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Lom people

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Lom
Bosha

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

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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

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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

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  1. ^ Journal / Gypsy Lore Society, Volume 1. Gypsy Lore Society. 1908 – via University of California.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ "Демоскоп Weekly - Приложение. Справочник статистических показателей". www.demoscope.ru. Archived from the original on September 26, 2011.
  4. ^ "Демоскоп Weekly - Приложение. Справочник статистических показателей". www.demoscope.ru. Archived from the original on September 26, 2011.
  5. ^ "Демоскоп Weekly - Приложение. Справочник статистических показателей". demoscope.ru. Archived from the original on September 26, 2011.
  6. ^ "Демоскоп Weekly - Приложение. Справочник статистических показателей". www.demoscope.ru. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007.
  7. ^ "Демоскоп Weekly - Приложение. Справочник статистических показателей". www.demoscope.ru. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007.
  8. ^ "Демоскоп Weekly - Приложение. Справочник статистических показателей". www.demoscope.ru. Archived from the original on January 4, 2012.
  9. ^ "POPULATION AND PEOPLE – People – Armenia Travel, History, Archeology & Ecology – TourArmenia – Travel Guide to Armenia". Tacentral.com. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
  10. ^ Wixman. The Peoples of the USSR. p. 30
  11. ^ "THE GYPSIES OF ISTANBUL | History of Istanbul". istanbultarihi.ist. Retrieved 2023-01-28.
  12. ^ "Tarihten günümüze Lomlar veya Poşalar". Agos (in Turkish). 13 February 2017. Retrieved 2023-01-28.

Further reading

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  • 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.
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