Sinti
Template:Short description Template:Not to be confused with Template:Pp Template:Infobox ethnic group Template:Romani people
The Sinti (masc. sing. Sinto; fem. sing. Sintetsa, Sinta) are a subgroup of the Romani people.<ref name= lorely>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name= Hancock>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name= Minority/> They are found mostly in Germany, France, Italy and Central Europe, numbering some 200,000 people.Template:Efn<ref name="Grimes" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> They were traditionally itinerant, but today only a small percentage of Sinti remain unsettled. In earlier times, they frequently lived on the outskirts of communities.
Within the Sinti Community are various tribes such as the Manouche in France.<ref name=Minority>Template:Cite book</ref> They speak the Sinti-Manouche variety of Romani, which exhibits strong German influence.<ref name=Grimes/><ref name=Minority/>
Etymology and origin
The origin of the Sinti people, as with the broader Romani people, lies generally in the Indian subcontinent.<ref name= Kenrick>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Efn A recent study by Estonian and Indian researchers found genetic similarities between European Romani men and Indian men in their sample.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
While people from the western Indian subcontinent's Sindh region were mentioned in 1100 by Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Maydani, it is unclear whether the Sindhi people were the ancestors of modern Sinti, though it is clear that Sinti and other Romani people originated in the northern Indian subcontinent.<ref name= Kenrick/>
The origin of the name is disputed.Template:Efn Scholar Jan Kochanowski, and many Sinti themselves, believe it derives from Sindhi, the name of the people of Sindh in medieval India (a region now in southeast Pakistan).<ref name="Kenrick"/><ref name="Matras 2004">Template:Cite book</ref> Romani Historian Ian Hancock states that the connection between Sinti and Sindhi is not tenable on linguistic grounds and that in the earliest samples of Sinte Romani, the endonym of Kale was used instead.<ref name= Hancock/>
Scholar Yaron Matras argued that Sinti is a later term in use by the Sinti from only the 18th century on, and is likely a European loanword.Template:Efn<ref name="Matras 2004" /> This view is shared by Romani linguist Ronald Lee, who stated the name's origin probably lies in the German word Reisende, meaning 'travellers'.<ref name="Lee 2009">Template:Cite web</ref>
History
The Sinti arrived in Austria and Germany in the Late Middle Ages as part of the emigration from the Indian subcontinent,<ref name="dw">Template:Cite web</ref> eventually splitting into two groups: Eftavagarja ("the Seven Caravans") and Estraxarja ("from Austria").<ref name="Szombati 2016">Template:Cite thesis</ref><ref name="Szombati 2018">Template:Cite book</ref> They arrived in Germany before 1540.Template:Sfn The two groups expanded, the Eftavagarja into France and Portugal, where they are called "Manouches", and to the Balkans, where they are called "Ciganos" (from Byzantine Greek "τσιγγάνος" and "Ἀτσίγγανος", deriving from Ancient Greek "ἀθίγγανος", meaning "untouchable"Template:EfnTemplate:Efn); and the Estraxarja into Italy and Central Europe, mainly what are now Croatia, Slovenia, Hungary, Romania, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, eventually adopting various regional names.<ref name="Szombati 2018"/>
From 1926 to 1973, Pro Juventute, a Swiss children's charity, with the support of Swiss authorities, committed crimes against humanity against the Yenish, Manouche, and Sinti people in Switzerland by forcibly removing children from their families and placing them in foster homes, adoptive families, and correctional institutions through the Kinder der Landstrasse (Children of the Open Road) project. This was part of a wider effort to forcibly assimilate these traditionally nomadic communities into the sedentary Swiss society. In February 2025, the Swiss government formally acknowledged that the forced removals and assimilation efforts constitute a crime against humanity under international law.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The Holocaust
The Sinti migrated to Germany in the early 15th century. Despite their long presence, they were still generally regarded as beggars and thieves, and, by 1899, the police kept a central register on Sinti, Roma, and Yenish peoples. Nazi Germany considered them racially inferior (see Nazism and race), and persecuted them throughout Germany during the Nazi periodTemplate:Sndthe Nuremberg Laws of 1935 often being interpreted to apply to them as well as the Jews.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Adolf Eichmann recommended that Nazi Germany solve the "Gypsy Question" simultaneously with the Jewish Question, resulting in the deportation of the Sinti to clear room to build homes for ethnic Germans.Template:Sfn Some were sent to the territory of Poland, or elsewhere, including some deported to the territory of Yugoslavia by the Hamburg Police in 1939.Template:Sfn Others were confined to designated areas, and many were eventually murdered in gas chambers.<ref name="Davis 2015">Template:Cite web</ref> Many Sinti and Roma were taken to Auschwitz-Birkenau, where they were put in a special section, called the "gypsy camp". Josef Mengele often performed some of his infamous experiments on Sinti and Roma. On 2 August 1944, the "gypsy camp" was closed, and approximately 4,000 Sinti and Roma were gassed during the night of 2–3 August and burnt in the crematoria. The date 2 August is commemorated as Roma and Sinti Holocaust Remembrance Day.<ref name="europa">Template:Cite web</ref>
In the concentration camps, the Sinti were forced to wear either a black triangle, indicating their classification as "asocial", or a brown triangle,<ref name="Shapiro & Ehrenreich 2002">Template:Cite book</ref> specifically reserved for Sinti, Roma, and Yenish peoples.
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Memorial in Nuremberg opposite Frauentorgraben 49, where on 15 September 1935 the Nuremberg Laws were adopted in the ballroom of the Industrial & Cultural Association clubhouse
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Deportation of Sinti and Roma in Asperg, 22 May 1940
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Memorial for murdered Sinti in Düsseldorf-Lierenfeld
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Ravensburg, Memorial for Sinti murdered in Auschwitz
Culture
A traditional dish of the Sinti people is 'kleese', which consists of sauerkraut with chicken. Hospitality holds great importance among Sinti, and meals are shared among everyone. The Sinti community is tightly knit, showing deep respect for their elders, supporting one another, and looking after each other's children. Creating a cozy atmosphere is valued among Sinti, often enjoyed with music around a campfire. Gypsy Jazz is a favored style of music among the Sinti, with Django Reinhardt being a notable representative of this genre. The primary instruments used include the violin, guitar, and bass.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Cabbage is a popular food among Sinti. Historically, the Sinti also consumed hedgehog, which they preserved in jars. The majority of Sinti practice Christianity.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Notable people
- Anita Awosusi (born 1956), writer, musician, activist
- Tayo Awosusi-Onutor (born 1978), singer-songwriter, author, activist
- Ayo (born 1980), singer, songwriter and actress
- Wawau Adler (born 1967), jazz guitarist
- Jakob Bamberger (1913–1989), boxer and activist
- Drafi Deutscher (1946–2006), singer and songwriter
- Lily Franz (1924–2011), writer and Holocaust survivor
- Philomena Franz (1922–2022), writer and Holocaust survivor
- Raymond Gurême (1925–2020), acrobat, activist, and holocaust survivor
- Elisabeth Guttenberger (1926–2024), activist and Holocaust survivor
- Hugo Höllenreiner (1933–2015), Holocaust survivor and public speaker
- Mario Mettbach (1952–2021/22), politician
- Oto Pestner (born 1956), singer, songwriter and politician
- Schnuckenack Reinhardt (1921–2006), jazz musician
- Marianne Rosenberg (born 1955), singer and daughter of Otto Rosenberg
- Otto Rosenberg (1927–2001), writer, activist and Holocaust survivor
- Sido (born 1980), rapper
- Chrissy Teigen (b. 1985), model<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Johann Trollmann (1907–1944), boxer and victim of forced sterilisation
- Häns'che Weiss (1951–2016), jazz musician
See also
- Antiziganism
- History of the Romani people
- Romani people by country
- Romani people in Austria
- Romani people in Belgium
- Romani people in Germany
- Romani people in the Netherlands
- Sindhi diaspora
- Sinte Romani (language)
Notes
References
Sources
Further reading
- Template:Cite book
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External links
Template:Romani diaspora Template:Ethnic groups in Germany Template:Authority control