It is generally believed that Roma migrated from northwestern India to Europe in the 11th century, mainly originating from the Punjab and Rajasthan regions that are unquestionably considered the universal Roma homeland. However, the Roma presence in Europe is hardly evidenced before the early 15th century when they are traced in Spain. Therefore, there has been much debate in relation to their origins and early migration. Besides, although there are numerous legitimate Roma groups worldwide who speak Romani or other Gypsy languages and continue to maintain the Roma traditional values, the Roma people significantly lack a unified consciousness about their origins.
According to linguistic evidence that portrays similarities between Hindi, Panjabi and the Romani language, and anthropological evidence that presents proximities of blood group distributions, there is a definite consensus of opinion that Roma groups of Europe, Asia, Middle East and the Americas trace their roots in Northwestern India.
Since their early roots, the Roma were a mixed population, a blend of many different groups of people and throughout their history they have absorbed many outsiders. Their Eastern origin led Europeans to consider that the Roma were from Egypt. This explains why they were originally called Egyptians or ‘Gyptians’ which is were the word ‘Gypsy’ is derived from. The Egyptian identity accompanied the Roma until the 18th century, when European scholars gradually realized that the Romani language originated from India. Numbers, basic words, names for body parts were clearly Indian. Scholars continued their research and concluded that the Roma were indeed from India and that any association to Egypt was wrong.
The Romani language bears elements of Indian origin, but there is also a striking resemblance of a number of customs, similar technology of metal working, related social structure and so on. Besides, according to historical and linguistic evidence, the Roma belonged to the lower caste of Indian society which was divided into the Brahmana (priests), the Kshatriya (heads of state and soldiers), the Vaishya (farmers and shopkeepers), and the Shudra (servants and laborers). Belonging to the lower caste possibly explains why the Roma had to immigrate. One hypothesis is that they were driven out by famines or droughts or that they wanted to escape the strictness of the Indian caste system.
There are several reasons, or rather hypotheses, why the Roma left their homeland to immigrate to Europe through Iran to the Middle East and then the Mediterranean and the Balkans. Even their route is not agreed upon, although as the years go by it becomes clearer. However, the prevailing theory is that they had been pushed to the West while fighting against the Muslims.
In the early 11th century, the Muslim General Mahmud of Ghazni wanted to push Islam eastwards into India and eliminate Hinduism that was the dominant religion at that time. Before the Muslim attack, the Indian heads of state had been assembling troops to suppress the Muslim army, deliberately drawing their soldiers from populations who were not Aryan. The Aryans had migrated to India between 1700 BC and 1300 BC and had pushed the original population further south or they had absorbed them into their castes. Because the Aryans did not like risking their life in the war, Indian rulers assembled their armies to fight Mahmud of Ghazni from non-Aryan populations, namely Lohars, Gujjars, Tandas, Rajputs, and Siddhis. All these diverse ethnicities that had learned to coexist and live under the Indian ruling fought against the Muslim forces.
Based on linguistic and historical evidence, the Roma crossed the Himalayas, followed the Silk Road to the Caspian Sea, went along the foothills of the Caucasus range and entered the Byzantine Empire. They continued through Asia Minor and the Balkans, settled for quite some time in Greece, which explains the numerous Greek words in Romani language, and then advanced up the Danube valley to Central Europe. By the 15th century, the Roma were scattered all throughout Europe, including Scandinavia, England and Scotland. So, instead of Islam making it to the East, the battle progressed westwards into Europe. In that way, the Roma were brought further to that direction until they eventually crossed the southeastern European borders. As the Roma moved further away from their homeland, they slowly began to acquire a sense of ethnic identity and giving shape to the Romani language. The blend of people and cultures did not cease because as the armies were moving their way through Iran, Armenia and the Byzantine Empire they absorbed new members. This continued also in Europe.
The Roma migration to Europe was their first orientation with a new culture. Originally, in many European places, the Roma were welcomed for bringing new technologies such as working metals and iron, and new experiences from their long wandering. However, in other cases they found themselves persecuted and discriminated because their informal norms were not in harmony with the value system of the local populations.
Today, it is estimated that there are nearly 12-15 million Roma around the world with the largest number, nearly 8 million people, living in Europe, mainly in Bulgaria, Serbia, Croatia, Fyrom, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Romania, Hungary. However, the problem with estimates is that many Roma people do not self-identify themselves in the fear of being persecuted by local or national authorities.
Historians mention four Roma nations, namely the Churari, the Machavaya, the Kalderash and the Lovari. Other Roma groups include the Romungro, the Romanichal, the Sinti, the Luri, the Manush, the Ungaritza, the Gitanoes (Calé), the Boyash, the Xoraxai, the Rudari and the Bashaldé. European scholars described the Roma upon their arrival in Europe with dark skin and black hair. However, through integration and blending with the Europeans over the centuries, the Roma today can be with lighter skin and hair.
There is no universal Romani culture, but there are elements that are common to all Roma such as belief in God (Del) and in Devil (beng), loyalty to family, and belief in predestiny. Besides, all Roma have an extraordinary adaptability to altering conditions which facilitates their settling in different places. The customs and traditional values of the Romani culture are diverse around the globe and there is no ethnic group that can de identified as the true Roma.
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