Is there Gypsies in India?

Question

This is for all the Indians out there who know their country and people. Ok, in my country there are gypsies which orginated many years ago from India and Egypt so I was just wonderting are there any gypsies in India right now? And how can you tell between a gypsy and like a Hindi?

Answer 1

Yes, there are many nomadic tribes of colorful Gypsies in India ; their language and cultural ways differ from region to region. A common thread among Gyspsy tribes in India is  their love for and excellence in Music, often expressed through exuberant folk dances and tribal rituals as well as exotic, varied art forms including handicrafts such as intricate embroidery -- some of the famous Kutchi work as it is known today.

***The Lambanis (a.k.a. Lambadis, Romanis) are one of the nomadic tribes of India. They go from place to place in search of a livelihood. They have their own language, culture and a unique social structure. It is fairly well accepted that the Gypsies found today all over eastern Europe and the Balkans actually migrated from India centuries ago.

The Lambanis mostly lead a poor, uneducated, and yet a very colorful life.

For more info on the above go to : http://www.kamat.com/kalranga/people/lam...

***The largest group of Gypsies in India are the Lambadi (or Gormati) Gypsies. Other groups living here include the Tamil Nomads,-- called Kuratis --  the Indian Gypsies, the Kanjari, and the Baiga. Although these Gypsy groups are spread throughout India, most of them are concentrated in such areas as Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Utter Pradesh, Madras, Orissa, and Andhra Pradesh. The Arhagar Gypsies also live in neighboring Pakistan.

***The Tamil Nadu gypsies, some called Kazhaikoothadis claim origins to Dhoomra caste from Gujarat, are nomadic groups that once travelled across the Deccan rearing cattle,  hunting, selling herbs and medicinal oils. They are a handsome people and polyglots, each able to speak at least two or three southern languages and Marathi, Hindi or Urdu, and even Kashmiri. Women wear colourful shank-length skirts and beaded jewellery; the men tie their hair in ponytails and continue to dress distinctively, which also marks them out for discrimination on the streets.

***These groups, as well as other Gypsies around the world, are linked linguistically. All of the Gypsy languages belong to the North Indo-Aryan language family. When Gypsies began traveling from India to different regions of Europe hundreds of years ago, different dialects of their language (Romany) emerged. Each dialect became classified by the region in which a particular group settled.

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Most Indian Gypsies are Hindu. Others have combined many Hindu practices with their own beliefs. Two groups, however, are Muslim. The Arhagar Gypsies practice Islam because they live in Pakistan, a Muslim country. The Indian Gypsies have simply continued to observe the practices of their Muslim invaders of long ago.

Gypsies are a very superstitious people, and mixed with their religious beliefs are many "taboos." One taboo among the Hindu Gypsies is that a woman's hair must not be combed or let down long in the presence of men. Another is that a woman should not pass in front of a man who is sitting, but rather behind him.

Even though Gypsies are unreserved in speech, many have high moral standards. For example, chastity is very important. In the past, some girls who were involved in prostitution were buried alive. Unmarried girls are still discouraged from going into the cities, and they usually wear veils over their hands and feet while sitting with strangers

Art Forms

***The Lambani (a.k.a. Banjara) tribes have kept their style of Kasooti art alive. Their traditional costumes glitter with small pieces of cut mirrors, coins and costume jewelry. With the help of intricate methods of Kasooti, these are affixed to cloth, which is then made into brassieres, bags, pillows, wall-hangings and table mats. Such articles are in great demand in western countries.

***The exotic Banjara Gypsies are from the Rajasthan area and perform brilliant evocative dances called the Banjara dance which is a free-form kathak style dance.

For more info on this visit : http://www.ghungaroo.com/gypsydance.html