Romani people

The Romani, also spelled Romany or Rromani ( or ) and colloquially known as the Roma (: Rom), are an ethnic group of Indo-Aryan origin who traditionally lived a nomadic, itinerant lifestyle. Linguistic and genetic evidence suggests that the Romani originated in the Indian subcontinent, in particular the region of present-day state of Rajasthan. Their first wave of westward migration is believed to have occurred sometime between the 5th and 11th centuries. Their name is from the Sanskrit word () which translates into a member of the Dom caste of travelling musicians and dancers. The Roma population moved west into the Ghaznavid Empire and later into the Byzantine Empire. The Roma are thought to have arrived in Europe around the 13th to 14th century. Although they are widely dispersed, their most concentrated populations are believed to be in Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, Serbia and Slovakia.

In the English language, Romani people have long been known by the exonym Gypsies or Gipsies, which many Roma consider a racial slur. The attendees of the first World Romani Congress in 1971 unanimously voted to reject the use of all exonyms for the Romani, including "Gypsy". Nonetheless, Romani people in the United Kingdom commonly refer to themselves as "Gypsies".

The first Roma to come to the United States arrived in Virginia, Georgia, New Jersey and Louisiana during the 1500s. Romani slaves were first shipped to the Americas with Columbus in 1498. Spain sent Romani slaves to their Louisiana colony between 1762 and 1800. An Afro-Romani community exists in St. Martin Parish due to intermarriage between freed African American and Romani slaves. The Roma population in the United States is estimated at more than one million. There are between 800,000 and 1million Roma in Brazil, most of whose ancestors emigrated in the 19th century from Eastern Europe. Brazilian Romani are mostly descended from German/Italian Sinti (in the South/Southeast regions), and Roma and Calon people. Brazil also includes a notable Romani community descended from Sinti and Roma deportees from the Portuguese Empire during the Portuguese Inquisition. Since the late 19th century, Romani have also migrated to other countries in South America and Canada.

The Romani language is an Indo-Aryan language with strong Balkan and Greek influence. It is divided into several dialects, which together are estimated to have over 2 million speakers. Because the language has traditionally been oral, many Romani are native speakers of the dominant language in their country of residence, or else of mixed languages that combine the dominant language with a dialect of Romani in varieties sometimes called para-Romani. Provided by Wikipedia