We Are the Romani People

Ian Hancock received his PhD from London University and teaches Romani Studies at the University of Texas, Austin, where he is the Director of the Romani Archives and Documentation Center. He was born in Britain and descends on his father's side from Hungarian Romungre Romanies and on his mother's side from English Romanichal Gypsies. In 1998 President Clinton appointed him to represent Romanies on the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council. He is the author of over 300 articles and books, mostly on the Romanies.

• Foreword ix; Introduction; xvii; A note on Romani spelling xviii; A note on names xviii; Gypsy, Gipsy, Romany, Romani and Rromani vvi; 'Gadze' and other words for non-Romanies xxii; 1 History 1; How Westerners learnt the Romanies' true origin 2; O Teljaripe: The move out of India 6; O Aresipe: arrival in Byzantium and the West 14; 2 Rrobija: Slavery 17; Desrrobireja: Abolition 23; The enslavement of Romanies in other places 26; 3 The Buxljaripe: Out into Europe 29; What the Europeans thought 31; 4 O Baro Porrajmos: The Holocaust 34; 5 Explaining antigypsyism 53; Romanies as foreign intruders and non-Christians 54; Physical appearance 56; Exclusionary culture 58; Way of life 59; The parallel, created 'Gypsy' image 61; Scapegoatism 62; The vague understanding of Romani origins 62; 6 The Gypsy image; 64; Origins of the fictionalized gypsy 64; The two faces of Romani identity 67; 7 How Indian are Romanies? 70; 8 How European are Romanies? 77; 9 Cuisine 80; 10 Health 88; 11 How to Interact with Romanies 91; Crime 94; Slave mentality 97; Anger 97; Personal hygiene 98; Nomadism 99; Morals 100; Magic 102; Our stereotypes of non-Romanies 102; Some suggestions 103; 12 The emergence of Romani organizations 111; 13 Contributions, accomplishments and persons of note 125; 14 Amari Chib: Our language 139; Romani vocabulary 143; Samples of the language: Some useful phrases 144; Samples of the language: Some proverbs 145; Samples of the language: A joke 148; Appendix: Romani grammar 150; Recommended sources 161; Standards in Romani Studies 161; Works referenced in the text 166; Index 174