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The Romani people in Spain are generally known as Gitanos. Spanish Romanies belong to the Iberian Kale Romani group with smaller populations in Portugal and southern France. They tend to speak Caló which is basically Andalusian Spanish with a large number of Romani loan words. Estimates of the Spanish Romani population fluctuate between 600,000 and 1,500,000,[1] with the Spanish government estimating a number between 650,000 and 700,000.[1] The Erromintxela of the Basque Country are also Romani but see themselves as separate from the Caló-speaking Romani in Spain.[2]
[edit] HistoryMain article: History of the Romani people It is now generally accepted that the Romani people migrated out of the Sindh, Rajasthan and Punjab regions of the Indian subcontinent into Europe as early as the eleventh century. Although this is true, the music and style of life of the Gitanos was highly influenced on reaching the land of Al-Andalus through North Africa. Flamenco, the cultural basis of the Gitanos, is a mixture of Moorish, Arabic and Sephardic Jewish influences, with the vivid and pure artistry of the Gitano dance of Flamenco and depicted style which basically can't be duplicated by any of the three basis groups. Although Flamenco is believed by many gachos(non-gitanos) to be purely the "Espectaculo Flamenco" or "Spectacular Flamenco", in reality the "Zapateo" or intense foot tap is only done in the "Spectaculars" while at "Juergas"(gypsy parties) Flamenco is much more reserved in its form. (It is said by many gypsies that one can not fully understand or comprehend flamenco unless you have gotten drunk with the artists at these juergas at least eight-hundred times) While in most of Europe the Romani people arrived from Asia through Eastern Europe, there are records of their having arrived in Spain from Northern Africa, as early as 1425 and in Barcelona and Zaragoza, in particular, by 1447. At first they were well received and were even accorded official protection by many local authorities,[citation needed] but by 1492 the first anti-Romani law was passed in Spain.[citation needed] Spanish Romanies are linked to Flamenco and have contributed a great deal to this Andalusian musical art. According to Blas Infante, in his book Orígenes de lo flamenco y secreto del cante jondo, etymologically, the word Flamenco may derive from Andalusian Arabic fellah mengu, "Escapee Peasant". Infante connects the huge amount of Muslim Andalusians who decided to stay and mix with the Romani newcomers instead of abandoning their lands because of their religious beliefs (Moriscos).   After the Castilian reconquest of Andalusia, the Reconquista, most of the land was expropriated and given to warlords and mercenaries who had helped the Castilian kings enterprise against Al-Andalus. When the Spanish Crown later ordered the expulsion or forceful conversion of the Andalusian Moors, many of them took refuge among the Roma, becoming "fellah mengu" in order to avoid persecution, or forced deportation. In 1492 the Romanies were included too in the list of peoples to be assimilated or driven out. For about 300 years, Romanies were subject to a number of laws and policies designed to eliminate them from Spain as an identifiable group: Romani settlements were broken up and the residents dispersed; sometimes, Romanies were even required to marry non-Roma; they were denied their language and rituals as well as being excluded from public office and from guild membership.[citation needed] The sedentary population (payos, "Gadjos") saw them as both dangerous, accusing them of laziness, stealing and kidnapping children, bringing novelties from the outer world, having magical powers of palmistry and living freely and carelessly. During the Spanish Civil War, many Romani Catholics were murdered by Republican Forces, some being recognised as martyrs and saints by Pope Benedict XVI. Many Romani people who had supported the Republic were killed by Franco's supporters. Under Francisco Franco, Romanies were harassed or simply ignored, although their children were educated, albeit sometimes forcibly. In the post-Franco era, however, Spanish government policy has been much more sympathetic toward them, especially in the area of social welfare and social services.In 1977, the last blatantly anti-Romani laws were removed, promoted by Juan De Dios Rámirez Heredia, the first Romani deputy. Since 1983, for example, the government has operated a special program of Compensatory Education to promote educational rights for the disadvantaged, including those in Romani communities. The challenge will be to devise programs that bring the Romani population into the mainstream of the country's economic and political life without eroding the group's distinctive cultural and linguistic heritage. At the same time, many Spanish Romanies have found consolation to their lives in Evangelic Christianity, where the church has incorporated Flamenco in its worship. [edit] ReligionGitanos were traditionally Roman Catholics who participate in four of the church's sacraments (baptism, marriage, confirmation, and extreme unction), but they are not assiduous churchgoers. They rarely go to folk healers, and they participate fully in Spain's state-supported medical system. Gitanos have a special involvement with recently dead kin, visit their graves frequently, and spend a great deal more money than non-Gitanos of equivalent economic classes in adorning grave sites. At present, more than a half of all Gitanos have joined the Evangelical faith.[3] This fact has contributed to a better social status and cultural development.[citation needed] The Romani Evangelical Assembly is the only religious institution entirely led and composed by Roma. [edit] MarriageThe traditional Spanish Romani place a high value on the extended family. Virginity is essential in unmarried women. Both men and women often marry young. A traditional "gitano" wedding requires a "pedimiento" (similar to an engagement party) followed by the "casamiento" (wedding ceremony), where "el yeli" must be sung to the bride for giving her honor to her husband (proven by the ritual of the "pañuelo"). In the pañuelo ritual, a group consisting of an "ajuntaora" (an elder woman who is well respected in the family), along with the older aunts and elder woman of the family, take the bride into a separate room during the wedding and then examine her to ascertain that she is a virgin. The "ajuntaora" is the one who practices the ritual on the bride as the other woman watch as witnesses that the bride is truly virgin. The cloth ("pañuelo") must have three rose petals on it and then, the women come out of the room and sing "el yeli" to the couple. During this, the men at the wedding rip their shirts and lift the wife onto their shoulders and do the same with the husband, as they sing "el yeli" to them. Weddings can last very long; up to three days is usual in the Gitano culture. At weddings, "gitanos" invite everyone and anyone that they know of (especially other gitanos). On some occasions "payos" ("gadjos") may attend as well, especially now in modern days, although this is not common. Through the night, many "bulerías" are danced and especially sung and today, "rumba gitana" or "rumba flamenca" are a usual party music fixture. [edit] Groups
Spanish Romanies are called gitanos. In the late 1980s, the gitanos lived predominantly in southern Spain. Gitanos is a Spanish name, in southern France they are known as Gitans or more generally Tsiganes (includes the other French Roma) and in Portugal they are known as Ciganos. Similarly to the English word Gypsy, the name Gitano comes from the old Spanish word Egiptano (Egyptian), because in past centuries it was thought their origins were in the country of Egypt. After losing their original Romani language, they used Caló, a jargon with Spanish grammar and some Romani vocabulary . "Caló" means "dark" in Caló and the Caló word for "Gitanos" is calé, also "the dark ones". Cañí[5] is another Caló word for "Gitano". Caló is one of the influences of later Germanía and modern Spanish slang. There is also a current trend of migration of Romanian, Slovak and Muslim Moroccan Romanies into the country. As well there is a relevant number of them in Latin America who migrated during colonial times, many times escaping from the Catholic inquisition. [edit] In LiteratureThe Gitanos in Spanish society have inspired several authors: 
[edit] Famous GitanosFollowing are famous people of Gitano ethnicity or descent:
[edit] Gitano surnamesDue to endogamy, several Spanish surnames are more frequent among the Gitanos[6], though they are not by any means exclusive of them: [edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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