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.
 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 |
Number
| 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
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
Further reading
- 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
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
