Romani People - Population and Subgroups

Population and Subgroups

For a variety of reasons, many Romanies choose not to register their ethnic identity in official censuses. There are an estimated four million Romani people in Europe (as of 2002), although some high estimates by Romani organizations give numbers as high as 14 million. Significant Romani populations are found in the Balkan peninsula, in some Central European states, in Spain, France, Russia and Ukraine. Several more million Romanies may live out of Europe, in particular in the Middle East and in the Americas.

The Romani people recognize divisions among themselves based in part on territorial, cultural and dialectal differences and self-designation. The main branches are:

1. Roma, concentrated in central and eastern Europe and central Italy, emigrated also (mostly from the 19th century onwards) to the rest of Europe, but also on the other continents;
2. Iberian Kale, mostly in Spain (see Romani people in Spain), but also in Portugal (see Romani people in Portugal), Southern France and Latin America;
3. Finnish Kale, in Finland, emigrated also to Sweden;
4. Welsh Kale, in Wales;
5. Romanichal, in the United Kingdom, emigrated also to the United States and Australia;
6. Sinti, in German-speaking areas of Europe and some neighboring countries;
7. Manush, in French-speaking areas of Western Europe;
8. Romanisæl, in Sweden and Norway.

Among Romanies there are further internal differentiations, like Bashaldé; Churari; Luri; Ungaritza; Lovari (Lovara) from Hungary; Machvaya (Machavaya, Machwaya, or Macwaia) from Serbia; Romungro (Modyar or Modgar) from Hungary and neighbouring Carpathian countries; Erlides (also Yerlii or Arli); Xoraxai (Horahane) from Greece/Turkey; Boyash (Lingurari, Ludar, Ludari, Rudari, or Zlătari) from Romanian words for various crafts: Lingurari (spoon makers) Rudari (wood crafters or miners, i.e. "băieşi" (miners); the semantic overlapping occurring due to the homophony of two different notions: in Serbian, ruda "ore", hence rudar "miner," and ruda "stick, staff, rod, bar, pole" (in Hungarian rúd, and in Romanian rudă, lemma no. 2); Zlătari/Aurari (goldsmiths); Ursari (bear-trainers; in Romanian urs "bear"); Argintari (silversmiths); Florari (florists); Ciurari (sieve makers, hence the Churari above), and Lăutari (musicians).

Some groups which are commonly thought of as Romani, either by surrounding populations or by Romani groups, do not consider themselves to be Romani. This applies to the Balkan Egyptians and the Ashkali.

Another people who may or may not identify themselves as Roma(ni) are the Quinqui or Quinquins of northern Spain and southern France. The Quinquins are of mysterious origins, although the namesake Mercheros hint of their possible Moorish Spanish ethnoancestral origins, therefore some may contend they are Moors in origin. Much of Spain was under Islamic Rule by the Moors until the Spanish Inquisition eradicated the Moors and Islam in the Iberian peninsula by the late 14th and 15th centuries.