Lom people
 Bosha gypsies, 19th century | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
|---|---|
| Armenia, Georgia and Turkey | |
| Languages | |
| Lomavren, Armenian, Georgian, Turkish | |
| Religion | |
| Christianity | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Romani, Doms, Domba, Ghorbati; other Indo-Aryans |
The Lom people (Turkish: Lomlar), also known by non-Loms as Bosha or Posha (Turkish: Poşa; Armenian: Բոշա; Georgian: ბოშა, romanized: bosha; Russian: Боша) or as Armenian Romani (Russian: армянские цыгане; Armenian: հայ գնչուներ) or Caucasian Romani[1] (Russian: кавказские цыгане), are an ethnic group originating from the Indian subcontinent.[2] Their Lomavren language is a mixed language, combining an Indo-Aryan substrate with Armenian.
Number
[edit]| Lom/Bosha in Soviet Transcaucasia | |||
| Year | Armenia | Georgia | Azerbaijan |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1926[3] | 2
|
333
|
333
|
| 1939[4] | 7
|
727
|
400
|
| 1959[5] | 18
|
1,024
|
577
|
| 1970[6] | 12
|
1,224
|
843
|
| 1979[7] | 59
|
1,223
|
121
|
| 1989[8] | 48
|
1,744
|
145
|
It is difficult to determine the exact number of Bosha people that exist, due to the dispersed and often mostly-assimilated nature of the group. Estimates suggest only a few thousand of the people can be found across Armenia and Georgia, while the Armenian Government's census reports only 50 living in the former.[9]
Distribution
[edit]Concentrations of Bosha can be found in Yerevan and Gyumri in Armenia. Some of the Bosha in Armenia have adopted the Armenian language and assimilated with the larger Armenian population.[10]
In Georgia they live in such cities as Tbilisi, Kutaisi, Akhalkalaki and Akhaltsikhe.[2] They are noted for such occupations as sievemakers.
In Turkey the Lomlar or Poshalar adopted Islam at the 19th century and assimilated Turkish culture.[11] They mostly live in Artvin, Rize, Ardahan and Kars and identify themselves as Meshketian Turks, hiding their Lom origins, while taking Armenian words from their contact with the Hemshin.[12]
References
[edit]- ^ Journal / Gypsy Lore Society, Volume 1. Gypsy Lore Society. 1908 – via University of California.
- ^ a b "Info on Bosha – Armenian Roma". RomNews Network Community. 2007-10-28. Archived from the original on 2007-10-28. Retrieved 2018-08-10.
- ^ "Демоскоп Weekly - Приложение. Справочник статистических показателей". www.demoscope.ru. Archived from the original on September 26, 2011.
- ^ "Демоскоп Weekly - Приложение. Справочник статистических показателей". www.demoscope.ru. Archived from the original on September 26, 2011.
- ^ "Демоскоп Weekly - Приложение. Справочник статистических показателей". demoscope.ru. Archived from the original on September 26, 2011.
- ^ "Демоскоп Weekly - Приложение. Справочник статистических показателей". www.demoscope.ru. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007.
- ^ "Демоскоп Weekly - Приложение. Справочник статистических показателей". www.demoscope.ru. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007.
- ^ "Демоскоп Weekly - Приложение. Справочник статистических показателей". www.demoscope.ru. Archived from the original on January 4, 2012.
- ^ "POPULATION AND PEOPLE – People – Armenia Travel, History, Archeology & Ecology – TourArmenia – Travel Guide to Armenia". Tacentral.com. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
- ^ Wixman. The Peoples of the USSR. p. 30
- ^ "THE GYPSIES OF ISTANBUL | History of Istanbul". istanbultarihi.ist. Retrieved 2023-01-28.
- ^ "Tarihten günümüze Lomlar veya Poşalar". Agos (in Turkish). 13 February 2017. Retrieved 2023-01-28.
Further reading
[edit]- Marushiakova, Elena and Popov, Vesselin. "The 'Gypsies' (Dom – Lom – Rom) In Southern Caucasus (Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan)" Preserving the Roma Memories. Festschrift in Honor of Dr. Adam Bartosz, hrsg. v. Kyuchukov, Hristo, Marushiakova, Elena, Popov, Vesselin (Roma 7)., 2020. IJBF Online [1]. Accessed 2023-07-14.
External links
[edit]
Media related to Lom people at Wikimedia Commons- Marushiakova, Elena and Vesselin Popov. 2016. Gypsies of Central Asia and Caucasus. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
- Roma and Gypsies
