Who are the gypsies? The origin of the “mysterious Egyptians.” Where did the gypsies come from: the opinion of scientists What kind of people are the gypsies and where are they from?

Gypsies are one of the most amazing people you can meet in the world. Many would envy their inner liberation and lifelong optimism. The gypsies never had their own state, and yet they carried their traditions and culture through the centuries. In terms of the degree of their presence on the planet, they can compete with another until recently scattered people around the world - the Jews. It is no coincidence that Jews and Gypsies were at the very top of the list of those representatives of the human race that were subject to complete destruction, according to Hitler's racial laws. But if many books have been written and many films have been made about the genocide of Jews - the Holocaust, dozens of museums in different countries are dedicated to this topic, then few people know about Kali Trash - the genocide of the Roma. Simply because there was no one to stand up for the gypsies.

Figure 1. Gypsy girl. Eastern Europe
Source unknown

Both Jews and Gypsies are united by a belief in their own special destiny, which, in fact, helped them survive - after all, both Jews and Gypsies lived for centuries as minorities among other peoples, with languages, customs, and religions alien to them, but at the same time At the same time they were able to maintain their identity. Like the Jews, the gypsies found themselves scattered across different countries in Europe, the Middle East, the Caucasus, and North Africa. Both peoples “kept to their roots”, practically without mixing with the local population. Both Jews and Gypsies have divisions into “us” and “outsiders” (Rom-Gazhe among the Gypsies, Jews-Goyim among the Jews). It is noteworthy that neither one nor the other constituted the majority of the population anywhere - and therefore found themselves without statehood by the beginning of the 20th century.

Before the creation of the State of Israel, Jews from different regions of Eurasia used different languages. Thus, the Jews of Central and Eastern Europe spoke almost exclusively Yiddish, a Germanic language very similar to German, but using the Hebrew alphabet. Persian Jews and Central Asian Jews spoke Judeo-Persian and other Judeo-Iranian languages. Jews of the Middle East and North Africa spoke in various Jewish-Arab dialectsktah. Sephardim, descendants of Jews expelled from Spain and Portugal in the 15th-16th centuries, spoke a Sephardic language (Ladino), close to Spanish.The Roma, who do not have their own statehood, also speak several dialects that differ significantly from each other. Each locality uses its own dialect, with a large amount of borrowed vocabulary. Thus, in Russia, Ukraine, and Romania, dialects with a great influence of Romanian and Russian are used. The Roma people of Western Europe speak dialects with borrowings from German and French. On the periphery of the Gypsy settlement area (modern Finland, Spain, Portugal, Scotland, Wales, Armenia, etc.) they use local languages ​​interspersed with Gypsy vocabulary.

It is noteworthy that not only gypsies incorporate vocabulary into their language, but also “aboriginal” peoples borrow some words. For example, widespread Russian jargons are of gypsy origin: love (money), steal (steal), haval (eat, eat), labat (play a musical instrument). The English words lollipop (lollipop), pal (buddy), chav (chavnik), tiny (small, tiny) are similar. Changes also occurred in the cultural environment: in Russia, especially in the twentieth century, gypsy ensembles became widespread, enjoying enormous popularity among all levels of society. In southern Spain, the gypsies created the musical style of flamenco.

So where did the gypsies come from, why did they end up scattered all over the world, and why are they so disliked wherever they have the misfortune of living? The dark skin color and dark hair color clearly indicate that the ancestors of the gypsies came to Europe from the south. The territory of the North Indian state of Rajasthan is still home to several tribes that are considered related to the current gypsies. The largest of them are the banjars; in addition to the Banjars, the possible ancestors of the Gypsies also include the Chamars, Lohars, Doms and Qajars.

Figure 2. Banjar teenager in festive costume. Rajasthan (Northwest India).
Photo by the author.

Historians have not yet been able to establish for certain when exactly the gypsies set off on their great journey, but it is assumed that this happened in the interval between VI and X centuries AD. The route of movement is more accurately known. Having left North-West India, the nomadic tribes first lived for a long time in the territory of modern Iran and Turkey, from there they began to move north - to the territory of modern Bulgaria, Serbia and Greece. Later, from about XV century, the gypsies, through the territory of modern Romania, began to settle first in the countries of Central Europe (modern Germany, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia), then moved to Scandinavia, the British Isles, and Spain. Around the same time ( XV - XVI century) another branch of the gypsies, having passed from the territory of modern Iran and Turkey through Egypt, settled throughout the countries of North Africa and also reached modern Spain and Portugal. At the end XVII centuries, the gypsies found themselves in the outlying territories of the Russian Empire (modern Baltic states, Crimea, Moldova).

Why did the gypsies leave their homes and go on a long journey? Scientists do not yet know the exact answer, but they suggest that, most likely, several nomadic Indian tribes at some point began to go beyond the traditional settlement area. Currently in India, about five percent of the population constantly migrates - as a rule, these are itinerant artisans whose route is more or less constant. The basis of the nomadic lifestyle of the gypsies and their Indian ancestors was not a “romantic desire to change places,” as some readers may imagine based on the stories of M. Gorky and the films of E. Loteanu, but an economic factor: camp artisans needed markets for their products, artists needed a new audience for their performances, fortune tellers needed a change in clientele. In each specific case, the nomadic area was relatively small - approximately 300-500 square kilometers. This may explain the fact that it took the nomads several centuries to reach Western Europe.

As the nomadic tribes moved further and further from their historical homeland, they became more and more consolidated. In India, many tribes form a separate caste - the total number of castes in this country exceeds 3000, transitions between castes are difficult or completely prohibited. Most likely, the ancestors of modern gypsies who left the territory of Hindustan belonged to different castes (their main occupations were blacksmithing and pottery, basket weaving, making and tinning cauldrons, street performances, fortune telling, etc.). While they were in the territory of present-day Iran and Afghanistan, they did not stand out too much from the indigenous inhabitants - they were almost the same dark-haired and dark-skinned. In addition, there were many nomadic cattle breeders around, so the gypsy lifestyle did not seem special to others.

As the gypsies moved further and further from their historical homeland, their differences in clothing and traditions became increasingly noticeable in comparison with the local population. Apparently, then the various Indian caste tribes began to gradually grow together, forming a new community, which we call “gypsies.”

Other changes were also taking place. One of the largest and most powerful states in X - XIV centuries, on the territory of Europe and Asia Minor there was Byzantium, which at that time occupied the territory of modern Turkey, Greece and Bulgaria. Several hundred years of residence on the territory of Christian Byzantium led to the fact that the gypsies adopted Christianity, apparently this happened around XII - XIV centuries. Byzantine written sources of that time do not in any way distinguish Gypsies from other social and ethnic groups. This indirectly indicates that at that time the Roma were not perceived as a marginal or criminal group.

The Byzantine Empire was one of the longest living empires in history. It existed for more than a thousand years, but by the middle XV century completely faded away and fell under pressure from the Ottoman Turks. As Byzantium faded, the gypsies set off again - they began to settle throughout the lands of the surrounding countries. It was then that the process of marginalization of the Roma began.

Europe XV centuries, it lost to many Eastern countries in technology and living standards. The era of great sea voyages, which opened up new lands and rich opportunities for Europeans, was just beginning. The industrial and bourgeois revolutions, which put Europe at a height unattainable for other countries, were still far away. Europeans at that time lived meagerly, there was not enough food for everyone, and they did not need other people’s mouths at all. The negative attitude towards the gypsies as “extra mouths to feed” was aggravated by the fact that during the collapse of Byzantium, the most mobile, most adventurous groups of gypsies, among whom there were many beggars, petty thieves, and fortune tellers, moved to Europe, as is usually the case during social cataclysms. Honest workers, who at one time received numerous letters of privilege in Byzantium, were apparently in no hurry to move to new lands, hoping to adapt to the new order of the Ottoman Turks. By the time craftsmen, animal trainers, artists and horse traders (representatives of typical gypsy professions) arrived in Central and Western Europe, they fell under the already established negative stereotype of perception and were unable to change it.

An additional factor in the marginalization of the Roma were the guild and territorial restrictions of medieval Europe. The right to engage in crafts was then passed on by inheritance - so the son of a shoemaker became a shoemaker, and the son of a blacksmith became a blacksmith. It was impossible to change profession; In addition, most residents of medieval cities had never been outside the city walls in their entire lives and were wary of all strangers. Gypsy artisans arriving in Central Europe were faced with a hostile and negative attitude from the local population and the fact that, due to guild restrictions, they could not engage in the crafts with which they had long earned a living (primarily working with metal).

Since XVI century, economic relations in Europe began to change. Manufactories arose, which led to the massive ruin of artisans. In England, the need for grassland for the textile industry led to a policy of enclosure, in which peasants were driven off their common lands and the freed-up land was used for sheep grazing. Since unemployment benefits and other mechanisms to support socially vulnerable segments of the population did not exist at that time, the number of vagrants, petty robbers and beggars grew. Cruel laws were passed against them throughout Europe, often imposing the death penalty for begging. Nomadic, semi-nomadic, as well as gypsies who tried to settle, but became bankrupt, became victims of these laws.

Fleeing from persecution by the authorities, the gypsies became more secretive - they moved at night, lived in caves, forests and other secluded places. This contributed to the emergence and widespread dissemination of myths about gypsies as cannibals, Satanists, vampires and werewolves. At the same time, rumors appeared about gypsies kidnapping children (allegedly for food consumption and satanic rituals).

The spiral of mutual mistrust and rejection continued to unwind. Due to the limited or complete absence of legal opportunities for earning money, the gypsies, forced to somehow find food for themselves, increasingly began to engage in theft, robbery and other not entirely legal activities.

Figure 5. Nikolai Bessonov. "Prediction of fate."

In a hostile external environment, Roma (especially Roma from Western European countries) began to culturally “close themselves in,” literally and strictly following ancient traditions. In search of a better life, the gypsies gradually began to settle in the countries of Northern and Eastern Europe, moving to the countries of the New World, but almost nowhere did they switch to a sedentary lifestyle and almost nowhere were they able to integrate into local society - everywhere they remained strangers.

In XX century, many countries have made attempts to destroy the traditionalism of the Roma, tie them to a permanent place of residence, and give them the opportunity to earn money through official employment. In the USSR, this policy was relatively successful - about ninety percent of all Roma settled.

The collapse of the Soviet bloc countries led to the destruction of the way of life of the Roma in Eastern Europe and the former USSR. Until the mid-1990s, Roma in the USSR and other Eastern European countries were actively engaged in small-scale underground production, speculation and other similar illegal businesses. The disappearance of shortages and the development of a market economy in the countries of the Soviet bloc deprived the Roma of the niche at the expense of which they prospered in the second half XX century. The low level of education and the lack of a long-term view on the development of their own business led to the fact that the majority of the Roma were squeezed out of the sphere of small trade, thanks to which the Roma flourished in the 1980-1990s.

Impoverished Roma returned to begging, and also became increasingly involved in drug sales, fraud and petty theft. The disappearance of the Iron Curtain in the USSR and the opening of borders in Europe contributed to an increase in Roma migration. For example, Romanian gypsies in the 2010s. began to actively move to the countries of Western and Northern Europe, where they are also mainly engaged in begging and other socially condemned ways of earning money.

So, the gypsies, leaving India about a thousand years ago, gradually dispersed as artisans throughout the Middle East and Asia Minor. As the Byzantine Empire faded, that is, approximately from the beginning XV century, the gypsies gradually began to settle in the countries of Central, Eastern, Northern and Western Europe, and starting from XVIII centuries began to move to the countries of the New World. Faced with the guild restrictions of feudal Europe, the gypsies gradually sank to the social bottom, everywhere eking out dubious, not entirely legal ways of earning money.

In XX century, many countries began to pursue policies to force the ancient nomadic people to a sedentary lifestyle. The younger generation of Roma began to attend schools, secondary specialized and higher educational institutions; Engineers, doctors, and scientists appeared among representatives of a people who had been illiterate for centuries.

What will happen next? It seems that the Roma will either be marginalized again, sinking to the social bottom, or will gradually integrate into the society around them, raising their educational and cultural level, mastering modern professions and adopting skills and customs from more successful peoples. The path of gradual assimilation is also possible - for example, already now the gypsy groups of the British Isles, Transcarpathia and Central Asia have completely or almost completely lost their native language. In those countries where they can gain access to education, Roma will gradually integrate more and more into the world around them on decent terms. In these regions, while maintaining their originality, they will be able to create a new level of culture, rethink traditions - just as the South Koreans or Finns rethought their traditions, going from a primitive economy to economic prosperity in several decades XX century. Where this works out, friction between the gypsies and the indigenous population will decrease, and the original, vibrant customs of the ancient nomadic people will attract the interest not of law enforcement officials, but of tourists, historians and the general public.

In addition to Jews and gypsies, that list also included those born with congenital neurological and somatic diseases, homosexuals, the mentally retarded, people with mental illnesses and many other categories of people - from Hitler’s point of view, all of them were inferior, and because of this, they were initially subject to all sorts of restrictions, then - isolation and destruction.

Most modern states, especially European ones, were formed in the 17th - 19th centuries on the basis of the national identity of the peoples inhabiting the corresponding territory. In the bulk of modern states, representatives of the titular people make up the overwhelming majority of the population.

Most modern gypsies consider themselves Christians, although the gypsy version of Christianity differs from all other faiths and movements. At the same time, the Roma living in the territory of the Ottoman Empire and other Muslim states actively converted to Islam.

It is noteworthy that the attitude towards Jews and Gypsies among European peoples was very similar. Despite the fact that many Jews were able to find a way to socially integrate into the life of European society, at the everyday level they were presented with the same complaints as the gypsies: kidnapping of babies, satanic rituals, etc. Just like the gypsies, the Jews responded by withdrawing even more within their community (they did not communicate with non-Jews, did business only with fellow believers, did not marry non-Jews, etc.), which caused even greater rejection. At the everyday level, anti-Semitism, as well as anti-Gypsy sentiments, were widespread - without them, the terrible German racial laws would not have been enforced.

Both carrot and stick methods were used. Thus, laws were passed providing for the criminal prosecution of gypsy vagabonds (they were equated with parasites). At the same time, local authorities really made efforts to integrate and assimilate the Roma - they were employed, they were provided with housing, and their level of education was improved. The world's first gypsy theater "Romen" was created in the USSR, which still exists today.

Gypsies are an entire ethnic group that has a common origin and language. Today, Roma live all over the planet, except Antarctica. No one knows the true number of Roma in the world, because they do not participate in the population census, and they also do not keep independent records. And some countries do not know whether there are Roma on their territory at all, because many of them still lead a nomadic lifestyle.

Where are they from?

A very interesting question is where the gypsies came from. More than one study has been conducted on this topic, and today a single point of view has been formed - Roma people come from India.

In fact, this group of peoples formed at the end of the 1st millennium AD. At that time, the dominance of Muslim culture began in India. Then the gypsies found their way to Western Asia and stayed there while Byzantium reigned.

Spread around the world

Where did the gypsies come from? Even if they are the ancestors of the Hindus, how did they spread throughout the world? It is believed that in the period from the 13th to the 15th centuries, Roma actively settled throughout Europe. Until the 15th century they were perceived quite kindly. But then they began to be perceived as vagabonds and were evicted outside the states, that is, the people were outside the law. By the 18th century, some countries had become more tolerant of Roma. And from that time on, a division into settled and nomadic gypsies appeared.

How did the Roma get to Russia?

It is believed that the Gypsies entered Russian territory in two ways:

• through the Balkans, and this was around the 15th-16th centuries;
• through Germany and Poland in the 16th-17th centuries.

Until the October Revolution, the Roma were engaged in theft and exchange of horses, and women told fortunes. The nomads also told fortunes and begged, but some were engaged in blacksmithing.

The same gypsies who settled in Moscow and St. Petersburg were members of choral ensembles.

After the revolution, they tried to teach the gypsies to settle down and work. And in 1931, the gypsy theater “Romen” was even opened in the capital. During World War II, many settled Roma went to war.

In 1956, there was a second attempt to make the entire Gypsy people settled; they were given the right to work and education. But not many wanted to live like everyone else, not even all families took the opportunity to educate their children for free.

Modern settlement

In the last century, numerous attempts were made in many countries to improve the legal status of Roma, committees and institutions were created. Festivals were held, even in the country where the gypsies originated. For example, “International Gypsy Festival” in Chandigahra, 1976.

However, these activities began to be carried out only after the Second World War. During the military conflict, many Roma groups throughout Europe were almost completely destroyed by the fires of the Holocaust. And only in the 70s of the last century did the Roma national movement begin. And it doesn’t matter that the people do not have their own state, the Roma are supporters of the fact that they are an extra-territorial nation, but with a rich culture and traditions.

Since the 90s, quite professional representatives of this ethnic group have appeared: journalists, politicians, educators. Language standardization rules are being formed that make it possible to communicate with them even at the international level.

Gypsy language

According to the generally accepted international classification, Gypsies are speakers of one of the variants of the medieval Indo-Aryan dialect - Shaurasena Apabkhransha.

In different countries, Roma formed their language in close contact with the language of the country where they lived. Therefore, different groups' speech may differ radically from the language used on another continent. And some gypsies have completely lost their language and completely switched to the one they use in the country where they live. That is, regardless of where the Gypsies came from, namely from India, each ethnic group demonstrates a different degree of preservation of their native language. Today, the simplest classification is represented by four groups:

1. Balkan group. This is a dialect used by gypsies living in Europe, in particular, in the historical part of the settlement: Kosovo, Greece, Turkey, Bulgaria and a number of other countries.
2. Central group. The language used in Slovakia, Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Moravia and the Carpathians.
3. Vlash group. This dialect is the most widespread and studied, since there are the most speakers of this particular gypsy language in the world. The language was originally formed in Romania.
4. Northern group. Conventionally, the group is still divided into two subgroups. The first is the dialect of the gypsies of Finland and some Western European countries. The second is the language used by Roma in the northern part of Russia, the Baltic states and Poland.

Borrowing words

An interesting fact is that not only Roma people borrowed words from other languages. In the modern Russian language there are many examples where gypsy words have become firmly entrenched in our speech. For example, the word “lave” in the gypsy language means money, and “haval” means to eat, “steal” - to steal. The word “dude” means “your guy,” and “labat” translates as playing a musical instrument.

Social organization

Where did the gypsies come from? From the Hindus, but their genetic and cultural heritage was so influenced by the culture of the countries where they settled that it is quite difficult to draw a generalized portrait. Although some characteristic differences of this large ethnic group can still be identified.

A group of family ties forms a clan, which is headed by a single leader - a “baro”, that is, a king, as interpreted by modern media. This person can represent his family even at the international level, and can consult with elders.

The family plays a dominant role in all relationships. There is a disapproving attitude towards marriages with non-Gypsies. Even if the young people are from different families, such marriages are also not treated very well. Usually a couple is united for life, but in extreme cases divorce is allowed.

If we analyze the history of the Gypsy people, they always had a kind of internal court “kris”, consisting of a male assembly. This court exists to this day. The competence of the assembly includes resolving matrimonial matters, material and moral. The court has the right to impose a fine and even expel from the community.

To this day, Gypsies are very kind to their own children. If an heir - a son - is not born in the family, then the family decides to adopt a boy. It doesn’t matter whether he has blond hair or freckles. It is believed that it was against the background of this tradition that the legend that gypsies steal children was born.

Religion

Over the course of many centuries, there were many attempts to introduce their own religion to the gypsies in the places where they lived. But in fact, most of the gypsies became adherents of Christianity or Islam; their own, almost pagan religion did not have much influence on the way of life of these people, as did others religious cults.

Surprisingly, many Gypsies quickly adopted Christianity; many Roma living in Europe adhere to Catholicism and celebrate all holidays.

Livelihood, life

As in the old days, Roma prefer freedom and even if they agree to work, it is only with a minimum contract period. In some countries they are hired for seasonal work collecting vegetables and fruits, in other places they trade, still tell fortunes and steal. Some Roma are engaged in entertaining the public; one of the most striking examples is Charlie Chaplin. In Romania and Hungary there are gypsy choirs to this day.

Traditionally, the Roma have maintained a love for stews and soups. That is, the kitchen consists of dishes that can be made in a cauldron or in a pot over a fire. In Europe, Roma, even settled ones, prefer very spicy and hot dishes.

Children are rarely sent to school, and even if they are sent, then at most they finish 3rd grade, that is, if they know how to write and read, then there is no need for more, it is better to help their parents.

And still, as it was before, where the gypsies are home, women wear two skirts and an apron. After all, the lower part of a gypsy woman is “unclean”.

Finally

Despite the biased attitude towards the Gypsies, many representatives of this ethnic group have fully adapted to the modern world, lead a traditional way of life for European and other countries, study at institutes, master professions and live in ordinary houses, women do not wear two skirts and resolve disagreements in an ordinary way court

In the XIV-XV centuries. In Europe, a nomadic people appeared, known as the Gypsies, whose origin, way of life and language remained a mystery for a long time. Their ancestors did not leave behind a written history, so a variety of theories arose regarding the origin of the people. He seems doomed to eternal wandering and has his own special civilization.

Gypsies are scattered all over the world. They can be found on any continent, but nowhere do they mix with other peoples. Even the number of Roma could not always be determined in certain countries. They often tried to explain the origin of the gypsies with absurd theories, looking at their ancestry from German Jews , even mentioning the inhabitants of the legendary Atlantis.

The emergence of a mass of other theories was generated from the lack of development of complex issues of ethnography and history of the largest national minority group in Europe, which were the Gypsies. The origin of the people was reduced to three main versions. The theory of Asian roots was supported by Henri de Spond, who associated the Gypsies with the medieval Attingan sect. Many scientists associated this people with the Central Asian tribe of the Siggins, mentioned by the ancient authors Strabo, Herodotus and others. The theory of Egyptian origin was one of the earliest, dating back to the 15th century. Moreover, the first gypsies who arrived in Europe themselves spread these legends. This version was supported by English scientists who claimed that the gypsies, on their way to Europe, visited the country of the pyramids, where they acquired their limitless knowledge and skills in the field of sleight of hand, fortune telling and astrology.

The theory of Indian origin arose in the 18th century. The basis for this version was the similarity of the Indian language with the language spoken by the Roma. The origin of the people according to this version is now almost generally accepted. The question of the location of the ancestors of the gypsies in India and the exact time of their exit from the country remains difficult.

The ambiguity of the origin of this people has always been intertwined with the definition of the very concept of “Gypsies”; the origin of this name was often considered not as an ethnic, but as a social phenomenon. In various sources, the name “gypsies” is applied to social groups of the population leading a wandering lifestyle, which are characterized by similar features and specific methods of earning a living, such as fortune telling, small crafts, songs and dances, begging and others.

Indeed, the gypsies, distributed mosaically throughout the world, are heterogeneous in their composition, and it is not always easy to understand how great the differences are between them. They are divided into a number of ethnic groups, which are distinguished by dialects and other local ethnocultural characteristics. Their traditional nomadism cannot be viewed as a kind of romantic wanderlust or chaotic aimless wanderings. The lifestyle of the people was based on economic reasons. It was necessary to constantly look for markets for the products of the camp artisans, a new audience for their performances.

Ethnocultural contacts of a certain group of gypsies with the surrounding population led to a number of borrowings. An interesting fact is that the gypsies were in no hurry to leave their inhabited territories, even when they found themselves in rather unfavorable conditions. It is known that in many countries they were subjected to severe persecution. And yet, even in the very epicenter of organized violence, there were still survivors. This is kale in Spain, sinti in Germany, travelers in England.

While in the Catholic West the appearance of the Gypsies led to the adoption of laws for their expulsion, in Byzantium no such law was passed. Craftsmen, metalworkers, and animal trainers were highly valued here.

In Russia, the emergence of new ethnic groups of Roma was associated with the expansion of territory. In 1783, according to the decree of Catherine II, the Gypsies of Russia were classified as peasants, and they were ordered to collect appropriate taxes and taxes. If they wished, they were also allowed to attribute themselves to classes other than the nobility. Thus, by the end of the 19th century, there were many Russian gypsies among the merchant and bourgeois classes.

In the 19th century in Russia there was a steady process of integration of the Roma, their settling in permanent places, which was explained by the improvement in the financial well-being of their families. Natural artistry, which has absorbed a lot from the cultures of different countries, has attracted genuine attention to this people. Russian romances performed by gypsies acquired a different color. The genre of gypsy romance appeared, founded by Russian composers and poets who were passionate about this culture. A layer of professional artists began to appear.

Gypsies are considered a free and mysterious people, who are characterized by an ambiguous attitude from society. This is due to their way of life, traditions and customs. Some do not like the people for fraud and deception, others “dote on them” and invite their representatives to various events and holidays to enjoy songs and dances. Signs of what gypsies look like include their bright appearance and clothing, which make them stand out from the crowd.

Characteristic signs of gypsies

Gypsies are a large ethnic group of Indian origin. A common self-name is Roma, Roma (or Romaly in the vocative case). However, other ethnonyms are also used: the Finnish and Estonian peoples call the Gypsies “black” (Kale), the French - Bohemians, the British - Egyptians. They are also called sinti, manush and so on.

Since ancient times, people have been wandering around cities and countries, without having their own state.

On April 8, 1971, at the First World Gypsy Congress, they were proclaimed a single non-territorial nation. Since then, this date has been designated as International Roma Day. According to tradition, in the evening they light a candle and carry it along the street.

The territories where the people live include the countries of Europe, North Africa, North and South America, and Australia. According to Wikipedia, the number of European gypsies is 8-12 million. In Russia, as of 2010, the number of representatives of the nationality is 220 thousand. In many countries there are few gypsies and they are scattered throughout the territory. Such small groups are found among the Croats or in China.

However, it is difficult to say exactly how many Roma live in a particular territory. This is due to their characteristic feature - the lack of “legal visibility”. Gypsies and their children live in camps, are often not registered, do not have documents or passports, and are listed as “missing in action.”

The people belong to the Indo-Mediterranean race of the large Caucasian race. They speak the Gypsy language of the Indo-Aryan group of the Indo-European family, which is divided into a number of dialects.

The religion of the Roma includes Christianity and Islam. Representatives of the people of the Orthodox faith greatly reverence God and observe church holidays and customs. Significant events for Christians are Easter and Christmas.

The self-name of the gypsies who profess Islam is Ogly.

Depending on their territorial affiliation, there are 6 branches of the nationality.

Western Gypsies include:

Eastern gypsies:

In addition to those named, there are narrow groups: British, Scandinavian Kales, Romanichels, and so on. An ethnic group known as the Lovaris was formed in Hungary. The large branch of Roma also includes various groups, for example, the Kotlyars shown in the photo.

In European countries there are ethnic groups close to the gypsies in their way of life: Irish Travelers, Central European Yenishes. However, they have a different origin.

Hindus are truly anthropologically similar to gypsies. The former are distinguished by their high growth; the Hungarian representatives are characterized by average figures.

Face and head shape

Gypsies are characterized by dolichocephaly (long heads), a straight and slightly sloping forehead.

The photograph shows the famous boxer Johann Wilhelm Trollmann "Rukeli".

A gypsy is easily distinguished by his dark complexion, reminiscent of a shade of chocolate or old parchment.

Eyes

Mostly the eye color of a representative of the people is dark, brown, possibly green.

The latter is especially revered by the gypsies, as it is characterized by magical powers. But they avoid blue-eyed people because of the “evil look” that can cause trouble.

The photo shows the actress, dancer, singer Soledad Miranda, who tragically died at the age of 27.

Gypsies are distinguished by their expressive, piercing and quick gaze, which puts a person into a state similar to hypnosis and helps to see the past and future.

Nose

The forms of the olfactory organ among gypsies are varied. The nose is predominantly large in size. At the same time, it can be long and thin. The shape can be straight or eagle with a hump.

The photo shows footballer Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Hair

For gypsies, hair is a sign of happiness - the longer, the better. In the past they were often shorn, exiled and isolated. Therefore, women and men try not to wear their hair too short.

Dark and curly hair is typical; red color is considered to attract happiness. Gypsies also have chestnut, golden-brown shades.

The photo shows dancer, model, artist Adelina Plakhotnaya and singer, member of the group “Korni” Alexander Berdnikov.

Adeline Plakhotnaya

Alexander Berdnikov

In France, there are Gitans - blue-eyed representatives of the nationality with blond hair.

Blonde gypsies are shown in the photo.

Appearance of a gypsy

The image of the fairer sex among gypsies is distinguished by its brightness; expressive makeup, fluffy colored skirts, beautiful gold jewelry: rings, brooches, chains are always present.

At the same time, modern Western European standards of beauty are alien to them - they do not show long naked legs.

It is believed that the area below the waist is clean only in young girls before the birth of children. Afterwards it becomes “bad” and you cannot touch this area. Two fluffy toe-length skirts cover the “dirty” area, but one is not enough.

The photo shows gypsy women in traditional costumes.

Face

The look of the beautiful gypsy woman is mesmerizing; you can look into her “diamond” eyes endlessly. Their color is predominantly brown or green.

The hair is lush, long, thick, black, dark chestnut, red, light brown. They often curl. The skin is usually dark, but light color is also possible.

Actress, model, dancer Rita Hayworth is recognized as one of the most beautiful gypsy women.

Figure

Traditional gypsy dances allow you to clearly see the figure of a gypsy.

Such dances help fathers look for girls who will be suitable brides for their sons.

Gypsies are characterized by a flexible, graceful body. Young girls are slender, fragile, tender.

The photo shows actress and singer Diana Savelyeva.

Since gypsies are characterized by large families, women’s figures become rounder and plumper towards maturity. However, numerous births do not affect natural elegance and grace.

Gypsy names and surnames

The full name of a nationality includes 3-5 parts:

• official;
• secular;
• surname;
• last name;
• nickname for a branch of the family.

The official name is the one registered in documents or received at baptism.

Secular is widely used when communicating in everyday life with gypsies or other nationalities. These include:

• A nickname is a unique characteristic of a person or the events that happen to him (“Waterman”, “Crow”).
• Baptismal - if it differs from the official one;
• Name in Gypsy or other exotic language (Taghari).

Secular names can coincide with official ones or be their abbreviations: Dmitry - Mito. Moreover, a person is called this not only in childhood and adolescence, but throughout his life.

The patronymic is used when you need to introduce yourself officially (when interacting with government agencies, during ceremonial congratulations, and so on).

The Kotlyars have a unique naming system. They may have a middle name from their father, mother, or both parents.

The gypsy is satisfied with the secular name, which is even used together with the surname.

Surnames are used in the same way as other Europeans. With a large family, a special nickname is added to the surname. In Russia it usually comes from the secular name of famous ancestors.

In gypsy society, good names are those that are associated with faith, God, jewelry, and the sun. These are Bogdan (given by God), Zlata, Vera, Drago (precious), Rubina, Diamond and so on. “Flower” names for women are also welcome: Lily, Jasmine, Rose and others.

To designate a character trait in a person they call it: Veselina (cheerful), Svetlana (light), Shanita (calm), Shuko (handsome) and so on.

Origin

In the world

The roots of the Roma people originate in India. This is evidenced by their genetic analysis. Haplogroup H (Y-DNA) is present in Gypsies (60%) and Native Indians (27%). It is also found among Tajik, Syrian peoples, Kalash, and Kurds from Turkmenistan.

The gypsies are originally from northwestern India and appeared about 1.5 thousand years ago. Their language was influenced by the Persians and Greeks. The homeland of the gypsies is determined by Rajasthan, Kashmir and Gujarat.

After 6 centuries, the people immigrated to Europe, most likely due to their oppression by Muslims. In this case, there is a mixture of blood with other nationalities. The main part of the ethnic group occupies the territory of Europe, but most of all there are Romanian and Hungarian gypsies. Their number ranges from 2.5-8 million people. In Bulgaria, the share of ethnic groups is 4.7% of the population (370 thousand people). Sufficient number of representatives among Serbs.

The photo shows gypsies in Romania and Hungary.

Gypsies in Romania

Gypsies in Hungary

The description of history during the tyranny of the German fascists led by Adolf Hitler includes the mass extermination of Gypsies, along with Jews.

The attitude of other nationalities towards the Roma people has long been ambiguous. Until the 15th century, Europeans were friendly towards them, but then the situation reversed. Why this happened is explained by the behavior of the gypsies: it turned out that they steal, deceive, and beg, which is how they earned the reputation of swindlers and vagabonds.

After this, the people began to be ousted from the territories, spread oppression, abuse of them and even murder. However, after 3 centuries the situation has stabilized, the gypsies are treated more tolerantly.

The people are divided into sedentary, semi-sedentary and nomadic castes. The latter lived in a camp, the main one of which was the waida - the leader. He resolved internal conflicts, represented people before the authorities of the country where they were nomadic at that moment.

Sedentary or semi-sedentary people took root everywhere, adapting to religious customs and accepting the faith of the people where they were located.

In Russia

The routes where the gypsies came from on Russian soil are the Balkan countries (in the 15th century), Germany, Poland (in the 16th-17th centuries). They appeared in the 17th century on the territory of modern Ukraine.

The increase in the number of Gypsies occurred as the borders of Russia expanded. With the annexation of part of Poland, Polish Roma emerged, Bessarabia - Moldavian, Crimea - Crimean.

Before the revolution of 1917, men were engaged in horse trading, women - fortune telling and magic. The nomads were fond of begging, fortune-telling and witchcraft, and sometimes blacksmithing. The gypsies who settled in St. Petersburg in the 30s of the 19th century replenished the choirs, many of which were freed by the government from serfdom. The popularity of the people and their culture at that time was extremely high. Noble people married gypsy girls.

After the revolution, a decree is issued so that the people organize a lifestyle suitable for working. This is how the gypsies joined the Soviet family; the nationalities fought together against the enemy during the Great Patriotic War.

The only gypsy who was awarded the title “Hero of the Soviet Union” was Timofey Prokofiev, a Marine. Thanks to the gypsy, the Germans did not defeat the Nikolaev landing force. He kept up machine-gun fire until the last minute, and even after being mortally wounded in the head, he gathered his strength and fired a burst at the approaching fascists.

In 1956, a decree was issued again, after which the bulk of nomads adopted a sedentary lifestyle. Modern gypsies are endowed with the rights to choose their field of work, receive secondary and higher education. However, only a few use them.

The origins of the gypsies are known to scientists, but rumors are widespread about who they are and where they came from. There are versions that these are Moldovans or Romanians. Or even gypsies are descendants of the sunken Atlantis. The Moldovan and Romanian people belong to other ethnic groups. And the version about belonging to Atlantis is due to the mystical abilities of the ethnos.

The nationality is correctly written in the plural “Gypsies”, despite the fact that Alexander Pushkin’s poem is called “Gypsies” - this is an outdated form.

Features of the character and life of gypsies: customs and laws

In 1971, after the World Roma Congress, the national anthem and flag shown in the picture were adopted.

People use symbols as a coat of arms: a deck of cards, a horseshoe, a wheel.

Gypsies are characterized by a free lifestyle. Its representatives to this day are engaged in traditional activities: they sing, dance beautifully, walk, play the guitar, train bears and other animals, and like to tell fortunes. At the same time, mostly friendly and warm relations develop in the community.

Cheerful jokesters are invited by request to holidays: birthdays, weddings, anniversaries.

Gypsies are often portrayed as swindlers and beggars. They can be found at train stations, on trams, trolleybuses, electric trains, sitting on the roadsides with small children, begging for alms.

They pester passers-by with offers to tell fortunes; they are excellent psychologists who can gain trust. If a person talks and answers, they beg him for alms by suggestion. In this case, the victim voluntarily gives away all the money from the wallet.

Of interest is the ethnic group of sea gypsies - the Bajo, who roam the Indian Ocean. They live in huts above the water and go fishing. They go to land exclusively for trade, boat repairs, replenishing fresh water, or in case of funerals.

However, modern young sea gypsies often do not want to live by the rules of their ancestors. They move to land, study and work in normal conditions, which was not common among previous generations.

Movies are made about the life of gypsies, rules and traditions: “The Return of Budulai”, “The Camp Goes to Heaven”, “Gypsy” and so on. Many world-famous actors have gypsy roots.

For example, People's Artist of Russia Ekaterina Zhemchuzhnaya, shown in the photo.

The famous actor and comedian Charlie Chaplin was a gypsy.

There is debate about the nationality of many famous people. Data is provided that the famous singer Elvis Presley comes from a family of German gypsies who emigrated to the United States.

The peculiarity of the life of a nationality is that its representatives are often either fabulously rich or poor. In the first case, their houses resemble palaces with luxurious and expensive furnishings.

In the second case, the Roma live in extreme poverty in the absence of basic living conditions. They often act as illegal immigrants.

Gypsies eat simple food; Hungarian, Bulgarian, and Romanian tendencies can be traced in the dishes of the national cuisine. They love chicken, lamb, beef, beet soups, sauerkraut, they cook tumals (tamales) - minced meat wrapped in a corn tortilla, harba - a product made from blood, liver and lard. The national drink is black tea with herbs and berries.

The life of the Roma is filled with customs and rules, many of which are mandatory.

Other nationalities have beliefs associated with gypsies. If you dreamed of a camp, the dream book speaks of a desire for promiscuous sex life with frequent changes of partners. The dream of gypsies riding horseback from place to place signals nostalgia for the past. The fortune teller is seen as giving fate to the wrong person. In general, what gypsies dream about means hasty decisions and actions. If you went to buy something from them, this foreshadows the loss of money.

Wedding

The ritual is responsible for the transition of a young boy and girl to a new hierarchical status. This is the reason why gypsies marry early. If a girl is 19 years old and unmarried, she is considered an old maid. At what age young people get married is often decided by their parents. A girl is recognized as a potential bride after 14 years of age. Only in late marriages are the feelings and choices of the lovers taken into account.

The wedding is preceded by a betrothal ceremony performed by the parents. In early marriages, the decision to marry does not depend on the will of the children.

A bride price is possible, but in this case she is expected to earn back the money spent.

The girl marries a virgin. Proof in the form of a bloody sheet is provided after the wedding night. If a gypsy girl is not a virgin, it is considered a disgrace by the nation.

Marriages between representatives of the nationalities of different states are unlikely. This is tantamount to marrying a non-gypsy, which is not encouraged by gypsy law. Repeated marriages are discouraged.

Funeral

The ritual of how the funeral takes place is determined by the belief that a person in the other world needs things that he needs in life. Gypsies prepare for burial in advance; children save money to send their parents off with dignity. A gravestone of impressive size, where the deceased is depicted in full growth, is considered luxurious.

When a person is buried, relatives or friends are given 3 items through the coffin: an icon (male or female), a carpet and a bed. Essential items and alcohol are placed inside. Mirrors are covered for 40 days and mourning is observed for a year.

Gypsy curses

The rituals are recognized as carrying magical powers and are considered among other nationalities to be the reason why gypsies are dangerous. However, not all of them have mystical abilities. A real magician will not perform complex rituals in vain. Therefore, curses from angry fortune tellers are usually empty words.

Gypsies can curse when causing offense to the family. There is usually no charge for it.

Signs that a person has a curse are:

• weight loss or gain, deterioration in health, appearance (aging);
• development of diseases that cannot be treated;
• apathy;
• nightmares;
• a believer does not wear a cross, refuses to attend church out of fear;
• scandals in the family;
• leaving pets at home.

To remove damage, it is advisable to use water - wash your face in the river in the morning for 12 days, reciting a special spell. Cemetery rituals and others are also used to get rid of damage.

Gypsy law

It is an unwritten set of rules to be followed in gypsy society and outside it. Currently, each country has its own law, and even different nationalities within it.

Compliance is monitored by elderly members of the community, conflicts and violations are dealt with by a Roma court, which includes authoritative people.

The most terrible sentence is the expulsion of the criminal.

The main tenet of the law is compliance with the rules and restrictions of non-Gypsy society when dealing with it.

Murder, rape, and infliction of severe physical harm are prohibited.

The rules of behavior within the gypsy society are also announced: clothing, holidays, everyday life, an overview of professions, and so on.

Common Stereotypes

Stereotypes about gypsies come from numerous stories about their lives, stories of victims of fraud and people's own observations, since gypsies are present in almost every country in the world.

• They have no homeland. Roma are people without a specific citizenship, which they are often denied even if they were born in a given country. Recognition of a nationality as non-territorial made them legally “invisible”.
• They don't like to study. Representatives of the nationality send their children to school to teach them basic knowledge: reading, writing, and counting. Often, after this, the child quits his studies, helping his parents in trading.
• Gypsies consider it an honor to drink a lot without getting drunk.
• Gypsies are good psychologists who have hypnosis. For this reason, they should be avoided; fortune telling with them will do more harm than good. The main goal of a gypsy is to earn income. Rare individuals have the ability to predict; others create a magical image around themselves: witchcraft balls, tarot cards and other paraphernalia.
• Roma have high rates of domestic violence. The wife bears a heavy burden, submitting to a tyrant husband, and at the same time is forced to endure, since tradition implies marriage for life.
• A gypsy family must have at least one son. If this does not happen for a long time, the boy is taken from the orphanage, regardless of his nationality. This was one of the reasons explaining the claim that the gypsies stole children. Often people, seeing a bright, blue-eyed and completely different child in the camp, declared that he had been stolen.
• If a family has a two-story house, a woman cannot climb to the second floor if her husband is on the first

For centuries, the origins of the Gypsies have been shrouded in mystery. Appearing here and there, camps of these dark-skinned nomads with unusual customs aroused the curiosity of the settled population. Trying to unravel this phenomenon and penetrate the mystery of the origin of the gypsies, many authors built a variety of incredible hypotheses. In the 19th century, when, thanks to scientific research, a completely substantiated answer was found, the most fantastic stories were still being born.

This heap of outright prejudices and dubious hypotheses was destroyed with the beginning of serious research into the Romani language. Scientists had some ideas about it already in the Renaissance, but at that time they did not associate it with any group of languages ​​and did not establish the place of its origin. Only at the end of the 18th century. Based on scientific data, it was possible to establish the origin of the gypsies.

Since then, prominent linguists have confirmed the conclusions of these first research scientists: in terms of grammatical and vocabulary, the Romani language is close to Sanskrit and such modern languages ​​as Kashmiri, Hindi, Gujarati, Marathi and Nepali.

And if modern scientists no longer doubt that the Gypsies come from, then many questions related to ethnography, sociology and the history of the first migrations of the Gypsies are still awaiting an answer.

Linguistics plays a leading role in establishing the origins of the Roma, but scientific disciplines such as anthropology, medicine and ethnography can also make a contribution.

Written evidence of the era that could be called the “prehistoric period of the Gypsies” is very scanty. Ancient Indian writers focused on gods and kings rather than on people known as aott, jat, lyuli, nuri or dom.

However, since the first migrations to the west, we have had somewhat more accurate data about the Gypsies, contained primarily in two texts in which history and legend merged. Writing in the middle of the 10th century. Hamza from Isfahan talks about the arrival of 12 thousand Yaott musicians in Persia; 50 years later, the great chronicler and poet Ferdowsi, author of the Shahnameh, mentions the same fact.

This mention most likely belongs to the realm of legends, but it indicates that in Persia there were many gypsies who arrived from India, they were reputed to be good musicians, did not want to engage in agriculture, were prone to vagrancy and did not miss an opportunity to grab what they had. lies badly.

These ancient texts are the only source of data on Roma migrations in Asia. To find out more about this, we need to look at language factors.

In Persia, the Gypsy language was enriched with a number of words that were subsequently discovered in all its European dialects. Then, according to the English linguist John Sampson, they split into two branches. Some of the gypsies continued their journey to the west and southeast, others moved in a northwestern direction. These gypsies visited Armenia (where they borrowed a number of words brought by their descendants all the way to Wales, but completely unknown to representatives of the first branch), then penetrated further into the Caucasus, borrowing words there from the Ossetian vocabulary.

Ultimately, the gypsies end up in Europe and the world. From that moment on, mentions of them in written sources are found more and more often, especially in the notes of Western travelers who made pilgrimages to holy places in Palestine.

In 1322, two Franciscan monks, Simon Simeonis and Hugo the Enlightened, noticed people in Crete who looked like the descendants of Ham; They adhered to the rites of the Greek Orthodox Church, but lived, like the Arabs, under low black tents or in caves. They were called “atkinganos” or “atsinganos” after the name of the sect of musicians and fortune tellers.

But most often, Western travelers encountered gypsies in Modon, a fortified and largest port city on the western shore of the Morea, the main transit point on the way from Venice to Jaffa. “Black as the Ethiopians,” they were mainly engaged in blacksmithing and, as a rule, lived in huts. This place was called “Little Egypt,” perhaps because here, in the middle of parched lands, lay a fertile region like the Nile Valley; that is why European gypsies were called “Egyptians,” and their leaders often styled themselves dukes or counts of Little Egypt.

Greece enriched the vocabulary of the gypsies with new words, but most importantly, it gave them the opportunity to get acquainted with the way of life of other peoples, since it was in Greece that they encountered pilgrims from all countries of the Christian world. The gypsies realized that the pilgrims enjoyed the status of privileged wanderers, and, having set off again, they already passed themselves off as pilgrims.

After a long stay in Greece and such neighboring states as the Romanian principalities and Serbia, many Roma moved further west. The situation of the Gypsies in the territories that were repeatedly transferred from the Byzantines to the Turks was not easy. Trying to inspire confidence in themselves, they told about this to the spiritual and secular rulers of those places where their fate led them; The gypsies said that when they left Egypt they were at first pagans, but then they were converted to Christianity, then they returned to idolatry, but under pressure from the monarchs they converted to Christianity for the second time: they claimed that they were forced to make a long pilgrimage around the world.

In 1418, large groups of Gypsies crossed Hungary and Germany, where Emperor Sigismund agreed to issue them letters of safe conduct. They appeared in Westphalia, in the Hanseatic cities and in the Baltic, and from there they moved to Switzerland.

In 1419, the gypsies crossed the borders of the territory of modern France. It is known that on August 22 they presented documents signed by Emperor Sigismund and the Duke of Savoy in the city of Chatillon-en-Dombes, 2 days later in Macon, and on October 1 in Sisteron. Three years later, other groups of gypsies appeared in the southern regions, arousing curiosity among the inhabitants of Arras. There, as in Macon, they were explained that they were on royal lands, where the emperor’s letters of safe conduct were invalid.

It was then that the gypsies realized that in order to move freely in the Christian world they needed to have a universal safe-conduct issued by the pope. In July 1422, Duke Andrew, at the head of a large camp, passed Bologna and Forlì, announcing that he was on his way to meet the pope. However, neither in the Roman chronicles nor in the Vatican archives is there any mention of this visit by the gypsies to the capital of the Christian world.

However, on the way back, the gypsies talked about how they were received by the pope, and showed letters signed by Martin V. Whether these letters were genuine is unknown, but one way or another they made it possible for gypsy camps to roam freely for more than a hundred years where as they please.

In August 1427, the gypsies first appeared at the gates of Paris, which was at that time in the hands of the British. Their camp, located near Chapelle-Saint-Denis, attracted crowds of curious people for three weeks. There were some oddities: they said that while clever fortune-tellers read the life line from the palm of their hand, clients’ wallets disappeared. During his sermon, the Parisian bishop condemned the gullible and superstitious flock in this regard, so the “Egyptians” had no choice but to fold their tents and go to Pontoise.

Having traveled the length and breadth of France, separate groups of gypsies soon penetrated into Aragon and Catalonia under the pretext of a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. They traveled through all of Castile and arrived in Andalusia, where the former chancellor of Castile, Count Miguel Lucas de Iranzo, warmly welcomed the Gypsy counts and dukes in his home in Jaena.

A number of authors, despite the lack of any data, claim that the gypsies, having sailed along the Mediterranean coast, arrived in Andalusia from Egypt. However, there is not a single Arabic word in the vocabulary of the Spanish gypsies, and their route was completely specified: in Andalusia they referred to the patronage of the pope, the kings of France and Castile.

The first mentions of gypsies (Ciganos) in Portuguese written sources date back to the 16th century. Around the same time, gypsies appeared in Scotland and England. How they got there is unknown. Perhaps they attracted less attention there than at their previous sites in Germany, France or the Netherlands, since the British Isles had been inhabited for centuries by nomadic “tinkers”, whose lifestyle was in many ways similar to that of the gypsies.

It was much more difficult for the gypsies in Ireland, where the numerous “tinkers” by that time perceived the new newcomers as competitors and did everything possible to arouse hostility towards them.

Count Anton Gagino of Egypt Minor arrived in Denmark on board a Scottish ship in 1505, presenting the recommendations of James IV of Scotland to the Danish King John. On September 29, 1512, Count Antonius (probably the same person) triumphantly arrived in Stockholm, to the great surprise of the local residents.

The first “Egyptians”, who appeared in Norway in 1544, did not have such recommendations. These were prisoners whom the British got rid of by forcibly taking them out of the country on ships. In Norway, the gypsies had a meeting with the nomadic “funters”, similar to the one that was provided to their fellow tribesmen in England and Scotland by the “tinkers”.

From Sweden, some groups of gypsies entered Finland and Estonia. Around the same time, “mountain gypsies” from Hungary and “lowland gypsies” from Germany came to Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

By 1501, some groups of gypsies were wandering around southern Russia, others were moving from Poland to Ukraine. Finally, in 1721, gypsies from the Polish plains reached the Siberian city of Tobolsk. They announced their intention to advance to the borders of China, but the city governor prevented this.

Thus, in the period of the XV-XVIII centuries. Gypsies penetrated into all European countries; They also ended up in colonies on the American and African continents, but this time not of their own free will. Spain expelled some groups of gypsies overseas, setting an example for Portugal, which from the end of the 16th century. deported them in large numbers to its colonies, primarily to Brazil, as well as Angola, Sao Tome and the Cape Verde Islands. In the 17th century Gypsies were sent from Scotland to the plantations of Jamaica and Barbados, and in the 18th century. - to Virginia.

During the reign of Louis XIV, Gypsies sentenced to hard labor were released by royal decree, subject to travel to the “American Islands.” Among the colonists recruited by the Indian Company to explore Louisiana were the “Bohemians.” Like other colonists, they settled in New Orleans. A century later, their descendants, who settled in Biloxi, Louisiana, still spoke French.

Since the 19th century. many Romani families voluntarily migrated from Europe to the New World. They can be found in Canada, in California, in the suburbs of New York and Chicago, in Mexico and Central America, and much further south - in Chile and Argentina. They have the same occupation as the gypsies in Europe, the same customs, and they feel at home everywhere, since the place where they pitch their tent becomes their homeland.

P.S. Ancient chronicles tell: By the way, it’s interesting how things are now with the immigration of Gypsies to various countries, especially since nowadays even for non-Gypsies it is sometimes difficult to get a visa to certain countries, such as, for example, Canada. Take a look at the CanadianVisaExpert website; the rules for immigration to Canada for residents of Eastern Europe, South and Central America, and even countries such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar are described. And they, these rules are very difficult, even for people who can be conditionally classified as the “middle class,” not to mention the poor segments of the population who go to Canada solely to earn money as cheap labor.