Welcome to The History of the Roma Gypsy where we will look at the History, Culture and Traditions of The Roma Gypsy Community from all over the World.

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It is a well known fact that there are Gypsy communities throughout Europe and the rest of the world. Each have their own traditions, culture and history.

 

We will look at every aspect of  the Roma Gypsy community  From their own traditions to their own History of the Country they are in.

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We hope this will help both Roma and Non-Roma have a better insight and understanding of our Community from all over the world.

 

The website has been put into sections  History, Tradition, Culture and The Holocaust History, which carries a "viewer discretion" notice due to some of the content. We have also added video documentaries for you to watch that give an insight to several subjects pertaining to the Roma Gypsy People.

 

What are the different types of Gypsy

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1. There are two types of Gypsies – Roma Gypsies and Irish Travellers. Both have a nomadic lifestyle but are separate ethnic groups.

2. There is much debate about their history, however Romany Gypsies are said to have their roots in India and came to Europe in the 13th century, while Travellers are mainly of Irish origin.

3. Irish Travellers used to be referred to as ‘tinkers.’ A tinker is a skillful person that mends pots, pans and plates of locals as they move from place to place. Travellers refer to non-travellers as “settled people”.

4. Travellers used to be okay with being called ‘gypsy; until the word ‘gypo’ became a common insult. The term ‘pikey’ is also very offensive to Travellers (comes from the word ‘pike’). They often call each other ‘pavees’ among themselves.

5. Some Travelling communities use a language known as the Cant or ‘Shelta’. It includes ‘back slang’ words such as ‘gop’, for kiss, which is a reversal of the Irish word “pog”.

6. Woman are considered ‘on the shelf’ at 20 and many Traveller women marry as teenagers. Many Traveller men expect their wives to be virgins when they marry.

7. Young traveller girls have a strict Roman Catholic upbringing. Talking back to elders is unacceptable.

8. Large families are still very much the norm, with some couples having over 10 children.

9. While there are no official statistics for Travellers in the UK, there are an estimated 300,000 based on local government caravan counts.

10. While the original Irish Travellers lived in horse-drawn wagons and travelled, most today live in caravans on official sites provided by a local authority.