page_title: Romani people
section_title: Religion
hierarchical_section_title: Romani people / Society and traditional culture / Religion
caption_attribution_description: English: Gypsies during the pilgrimage at Saintes-Maries de la Mer. Français&#160;: Tziganes en pèlerinage aux Saintes-Maries de la Mer, France.
context_page_description: The Romani, colloquially known as Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants living mostly in Europe, and diaspora populations in the Americas. The Romani as a people originate from the northern Indian subcontinent, from the Rajasthan, Haryana, and Punjab regions of modern-day India.
  Genetic findings appear to confirm that the Romani "came from a single group that left northwestern India" in about 512 CE. Genetic research published in the European Journal of Human Genetics "revealed that over 70% of males belong to a single lineage that appears unique to the Roma". They are dispersed, but their most concentrated populations are located in Europe, especially Central, Eastern and Southern Europe. The Romani arrived in Mid-West Asia and Europe around 1007. They have been associated with another Indo-Aryan group, the Dom people: the two groups have been said to have separated from each other or, at least, to share a similar history. Specifically, the ancestors of both the Romani and the Dom left North India sometime between the 6th and 11th century.
context_section_description: Most Romani people are Christian, others Muslim; some retained their ancient faith of Hinduism from their original homeland of India, while others have their own religion and political organization.
caption: Christian Romanies during the pilgrimage at Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer in France, 1980s
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