BarkellWH -> RE: Flamenco originally came from India (Dec. 1 2020 16:21:26)
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There are at least two issues going on, maybe more....One is the origin of the people, and the other is the origin of the music and dance. I think people confuse the two and mush everything together. You are spot on, Mark, and this was addressed in the Original Poster's (Andresito) comment in March 2009. In fact, the OP used the subject, "Flamenco Originally Came from India," as a so-called "trueism" believed by those who don't know in order to knock it down with his comment below: "I have read of more than one person saying this. A bit like saying 'Italian food originally came from China' or 'jazz originally came from Africa'." (Marco Polo bringing noodles from China to Italy and American slaves singing work songs.) There was an interesting exchange that ended the thread at the end of March 2009. The thread was resurrected in November 2020, and we have much the same discussion again. The Roma drifted all over from India, and to say that the Gitano of Andalusia are the inheritors of Indian music that was some sort of proto-flamenco doesn't cut it. I am not an expert on the Roma, but in two of my Foreign Service assignments I have come into contact with them. While assigned to the US Embassy in Bulgaria, I met some Roma in Bulgaria whose culture was absolutely suppressed by the Communist government. But I also traveled to Greece frequently, and there were caravans of Roma that one would encounter, particularly in northern Greece. And while assigned to our Embassy in Santiago, Chile, I met some Roma outside the seaport of Valparaiso. In each case, Greece and Chile, the Roma maintained a distinct style of dress and culture, but also had adapted into the larger culture, speaking Greek and Spanish respectively. They played their own music but also could play Greek and Chilean music. In neither case would anyone remotely suggest that they brought elements of Greek and Chilean music from India via their forebears. I would suggest the same holds for flamenco among the Gitano of Andalusia. Bill
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