medieval Ardaha ...

and Kars and identify themselves as Meshketian Turks, hiding their Lom origins, while taking Armenian words from their contact with the Hemshin.

References

External links

*
Marushiakova, Elena and Vesselin Popov. 2016. Gypsies of Central Asia and Caucasus. London: Palgrave Macmillan.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lom People Ethnic groups in Armenia Ethnic groups in Georgia (country) Ethnic groups in Turkey