Gypsy is an appellation applied by "outsiders" to a group known among themselves as Romany. As an ethnic group, they seem to have originated in central or western Asia and migrated westward into Europe during the Middle Ages. They have a nomadic culture which emphasizes fierce familial loyalty and a general mistrust of non-Romany, though to be fair, that mistrust was probably caused by the rather shabby treatment they've received over the centuries.

Well, it is not a cult. And it is not a Religion. It is a people, both ethnic and cultural. Arisztid's comments within this question might explain more... http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/576962 "The Rrom came from, or through, India, eventually settling all over the world, including Romania. "Rom" means "man". It is just happenstance that the name "Rromani" and "Romania" are similar."

A WANDERER.. A FAMILY OF WANDERERS UNFAIRLY KNOWN FOR THIER CRIMINAL ACTIVITIES.

~~edited again because the video was redone~~ How about "who is a Gypsy"... moi. Ok, now on to "what is a Gypsy": We are not a lifestyle, we are not even a culture, though we have one. It is a deep, rich, old, and traditional one at that. We are a GENETIC ETHNICITY. "Gypsyness" is not determined by lifestyle or desire. It is carried on our DNA. You cannot become one. You are born one or you are not. Firstly, most of the Gypsies are Rromani or those related to us (Sinti, for example). Others have been tacked on over the years such as the Irish Travelers. "Gypsy" is an umbrella term. It originated because some bright bulb decided that we originated in Egypt. We did not... we came through India about a thousand years ago and the current theory is that we were originally Asian. There are about a million of us in America out of about 300 million residents. Most of us have immense ties to our culture and our families... that is something that comes from within our culture itself. Also, culturally and historically we were nomadic and still are, to a very limited capacity (we were forcibly settled via laws to make us but now many of us would choose to live that way, at least in America). That, in and of itself, creates a mindset and a culture that is different from a culture based on a land mass. It is difficult for scholars to understand a nomadic culture, much less laymen. We have a very distinct culture that cannot really be understood without knowing our history. That is a long, long and convoluted mess. I have answered this more times than I can even remember and, finally, I gave in and wrote a "What is a Gypsy". It is on my IMVU page. I invite you to read it, along with TONS of other stuff about "what" we are and 80 tracks of our music from my personal collection: http://avatars.imvu.com/Arisztid Please view that in firefox if possible. It looks a little funky in IE. Please let it load. I am including a video posted by a friend of mine and that link to my IMVU. The video is written by a British Rrom and focuses more on that line of Rrom (I am EU Rrom)... EU (Eastern Europe) Rrom have a somewhat different history than British Rrom. Our lives are so bad in EU that I am not going to go into it. That would lead me into a two foot long rant. The video focuses on entertainers (basically, those who would get the Gadje attention and be most recognizable), however, there are Rromani politicians, scientists, artists, authors, and even Mother Theresa was Rromani. I heartily suggest you view that video. Here is a link to famous Gypsies: http://www.imninalu.net/famousGypsies.htm Please feel free to ask for clarification or anything else that I did not cover.

I hate to call your people Gypsies, I believe that out of due respect they should be called Romani. That being said I would like you to please illustrate me, I will first explain what I know: 1]In southern Italy especially in Naples & surrounding cities they call themselves Tzigani/Tzingaro/Napulitano or Gypsies, they are mainly responsible for the beautiful architecture, they are a huge and financially powerful community and have made that area very famous for the music festivals, the great music styles, music schools of folklore and several musical instruments traditional to the Romani people the same for in Greece. They hardly speak Italian they use a dialect which I understand is part Romani and part Italian they call it Napulitano. They are not openly discriminated but are somehow looked over the shoulder though it is thanks to the Romani people that southern Italy has become a boom throughout the world. 2] The Romani people in southern Spain especially in Andalusia call themselves Gitanos (Gypsies), same as in Italy a huge and financially powerful community. 3] In Spain the Romani Community or Gitanos have placed a claim for certain land rights which has been taken very seriously by the local government in Barcelona. Do you know what has happened with this claim? 4] Do you have an idea of about how many Romani people there are throughout the world? (No matter what clan)I know it is difficult to say how many exactly, as records were not kept in order to avoid persecution and due to the nomadic lifestyle. Never the less there must be an estimate as the Romani people are all over the world. Why don't the Romani people have a land/country of their own? They have an ancient, huge and rich culture,they have a flag, language and ethnicity, so why not have a land of their own? What is being done about it? When the Jewish people claimed the land now known as Israel, they were also like the Romani, a huge human group that well organized were able to have a country of their own through the United Nations and with the support of many first world countries. Why don't the Romani people follow this pattern and do something about it? I am sorry for the questions, if I have wrongly expressed myself in any way, please excuse me but it is out of ignorance which I respectfully admit. Best Regards.