81.6% of people from the Gypsy or Irish Traveller ethnic group were born in England, and 6.1% in the other countries of the UK. 3.0% were born in Ireland and 8.3% were born somewhere else in Europe (other than the UK and Ireland). Less than 1.0% of Gypsy or Irish Traveller people were born outside of Europe.
Significant Romani populations are found in the Balkans, in some central European states, in Spain, France, Russia and Ukraine. In the European Union, there are an estimated 6 million Romanis. Outside Europe there may be several million more Romani, in particular in the Middle East and the Americas.
A Gypsy is a member of a race of people who travel from place to place, usually in caravans, rather than living in one place. Some Gypsies object to this name, and prefer to be called Romany.
According to that list, these are the 10 countries in Europe with the highest Roma populations: Turkey (2.75 million); Romania (1.85 million); Russia (825,000); Bulgaria (750,000); Spain (725,000); Hungary (700,000); Serbia (600,000); Slovakia (500,000); France (400,000); and Greece (265,000).
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.
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.
Regardless of the origin theories, Lowland Gypsies are still viewed as a Romani group, with Romani culture being a part of Scottish Lowland Gypsy culture.
The real population is estimated to be around 20,000-25,000 people. Romani communities are dispersed across all Australian states, with significant populations located in New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia. Around 14,000 Roma live in Western Australia, mostly immigrants from Macedonia and their children.
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.
Roma, singular Rom, also called Romany or Gypsies (considered pejorative), an ethnic group of traditionally itinerant people who originated in northern India but live in modern times worldwide, principally in Europe.
Although most Gypsies and Travellers see travelling as part of their identity, they can choose to live in different ways including: moving regularly around the country from site to site and being 'on the road' living permanently in caravans or mobile homes, on sites provided by the council, or on private sites.
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.
Typical Romany surname: common ones include Cooper, Smith, Lee, Boswell, Lovell, Doe, Wood, Young and Heron.
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.
In comparison with other studied groups from Ukraine (mainly Ukrainians but also other minorities) Djaczenko found that Gypsies have the lowest cephalic index, the widest nose, darkest pigmentation, and the most dense beard. Generally those features are rather alien to Eastern European populations.
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.
Here is the Peaky Blinders Gypsy debacle explained. Tommy Shelby and his kin are Irish-Romani (sometimes spelled Romany) Gypsies, a unique cultural and ethnic group present in Britain since the 1500s. The award-winning Peaky Blinders is directed by Steven Knight and has run for 6 seasons, the most recent hitting U.S.
So no, Roma does not mean Romanian. It is quite a common mistake. Roma or Romani represent the ethnic group that started the migration from India more than 1000 years ago. The Romanians are another ethnic group, the majority inhabitant of today's Romanian territories and successors of the Ancient Dacians and Romans.
Gypsy Roma Travellers are not currently recognised as indigenous, but could be. These communities have distinct cultural practices and experience colonisation. These communities have higher mortality, morbidity and infant mortality.
To earn a living today, gypsies might weave furniture, make bricks, resell clothing and goods, or trade horses, but employment is typically a side note in their existence. Sources repeatedly underscore the difficulty that the Roma have in obtaining regular work because employers often don't want to hire them.
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].
Yet the dedication to cleaning – born during nomadic days when keeping wagons clear from dust and dirt on the road was a tough undertaking for traveller women – remains important. As a result, cleaning is a process that takes priority over everything else – including school.
In fact, our lives are quite the opposite. Although many are, not all Romany Gypsies nomadic; not all live in trailers, tents or wagons. You can be 'settled' in a house and still be Romany (Romany is the proper term for a Gypsy).
The dress of Romani women emphasizes the cultural tradition of displaying your wealth as a sign of good fortune. Romani women tend to wear golden necklaces, bracelets, and headscarves, all of which are often embellished with golden coins. The Diklo is a traditional headscarf worn by married Vlax Romani women.