Colorful skirts to the floor, colorful scarves on the shoulders, soulful songs with a guitar, unwashed swarthy children, trained bears, battered wagons and a herd of horses grazing in the endless field. Such a variegated and distinctive people as the Gypsies at all times aroused interest and a certain amount of fear.
History of the origin of the gypsy people
According to the latest research, the Gypsies are the descendants of Indian blacksmiths, singers and musicians who were forced to leave India due to the invasion of its northwestern part by the mighty army of Tamerlane. Migration took place gradually, some stayed close to the borders of their country, others went further, weaving local customs into their culture and enriching the language with local dialects. Over time, the Gypsies spread throughout Persia, Armenia, Georgia, Palestine, Northern Egypt, Asia Minor and Byzantium. Later, the fall of the Byzantine Empire served as an impetus for the subsequent spread of the Roma throughout the territory of all European states.
Gypsies in Medieval Europe
Medieval Europe left an indelible mark on the history of the Roma people. This era was marked by the persecution and extermination of gypsies, among whom witchcraft, fortune telling and predicting the future were practiced. Many of them were stolen and roamed. To fight an alien nomadic people, many rulers of the Middle Ages issued decrees ordering to stigmatize, expel from the country or put to death people of gypsy blood. So, according to the decree of the Prussian king Friedrich Wilhelm, on the territory of Prussia, all Gypsies who reached the age of majority were executed.
Geography of modern gypsies
Today, gypsies can be found in almost every corner of the planet; they do not recognize state borders. Their number is, according to various estimates, from 8 to 12 million people. There are about 1 million Roma in the United States, 678,000 in Brazil, and 650,000 in Spain. Modern Roma live in Bulgaria, Romania, Albania, Croatia, Serbia, Ukraine and Belarus, Canada, Argentina, France and a number of other countries.
Gypsies in Russia
According to the 2010 census, about 220,000 Roma live in Russia. The contented majority of the nomadic people chose a sedentary way of life as a permanent one. Tabors settled in villages on the outskirts of cities. Among their main occupations are trade, various types of fortune-telling, quackery, and pop art. In recent years, cases of fraud by Roma have become more frequent, and they are often caught in drug dealing.
No matter how many experts research the history, culture, customs and traditions of this people, they are unlikely to be able to fully understand the mysterious gypsy soul, because in order to do this, you yourself need to be a gypsy.
