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Article: Vlach Gypsies of Hungary
- Article from:
- Encyclopedia of World Cultures
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CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1996 The Gale Group, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Vlach Gypsies of Hungary
ETHNONYMS: Rom or (occasional plural) Roma; also known in Hungarian by Magyar (Hungarian) compatriots as Olah Cigany
Orientation
Identification.
Vlach Gypsies are one branch of the Romany-speaking Gypsies who lived for several hundred years in Romania until they began migrating to other parts of the world in the middle of the nineteenth century. The majority of Vlach Gypsies now live in Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and Romania. In Hungary they are mostly found in the Eastern and northern regions of the country. The origin of the ethnonym "Rom" is obscure, though one Hungarian scholar has speculatively suggested it might derive from the north Indian Dom caste. ...