True Romany Gypsies were regarded as being of the pure “black blood” and the word “black” was regularly used as a compliment, particularly in people's names, meaning a gypsy of the purest type.
As more records go online, it has never been easier to find out if you have 'Gypsy blood' running in your veins. The definitions of Gypsy, Traveller or Romani (or Romany) ancestors cross all sorts of ethnic and non-ethnic boundaries, encompassing communities that have a nomadic culture, history or lifestyle.
Heterogeneity between countries has become apparent and has led to the conclusion that the European Roma are composed of two different populations, characterised respectively by a high and a low frequency of blood group B [23], or defined as East and West European Roma, with the former closely related to Indian ...
The term Gypsy, Roma and Traveller has been used to describe a range of ethnic groups or people with nomadic ways of life who are not from a specific ethnicity.
Roma (Gypsies) originated in the Punjab region of northern India as a nomadic people and entered Europe between the eighth and tenth centuries C.E. They were called "Gypsies" because Europeans mistakenly believed they came from Egypt. This minority is made up of distinct groups called "tribes" or "nations."
Genetic studies based on Y-chromosome markers and mitochondrial DNA confirmed the South Asian origin of Roma. Y-chromosome marker M82 (H1a) and mtDNA haplogroups M5a1, M18 and M35b, which are characteristics of South Asian ancestry, are typical in Roma populations [8, 9].
Talk to older relatives for clues and family stories. Old family photos can help to identify Gypsy heritage. Photographs taken at gatherings such as hop picking or fairs might be a sign, although these were often annual events which brought together families from many backgrounds, not just Gypsies and Travellers.
Most Eastern European Roma are Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, or Muslim. Those in Western Europe and the United States are mostly Roman Catholic or Protestant. In southern Spain, many Roma are Pentecostal, but this is a small minority that has emerged in contemporary times.
The Romani, also spelled Romany or Rromani (/ˈroʊməni/, /ˈrɒ-/), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group 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 Rajasthan.
The Greek Roma man and woman both have brown hair and brown eyes. The Roma — sometimes referred to as gypsies, although the term is now considered derogatory — are part of an ethnic group who live mostly in central and eastern Europe.
Of the eight main blood types, people with Type O have the lowest risk for heart attacks and blood clots in the legs and lungs. This may be because people with other blood types have higher levels of certain clotting factors, which are proteins that cause blood to coagulate (solidify).
There's no doubt that Hughie Doherty and Fred Butcher and their families are real, and that this is how they are, and this is how they say they do it in their community. Gypsies and Travellers have settled disagreements with their bare knuckles for ever and they continue to do so.
Romani is the only Indio-Aryan language that has been spoken exclusively in Europe since the Middle Ages and whose vocabulary and grammar are related to Sanskrit. The language used by Romani people is a source of great pride, facilitating the connectivity and communication between people across the world.
Typical Romany surname: common ones include Cooper, Smith, Lee, Boswell, Lovell, Doe, Wood, Young and Heron.
There are around 300,000 Gypsy Roma and Irish Travellers in the UK – Roma Gypsies are originally from northern India, whereas Travellers are of Irish origin – and both groups are nomadic.
While there is no evidence that the Gypsies were Arabs who migrated to India, there is much historical and linguistic evidence of their Indian roots and movement to Persia, as well as later relocations to and within Europe and the Middle East. What remains unclear is exactly when or why they moved.
Some of the better known areas of work that Gypsies and Travellers are involved in include seasonal agricultural work, motor trading and tree-felling. Some are employed as academics, teachers and public servants and in this way they add to the local economy.
There is no king or queen. Traveller families often have someone that makes the main decisions that will affect the family as a whole, and is usually a patriarch or matriarch of the family. This is often the same for Romany people, who have no tradition of royalty.
The families band together in clan systems, cordoned off from mainstream society. The familial structure is often strictly paternalistic, with women tending to home and children, while men may or may not work. Arranged marriage among adolescent brides and grooms remains common.
Gypsy leaders. The Boswells were for centuries one of England's largest and most important Gypsy families. The Boswell clan were a large extended family of Travellers, and in old Nottinghamshire dialect the word bos'll was used as a term for Travellers and Romani in general.
"Most Roma have brown hair and eyes, but there are many blond Roma with blue eyes," said Juan Gamella, a social anthropologist at the University of Granada in Spain.
Couples marry young - girls at around 16 or 17, and boys between 18 and 19. They're not supposed to marry non-travellers but marriage to second cousins in families is common.
The two groups of Gypsy Americans about whom scholars know the most are the Rom and the Romnichals. Many of the Rom came to the New World from Russia or Eastern or Central Europe; the Romnichals came from Great Britain.