{{Infobox ethnic group , group = Romani people , image = , image_caption = , flag = Roma flag.svg , flag_caption =

Romani flag The Romani flag () is the international ethnic flag of the Romani people, historically known as Gypsies. They constitute a stateless minority concentrated in parts of Europe, but are also dispersed across parts of other continents. The flag was a ...

created in 1933 and accepted at the 1971

World Romani Congress The World Romani Congress () is a series of forums for discussion of issues relating to Roma people around the world. , there have been eleven World Romani Congresses. Among the chief goals of these congresses have been the standardization of the ...

, pop = 2–12 million , region2 =

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, pop2 = 1 million estimated with Romani ancestry{{efn, 5,400 per 2000 census. , ref2 = {{cite news , first=Kayla , last=Webley , url=http://content.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2025316,00.html , title=Hounded in Europe, Roma in the U.S. Keep a Low Profile , agency=Time , date=13 October 2010 , access-date=3 October 2015 , quote=Today, estimates put the number of Roma in the U.S. at about one million. , region3 =

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

, pop3 = 800,000 (0.4%) , ref3 = , region4 =

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, pop4 = 750,000–1.5 million (1.5–3.7%) , ref4 = {{cite web , url=http://www.mscbs.gob.es/ssi/familiasInfancia/inclusionSocial/poblacionGitana/docs/diagnosticosocial_autores.pdf , title=Diagnóstico social de la comunidad gitana en España: Un análisis contrastado de la Encuesta del CIS a Hogares de Población Gitana 2007 , website=mscbs.gob.es , year=2007 , quote=Tabla 1. La comunidad gitana de España en el contexto de la población romaní de la Unión Europea. Población Romaní: 750.000{{nbsp ..Por 100 habitantes: 1.87%{{nbsp ..se podrían llegar a barajar cifras{{nbsp ..de 1.100.000 personas , access-date=8 March 2019 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190808120335/http://www.mscbs.gob.es/ssi/familiasInfancia/inclusionSocial/poblacionGitana/docs/diagnosticosocial_autores.pdf , archive-date=8 August 2019 , region5 =

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

, pop5 = 569,500–1.85 million (3.4–8.32%) , region6 =

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

, pop6 = 500,000–2.75 million (0.57–3.2%) , ref6 = {{cite web , url=http://rm.coe.int/CoERMPublicCommonSearchServices/DisplayDCTMContent?documentId=0900001680088ea9 , title=Roma and Travellers Team. Tools and Texts of Reference. Estimates on Roma population in European countries (excel spreadsheet) , work=rm.coe.int Council of Europe Roma and Travellers Division{{cite web , url=http://www.milliyet.com.tr/turkiye-deki-kurtlerin-sayisi-/yasam/magazindetay/06.06.2008/873452/default.htm , title=Türkiye'deki Kürtlerin sayısı! , trans-title=The number of Kurds in Turkey! , date=6 June 2008 , access-date=2 January 2016 , language=tr , region7 =

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

, pop7 = 325,343{{efn, This is a census figure. Some 736,981 (10% of the population) did not declare any ethnicity. There was not any option for a person to declare multiple ethnicities. In a Bulgarian government report on the census, the ethnic results are identified as a "gross manipulation".–750,000 (4.9–10.3%) , ref7 = {{cite web , url=http://censusresults.nsi.bg/Census/Reports/2/2/R7.aspx , script-title=bg:Население по местоживеене, възраст и етническа група , trans-title=Population by place of residence, age and ethnic group , language=bg , publisher= Bulgarian National Statistical Institute , access-date=22 June 2015 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120602032148/http://censusresults.nsi.bg/Census/Reports/2/2/R7.aspx , archive-date=2 June 2012 Self declared , region8 =

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

, pop8 = 309,632{{efn, This is a census figure. There was an option to declare multiple ethnicities, so this figure includes Roma of multiple backgrounds. According to the 2016 microcensus 99.1% of Hungarian Roma declared Hungarian ethnic identity also.–870,000 (3.21–9%) , ref8 = {{cite book , last=Vukovich , first=Gabriella , url=http://www.ksh.hu/docs/hun/xftp/idoszaki/mikrocenzus2016/mikrocenzus_2016_12.pdf , title=Mikrocenzus 2016 – 12. Nemzetiségi adatok , trans-title=2016 microcensus – 12. Ethnic data , language=hu , publisher=Hungarian Central Statistical Office , location=Budapest , year=2018 , access-date=9 January 2019 , isbn=978-963-235-542-9 , region9 =

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, pop9 = 300,000–1.2 million (0.21%) , ref9 = {{cite news , first=Bernard , last=Gorce , url=http://www.la-croix.com/Actualite/France/Roms-gens-du-voyage-deux-realites-differentes-_NG_-2010-07-22-603910 , title=Roms, gens du voyage, deux réalités différentes , newspaper= La Croix , date=22 July 2010 , access-date=21 October 2016 , quote=

anual Translation Annual may refer to: *Annual publication, periodical publications appearing regularly once per year **Yearbook **Literary annual *Annual plant *Annual report *Annual giving *Annual, Morocco, a settlement in northeastern Morocco *Annuals (band), a ...

/small> The ban prevents statistics on ethnicity to give a precise figure of French Roma, but we often quote the number 350,000. For travellers, the administration counted 160,000 circulation titles in 2006 issued to people aged 16 to 80 years. Among the travellers, some have chosen to buy a family plot where they dock their caravans around a local section (authorized since the Besson Act of 1990). , region10 =

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

, pop10 = 300,000 , ref10 = {{efn, Approximate estimate.{{cite web , url=http://www.latinolife.co.uk/node/289 , title=The Roma Gypsies of Latin America , author=Hazel Marsh , access-date=27 November 2017 , publisher=latinolife.co.uk , archive-date=23 April 2021 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210423164035/https://www.latinolife.co.uk/node/289 , region11 =

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, pop11 = 225,000 (0.4%) , ref11 = , region12 =

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, pop12 = 205,007{{efn, name=census, This is a census figure.–825,000 (0.6%) , ref12 = , region13 =

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

, pop13 = 131,936{{efn, This is a census figure from 2022 (2% percent of the population). Some 136,198 (2.1% of the population) did not declare any ethnicity, with the unknown number 322,013, that in total makes 458,211 (or 6.9% of the population) , ref13 = , region14 =

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, pop14 = 120,000–180,000 (0.3%) , ref14 = {{cite web , url=http://www.21luglio.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Rapporto-annuale-Associazione-21-luglio.pdf , title=Giornata Internazionale dei rom e sinti: presentato il Rapporto Annuale 2014 (PDF) , access-date=23 December 2015 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170203064522/http://www.21luglio.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Rapporto-annuale-Associazione-21-luglio.pdf , archive-date=3 February 2017 , region15 =

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

, pop15 = 111,000–300,000 (2.7%) , ref15 = , region16 =

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, pop16 = 105,000 (0.1%) , ref16 = , region17 =

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

, pop17 = 105,738{{efn, This is a census figure. Some 408,777 (7.5% of the population) did not declare any ethnicity. There was not any option for a person to declare multiple ethnicities.–490,000 (2.1–9%) , ref17 = , region18 =

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

, pop18 = 9,813 (2023 census) , ref18 = {{cite web , publisher= Instituti i Statistikës (INSTAT) , title=Population and Housing Census 2023, url=https://shqiptarja.com/uploads/ckeditor/667eb96647c4bcens-2023.pdf , region19 =

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

, pop19 = 2,000–110,000 , ref19 = , region20 =

North Macedonia North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...

, pop20 = 46,433 (2.53%) , ref20 = , region21 =

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

, pop21 = 50,000–100,000 , ref21 = , region22 =

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

, pop22 = 47,587{{efn, This is a census figure. Less than 1% of the population did not declare any ethnicity.–260,000 (0.6%) , ref22 = , region23 =

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

, pop23 = 52,000 (0.5%) , ref23 = Roma /Gypsies: A European Minority
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200515231943/https://minorityrights.org/wp-content/uploads/old-site-downloads/download-127-RomaGypsies-A-European-Minority.pdf , date=15 May 2020, Minority Rights Group International. , region24 =

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

, pop24 = 40,000–50,000 (0.6%) , ref24 = , region25 =

Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...

, pop25 = 36,000{{efn, This is a census figure including Romani,

Ashkali and Balkan Egyptians The Ashkali ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Ашкалије, Aškalije, separator=" / ", link=no), otherwise known as Hashkali ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Хашкалије, Haškalije, separator=" / ", link=no) and/or Balkan Egyptians ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Балкански ...

. (2%) , ref25 = , region26 =

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, pop26 = 32,000–40,000 (0.2%) , ref26 = , region27 =

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, pop27 = 17,049{{efn, name=census–32,500 (0.1%) , ref27 = , region28 =

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

, pop28 = 16,975{{efn, name=census–35,000 (0.8%) , ref28 = , region29 =

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

, pop29 = 15,850 , ref29 = , region30 =

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

, pop30 = 15,000–20,000 , ref30 = , region31 =

Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. ...

, pop31 = 12,778{{efn, name=census–250,000 (3.0–7.05%) , ref31 = , region32 =

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

, pop32 = 10,000–12,000 est. (0.2%) , ref32 = , region33 =

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

, pop33 = 8,864{{efn, name=census–58,000 (1.5%) , ref33 = , region34 =

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

, pop34 = 2,649–8,000 , ref34 = , region35 =

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

, pop35 = 7,316{{efn, name=census–47,500 (0.5%) , ref35 = , region36 =

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

, pop36 = 7,193{{efn, name=census–12,500 (0.6%) , ref36 = , region37 =

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, pop37 = 5,255–80,000 , ref37 = , region38 =

Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...

, pop38 = 5,629 , ref38 = {{cite web , url=http://www.monstat.org/userfiles/file/popis2011/saopstenje/saopstenje(1).pdf , title=Census of Population, Households and Dwellings in Montenegro 2011 , date=12 July 2011 , access-date=13 July 2011 , region39 =

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

, pop39 = 5,199{{efn, This is a census figure. Some 25% of the population did not declare any ethnicity.–40,370{{efn, name=census ( Romani speakers)–250,000 (1.9%) , region40 =

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, pop40 = 5,000–25,000 , ref40 = , region41 =

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

, pop41 = 3,246 , ref41 = , region42 =

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

, pop42 = 2,571 , ref42 = , region43 =

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

, pop43 = 5,500 , ref43 = , region44 =

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, pop44 = 22,435 , ref44 = , region45 =

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

, pop45 = 1,200 , ref45 = , region46 =

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

, pop46 = 30,000 , ref46 = , region47 =

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

, pop47 = 1,250 , ref47 = , region48 =

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, pop48 = 25,000–35,000 , ref48 = , languages =

Romani Romani may refer to: Ethnic groups * Romani people, or Roma, an ethnic group of Indo-Aryan origin ** Romani language, an Indo-Aryan macrolanguage of the Romani communities ** Romanichal, Romani subgroup in the United Kingdom * Romanians (Romanian ...

(

Para-Romani Para-Romani are various mixed languages of non- Indo-Aryan linguistic classification containing considerable admixture from the Romani language. They are spoken as the traditional vernacular of Romani communities, Matras, Y. ''Romani: A Linguist ...

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Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

{{Citation , editor-last=Gall , editor-first=Timothy L , title=Worldmark Encyclopedia of Culture & Daily Life , volume=4. Europe , place=Cleveland, OH , publisher=Eastword , year=1998 , pages=316, 318 , quote='Religion: An underlay of Hinduism with an overlay of either Christianity or Islam (host country religion)'; Roma religious beliefs are rooted in Hinduism. Roma believe in a universal balance, called kuntari. ... Despite a 1,000-year separation from India, Roma still practice 'shaktism', the worship of a god through his female consort...
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Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

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Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...

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Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

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Irreligious Irreligion is the absence or rejection of religious beliefs or practices. It encompasses a wide range of viewpoints drawn from various philosophical and intellectual perspectives, including atheism, agnosticism, religious skepticism, rationa ...

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Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

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Hinduism Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...

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Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

{{cite web , last1=Vishvapani , title=Hungary's Gypsy Buddhists & Religious Discrimination , url=https://www.wiseattention.org/blog/2011/11/29/gypsy-buddhists/ , website=wiseattention.org , date=29 November 2011 , access-date=4 June 2021{{cite journal , last1=Bhalesain , first1=Pravin , title=Gypsies embracing Buddhism:A step forward for Building a Harmonious Society in Europe , journal=Undv.org/Vesak2011/Panel2 , date=2011 , url=http://www.undv.org/vesak2011/panel2/14PBhalesainFINAL.pdf , access-date=4 June 2021{{·

Judaism Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...

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marital conversion Marital conversion is religious conversion upon marriage, either as a conciliatory act, or a mandated requirement according to a particular religious belief. Endogamous religious cultures may have certain opposition to interfaith marriage and ...

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Romani mythology Romani folklore encompasses the folktales, myths, oral traditions, and legends of the Romani people. The Romani were nomadic when they departed India during the Middle Ages. They migrated widely, particularly to Europe, while other groups stay ...

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Ghorbati The Ghorbati (also known as ''Mugat'' or ''Hadurgar'', , ''Qurbat'' or ''Gurbat'') are an ethnic group and originally a nomadic community in Iran, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and Central Asia where they are part of the various communities termed '' Ly ...

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Doms The Doma (), also known as ''Dom'', ''Domra'', ''Domba'', ''Domaka'', ''Dombara'' and ''Dombari'', are castes, or groups, scattered across India. The Doma/Dom were a caste of drummers. According to Tantra scriptures, the Dom were engaged in the ...

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Ḍoma The Doma (), also known as ''Dom'', ''Domra'', ''Domba'', ''Domaka'', ''Dombara'' and ''Dombari'', are castes, or groups, scattered across India. The Doma/Dom were a caste of drummers. According to Tantra scriptures, the Dom were engaged in the ...

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Indo-Aryan peoples Indo-Aryan peoples are a diverse collection of peoples predominantly found in South Asia, who (traditionally) speak Indo-Aryan languages. Historically, Aryans were the Indo-Iranian speaking pastoralists who migrated from Central Asia int ...

, native_name = , native_name_lang = , related_groups = {{Romani people The Romani people{{efn, Also spelled Romany or Rromani. ({{IPAc-en, ˈ, r, oʊ, m, ə, n, i, audio=LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-Romani people.wav or {{IPAc-en, ˈ, r, ɒ, m, ə, n, i), also known as the Roma ({{singular: Rom) or the Romani, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group who traditionally lived a

nomadic Nomads are communities without fixed habitation who regularly move to and from areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the population of nomadic pa ...

itinerant An itinerant is a person who travels habitually. Itinerant may refer to: *"Travellers" or itinerant groups in Europe *Itinerant preacher, also known as itinerant minister *Travelling salespeople, see door-to-door, hawker, and peddler *Travelling s ...

lifestyle. Linguistic and genetic evidence reveals that the Romani people originated in

South Asia South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...

, likely in the regions of present-day

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...

and

Sindh Sindh ( ; ; , ; abbr. SD, historically romanized as Sind (caliphal province), Sind or Scinde) is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, southeastern region of the country, Sindh is t ...

.{{Cite journal , last1=Melegh , first1=Bela I. , last2=Banfai , first2=Zsolt , last3=Hadzsiev , first3=Kinga , last4=Miseta , first4=Attila , last5=Melegh , first5=Bela , date=2017-08-31 , title=Refining the South Asian Origin of the Romani people , journal=BMC Genetics , language=en , volume=18 , issue=1 , doi=10.1186/s12863-017-0547-x , doi-access=free , issn=1471-2156 , pmc=5580230 , pmid=28859608 , quote=Our results show that Northwest India could play an important role in the South Asian ancestry of Roma, however, the origin of Romani people might include the area of Pakistan as well.{{Cite journal , last1=Ena , first1=Giacomo Francesco , last2=Aizpurua-Iraola , first2=Julen , last3=Font-Porterias , first3=Neus , last4=Calafell , first4=Francesc , last5=Comas , first5=David , date=2022-11-08 , title=Population Genetics of the European Roma—A Review , journal=Genes , volume=13 , issue=11 , pages=2068 , doi=10.3390/genes13112068 , doi-access=free , issn=2073-4425 , pmc=9690732 , pmid=36360305 , quote=Based on genome-wide SNP arrays and whole-genome sequences, it has been determined that the Romani people carry approximately 20–35% South Asian ancestry ,7 and North-West India constitutes the major source of this component ,7,54{nbsp ..In general, Romani people carry approximately 65–80% West Eurasian (European, Middle Eastern and Caucasian) ancestry, estimated to have been acquired by extensive gene flow.{{Cite web , last=Hernández-Arrieta , first=Stefany , date=2023-08-07 , title=The definition of being Romani , url=https://ellipse.prbb.org/the-definition-of-being-romani/ , access-date=2024-02-16 , website=Barcelona Biomedical Research Park (PRBB) – El·lipse , quote=This population{{nbsp ..migrated from northern India to Europe over 1,500 years ago{{nbsp ..The Romani community are genetically diverse, and Romani groups established in different locations are highly varied.{{Cite news , last=Beňo , first=Matúš , date=2022-11-05 , title=Romani disappearing from Roma communities , url=https://spectator.sme.sk/c/23061966/romani-disappearing-from-roma-communities.html , access-date=2024-02-16 , work=The Slovak Spectator , quote=What is the current state of the language? It is used less and less today in Romani communities. The young generation in some localities, such as Humenné, Michalovce, or Trebišov in eastern Slovakia, no longer speak the language at all. Their westward migration occurred in waves, with the first wave believed to have taken place sometime between the 5th and 11th centuries.{{Cite web , last=Popov , first=Shakir M. , date=2023 , editor-last=Marushiakova , editor-first=Elena , editor2-last=Popov , editor2-first=Vesselin , editor3-last=Kovacheva , editor3-first=Lilyana , title=History of the Gypsies in Bulgaria and Europe: Roma , url=https://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/bitstream/handle/10023/28142/Marushiakova_Popova_2023_Shakir_M_Pashov_History_CC.pdf;jsessionid=E5C04B2635D5C17D562DE4FD75B0E37D?sequence=1 , website=University of St. Andrews , pages=8–12 They are believed to have first arrived in Europe sometime between the 7th and 14th centuries. Although they are widely dispersed, their most concentrated populations are believed to be in

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

, and

. In the English language, Romani people have long been known by the

exonym An endonym (also known as autonym ) is a common, name for a group of people, individual person, geographical place, language, or dialect, meaning that it is used inside a particular group or linguistic community to identify or designate them ...

Gypsies or Gipsies and this remains the most common English term for the group."Now sometimes considered derogatory or offensive, the term Gypsy has been steadily replaced in official contexts by Romani or (in plural) Roma. Nevertheless, Gypsy remains the most widely used term for this group among English-speakers." “Gypsy, N. & Adj.” Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford UP, December 2024, https://doi.org/10.1093/OED/1201363216. Some Roma use and embrace this term while others consider it to be derogatory or an

ethnic slur The following is a list of ethnic slurs, ethnophaulisms, or ethnic epithets that are, or have been, used as insinuations or allegations about members of a given ethnic, national, or racial group or to refer to them in a derogatory, pej ...

.{{cite web , title=Terminology , url=https://www.errc.org/what-we-do/advocacy-research/terminology , website=European Roma Rights Center , access-date=7 December 2024 The

Romani language Romani ( ; also Romanes , Romany, Roma; ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan macrolanguage of the Romani people. The largest of these are Vlax Romani language, Vlax Romani (about 500,000 speakers), Balkan Romani (600,000), and Sinte Roma ...

is an

Indo-Aryan language The Indo-Aryan languages, or sometimes Indic languages, are a branch of the Indo-Iranian languages in the Indo-European language family. As of 2024, there are more than 1.5 billion speakers, primarily concentrated east of the Indus river in Ba ...

with strong

Balkan The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

influence.{{Sfn, Matras, 2002, p=240 It is divided into several

dialect A dialect is a Variety (linguistics), variety of language spoken by a particular group of people. This may include dominant and standard language, standardized varieties as well as Vernacular language, vernacular, unwritten, or non-standardize ...

s, which together are estimated to have over 2 million speakers.{{sfn, Matras, 2002, p=239 Because the language has traditionally been oral, many Roma are native speakers of the

dominant language A dominant language may be: *among the languages known by a multilingual person, the one that they have greater proficiency in *among the languages spoken in an area, the one with the greatest numbers of speakers, prestige or institutional support ...

in their country of residence, or else of

mixed language A mixed language, also referred to as a hybrid language or fusion language, is a type of contact language that arises among a bilingual group combining aspects of two or more languages but not clearly deriving primarily from any single language. ...

s that combine the dominant language with a dialect of Romani in

varieties Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

sometimes called

para-Romani Para-Romani are various mixed languages of non- Indo-Aryan linguistic classification containing considerable admixture from the Romani language. They are spoken as the traditional vernacular of Romani communities, Matras, Y. ''Romani: A Linguist ...

Names

{{Main, Names of the Romani people

Romani-language endonyms

The English word ''Rom'' derives from Romani ''Rom'', meaning 'man, husband' (plural ''romá''). The

etymology Etymology ( ) is the study of the origin and evolution of words—including their constituent units of sound and meaning—across time. In the 21st century a subfield within linguistics, etymology has become a more rigorously scientific study. ...

of the word is unclear. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' says it likely derives from

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

''ḍomba'', meaning ' lower-caste person working as a wandering musician', itself deriving from a

Dravidian Dravidian, Dravidan, or Dravida may refer to: Language and culture *Dravidian languages, a family of languages spoken mainly in South India and northeastern Sri Lanka *Proto-Dravidian language, a model of the common ancestor of the Dravidian lang ...

word, such as ''domba'', ''ḍomba'' ('caste of acrobats, jugglers, clowns'). The development of the word was also influenced by

Byzantine Greek Medieval Greek (also known as Middle Greek, Byzantine Greek, or Romaic; Greek: ) is the stage of the Greek language between the end of classical antiquity in the 5th–6th centuries and the end of the Middle Ages, conventionally dated to the F ...

Ῥωμ- (for example Ῥώμη 'a name of Rome and Constantinople').“Rom, N. (2) & Adj.” Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford UP, September 2024, https://doi.org/10.1093/OED/1117377491. In English, the form ''Roma'' is often reinterpreted as singular and a new plural, ''Romas'', is formed. ''Romani'' is the feminine adjective, while ''Romano'' is the masculine adjective. Some Romanies use ''Rom'' or ''Roma'' as an ethnic name, while others (such as the Sinti, or the Romanichal) do not use this term as a self-description for the entire ethnic group.{{sfn, Hancock, 2002, p=xix Sometimes, ''rom'' and ''romani'' are spelled with a double ''r'', i.e., ''rrom'' and ''rromani''. In this case ''rr'' is used to represent the

phoneme A phoneme () is any set of similar Phone (phonetics), speech sounds that are perceptually regarded by the speakers of a language as a single basic sound—a smallest possible Phonetics, phonetic unit—that helps distinguish one word fr ...

{{IPA, /ʀ/, cat=no (also written as ''ř'' and ''rh''), which in some Romani dialects has remained different from the one written with a single ''r''. The ''rr'' spelling is common in certain institutions (such as the INALCO Institute in Paris), or used in certain countries, e.g., Romania, to distinguish from the

endonym An endonym (also known as autonym ) is a common, name for a group of people, individual person, geographical place, language, or dialect, meaning that it is used inside a particular group or linguistic community to identify or designate them ...

homonym In linguistics, homonyms are words which are either; '' homographs''—words that mean different things, but have the same spelling (regardless of pronunciation), or '' homophones''—words that mean different things, but have the same pronunciat ...

for

Romanians Romanians (, ; dated Endonym and exonym, exonym ''Vlachs'') are a Romance languages, Romance-speaking ethnic group and nation native to Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. Sharing a Culture of Romania, ...

(''sg. român, pl. români'').{{sfn, Hancock, 2002, p=xxi In Norway, ''Romani'' is used exclusively for an older Northern Romani-speaking population (which arrived in the 16th century) while ''Rom/Romanes'' is used to describe

Vlax Romani Vlax Romani varieties are spoken mainly in Southeastern Europe by the Romani people.Norbert Boretzky and Birgit Igla. Kommentierter Dialektatlas des Romani. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag 2004. Teil 1: Vergleich der Dialekte. Vlax Romani can also ...

-speaking groups that migrated since the 19th century.

English-language endonyms

In the English language (according to the

Oxford English Dictionary The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the principal historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP), a University of Oxford publishing house. The dictionary, which published its first editio ...

), ''Rom'' is both a noun (with the plural ''Roma'' or ''Roms'') and an adjective. Similarly, ''Romani'' (''Romany'') is both a noun (with the plural ''Romani'', ''the Romani'', ''Romanies'', or ''Romanis'') and an adjective. Both ''Rom'' and ''Romani'' have been in use in English since the 19th century as an alternative for ''Gypsy''. ''Romani'' was sometimes spelled ''Rommany'', but more often ''Romany'', while today ''Romani'' is the most popular spelling. Occasionally, the double ''r'' spelling (e.g., ''Rroma'', ''Rromani'') mentioned above is also encountered in English texts. The term ''Roma'' is increasingly encountered as a generic term for the Roma.{{cite book , first=Bryan A , last=Garner , title=Dictionary of Legal Usage , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YwLiALrHLCEC&pg=PA400 , year=2011 , publisher=Oxford University Press , isbn=978-0-19-538420-8 , page=400 Because not all Roma use the word ''Romani'' as an adjective, the term became a noun for the entire ethnic group.{{sfn, Hancock, 2002, p=xx Today, the term ''Romani'' is used by some organizations, including the United Nations and the US Library of Congress.{{sfn, Hancock, 2002, p=xxi However, the

Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; , CdE) is an international organisation with the goal of upholding human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. Founded in 1949, it is Europe's oldest intergovernmental organisation, represe ...

and other organizations consider that ''Roma'' is the correct term referring to all related groups, regardless of their country of origin, and recommend that ''Romani'' be restricted to the language and culture:

Romani culture Romani culture encompasses the regional cultures of the Romani people. These cultures have developed through complex histories of interaction with their surrounding populations. Romani people constitute the largest ethnic minority in Europe. ...

.{{Citation , contribution-url=http://www.inotherwords-project.eu/content/project/media-analysis/terminology/terminology-concerning-roma , contribution=Roma, Sinti, Gypsies, Travellers...The Correct Terminology about Roma , title=In Other Words project , publisher=Web Observatory & Review for Discrimination alerts & Stereotypes deconstruction , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121005191238/http://www.inotherwords-project.eu/content/project/media-analysis/terminology/terminology-concerning-roma , archive-date=5 October 2012 The British government uses the term "Roma" as a sub-group of "

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

" in its ethnic classification system. The standard assumption is that the

demonym A demonym (; ) or 'gentilic' () is a word that identifies a group of people ( inhabitants, residents, natives) in relation to a particular place. Demonyms are usually derived from the name of the place ( hamlet, village, town, city, region, ...

s of the Roma, Lom and Dom, share the same origin.

Other designations

In English, the

''Gypsy'' (or ''Gipsy'') is the most commonly used word for the group. It originates from the

Middle English Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman Conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English pe ...

{{lang, enm, gypcian, short for {{lang, enm, Egipcien. The Spanish term {{lang, es, Gitano and French {{lang, fr, Gitan have similar etymologies. They are ultimately derived from the Greek {{transliteration, grc, Aigyptioi ({{lang, grc, Αιγύπτιοι), meaning 'Egyptian', via Latin. This designation owes its existence to the belief, common in the Middle Ages, that the Roma, or some related group (such as the Indian

Dom people The Dom (also called Domi; / ALA-LC: ', / , Ḍom / or , or sometimes also called Doms) are descendants of the Dom caste with origins in the Indian subcontinent, who through ancient migrations are found scattered across the Middle East and ...

), were itinerant

Egyptians Egyptians (, ; , ; ) are an ethnic group native to the Nile, Nile Valley in Egypt. Egyptian identity is closely tied to Geography of Egypt, geography. The population is concentrated in the Nile Valley, a small strip of cultivable land stretchi ...

.{{Citation , last=Soulis , first=G. , year=1961 , title=The Gypsies in the Byzantine Empire and the Balkans in the Late Middle Ages , series=Dumbarton Oaks Papers , publisher=Trustees for Harvard University , pages=15, 141–165{{cite journal , url=http://www.isidore-of-seville.com/goudenhoorn/72karin.html , title=Metal-workers, agriculturists, acrobats, military-people and fortune-tellers: Roma (Gypsies) in and around the Byzantine empire , first=Karin , last=White , year=1999 , journal=Golden Horn , volume=7 , issue=2 , access-date=26 August 2007 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010320210002/http://www.isidore-of-seville.com/goudenhoorn/72karin.html , archive-date=20 March 2001 This belief appears to be derived from verses in the

Book of Ezekiel The Book of Ezekiel is the third of the Nevi'im#Latter Prophets, Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) and one of the Major Prophets, major prophetic books in the Christian Bible, where it follows Book of Isaiah, Isaiah and ...

(29:6, 29:12–13) which refer to the Egyptians being scattered among the nations by an angry God. According to one narrative, they were exiled from Egypt as punishment for allegedly harbouring the

infant Jesus The Christ Child—also known as Baby Jesus, Infant Jesus, Child Jesus, Divine Child, Divine Infant and the Holy Child—refers to Jesus Christ during his early years. The term refers to a period of Jesus' life, described in the canonical Gospe ...

.{{sfn, Fraser, 1992 In his book ''

The Zincali ''The Zincali: An Account of the Gypsies of Spain'' is a book written by George Borrow. The first edition was published in 1841. Nine editions were published until 1901 at which time the last (definitive) edition was published, but the book is sti ...

'',

George Borrow George Henry Borrow (5 July 1803 – 26 July 1881) was an English writer of novels and of travel based on personal experiences in Europe. His travels gave him a close affinity with the Romani people of Europe, who figure strongly in his work. Hi ...

notes that when they first appeared in Germany, it was under the character of Egyptians doing penance for their having refused hospitality to Mary and her son. As described in

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo, vicomte Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romanticism, Romantic author, poet, essayist, playwright, journalist, human rights activist and politician. His most famous works are the novels ''The Hunchbac ...

's novel ''

The Hunchback of Notre-Dame ''The Hunchback of Notre-Dame'' (, originally titled ''Notre-Dame de Paris. 1482'') is a French Gothic novel by Victor Hugo, published in 1831. The title refers to the Notre-Dame Cathedral, which features prominently throughout the novel. I ...

'', the medieval French referred to the Romanies as {{lang, fr, Égyptiens. These exonyms are sometimes written with capital letter, to show that they designate an

ethnic group An ethnicity or ethnic group is a group of people with shared attributes, which they collectively believe to have, and long-term endogamy. Ethnicities share attributes like language, culture, common sets of ancestry, traditions, society, re ...

. While some Roma use the term, some Roma consider it derogatory because of negative and stereotypical associations."In Romania in 2009, following an IMAS study, at the demand of the National Agency for the Roma (NAR), sixty-six percent of respondents identified themselves as "gypsies," thirty percent as "Roma," and the remaining four percent did not know or refused to answer. The situation is similar with other countries. The natural question, starting from these results, is whether, in the unifying process (one name, one people, one history), the Roma leaders and organizations take into account the desire of the community as it is expressed in censuses or surveys." Iov, Claudia Anamaria. 2020. ''Rethinking (In)Security in the European Union: The Migration-Identity-Security Nexus'', p. 119.

Cambridge Scholars Publishing Cambridge Scholars Publishing (CSP) is an academic book publisher based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is not affiliated with the University of Cambridge or Cambridge University Press. It began as the hobby project of a Cambridge alumnus ...

.{{Citation , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131105000222/http://www.paveepoint.ie/pdf/Roma_Report.pdf , archive-date=5 November 2013 , publisher=Pavee point , url=http://www.paveepoint.ie/pdf/Roma_Report.pdf , title=Report in Roma Educational Needs in Ireland The Council of Europe consider that "Gypsy" or equivalent terms, as well as administrative terms such as "Gens du Voyage", are not in line with European recommendations. In Britain, many Roma proudly identify as "Gypsies",{{cite web , title=Tackling inequalities faced by Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities , last=House of Commons Women & Equalities Committee , date=5 April 2019 , url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201719/cmselect/cmwomeq/360/full-report.html#heading-6 , publisher=UK Parliament , access-date=13 May 2021 and, as part of the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller grouping, this is the name used to describe all para-Romani groups in official contexts.{{cite web , title=Gypsy, Roma and Irish Traveller ethnicity summary , url=https://www.ethnicity-facts-figures.service.gov.uk/summaries/gypsy-roma-irish-traveller#the-gypsy-roma-traveller-group , website=gov.uk , publisher=His Majesty's Government , access-date=24 May 2023 In North America, the word ''Gypsy'' is most commonly used as a reference to Romani ethnicity, though lifestyle and fashion are at times also referenced by using this word. Another designation of the Roma is ''Cingane'' (alternatively Çingene, Tsinganoi, Zigar, Zigeuner, Tschingaren), likely deriving from the Persian word {{lang, fa, چنگانه ({{lang, fa-Latn, chingane), derived from the Turkic word {{lang, trk, çıgañ, meaning poor person. It is also possible that the origin of this word is ''

Athinganoi The ''Athinganoi'' (, singular ''Athinganos'', , Atsinganoi) were a Manichaean sect regarded as Judaizing heretics who lived in Phrygia and Lycaonia but were neither Hebrews nor gentiles. They kept the Sabbath but were not circumcised. They were ...

'', the name of a Christian sect with whom the Roma (or some related group) could have become associated in the past.{{Citation , last=Starr , first=J. , year=1936 , title=An Eastern Christian Sect: the Athinganoi , series=Dumbarton Oaks Papers , publisher=Trustees for Harvard University , pages=29, 93–106

Population and subgroups

Romani populations

There is no official or reliable count of the Romani populations worldwide. Many Roma refuse to register their ethnic identity in official censuses for a variety of reasons, such as fear of discrimination. Others are descendants of intermarriage with local populations, some who no longer identify only as Romani and some who do not identify as Romani at all. Then, too, some countries do not collect data by ethnicity. Francisco Iturrino Two Gypsies

Despite these challenges to getting an accurate picture of the Romani dispersal, there were an estimated 10 million in Europe (as of 2019), although some Romani organizations have given earlier estimates as high as 14 million. Significant Romani populations are found in the Balkans and throughout Europe. In the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

, there are an estimated 6 million Roma. Outside Europe there may be several million more Roma, particularly in the Americas, following migrations from Europe beginning in the late 19th century.{{cite book , last1=Pan , first1=Christoph , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gRU_AQAAIAAJ , title=National Minorities in Europe: Handbook , last2=Pfeil , first2=Beate Sibylle , publisher=Braumüller , year=2003 , isbn=978-3-7003-1443-1 , page=27f

Romani subgroups

Romani people may belong to distinct subgroups based in part on territorial, cultural and

al differences, and self-designation.{{sfn, Hancock, 2001, p=2{{sfn, Matras, 2002, p=5{{cite web , last=Dosoftei , first=Alin , date=24 December 2007 , title=Names of the Romani People , url=http://desicritics.org/2007/12/24/012125.php , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080507070621/http://desicritics.org/2007/12/24/012125.php , archive-date=7 May 2008 , access-date=30 January 2009 , publisher=Desicritics Romani subgroups may have more than one

ethnonym An ethnonym () is a name applied to a given ethnic group. Ethnonyms can be divided into two categories: exonyms (whose name of the ethnic group has been created by another group of people) and autonyms, or endonyms (whose name is created and used ...

. They may use more than one

and be commonly known by an

or erroneously by the endonym of another subgroup. The only name approaching an all-encompassing self-description is ''Rom''.{{sfn, Hübshmanová, 2003 Even when subgroups do not use the name, they all acknowledge a common origin and a dichotomy between themselves and ''

Gadjo In Romani culture, a ''gorja'', ''gadjo'' (masculine) or ''gadji'' (feminine) is a person who has no Romanipen. This usually corresponds to not being an ethnic Romani, but it can also be an ethnic Romani who does not live within Romani culture. ...

'' (non-Roma).{{sfn , Hübshmanová, 2003 For instance, while the main group of Roma in

German-speaking countries The following is a list of the countries and territories where German is an official language (also known as the Germanosphere). It includes countries that have German as (one of) their nationwide official language(s), as well as dependent ter ...

refer to themselves as

Sinti The Sinti (masc. sing. ''Sinto''; fem. sing. ''Sintetsa, Sinta'') are a subgroup of the Romani people. They are found mostly in Germany, France, Italy and Central Europe, numbering some 200,000 people. They were traditionally Itinerant groups i ...

, their name for their original language is ''Romanes''. Subgroups have been described as, in part, a result of the castes and subcastes in India, which the founding population of ''Rom'' almost certainly experienced in their south Asian ''

urheimat In historical linguistics, the homeland or ( , from German 'original' and 'home') of a proto-language is the region in which it was spoken before splitting into different daughter languages. A proto-language is the reconstructed or historicall ...

''.{{sfn, Hübshmanová, 2003 Debret casa ciganos

Many subgroups use names derived from the Romani word ''kalo'' or ''calo'', meaning "black" or "absorbing all light". This closely resembles words for "black" or "dark" in

Indo-Aryan languages The Indo-Aryan languages, or sometimes Indic languages, are a branch of the Indo-Iranian languages in the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family. As of 2024, there are more than 1.5 billion speakers, primarily concentrated east ...

(e.g.,

काल ''kāla'': "black", "of a dark colour").{{sfn , Hübshmanová, 2003 Likewise, the name of the Dom or Domba people of north India—with whom the Roma have genetic, cultural and linguistic links—has come to imply "dark-skinned" in some Indian languages. Hence, names such as ''kale'' and ''calé'' may have originated as an

or a

euphemism A euphemism ( ) is when an expression that could offend or imply something unpleasant is replaced with one that is agreeable or inoffensive. Some euphemisms are intended to amuse, while others use bland, inoffensive terms for concepts that the u ...

for ''Roma''. Other endonyms for Roma include, for example: * ''

Arlije The sedentary Arlije are the main group of the Romani people in North Macedonia, and the majority live in Šuto Orizari Municipality. They are Muslim Romani. There are various subgroups of the Arlije, named after their traditional occupations, l ...

'' (also ''Erlides'', ''Yerli'', meaning "local", from the Turkish word ''Yerli'') in the

Balkans The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

and Turkey to describe sedentary Muslim Roma. * ''Bashaldé'' – Hungarian-Slovak Roma diaspora in the US from the late 19th century. * '' Bergitka Roma'' (also ''Carpathian Roma''), Poland, mainly

Goral The gorals are four species in the genus ''Naemorhedus''. They are small ungulates with a goat-like or antelope-like appearance. Until recently, this genus also contained the serow species (now in genus '' Capricornis''). Etymology The original ...

lands. {{See also, Romani people in Poland * ''Çerge'' also ''Čergarja'' (

nomad Nomads are communities without fixed habitation who regularly move to and from areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the population of nomadic pa ...

), Nomadic Lifestyle Muslim Roma in the

and Turkey. * ''Calé'', the

used by both the Spanish Roma ({{lang, es, gitanos) and Portuguese Roma (''ciganos''). Caló is the language spoken by the Calé. * ''Dasikane'' or ''Daskane'', meaning "slaves" or "servants"; a

religionym and confessionym Religionym (from / religion, and / name) and confessionym (from / confession, and / name) are polysemic terms, and neologisms, that have several distinctive meanings, generally related (from the semantic point of view) to religious (confessio ...

for Orthodox Christian Roma in the Balkans.{{sfn , Hübshmanová, 2003 * '' Garachi'' Shia Islam followers Roma people in

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

* ''

Gurbeti Gurbeti (also Kurbet or Kurbat or غربتی in Persian) are a sub-group of the Romani people living in Turkey, Albania, Bulgaria, Kosovo, Serbia, Cyprus, and the former Yugoslavia whose members are Eastern Orthodox and predominantly Muslim Ro ...

'' Muslim Roma in

Northern Cyprus Northern Cyprus, officially the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), is a ''de facto'' state that comprises the northeastern portion of the Geography of Cyprus, island of Cyprus. It is List of states with limited recognition, recognis ...

, Turkey and Balkans. * ''Horahane'' or ''Xoraxai'', also known as "Turkish Roma" or "Muslim Roma", a

in the Balkans for

Muslim Roma Muslim Romani people or Muslim Roma are people who are ethnically Romani and profess Islam. They may also be known as Muslim Gypsies, with some Roma preferring to use the term, not perceiving it as derogatory. They primarily live in the Balkan ...

.{{sfn, Hübshmanová, 2003 * '' Kaale'' or ''Kàlo'' in Finland and Sweden.{{sfn, Hübshmanová, 2003 * ''

Kale Kale (), also called leaf cabbage, belongs to a group of cabbage (''Brassica oleracea'') cultivars primarily grown for their Leaf vegetable, edible leaves; it has also been used as an ornamental plant. Its multiple different cultivars vary quite ...

'', ''Kalé, Kalá'', or ''Valshanange'' – a

Welsh English Welsh English comprises the dialects of English spoken by Welsh people. The dialects are significantly influenced by Welsh language, Welsh grammar and often include words derived from Welsh. In addition to the distinctive words and grammar, ...

endonym used by some Roma in

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

.{{efn, The Welsh language alphabet lacks the letter ''k''. (

Romanichal The Romanichal ( ; more commonly known as English Gypsies) are a Romani people, Romani subgroup in the United Kingdom. Many Romanichal speak Angloromani, a mixed language that blends Romani language, Romani vocabulary with English syntax. Roma ...

also live in Wales). * ''Lalleri'', from Austria, Germany, and the western

(including the former

Sudetenland The Sudetenland ( , ; Czech and ) is a German name for the northern, southern, and western areas of former Czechoslovakia which were inhabited primarily by Sudeten Germans. These German speakers had predominated in the border districts of Bohe ...

). * ''

Lovari Lovari ("horse-dealer", from Hungarian "ló", ''horse'') is a subgroup of the Romani people, who speak their own dialect, influenced by Hungarian and West Slavic dialects. They live predominantly throughout Central Europe (Hungary, Poland, Slov ...

'', chiefly in Central Europe, speaking a dialect of Romani influenced by Hungarian; known in

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

as ''Machvaya'', ''Machavaya'', ''Machwaya'' or ''Macwaia''.{{sfn, Hübshmanová, 2003 * ''

Lyuli The Mugat Ghorbati are a branch of the Ghorbati people living in Central Asia, primarily Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, and southern Kyrgyzstan; also, related groups can be found in Turkey, and the Balkans, Crimea, Southern R ...

'', in Central Asian countries. * ''

Polska Roma Polska Roma are the largest and one of the oldest ethnolinguistic groups of Romani people living in Poland. Many Polska Roma also reside in North America, Switzerland, Great Britain and Sweden. Some can also be found in Lithuania, Belarus, and Ru ...

'', largest Romani subgroup in Poland. {{See also, Romani people in Poland * ''

Rom Rom, or ROM may refer to: Biomechanics and medicine * Risk of mortality, a medical classification to estimate the likelihood of death for a patient * Rupture of membranes, a term used during pregnancy to describe a rupture of the amniotic sac * ...

'' in Italy. * ''Roma'' in Romania, commonly known by ethnic Romanians as ''țigani'', including many subgroups defined by occupation: ** ''Argintari'' "

silversmiths A silversmith is a metalworker who crafts objects from silver. The terms ''silversmith'' and ''goldsmith'' are not exact synonyms, as the techniques, training, history, and guilds are (or were, at least) largely the same but differed in that th ...

."{{cite web , author=Research Directorate , title=Romania: Traditional Roma name for the various Roma clans and description of their traditional occupations; whether these occupations still exist today; distinguishing characteristics of the clans , location=Canada , publisher=

Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada The Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (or IRB; , CISR), established in 1989 by an Act of Parliament, is an independent administrative tribunal that is responsible for making decisions on immigration and refugee matters. As one of their resp ...

, year=2001 , url=https://www.refworld.org/docid/3df4be9c20.html , access-date=July 27, 2021 ** ''Aurari'' "

goldsmith A goldsmith is a Metalworking, metalworker who specializes in working with gold and other precious metals. Modern goldsmiths mainly specialize in jewelry-making but historically, they have also made cutlery, silverware, platter (dishware), plat ...

s." ** ''

Boyash Boyash or Bayash (endonym: ''Bȯjáṡ'', Romanian language, Romanian: ''Băieși'', Hungarian language, Hungarian: ''Beás'', Slovak language, Slovak: ''Bojáš'', Serbo-Croatian, South Slavic: ''Banjaši'', ''Bojaši'') are a Romani people, ...

'', also known as ''Băieși'', ''Lingurari'', ''Ludar'', ''Ludari'', or ''Rudari'', who coalesced in the

Apuseni Mountains The Apuseni Mountains (, "Western Mountains"; , "Transylvanian Mountains") are a mountain range in Transylvania, Romania, which belongs to the Western Romanian Carpathians. The highest peak is the Bihor Peak at . The Apuseni Mountains have ab ...

Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...

. ''Băieși'' is a Romanian word for "miners." ''Lingurari'' means "spoon makers", and ''Ludar'' (sing.), ''Ludari'' (pl.), and ''Rudari'' may mean "woodworkers" or "miners". (There is a semantic overlap due to the

homophony In music, homophony (;, Greek: ὁμόφωνος, ''homóphōnos'', from ὁμός, ''homós'', "same" and φωνή, ''phōnē'', "sound, tone") is a texture in which a primary part is supported by one or more additional strands that provide ...

or merging of

lemmas Lemma (from Ancient Greek ''premise'', ''assumption'', from Greek ''I take'', ''I get'') may refer to: Language and linguistics * Lemma (morphology), the canonical, dictionary or citation form of a word * Lemma (psycholinguistics), a mental a ...

with different meanings from at least two languages: the

Serbian Serbian may refer to: * Pertaining to Serbia in Southeast Europe; in particular **Serbs, a South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans ** Serbian language ** Serbian culture **Demographics of Serbia, includes other ethnic groups within the co ...

''rudar'' "miner", and ''ruda'' "stick", "staff", "rod", "bar", "pole" (in Hungarian, ''rúd'', and in

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditional ...

, ''rudă''.) ** ''Churari'' (from Romanian ''ciurari'' "sieve-makers") ** ''Colari'' "carpet dealers" ** ''Florari'' " flower-sellers." ** ''

Kalderash The Kalderash are a subgroup of the Romani people. They were traditionally coppersmiths and metal workers and speak a number of Romani dialects grouped together under the term Kalderash Romani, a sub-group of Vlax Romani. The Kalderash of the ...

'', from Romanian ''căldărar'', literally "bucket-maker", meaning "kettle-maker", "tinsmith", "tinker"; also in Poland,

and Ukraine. ** ''

Lăutari The Romanian language, Romanian word lăutar (; plural: ''lăutari'') denotes a class of musicians. The term was adopted by members of a professional clan of Romani musicians in the late 18th century. The term is derived from ''lăută'', the ...

'' "musicians" (lăută =

lute A lute ( or ) is any plucked string instrument with a neck (music), neck and a deep round back enclosing a hollow cavity, usually with a sound hole or opening in the body. It may be either fretted or unfretted. More specifically, the term "lu ...

). ** ''Ungaritza'' (

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...

bladesmith Bladesmithing is the art of making knives, swords, daggers and other blades using a forge, hammer, anvil, and other smithing tools. Bladesmiths employ a variety of metalworking techniques similar to those used by blacksmiths, as well as woodworkin ...

s). ** ''

Ursari The Ursari (generally read as "Bear-leader, bear leaders" or "bear handlers"; from the , meaning "bear"; singular: ''ursar''; Bulgarian language, Bulgarian: урсари, ''ursari'') or Richinara are the traditionally nomadic occupational group ...

'' " "dancing bears" trainers" (from Romanian ''urs'' "bear").{{sfn, Hübshmanová, 2003 ** ''Zlătari'' "goldsmiths."{{sfn, Hübshmanová, 2003 * ''

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: People, characters, figures, names * Roma or Romani people, an ethnic group living mostly in Europe and the Americas. * Roma called Roy, ancient Egyptian High Priest of Amun * Roma (footballer, born 1979), born ''Paul ...

'' or ''Romové'', Czech Republic. * ''

'' or ''Rómovia'', Slovakia. * ''

'', in the United Kingdom,{{sfn, Hübshmanová, 2003 emigrated also to the

, Canada and Australia. Great Dorset Steam Fair 2007 - 1331363507

* ''

Romanisæl The Romanisael (more commonly known as Swedish Roma and Norwegian Roma or Swedish Taters and Norwegian Taters; ; ; ), are a Romani subgroup who have been resident in Sweden and Norway for some 500 years. The estimated number of Romanisael in Swe ...

'', in Norway and Sweden. *''

Romanlar The Romani people in Turkey () are a Romani subgroup in the Republic of Türkiye. They are Sunni Muslims mostly of Sufi orientation. The majority speak Turkish as their first language and have adopted Turkish culture. Many have denied their Ro ...

'', Turkish-speaking Muslim Roma in Turkey, also called Çingene or Şopar, with all subgroups, who are named after their professions, like: ** ''Ayıcı ( bear-leader)'' ** ''Cambaz'' (

acrobatics Acrobatics () is the performance of human feats of balance (ability), balance, agility, and motor coordination. Acrobatic skills are used in performing arts, sports, sporting events, and martial arts. Extensive use of acrobatic skills are most ...

and

horse trading Horse trading, in its literal sense, is the buying and selling of horses, also called "horse dealing". Due to the difficulties in evaluating the merits of a horse offered for sale, the sale of horses offered great opportunities for dishonesty, l ...

) ** ''Çiçekçi'' ( flower-seller) ** ''Demirci'' (

) ** ''Kalaycı'' (

tinsmith A tinsmith is a historical term for a skilled craftsperson who makes and repairs things made of tin or other light metals. The profession was also known as a tinner, tinker, tinman, or tinplate worker; whitesmith may also refer to this profe ...

) ** ''Kuyumcu'' (

) ** ''Müzisyen (

musician A musician is someone who Composer, composes, Conducting, conducts, or Performing arts#Performers, performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general Terminology, term used to designate a person who fol ...

)'' ** ''Sepetçi ( basket-maker)'' ** ''Subaşı'' (

soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a Conscription, conscripted or volunteer Enlisted rank, enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, a warrant officer, or an Officer (armed forces), officer. Etymology The wo ...

butler A butler is a person who works in a house serving and is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments, with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantries, pantr ...

) ** ''Sünnetçi'' ( circumciser) ** ''Şarkıcı'' (

singer Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define singi ...

) etc., but the majority of Turkish Roma work as

day labor Day labor (or day labour in American and British English spelling differences, Commonwealth spelling) is work done where the worker is hired and paid one day at a time, with no promise that more work will be available in the future, and outside t ...

ers too.{{sfn , Hübshmanová, 2003 * ''Roms'' or ''Manouche'' (from ''manush'', "people" in Romani) in France.{{sfn, Hübshmanová, 2003 * ''

Romungro Carpathian Romani, also known as Central Romani or Romungro Romani, is a group of dialects of the Romani language spoken from southern Poland to Hungary, and from eastern Austria to Ukraine. North Central Romani is one of a dozen major dialect g ...

'' or Carpathian Roma from eastern Hungary and neighbouring parts of the Carpathians. * ''Sepečides'', meaning "basket-maker"; Muslim Roma in

West Thrace Western Thrace or West Thrace (, '' ytikíThráki'' ), also known as Greek Thrace or Aegean Thrace, is a geographical and historical region of Greece, between the Nestos and Evros rivers in the northeast of the country; East Thrace, which lie ...

, Greece. * ''

'' or ''Zinti'', predominantly in Germany,{{sfn, Hübshmanová, 2003{{cite journal , last=Jurová , first=Anna , title=From Leaving The Homeland to the First Assimilation Measures , year=2003 , journal=Čačipen Pal O Roma – A Global Report on Roma in Slovakia , access-date=7 September 2013 , url=http://www.eurac.it/en/research/institutes/imr/Documents/romaglob_final.pdf , page=17 , editor1-last=Vaščka , editor1-first=Michal , editor2-first=Martina , editor2-last=Jurásková , editor3-first=Tom , editor3-last=Nicholson , place=Slovakia , quote=the Sinti lived in German territory, the Manusha in France, the Romanitsel in England, the Kale in Spain and Portugal, and the Kaale in Finland. , archive-date=3 December 2013 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203125146/http://www.eurac.it/en/research/institutes/imr/Documents/romaglob_final.pdf , url-status=dead{{cite journal , last1=Kalaydjieva , first1=Luba , last2=Gresham , first2=David , last3=Calafell , first3=Francesc , title=Genetic studies of the Roma (Gypsies): A Review , journal=BMC Medical Genetics , date=2 April 2001 , volume=2 , issue=5 , page=5 , doi=10.1186/1471-2350-2-5 , pmid=11299048 , pmc=31389 , doi-access=free and

northern Italy Northern Italy (, , ) is a geographical and cultural region in the northern part of Italy. The Italian National Institute of Statistics defines the region as encompassing the four Northwest Italy, northwestern Regions of Italy, regions of Piedmo ...

; while ''Sinti'' are a Romani subgroup, they do not refer to themselves by the name ''Roma''.{{sfn, Hübshmanová, 2003 * '' Zargari people'', Shia Muslim Roma in Iran, who once came from Rumelia/Southern Bulgaria from the Maritsa Valley in Ottoman times and settled in Persia.

Diaspora

{{Main, Romani diaspora The Romani people have a number of distinct populations throughout Europe.{{cite journal , last1=Mendizabal , first1=Isabel , last2=Lao , first2=Oscar , last3=Marigorta , first3=Urko M. , last4=Wollstein , first4=Andreas , last5=Gusmão , first5=Leonor , last6=Ferak , first6=Vladimir , last7=Ioana , first7=Mihai , last8=Jordanova , first8=Albena , last9=Kaneva , first9=Radka , last10=Kouvatsi , first10=Anastasia , last11=Kučinskas , first11=Vaidutis , last12=Makukh , first12=Halyna , last13=Metspalu , first13=Andres , last14=Netea , first14=Mihai G. , last15=de Pablo , first15=Rosario , last16=Pamjav , first16=Horolma , last17=Radojkovic , first17=Dragica , last18=Rolleston , first18=Sarah J.H. , last19=Sertic , first19=Jadranka , last20=Macek , first20=Milan , last21=Comas , first21=David , last22=Kayser , first22=Manfred , title=Reconstructing the Population History of European Romani from Genome-wide Data , journal=Current Biology , date=December 2012 , volume=22 , issue=24 , pages=2342–2349 , doi=10.1016/j.cub.2012.10.039 , pmid=23219723 , doi-access=free , bibcode=2012CBio...22.2342M , hdl=10230/25348 , hdl-access=free{{cite news , author=Sindya N. Bhanoo , url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/11/science/genomic-study-traces-roma-to-northern-india.html?_r=0 , title=Genomic Study Traces Roma to Northern India , work=

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

, date=11 December 2012 In the 19th century, Roma began migrating from Europe to the Americas. However, Romani slaves were first shipped to the Americas with Columbus in 1498.Peter Boyd-Bowman (ed.), ''Indice geobiográfico de cuarenta mil pobladores españoles de América en el siglo XVI'', vol. 1: 1493–1519 (Bogota: Instituto Caro y Cuervo, 1964), 171. Spain sent Romani slaves to their Louisiana colony between 1762 and 1800.The Historical Encyclopedia of World Slavery, Volume 1; Volume 7 By Junius P. Rodriguez An

Afro-Romani The Afro-Romani are people who are descended from both the Romani people and the African diaspora. Notable Afro-Romani communities exist in Louisiana, United States and Cuba. There are also Romani and Dom communities throughout Africa. Afro-Roman ...

community exists in St. Martin Parish due to intermarriage between freed

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

and Romani slaves.{{cite book , title=We are the Romani People , page=27 In Brazil, the Roma are mainly called ''ciganos'' by the non-Romani population. Most of them belong to the ''Calés'' (Kale) subgroup.

Juscelino Kubitschek Juscelino Kubitschek de Oliveira (; 12 September 1902 – 22 August 1976), also known by his initials JK, was a Brazilian politician who served as the 21st president of Brazil from 1956 to 1961. Kubitschek's government plan, dubbed "50 years i ...

, Brazil's president from 1956 to 1961, was 50% Romani by his mother's bloodline.

Washington Luís Washington Luís Pereira de Sousa (; 26 October 1869 – 4 August 1957) was a Brazilian politician who served as the 13th president of Brazil. Elected governor of São Paulo state in 1920 and president of Brazil in 1926, Washington Luís belonge ...

, the last president of the

First Brazilian Republic The First Brazilian Republic, also referred to as the Old Republic (, ), officially the Republic of the United States of Brazil, was the Brazilian state in the period from 1889 to 1930. The Old Republic began with the coup d'état that deposed ...

(1926–1930) also had Romani ancestry. The Romani population in the United States is estimated at more than one million.{{efn, "Today, estimates put the number of Roma in the U.S. at about one million." There are between 800,000 and 1{{nbspmillion Roma in

, most of whose ancestors emigrated in the 19th century from Eastern Europe. Brazilian Roma are mostly descended from German/Italian

(in the South/Southeast regions), and Roma and Calon people. Brazil also includes a notable Romani community descended from Sinti and Roma deportees from the

Portuguese Empire The Portuguese Empire was a colonial empire that existed between 1415 and 1999. In conjunction with the Spanish Empire, it ushered in the European Age of Discovery. It achieved a global scale, controlling vast portions of the Americas, Africa ...

during the

Portuguese Inquisition The Portuguese Inquisition (Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''Inquisição Portuguesa''), officially known as the General Council of the Holy Office of the Inquisition in Portugal, was formally established in Kingdom of Portugal, Portugal in 15 ...

. Persecution against the Roma has led to many of the cultural practices being extinguished, hidden or modified to survive in a country that has excluded them ethnically and culturally. The very common carnivals throughout Brazil are one of the few spaces in which the Roma can still express their cultural traditions, including the so-called "carnival wedding" in which a boy is disguised as a bride and the famous "Romaní dance", picturesquely simulated with the women of the town parading in their traditional attire.

South Asian origin

{{Main, History of the Romani people Genetic findings reveal a

South Asian South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...

origin of the Romani people, likely in the regions of present-day

and

. Because Romani groups did not keep chronicles of their history or have oral accounts of it, most hypotheses about early Romani migration are based on linguistic theory.

''Shahnameh'' legend

According to a legend reported in the

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

epic poem, the ''

Shahnameh The ''Shahnameh'' (, ), also transliterated ''Shahnama'', is a long epic poem written by the Persian literature, Persian poet Ferdowsi between and 1010 CE and is the national epic of Greater Iran. Consisting of some 50,000 distichs or couple ...

'', the

Sasanian The Sasanian Empire (), officially Eranshahr ( , "Empire of the Iranians"), was an Iranian empire that was founded and ruled by the House of Sasan from 224 to 651. Enduring for over four centuries, the length of the Sasanian dynasty's reign ...

king Bahrām V Gōr learned towards the end of his reign (421–439) that the poor could not afford to enjoy music, and so he asked the king of India to send him ten thousand '' luris'', lute-playing experts. When the ''luris'' arrived, Bahrām gave each one an ox, a donkey, and a donkey-load of wheat so they could live on agriculture and play music for free for the poor. However, the ''luris'' ate the oxen and the wheat and came back a year later with their cheeks hollowed by hunger. The king, angered with their having wasted what he had given them, ordered them to pack up their bags and go wandering around the world on their donkeys.{{cite encyclopedia , last=Digard , first=Jean-Pierre , title=GYPSY i. Gypies of Persia , encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Iranica , access-date=22 July 2013 , url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/gypsy-i

Linguistic evidence

Linguistic evidence has indisputably shown that the roots of the Romani language lie in India: the language has grammatical characteristics of Indian languages and shares with them a large part of the basic lexicon.{{Citation , last1=Šebková , first1=Hana , last2=Žlnayová , first2=Edita , year=1998 , url=http://rss.archives.ceu.hu/archive/00001112/01/118.pdf , title=Nástin mluvnice slovenské romštiny (pro pedagogické účely) , place=Ústí nad Labem , publisher=Pedagogická fakulta Univerzity J. E. Purkyně v Ústí nad Labem , page=4 , isbn=978-80-7044-205-0 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304024041/http://rss.archives.ceu.hu/archive/00001112/01/118.pdf , archive-date=4 March 2016 Romani and Domari share some similarities:

agglutination In linguistics, agglutination is a morphology (linguistics), morphological process in which words are formed by stringing together morphemes (word parts), each of which corresponds to a single Syntax, syntactic feature. Languages that use agglu ...

of postpositions of the second layer (or case-marking clitics) to the nominal stem, concord markers for the past tense, the neutralisation of gender marking in the plural, and the use of the oblique case as an accusative.{{sfn, Matras, 2002, p=48 This has prompted much discussion about the relationships between these two languages. Domari was once thought to be a "sister language" of Romani, the two languages having split after the departure from the Indian subcontinent—but later research suggests that the differences between them are significant enough to treat them as two separate branches within the

central zone Central Zone may refer to: Places * Central Indo-Aryan languages, or the "Central Zone" of Indo-Aryan, a language group of India * Central Zone, Bhutan, an administrative district of Bhutan * Central Zone of São Paulo, an administrative zone of th ...

(

Hindustani Hindustani may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Hindustan (another name of India) * Hindustani language, an Indo-Aryan language, with Hindi and Urdu being its two standard registers * Hindustani Muslims are the Urdu-speaking, Hindust ...

) group of languages. The Dom and the Rom, therefore, likely descend from two migration waves from India separated by several centuries.{{cite web , title=What is Domari? , publisher=University of Manchester. Romani Linguistics and Romani Language Projects , url=http://romani.humanities.manchester.ac.uk/atmanchester/projects/domari.shtml , access-date=23 July 2008 , archive-date=10 April 2016 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160410044633/http://romani.humanities.manchester.ac.uk/atmanchester/projects/domari.shtml , url-status=dead{{cite web , title=On romani origins and identity , url=http://www.radoc.net/radoc.php?doc=art_b_history_origins&lang=en&articles=true , publisher=Radoc , access-date=23 July 2008 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717140132/http://www.radoc.net/radoc.php?doc=art_b_history_origins&lang=en&articles=true , archive-date=17 July 2011 In

phonology Phonology (formerly also phonemics or phonematics: "phonemics ''n.'' 'obsolescent''1. Any procedure for identifying the phonemes of a language from a corpus of data. 2. (formerly also phonematics) A former synonym for phonology, often pre ...

, the Romani language shares several isoglosses with the Central branch of Indo-Aryan languages, especially in the realization of some sounds of the Old Indo-Aryan. However, it also preserves several dental clusters. In regards to verb morphology, Romani follows exactly the same pattern of northwestern languages such as

Kashmiri Kashmiri may refer to: * People or things related to the Kashmir Valley or the broader region of Kashmir * Kashmiris, an ethnic group native to the Kashmir Valley * Kashmiri language, the language of the Kashmiris ethnic group People with the nam ...

and Shina through the adoption of oblique enclitic pronouns as person markers, lending credence to the theory of their Central Indian origin and a subsequent migration to northwestern India. Though the retention of dental clusters suggests a break from central languages during the transition from Old to Middle Indo-Aryan, the overall morphology suggests that the language participated in some of the significant developments leading toward the emergence of New Indo-Aryan languages. {{Rom-Dom numerals

Genetic evidence

Genetic findings in 2012 suggest the Roma originated in northwestern India and migrated as a group. According to the study, the ancestors of present scheduled caste and scheduled tribe populations of

northern India North India is a geographical region, loosely defined as a cultural region comprising the northern part of India (or historically, the Indian subcontinent) wherein Indo-Aryans (speaking Indo-Aryan languages) form the prominent majority populati ...

, traditionally referred to collectively as the

, are the likely ancestral populations of modern European Roma. In December 2012, additional findings appeared to confirm that the "Roma came from a single group that left northwestern India about 1,500 years ago". According to the study, they reached the Balkans about 900 years ago and then spread throughout Europe. The team also found that the Roma displayed genetic isolation, as well as "differential gene flow in time and space with non-Romani Europeans". Genetic research published in the ''

European Journal of Human Genetics The ''European Journal of Human Genetics'' is a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal published by the Nature Publishing Group on behalf of the European Society of Human Genetics. It covers all aspects of human genetics. Abstracting and inde ...

'' "has revealed that over 70% of males belong to a single lineage that appears unique to the Roma".{{Citation , first1=Luba , last1=Kalaydjieva , first2=Francesc , last2=Calafell , first3=Mark A , last3=Jobling , first4=Dora , last4=Angelicheva , first5=Peter , last5=de Knijff , first6=Zoe H , last6=Rosser , first7=Matthew , last7=Hurles , first8=Peter , last8=Underhill , first9=Ivailo , last9=Tournev , first10=Elena , last10=Marushiakova , first11=Vesselin , last11=Popov , title=Patterns of inter- and intra-group genetic diversity in the Vlax Roma as revealed by Y chromosome and mitochondrial DNA lineages , journal=European Journal of Human Genetics , volume=9 , issue=2 , pages=97–104 , url=http://genetics.stanford.edu/hpgl/publications/EJHG_2001_v9_p97.pdf , doi=10.1038/sj.ejhg.5200597 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141209205422/http://genetics.stanford.edu/hpgl/publications/EJHG_2001_v9_p97.pdf , archive-date=9 December 2014 , year=2011 , pmid=11313742 , s2cid=21432405 , doi-access=free Genetic evidence supports the

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

migration from India. The Roma have been described as "a conglomerate of genetically isolated founder populations", while a number of common

Mendelian Mendelian inheritance (also known as Mendelism) is a type of biological inheritance following the principles originally proposed by Gregor Mendel in 1865 and 1866, re-discovered in 1900 by Hugo de Vries and Carl Correns, and later popularized ...

disorders among Roma from all over Europe indicates "a common origin and

founder effect In population genetics, the founder effect is the loss of genetic variation that occurs when a new population is established by a very small number of individuals from a larger population. It was first fully outlined by Ernst Mayr in 1942, us ...

". A 2020 whole-genome study confirmed the northern Indian origins, and also confirmed substantial Balkan and Middle Eastern ancestry amongst Roma in

Central and Eastern Europe Central and Eastern Europe is a geopolitical term encompassing the countries in Baltic region, Northeast Europe (primarily the Baltic states, Baltics), Central Europe (primarily the Visegrád Group), Eastern Europe, and Southeast Europe (primaril ...

. The study also included a sample of Roma from Spain and Lithuania, which revealed significantly higher levels of European ancestry. A study from 2001 by Gresham et al. suggests "a limited number of related founders, compatible with a small group of migrants splitting from a distinct caste or tribal group".{{Cite journal , last1=Gresham , first1=D , last2=Morar , first2=B , last3=Underhill , first3=PA , last4=Passarino , first4=G , last5=Lin , first5=AA , last6=Wise , first6=C , last7=Angelicheva , first7=D , last8=Calafell , first8=F , last9=Oefner , first9=PJ , title=Origins and Divergence of the Roma (Gypsies) , journal=American Journal of Human Genetics , volume=69 , issue=6 , pages=1314–31 , year=2001 , pmid=11704928 , pmc=1235543 , doi=10.1086/324681 , last10 = Shen, first10 = Peidong , last11=Tournev , first11=Ivailo , last12=De Pablo , first12=Rosario , last13=Kuĉinskas , first13=Vaidutis , last14=Perez-Lezaun , first14=Anna , last15=Marushiakova , first15=Elena , last16=Popov , first16=Vesselin , last17=Kalaydjieva , first17=Luba The same study found that "a single lineage... found across Romani populations, accounts for almost one-third of Romani males". A 2004 study of Roma in Central and Eastern Europe and Spain by Morar et al. concluded that the Romani population "was founded approximately 32–40 generations ago, with secondary and tertiary founder events occurring approximately 16–25 generations ago".{{cite journal , last1=Morar , first1=Bharti , last2=Gresham , first2=David , last3=Angelicheva , first3=Dora , last4=Tournev , first4=Ivailo , last5=Gooding , first5=Rebecca , last6=Guergueltcheva , first6=Velina , last7=Schmidt , first7=Carolin , last8=Abicht , first8=Angela , last9=Lochmüller , first9=Hanns , last10=Tordai , first10=Attila , last11=Kalmár , first11=Lajos , last12=Nagy , first12=Melinda , last13=Karcagi , first13=Veronika , last14=Jeanpierre , first14=Marc , last15=Herczegfalvi , first15=Agnes , last16=Beeson , first16=David , last17=Venkataraman , first17=Viswanathan , last18=Warwick Carter , first18=Kim , last19=Reeve , first19=Jeff , last20=de Pablo , first20=Rosario , last21=Kučinskas , first21=Vaidutis , last22=Kalaydjieva , first22=Luba , title=Mutation History of the Roma/Gypsies , journal=The American Journal of Human Genetics , date=October 2004 , volume=75 , issue=4 , pages=596–609 , doi=10.1086/424759 , pmid=15322984 , pmc=1182047 Haplogroup H-M82 is a major lineage cluster in the

Balkan Romani Balkan Roma, Balkaniko Romanes, or Balkan Gypsy is a specific non- Vlax dialect of the Romani language, spoken by groups within the Balkans, which include countries such as Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Greece, Kosovo, North Macedonia, ...

group, accounting for approximately 60% of the total. Haplogroup H is uncommon in Europe but present in the Indian subcontinent and

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

. A study of 444 people representing three ethnic groups in North Macedonia found mtDNA haplogroups M5a1 and H7a1a were dominant in Romanies (13.7% and 10.3%, respectively). Y-DNA composition of

from

Šuto Orizari Municipality Šuto Orizari (; Balkan Romani: ''Shuto Orizari''; ), often shortened as ''Šutka'' (Шутка), is one of the ten municipalities that make up the City of Skopje, the capital of the Republic of North Macedonia. '' Šuto Orizari'' is also the na ...

, based on 57 samples:{{cite journal , last1=Peričić , first1=Marijana , last2=Lauc , first2=Lovorka Barać , last3=Klarić , first3=Irena Martinović , last4=Rootsi , first4=Siiri , last5=Janićijević , first5=Branka , last6=Rudan , first6=Igor , last7=Terzić , first7=Rifet , last8=Čolak , first8=Ivanka , last9=Kvesić , first9=Ante , last10=Popović , first10=Dan , last11=Šijački , first11=Ana , last12=Behluli , first12=Ibrahim , last13=Đorđević , first13=Dobrivoje , last14=Efremovska , first14=Ljudmila , last15=Bajec , first15=Đorđe D. , last16=Stefanović , first16=Branislav D. , last17=Villems , first17=Richard , last18=Rudan , first18=Pavao , title=High-Resolution Phylogenetic Analysis of Southeastern Europe Traces Major Episodes of Paternal Gene Flow Among Slavic Populations , journal=Molecular Biology and Evolution , date=October 2005 , volume=22 , issue=10 , pages=1964–1975 , pmid=15944443 , doi=10.1093/molbev/msi185 , doi-access=free * Haplogroup H – 59.6% * Haplogroup E – 29.8% * Haplogroup I – 5.3% *

Haplogroup R Haplogroup R may refer to: * Haplogroup R (mtDNA) Haplogroup R is a widely distributed Human mitochondrial DNA haplogroup, human mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplogroup. Haplogroup R is associated with the peopling of Eurasia after about 70,000 ye ...

– 3.%, of which the half are

R1b Haplogroup R1b (R-M343), previously known as Hg1 and Eu18, is a human Y-chromosome haplogroup. It is the most frequently occurring paternal lineage in Western Europe, as well as some parts of Russia (e.g. the Bashkirs) and across the Sahel in ...

and many are R1a *

Haplogroup G Haplogroup G may refer to: * Haplogroup G (mtDNA), a human mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplogroup * Haplogroup G (Y-DNA) Haplogroup G (M201) is a human Y-chromosome haplogroup. It is one of two branches of the parent haplogroup GHIJK, the other ...

– 1.8% Y-DNA Haplogroup H1a occurs in Roma at frequencies 7–70%. Unlike ethnic Hungarians, among Hungarian and Slovakian Roma subpopulations

Haplogroup E-M78 Haplogroup E-V68, also known as E1b1b1a, is a major human Y-chromosome DNA haplogroup found in North Africa, the Horn of Africa, Western Asia and Europe. It is a subclade of the larger and older haplogroup, known as E1b1b or E-M215 (also roughly ...

and I1 usually occur above 10% and sometimes over 20%, while among Slovakian and Tiszavasvari Roma, the dominant haplogroup is H1a; among

Tokaj Tokaj () is a historical town in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén county, Northern Hungary, 54 kilometers from county capital Miskolc. It is the centre of the Tokaj-Hegyalja wine district where Tokaji wine is produced. History The wine-growing area ...

Roma it is Haplogroup J2a (23%); and among

Taktaharkány Taktaharkány is a village in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County in northeastern Hungary.Haplogroup I2a (21%).{{cite web , url=http://s009.radikal.ru/i308/1411/9e/fcf1cc38d1fa.png , format=PDF , title=Y chromosonal haplogroup distributionanddiversities in seven populations investigated , website=S009.radikal.ru , access-date=20 December 2016 , archive-date=26 September 2016 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160926061221/http://s009.radikal.ru/i308/1411/9e/fcf1cc38d1fa.png Five rather consistent founder lineages throughout the subpopulations were found among Roma – J-M67 and J-M92 (J2), H-M52 (H1a1), and I-P259 (I1). Haplogroup I-P259 as H is not found at frequencies of over 3% among host populations, while haplogroups E and I are absent in south Asia. The lineages E-V13, I-P37 (I2a) and R-M17 (R1a) may represent gene flow from the host populations. Bulgarian, Romanian and Greek Roma are dominated by Haplogroup H-M82 (H1a1), while among Spanish Roma J2 is prevalent.{{cite journal , last1=Martínez-Cruz , first1=Begoña , last2=Mendizabal , first2=Isabel , last3=Harmant , first3=Christine , last4=de Pablo , first4=Rosario , last5=Ioana , first5=Mihai , last6=Angelicheva , first6=Dora , last7=Kouvatsi , first7=Anastasia , last8=Makukh , first8=Halyna , last9=Netea , first9=Mihai G , last10=Pamjav , first10=Horolma , last11=Zalán , first11=Andrea , last12=Tournev , first12=Ivailo , last13=Marushiakova , first13=Elena , last14=Popov , first14=Vesselin , last15=Bertranpetit , first15=Jaume , last16=Kalaydjieva , first16=Luba , last17=Quintana-Murci , first17=Lluis , last18=Comas , first18=David , title=Origins, admixture and founder lineages in European Roma , journal=European Journal of Human Genetics , date=June 2016 , volume=24 , issue=6 , pages=937–943 , doi=10.1038/ejhg.2015.201 , pmid=26374132 , pmc=4867443 In

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

among

and

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

Roma Haplogroup H prevails, while among

Vojvodina Vojvodina ( ; sr-Cyrl, Војводина, ), officially the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, is an Autonomous administrative division, autonomous province that occupies the northernmost part of Serbia, located in Central Europe. It lies withi ...

Roma, H drops to 7 percent and E-V13 rises to a prevailing level. Among non-Roma Europeans, Haplogroup H is extremely rare, peaking at 7% among

Albanians The Albanians are an ethnic group native to the Balkan Peninsula who share a common Albanian ancestry, Albanian culture, culture, Albanian history, history and Albanian language, language. They are the main ethnic group of Albania and Kosovo, ...

from

Tirana Tirana ( , ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in Albania, largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills, with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest ov ...

and 11% among

Bulgarian Turks Bulgarian Turks (; ) are ethnic Turkish people from Bulgaria. According to the 2021 census, there were 508,375 Bulgarians of Turkish descent, roughly 8.4% of the population, making them the country's largest ethnic minority. Bulgarian Turks ...

. It occurs at 5% among

Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars, are an Ethnicity, ethnic group native to Hungary (), who share a common Culture of Hungary, culture, Hungarian language, language and History of Hungary, history. They also have a notable presence in former pa ...

, although the carriers might be of Romani origin. Among non-Roma-speaking Europeans, it occurs at 2% among

Slovaks The Slovaks ( (historical Sloveni ), singular: ''Slovák'' (historical: ''Sloven'' ), feminine: ''Slovenka'' , plural: ''Slovenky'') are a West Slavic ethnic group and nation native to Slovakia who share a common ancestry, culture, history ...

,{{cite journal , last1=Petrejcíková , first1=Eva , last2=Soták , first2=Miroslav , last3=Bernasovská , first3=Jarmila , last4=Bernasovský , first4=Ivan , last5=Sovicová , first5=Adriana , last6=Bôziková , first6=Alexandra , last7=Boronová , first7=Iveta , last8=Gabriková , first8=Dana , last9=Švícková , first9=Petra , last10=Maceková , first10=Sona , last11=Cverhová , first11=Valéria , title=The genetic structure of the Slovak population revealed by Y-chromosome polymorphisms , journal=Anthropological Science , date=2010 , volume=118 , issue=1 , pages=23–30 , doi=10.1537/ase.090203 , s2cid=83899895 , doi-access=free 2% among

Croats The Croats (; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and other neighboring countries in Central Europe, Central and Southeastern Europe who share a common Croatian Cultural heritage, ancest ...

, 1% among Macedonians from Skopje, 3% among Macedonian Albanians, 1% among

Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Southeastern Europe who share a common Serbian Cultural heritage, ancestry, Culture of Serbia, culture, History of Serbia, history, and Serbian lan ...

from

, 3% among Bulgarians from Sofia, 1% among Austrians and Swiss, 3% among Romanians from

Ploiești Ploiești ( , , ), formerly spelled Ploești, is a Municipiu, city and county seat in Prahova County, Romania. Part of the historical region of Muntenia, it is located north of Bucharest. The area of Ploiești is around , and it borders the Ble ...

, and 1% among

Turks Turk or Turks may refer to: Communities and ethnic groups * Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation * Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic of Turkey * Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic lang ...

. The Ottoman occupation of the Balkans also left a significant genetic mark on the Y-DNA of the Roma there, creating a higher frequency of Haplogroups J and E3b in Romani populations from the region.

Full genome analysis

{{See also, Genetics and archaeogenetics of South Asia Haplogroup H map

A full genome autosomal DNA study on 186 Roma samples from southeastern, northeastern and southwestern Europe in 2019 found that modern Romani people in these areas are characterized by a common

south Asian South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...

origin and a complex admixture from Middle Eastern,

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...

and wider European-derived ancestries. Earlier admixture dates amongst Roma in the Balkans supports that they migrated into Europe via the Balkans. The autosomal genetic data links the proto-Roma to groups in northwest India (specifically

Punjabi Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to: * Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan * Punjabi language * Punjabis, Punjabi people * Punjabi dialects and languages Punjabi may also refer to: * Punjabi (horse), a ...

and

Gujarati Gujarati may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Gujarat, a state of India * Gujarati people, the major ethnic group of Gujarat * Gujarati language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them * Gujarati languages, the Western Indo-Aryan sub- ...

samples), as well as, Dravidian-speaking groups in

southeastern India The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A ''compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each ...

(specifically Irula). The paternal lineages of Roma are most common in southern and central India among Dravidian-speaking populations. The authors argue that this may point to a

among the early Roma during their ethnogenesis or shortly after they migrated out of the Indian subcontinent. In addition, they theorized of a possible low-

caste A caste is a Essentialism, fixed social group into which an individual is born within a particular system of social stratification: a caste system. Within such a system, individuals are expected to marry exclusively within the same caste (en ...

(

Dalit Dalit ( from meaning "broken/scattered") is a term used for untouchables and outcasts, who represented the lowest stratum of the castes in the Indian subcontinent. They are also called Harijans. Dalits were excluded from the fourfold var ...

) origin for the Proto-Roma, since they were genetically closer to the Punjabi cluster that lacks a common marker characteristic of high castes, which is West Euroasian admixing.

Possible migration route

The Roma may have emerged from what is the modern Indian state of

, migrating to the northwest (the

Punjab region Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

of the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...

) around 250 BCE.{{sfn, Marinov, 2019 Their subsequent westward migration, possibly in waves, is now believed to have occurred beginning in about 500 CE. It has also been suggested that emigration from India may have taken place in the context of the raids by

Mahmud of Ghazni Abu al-Qasim Mahmud ibn Sabuktigin (; 2 November 971 – 30 April 1030), usually known as Mahmud of Ghazni or Mahmud Ghaznavi (), was Sultan of the Ghaznavid Empire, ruling from 998 to 1030. During his reign and in medieval sources, he is usuall ...

. As these soldiers were defeated, they were moved west with their families into the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

.{{cite book , title=The Roads of the Roma: a PEN anthology of Gypsy Writers , first1=Ian , last1=Hancock , first2=Siobhan , last2=Dowd , first3=Rajko , last3=Djurić , year=2004 , publisher=University of Hertfordshire Press , location=Hatfield, United Kingdom , isbn=978-0-900458-90-3 , pages=14–15 The author

Ralph Lilley Turner Sir Ralph Lilley Turner (5 October 1888 – 22 April 1983) was a British philologist of Indian languages and a university administrator. He is notable for composing an Indo-Aryan comparative dictionary. He is also the author of some publicati ...

theorised a central Indian origin of Romani followed by a migration to northwest India as it shares a number of ancient

isogloss An isogloss, also called a heterogloss, is the geographic boundary of a certain linguistics, linguistic feature, such as the pronunciation of a vowel, the meaning of a word, or the use of some morphological or syntactic feature. Isoglosses are a ...

es with

central Indo-Aryan languages The Central Indo-Aryan languages or Hindi languages are a group of Indo-Aryan languages spoken across Northern and Central India. They historically form a dialect continuum that descends from the Middle Prakrits. Located in the Hindi Belt, ...

in relation to realization of some sounds of

Old Indo-Aryan The Indo-Aryan languages, or sometimes Indic languages, are a branch of the Indo-Iranian languages in the Indo-European language family. As of 2024, there are more than 1.5 billion speakers, primarily concentrated east of the Indus river in Ba ...

. This is lent further credence by its sharing exactly the same pattern of northwestern languages such as

and Shina through the adoption of

oblique Oblique may refer to: * an alternative name for the character usually called a slash (punctuation) ( / ) *Oblique angle, in geometry * Oblique triangle, in geometry * Oblique lattice, in geometry * Oblique leaf base, a characteristic shape of the ...

enclitic In morphology and syntax, a clitic ( , backformed from Greek "leaning" or "enclitic"Crystal, David. ''A First Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics''. Boulder, CO: Westview, 1980. Print.) is a morpheme that has syntactic characteristics of a ...

pronouns as person markers. The overall morphology suggests that Romani participated in some of the significant developments leading toward the emergence of New Indo-Aryan languages, thus indicating that the proto-Roma did not leave the Indian subcontinent until late in the second half of the first millennium.{{cite web , title=Romani , url=http://romani.humanities.manchester.ac.uk/downloads/2/Matras_Rmni_ELL.pdf , website=Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics , publisher=Oxford: Elsevier , access-date=30 August 2009 , archive-date=11 October 2017 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171011141138/http://romani.humanities.manchester.ac.uk/downloads/2/Matras_Rmni_ELL.pdf , url-status=dead The first Romani people are believed to have arrived in Europe via the

in the 13th or 14th century. Romani people began migrating to other parts of the continent during the 15th and 16th centuries.{{Cite web , title=Migrations of the Romani People , url=https://media.nationalgeographic.org/assets/file/romani_MIG.pdf , access-date=16 May 2024 , website=The National Geographic Society{{Cite web , last=King , first=Arienne , date=2023 , title=Romani Migration in the Middle Ages , url=https://www.worldhistory.org/image/16922/map-of-romani-migration-in-the-middle-ages/ , access-date=16 May 2024 , website=World History Encyclopedia In February 2016, during the International Roma Conference, then Indian Minister of External Affairs,

Sushma Swaraj Sushma Swaraj (''née'' Sharma; 14 February 1952 – 6 August 2019; ) was an Indian lawyer, politician and diplomat who served as the 5th Chief Minister of Delhi, and also the Minister of External Affairs of India in the first Narendra Modi ...

stated that the people of the Romani community were children of India. The conference ended with a recommendation to the

government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

to recognize the Romani community spread across 30 countries as a part of the

Indian diaspora Overseas Indians (ISO 15919, ISO: ), officially Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) and People of Indian Origin (PIOs) are people of Indian descent who reside or originate outside of India (Including those that were directly under the British Raj). Acc ...

.{{cite web , title=Can Romas be part of Indian diaspora? , publisher=khaleejtimes.com , url=http://www.khaleejtimes.com/international/india/can-romas-be-part-of-indian-diaspora , date=29 February 2016 , access-date=4 March 2016

Ethnic identities conflated with the Roma

Even though genetic studies confirmed that the Romani people originated in South Asia and their language is an

,{{Sfn, Matras, 2002, p=240 they have a long history of taking on different identities of various ethnic groups.

Romaei/Eastern Romans

With the Roma fleeing the Muslim conquest of

in Northern India in the early 11th century,{{cite book , last1=Ahmad , first1=Dr Aijaz , title=New Dimensions of Indian Historiography : Historical Facts and Hindutva Interpretation , date=6 March 2022 , publisher=K.K. Publications , page=145 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AttiEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA145 , language=en they arrived in the

Eastern Roman Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

by the 12th century. The name Roma/Romani is similar to Romaei ({{lang, el, Ῥωμαῖοι), or Rhomaioi/Romioi (Ῥωμαῖοι/Ῥωμηοί/Ρωμιοί, "Romans") (the

for the Eastern Romans/Byzantines) from which the name could have originated. Roma is also similar to their original

word {{lang, sa, डोम ({{transliteration, sa, ḍoma) meaning "drummer", with the

Doma The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) was a United States federal law passed by the 104th United States Congress and signed into law by President Bill Clinton on September 21, 1996. It banned federal recognition of same-sex marriage by limitin ...

being dancers and musicians and a sub-group of the

caste.

Athinganoi

In the Eastern Roman/Byzantine Empire the Roma also took on the identity of the ethnic religious group, the

(Greek: Αθίγγανοι). They were a

Manichaean Manichaeism (; in ; ) is an endangered former major world religion currently only practiced in China around Cao'an,R. van den Broek, Wouter J. Hanegraaff ''Gnosis and Hermeticism from Antiquity to Modern Times''. SUNY Press, 1998 p. 37 found ...

sect regarded as Judaizing heretics who lived in Phrygia and

Lycaonia Lycaonia (; , ''Lykaonia''; ) was a large region in the interior of Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey), north of the Taurus Mountains. It was bounded on the east by Cappadocia, on the north by Galatia, on the west by Phrygia and Pisidia, while to ...

but were neither Hebrews nor

Gentile ''Gentile'' () is a word that today usually means someone who is not Jewish. Other groups that claim Israelite heritage, notably Mormons, have historically used the term ''gentile'' to describe outsiders. More rarely, the term is used as a synony ...

s. They kept the Sabbath, but were not circumcised. They were Shomer nagia. The word "Athiganoi" is where the Turkish name {{lang, tr, Ciganos as well as the Romanian name {{lang, ro, țigani come from, as the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

had some linguistic and cultural influence on the neighbouring medieval Romanian principalities of

Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ; : , : ) is a historical and geographical region of modern-day Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians. Wallachia was traditionally divided into two sections, Munteni ...

and

Moldavia Moldavia (, or ; in Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Romanian Cyrillic: or ) is a historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester River. An initially in ...

. The Turkish Ottomans conquered the Byzantine Empire in the 15th century, hence they ruled over the Roma (Ciganos) as well. Today, Turkey has the highest Romani population.{{cite web , url=http://rm.coe.int/CoERMPublicCommonSearchServices/DisplayDCTMContent?documentId=0900001680088ea9 , title=Roma and Travellers Team. Tools and Texts of Reference. Estimates on Roma population in European countries (excel spreadsheet) , work=rm.coe.int Council of Europe Roma and Travellers Division

Egyptians

Some terms for the Romani people trace their origin to conflation with

. The English term ''Gypsy'' (or ''Gipsy'') originates from the

''gypcian'', short for ''Egipcien''. The Spanish term {{lang, es, Gitano and French {{lang, fr, Gitan have similar etymologies. They are ultimately derived from the

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

{{lang, grc, Αιγύπτιοι ({{transliteration, grc, Aigyptioi), meaning "Egyptian", via

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

. This designation owes its existence to the belief, common in the Middle Ages, that the Roma, or some related group (such as the Indian

), were itinerant Egyptians.

Bohemians

The Roma from

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

(today Czech Republic) were called

Bohemian Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, originally practised by 19th–20th century European and American artists and writers. * Bohemian style, a ...

({{lang, fr, bohémiens in French) because they were believed to have originated ethnically in Bohemia and later came to Western European countries such as France in the 16th century. The term

bohemian Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, originally practised by 19th–20th century European and American artists and writers. * Bohemian style, a ...

came to mean carefree, artistic people. The Roma were musicians and dancers as well as circus performers that moved place to place, having an adventurous nomadic lifestyle, away from society's conventional norms and expectations. This lifestyle inspired the 19th-century European artistic movement,

Bohemianism Bohemianism is a social and cultural movement that has, at its core, a way of life away from society's conventional norms and expectations. The term originates from the French ''bohème'' and spread to the English-speaking world. It was used to ...

{{cite web , url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=Bohemian , title=''Bohemian'' etymology , access-date=2008-12-27 , last=Harper , first=Douglas , publisher=

Online Etymology Dictionary Etymonline, or ''Online Etymology Dictionary'', sometimes abbreviated as OED (not to be confused with the ''Oxford English Dictionary'', which the site often cites), is a free online dictionary that describes the etymology, origins of English la ...

, date=November 2001 as well as the

hippie movement The hippie subculture (also known as the flower people) began its development as a teenager and youth movement in the United States from the mid-1960s to early 1970s and then developed around the world. Its origins may be traced to European soc ...

of the 1950s and 1960s in the United States.

Irish Travellers

Because

Irish Travellers Irish Travellers (, meaning ''the walking people''), also known as Mincéirs ( Shelta: ''Mincéirí'') or Pavees, are a traditionally peripatetic indigenous ethno-cultural group originating in Ireland.''Questioning Gypsy identity: ethnic na ...

, a sub-group of the Irish (having the same ancestral genetics from within the general population of Ireland{{cite news , title=Travellers as 'genetically different' from settled Irish as Spanish , newspaper=

Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It was launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is Ireland's leading n ...

, url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/science/travellers-as-genetically-different-from-settled-irish-as-spanish-1.2969515) lived as nomads, the Roma and the Irish travellers came to be conflated with each other and in time some of the Roma mixed with some of the native Irish travellers (beginning in the 1650s) because of proximity and similar nomadic traditions.{{cite book , last=Gmelch , first=Sharon , year=1991 , orig-year=1986 , chapter=Preface , title=Nan: The life of an Irish Travelling woman , type=Biography , edition=Reissue with changes , location=Long Grove, IL , publisher=Waveland Press , isbn=978-0-88133-602-3 , chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9foVAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA11 , pages=11–14

Yenish people

Similar to the Irish Travellers, the

Yenish people The Yenish (; , ) are an itinerant group in Western Europe who live mostly in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Belgium, and parts of France, roughly centered on the Rhineland. The origins of the Yenish are unknown, though a number ...

were confused with the Roma because they were nomadic and itinerant people. The Yenish people have origins in

Western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's extent varies depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the Western half of the ancient Mediterranean ...

, mostly in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Luxembourg and Belgium. The Yenish descended from members of the marginalized and vagrant poor classes of society in Germanic-speaking regions in Europe in the

Late Middle Ages The late Middle Ages or late medieval period was the Periodization, period of History of Europe, European history lasting from 1300 to 1500 AD. The late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern period ( ...

. Most of the Yenish became sedentary in the course of the mid-19th to 20th centuries. The culture of the Irish Travellers and the Yenish people in Western Europe and the culture of the Roma are different while having the nomadic and itinerant similarity.{{Sfn, Sutherland, 1986, page=14

Balkan people

Forced sterilisation Compulsory sterilization, also known as forced or coerced sterilization, refers to any government-mandated program to involuntarily sterilize a specific group of people. Sterilization removes a person's capacity to reproduce, and is usually do ...

carried out in several European countries, such as

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

and

, in the mid to late 20th century led to a decrease in Roma populations in those countries. Countries in

South Eastern Europe Southeast Europe or Southeastern Europe is a geographical sub-region of Europe, consisting primarily of the region of the Balkans, as well as adjacent regions and archipelagos. There are overlapping and conflicting definitions of the region, du ...

that had not carried out forced sterilisation, such as

and

, experienced steady increases of Roma birth rates during the 20th century that continue to this day, mainly because of the Roma tradition to marry young (in their early teens).{{Cite news , date=2003-10-02 , title=Gypsy child couple separated , language=en-GB , url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3159818.stm , access-date=2022-08-08 Once communism fell in Eastern Europe and travel restrictions were lifted as well as Eastern European countries joining the European Union in the 2000s, it was easier for the Eastern European Roma to mass migrate to Western Europe. Often, Romania is wrongly identified as the place of origin of the Roma because of the similar name Roma/Romani and Romanians. Romanians derive their name from the

''romanus'', meaning "

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

", referencing the

Roman conquest of Dacia Trajan's Dacian Wars (101–102, 105–106) were two military campaigns fought between the Roman Empire and Dacia during Emperor Trajan's rule. The conflicts were triggered by the constant Dacian threat on the Danubian province of Moesia and al ...

. (The

Dacians The Dacians (; ; ) were the ancient Indo-European inhabitants of the cultural region of Dacia, located in the area near the Carpathian Mountains and west of the Black Sea. They are often considered a subgroup of the Thracians. This area include ...

were a sub-group of the

Thracians The Thracians (; ; ) were an Indo-European languages, Indo-European speaking people who inhabited large parts of Southeast Europe in ancient history.. "The Thracians were an Indo-European people who occupied the area that today is shared betwee ...

.) Romanian genetics show ancient Balkan ancestry (Thracian ancestry) as well as

Slavic Slavic, Slav or Slavonic may refer to: Peoples * Slavic peoples, an ethno-linguistic group living in Europe and Asia ** East Slavic peoples, eastern group of Slavic peoples ** South Slavic peoples, southern group of Slavic peoples ** West Slav ...

ancestry{{cite journal , last1=Kushniarevich , first1=A , last2=Utevska , first2=O , last3=Chuhryaeva , first3=M , last4=Agdzhoyan , first4=A , last5=Dibirova , first5=K , last6=Uktveryte , first6=I , last7=Möls , first7=M , last8=Mulahasanovic , first8=L , last9=Pshenichnov , first9=A , last10=Frolova , first10=S , last11=Shanko , first11=A , last12=Metspalu , first12=E , last13=Reidla , first13=M , last14=Tambets , first14=K , last15=Tamm , first15=E , display-authors=29 , year=2015 , title=Genetic Heritage of the Balto-Slavic Speaking Populations: A Synthesis of Autosomal, Mitochondrial and Y-Chromosomal Data , journal=PLOS ONE , volume=10 , issue=9 , pages=e0135820 , bibcode=2015PLoSO..1035820K , doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0135820 , pmc=4558026 , pmid=26332464 , doi-access=free , last16=Koshel , first16=S , last17=Zaporozhchenko , first17=V , last18=Atramentova , first18=L , last19=Kučinskas , first19=V , last20=Davydenko , first20=O , last21=Goncharova , first21=O , last22=Evseeva , first22=I , last23=Churnosov , first23=M , last24=Pocheshchova , first24=E , last25=Yunusbayev , first25=B , last26=Khusnutdinova , first26=E , last27=Marjanović , first27=D , last28=Rudan , first28=P , last29=Rootsi , first29=S , last30=Yankovsky , first30=N and not Indian ancestry like the Roma.

History

{{Main, History of the Romani people

Arrival in Europe

According to a 2012 genomic study, the Roma reached the Balkans in the 12th century. A document of 1068 describing an event in

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

mentions "Atsingani", probably referring to Roma.{{cite book , last1=Bereznay , first1=András , title=Historical Atlas of the Gypsies: Romani History in Maps , date=2021 , publisher=Méry Ratio , isbn=978-615-6284-10-5 , page=18/1 There are also records which indicate a pre-10th century arrival.{{Cite web , last=Popov , first=Shakir M. , date=2023 , editor-last=Marushiakova , editor-first=Elena , editor2-last=Popov , editor2-first=Vesselin , editor3-last=Kovacheva , editor3-first=Lilyana , title=History of the Gypsies in Bulgaria and Europe: Roma , url=https://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/bitstream/handle/10023/28142/Marushiakova_Popova_2023_Shakir_M_Pashov_History_CC.pdf;jsessionid=E5C04B2635D5C17D562DE4FD75B0E37D?sequence=1 , website=University of St. Andrews , pages=8–12 Later historical records of the Roma in the Balkans are from the 14th century: in 1322, after leaving Ireland on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, Irish

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

friar Symon Semeonis encountered a migrant group of Roma outside the town of Candia (modern Heraklion), in Crete, calling them "the Kenites, descendants of Cain"; his account is the earliest surviving description by a western chronicler of the Roma in Europe. In 1350, Ludolph of Saxony mentioned a similar people with a unique language whom he called ''Mandapolos'', a word possibly derived from the Greek word ''mantes'' (meaning prophet or fortune teller). In the 14th century, Roma are recorded in Venetian territories, including Methoni, Messenia, Methoni and Nafplio in the Peloponnese, and Corfu. Around 1360, a fiefdom called the ''Feudum Acinganorum'' was established in Corfu, which mainly used Romani serfs and to which the Roma on the island were subservient. By the 1440s, they were recorded in Germany; and by the 16th century, Scotland and Sweden. Some Roma migrated from Persia through north Africa, reaching the Iberian Peninsula in the 15th century. The two currents met in France. Spiezer Schilling 749

Early modern history

Their early history shows a mixed reception. Although 1385 marks the first recorded transaction for a Romani slave in

, they were issued safe conduct by Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund in 1417. Roma were ordered expelled from the Margraviate of Meissen, Meissen region of Germany in 1416, Lucerne in 1471, Milan in 1493, France in 1504, Catalonia in 1512, Sweden in 1525, Kingdom of England, England in 1530 (see Egyptians Act 1530), and Denmark in 1536. From 1510 onwards, any Rom found in Switzerland was to be executed, while in England (beginning in 1554) and Denmark (beginning of 1589) any Rom who did not leave within a month was to be executed. Kingdom of Portugal, Portugal began deportations of Roma to its Colonial Brazil, colonies in 1538.{{Cite book , first=Donald , last=Kenrick , title=Historical Dictionary of the Gypsies (Romanis) , edition=2nd , publisher=Scarecrow Press , date=5 July 2007 , pages=xx–xxii , isbn=978-0-8108-6440-5 , url=https://archive.org/details/atozofgypsiesrom0000unse A 1596 English statute gave Roma special privileges that other wanderers lacked. France passed a similar law in 1683. Catherine the Great of Russia declared the Roma "crown slaves" (a status superior to serfs), but also kept them out of certain parts of St. Petersburg, Russia, the capital.{{cite book , first=Norman , last=Davies , title=Europe: A History , author-link=Norman Davies , isbn=978-0-19-820171-7 , year=1996 , page
387–88
, title-link=Europe: A History , publisher=Oxford University Press In 1595, Ștefan Răzvan overcame his birth into slavery, and became the Voivode (List of Moldavian rulers, Prince) of

. Since a royal edict by Charles II of Spain, Charles II in 1695, Spanish Roma had been restricted to certain towns. An official edict in 1717 restricted them to only 75 towns and districts, so that they would not be concentrated in any one region. In the Great Gypsy Round-up, Roma were arrested and imprisoned by the Spanish Monarchy in 1749. During the latter part of the 17th century, around the Franco-Dutch War, both France and the Dutch Republic needed thousands of men to fight. Some recruitment took the form of rounding up vagrants and the poor to work the galleys and provide the armies' labour force. With this background, Roma were targets of both the French and the Dutch.{{cite web , url=https://rm.coe.int/western-europe-factsheets-on-romani-history/16808b19e4 , title=Western Europe After the wars, and into the first decade of the 18th century, Roma were slaughtered with impunity throughout the Dutch Republic. Roma, called 'heiden' (‘heathens’) by the Dutch, wandered throughout the rural areas of Europe and became the societal pariahs of the age. ''Heidenjachten'', translated as "heathen hunt" happened throughout the Dutch Republic in an attempt to eradicate them. Although some Roma could be kept as slaves in Wallachia and Moldavia until abolitionism, abolition in 1856, the majority traveled as free nomads with their wagons, as alluded to in the spoked wheel symbol in the

.{{sfn, Hancock, 2001, p=25 Elsewhere in Europe, they were subjected to ethnic cleansing, abduction of their children, and forced labour. In Britain, Roma were sometimes expelled from small communities or hanged; in France, they were branded, and their heads were shaved; in Moravia and

, the women were marked by their ears being severed. As a result, large groups of the Roma moved to the East, toward Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Poland, which was more tolerant, and Ruska Roma, Russia, where the Roma were treated more fairly as long as they paid the annual taxes.

Modern history

Roma began emigrating to North America in colonial times, with small groups recorded in Virginia and Louisiana (New France), French Louisiana. Larger-scale Roma emigration to the United States began in the 1860s, with Romanichal groups from Great Britain. The most significant number immigrated in the early 20th century, mainly from the Vlax group of

. Many Roma also settled in South America.

World War II

{{Main, Romani Holocaust During World War II and the Holocaust, the Nazi Germany, Nazis committed a systematic genocide against the Roma. In the

, this genocide is known as the ''Porajmos''.{{cite web , url=http://www.radoc.net/radoc.php?doc=art_e_holocaust_porrajmos&lang=en&articles=true , title=Romanies and the holocaust: a reevaluation and an overview , website=Radoc.net , first=Ian , last=Hancock , access-date=14 February 2009 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305105001/http://www.radoc.net/radoc.php?doc=art_e_holocaust_porrajmos&lang=en&articles=true , archive-date=5 March 2016 Romanies were marked for extermination and sentenced to forced labor and imprisonment in concentration camps. They were often killed on sight, especially by the Einsatzgruppen (paramilitary death squads) on the Eastern Front (World War II), Eastern Front. The total number of victims has been variously estimated at between 220,000 and 1,500,000.{{Cite book , chapter=True Romanies and the Holocaust: A Re-evaluation and an overview , chapter-url=http://www.radoc.net/radoc.php?doc=art_e_holocaust_porrajmos&lang=en&articles= , last=Hancock , first=Ian , title=The Historiography of the Holocaust , isbn=978-1-4039-9927-6 , pages=383–96 , year=2005 , publisher=Palgrave Macmillan , access-date=14 February 2009 , archive-date=9 June 2019 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190609233028/http://www.radoc.net/radoc.php?doc=art_e_holocaust_porrajmos&lang=en&articles= The Roma were also persecuted in Nazi puppet states. In the Independent State of Croatia, the Ustaša killed almost the entire Romani population of 25,000. The concentration camp system of Jasenovac, run by the Ustaša militia and the Croat political police, was responsible for the deaths of between 15,000 and 20,000 Roma.

Post-1945

In Czechoslovakia, they were labeled a "socially degraded stratum", and Romani women Sterilization of Romani women, were sterilized as part of a state policy to reduce their population. This policy was implemented with large financial incentives, with threats of denying future welfare payments, with misinformation, or after administering drugs.{{Sfn , Silverman , 1995{{Sfn , Helsinki Watch , 1991 An official inquiry from the Czech Republic, resulting in a report (December 2005), concluded that the Communist authorities had practised an assimilation policy towards Roma, which "included efforts by social services to control the birth rate in the Romani community. The problem of sexual sterilisation carried out in the Czech Republic, either with improper motivation or illegally, exists," said the Czech Public Defender of Rights, recommending state compensation for women affected between 1973 and 1991.{{cite news , date=12 March 2007 , first=Marina , last=Denysenko , title=Sterilised Roma accuse Czechs , url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6409699.stm , work=BBC News , access-date=15 September 2017 New cases were revealed up until 2004, in both the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Germany, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland "all have histories of coercive sterilization of minorities and other groups".

Society and traditional culture

{{Main, Romani society and culture The traditional Romanies place a high value on the extended family. Traditionally, virginity is essential in unmarried women. However, Eastern European Roma are more likely to find it acceptable for girls to have sex before marriage compared to other Eastern Europeans. Both men and women usually marry young; there has been controversy in several countries over the Romani practice of child marriage. Romani law amongst some Roma, particularly the Kalaidzhi, establishes that the man's family must pay a bride price to the bride's parents, but only traditional families still follow it. Once married, the woman joins the husband's family, where her main job is to tend to her husband's and her children's needs and take care of her in-laws. The power structure in the traditional Romani household has at its top the oldest man or grandfather, and men, in general, have more authority than women. Women gain respect and power as they get older. Young wives begin gaining authority once they have children. Traditionally, as can be seen on paintings and photos, some Romani men wear shoulder-length hair and a mustache, as well as an earring. Romani women generally have long hair, and Xoraxane Romani women often dye it blonde with henna. Jan van de Venne - Gypsy camp - M

Romani people have traditionally displayed a desire to live in alignment with the natural world. Cooking was often done outdoors over open fires, using hunted or foraged ingredients. Many Roma in England historically lived and travelled around the English countryside in vardos, while others settled in urban areas. Today, the vast majority are settled and live in houses.{{Cite web , title=Information about Gypsies and Travellers , url=https://www.cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk/residents/housing/gypsies-and-travellers/information-about-gypsies-and-travellers#:~:text=Whilst%20this%20is%20historically%20true,and%20heritage%20stays%20with%20them. , access-date=25 May 2025 , website=Cheshire West and Chester Council Romani were often portrayed outdoors in rural settings in historical European art and literature. Romani social behavior has traditionally been regulated by Indian social customs ("marime" or "marhime") which are still respected by most Roma (and by most older generations of

). This regulation affects many aspects of life and is applied to actions, people and things: parts of Human anatomy, the human body are considered impure, the genital organs (because they produce emissions) and the rest of the lower body. Clothes for the lower body, as well as the clothes of Menstruation, menstruating women, are washed separately. Items used for eating are also washed in a different place. Childbirth is considered impure and must occur outside the dwelling place. The mother is deemed to be impure for forty days after giving birth. Death is considered impure, and affects the whole family of the dead, who remain impure for a period of time. In contrast to the practice of cremating the dead, Romani dead must be buried. Cremation and burial are both known from the time of the Rigveda, and both are widely practiced in

today (the general tendency is for Hindus to practice cremation, though some communities in modern-day south India tend to bury their dead). Animals that are considered to be having unclean habits are not eaten by the community.{{sfn, Hancock, 2001, p=81 Cornelis de Wael - Gypsies reading the hand of a young traveler

Cornelis de Wael - Gypsies reading the hand of a young traveler

There are records of Romani women practicing fortune-telling dating back centuries, using techniques such as Palmistry, palm-reading. It often served as a means of income, and was typically passed from mother to daughter. In 1747 and later again in 1824, palm-reading was made illegal in Great Britain, Britain, which lead to it becoming a covert practice. Romani fortune tellers were traditionally known as ''drabardi''. While it was practiced as a trade aimed at non-Romani, it was virtually never practiced amongst Romani themselves.{{Cite web , date=2017-07-01 , title=Fortune Telling as Part of the Roma Culture , url=https://rozvitok.org/en/fortune-telling-as-part-of-the-roma-culture/ , access-date=2025-03-26 , website=Human Rights Fund Progress , language=en-US However, the notion that Romani people have psychic powers and that Romani women are fortune-tellers also functions as a harmful stereotype sometimes still present to this day. Romani professions are nomadic and include horse trading, metalworking, music, fortune-telling and training animals such as bears.

Belonging and exclusion

{{Main, Romanipen, Gadjo (non-Romani) In Romani philosophy, ''Romanipen'' (also ''romanypen'', ''romanipe'', ''romanype'', ''romanimos'', ''romaimos'', ''romaniya'') is the totality of the Romani spirit,

, Kris (Romani court), Romani Law, being a Romani, a set of Romani strains. An ethnic Rom is considered a gadjo in Romani society if they have no ''Romanipen''. Sometimes a non-Rom may be considered a Rom if they do have ''Romanipen''. Usually this is an adopted child. It has been hypothesized that this owes more to a Cultural framework, framework of culture than a simple adherence to historically received rules.

Religion

Most Roma are Christian, but many are Muslim Romani people, Muslims; some retained their ancient faith of

from their original homeland of India, while others have their own religion and political organization. In parts of Southeast Europe, particularly in Bulgaria, some Roma who are Muslim identify as ethnic Turks, and over generations have adopted the Turkish language. Theravada Buddhism influenced by the Dalit Buddhist movement has become popular in recent times among Hungarian Roma. Some Roma practice witchcraft.

Beliefs

The modern-day Roma often adopted Christianity or Islam depending on which was the dominant religion in the regions through which they had migrated. It is likely that the adherence to differing religions prevented families from engaging in intermarriage.{{cite book , last1=Boretzky , first1=Norbert , title=Romani in Contact: The History, Structure and Sociology of a Language , date=1995 , publisher=John Benjamins , location=Amsterdam, Netherlands, NL , page=70 In Eastern Europe, most Roma are Eastern Orthodoxy, Orthodox Christians, Muslims or Catholics. In Bulgaria, Greece, Moldova, Romania and Serbia, the majority of Romani inhabitants are Orthodox Christians. In Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Kosovo, the majority are Muslims. In Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia, the majority are Catholics. In

, the majority of Romani inhabitants are Catholic or Protestant. In Crimea and East Thrace, the majority of Romani inhabitants are Muslim. The majority of the diaspora in the

adhere to some branch of Christianity. Gitanos - Trono

Deities and saints

Blessed Ceferino Giménez Malla is recently considered a patron saint of the Roma in Roman Catholicism. Saint Sarah, or Sara e Kali, has also been venerated as a patron saint in her shrine at Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, France. Since the turn of the 21st century, Sara e Kali is understood to have been Kali, an Indian deity brought from India by the refugee ancestors of the Roma; as the Roma became Christianized, she was absorbed in a syncretic way and venerated as a saint. Saint Sarah is now increasingly being considered as "a Romani Goddess, the Protectress of the Roma" and an "indisputable link with Mother India".{{cite web , title=The Romani Goddess Kali Sara , url=http://kopachi.com/articles/the-romani-goddess-kali-sara-ronald-lee/ , website=Romano Kapachi , access-date=26 December 2012 , first=Ronald , last=Lee , year=2002{{cite book , chapter-url=http://radoc.net/radoc.php?doc=art_b_history_romanireligion&lang=en&articles=true , author=Ian Hancock , date=2001 , chapter=Romani ("Gypsy") Religion , title=The Encyclopedia of Religion and Nature , editor1=Jeff Kaplan , editor2=Bron Taylor , editor3=Samuel S. Hill , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110925154755/http://radoc.net/radoc.php?doc=art_b_history_romanireligion&lang=en&articles=true , archive-date=25 September 2011 , via=Radoc , access-date=12 October 2023 , url-status=live

The Balkans/Southeast Europe

For the Romani communities that have resided in Southeast Europe for numerous centuries, the following apply with regard to religious beliefs: * Albania – The majority of the Romani population in Albania is Muslim. * Bosnia and Herzegovina – The majority of the Romani population in Bosnia and Herzegovina is Muslim. * Bulgaria – The majority of the Romani population in Bulgaria is Christian (mostly Orthodox). In northwestern Bulgaria, in addition to Sofia and Kyustendil, Christianity is the dominant faith among the Roma, and a major conversion to Eastern Orthodox Christianity among the Roma has occurred. In southeastern Bulgaria, Islam is the dominant religion among the Roma, with a smaller section of the Roma declaring themselves as "Turks", continuing to mix ethnicity with Islam.{{cite web , title=Roma Muslims in the Balkans , url=http://romafacts.uni-graz.at/index.php/culture/introduction/roma-muslims-in-the-balkans , website=Education of Roma Children in Europe , publisher=Council of Europe , access-date=26 December 2012 , first1=Elena , last1=Marushiakova , first2=Veselin , last2=Popov , year=2012 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120413184328/http://romafacts.uni-graz.at/index.php/culture/introduction/roma-muslims-in-the-balkans , archive-date=13 April 2012 Dancing-Cansinos-1933

* Croatia – The majority of the Romani population in Croatia is Christian (mostly Catholic). After the Second World War, a large number of Muslim Roma relocated to Croatia, the majority moving from Kosovo. Their language differs from those living in Međimurje and those who survived Romani Holocaust. * Greece – The majority of the Romani population in Greece is Christian.{{efn, Muslim Romas were excluded from the Population exchange between Greece and Turkey, Deportation of Muslims from Greece's new conquered territory following the First Balkan War and presently form the majority of Greece's native Muslim population. The descendants of groups, such as Sepečides or Sevljara, Kalpazaja, Filipidži and others, living in Athens, Thessaloniki, central Greece and Greek Macedonia are mostly Orthodox Christians, with Islamic beliefs held by a minority of the population. Following the Peace Treaty of Lausanne of 1923, many Muslim Roma moved to Turkey in the subsequent population exchange between Turkey and Greece. * Hungary – The majority of the Romani population in Hungary is Christian. The country experienced an influx of Muslim Roma during the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman period in Hungary, who later converted to Catholicism. * Kosovo – The majority of the Romani population in Kosovo are Muslim and Speak Albanian. Some Roma in Kosovo speak Serbian and are Orthodox Christians. * Montenegro – The majority of the Romani population in Montenegro is Muslim. * North Macedonia –The majority of the Romani population in North Macedonia is Muslim. * Romania – The majority of the Romani population in Romania is Christian (mostly Orthodox). In Dobruja, there is a small community that are Muslim and also speak Turkish.{{cite web , last1=Marushiakova , first1=Elena , last2=Popov , first2=Veselin , year=2012 , title=Roma Muslims in the Balkans , url=http://romafacts.uni-graz.at/index.php/culture/introduction/roma-muslims-in-the-balkans , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120413184328/http://romafacts.uni-graz.at/index.php/culture/introduction/roma-muslims-in-the-balkans , archive-date=13 April 2012 , access-date=26 December 2012 , website=Education of Roma Children in Europe , publisher=Council of Europe * Serbia – The majority of the Romani population in Serbia is Christian (mostly Orthodox). There are some Muslim Roma in southern Serbia, who are mainly refugees from Kosovo. * Slovenia – The majority of the Romani population in Slovenia is Christian (mostly Catholic), although a sizeable proportion are Muslim.

Other regions

In Ukraine and Russia, the Romani populations are Christian and Muslim. Their ancestors settled on the Crimean peninsula during the 17th and 18th centuries, but some migrated to Ukraine, southern Russia and the Povolzhie (along the Volga River). These communities are recognized for their staunch preservation of the Romani language and identity. In the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia, Romani populations are Roman Catholic, many times adopting and following local, cultural Catholicism as a Religious syncretism, syncretic system of belief that incorporates distinct Roma beliefs and cultural aspects. For example, many Polish Roma delay their Church wedding due to the belief that sacramental marriage is accompanied by divine ratification, creating a virtually indissoluble union until the couple consummate, after which the sacramental marriage is dissoluble only by the death of a spouse. Therefore, for Polish Roma, once married, one can't ever divorce. Another aspect of Polish Roma's Catholicism is a tradition of pilgrimage to the Jasna Góra Monastery. In southern Spain, many Romanies are Pentecostal, but this is a small minority that has emerged in contemporary times. The majority of the Romani people in France are Catholic or Protestant (mostly Pentecostal).

Music

{{Main, Romani music 20090627 Fanfare Ciocarlia group live in Athens at Restistance Festival by KOE 2

Romani music plays an important role in central and eastern European countries such as Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Albania, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia and Romania, and the style and performance practices of Romani musicians have influenced European classical composers such as Franz Liszt and Johannes Brahms. The ''lăutari'' who perform at traditional Romanian weddings are virtually all Romani. Probably the most internationally prominent contemporary performers in the ''lăutari'' tradition are Taraful Haiducilor. Bulgaria's popular "wedding music", too, is almost exclusively performed by Romani musicians such as Ivo Papasov, a virtuoso clarinetist closely associated with this genre and Bulgarian pop-folk singer Azis. Many famous classical musicians, such as the Hungarian people, Hungarian pianist Georges Cziffra, are Romani, as are many prominent performers of manele. Zdob și Zdub, one of the most prominent rock bands in

, although not Romanies themselves, draw heavily on Romani music, as do Spitalul de Urgență in Romania, Shantel in Germany, Goran Bregović in Serbia, Darko Rundek in Croatia, Beirut (band), Beirut and Gogol Bordello in the United States. Another tradition of Romani music is the genre of the Romani brass band, with such notable practitioners as Boban Marković of Serbia, and the brass ''lăutari'' groups Fanfare Ciocărlia and Fanfare din Cozmesti of Romania. The distinctive sound of Romani music has also strongly influenced bolero, jazz, and flamenco (especially ''cante jondo'') in Spain. Dances such as the flamenco and bolero of Spain were influenced by the Roma.{{Citation , last1=Martinez , first1=Emma , title=Flamenco: All You Wanted to Know , date=24 February 2011 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Bzd1CTtnjS8C&pg=PA21 , page=21 , publisher=Mel Bay Publications , format=Google books , isbn=978-1-60974-470-0 Antonio Cansino blended Romani and Spanish flamenco and is credited with creating modern-day Spanish dance.{{sfn, Hancock, 2002, p=129 The Dancing Cansinos popularized flamenco and bolero dancing in the United States. Famous dancer and actress, Rita Hayworth, is the granddaughter of Antonio Cansino. European-style gypsy jazz ("jazz Manouche" or "Sinti jazz") is still widely practiced among the original creators (the Romanie People); one who acknowledged this artistic debt was guitarist Django Reinhardt. Contemporary artists in this tradition known internationally include Stochelo Rosenberg, Biréli Lagrène, Jimmy Rosenberg, Paulus Schäfer and Tchavolo Schmitt. The Roma in Turkey have achieved musical acclaim from national and local audiences. Local performers usually perform for special holidays. Their music is usually performed on instruments such as the darbuka, clarinet, gırnata and cümbüş.{{Citation , title=Cümbüş means fun, Birger Gesthuisen investigates the short history of a 20th-century folk instrument , url=http://www.rootsworld.com/turkey/cumbus.html , publisher=RootsWorld

Folklore

{{Main, Romani folklore ''Paramichia'' is a term used to refer to Romani legends and folktales. A popular legend among the Vlach Roma is of the hero Mundro Salamon, also known by other Roma subgroups as Wise Solomon or O Godjiaver Yanko. Some Roma believe in the ''mulo'' or ''mullo,'' meaning "one who is dead"; the Romani version of the vampire. The Roma from Slavic countries believe in werewolves. Roma figure prominently in the 1941 film ''The Wolf Man (1941 film), The Wolf Man'' and the 2010 The Wolfman (film), remake.

Cuisine

{{Main, Romani cuisine The Roma believe that some foods are auspicious, or lucky (''baxtalo''), such as foods with pungent tastes like garlic, lemon, tomato, and peppers, and fermented foods such as sauerkraut, pickles and sour cream. Hedgehogs are a delicacy among some Roma.

Contemporary art and culture

Romani contemporary art emerged at the climax of the process that began in

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.

Language

{{Main, Romani language Most Roma speak one of several dialects of the

, an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language, with roots in

. They also often speak the languages of the countries they live in. Typically, they also incorporate loanwords and calques into Romani from the languages of those countries and especially words for terms that the Romani language does not have. Most of the ''Ciganos'' of Portugal, the {{Lang, es, Gitanos of Spain, the

of Great Britain, and the Norwegian and Swedish Travellers, Romanisael of Sweden and Norway have lost their knowledge of pure Romani, and speak the

s Caló (Spanish Romani), Caló, Angloromani language, Angloromani and Scandoromani, respectively. Most of the Romani language-speaking communities in these regions consist of later immigrants from eastern or central Europe.{{cite web , last=Matras , first=Yaron , title=Romani Linguistics and Romani Language Projects , url=http://romani.humanities.manchester.ac.uk/whatis/status/numbers.shtml , website=Humanities , publisher=The University of Manchester , access-date=24 February 2015 , archive-date=6 November 2018 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181106012338/https://romani.humanities.manchester.ac.uk//whatis/status/numbers.shtml , url-status=dead There are no concrete statistics for the number of Romani speakers, both in Europe and globally. However, a conservative estimate is 3.5 million speakers in Europe and a further 500,000 elsewhere, though the actual number may be considerably higher. This makes Romani the second-largest minority language in Europe, behind Catalan language, Catalan. In regards to the diversity of dialects, Romani works in the same way as most other European languages.{{cite journal , last=Matras , first=Yaron , title=The status of Romani in Europe , journal=Report Submitted to the Council of Europe's Language Policy Division , date=October 2005 , page=4 , url=http://romani.humanities.manchester.ac.uk/downloads/1/statusofromani.pdf , access-date=4 March 2015 , archive-date=3 May 2019 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190503035937/https://romani.humanities.manchester.ac.uk//downloads/1/statusofromani.pdf , url-status=dead Cross-dialect communication is dominated by the following features: * All Romani speakers are bilingual, accustomed to borrowing words or phrases from a second language; this makes it difficult to communicate with Roma from different countries * Romani was traditionally a language shared between extended family and a close-knit community. This has resulted in the inability to comprehend dialects from other countries, and is why Romani is sometimes considered to be several different languages. * There is no tradition or literary standard for Romani speakers to use as a guideline for their language use.

Persecutions

Roma enslavement

{{See also, Slavery in Romania One of the most enduring persecutions against the Roma was their enslavement. Slavery in medieval Europe, Slavery was widely practiced in medieval Europe, including the territory of present-day

from before the founding of the principalities of

and

in the 13th–14th centuries.{{sfn, Achim, 2004, p=27 Legislation decreed that all the Roma living in these states, as well as any others who immigrated there, were classified as slaves. Slavery was gradually Abolitionism, abolished during the 1840s and 1850s.{{sfn, Achim, 2004, p=27 The exact origins of Slavery in Romania, slavery in the Danubian Principalities are not known. There is some debate over whether the Roma came to Wallachia and Moldavia as free people or were brought there as slaves. Historian Nicolae Iorga associated the Roma's arrival with the 1241 Mongol invasion of Europe and he also considered their enslavement a vestige of that era, in which the

took the Roma from the Mongols and preserved their status as slaves so they could use their labor. Other historians believe that the Roma were enslaved while they were being captured during the battles with the Tatars. The practice of enslaving prisoners of war may have also been adopted from the Mongols.{{sfn, Achim, 2004, p=27 Bilet de dezrobire 1848

Some Roma may have been slaves of the Mongols or the Tatars, or they may have served as auxiliary troops in the Mongol or Tatar armies. However, most of them migrated from south of the Danube at the end of the 14th century, some time after the founding of Wallachia. By then, the institution of slavery was already established in Moldavia and it was possibly established in both principalities. After the Roma migrated into the area, slavery became a widespread practice among the majority of the population. The Tatars, Tatar slaves, smaller in numbers, were eventually merged into the Romani population.

Historical persecution

{{See also, Anti-Romani sentiment Some branches of the Roma reached western Europe in the 15th century, fleeing from the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman conquest of the Balkans as refugees. Although the Roma were refugees from the conflicts in southeastern Europe, they were often suspected of being associated with the Ottoman wars in Europe, Ottoman invasion by certain populations in the West because their physical appearance was exotic. (The Reichstag (Holy Roman Empire)#The Reichstag in the Holy Roman Empire, Imperial Diet at Landau and Freiburg in 1496–1498 declared that the Roma were spies for the Turks). In western Europe, such suspicions and discrimination against people who constituted a visible minority resulted in persecution, often violent, with attempts to commit ethnic cleansing until the modern era. In times of social tension, the Romani suffered as scapegoats; for instance, they were accused of bringing the plague during times of epidemics.{{cite web , url=http://www.geocities.com/Paris/5121/timeline.htm , publisher=Patrin Web Journal , title=Timeline of Romani History , access-date=26 August 2007 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071111142247/http://www.geocities.com/Paris/5121/timeline.htm , archive-date=11 November 2007 On 30 July 1749, Spain conducted The Great Roundup of Gypsies (1749), ''The Great Roundup'' of Gitanos, Roma (Gitanos) in its territory. The Spanish Crown ordered a nationwide raid that led to the break-up of families because all able-bodied men were interned in forced labor camps in an attempt to commit ethnic cleansing. The measure was eventually reversed and the Roma were freed as protests began to erupt in different communities, sedentary Roma were highly esteemed and protected in rural Spain. Later in the 19th century, Romani immigration was forbidden on a racial basis in areas outside Europe, mostly in the English-speaking world. In 1880, Argentina prohibited immigration by Roma, as did the United States in 1885.

Forced assimilation

In the Habsburg monarchy under Maria Theresa (1740–1780), a series of decrees tried to integrate the Romanies to get them to sedentism, permanently settle, removed their rights to horse and wagon ownership (1754) to reduce citizen-mobility, renamed them "New Citizens" and obliged Romani boys into military service just as any other citizens were if they had no trade (1761, and Revision 1770), required them to register with the local authorities (1767), and another decree prohibited marriages between Romanies (1773) to integrate them into the local population. Her successor Josef II prohibited the wearing of traditional Romani clothing along with the use of the

, both of which were punishable by flogging. During this time, the schools were obliged to register and integrate Romani children; this policy was the first of the modern policies of integration. In Spain, attempts to assimilate the Gitanos were under way as early as 1619, when the Gitanos were forcibly settled, the use of the

was prohibited, Gitano men and women were sent to separate workhouses and their children were sent to orphanages. Charles III of Spain, King Charles III took a more progressive approach to Gitano assimilation, proclaiming that they had the same rights as Spanish citizens and ending the official denigration of them which was based on their Race (human categorization), race. While he prohibited their nomadic lifestyle, their use of the Calo language, the manufacture and wearing of Romani clothing, their trade in horses and other itinerant trades, he also forbade any form of discrimination against them and he also forbade the guilds from barring them. The use of the word ''gitano'' was also forbidden to further their assimilation, it was replaced with "New Castilian", a designation which was also applied to former History of the Jews in Spain, Jews and Islam in Spain, Muslims. Most historians believe that Charles III's Pragmatic sanction, pragmática failed for three main reasons, reasons which were ultimately derived from its implementation outside major cities as well as in marginal areas: The difficulty which the Gitano community faced in changing its nomadic lifestyle, the marginal lifestyle to which the community had been driven by society and the serious difficulties of applying the pragmática in the fields of education and work. One author ascribes its failure to the overall rejection of the integration of the Gitanos by the wider population.{{cite web , url=http://rombase.uni-graz.at//cgi-bin/art.cgi?src=data%2Fhist%2Fmodern%2Fmaria.en.xml , title=Maria Theresia and Joseph II: Policies of Assimilation in the Age of Enlightened Absolutism , publisher=Karl-Franzens-Universitaet Graz , website=Rombase , date=December 2001 , first=Helmut , last=Samer , access-date=3 October 2015 , archive-date=6 April 2015 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150406004922/http://rombase.uni-graz.at//cgi-bin/art.cgi?src=data%2Fhist%2Fmodern%2Fmaria.en.xml Other policies of forced assimilation were implemented in other countries, one of these countries was Norway, where a law which permitted the state to remove children from their parents and place them in state institutions was passed in 1896. This resulted in some 1,500 Romani children being taken from their parents in the 20th century.

Porajmos (Romani Holocaust)

{{Main, Romani Holocaust During World War II and the Holocaust, the persecution of the Roma reached a peak during the Romani Holocaust (the Porajmos), the genocide which was perpetrated against them by Nazi Germany. In 1935, Roma living in Germany were stripped of citizenship by the Nuremberg laws and subsequently subjected to violence and imprisonment in Nazi concentration camps, concentration camps. During the war, the policy was extended to areas under German occupation, and it was also implemented by other axis countries, most notably, by the Independent State of Croatia, Romania in World War II, Romania, and Hungary in World War II, Hungary. From 1942, Roma were subjected to genocide in extermination camps. Because no accurate pre-war census figures exist for the Roma, the actual number of Romani victims who were killed in the Romani Holocaust cannot be assessed. Estimates range from 90,000 victims to as high as 4,000,000, with a majority falling between 200,000 and 500,000. Lower estimates do not include those Roma who were killed in all Axis powers, Axis-controlled countries. A detailed study by Sybil Milton, a former senior historian at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, contained an estimate of at least 220,000, possibly as many as 500,000. Ian Hancock, Director of the Program of Romani Studies and the Romani Archives and Documentation Center at the University of Texas at Austin, argues in favour of a higher figure of between 500,000 and 1,500,000.

Contemporary issues

{{Main, Anti-Romani sentiment#Contemporary antiziganism Romani population average estimate

In Europe, Roma are associated with poverty, high crime rates, and behavior that is considered antisocial or inappropriate by the rest of the European population. Partly for this reason, discrimination against the Roma has continued to be practiced to the present day, although efforts are being made to address it. Amnesty International reports continued to document instances of Antizigan discrimination during the late 20th century, particularly in

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

, and

. The European Union has recognized that discrimination against Roma must be addressed, and with the national Roma integration strategy they encourage member states to work towards greater Romani inclusion and upholding the rights of the Roma in the European Union. {{bar box , title=Roma estimate percentage of population in European countries{{cite news , url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/romania/10636448/Roma-on-the-rubbish-dump-British-religious-leaders-call-on-Romanian-mayor-to-reverse-forced-evictions.html , title=Roma on the rubbish dump , publisher=CIA World Factbook , access-date=21 February 2014 , date=17 February 2014 , last1=Alexander , first1=Harriet , titlebar=#ddd , left1=Country , right1=Percent , float=right , bars= {{bar percent,

, blue, 10.33 {{bar percent,

, blue, 9.59 {{bar percent,

, blue, 9.17 {{bar percent,

, blue, 8.32 {{bar percent,

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

*, blue, 8.18 {{bar percent,

, blue, 7.05 {{bar percent, Turkey, blue, 5.97 {{bar percent, Spain, blue, 3.21 {{bar percent,

, blue, 3.18 {{bar percent,

Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...

, blue, 2.95 {{bar percent,

, blue, 2.49 {{bar percent, Greece, blue, 2.47 {{bar percent,

, blue, 1.96 {{bar percent,

, blue, 1.47 *projections for Serbia also include up to 97.000 IDPs, Roma IDPs in Serbia In eastern Europe, Romani children often attend Roma Special Schools, separate from non-Romani children; these schools tend to offer a lower quality of education than the traditional education options accessible by non-Romani children, putting the Romani children at an educational disadvantage.{{cite book , last1=Ringold , first1=Dena , last2=Orenstein , first2=Mitchell Alexander , last3=Wilkens , first3=Erika , title=Roma in an Expanding Europe – Breaking the Poverty Cycle , date=2005 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Usd7XU6a29oC , publisher=World Bank , isbn=0-8213-5457-4{{rp, 83 The Roma of Kosovo have been severely persecuted by Kosovo Albanians, ethnic Albanians since the end of the Kosovo War, and for the most part, the region's Romani community has been annihilated. Czechoslovakia carried out a policy of sterilization of Romani women, starting in 1973. The dissidents of the Charter 77 denounced it in 1977–78 as a genocide, but the practice continued through the Velvet Revolution of 1989. A 2005 report by the

's independent ombudsman, Otakar Motejl, identified dozens of cases of coercive sterilization between 1979 and 2001, and called for criminal investigations and possible prosecution against several health care workers and administrators. In 2008, following the rape and subsequent murder of an Italian woman in Rome at the hands of a young man from a local Romani encampment, the Italian government declared that Italy's Romani population represented a national security risk and it also declared that it was required to take swift action to address the ''emergenza nomadi'' (''nomad emergency''). Specifically, officials in the Italian government accused the Romanies of being responsible for rising crime rates in urban areas. The 2008 Death of Cristina and Violetta Djeordsevic, deaths of Cristina and Violetta Djeordsevic, two Romani children who drowned while Italian beach-goers remained unperturbed, brought international attention to the relationship between Italians and Roma. Reviewing the situation in 2012, one Belgian magazine observed:{{blockquote, On International Roma Day, which falls on 8 April, the significant proportion of Europe's 12 million Roma who live in deplorable conditions will not have much to celebrate. And poverty is not the only worry for the community. Ethnic tensions are on the rise. In 2008, Roma camps came under attack in Italy, intimidation by racist parliamentarians is the norm in Hungary. Speaking in 1993, Václav Havel prophetically remarked that "the treatment of the Roma is a litmus test (politics), litmus test for democracy": and democracy has been found wanting. The consequences of the transition to capitalism have been disastrous for the Roma. Under communism they had jobs, free housing and schooling. Now many are unemployed, many are losing their homes and racism is increasingly rewarded with impunity.{{cite web , url=http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/article/1757331-bleak-horizon , title=Bleak horizon , first=Hellen , last=Kooijman , place=EU , date=6 April 2012 , publisher=Presseurop , access-date=6 April 2012 , archive-date=7 April 2012 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120407105800/http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/article/1757331-bleak-horizon , url-status=dead The 2016 Pew Research Center, Pew Research poll found that Italians, in particular, hold strong anti-Roma views, with 82% of Italians expressing negative opinions about Roma. In

, 67%, in Hungary 64%, in France 61%, in Spain 49%, in

47%, in the UK 45%, in Sweden 42%, in Germany 40%, and in the

37% had an unfavourable view of Roma. The 2019 Pew Research poll found that 83% of Italians, 76% of Slovaks, 72% of Greeks, 68% of Bulgarians, 66% of Czechs, 61% of Lithuanians, 61% of Hungarians, 54% of Ukrainians, 52% of Russians, 51% of Poles, 44% of French, 40% of Spaniards, and 37% of Germans held unfavorable views of Roma. IRES published in 2020 a survey which revealed that 72% of Romanians have a negative opinion about them. As of 2019, reports of anti-Roma incidents are increasing across Europe. Discrimination against Roma remains widespread in Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia,

, and the Czech Republic, against which the European Court of Human Rights has ruled in Romani advocates' favor on the subject of discriminatory and segregationist education and housing practices. Romani communities across Ukraine have been the target of violent attacks. Roma refugees fleeing the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine have faced discrimination in Europe, including in

, the

, and

. Concerning employment, a 2019 report by the Fundamental Rights Agency, FRA revealed that, across the European states that were surveyed, on average 34% of Romani men and 16% of Romani women were in paid work. Romani children are overrepresented as victims of human trafficking and have a higher vulnerability to sexual exploitation. Many Roma in the European Union, EU have no national health insurance and around 57% do not have a job or a form of paid employment. A third of households don’t have tap water, a toilet or a shower.

Forced repatriation

{{Main, Expulsion of Romani people from France In the summer of 2010, French authorities demolished at least 51 Roma camps and began the French Romani repatriation, process of repatriating their residents to their countries of origin. This followed tensions between the French state and Romani communities, which had been heightened after a traveller drove through a French police checkpoint, hit an officer, attempted to hit two more officers, and was then shot and killed by the police. In retaliation a group of Roma, armed with hatchets and iron bars, attacked the police station of Saint-Aignan, toppled traffic lights and road signs and burned three cars. The French government has been accused of perpetrating these actions to pursue its political agenda. European Commissioner for Justice and Consumers, EU Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding stated that the European Commission should take legal action against France over the issue, calling the deportations "a disgrace". A leaked file dated 5 August, sent from the Minister of the Interior (France), Interior Ministry to regional police chiefs, included the instruction: "Three hundred camps or illegal settlements must be cleared within three months, Roma camps are a priority."

Voluntarily assimilated groups

Some Romani people have been known to assimilate en masse with and even be absorbed by other ethnic groups. Assimilated Romani people often keep their identity a secret from outsiders, so it is very hard to determine the extent to which Romani peoples voluntarily assimilate into Gadjo society.{{cite news , last=Webley , first=Kayla , date=October 13, 2010 , title=Hounded in Europe, Roma in the U.S. Keep a Low Profile , url=http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2025316,00.html , url-status=dead , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101019220031/http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2025316,00.html , archive-date=2010-10-19 , work=Time Magazine The most notable case of large-scale Romani assimilation is of the Crimean Roma, Romani Crimean Tatars. Several independent waves of Romani people undertook complete or near-complete assimilation into the Crimean Tatar people.{{cite journal , last=Kizilov , first=Mikhail , author-link=Mikhail Kizilov , year=2021 , title=Уничтожение цыган Симферополя и «решение» цыганского вопроса в оккупированном Крыму , url=https://www.academia.edu/73013777 , journal=Историческое наследие Крыма , language=ru , issue=32 Romani Crimean Tatars are the fourth largest subethnic group of the Crimean Tatar nation.{{Cite book , last1=Geisenhainer , first1=Katja , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TMcUo-lweX0C&pg=PA430 , title=Bewegliche Horizonte: Festschrift zum 60. Geburtstag von Bernhard Streck , last2=Lange , first2=Katharina , date=2005 , publisher=Leipziger Universitätsverlag , isbn=978-3-86583-078-4 , language=de For centuries, the Crimean Roma have worked as artisans, musicians, entertainers, and in a variety of blue-collar professions such as porters and blacksmiths.{{Cite web , date=28 July 2019 , title=Крымские цыгане, или чингене: кто они? , url=https://avdet.org/ru/2019/07/28/krymskie-tsygane-ili-chingene-kto-oni/ , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190802170505/https://avdet.org/ru/2019/07/28/krymskie-tsygane-ili-chingene-kto-oni/ , archive-date=2019-08-02 , access-date=2019-12-27 , publisher=Avdet , language=ru Almost all Romani Crimean Tatars living in Crimea today are legally

because they are recorded as ethnic Crimean Tatars, not Gypsies, in their internal passports and national censuses and consider their Crimean Tatar identity to be their primary identity.{{Cite journal , last1=Marushiakova , first1=Elena , last2=Popov , first2=Vesselin , date=2004 , title=Segmentation vs. consolidation: The example of four Gypsy groups in CIS , url=https://montescalearning.com/GLOBVillage/files/SMILE/MUS_49_Segmentation.pdf , journal=Romani Studies , volume=14 , issue=2 , pages=145–191 , doi=10.3828/rs.2004.6 Mixed marriages between Romani Crimean Tatars and other Crimean Tatars without Romani backgrounds are accepted by the Crimean Roma. Many prominent Crimean Tatars, Crimean Tatar celebrities are of Romani descent, such as Enver Sherfedinov and Sabriye Erecepova.{{cite news , last=Mamchits , first=Roman , date=20 March 2010 , title=Крымская Атлантида: урмачели Часть I. Племя скрипачей , url=http://www.chaskor.ru/article/krymskaya_atlantida_16096 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100329121849/http://www.chaskor.ru/article/krymskaya_atlantida_16096 , archive-date=2010-03-29 , work=chaskor.ru Historian Olga Kucherenko postulates that while Crimean Tatars were in Deportation of the Crimean Tatars, exile, additional Romani people of non-Crimean origin were also absorbed into the Romani Crimean Tatars. In Basque Country, the Erromintxela people are assimilated descendants of a 15th-century wave of Kalderash, Kalderash Roma, who entered the Basque Country via France.Brea, Unai ''Hiretzat goli kherautzen dinat, erromeetako gazi mindroa'' Argia, San Sebastián (03-2008) Both ethnically, linguistically, and culturally, they are distinct from the Caló-speaking Gitanos, Romani people in Spain and the Cascarots, Cascarot Romani people of the French Basque Country, Northern Basque Country. Over time the Erromintxela replaced many of their Romani customs with Gadjo Basque customs. Their Erromintxela language is a mixture of Basque and the Romani languages, but there are very few speakers left due to assimilation. The younger generation of Erromintxela Roma are overwhelmingly shifting away from their Erromintxela language in favor of the Basque and Spanish languages. In the United States, there are an estimated one million Romani Americans, Americans who are of Romani descent, although most are not open about their background and keep a low profile. Most Americans know very little about Romani people, so they face less discrimination in the US than Europe, although they can still be victims of anti-Romani racism. Prominent Americans of Romani descent include Charlie Chaplin and President Bill Clinton.{{sfn, Hancock, 2002,
xiii
}

Organizations and projects

* European Roma Rights Centre * Gypsy Lore Society{{cite web , title=The Gypsy Lore Society , format=Journal , url=http://www.gypsyloresociety.org/ * International Romani Union * Decade of Roma Inclusion, multinational project * International Romani Day (8 April) * Contact Point for Roma and Sinti Issues * National Advisory Board on Romani Affairs (Finland)

Artistic representations

{{Main, Romani people in fiction Many depictions of the Roma in literature and art present romanticized narratives of the mystical powers of fortune telling or as people who have an irascible or passionate temper paired with an indomitable love of freedom and a habit of criminality. The Roma were a popular subject in Venetian painting from the time of Giorgione at the start of the 16th century. The inclusion of such a figure adds an exotic oriental flavor to scenes. A Venice, Venetian Renaissance art, Renaissance painting by Paris Bordone (c. 1530, Strasbourg) of the Holy Family in Egypt makes Elizabeth (biblical figure), Elizabeth a Romani fortune-teller; the scene is otherwise located in a distinctly European landscape.{{cite book , last=Jacquot , first=Dominique , title=Le musée des Beaux-Arts de Strasbourg — Cinq siècles de peinture , date=2006 , publisher=Éditions des Musées de Strasbourg , location=Strasbourg , isbn=978-2-901833-78-9 , page=76 File:Muchacha Gitana.jpg, Boccaccio Boccaccino: ''Gypsy Girl'' (c.1504-1505) File:The Visit of the Gypsies 01.jpg, An excerpt from ''The Visit of the Gypsies'' (c.1510, tapestry from wool and silk), Currier Museum of Art File:Vouet, Simon - The Fortune Teller.jpg, Simon Vouet: ''The Fortune Teller'' (1617) File:David Teniers (II) - Four gypsies with a child, one telling a peasant his fortune.jpg, David Teniers the Younger, David Teniers - ''Four gypsies with a child, one telling a peasant his fortune'' (c.1630-1690) File:Jan van der Venne - Gypsy family.jpg, Jan van de Venne - ''Gypsy family'' (c.1631-1651) File:Sarah Egerton as Meg Merrilies.png, Meg Merrilies from Walter Scott's ''Guy Mannering'', illustrated 1821 File:Pongrácz F Három cigány.jpg, Ferencz Pongrácz: ''Three Gypsies'' (1836) File:Alfred Dehodencq A Gypsy Dance in the Gardens of the Alcázar.jpg, Alfred Dehodencq: ''A Gypsy Dance in the Gardens of Alcázar'' (1851) File:Narcisse Diaz de la Peña - The Gypsy Princesses, San Antonio Museum of Art.jpg, Narcisse Virgilio Díaz: ''The Gypsy Princesses'' (c.1865-1870), San Antonio Museum of Art File:GYPSY Kazimierz Alchimowicz.jpg, Kazimierz Alchimowicz: ''Gypsy'' (c.1870-1879) File:Franz von Defregger Halbbildnis eines Zigeunerjungen.jpg, Franz von Defregger: ''Half portrait of a gypsy boy'' (1873, gouache) File:Gypsy Girl with Mandolin, by Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot.jpg, Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot: ''Gypsy Girl with Mandolin'' (1874) File:"Famille de gitanos, a Totana" (19911858846).jpg, Gustave Doré: ''Family of Gypsies, to Totana'' (1874) File:Renoir - gypsy-girl-1879.jpg!PinterestLarge.jpg, Pierre-Auguste Renoir: ''Gypsy Girl'' (1879) File:Jozef Van Lerius - Moza, the Gypsy woman.jpg, Jozef Van Lerius: ''Moza, the Gypsy woman'' (1880) File:La Esmeralda from Victor Hugo and His Time.jpg, Esméralda (The Hunchback of Notre-Dame), Esméralda, illustrated 1882 File:Gypsy family (1884 by Mihály Munkácsy.jpg, Mihály Munkácsy: ''Gypsy Family'' (1884, oil on canvas) File:August von Pettenkofen - Gipsy Children - WGA17393.jpg, August von Pettenkofen: ''Gypsy Children'' (1885), Hermitage Museum File:Carmen (Bibliothèque-Musée de lOpéra) (4568143185).jpg, Célestine Galli-Marié as Carmen (novella), Carmen (1886) File:Antoni Kozakiewicz - Cygańska Rodzina (01).jpg, Antoni Kozakiewicz: ''Gypsy Family'' (c.1886) File:Vincent van Gogh - Les roulottes, campement de bohémiens.jpg, Vincent van Gogh: ''The Caravans – Gypsy Camp near Arles'' (1888, oil on canvas) File:Nicolae Grigorescu - Ursăreasa din Bolduri.jpg, Nicolae Grigorescu: ''Gypsy from Boldu'' (1897), Palace of Culture (Iași), Art Museum of Iași File:Henri - gypsy-girl-in-white-1916.jpg, Robert Henri: ''Gypsy Girl in White'' (1916) File:Amedeo Modigliani - Gypsy Woman with Baby (1919).jpg, Amedeo Modigliani: ''Gypsy Woman with Baby'' (1919) File:Gypsy, 1928.jpg, Felix Nussbaum: ''Gypsy'' (1928) File:Iványi Gypsies at Balatonlelle 1935.jpg, Béla Iványi-Grünwald: ''Gypsies at Balatonlelle'' (1935)

Notes

{{Notelist

References

{{Reflist

Sources

* {{cite book , last=Achim , first=Viorel , year=2004 , title=The Roma in Romanian History , place=Budapest , publisher=Central European University Press , isbn=978-963-9241-84-8 * {{Citation , last=Fraser , first=Angus , title=The Gypsies , publisher=Blackwell , place=Oxford, UK , year=1992 , isbn=978-0-631-15967-4 * {{citation , last=Hancock , first=Ian , year=2001 , title=Ame sam e rromane džene , publisher=The Open Society Institute , place=New York * {{cite book , last=Hancock , first=Ian , year=2002 , orig-date=2001 , title=Ame Sam E Rromane Dz̆ene , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MG0ahVw-kdwC , publisher=Univ of Hertfordshire Press , isbn=978-1-902806-19-8 * {{Citation , author=Helsinki Watch , publisher=Helsinki Watch , year=1991 , title=Struggling for Ethnic Identity: Czechoslovakia's Endangered Gypsies , place=New York * {{cite web , last=Hübshmanová , first=Milena , year=2003 , url=http://rombase.uni-graz.at//cgi-bin/artframe.pl?src=data%2Fethn%2Ftopics%2Fnames.en.xml , title=Roma – Sub Ethnic Groups , publisher=Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz , website=Rombase , access-date=3 October 2015 , archive-date=11 December 2022 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221211164439/http://rombase.uni-graz.at//cgi-bin/artframe.pl?src=data%2Fethn%2Ftopics%2Fnames.en.xml * {{cite book , last=Lemon , first=Alaina , year=2000 , title=Between Two Fires: Gypsy Performance and Romani Memory from Pushkin to Post-Socialism , publisher=Durham: Duke University Press , isbn=978-0-8223-2456-0 * {{cite book , last1=Matras , first1=Yaron , last2=Popov , first2=Vesselin , year=2001 , title=Gypsies in the Ottoman Empire , publisher=Hatfield: University of Hertfordshire Press * {{cite book , last=Matras , first=Yaron , year=2005 , title=Romani: A Linguistic Introduction , publisher=Cambridge University Press , isbn=978-0-521-02330-6 * {{cite book , last=Matras , first=Yaron , year=2002 , title=Romani: A Linguistic Introduction , publisher=Cambridge University Press , isbn=978-0-521-63165-5 * {{Citation , title=Gypsies, The World's Outsiders , newspaper=National Geographic , date=April 2001 , pages=72–101 * {{cite book , last=Nemeth , first=David J. , year=2002 , title=The Gypsy-American , publisher=Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellen * {{cite book , last=Sutherland , first=Ann , title=Gypsies: The Hidden Americans , publisher=Waveland , year=1986 , isbn=978-0-88133-235-3 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XYQfAAAAQBAJ * {{cite journal , last=Silverman , first=Carol , title=Persecution and Politicization: Roma (Gypsies) of Eastern Europe , journal=Cultural Survival Quarterly , year=1995

External links

* {{Commons category-inline {{Romani topics {{Authority control Romani people, Romani, Ethnic groups in Europe Indo-Aryan peoples Nomadic groups in Eurasia Ethnic groups in the Middle East Ethnic groups in South Asia Ethnic groups in North Africa Stateless nationalism Ethnic groups in South America Romani people in art Indian diaspora in Europe Indigenous peoples of South Asia

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