Nawar is an Arabic term for several nomad communities used primarily in Jordan, Syria,

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

, and Palestine. The term, regarded as derogatory, is used by Arabs for several diverse ethnic groups. They have historically been called "Gypsies", though as a whole they only have economic activities and lifestyle in connection with the

Romani Romani may refer to: Ethnicities * Romani people, an ethnic group of Northern Indian origin, living dispersed in Europe, the Americas and Asia ** Romani genocide, under Nazi rule * Romani language, any of several Indo-Aryan languages of the Roma ...

. Nawar are subgroup of the

Dom people The Dom (also called Domi; ar, دومي / ALA-LC: ', / , Ḍom / or , or sometimes also called Doms) are descendants of the Dom (caste), Dom with origins in the Indian subcontinent which through ancient migrations are found scattered across ...

The Dom people are especially known as Nawar. This numerically small, widely dispersed people have migrated to the region from

South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth descr ...

, particularly from

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. As in other countries, they tend to keep apart from the rest of the population, which regards them as dishonorable yet clever. The Nawar have traditionally provided musical entertainment at weddings and celebrations. The participation of Nawar women in such activities is lucrative, yet at the same time it reinforces the group's low status. Nawar also appear at festivals to work their trade as fortune-tellers, sorcerers, and animal trainers. In Syria today, one may still encounter Nawar encampments in rural areas.

Population

Nawar is an Arabic term for several sedentary communities used primarily in Syria,

, and Palestine.

Syria

The ''Nawar'' in Syria number 100,000 to 250,000 people according to estimations. The vast majority is sedentary.

Palestine

The Nawar in Palestine are also known as ''Ghajars'' (gypsies) . A small community in east Jerusalem lives in

Bab Huta Bāb Ḥuṭṭa ( ar, باب حطة or , ) is a neighborhood in the Muslim Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem to the north of the Haram al-Sharif (Temple Mount). The name literally means "Forgiveness (or Remission) Gate", referring to the ...

neighborhood, in the Old City of Jerusalem.

Jordan

Jordan's

Dom Dom or DOM may refer to: People and fictional characters * Dom (given name), including fictional characters * Dom (surname) * Dom La Nena (born 1989), stage name of Brazilian-born cellist, singer and songwriter Dominique Pinto * Dom people, an et ...

community numbers around 70,000 according to estimates in 2015.

Languages

Domari

The Dom language (Domari) in the Middle East is known as Nawari. Domari shows Turkic, Kurdish and Arabic influence.

Notable people

* Bilal

Notes

References

* * *Dupret, Ghazzal, Courbage and Al Dbiyat, Collective 'La Syrie au présent : Reflets d'une société', entry "Musiques nawar entre tradition et modernité" by Benoit Gazzal, 2007, * Commins, David Dean. ''Historical Dictionary of Syria'', p. 118. Scarecrow Press, 2004, . {{Dom people, state=collapsed Dom people Dom in the Middle East Nomads Ethnic groups in the Middle East