Yes the modern idea that us Romani people originate in India 1,000 years ago is fairly recent, first originating from European academics in the late 18th century due to comparisons drawn from Sanskrit-based languages in India and the language of the Roma (Hancock 2010, 7-8). As for what us Romani people thought, there is historical record of Roma telling Europeans where we are from. For example, in 1422, Foroliviensis reported that Roma he met in Italy ‘said they were from India.’ Sebastian Munster in 1544 said that Roma he interviewed in Germany stated that their homeland was in Asia, along the Ganges or Indus rivers. Various European sources from as early as the 12th century to the 17th century mentioned Roma as a population originating from the Indian subcontinent (Hancock 2010, 7).

Regarding our mythology, much of it wasn’t recorded prior to recent times due to the closed nature of our communities, however, folk stories that have been recorded by modern ethnographers show that there is not an overall agreement within our stories of our origin. For example, a common myth within our communities is that we originate in Egypt, whether this originated from Europeans confusing us for Egyptians or early Roma claiming to Europeans that we originate there, is still a matter of debate among historians. Another common myth is that we originate from a lost tribe of Israel, and this one is still common in certain Romani communities today, especially in Hungary and the United States. Roma from Romania, where I am from, also have different folk stories. Two of the most popular are titled “O Romano Them” (The Romani Country) and “O Kamipen” (The Love). The first states that we once had our very own country but, due to a drought we had to leave and migrate all over the world, after some time had passed we ended up forgetting where we came from. The latter states that when God was dividing the world up, we came late, and there was no more land left to give, so instead all we asked God for was his love, explaining why we don’t have a country. The idea expressed in the former, that many Roma forgot where they came from is supported by Dr. Ian Hancock’s research, many Romani communities were unaware of their Indian origins when the modern hypotheses of our origin in India first started arising.

To answer your last question, as stated by Hancock, Roma have never felt tied to an idea of a homeland, very opposite to the case of Jewish people and Israel. A homeland is not something that has ever held great importance in our culture and our folk traditions. This could be an explanation as to why we have moved around so much, due to not being tied to a specific area of land and also due to the persecution we have endured in almost every land we have lived in. Most Roma today are proud of the fact that we originate in India and find it interesting, but are not interested in returning back or see it as their home. Interestingly, Hancock also notes that some Roma see our Indian origin as a European idea due to the fact that they lost their knowledge of our history along the way and had to find out from European academics. For further info, I would highly recommend checking out the scholarly article I referenced in this post. Hope this helps! :)

My people called Ghorbat are usually mistaken for and lumped together with the Romani but we live in Asia mostly. We have different subgroups or tribes within the Ghorbat ethnicity, some like mine trace our origin to Arabia and specific lineages like Syed (descendants of Prophet Muhammad), and various other Islamic figures, but other Ghorbat communities believe they are descendants of Sassanid Persian royalty. Some believe that they, like the Roma originated in India. These are the three main ones; Arab, Persian and Indian. There are also others but it would be too long to discuss those.

You mentioned Jews, well we have a historical connection to them which is reflected in our language and there was even a Jewish tribe in Medina with the same name as one of our tribes, to which I belong. My DNA reflects the migration of my family starting about 400 years ago from West - Iran, Baluchistan, South Central Asia to India and Europe, but does not in any way represent the genetic results for all the Ghorbat in different places. Unlike Roma, we have people throughout India and Indians regard us as foreigners. Many communities are severely marginalised.

Ultimately, the ethnic identity does originate in Arabia, having later been consolidated in Persia, most probably around Shiraz. During the Medieval era of Islam, an outcast group called the Banu Sasan renamed themselves Bani al-Ghurba, the tribe of exile. Both the name Ghorbat and much of our vocabulary comes from this guild. Then, we have Domari, Jewish, Turkic and other influences in the vocabulary. Sadly, this is often neglected because people assume we’re the same as Romani/Domari. Most Ghorbat themselves are not aware of this historical context.