Why are Romani people called ‘Roma’ if we’re not from Rome? | Romani history by a Romani person

[@EM38101]

My mom got invited to a Romani wedding and she is still talking about how fun it was two weeks later

[@andikasic4793]

You are a bright young man. Love being educated about your culture. Much love from a Hungarian-Romanian in Arizona.

[@florida.florian]

Wow this took forever to upload, but here it is! I’ve received a lot of confusion of Romani vs Romanian or Rome and why why we are named that in my comments and have observed a lot of misinformation about this even from lawmakers so I thought it would be best to set the record straight and create a comprehensive video explanation on all the questions I receive about our native name, I hope y’all enjoyed! :)

[@charlyc7888]

Thank you for your video and your efforts. I still have one question: so in history classes usually the term roma and sinti is tossed into the room and if you google only detailed information about the Roma is available, but I would be interested to know where the sinti come from?

[@lighthouse7775]

ExcelenT video. Even The TRadiTional cloThing, make-up and mane awesome. This video geTs a 9.98 ouT of 10. 👏-DR.EROS👩🏾‍⚕️💖

[@florida.florian]

@@charlyc7888 Sinti is a subgroup of Romani people, the reason Roma and Sinti is talked about separately in Germany is to denote the cultural differences between the Sinti who were the first Romani people in the German cultural sphere and the Roma subgroups who came later.

[@jai4096]

I don't know but being an Indian I find the name Sinti very similar to Sindhi which even today in India the diaspora who have settled in India post partition from Sindh region of Pakistan are called as Sindhi.. As per Roma-ni... It is very common the people who are from Sindh have their surnames ending with "ni"... Adva-ni, Natha-ni.. So I have a feeling your historical linkage has some connection with Sindh region of Pakistan. Before Pakistan was created it was India so Romani have the same Indian ethnicity. I was more inquisitive to understand why are there same kind of group like Kalbelias still in India specially in Rajasthan are treated in the same way even today the way Romani's have been treated in Europe and other countries.

[@mahendradaga1845]

@@florida.florian "Ram" in Rajastani means to wander eg Ramta Jogi means Wandering ascetic.The word Roma might have surely originated from it.

[@reyhaakdeniz7765]

Dear Florian, your work has truly educated me and increased my appreciation and fascination for your wonderful heritage. I’m Turkish and the Roma minority has contributed so much to Turkey, their music and dances are widely cherished! Knowing my country’s extremely oppressive and nationalistic background, there is no doubt I have way more learning to do about the hardships the Romani communities have faced and are still facing in Turkey . Thank you for inspiring me to do so!❤

[@japjeetmehton9921]

I didn’t know Roma had a tradition of keeping long hair. Keeping long hair is important in Sikhism as well, which is a religion which originated in Punjab. It is also important in some traditions in Hinduism. It’s crazy how much culture and traditions the Roma have preserved. 😅

[@QuestionsAnswerz]

That tradition is unfortunately gone, because religion like Islam or Christianity has made us cut our hair short and also our beards. Basically we have become very westernized and the women too. It’s very rare to see a young romani girl with a headscarf and a colorful dress anymore. I guess it’s not fashionable anymore all we have now is our tradition in weddings even those traditions are fading away..

[@meeoo7856]

@@QuestionsAnswerzmaybe clean shave it’s just part of western culture, not Christian? And how come that muslims hate beards?

[@QuestionsAnswerz]

@@meeoo7856 It’s too long and must be maintained.

[@meeoo7856]

@@QuestionsAnswerz clean shave was a thing in Age of Englinhtment

[@QuestionsAnswerz]

@Lorei230 Not anymore, most roma have become westernized having sex before marriage and having boyfriend/girlfriends even having children before marriage. Time has changed

[@TK-Reikon]

As a linguist Ive neen waiting for a video like this! Thank you for clearing up some misconceptions for us and helping us learn more from tour people!

[@lianagheorma92]

I feel like you would make a great Linguist or Historian. I seriously enjoy listening to your videos!

[@smallcryingchild9322]

Bless you for educating. So many historians speaking on romani people arent even romani. You are a bright star of hope.

[@Bildgesmythe]

So true! I realize everything I knew was wrong!

[@figimah227]

Thank you for clearing this up! I'm American but my family is from Andalusia, and I was misinformed by my family that flamenco was created by Romanian immigrants who faced oppression. I can't even recount how much misinformation I've been fed about Romani people... When I was a teenager, my high school had a "culture" day where we dressed according to our heritage. Not knowing any better, I told my mom that I wanted to dress as a "gypsy", to which she said my grandmother would frown upon me dressing like that. I simply just appreciated Romani fashion, and didn't understand that I was perpetuating a stereotype. When I told her I could dress as a flamenco dancer instead, she thought it was a great idea. It's terrible that Spain dehumanizes and degrades the Roma yet claims the art and music created from that oppression as a part of Spanish culture. Your videos have helped illuminate all the misinformation I had and now I can stop others from spreading ignorance about the Roma. I feel so lucky to have encountered Romani music, art, and culture in my life. ❤

[@KiwiLuvsPieOfficial]

As a southeast Asian (from California), I love hearing about other cultures from the southern parts of Asia 😊 your channel is always fascinating, and educating. Thank you for bringing light on Romani people ❤❤

[@jeanellesmith7783]

This video was amazing. You crammed in a miniature college course. I learned so much. It's eye-opening and I didn't know I had so many misconceptions. I love watching your videos; they're always so interesting. Thank you.

[@princeesharon6086]

It's an informational video Florian. God bless all the Romani people.

[@ana_rmn]

❤

[@meeoo7856]

They already blessed, doing honest work

[@amitk79]

Nice series. I am from India, have heard the word 'roomani' when I was a kid in Indian movies or from my elders. It generally meant to describe someone who is in his own world or fun loving or socially different from normal.

[@amitk79]

And I heard roomani .. like 2 O's instead of romani with one O. Also I speak Sindhi and Hindi.

[@Crazysonicccc]

Sounds about right lol

[@nova4476]

I appreciate you teaching us all this information. I hope this video reaches a lot of people!!

[@crispyy143]

I'm happy to have found this channel and learn about my culture. My maternal grandmother was born in a covered wagon and spoke broken English. I never met her, but I got to meet her sister (my great aunt). My mom only remembers certain things, so this is special to me to be able to learn about my culture. I try to educate people so this will be helpful!

[@mmps18]

Thank you!! I originally thought Romani people were from Romania... now I can share this information with others who were similarly ignorant.

[@DisneyFanatic2364]

While a great number of them live in Romania, it's important to remember that Romanian is a nationality and Romani is an ethnicity. Romani can live anywhere.

[@Bangle9]

Love your videos! I encountered Roma in Spain long ago. The music and dance spoke directly to my heart. Could you do some videos on the music similarities between Roma systems and Indian ragas? I remember watching a video about 10 years ago about a world music festival where Roma and Indian musicians remarked on how compatible their music systems were-that they had some of the same ragas.

[@irondisulfide7480]

5:49 that suffix "e" basically comes from Hindi and not sanskrit, like you gave the example of purana→ purane/purani, in this case when you add the suffix "e" to a word it denotes the feminine form of that word, few more examples are: naya(masculine word for new)→ naye/nayi(feminine form/word for new) ; naukar→naukrani(hindi word for servant) ; pati→patnee ; ladka→ladkee. Although hindi has originated from Sanskrit, but the grammar or grammatical rules differ (in few cases not all) in these two languages.

[@ferencfarkas2729]

Yes but the Hindu language originated from Sanskrit .. our Romanes language is of Sanskrit origin as well .. and we originated in India and we were Hindu soldier cast .. so it makes perfect sense 😊❤ ..

[@NoRockinMansLand]

I'm all the way from the horn of Africa (Oromo region) but I truly respect and sympathise with the struggles of the Romani people! I can't believe I didn't know anything about the history, I didn't even know the other term used was considered a slur until yesterday. Your message are reaching far and wide and I'm happy to see it🙌🏾

[@hekateon.ioannis.lasorsa]

I was literally asking myself this kind of question to myself today! Thank you for sharing!!

[@mooniemus48]

florian. i literally love everything you do. thank you for this. as from other people who refuse to be colonized i have learned so much from you. hopefully one day our people will see peace and be seen as everyone else. -your palestinian sister

[@anaratumu2040]

Love your channel, Florian. I'm fascinated.

[@chuangtzuandstuff]

I'm so glad I found your channel. As someone who sometimes struggles with sensory processing, your tone and pacing are so easy for me to follow. Not to mention I'm learning so much, your content is awesome. Keep up the great work!

[@IsaidImlistening]

I've watched many of your shorts and videos. It's so refreshing to hear facts and history from within the Romany people, not from outsiders. Big Fat etc... Booooo!

[@woodmason]

Florian, thank you, I have learned very much from your presentations🎉

[@-kyori-8913]

Ever since i found your channel i've been understanding more and more the romani people, since i was a child i only knew the Roma as wanderers/gitanos who had no home, that they were thiefs or scammers, but not a single person ever told me that they were people who had to constantly fight and still do to this day only for a right to exist Your videos are truly a blessing for educating and increasing the appreciation of the Romani Culture and story

[@miketacos9034]

Can't wait for more long-form videos!

[@Maru-et6of]

thank you so much for putting in the effort to educate people! your videos are so fascinating!

[@liviathepotato7180]

I really liked this video, I really like learning about other cultures and I think that spreading information is very important!

[@Filbi]

This was very educational, thank you

[@Circus_Diabolique]

I'm digging this channel. I'd love to see an in depth video on how Romani culture is practiced and preserved today. Especially when it comes to food, cause I'm a glutton.

[@theactorjohnlarroquette]

so crazy the youtube premium preroll ad rn has roma jazz music and it played right after i finished the video. love your content!

[@Bookwormtalksabout]

Thank you very much for making videos! I love learning about different cultures and how I can be a better ally. Bless you and may wonderful things come your way! ❤️

[@PaulKapow]

I am Munda. I was born in Eastern India and grew up in the USA 🪘 Love your videos, Florian.

[@amypreem5225]

Very informative video. Pls tell & show us more about Romani cuisine.

[@GushieSingh]

Florian, if you ever come to Ohio, as a Punjabi man, Id love to take you you to dinner and a beer. really appreciate you the work you are doing.

[@aaajjj9632]

Before Your Ohio, he has promised he will come to my Rajasthan india where I plan to treat him to Rajasthani Dal Baati along with KerSangri and Mango lassi to wash it down.

[@phillipgets3417]

Love to see Romas to know their history, love from India ❤️

[@900Gwen]

yet another fantastic topic articulated brilliantly mughough prawl!💙♥️💚

[@menak8870]

Another great and informative video. Really appreciate you taking time and care to educate the masses ❤

[@waverider8549]

I didn't know that the word "Tsigan" was derogatory until Florian. Just noticed that the Roma didn't like when it was being used to describe them.

[@TheMontclef88]

Thank you for these fantastic lessons! They’re well-paced, thoughtfully put together and have taught me a lot of new things. Grateful for the work you’re doing, and have shared your channel info with others :)

[@weltschmerz0]

that was insightful! I guess this is one of the most underrepresented communities. Looking forward to seeing new videos. Keep it up

[@TomHutchinson5]

Thank you. I'm genuinely grateful to become less ignorant. I admire how knowledgeable and proud you are.

[@pyenygren2299]

Language is fun and important. Thank you for a good lesson.

[@Filbi]

btw for those curious, the name of the country Romania came from Italians in the Renaissance who recognized that their language was related to Italian (they are both Romance or Latin languages), therefore they had a common origin in the Roman Empire. before that I believe Romanians were mostly known as Wallachians.

[@DeccanPS]

Lovely video. Very good information❤

[@joegroves2517]

Really great grammatical explanation. I'm learning a lot from your videos, thank you!

[@NovikNikolovic]

As far as exonyms go, I'd say "tsigan" is the worst. It stems from Greek "atsigani", which means "heathen". While "gypsy" "gitano" stems from "Egyptian" which is a misconception, and became a slur in the way it was used, "tsigan" stems directly from demonizing the Roma who were not yet Christian. The Byzantines gave them this term when they saw them migrate to Europe through their land in Anatolia.

[@TripleA_Battery]

Thanks to your comment, I’ve just discovered that the word my parents use in German when talking about Roma comes from the same root. I feel informed and saddened

[@NovikNikolovic]

@@TripleA_Battery let me guess, in German it's "Zigeuner"?

[@TripleA_Battery]

@@NovikNikolovic yeah :/

[@sukanyaiyer8776]

What can we do to help the Roma people in the oresent day? How do the people ikprove their living conditions? I wish more of them would get educated and get better jobs. Lots and lots of love from India, hope the discrimination isnt as bad these days

[@florida.florian]

Donate to Romani humanitarian organizations such as the European Roma Rights Centre, educate yourself and others and the issues facing Roma to this day, and boost Romani activists and educators who speak on these issues!

[@ShIsh810]

@@florida.florian Thank you Florian for all the work you are doing and the love you put into it. Wish a lot of growth to your channel. Is very educative for everyone. My opinion on this, apart for what Florian said: if we continue to just consume information, consume data… stay in the surface… it will just help yourself. Understanding is not loving people. It can reduce them to a mere study case and that’s dangerous. In order to help other people we have to make things for real. Go outside, meet real people. You could befriend people your age. See what’s their reality in your surroundings and act in the way you would with a friend. Not as a savior but as a friend or a good neighbor. This helps ending the exotization and the objectification of people. Thank you very much and keep it up 👍🏽

[@milaliah]

thank you for the roma vs romani distinction! i didnt know i was using the word wrong !!!

[@carlobrayda2951]

Thank you for educating us Florian. You are doing a great job.

[@Drega001]

Thanks for making your channel. I've been so curious about Roma but I don't get a lot of opportunities and the times I did I was in England (they're not very fond of you guys) and New England (same story), so a lot of people were standoffish.

[@coriknight9073]

Yeah, there's a LOT of racism out here in California against them as well. It's a blessing to learn what's true after growing up hearing falsehoods. Thank you, Florian!

[@andrasurmos4339]

the fact that words from Vedic Sanskrit remained in the Roma language can be verified by anyone. it is also a fact that the Aryans themselves started to renew the language, so it spread and took shape in all kingdoms in India. It is an Indo-Aryan language, so it resembles all languages ​​derived from Sanskrit (Latin, etc.), but so far it looks like the dialect of Rajasthan, and there also the people of Phitviraj Chauhan who left India around 1000-1050.

[@mahendradaga1845]

The people didn't leave,they were forcibly taken by Islamic invaders

[@mahendradaga1845]

@@AWOL401 REALLY??? Igneous derived from Aagneya both meaning 🔥..list is endless

[@schmitzkatzewupper]

Thank you for your effort to educate us .. again great video

[@caseycox10]

Thank you for teaching. For sharing knowledge. For that is how we can learn and do better. Thank you 🙏

[@richardsimonian6506]

Hi Florian, thank you for this insight and I look forward to your next fascinating video with excitement

[@hache9626]

Very informative and well put! In Spain people use the term "calé" sometimes to refer to roma people and "caló" for the language, i wonder where that comes from 🤔

[@waverider8549]

I'm not sure how it came to be but "cale" means "black".

[@jessieeee]

Florian talks about it in 07:35. It's also mentioned in earlier videos... it comes from "kale", which means "dark skinned" in Indic languages

[@sealedtugboat9965]

Massively underrated video.

[@minecraftbhau3802]

The origin part that you have covered is absolutely correct that the romani people are Rajasthani people of india closely related to the word in india "banjaran" low caste of travelling, musicians and dancers people that is locally called "banjaran" in india. This is correct because i am from India.

[@vincentsmith7437]

Excellent explanation Florian. The western tribes tend to say Rokkav, Vrakav, whereas the Eastern tribes use Dav duma. Vraka is a Sanskrit term for spiritual language so that once again emphasises our roots in India. Western Romani end theirwords in pen whereas eastern Romani use the Greek mos ending. I’ve never ever heard a single Welsh Romani refer to his people as Kale and I know hundreds of them ! I 8:00 s 8:00 think experts have resurrected the term from the recordings of the Wood family who were the last speakers of the Romany language in the UK. Also no Romanichal pronounces the word like that. It’s Rumnichal. It’s easy to spot pretenders in the uk because they pronounce things too correctly and don’t take into account the evolution of the language. Great channel ❤

[@AnandDharwar]

Vraka in Sanskrit means a wolf. Vrakodara was a name of Bheema, indicating a person with hunger like that of a wolf

[@GabrielaHernandez-ii4iy]

Very interesting, thanks to share this 💯 Greetings from México 🇲🇽😊💐

[@Aven-Sharma1991]

Hello brother. Te aven baxtale Ven. Another nice video man. Bro, it’s good that we are not descended from the west. Ancient India is a very old civilisation and in fact india was the one who influenced a lot of the world.

[@skailargaming366]

Thanks for video tha question was keeping up at night lately

[@Factz_Up]

Love u man, ur long lost brother from INDIA. Luv ur content and the way u explained it. I praise how u said purani and romani telling the -ni adjective of mother sanskrit. I am surprised that y'all dude. How preserved ur language even in slavery time just like us Hindustani. Actually we both suffered through European criticism they're insanely mad seriously I would like to learn Roman

[@amethyst4990]

Your videos are one of my fsvorite channels on youtube

[@rjmckenzie4706]

These videos are so awesome, I am so happy that you broke it down because whenever I type in the word Romani on google it would give me the nation Romania or Rome which confused me because but I understand now why the reason it happened. Florian keep doing what you are doing, I am curios are you going to talk about the cultural exchange of Black people and Romani people in your videos ?

[@florida.florian]

I have talked a lot about it in my shorts and tiktoks!

[@rjmckenzie4706]

@@florida.florian cool cant wait to see more

[@jullainehardinge8811]

Really good! Thanks so much for the history lesson on your people. Very informative. I learned something new today.

[@chloecarrera2136]

I am so glad I found your channel and videos!

[@joeanderson8839]

Thank you for the explanation.

[@constantinebodien1887]

I would like to see a video about ancient Romani stories such as the creation of the world and how Romani tales relate to stories in Vedic India.

[@OtakuGenx]

Thank you so much for your videos and shorts. I have learned so much about your culture and it is terrific!!!

[@Moony.911]

V.nice information,love from a sindhi

[@raluca3915]

I loved you from TikTok, so happy to see you here ❤

[@user-cz9es8nn2l]

In England, we spell it as Romany - said: Ro-man-ee

[@austriasalzburg]

Thanks for this very informative video! 👍

[@zuzannakluk-zajkowska3863]

as a non-romani person I am very interested in e-learning about your culture, in a way I feel drawn to it. I would love to get inspired by the culture and/or believes in my creative work, but at the same time to do it justice. I know it is a closed practice and I am not going to find full info and context to it all, but maybe you could shed some light on what to avoid when doing research? Maybe you could recommend some authors/books if there are any out there? Any tip would be very appreciated

[@jamesstansfield917]

I love your content! I would love to learn more about Romani music and language. ❤

[@chreif]

you're a star Florian. well done!

[@johnnyrichards77]

Brazil had a president of Czech Roma descent (Juscelino Kubitschek). This guy led the movement to build our capital, Brasilia.

[@mritchie85]

Very interesting, thank you Florian!

[@bijoydasudiya]

Welcome, brother. An Odiya speaking Bengali from India. You may be from Rajasthan, Haryana or Punjab. You look like a native Punjabi.😊

[@masudakhan4799]

Absolutely love your videos. Keep the videos coming!

[@gabrielbass7277]

My best friend is American Romani of the British Roma, they call themselves and their dialect Romanichal. Her family and a lot of others worked as part of traveling carnivals for generations, basically maintaining a nomadic lifestyle until just a generation or two ago for her family. She taught me a few words, basically the Romanichal slang words in British English like mush, minge (ha) djook for dog (also her uncle's nickname) but wouldn't tell me much more, which stands out to me given that her family is more assimilated into American culture than some others, but certain taboos around language and practices of keeping certain things "clean" (iykyk) persist. I think it would be interesting to see a video on words outsiders use that come from the Romani dialects. Another interesting, but probably fraught, topic would be about how sometimes Roma families will have children who are much lighter skinned/pass for white. Both my friend and her dad wouldn't be seen as different by people who don't know and her dad's parents, all her cousins, and to some extent her siblings, all from the same parents are not white. She told me that just happens sometimes because of some genetic thing but that back in the day people would think Roma were kidnapping babies, which led to some not chill stuff happening. One other thing, at least according to my friend's dad, who is a non-pc boomer, there is some enmity between Romanichal and Irish travellers/tinkers, who he calls "mumpers" which is almost certainly not a very nice word. Also his generation has beef with Turks? Not sure what has something to do with Romani diaspora experience and what's just old guy prejudice tbh.

[@RabidDisposition]

The best example you got are carnies 🤦🏽‍♂️

[@gabrielbass7277]

@@RabidDisposition what's wrong with being a carnival worker? That's literally their family business.

[@RabidDisposition]

@@gabrielbass7277 I guess carnivals were great if you get passed the animal cruelty and little person abuse lol

[@gabrielbass7277]

@@RabidDisposition carnivals≠circus

[@gabrielbass7277]

@@RabidDisposition also 99% of what carnivals are now is just county fairs with games, rides, and food trucks. It's not the 1900s anymore

[@sardarcantu7960]

I may be late because I didn't notice you have 100K+ subscribers and the verification mark- Congratulations ! Felicitări😁

[@sjay3089]

This channel is f****g gold (pardon my French) have been long waiting for this channel. Please more videos on the language.

[@TheJS2010]

Brilliant and straightforward way to explain your people I feel more educated unless ignorant.

[@ahlawatabhishek]

Doing great work 👍 more power to you bro 💪❤️

[@lottaraatikainen3942]

Thank you! I've been wondering about the difference between the words Roma and Romani. Now I know!

[@katewalchle6704]

I had no idea! Thank you so much for your dedicated, hard work to educate people like myself, as I was completely ignorant of this history.

[@luanita307]

Please don't hate me for such superficial comment but Damn look at how his face gloooows it's almost like I am seeing a guide on how to use shadow and lights I absolutely love it

[@lakshmikesavan5284]

My daughter name is Roma which is a beautiful name with a rich cultural history.

[@theotherotter]

I am glad that you covered this topic. I found always interesting then such coincidence happens when same word is found in unrelated settings and diferent parts of the world. When i was studying in moldova we were using rrom/rroma with 2 rr but i saw that in other places ppl use just one r interesting way

[@abbydavis1939]

Absolutely fascinating!

[@myristicanz]

Such fascinating and rich heritage, I love learning about it from you a direct source.

[@damianmccoy6128]

I’m so happy I’ve found your channel as I’m learning a great deal of interesting information. Thank you!

[@sjay3089]

Finally a channel about Roma people. I have been waiting for long because they fascinate me so much. I know you did a video on Romani language but I’d like more videos with some additional (written ) examples so I could compare with my language (Hindi)

[@savannahs8914]

Thank you for this video! I've always been stuck on the Roma vs. Romani thing

[@tessagunputh8972]

So interesting and makes me realise your special history

[@banothbasha1439]

Romani and banjara community in India have so many similarities. This community is a nomads , they are mostly blacksmith, musicians and traders who traded in ancient times Both dressing style is 90%same Pray kalli goddess

[@spscrt]

Link wikipedia (kalli) please

[@mattconnor1438]

I see you slowly becoming the voice for roma people, you should make a video about curent proplems that roma people are going through especially kids, one of my good friends is a rom that was abandoned by his family(and also his younger brother), but was adopted by a family that cared for him and became a successful man despite his past, the foster homes are filled with roma kids and a lot of them turn to drugs or other ways to escape their suffering, something needs to be done in Romania but our liders are very corrupt