Gypsy History
03/10/14 13:06 Filed in: History
Another one from Today I Found Out...................about where Gypsies originated as a group of people. Find out more here.
On one of our trips to England, Bob and I came across a traveling Gypsy family. The father was leading the wagon and his family down one of the main two-way roads between Salisbury and Exeter. Since the wagon moved slowly, the traffic did back up behind them. Because it was such an unusual sight, I wish I had been able to get a photo but my cameras were film in those days and not set to be accessible and get quick shots.
“They do not have a shared homeland or national identity. They are a people who are scattered across the globe and whose origins have always been shrouded in myth and mystery (among other reasons because they have kept no written records of their early history). Many saw them (and continue to do so in many cases) as dirty, thieving and undesirable, others as artistic, romantic and carefree. In France, they are referred to as gitanes, in Spain they are called gitanos, and in Germany, zigeuner.
There are an estimated 12 million Romani – better known as Gypsies – living worldwide. Most of them (8-10 million) live in Europe, making them the continent’s largest ethnic minority group. So where did they come from?
A recent genetic analysis of 13 European Gypsy groups confirmed that their ancestors, for reasons not perfectly clear, left India in a single emigration wave some 1,500 or so years ago. “There were already some linguistic studies that gave clues pointing to India and genetic studies too, though without being precise about the where or when,” explained David Comas, leader of the research group that made the discovery.”
On one of our trips to England, Bob and I came across a traveling Gypsy family. The father was leading the wagon and his family down one of the main two-way roads between Salisbury and Exeter. Since the wagon moved slowly, the traffic did back up behind them. Because it was such an unusual sight, I wish I had been able to get a photo but my cameras were film in those days and not set to be accessible and get quick shots.
“They do not have a shared homeland or national identity. They are a people who are scattered across the globe and whose origins have always been shrouded in myth and mystery (among other reasons because they have kept no written records of their early history). Many saw them (and continue to do so in many cases) as dirty, thieving and undesirable, others as artistic, romantic and carefree. In France, they are referred to as gitanes, in Spain they are called gitanos, and in Germany, zigeuner.
There are an estimated 12 million Romani – better known as Gypsies – living worldwide. Most of them (8-10 million) live in Europe, making them the continent’s largest ethnic minority group. So where did they come from?
A recent genetic analysis of 13 European Gypsy groups confirmed that their ancestors, for reasons not perfectly clear, left India in a single emigration wave some 1,500 or so years ago. “There were already some linguistic studies that gave clues pointing to India and genetic studies too, though without being precise about the where or when,” explained David Comas, leader of the research group that made the discovery.”
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