Gypsies!
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Traditionally most Gypsies spoke Gypsiesni (Gypsiesny), an Indo-Aryan language. Today, however, most Gypsies speak the dominant language of their region of residence.
Gypsy Population
Worldwide, there are an estimated 8 to 10 million Gypsies, most of whom reside in Europe. Although the largest Gypsies populations are found in the Balkan peninsula, significant numbers may also be found in the Americas, the former Soviet Union, Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa.The Gypsies recognize divisions among themselves based in part on territorial, cultural and dialectal differences. Some authorities recognize five main groups:
Kalderash are the most numerous, traditionally coppersmiths, from the Balkans, many of whom migrated to central Europe and North America;
Gitanos (also called Cal') mostly in the Iberian Peninsula, North Africa, and southern France; associated with entertainment;
Sinti (also known as Manush) mostly in Alsace and other regions of France and Germany; often travelling showmen and circus people;
Romnichal (Rom'nies) mainly in Britain and North America; and
Erlides (also known as Yerlii or Arli) settled in Southeastern Europe and Turkey.
Each of these main divisions may be further divided into two or more subgroups distinguished by occupational specialization or territorial origin, or both. Some of these group names are: Machvaya (Machwaya), Lovari, Churari, Rudari, Boyash,
Ludar, Luri, Xoraxai, Ungaritza, Bashald', Ursari and Romungro.
Gypsies in History
First arrival of the Gypsies outside Berne in the 15th century, described by the chronicler as getoufte heiden "baptized heathens" and drawn with dark skin and wearing Saracen style clothes and weapons (Spiezer Schilling, p. 749).Linguistic and genetic evidence indicates the Gypsies originated on the Indian Subcontinent. The cause of the Gypsies diaspora is unknown. One theory suggests the Gypsies were originally low-caste Hindus recruited into an army of mercenaries, granted warrior caste status, and sent westwards to resist Islamic military expansion. Or perhaps the Muslim conquerors of northern India took the Gypsies as slaves and brought them home, where they became a distinct community; Mahmud of Ghazni reportedly took 500,000 prisoners during a Turkish/Persian invasion of Sindh and Punjab. Why the Gypsies did not return to India, choosing instead to travel west into Europe, is an enigma, but may relate to military service under the Muslims.Contemporary scholars have suggested one of the first written references to the Gypsies, under the term "Atsingani", (derived from the Greek atsinganoi), dates from the Byzantine era during a time of famine in the 9th century. In the year 800 A.D., Saint Athanasia gave food to "foreigners called the Atsingani" near Thrace. Later, in 803 A.D., Theophanes the Confessor wrote that Emperor Nikephoros I had the help of the "Atsingani" to put down a riot with their "knowledge of magic".
"Atsinganoi" was used to refer to itinerant fortune tellers, ventriloquists and wizards who visited the Emperor Constantine IX in the year 1054. The hagiographical text, The Life of St. George the Anchorite, mentions that the "Atsingani" were called on by Constantine to help rid his forests of the wild animals which were killing off his livestock. They are later described as sorcerers and evildoers and accused of trying to Poison the Emperor's favorite hound.
In 1322 a Franciscan monk named Simon Simeonis described people in likeness to the "atsingani" living in Crete and in 1350 Ludolphus of Sudheim mentioned a similar people with a unique language who he called Mandapolos, a word which some theorize was possibly derived from the Greek word mantes (meaning prophet or fortune teller).
Around 1360, an independent Gypsiesni fiefdom (called the Feudum Acinganorum) was established in Corfu and became "a settled community and an important and established part of the economy."
By the 14th century, the Gypsies had reached the Balkans; by 1424, Germany; and by the 16th century, Scotland and Sweden. Some Gypsies migrated from Persia through North Africa, reaching Europe via Spain in the 15th century. The two currents met in France. Gypsies began immigrating to the United States in colonial times, with small groups in Virginia and French Louisiana. Larger-scale immigration began in the 1860s, with groups of Romnichal from Britain. The largest number immigrated in the early 1900s, mainly from the Vlax group of Kalderash. Many Gypsies also settled in Latin America.
Wherever they arrived in Europe, curiosity was soon followed by hostility and xenophobia. Gypsies were enslaved for five centuries in Gypsiesnia until abolition in 1864. Elsewhere in Europe, they were subject to ethnic cleansing, abduction of their children, and forced labor. During World War II, the Nazis Murdered 200,000 to 800,000 Gypsies in an attempted genocide known as the Porajmos. Like the Jews, they were sentenced to forced labour and imprisonment in concentration camps. They were often killed on sight, especially by the Einsatzgruppen on the Eastern Front.
In Communist Eastern Europe, Gypsies experienced assimilation schemes and restrictions of cultural freedom. The Gypsiesni language and Gypsies music were banned from public performance in Bulgaria. In Czechoslovakia, they were labeled a "socially degraded stratum," and Gypsies women were sterilized as part of a state policy to reduce their population. This policy was implemented with large financial incentives, threats of denying future social welfare payments, misinformation, and involuntary sterilization (Silverman 1995; Helsinki Watch 1991). In the early 1990s, Germany deported tens of thousands of illegal immigrants to Eastern Europe. Sixty percent of some 100,000 Gypsiesnian nationals deported under a 1992 treaty were Gypsies.
Gypsies in Society and culture
A Gipsy Family - Facsimile of a woodcut in the "Cosmographie Universelle" of Munster: in folio, Basle, 1552.The traditional Gypsies place a high value on the extended family. Virginity is essential in unmarried women. Both men and women often marry young; there has been controversy in several countries over the Gypsies practice of child marriage. Gypsies law establishes that the man's family must pay a dower to the bride's parents.Gypsies social behaviour is strictly regulated by purity laws ("marime" or "marhime"), still respected by most Gypsies and among Sinti groups by the older generations. This regulation affects many aspects of life, and is applied to actions, people and things: parts of the human body are considered impure: the genital organs, because they produce impure emissions, and the lower body. Fingernails and toenails must be filed with an emery board, as cutting them with a clipper is taboo. Clothes for the lower body, as well as the clothes of 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 considered impure for forty days. Death is considered impure, and affects the whole family of the dead, who remain impure for a period of time. Many of these practices are also present in cultures such as the Balinese. However, in contrast to the practice of cremating the dead, Gypsies dead must be buried. It is possible that this tradition was adapted from Abrahamic religions after the Gypsies left the Indian subcontinent.
Gypsies and Religion
Gypsies have usually adopted the dominant religion of the host country while often preserving aspects of their particular belief systems and indigenous religion and worship. Most Eastern European Gypsies are Catholic, Orthodox Christian or Muslim. Those in Western Europe and the United States are mostly Catholic or Protestant. Most Gypsies in Latin America are Orthodox. In Turkey, Egypt, and the southern Balkans, the Gypsies are split into Christian and Muslim populations.Gypsies religion has a highly developed sense of morality, taboos, and the supernatural, though it is often denigrated by organized religions. It has been suggested that while still in India the Gypsies people belonged to the Hindu religion, this theory being supported by the Gypsiesni word for "cross", trushul, which is the word which describes Shiva's trident (Trishula).
Since World War II, a growing number of Gypsies have embraced Evangelical movements. Over the past half-century, Gypsies have become ministers and created their own churches and missionary organizations for the first time. In some countries, the majority of Gypsies now belong to the Gypsies churches. This unexpected change has greatly contributed to a better image of Gypsies in society. The work they perform is seen as more legitimate, and they have begun to obtain legal permits for commercial activities.
Evangelical Gypsies churches exist today in every country where Gypsies are settled. The movement is particularly strong in France and Spain; there are more than one thousand Gypsies churches (known as "Filadelfia") in Spain, with almost one hundred in Madrid alone. In Germany, the most numerous group is that of Polish Gypsies, having their main church in Mannheim. Other important and numerous Gypsiesni assemblies exist in Los Angeles, Houston, Buenos Aires and Mexico. Some groups in Gypsiesnia and Chile have joined the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
In the Balkans, the Gypsies of Macedonia, Kosovo (Southern province of Serbia) and Albania have been particularly active in Islamic mystical brotherhoods (Sufism). Muslim Gypsies immigrants to Western Europe and America have brought these traditions with them.
Gypsies and Music
Gypsies music is very important in Eastern European cultures such as Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia, Albania, Hungary, Russia and Gypsiesnia, and the style and performance practices of Gypsies musicians have influenced European classical composers such as Franz Liszt and Johannes Brahms. The lautari who perform at traditional Gypsiesnian weddings are virtually all Gypsies, although their music draws from a vast variety of ethnic traditions for example Gypsiesnian, Turkish, Jewish, and Slavic as well as Gypsies traditions. Probably the most internationally prominent contemporary performers in the lautar tradition are Taraful Haiducilor. Many famous classical musicians, such as the Hungarian pianist Georges Cziffra, are Gypsies, as are many prominent performers of manele. Zdob si Zdub, one of the most prominent rock bands in Moldova, although not Gypsies themselves, draw heavily on Gypsies music, as do Spitalul de Urgenta in Gypsiesnia, Goran Bregovic in Serbia and Darko Rundek in Croatia.The distinctive sound of Gypsies music has also strongly influenced bolero, jazz, flamenco (especially cante jondo) in Europe. European-style Gypsy jazz is still widely practised among the original creators (the Gypsies People); one who acknowledged this artistic debt was guitarist Django Reinhardt.
The Gypsies of Turkey have achieved musical acclaim from local audiences. They perform for special holidays. Their music is usually performed on traditonal Turkish instruments such as the darbuka and saz. One of the most prominent Turkish Gypsies groups are Gypsy Music of Constantinople.
Later, Gypsies people who came to the Americas contributed to almost every musical style. Salsa, rumba, mambo and guajira from Cuba, the tondero, zamacueca and marinera from Peru, mariachi music from Mexico, "llanero" from the borders of Venezuela and Colombia, and even American country music have all been influenced by their mournful violins and soulful guitar.
The Gypsies anthem is called Gelem, Gelem.
Gypsy Language
Most Gypsies speak Gypsiesni, an Indo-Aryan language. Today, however, most Gypsies also speak the dominant language of their region of residence. Gypsiesni is not currently spoken in India. Some Gypsies have developed creole languages or mixed languages, including: Cal' or Iberian-Gypsiesni, which uses the Gypsiesni lexicon and Spanish grammar (the cal').Romungro or Carpathian Gypsiesni
Lomavren or Armenian-Gypsiesni
AngloGypsiesni or English-Gypsiesni
Gypsiesno-Greek or Greek-Gypsiesni
Traveller Norwegian/Swedish or Norwegian/Swedish-Gypsiesni
Gypsiesno-Serbian or Serbian-Gypsiesni
Boyash, a dialect of Gypsiesnian with Hungarian and Gypsiesni loanwords
Sinti-Manouche-Sinti (Gypsiesni with German grammar)
Gypsy Derivation
Most Gypsies refer to themselves as Rom. In the Gypsiesni language, Rom (man) derives from the Sanskrit ?oma (man). Alternate spellings of "RGypsies" for the people and "RGypsiesnes" for the language, were rejected by the last World Gypsiesni Congress, which defined the universal Gypsiesni alphabet.The English term Gypsy (or Gipsy), originates from the Greek word (Aigyptoi), modern Greek (gyphtoi), in the erroneous belief that the Gypsies originated in Egypt, and were exiled as punishment for allegedly harboring the infant Jesus. This ethnonym is not used by the Gypsies to describe themselves, and is often considered pejorative. However, the use of "gypsy" in English is now so pervasive that many Gypsies organizations use the word gypsy in their own names. In North America, the word "Gypsy" is often misunderstood as a reference to lifestyle or fashion, and not to the Gypsies ethnicity. The Spanish term gitano and the French term gitan may have the same origin.
In most of continental Europe, Gypsies are known by many names, most of them similar to the Hungarian cig'ny (pronounced IPA Early Byzantium literature suggests that the various names now referring to Gypsies, such as tzigane, zincali, gitani, cig'ny, etc., are derived from the Greek ats (atsinganoi, Latin adsincani), applied to Gypsies during Byzantine times, or from the Greek term a (athinganoi) in reference to a 9th-century heretical sect that had been accused of practising magic and fortune-telling. In modern Greek, aside from the term Rom, the terms gyphtoi (Greek:) and tsigganoi are interchangeable and both are used when referring to the Gypsies.
Outside Europe, Gypsies are referred to by more varied names, such as Kowli in Iran; Lambani, Labana Lambadi, Rabari or Banjara in India; Ghajar or Nawar in Arabic; and tzo`anim in Hebrew (after an ancient city in Egypt and the biblical verb - roaming).
There is no direct connection between the name Gypsies (ethnicity) and the city of Rome, ancient Rome, Gypsiesnia, the Gypsiesnian people or the Gypsiesnian language.
Gypsy Genetics
Spanish Gypsies (1917)Genetic data strongly supports linguistic evidence that the Gypsies originated on the Indian subcontinent. Studies of Bulgarian, Baltic and Vlax Gypsies genetics suggest that about 50% of observed haplotypes belong to Y-chromosomal haplogroup H. Similar studies of the same population with mitochondrial DNA show 50% belong to female mitochondrial haplogroup M. Both of these are widespread across South Asia.This genetic evidence indicates that approximately half of the gene pool of these studied Gypsies is similar to that of the surrounding European populations. Specifically, common Y-chromosome (i.e. male-line) haplogroups are haplogroups H (50%), I (22%) and J2 (14%), and R1b (7%). Common mitochondrial (i.e. female-line) haplogroups are H (35%), M (26%), U3 (10%), X (7%), other (20%). Whereas male haplogroup H and female M are rare in non-Gypsies European populations, the rest are found throughout Europe. However, female haplogroups U2i and U7 are almost absent from female Gypsies, but are present in South Asia (11%-35% approx).
By contrast, male Sinti Gypsies in Central Europe have H (20%), J2 (20%) and a high frequency of R2 (50%) which is found frequently in West Bengal and among the Sinhalese of Sri Lanka. The M217 marker, which accounts for about 1.6% of male Gypsies, is also found in West Bengal (Kivisild (2003) et al). Haplogroup L is found in about 10% of Indian males but is absent from Gypsies (though Gresham et al. does not seem to test for it), and also from West Bengal and Central Asian Sinti (Kivisild (2003) et al). However, a search of the Yhrd database shows that some Gypsies populations in Europe have considerable percentages of male haplogroup R1a1. Yhrd gives few matches with South Asian populations, but a large number of matches on haplogroup H with British Asian Londoners, a population that has a large proportion of Bengali and Sri Lankan groups.
All these genetic studies indicate a South-East Indian origin of the male Gypsies population. Haplogroup R1a1 occurs around 35-45% in the northwest of the Indian subcontinent, but only 10-15% in the southeast. On the other hand, Y-haplogroups H, R2 and J2 increase in frequency towards the southeast. R2 occurs around 20-40% in West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh (Bamshad et al. 2001, Kivisild et al. 2003, Sengupta et al. 2006, Sahoo et al. 2006). H and J2 occur 20-30% in South and East India. A study published in Nature associates the Gypsies with the Sinhala, and must be viewed from this genetic profile of Gypsiess. Sinhalese are mostly descendants of East and South Indian communities.
Luba Kalaydjieva's research has shown that the original group appeared in India some 32-40 generations ago and was small, likely under 1,000 people.
(Ref: Origins and Divergence of the Gypsies (Gypsies), David Gresham, Bharti Morar, Peter A. Underhill, et al, Am J Hum (2001); The Eurasian Heartland: A continental perspective on Y-chromosome diversity, Wells et al.)
Gypsy Persecution
Because of their nomadic lifestyle and differences in language and culture, there has been a great deal of mutual distrust between the Gypsies and their more settled neighbours. According to legend in some European nations, particularly in the Black Forest region, at the time of the Crucifixion, no blacksmith would make the nails for the cross. One blacksmith agreed to do so, however, and the spirit of these nails came back to haunt him and his family some years later, forcing them to constantly wander and become the Gypsies. Another legend has it that one of the Rom stole the nail that had been made to drive through Jesus' heart, thereby gaining the gratitude of Heaven and the right to steal as they wish for all the Rom. Persecution of Gypsies reached a peak during World War II in the Porajmos, the Nazi genocide of Gypsies during the Holocaust. The extermination in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia was so thorough that the Bohemian Gypsiesni language became totally extinct as a result.There are still tensions between the Gypsies and the majority populations around them. Common complaints are that Gypsies steal and live off social welfare, and residents often reject Gypsies encampments.
In the UK, "travellers" (referring to Irish Travellers and New Age Travellers as well as Gypsies) became a 2005 general election issue, with the leader of the Conservative Party promising to review the Human Rights Act 1998. This law, which absorbs the European Convention on Human Rights into UK primary legislation, is seen by some to permit the granting of retrospective planning permission. Severe population pressures and the paucity of greenfield sites have led to travellers purchasing land, and setting up residential settlements almost overnight, thus subverting the planning restrictions imposed on other members of the community.
Travellers argued in response that thousands of retrospective planning permissions are granted in Britain in cases involving non-Gypsies applicants each year and that statistics showed that 90% of planning applications by Gypsies and travellers were initially refused by local councils, compared with a national average of 20% for other applicants, disproving claims of preferrential treatment favouring Gypsies.
They also argued that the root of the problem was that many traditional stopping-places had been barricaded off and that legislation passed by the previous Conservative government had effectively criminalised their community, for example by removing local authorities' responsibility to provide sites, thus leaving the travellers with no option but to purchase unregistered new sites themselves.
In Denmark there was much controversy when the city of Helsing'r decided to put all Gypsies students in special classes in its public schools. The classes were later abandoned after it was determined that they were discriminatory, and the Gypsies were put back in regular classes. Reference page in Danish
Despite the low birth rate in the country, Bulgaria's Health Ministry is considering a law aimed to curb the birth rate among minority groups, particularly Gypsies.
Gypsy Assimilation
During the Enlightenment, Spain briefly and unsuccessfully tried to assimilate the Gypsies into the mainstream population by forcing them to abandon their language and way of life; even the word gitano was made illegal. Many nations have subsequently attempted to assimilate their Gypsies populations.Gypsies and crime
The popular image of Gypsies as tramps and thieves unfit for work contributed to their widespread persecution. This belief is often cited as the etymological source of the term gyp, meaning to "cheat", as in "I got gypped by a con man." The German name Zigeuner is often thought through popular derivation to derive either from Ziehende Gauner, which means 'travelling thieves', or from the Hungarian Cig'ny from their word "szeg'ny" meaning "poor". The validity of these derivations, however, is disputed.Gypsies in European population centers are often associated with petty crime such as pickpocketing. A UN study found that Gypsies in Eastern European countries such as Bulgaria are arrested for robbery at a much higher rate than other groups. The causes of this association are unclear; it may be due to police discrimination, selective reporting of race, or widespread poverty among the Gypsies.
Law enforcement agencies in the United States hold regular conferences on the Gypsies and similar nomadic groups. It is common to refer to the operators of certain types of travelling con artists and fortune-telling businesses as "gypsies," although many are Irish Travellers or not members of any particular nomadic ethnic group.
Gypsies in Central and Eastern Europe
A significant proportion of the world's Gypsies live in Central and Eastern Europe, often in depressed squatter communities with very high unemployment, while only some are fully integrated in the society. However, in some cases notably the Kalderash clan in Gypsiesnia, who work as traditional coppersmiths they have prospered. The current and historical situation of Gypsies in the region differs from country to country. Although small numbers of Gypsies still embrace a nomadic lifestyle, most migration is actually forced, as most communities do not accept Gypsies settlements.Gypsies in Spain
Gypsies in Spain are generally known as Gitanos and tend to speak Cal' which is basically Andalusian Spanish with a large amount of Gypsiesni loan words. Estimates of the Spanish Gitano population range as low as 600,000 and as high as 800,000 with the Spanish government estimating between 650,000 and 700,000.Gypsies in Israel
Gypsies in Israel, as in the rest of the Middle East, are known as Domari. Before 1948, there was an Arabic-speaking Domari community in Jaffa, whose members were noted for their involvement in street theatre and circus performances. They are the subject of the play "The Gypsies of Jaffa", by the late Nissim Aloni, considered among Israel's foremost playwrights, and the play came to be considered a classic of the Israeli theatre (see). Like most other Jaffa Palestinians, this community was uprooted in the face of the Israeli advance in April 1948, and its descendants are assumed to be presently living in the Gaza Strip refugee camps; it is unknown to what degree they still preserve a separate Domari identity. Another Domari community is known to exist in East Jerusalem. In October 1999, the nonprofit organisation "Domari: The Society of Gypsies in Jerusalem" was established by Amoun Sleem to advocate on this community's behalf.Some Eastern European Gypsies are known to have arrived in Israel in the late 1940s and early 1950s, having intermarried with Jews in the post-WWII Displaced Persons camps or, in some cases, having pretended to be Jews when Zionist agents arrived in those camps. The exact numbers of these Gypsies living in Israel are unknown, since such individuals tended to assimilate into the Israeli Jewish environment. According to several recent accounts in the Israeli press, some families preserve traditional Gypsiesni lullabies and a small number of Gypsiesni expressions and curse words, and pass them on to generations born in Israel who, for the most part, speak Hebrew.
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