The Romani Hindu Faith/Dharma, Culture & History

Debunking the Myth of Israelite Origins for the Roma: A Cultural and Ritual Comparison Some Roma communities have started to claim the Israelite origins, a narrative possibly born from shared experiences of diaspora and persecution or as a strategy to gain acceptance in Christian Europe or as a means to break with India which is presented in the European or the Western media as a backward country. However, a close comparison of Roma and Jewish cultural practices, particularly around ritual cleanness and chastity laws, reveals stark differences, firmly rooting Roma identity in the Indian Subcontinent’s Ḍom heritage rather than Israelite traditions. 1. Origins and Historical Context Roma: Linguistic, genetic, and cultural evidence traces Roma origins to the Ḍom people of India (among other Indian People), who migrated westward between 525–1000 CE. The Romani language derives from Sanskrit and Prakrit, and genetic studies show significant AASI (Ancient Ancestral South Indian) ancestry, c...

Introduction The Roma people have a complex social hierarchy that traces its roots to the Indian subcontinent. This system is characterized by a nuanced division of tribes, clans, and castes, which mirrors the Indian Varna, Jāti and Gotra systems. These castes are divided into ritually clean ones and ritually unclean ones. Note: We don't have a word "caste", same as Indians don't have this word. Some Romani tribes alone are of one caste, some tribes have various castes and in some tribes are only clans. Concepts of Varna, Jati, and Gotra (I will explain the categories more in this article) Varna : The fourfold classification in the ancient Indian texts (Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya, and Shudra) that is idealized and represents broad occupational categories. However, Varna often does not align neatly with the realities of regional and caste-specific social systems. Jati : Refers to caste or sub-caste. Jatis are endogamous groups that typically have specific occupations,...

Introduction   As I am arguing with people, especially among the Roma who strongly believe the beliefs which were taught to them by the Non-Roma, I must make this post, yet further reflecting current Romani beliefs within Christianity and compare them yet more with the Dharmic beliefs. These contemporary beliefs are based on real-life experiences, Paramisa (tale stories) and yet more, as well I will provide you with the beliefs of the Church (Catholic in particular, as I am from a country with Catholic majority - if you don't count "Somethingists", Believers without organisation and hard-die Atheists). Jesus Christ & Christian Teachings + logic behind my claim In one group on the Social Platform - Facebook I stated that " Jesus died 2000 years ago ", which is true, if we follow Christian Christologist theological doctrine; Hypostatic Union (which is about the dual nature of Jesus Christ), i.e. Jesus Christ being both fully human and fully divine. In Christi...

SOCIAL STRUCTURE (example from original social structure from among the Roma in Slovakia): Ethnicity/Nation: Roma Tribe: Servika/Kherutna/Slovačika Roma (I'll later refer to this tribe as 'Servika Roma' only, as it is oldest name of this tribe) Clan: Clans within a tribe, very similar to Indian Gotra Caste (we don't use this word): there are often various castes within a tribe, in India it is known as a  Jāti. The castes among the Roma are divided into the Ritually Clean and Ritually Unclean castes. NOTE:  Social structure within other Romani tribes (including the tribes which live in other countries than Slovakia) looks little bit differently, as often other tribes are more like castes and have elevated importance of clans. For example the Lovári tribe who belong to the Vlax Roma super-tribe has a lot clans but no castes as they are a caste themselves, these clans have various level of importance and prestige. The Lovári are the Traders who traditionally were tradin...

ROMA OLD BELIEFS (more detailed + what I found in recent times from among the narrations of the elders) DEVEL/DEVLA/DEL/DEVL/DEIL This word simply means "God". But Romani views of this entity were originally (and partly still are) same like of the Param Brahman, also called Nirguna Brahman, i.e. entity which is beyond all descriptions and conceptualisations, it is described as a formlessness that eternally pervades everything, everywhere in the universe and what is beyond, and is unchangeable. Closest Christian approximation to this concept are the Father or yet better the Holy Ghost, but it seems that the Roma never understood the difference between the Father and the Holy Ghost, which simply shows that it was beyond Romani concepts and that we were Christianised. But also this word may be used for any personalised God, as we back in the Indian Subcontinent either followed only one sect within Dharma or simply over time came simplification with losing concepts (also some of ...

Among the Roma People you may often hear that some Roma are degeša. What it means? Word "degeš" is original Aryan word, to call someone who got ritually "tainted". Basically, as a degeš is seen someone who does something ritually unclean. Be it work, cooking style, behaviour or eating ritually unclean things. Work As you may know, among the Roma existed various castes which originate in India. For example the musicians, blacksmiths (the blacksmiths worked same as in India, sitting), adobe throwers, sieve-makers, bear-leaders, acrobats, buy-sell traders and before coming to Europe snake-leaders. (Those are few I named) Ritually upper castes were these which worked "with head" than with hands, and if hands depended what work they did. For example the traders and musicians are ritually highest castes, while adobe-throwers one of lowest. Blacksmiths are intermediate. There were ritually totally unclean jobs, which included work as farmers, as digging in the gr...