''Zott'' ( ar, زط; singular ''Zottī'') is the Arabic term for
gypsies
The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sign ...
,
Romani people
The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sig ...
, and
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 Zott were musicians who migrated in great numbers from northern India to the
Middle East
The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...
about 1000 years ago. Their name was later applied to any itinerant entertainer of Indian origin; and came to be the common name of the Dom people in the Middle East, as English ''
gypsy
The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sign ...
'' or ''tinker'' with contemptuous connotations. The ''
Al-Qamus Al-Muhit
Firuzabadi ( fa, فیروزآبادی) also spelled as al-Fayrūzabādī ( ar, الفيروزآبادي (1329–1414) was a lexicographer and was the compiler of ''al-Qamous'' (), a comprehensive and, for nearly five centuries, one of the most wi ...
'' glosses the term as equivalent to ''
Nawar'' (singular ''Nawarī'').
See also
*
Jats
*
Jat of Afghanistan
There are several ethnic groups in Afghanistan which traditionally lead a peripatetic life. This means they are nomadic and their main occupations centre around providing services to the settled populations they travel among, like peddling particu ...
*
Nawar
*
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 ...
References
*M. J. de Goeie, ''A Contribution to the History of the Gypsies'', Amsterdam (1875
2007 reprint
*
*
Dom in Asia
Dom people
Indian diaspora
Nawar people
Nomadic groups in Eurasia
Pakistani diaspora
Romani in Iran
{{Iran-stub