Bosha (Roma)

Bosha (sometimes spelled Posha) also called the Lom people, are a Romani ethnic group who live in Eastern Anatolia and the southern Caucasus mountains. The Lom are sometimes considered a separate branch of the proto-Romani people who remained in Eastern Anatolia and Armenia in the 11th century, while the ancestors of the contemporary Roma people immigrated further west in the 13th - 14th centuries. The language of the Lom people is Lomavren.

Due to their relationship with the Armenian people, the Bosha are sometimes called 'Armenian Gypsies' [http://www.romnews.com/community/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=880 :: RomNews Network Community @ RomNews.com/de :: Best source on Roma / Gypsies on the Internet ] ] , and the Lomavren language is placed in the Armenian language family, while the term "Bosha" is Armenian in origin.

The exact number of existing Bosha is difficult to determine, 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 Government census reports only 50 living in the former. [ [http://www.tacentral.com/people.asp POPULATION AND PEOPLE | People | Armenia Travel, History, Archeology & Ecology | TourArmenia | Travel Guide to Armenia ] ]

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. [Wixman. "The Peoples of the USSR". p. 30] In Georgian they live in such cities as Tbilisi, Kutaisi, Akhalkalaki and Akhaltsikhe. They are noted for such occupations as Basket weaving and metalsmithing, which are common among settled Roma.

References

ee also

*Dom people
*Roma in Armenia
*Lomavren language