Dom People - Culture

Culture

They have an oral tradition and express their culture and history through music, poetry and dance. Initially it was considered that they are a branch of the Romani people, but recent studies of the Domari language suggest that they departed earlier from the Indian subcontinent, probably around the 6th century. The world wide used name for Gypsies to identify themselves was term “Rrom”, which in Romani language means a man. The words Rom, Dom and Lom was used to describe Romani people that split in 6th century. Several tribes moved forward into Western Europe and were called Rom, while the ones that remained in Persia and Turkey were called Dom.

Among the various Domari subgroups, the Ghawazi are the most famous for their dancing and music. The Ghawazi dancers have been associated with the development of the Egyptian raqs sharqi style which ultimately gave rise to Western schools of belly dance.