Who can tell me something about Gypsy's history or culture?

Question

I'm very curious on Gypsy's culture.Where are they from?How do they live?

Answer 1

History

Gypsies played a major role in the development of flamenco. Historians generally agree that they originated in the area of Northern India and Pakistan and travelled a northern route towards the Balkans.

However, there are those who maintain that Gypsies reached Andalucia from Egypt after sailing along the coast of Africa.This is despite the lack of any real evidence. The Spanish Gypsies had no Arabic words in their vocabulary. The implication of this belief is that they may have accompanied the invading Muslims in 711AD. Regardless of which theory you believe in, gypsies traveled far and wide in their wanderings and made a home for themselves in many countries including the Middle East. Since there were no real records to prove or disprove their true origins, Egyptian Gypsies themselves came to believe they were descended from the Pharaohs. This is a legend to which many of their songs still refer - as a result of which they were called Egyptians, or "Gypcians" in English; while, in old Spanish, gitano was simply a way of saying "Egyptian". Ref

Unlike the Jews and Muslims, the Gypsies did not leave Spain after the Christian reconquest of 1492.

Answer 2

My Fathers side is all Gypsie, they mostly had stayed in the Armenian and and Balkin region but some were from Iberian and around the Basque region, I was told we never settle we belong to ourselves, no nations, who need em'. They came to America around the turn of the century. My ma is from an Irish American farm family. My Dad's family was drifting through the area and doing forestry work in the area. Well my Ma ran off with my Dad and his family and we have been traveling most of my life.  I know my Dad says we never settled while people were building the first cities, we never settled into them we just followed the herds and later followed the work where ever we could find it and that is how it is now.  My understanding is we are Indo-European maybe more Indo than European in some cases. Names like Zora Delphinias there is no Arabic or Persian.

Answer 3

the term gypsy have been used to describe many largely unrelated groups of European nomads the ones that every one is probably thinking about are better known as Romani as gypsy is in fact something of a pejorative

here are some wiki pages that should help get you started

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romani_peop...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romani_lang...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gypsy

but double check the sources on everything

Answer 4

NO resources to quote sorry, but I recall hearing a Book review suggesting that they are the result of combining several indigenous (sub continant) Indian people.

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Answer 5

The ones that I've come into contact with: I just as soon they went a different direction.

    As a bar manager they come in sometimes in the spring of the year. You have to keep an eye on them, the young and old alike.

   When they come in they go five different directions and they're hands are all over. I call for back up right away and usually only one, maybe two out of ten or fifteen ask for a drink. This is the clue, to get you busy, then they start.

   After back up comes I call the sheriff and ask for a welfare check, tell them what's going on and make sure they here.

   It happens every year as they travel through, then I call the places down the line.

Answer 6

Gypsies do make for very interesting research. Here is a link to a teacher of mine at UCR who has done a lot of field research on gypsies. Follow the links & have fun! ;)