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Hold the world's wisdom in the palm of your hand with the ISTA Flash 9.0. The most comprehensive collection of books on religion, mythology, folklore, and the esoteric ever assembled. An incredible value, with over 1700 sacred books, many of which are rare and hard to find.

Roma Folklore

Roma family

This page links together resources at sacred-texts about the folklore of the Roma people. Also known as ‘Gypsies’, the Roma are nomads who originated in India during the middle ages, and spread across a wide section of Eurasia, preserving a unique culture and language.

NOTE: The term Gypsy was applied to the Roma by outsiders, possibly in the mistaken belief that they were Egyptian in origin. Some people today take it to be pejorative, and at the very least its use is deprecated. Nevertheless, it is used widely in the literature, particularly the pre-1922 public domain books at this site, by scholars who cannot be construed as using it in a derogative sense. In new material at this site we use the term ‘Roma’ and leave the term ‘Gypsy’ in existing documents.

 Gypsy Folk Tales
by Francis Hindes Groomes [1899]
A treasure trove of Roma stories by a devoted scholar of the subject.

 Gypsy Sorcery and Fortune Telling
by Charles G. Leland [1891]
One of the primary sources for information on Roma magical practices, by one of the great 19th century folklorists.

 

 English Gipsies and Their Language
by Charles G. Leland [1874]
Mid-19th Century English Roma language, folklore and customs.