Rus: Rroma - Part 1

Since the beginning, the Romani population has been made up of various different peoples who have come together for different reasons. As the ethnically and linguistically mixed occupational population from India moved further and further away from its land of origin (beginning in the 11th century), so it began to acquire its own ethnic identity, and it was at this time that the Romani language also began to take shape. But the mixture of peoples and languages didn't stop there, for as the warriors moved northwestwards through Persia, they took words and grammar from Persian, and no doubt absorbed new members too; and the same thing happened in Armenia and in the Byzantine Empire, and has continued to happen in Europe. In some instances, the mingling of small groups of Roma with other peoples has resulted in such groups being absorbed into them and losing their Romani identity; the Jenisch are perhaps such an example. In others, it has been the outsiders who have been absorbed, and who, in the course of time, have become one with the Romani group.

In Europe, Roma were either kept in slavery in the Balkans in what is today Romania or were able to move up into the rest of the European continent. The Roma were able to reach every northern and western country by the late 1500's.

The Romani language is of Indo-Aryan origin and has many spoken dialects, but the root language is ancient Punjabi, or Hindi. The spoken Romani language is varied, but all dialects contain some common words in use by all Roma. Based on language, Roma are divided into three populations. They are the Domari of the Middle East and Eastern Europe (Dom), Lomarvren of Central Europe (Lom), and Romani of Western Europe (Rom). There is no universal written Romani language in use by all Roma. However, the codification of a constructed, standardized dialect is currently in progress by members of the Linguistic Commission of the International Romani Union.

There are 4 Rom "tribes", or nations (,i>natsiya), of Roma: the ,i.Kalderash, Lovari, Machavaya & Churari. Other groups include the Bashaldé, Boyash, Romanichal, Gitanoes (Calé), Luri, Manush, Romungro, Rudari, Sinti, Ungaritza, and Xoraxai. Early European descriptions of the Roma as they were entering Europe described their dark skin & black hair. Due to inter-marriage & integration with Europeans over the centuries, Roma today are also found with fair skin and light hair.

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