The history of oriental dance is intertwined with that of Gypsies, in their various guises in
each country they travelled through. They came from India and spread across Europe, and a
second trail led to Andulasia, an isolated Spanish region. Wherever they went they made money
in whatever way they could, including working as entertainers. Thus the history of music and
that of Gypsies is intertwined. Hossam Ramzy, a modern Egyptian musician,credits India with
being the "mother of most music". The Gypsies who traveled westward brought many of these
sounds to the west. The Gypsies took the combination of complex Indian rhythms mixed with
the Islamic melodic themes to Andulasia. "One can hear the strong Arabic influence in flamenco
music....the dance moments in flamenco with the hips and the portrayal of strong emotion and
passion are essentially Arabic," says Ramzy.

Flamenco dances, primarily associated with the gypsies of Andulasia are considered to be
of fairly recent origin, although they likely incorporate many traditional characteristics of Spanish
dancing, thus preserving them. The cult of Flamenco was developed within the last 100 years.
It was the dance of the poor and dispossessed peoples: Muslim Moors, Jews, and other non-
Christian peoples who were marginalized in Spanish society. Morocco, who was trained as a
flamenco dancer before studying Raks Sharki, maintains that " much of the footwork comes
directly from the Houara", a dance from Morocco in the middle atlas mountains, and well as
taking movements from the Rekza part of the Schikhatt. Fig. 14 shows a typical modern Gitana
(Gypsy) dancer.

Roma is the preferred name of their people by Gypsies themselves. The gypsy language
is Romani (or Calo in Spain), although not all Roma speak it. Dialects sometimes vary so much
that different groups cannot understand each other. The Gypsies were given names by the
inhabitants of each country they visited, and linguists have generated many theories based upon
these names: Luri (Baluchistan), Luli (Iraq), Karaki, Zangi (Persian), Kauli (Afghanistan),
Cinghanés or Tchinganés (Syria and Turkey), and Katsiveloi, Tsiganos, or Atsincanoi (Greek).
Zigeuner, the name given to them in Germany, is now considered a racist term because of the
atrocities done to Gypsies during the holocaust. The first law of linguistics as stated by Martin
Block says that 'The number of foreign words adopted by the Gypsies corresponds to the length
of their sojourn in the different countries'. By applying this principle, the Gypsies are said to have
remained in the Near East, Persia and mainly in Turkey and Greece between the 10th and 15th
centuries. Basic Romany does, in fact, comprise many Greek, Turkish, and Armenian words.

The connection of Gypsies to India has been well documented by ethnologists and
linguists. The story the Gypsies have always told about "being from Egypt", and therefore
Gypsies is not true. By the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries scholars had begun to
question the theory of Egyptian origins. Grellman, one of the outstanding scholars of this era,
analyzed Gypsy language, Romany, and found that it was "basically composed of Sanskrit words,
many still in pure form, and that it most closely resembled the dialects spoken in northwestern
India (1807:11-14)" . He therefore concluded that they did, indeed, originate in India. This
theory was further confirmed by anthropological studies of Gypsy physical characteristics;
Kroeber notes that the Gypsies 'originated in India and they show definite evidence of that fact in
their blood type and in the Romany speech of which they retain remnants'.

Perhaps the earliest record of Gypsy migrations is that recorded in the Shah Nameh (or
King's Book) written about 1,000 AD. The Persian poet Firdawsi tells of twelve thousand
itinerant minstrels, the Luri, sent to Persia from India about 420 AD, upon the request of a
Sassanide prince, Bahram Gur, who intended that they should lighten the life of his hard-working
people and charm away their misery. He provided them with grain and agriculture that they
should support themselves. This plan was, of course, doomed to failure and the Luri used the
supplies and made no attempt at farming. Furious at the waste, the prince sent them all away and
condemned them to roam and earn a living by smuggling and begging. This account was
confirmed in 940 A.D. by the Arab historian, Hamza.

The tradition of the Kalderash Gypsies, who consider themselves the only true Gypsies,
tells that some Gypsies who were smiths were responsible for the repair of weapons and for
keeping livestock. They claim their ancestors followed the Tartar armies on their moves from
place to place. MacMunn agreed with this in his treatise "Moeurs et coutumes des basses classes
de l'Inde" in 1394, stating, 'The Bohemians of Europe, without any doubt, followed the armies of
the Huns, Tartars and Seljuks, and our own Gypsies who work in metals and grind our knives
certainly sharpened swords and blades for the armies who traversed Europe in every sense.'
Unfortunately, documents relating to the Huns and Tartars never mention the Gypsies, thus the
existence of these camp followers remains unproven.

Rom began to appear in Southeastern Europe over six hundred years ago. They entered
Northern Spain by 1447 to join with the colonies of Rom who had entered from the south earlier
via North Africa. One unusual fact should be noted, though: the Gypsies had a distinct aversion
to travel over water, and Clement notes that they set foot onto ships "with the utmost
repugnance."

The Rom found kindred spirits in the region of Spain known as Andulasia. Not only does
this area provide plenty of isolated areas to escape from law and regulation, it's inhabitants had
been influenced by the occupation of the Moors. The legendary ruler Nasrid Granada left a
heritage of romanticism, and oriental mysticism. Starkie notes that both Gypsies and
Andulasians shared several common beliefs including a preoccupation with the death theme, and
their inherent nature as a proud people intent on preserving their traditions. The Andulasians said
of the Gypsies, "tienne la alegria de estar triste [rejoices in being sad]" (1953:96). In addition,
both groups place a high value on individualism and family loyalty. Thus was born the caste of
Flamenco. "Flamenco" came to mean "Gypsy" and the class of Spainards who associated with
Gypsies or led a Gypsy-like life. This lifestyle included the Flamenco arts of music, dancing and
bullfighting. Strangely enough, although numerous laws were passed specifically against
Gypsies, the Spanish Inquisition had little effect upon them. It was reported that the Gypsies
were looked upon with such contempt that the holy officials were indifferent as to whether they
had religion or not.

Gypsy dancing is never "just to be dancing" comments Gypsiologist Barbara Sellers.
"Instead it seems to be part of an immense and significant non-verbal vocabulary of Gypsy
communication and behavior. It is at the heart of an essential transformation, a transcended state,
an escape from the reality of their daily lives to a more satisfying state of mind." This is
especially important to remember because oriental dance is consistently related to both religion
and eroticism in various contexts. Modern Flamenco dance has developed its own styling and
culture, but its roots are the same as those for belly dance styling. Sellers mentions the dance of
the Turkish Gypsies, the Kocek(i) as one specific dance which encourages this much desired
transcendent state. To this day in Istanbuhl, Turkey, there is a Turkish Gypsy quarter known as
"Sukule".

Although the stereotype of Gypsies is of a gay and happy people, the music which they
make for themselves is invariably tragic, sorrowful or revengeful. For the Gadjo, they sing
happier songs because they know it is preferred. A lively beat does not insure that the lyrics
match to the tune. Their private lives are distinctly separate from their public lives. "Public" is
whenever they are forced to interact with outsiders to make a living. The traditional Gypsy
occupations are those that can be done by a nomadic people, such as entertainer, metalworker,
fortunetelling, and horsetraders. The trades practiced by certain castes in Northern India were
traditionally those of smith and metal worker, musician and public entertainer as well as
purveyor of herbal medicine - all trades linked to occult practices and pagan beliefs. To this
day, many nomadic women in the Near East bear hand and ankle tatoos thought to be Gypsy in
design, often a universal symbol meaning a traveler. This intense tribal pride is significant in
maintaining their cultural identity throughout their travels, and is characteristic of true Gypsies.

It has been maintained by some that the Gypsies have no true religious beliefs, and no
music of their own, so successfully have they taken on the flavor of each culture where they have
lived. However, in reality their entire culture centers around shamanistic beliefs in the spirits that
dwell in nature, a distinct remnant of Central Asian shamanistic beliefs. Gypsies believe that
certain demons and spirits hold sway over each individual's daily life. For example the Gypsy
artist must wait and hope for his personal "duende" or demon, to enter into him and flood him
with inspiration before achieving true artistry. This deep emotion helped create in Andalusia the
"cante jondo" or deep song, which contrasts to the lighter "canto flamenco." Flamenco dance
styling has a distinct similarity to classical Persian dance, as well as modern Central Asian dance,
in the distinctive use of arms and the high body center. Whereas modern Arabic dance centers its
moves in the abdomen and keeps the arms mostly at shoulder level, both Flamenco and Persian
dance center the weight in the chest and use the maximum amount of space above the head to
perform graceful and effect arm and hand movements.

Gypsy women were considered by Western culture to be extremely immodest because
they had no shame about the upper body, exposing their breasts to nurse or for other reasons.
However, they have many taboos about the lower body. Exposure of the lower half of the body,
publicly or privately, is considered extremely defiling and therefore taboo. Therefore, the
traditional dress of gypsy women is very modest. Older Gypsy costumes featured very baggy
Balkan women's pants, baggy Turkish style pants, and voluminous skirts as shown in figure 15.