The spoked-wheel image above represents a sixteen-spoked chakra, adopted at the First World Romani Congress in London in 1971 as the international Romani symbol. The chakra is a link to the Roma's Indian origins (the 24-spoked Ashok Chakra is in the center of the national flag of India, the Tiranga) and represents movement and the original Creation. The green and blue flag with a red chakra in the center was adopted as the Romani flag, as well as the motto "Opré Roma" (Roma Arise).
The Romani people have been known by many names, including Gypsies (or Gipsies), Tsigani, Tzigane, Cigano, Zigeuner, and others. Most Roma have always referred to themselves by their tribal names, or as Rom or Roma, meaning "Man" or "People." (Rom, Roma, Romani, and Romaniya should not be confused with the country of Romania, or the city of Rome.
Who are the Gypsies and Where did They Come From?
The Roma have been made up of many different groups of people from the very beginning, and have absorbed outsiders throughout their history. Because they arrived in Europe from the East, they were thought by the first Europeans to be from Turkey or Nubia or Egypt, or any number of vaguely acknowledged non-European places, and they were called, among other things, Egyptians or ‘Gyptians, which is where the word "Gypsy" comes from. In some places, this Egyptian identity was taken entirely seriously, and was no doubt borrowed by the early Roma themselves. In the 15th century, James the Fifth of Scotland concluded a treaty with a local Romani leader pledging the support of his armies to help recover "Little Egypt" (an old name for Epirus, on the Greek-Albanian coast) for them.
It was not until the second half of the 18th century that scholars in Europe began to realize that the Romani language, in fact, came from India. Basic words, such as some numerals and kinship terms, and names for body parts, actions, and so on, were demonstrably Indian. So-they concluded-if the language were originally Indian, its speakers very likely must be as well. Once they realized this, their next questions were the obvious ones: if Roma were indeed from India, when did they leave, and why, and are there still Roma in that country? At the very beginning of the 11th century, India came under attack by the Muslim general Mahmud of Ghazni, who was trying to push Islam eastwards into India, which was mainly Hindu territory. The Indian rulers had been assembling troops to hold back the Muslim army for several centuries already, deliberately drawing their warriors from various populations who were not Aryan. The Aryans had moved into India many centuries before, and had pushed the original population down into the south, or else had absorbed them into the lowest strata of their own society, which began to separate into different social levels or castes, called varnas ("colors") in Sanskrit.
The Aryans regarded Aryan life as being more precious than non-Aryan life, and would not risk losing it in battle. So the troops that were assembled to fight the armies of Mahmud of Ghazni were all taken from non-Aryan populations, and made honorary members of the Kshattriya, or warrior caste, and allowed to wear their battledress and emblems.
They were taken from many different ethnic groups who spoke many different languages and dialects. Some were Lohars and Gujjars, some were Tandas, some were Rajputs, non-Indian peoples who had come to live in India some centuries before, and some may also have been Siddhis, Africans from the East African coast who fought as mercenaries for both the Hindus and the Muslims. This composite army moved out of India through the mountain passes and west into Persia, battling with Muslim forces all along the eastern limit of Islam. While this is to an extent speculative, it is based upon sound linguistic and historical evidence, and provides the best-supported scenario to date. Because Islam was not only making inroads into India to the east, but was also being spread westwards into Europe, this conflict carried the Indian troops-the early Roma-further and further in that direction, until they eventually crossed over into southeastern Europe about the year 1300.
The Honorable Ian F. Hancock, of British Romani and Hungarian Romani descent, represents Roma on the United States Holocaust Memorial Council. He is professor of Romani Studies at the University of Texas at Austin, and has authored nearly 300 publications. In 1997, he was awarded the international Rafto Human Rights Prize (Norway), and in 1998 was recipient of the Gamaliel Chair in Peace and Justice (USA).
http://www.geocities.com/~patrin/history.htm
The Culture of the Roma People
Roma culture and traditions are vibrant and unique. This is only a brief summary of Rromas traditional beliefs: phralipen (brotherhood) - characterized by mutual help, support and solidarity, collective life as opposed to individual life baxt - positive fate or destiny bibaxt - ill fortune; what happens when the rules of purity are broken.
It is forbidden to speak about death, as this could incur bibaxt ujo vs mahrim? (pure vs impure) - there are many strict rules to be respected, ensuring balance between these two poles. If the rules are broken, serious punishments are enforced, such as isolation from the community family = community, community = family - characterized by a strong sense of belonging, solidarity, shared responsibility and is demonstrated through many complex rituals del (good) bong (evil) - good and evil exist in equal quantities on earth and one should be aware of both at all times eternal present - the past is dead, and only God can know the future, hence only the present has relevance. Marimé is a state of impurity brought on a person by the violation of a purity taboo. It also means a "sentence of expulsion imposed for violation of purity rules or any behavior disruptive to the Roma community." In many tribes, women wear long skirts, the bottoms of which must not touch a man other than her husband. In the past, people were usually married between the ages of 9 to 14. This tradition has changed due to the influence of the surrounding culture. Pre-marital sex is strongly forbidden. Marriages to outsiders are heavily discouraged. The wedding ceremony is usually simple. In some tribes, the bride and groom join hands in front of the chief or an elder and promise to be true to each other. In ancient times, they used be married by jumping over a broomstick in the presence of their families. Romani law establishes that the man's family must pay the dowry to the bride's parents. Romani social behavior is strictly regulated by purity laws ("marime or "marhime"), still respected by most Roma (except Muslims) and among Sinti groups by the elder generations a person dies, relatives and friends gather around and ask for forgiveness for any bad deeds that they have done to that person. They morn the dead in their home for three days and the burial takes place after. Death is seen as 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 Hindu cultures such as those of Bengal and the Balinese. However, in contrast to the Hindu practice of burning the dead, Romany dead must be buried, not burned. It is believed the soul of the dead does not officially enter heaven until after the burial. Clothing, tools, eating utensils, jewelry, and money may be placed in the coffin in order to help the deceased in the next world. http://www.geocities.com/~patrin/tradition.htm
Gypsy Architecture
