Who are and where do the gypsies come from?

Even today, the origin of this people remains shrouded in mystery. Their stories have always been transmitted from generation to generation through oral tradition, which creates many legends and leaves no accurate records. Some experts believe that they originated in India, as the language spoken by Roma has many similarities with several languages ​​of the Indian subcontinent. But there are also indications that point to another region. “In ancient gypsy legends, we find biblical references that can direct us to an origin in Chaldea (a region that today belongs to Iraq) and not in India. Another significant point is the belief in a single creator God, Devel, which brings them closer to the history of Semitic peoples, contrary to what would be expected from an Indian origin, with its various deities», says geographer Solange Lima Guimarães, from the University State Paulista (Unesp), author of a doctoral thesis on gypsies.

If they really have roots in the Middle East, it is likely that they emerged a few millennia before Christ. Whatever the starting point, it is known that they moved from East to West until they reached Europe at the end of the fourteenth century. At that time, gypsies were persecuted by the Inquisition, the Catholic Church’s court that judged crimes against the faith. As they lived with both Moors and Christians, Gypsies oscillated from paganism to Christianity, which was enough to be accused of heresy. What is worse is that the prejudices regarding religion, culture and the nomadic way of life of this people were not restricted to the Middle Ages. Centuries later, during World War II (1939-1945), the Germans killed around 400,000 gypsies, victims of the Nazi ideology that defended a supposedly pure race, the Aryan, in Europe.

Today, it is estimated that there are between 2 and 5 million Roma in the world, concentrated mainly in Central Europe, in countries such as the Czech and Slovak Republics, Hungary, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria and Romania. During their wanderings around the world, they influenced the culture of various regions. A good example comes from Spain, where the rich tradition of Roma music and dance gave rise to flamenco.