romani-holistic

Who are the Romani People?

Wed, 25 Jun 2025 21:45:49 GMT

Who Are the Romani People? A Journey Through Culture, History, and Resilience

The Romani people, often referred to as “Roma,” are a diverse and historically rich ethnic group whose roots stretch back over a thousand years. Though often misunderstood or misrepresented, the Romani have contributed immensely to the cultural, artistic, and spiritual fabric of the world. Today, we honor their resilience and celebrate the vibrant traditions that continue to thrive despite centuries of displacement and discrimination.

Origins and Migration

The origins of the Romani trace back to northern India, from where they began migrating westward around the 10th or 11th century. Over centuries, Romani communities spread across Europe, the Middle East, and eventually the Americas. As they traveled, they adapted to new lands while maintaining a strong sense of cultural identity, expressed through language, music, dress, and oral traditions.

Culture and Contributions

Romani culture is widely celebrated for its expressive art forms:

Music & Dance : From the flamenco of Spain to Balkan brass bands, Romani musicians have left an indelible mark on global music.
Storytelling : Oral tradition plays a central role in preserving history, values, and community wisdom.
Craftsmanship : Many Romani are skilled artisans, known for metalwork, horse trading, and detailed handiwork.

Despite being marginalized for centuries, the Roma have enriched the world with beauty, creativity, and soul.

The Romani Flag and Identity

The Romani flag features a green field (symbolizing the earth) and a blue sky (symbolizing freedom), with a red, 16 spoke chakra in the center, a nod to their Indian origins and nomadic spirit. The flag is a powerful symbol of unity and cultural pride, especially in the face of ongoing challenges.

Facing Prejudice, Embracing Progress

The Romani people have long endured discrimination, exclusion, and violence, from forced assimilation to genocide during the Holocaust. Yet today, Roma activists, artists, scholars, and community leaders continue to fight for civil rights, education, and social inclusion.

Awareness is growing, and allies are learning to distinguish between harmful stereotypes and the reality of Romani lives: full of complexity, beauty, and dignity.

Why Learning About the Roma Matters

To learn about the Romani people is to expand your view of the world, to listen more carefully, question cultural biases, and find value in perspectives that history has tried to silence.

Whether you're exploring Romani music, studying their language (Romani or Romanes), or simply opening your heart to new stories, you're participating in a vital act of recognition and respect.

Ready to Learn More?

Continue your journey with our recommended resources, cultural spotlights, and personal stories from Roma voices.

Every people has a story. The Romani story is one of survival, spirit, and song, and it deserves to be heard.

Sara la Kali

Tue, 03 Jun 2025 20:10:03 GMT

Sara LA KALI

May 24-25 mark the feast days and pilgrimage to Les Saintes Maries de la Mer in France for Sara la Kali, also known as Saint Sarah, Sara Kali, Kali Sara, and The Black Madonna, the Romani goddess and uncanonized saint. Sara la Kali is the protector of the Romani people, and likely finds her origins with the Hindu goddess Kali, as Roma trace roots back to India as well. There is a story among Catholic Roma that Sarah was one of Mary's attendants on a long boat voyage that ended in this little town in France where the pilgrimage is now held yearly.

The late and great Ronald Lee researched the worship of Sara la Kali, and found that her rituals are not just confined to this charming French seaside town. He writes:

Until recently it was widely believed that this worship of Kali Sara, the Romani Black Madonna or Goddess was unique to Les Saintes Maries de La Mer. My own recent research among Romani refugees from the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland and in countries of the Balkans has uncovered the little known fact that other Black Virgins are worshipped by Roma in central/eastern Europe and that Roma from these countries perform similar rituals. These rituals include laying flowers at the feet of the statue, adorning the statue with clothing of the sick hoping for cures, placing requests to the statue, and lighting candles to the female divinity. To the Roma, Kali Sara is the Protectress who will cure sickness, bring good luck and fertility and grant success in business ventures.

Ronald Lee also researched the parallels between Romani ritual honoring Sara la Kali and the Durga Pooja in India (noting that Kali is an aspect of the goddess Durga).

The Romani ceremony at Les Saintes Maries, as elsewhere, consists of carrying the statue on a platform strewn with flowers (4) into the closest body of water such as a sea, lake, flowing river or even a large pond of clear water. The platform is then lowered to touch the water while the crowd throws flowers into the water. Indian scholars such as Dr. Weer Rishi (5) and others who have witnessed this Romani ceremony, as well as Western observers who are familiar with Hindu religious customs have identified this ceremony with the Durga Pooja of India. In Romani, Kali Sara means Black Sara and in India, the Goddess Kali is known as Kali/Durga/Sara. Like the Hindus, the Roma practice shaktism, the worship of Goddesses. In other words, the Roma who attend the pilgrimage to Les Saintes Maries in France and in other related ceremonies elsewhere honouring black female divinities, are in fact continuing to worship Kali/Durga/Sara their original Goddess in India.

We highly recommend reading Ronald Lee's complete article, "The Romani Goddess Kali Sara." It's a very comprehensive look at the goddess and her origins.

French photographer Jeannette Gregori takes beautiful photos of the pilgrimage and procession in Saintes Maries de la Mer, France, full of flowers, white horses, ocean water, dancing, and the statue of Saint Sarah herself.

Romani poets have also honored Sara la Kali, and continue. Raine Geoghegan has this series of Sara Kali poems featured in Travellers Times, Frances Roberts Reilly dedicates a poem to Sara Kali in her book Parramisha, and a poem "Transfiguration of the Black Madonna" that Romanistan co-host Jessica Reidy / Jezmina Von Thiele wrote, which at the moment lives in this old blog post (scroll all the way down) and some anthologies.

There is also a delightful account of what it's like to attend this pilgrimage from the talented singer Tatiana Eva Marie in Quail Bell Magazine.

If you are Romani and you're open to the thought, take some comfort in knowing that Sara la Kali is looking out for you, wishing you well. Celebrate or quietly note however you wish. If you're not Romani, you can enjoy the art and culture created in her honor.

Also, anyone can buy the featured print of Sara la Kali from artist Elijah Vardo.

For more from Romanistan, listen to our podcast here on our website, or wherever you get podcasts, and subscribe to our Patreon for bonus content.

Thank you! Nais tuke! We appreciate you.

Spiritual Healing

Tue, 03 Jun 2025 20:07:12 GMT

Explore Holistic Healing: Your Path to Mind-Body Wellness

In a world that moves fast and demands much, healing must go deeper than just treating symptoms, it must nourish the whole self. Our Holistic Healing blog series offers guidance, inspiration, and grounded practices to support your well-being at every level: mind, body, and spirit.

What You'll Find

Within our growing library of articles, you'll discover:

Meditation & Mindfulness – Techniques to quiet the mind, reduce stress, and reconnect with your inner wisdom.
Herbal Remedies – Learn the properties of healing herbs and how to safely incorporate them into your daily routine.
Breath work & Energy Practices – Unlock the power of your breath and explore subtle energy systems like chakras and meridians.
Lifestyle Tips – From nutrition and sleep to creating sacred space, find practical tools for holistic living.

Why Holistic Healing?

True wellness is more than the absence of illness, it's about balance, harmony, and being deeply attuned to your body’s signals and your soul’s needs. Our guides are designed to help you explore natural, accessible methods that support your healing journey on your terms.

A Personal Path to Wholeness

No two healing journeys are the same. Whether you're managing chronic stress, looking for gentle detox support, or simply seeking more peace and presence in your day to day life, these insights will help you find what resonates with your unique path .

Begin Your Journey

Start reading today and uncover techniques that align with your intuition and lifestyle.

Your healing is sacred. Let it be intentional, informed, and inspired.

Infamy is a Complex Story of Romani Empowerment

Tue, 03 Jun 2025 20:05:25 GMT

Warning: we do discuss the plot of the series in this review so if you don’t want any spoilers, wait until you finish the series.

You can listen to our interviews with advisor Joanna Talewicz here and actor Toby Gorniak here, or anywhere you listen to podcasts. The interviews do not have spoilers.

The series Infamy (Infamia), a title from Netflix Poland, available dubbed on Netflix US, centers on the story of Gita, a teenage Polish Romani girl living in Wales with her parents and siblings, and how dramatically her life changes when they are invited back to live with their more traditional extended family in Poland after years away. Gita wants to get an education, become a rapper, and follow her own path, but her parents are somewhat reluctantly arranging a marriage for her instead to save the family business. The series is juicy with drama, romance, and rebellion, but some of the themes in the show, particularly arranged marriage, crime, sexism, and purity laws, caused many Romani people concern. We heard from some of our listeners expressing fear about how Roma would be depicted, fearing that old stereotypes that paint Roma as backwards and degenerate would simply be reinforced. However, Infamy is much more nuanced than that, and benefitted from collaborating with Romani people like professor and cultural anthropologist Dr. Joanna Talewicz, educator and hip hop artist Toby Gorniak, and others. When we discovered that Roma were involved in making the show, we were much more interested in giving it a try, and we’re so glad that we did. While Infamy is a more nuanced depiction of Romani life than we’re used to seeing on mainstream media, with attention to the context of systemic racism, we wish the stereotypical tropes of a crime family and an oppressive culture would be traded for more diverse portrayals of Romani life.

Roma are a diasporic ethnic group originally from India, who began leaving and moving west in waves beginning around the 10th century. We are also known as Gypsies, but because that word is often used as a slur many Roma prefer that non-Roma avoid the word and do not appropriate it. Over the centuries, the Romani people have endured 500+ years of slavery, genocide, exclusion, forced deportation, and more, and the human rights crisis continues with employment, housing, education, and healthcare discrimination; disproportionate levels of poverty; vulnerability to human trafficking; police brutality and disproportionate imprisonment; and hate crimes. Infamy uses the ongoing mistreatment of Roma as one of the focal points of the show, which contextualizes the social issues that plague Romani culture. While part of Gita’s family trafficks drugs, it’s also abundantly clear that Roma are so persecuted in Poland, and other parts of the world, that it’s difficult to survive.

The main criticism of the show from the Romani community is that many of the lead actors are not played by Roma. It was jarring to watch the talented Zofia Jastrzębska and feel the joy of representation, and then remember that we’re actually seeing a white woman wearing a dikhlo, a traditional head covering, and speaking the Romani language. It’s rare that Romani actors are given the opportunity to carry a major project as a lead, even though there are plenty of Romani actors, such as Mihaela Drăgan and Zita Moldovan of Giuvlipen, Alina Serban (Gipsy Queen, 2019), Taisiya Schumacher, Sandra Selimovic, Franciska Farkas, Jackey Boelkow, Florian Tacorian, and more. However, because studios rarely take chances on Romani talent for big parts, many actresses, especially younger ones, are not well-known. At the same time, Joanna Talewicz explained in our podcast interview that it was very difficult to find such a young Polish Romani actress to play the teenage Gita, and how demanding it is to take on a project of that magnitude even for a professional actress. It seems that while the casting is not ideal, it’s what needed to be done. Hopefully this encourages more young aspiring Romani actors to pursue training, and more studios to give them opportunities.

We were wary that Infamy focuses on Romani crime, arranged teen marriage, and sexism, which Roma are stereotyped for, but it was more nuanced than that. It is frustrating that the Romani stories that do get told, which are still far and few between, focus on Romani crime. Crime is fun to watch. But we really need more representations outside of this. At the same time, one half of Romanistan Podcast and this review, Paulina Stevens, told her story to The LA Times through the podcast series Foretold, which dealt with Romani crime, arranged teen marriage, and sexism as well. We do need to talk about crime, because it is a major symptom of systemic oppression that Roma face, and to pretend that it does not exist is to ignore that crime also ruins the lives of Roma born into it, and it needs to change. However, maybe a Netflix series isn’t the best place for that discussion because the audience is so broad, and perhaps already prepared with their prejudices. This representation opens a lot of doors however, perhaps to more diverse stories in the future.

Reactions from Romani people have been mixed. Actress, rapper, and creator Mihaela Drăgan gave a positive review of Infamy, but writes that she “felt disappointed by the prejudice that Roma can get rich only by being involved in illegal businesses.” However, she also writes, “I felt for the first time [I was] looking at a show about us that can empathize with us, that I see strong and resilient Roma characters and not only victims or an imagery made of poverty porn.” Infamy showed how the moment Gita enrolled in a Polish school, the administrator told her she needed an aide because of Roma’s “low social ability,” and Gita hides that she’s Romani as long as she can at school because of the intense bullying that will follow. Not to mention that show also highlights the more overtly violent obstacles of police brutality and hate crimes born out of the white supremacy movement. It’s clear that Gita faces tremendous obstacles because of racism. However, Romani activist Anya Redgewell points out that the finer points of why Romani crime exists would likely be lost on the general audience. In her review on Instagram, she writes, “If you're educated on Roma and able to put it in its proper context … it's well made as far as story concept, but it ultimately does more harm than good because it is not meant just for educated people ….” Activist and actor Florian Tacorian, actor and activist, posted on X, “While these attitudes do exist in certain communities, they are direct effects of oppression on a society, NOT intrinsic universal values of Romani society and culture (Romanipen) as portrayed by this series, this sets up the stage to victim-blame Roma for the racism we face.” In correspondence with us, Tacorian adds that he appreciates the steps that the show took to address these issues and acknowledges that the making of this series is just one step toward a larger picture of better Romani representation.

And while it does run the risk of some audiences seeing Roma as backwards, we need to talk about arranged teen marriages too, because while many Roma do not have this experience, some still do, and it is a bleak reality. Early marriage takes young people, especially girls, out of school and away from opportunities for a career, and the social stigma of dating, or refusing marriage, is very heavy. Arranged teen marriage was actually born out of the 500 years that Roma were enslaved, and as such is not even an inherently Romani tradition, but rather an adaptation to horrific circumstances. Unfortunately, this context does not appear in the show. The audience does see though that while Gita’s father had gambled his way into trouble and arranged the marriage of his daughter to pay off his debts, it was also clear that he wanted Gita to be happy. He understood that she would not be happy marrying Janko, the spoiled, lovesick, oblivious, but otherwise innocuous son of a wealthy crime family. The anguish that Gita’s family feels over arranging her marriage, feeling pressure from their community and their debts, and also guilt and loyalty to their daughter, encapsulated how these traditions are painfully changing, but not all at once. Arranged marriage when you are a full adult and choosing it for yourself is one thing, and can be very beautiful, but Gita’s plight is shared by other Roma girls, and we need more freedom and the right to choose for our young people.

In that same vein, Romani sexism is not inherently a part of Romani culture, but it exists and needs to be challenged. Whenever the show depicted examples of sexism, like Gita being expected to wait on the men in her extended family or being shamed for wearing shorts instead of traditional long skirts, there was a counterpoint showing sexism in gadje (non-Roma) culture. Gita’s friend Eliza is controlled by her abusive boyfriend, and her mother refuses to see it and can’t seem to help her. The enemy in Infamy is not traditional Romani culture, but the patriarchy, which is insidious and aligned with white supremacy. The show thankfully avoids the poisonous media trope that to be free, a Romani woman must leave Romani culture on the arm of a white man (like in Gadjo Dilo and others). At the same time, when representation has historically been scarce and terrible, even depictions of real issues that Roma face feel risky. Gita’s family are very traditional and represent one small facet of Romani experience. Romani feminism is alive and well, and many families embrace education and rights for women. This isn’t shown as a counterpoint, which would have been helpful.

The show also depicts Romani classism in a way only Roma truly experience it. Gita’s love interest, Tagar, comes from the poor side of the community. When he is on the run and his own community can’t hide him, he turns to the rich Roma in Gita’s family, who he sometimes works for. He is welcomed briefly, but when he truly needs to be protected, and the police and the neonazis are closing in, he is thrown out. This would not happen if he came from a rich family, even though all Roma from all classes are oppressed by a racist system. For Roma living in community, this hits home. You are accepted, but do not receive the same treatment as your rich counterparts. You eat at the same table, but the service is different. Gita and Tagar came from a similar background,since it’s Gita’s extended family who have money and not her parents. This played a part in them falling in love, and because of this, their love was forbidden, and more pure at the same time. The rich suitor her parents wanted her to marry, Janko, was out of touch and oblivious to his privilege. Gita couldn’t connect with him. This highlights the internal classism so many Roma in community cannot see, or choose not to see, because it messes with our popular ideology of “us against them,” our response to the “othering” we experience from gadje. Despite Tagar being thrown out and slightly looked down upon, he was still accepted and considered “one of ours” in the Romani community. On the other hand, Gita’s sister married an outsider, and is completely ex-communicated despite her class. No matter how much money she makes, she cannot sit at the table. Gita’s sister is struggling out of community because there is no family, no one to help with the kids, and it’s lonely. So the show doesn’t make it seem like leaving for an outside man is the answer either.

We also appreciated that allyship is modeled in the show, with the Polish priest condemning hate crimes, strangers protesting for Romani rights, and Gita’s friends eventually clumsily navigating how to support her through racism and her struggles at home, with their hearts in the right place once they get it together. Most of all, this show opened a door. There was Romani advising on the show, many of the background and minor actors were Romani, a strong Romani heroine advocates for herself without scorning her whole culture, positive Romani values are depicted, allyship is promoted, and Romani music in all of its forms is celebrated and performed. We hope that this show proves to the film and TV industry that people are hungry for real Romani stories, and that they should hire more Romani actors, writers, producers, consultants, advisors, and crew to tell them. Infamy, while not perfect, has still made great strides.

Tarot Cards

Tue, 03 Jun 2025 20:00:14 GMT

Tarot Cards

Explore Tarot Insights: Your Guide to the Wisdom Within the Cards

Tarot is more than a deck of cards, it's a mirror to the soul, a tool for reflection, and a trusted guide along your spiritual path. Whether you're just beginning or you've been reading for years, our Tarot Insights blog series is your go to space for unlocking the layers of meaning hidden within every card.

What You’ll Discover

In our collection of thoughtfully crafted articles, we dive deep into:

Card Meanings – From the Fool’s leap of faith to the World’s completion, we explore the symbolism, history, and energy of each card in the deck.

Spreads and Layouts – Learn how different tarot spreads (like the Celtic Cross or Three-Card Spread) can reveal insight and clarity in specific areas of your life.

Interpretation Techniques – Uncover methods for connecting intuitively with the cards, using imagery, numerology, elemental energies, and personal resonance.

Real-Life Applications – Discover how to use tarot as a tool for decision making, reflection, manifestation, shadow work, and personal growth.

Why Tarot?

Tarot empowers you to ask better questions, explore possibilities, and understand the emotional undercurrents shaping your choices. It doesn't predict a fixed future, it reveals the present with stunning clarity, helping you shape your path consciously.

A Journey, Not a Destination

Whether you're pulling a daily card for insight, doing a relationship spread, or simply admiring the art and symbolism of the deck, tarot offers a journey into self-awareness. Our articles help you walk that path with curiosity, clarity, and confidence.

Start Reading Now

Ready to deepen your tarot practice? Browse our latest articles, dive into the meanings of your favorite cards, and let the journey unfold.