Sinti or Sinta (Singular masc.=Sinto; sing. fem.=Sintisa) is the name of a European ethnic group. They are often called "Gypsies" in English. Although the Sinti have an origin from the Roma people (or "Gypsies"), the Sinti are now considered a different ethnic group. Traditionally nomadic, today only a small percentage of the group remains unsettled. In earlier times, they frequently lived on the outskirts of communities, generally in squalor.

The Sinti speak a dialect of the Romany language called "Romanes, Sintenghero Tschib(en)", which has a primarily Romany vocabulary but some grammatical differences, and exhibits strong German influence.

French-speaking Sinti are called "manouche".

Etymology

The origin of the name "Sinti/Sinte" is uncertain. The term is similar to the Sindh region of southwest Pakistan, and to inhabitants' name, the Sindhis. Additionally, linguistic and cultural evidence indicates this region was the likely geographic origin of the Roma.

History

The Sinti arrived in Germany and Austria in the Middle Ages, eventually splitting into two groups: Eftavagarja ("the Seven Caravans") and Estraxarja ("from Austria"). These two groups then expanded, the Eftavagarja into France, where they are called (Manouches), and the Estraxarja into Italy and Eastern Europe, mainly what are now Croatia, Hungary, Romania, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, eventually adopting various regional names.

In Italy they are present mainly in Piedmont region.

Other theories

Another theory holds that the Roma differ from the Sinti in that the former converted to Islam in the Seljuq Empire, thus acquiring citizenship and escaping slavery. The Sinti, on the other hand, allegedly refused to convert to Islam and thus remained in slavery. ^[1]

Notable Sinti

The Sinti have produced some number of renowned musicians, such as jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt and Biréli Lagrène. The Sinto Häns'che Weiss produced a record in Germany in the 1970s in which he sang about the Poraimos (Roma Holocaust) in his own language. This caused a furore among his people who did not want the language to be made known to the "Gadje". Many younger Germans first learned about this part of Holocaust history as a result of this recording. Titi Winterstein and several members of Reinhardt's clan still play traditional and modern "Gypsy jazz" all over Europe. The jazz keyboardist Joe Zawinul was also of Sinte (sintenghero) descent.

References

1. ^ Marco D. Knudsen. "Roma Frühgeschichte (1000–1400). Freedom by joining the Islam". RomaHistory.com. Retrieved on 2007-06-14.

Further reading

• Walter Winter, Struan Robertson (Translator) Winter Time: Memoirs of a German who Survived Auschwitz Hertfordshire Publications, (2004), ISBN 1-902806-38-7
  • Reviewed by Emma Brockes "We had the same pain" in The Guardian November 29, 2004
• Open Society Intitute: The Situation of Roma in Germany (2002)^{dead link}

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