Dom people

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, Central Asia and India are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group. Some authors relate them to the Domba people of India.

Culture

They have an oral tradition and express their culture and history through music, poetry and dance. Initially, it was considered that they are a branch of the Romani people, but recent studies of the Domari language suggest that they departed earlier from the Indian subcontinent, probably around the 6th century.

The world-wide used name for Gypsies to identify themselves was the term “Rrom”, which in Romani language means a man. The words Rom, Dom and Lom were used to describe Romani people who split in the 6th century. Several tribes moved forward into Western Europe and were called Rom, while the ones who remained in Persia and Turkey were 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 which ultimately gave rise to Western schools of belly dance.