Dom people
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| (Unknown) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Middle East, North Africa | |
| Languages | |
| Domari, Persian, Arabic (also various dialects), Azeri, Kurdish, Turkish, Pushtu, Syriac, Hebrew, Armenian | |
| Religion | |
| Romani religion, Islam, Christianity | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Romani people, Lom people, Domba, other Indo-Aryans |
The Dom (also called "Doma" and "Domi"; Arabic: دومي / ALA-LC: Dūmī , دومري / Dūmrī ; Egyptian Arabic: هناجره Hanagra ), of the Middle East, North Africa, Caucasus, and Central Asia.
The Dom have an oral tradition and express their culture and history through music, poetry and dance. Initially, it was believed that they were a branch of the Romani people, but recent studies of the Domari language suggest that they departed earlier from the Indian subcontinent, than the Romani, probably around the 6th century.
The world-wide used name for Gypsies to identify themselves is the term "Htom", which in the Romani language means a man. The words Rom, Dom and Lom are used to describe Romani peoples who diverged in the 6th century. Several tribes moved as far as Western Europe and are called Rom, while the ones who remained in Persia and Turkey are 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.
The majority of the estimated population of 2.2 million live in Turkey, Egypt and Iran with significant numbers in Iraq. Smaller populations are found in Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Sudan, Jordan, Syria and other countries of the Middle East and North Africa.
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Wikipedia