Roma people

The Roma people (pronounced "rahma"; singular Rom; sometimes Rroma, Rrom), along with the closely related Sinti people, are commonly known as Gypsies in English. They are a traditionally nomadic people who originated in northern India, but currently live worldwide, chiefly in Europe. Most Roma speak some form of Romany, a language closely- related to the modern Indo-European languages of Europe, northern India and Pakistan http://www.ethnologue.com/14/show_family.asp?subid=653, but usually speak the dominant language of a region they live in as well. Modern anthropology has related Romany to Punjabi and Pothohari, spoken in northern India and Pakistan.

Genetics

Studies of Bulgarian, Baltic and Vlax Roma genetics suggest that about 50% of observed Y chromosomes and mitochondrial DNA belong to male haplogroup H and female haplogroup M, respectively; both of which are widespread across South and Central Asia. In summary, males consist in the main of haplogroups H (50%),I (22%) and J2 (14%),Rlb (7%) approx; females H (35%), M (26%), U3 (10%), X (7%), other (20%). Whereas male haplogroup H and female M are rare in non-Roma European populations, the rest are found throughout Europe. However female haplogroups U2i and U7 are almost absent from female Roma, but are present in South Asia (11%-35% approx). Hence, it can be seen that about half of the gene pool of Roma is similar to surrounding European populations. But male Sinti Roma in Central Asia have H (20%),J2 (20%) and a high frequency of R2 (50%) which is found in India, with high frequencies in West Bengal and amongst the Sinhalese of Sri Lanka. The M217 marker, which accounts for about 1.6% of male Roma, is also found in West Bengal (Kivisild (2003) et al). Haplogroups L which accounts for about 10% of NW Indians/Pakistanisi males is absent from Roma as it is also from West Bengal and Central Asian Sinti (Kivisild (2003) et al). A search on the Yhrd database however, shows that some Roma populations have considerable percentages of male haplogroup R1a1.

Related Topics:
Y chromosome - Mitochondrial DNA - Haplogroup

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(Source: Origins and Divergence of the Roma (Gypsies)

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David Gresham, Bharti Morar, Peter A. Underhill, et al, Am J Hum (2001); The Eurasian Heartland: A continental perspective on

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Y-chromosome diversity, Wells et al.) See also aryan invasion theory

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Luba Kalaydjieva's research has shown that the original group appeared in India some 32-40 generations ago and was small, likely under 1000 people.

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