Founder effects and transnational mutations: the familial structure of a Romani diaspora

Abstract

This chapter presents a case that illustrates the role of kinship networks in the recent migration of Romanian Roma groups to the West. Commonly, Roma family networks diverge in important ways from those found among majority European populations, including those in their home countries. The chapter presents a case study that involves a group of people who self-ascribe as Roma, the descendants of a Roma couple originating in a Transylvanian town. It also presents the group's large network of descent, its origins in a shantytown, and its connection with a larger Roma community. The chapter briefly describes how authors studied this group and show the main historical phases of the transnational migration of families from this network. Following this, it analyses the marriage system and the domestic organisation of the community, as well as the important demographic growth underpinning this diaspora.