|
Folk Dance Federation of California, South, Inc.
|
|
CLICK AN IMAGE TO ENLARGE
The Romani diaspora includes the Middle East, Europe, and North America, but originally in India. After the diaspora, worldwide.
The Roma, are a traditionally itinerant ethnic group living mostly in Europe and the Americas and originating from the northern Indian subcontinent, from the Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab, and Sindh regions of modern-day India and Pakistan. Genetic findings appear to confirm the Romani "came from a single group that left northwestern India about 1,500 years ago.
The Roma are widely known among English-speaking people by the exonym Gypsies or Gipsies, which some people consider pejorative due to its connotations of illegality and irregularity. They are a dispersed people, but their most concentrated populations are located in Europe, especially Central, Eastern, and Southern Europe (including Turkey, Spain, and Southern France).
Since the 19th century, Roma have also migrated to the Americas.
The languages spoken are Romanes and various dialects of Romanes. Most Romani people are Christian, others Muslim, some retained their ancient faith of Hinduism from their original homeland of India, and others have their own religion and political organization.
DEINITIONS
Rom
A singular masculine noun. It means "man" or "husband."
Romni
A singular feminine noun. It means "woman" or "wife."
Roma
A plural noun. It refers to the Romani people as a whole and means "men or "the people."
Romani
An adjective (and sometimes a noun) used to describe something belonging to or related to the Romani people,
such as "the Romani culture" or "the Romani language. Also "Romany."
Romanes
The Romani language (that contains over 60 different dialects).
Gajo
A non-Romani man, pronounced GAH-zhoh (most commonly spelled Gadjo), the feminine singular is Gaji, and the plural form is Gaje.
REFERENCE
- Ushti, Ushti, Baba, on Album 1. "Karana sings this in the Romany language, a language nearly 2000 years old and descended from Sanskrit. She learned it while teaching Romani children at the "Romany School" in Richmond, California. The bride sings on the morning of her wedding, "Hurry, hurry, father! Wake up! You will be late for my wedding!"