Genetic Lineages Among the Roma (and Sinti): Uncovering Ancient Divisions

THE BIG ERROR & HOW I FIXED IT:

Genetic researchers studying the Roma people often make significant errors in their work. They collect DNA samples based on the countries where Roma live or the tribes they belong to, but this approach mixes up different genetic lineages. This approach risks conflating distinct ancestral lineages that exist within these groups, leading to very inaccurate conclusions.

Why is grouping by country/tribe problematic? Because it assumes these are biologically meaningful categories, when in fact they are socio-cultural or political. Two people from the same Roma tribe in Slovakia might belong to different, long-separated Indian lineages (castes). Grouping them together as if they are one population creates a statistical average that doesn't represent either lineage accurately, producing misleading "mixed" ancestry results.

I fixed the error by my independent research on a population genetics shows that the Roma communities in Europe are not genetically homogeneous. On the contrary, at least three distinct ancestral lineages exist among the Roma and closely related groups. These lineages (most-probably) diverged already in India, prior to the exodus from the Subcontinent, and have remained largely endogamous since then.

THE THREE LINEAGES EXPLAINED:

The genetic structure appears to mirror historical social stratification from the Indian context. My analysis (done with help of the GEDmatch & DNAGENICS) indicates that one lineage shows affinities with populations traditionally associated with the Vaishya Varna & upper Jatis from the Shudra Varna (i.e. the artisanal or trading & service groups). A second, little distinct (often overlapping first) lineage shows connections to other artisanal and service communities (often of the middle to lower Shudra Varna context). A third, and most genetically distant lineage, shows closer genetic proximity to populations such as the Adivasi (Tribal) and Dalit groups.

This genetic evidence highlights invisible boundaries within Roma communities, such as rules about clean and unclean groups, and preferences for marrying within or outside certain lines. It also explains why some studies wrongly associate all Roma with lower Indian castes like Dalits—because they fail to separate these lineages, the third is indeed closer to Dalits, while others to the third are genetically more distant genetically than to some White-European majorities.

Note: Among all the three lineages are as well admixes from the Adivasis and unclear groups like Meghwal or labelled groups only as ethnicities, be it Gujarati, Marathi or Telugu without mentioned "caste" identity.

Note2: There is relatedness between the people from various tribes all across the Europe (or Romani diaspora in general, given the Roma now live as well elsewhere), ignoring the borders and tribes, while perfectly matching the "castes" and clans among the Roma.

EXAMPLES FROM WITHIN THE TRIBES:

One key example involves groups known as Kalé, found in places like the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal), Wales, Scandinavia, and including the Sinti and Manouche, or the Roma of various tribes from Eastern Europe. Even within these communities (speaking about the tribe umbrellas), there are genetic differences. Some individuals share close genetic matches with certain families (even outside their own tribe), while others have only distant connections (even inside their own tribe), which are sometimes even more distant than links to non-Roma European (White) populations. Those with weaker matches to the people of their perceived community (i.e. Tribe) have a different genetic makeup from India, suggesting that caste-like patterns existed there long ago.

Among the Spanish (Iberian) Kalé (or Kalons) I observed endogamy, where some don't intermarry with the Kalons who do first cousin marriage (which some Romani groups consider to be incest) or with those who practice even a real incest (as other ritually unclean groups within other tribes, and open incest here means incestous activities between even brother/sister, son/parent).  There as well exists a limited exogamy, where some Kalons would prefer to marry some ritually clean Roma of other European Roma tribes, rather than those whom they don't marry. This behaviour as well exist among other Roma tribes, but the Kalé often deny that "caste" exists among them, while it exists.

Note: Tribe isn't equal to "caste" here, as there are tribes which encompass various "castes" within, for example my tribe > the Servika Roma. While I must mention, that there are some tribes, which are full-grade "caste", doing same jobs & into these I unfortunately didn't invested time for my research, as it is often harder to differentiate it, if they don't tell me about their background (interesting would be, to see if for example among the Lovári - horse-trader Vlax Roma tribe exist any genetic differences between their clans, as they work as gotra in India & nowadays they don't intermarry much - I speak about the case of Slovakian & partly Hungarian Lovári).

CONCLUSION:

The core issue with much academic research lies in its sampling framework. By grouping samples primarily by contemporary geography or tribe without accounting for these deeper, cross-cutting lineages, researchers inadvertently amalgamate distinct populations. This methodological oversimplification can result in misleading generalisations about the genetic history and social fabric of the Roma people.

A lineage-based approach, rather than a nationality- or tribe-based one, is essential if Roma genetic history is to be understood accurately.

KEY WORDS (not explained in the text already):

• GEDmatch & DNAGENICS: These are third-party tools and companies used by genetic genealogists and researchers. GEDmatch is a website where individuals can upload their raw DNA data (from companies like 23andMe, MyHeritage etc.) to compare it with others, use advanced ancestry calculators, and find genetic relatives. DNAGENICS is a similar platform that provides specialized tools and admixture calculators for deeper population genetic analysis.
• Endogamy: A social practice of marrying only within a specific community, group, or tribe. In a genetic context, long-term endogamy reduces genetic diversity within the group and increases the genetic distance from other groups.
• Exogamy: The opposite of endogamy; the practice of marrying outside one's social group.
• Admix/Admixture: In genetics, this refers to the mixture of ancestry from two or more previously isolated populations.
• Population genetics: A field of genetics that studies genetic variation within and between populations and how this variation changes over time due to migration, endogamy/exogamy, drift, selection, and founder effects.
• Genetic lineage: A genetically distinguishable ancestral line within a population, identified through shared DNA segments and common ancestry. Lineages can persist even when people share language, culture, or group identity.
• Homogeneous (Genetic Homogenity): a population with relatively little internal genetic variation.
• Heterogeneous (Genetic Heterogenity): a population composed of multiple genetically distinct subgroups.
• Varna: The four broad, theoretical social categories of the ancient Hindu text, the Rigveda, often translated as the "caste system." They are, from highest to lowest: Brahmins (priests, scholars), Kshatriyas (warriors, rulers), Vaishyas (traders, agriculturists), and Shudras (laborers, service providers).
• Shudra Varna: One of the four main categories in the ancient Indian Varna system (from Hindu scriptures like the Rigveda). Shudras were traditionally laborers, artisans, farmers, and service providers, positioned below Brahmins (priests), Kshatriyas (warriors), and Vaishyas (merchants). It includes a wide range of Jatis, from upper (e.g., skilled craftsmen) to lower strata.
• Vaishya Varna: The third category in the Indian Varna system, traditionally comprising merchants, traders, agriculturists, and business-oriented groups. They were seen as providers of economic activity, below Brahmins and Kshatriyas but above Shudras, and include various Jatis focused on commerce.
• Jati: Sub-divisions within the broader Indian Varna system, essentially occupational or social castes. Unlike Varna (which are four broad categories), Jatis are more numerous (thousands exist) and region-specific, often tied to specific professions, endogamy rules, and hierarchies.
• Dalit: A term for socio-political communities in India that have historically been subjected to untouchability and exist outside the traditional Varna hierarchy. They are often assigned occupations considered ritually impure.
• Adivasi: A collective term for the various indigenous tribal groups of India, many of whom have distinct cultural and genetic histories separate from the Varna/Jati system.
• Gotra: In Indian Hindu tradition, a gotra is a patrilineal clan or lineage traced back to an ancient sage or ancestor. It functions as a kinship unit to regulate marriages (e.g., prohibiting unions within the same gotra to avoid inbreeding) and is common among castes, influencing social structure.
• Kalé, Sinti, Manouche, Vlax Roma, Servika Roma: These are names of major Romani subgroups (often called "tribes" or "nations" in English). They have distinct dialects, histories, and territorial associations (e.g., Kalé in Iberia and Finland, Sinti in German-speaking areas, while the Vlax Roma are a large subgroup of the Romani people whose dialects were influenced by historical settlement in Romania (Vlach lands). The Lovári are a tribe-"caste" of the Vlax Roma.
• Ritually clean/unclean: This refers to social taboos and hierarchies within Roma communities, often based on concepts of purity similar to those found in the Indian caste system. Certain groups or families may be considered "unclean" by others due to their traditional occupations, habits, or marital practices, and thus be avoided for marriage.
• Genetic proximity / genetic distance: A statistical measure of how closely related two populations are genetically. Smaller distance = closer shared ancestry.
• White-European majorities: Mainstream European populations without recent Roma ancestry, used here as a comparative genetic reference group.
• Sampling framework: The method by which individuals are selected for genetic studies. Poor frameworks (e.g., grouping only by country or tribe) can produce misleading results.
• Lineage-based approach: A research strategy that classifies samples according to genetic ancestry clusters rather than modern geography, ethnicity, or tribal labels.