the similarities are striking.
The passionate, fiery heart of Spain, flamenco, is a captivating art form that has mesmerised audiences for centuries.
With its intricate footwork, soulful melodies, and dramatic flair, it’s a dance that embodies the spirit of Andalusia.
But did you know that the origins of this quintessentially Spanish dance form lie not in the sun-drenched plains of Iberia, but in the vibrant, colourful landscapes of ancient India?
It’s a journey that spans continents and centuries, a story of migration, persecution, and the enduring power of culture.
This is the story of how the soul of India came to dance in the heart of Spain. A story that begins with a nomadic people, a forgotten history, and a rhythm that would not be silenced.
The Romani Migration
The story of flamenco’s Indian roots begins with the Romani people.
It is widely believed that the Romani people originated in the northern regions of India, specifically Rajasthan and Punjab, around the 10th century.
Driven by reasons that historians still debate, but likely include caste-based oppression or the invasions of Mahmud of Ghazni, they began a long and arduous journey westward.
This migration took them through Persia, Armenia, Egypt, and the Balkans, before they finally arrived in Western Europe and, around the 15th century, in Spain.
Throughout their travels, the Romani people carried with them their rich cultural traditions – their music, their dance, and their oral storytelling.
In Andalusia, the southern region of Spain, they encountered a melting pot of cultures.
Here, their traditions mingled with Moorish, Jewish, and indigenous Spanish influences, giving birth to the complex and expressive art form we now know as flamenco.
This cultural fusion is what gives flamenco its unique character, a blend of melancholic yearning and fierce, celebratory joy.
The journey of the Romani people was not an easy one.
They faced centuries of persecution, slavery, and even genocide.
Spanish edicts in the 15th, 17th, and 18th centuries attempted to force them into a sedentary lifestyle, banned their language, and restricted their professions.
The Great Gypsy Roundup of 1749 saw the detention of over 10,000 Romani people, with men sent to forced labour and women and children imprisoned.
It was in this climate of oppression that flamenco truly took shape, becoming a voice for the marginalised, a cry of protest and a testament to the resilience of the human spirit.
The Kathak-Flamenco Connection
For anyone familiar with both kathak, one of India’s classical dance forms, and flamenco, the similarities are striking.
It is more than mere coincidence; it is a shared artistic soul.
Both dance forms are deeply rooted in rhythm and storytelling, using intricate footwork, expressive hand gestures, and powerful facial expressions to convey a narrative.
Kathak dancers wear ghungroos, or ankle bells, that create a percussive sound with every movement, much like the nails in the shoes of a flamenco dancer.
In both traditions, the dancer’s feet become a musical instrument, their bodies a conduit for emotion.
The elegant hand and finger movements of flamenco, with their graceful twirls, are reminiscent of the mudras in Indian classical dance.
The powerful spins, or vueltas, in flamenco find their parallel in the chakkars of kathak.
The connection is so profound that scholars and artists have explored it in depth.
Miriam Phillips, a scholar who has studied the kathak-flamenco connection, notes:
“In observing so-called Rajasthan Gypsy dance, costume, and performance style, I am reminded of flamenco more than kathak.
“The women dance with fancy footsteps stomping the earth, while the arms, with twirling wrists, are held overhead. Spins quite similar to flamenco’s vuelta quebrada (broken turn) are often used.”
Musical and Linguistic Links
The Indian influence on flamenco extends beyond the realm of dance and into the very fabric of its music and language.
The musical structure of flamenco, with its complex rhythmic cycles, or compás, bears a strong resemblance to the talas of Indian classical music.
The 12-beat cycle, a cornerstone of many flamenco palos (musical forms), is also found in Indian musical traditions.
Furthermore, the concept of improvisation within a strict musical framework is central to both flamenco and Indian classical music.
Flamenco’s landscape, with its different palos expressing a range of moods from deep sorrow to exuberant joy, is strikingly similar to the Indian concept of ragas.
The raw, guttural singing style of cante jondo, or ‘deep song’, in flamenco, with its use of microtones that slide between the notes of a Western harmonic scale, will sound familiar to anyone who has listened to Indian ragas or qawwalis.
The linguistic evidence is equally compelling. The Romani language, spoken by the creators of flamenco, has its roots in Sanskrit.
A significant number of Romani words are either identical or closely related to Hindi and Sanskrit words. For instance, the Romani word for water is ‘pani’, the same as in Hindi.
The numbers one, two, three, and four in Romani, ‘yek, duy, trin, and char’, are remarkably similar to the Hindi ‘ek, do, tin, char’.
Even the name ‘Roma’ is believed to be derived from the Sanskrit word ‘doma’, which refers to travelling musicians and dancers.
A Shared Heritage
Despite the overwhelming evidence of its Indian origins, the narrative of flamenco has often been simplified, with its Romani roots downplayed or even erased.
In 2010, Spain’s application to have flamenco recognised as a UNESCO world heritage treasure made no specific mention of the Roma people.
This is a testament to the ongoing struggle for recognition faced by the Romani community, who have been both romanticised and persecuted throughout their history in Spain.
As Carol Silverman, a cultural anthropologist, explains: “It’s important to attribute flamenco to the Roma above all other groups… we have evidence from the 1700s of this music being in Romani families as family music, community music.”
The appropriation of flamenco by the Spanish mainstream, particularly during the Franco regime, sought to create a nationalistic symbol, detached from the very people who created it.
Today, however, there is a growing movement to reclaim the history of flamenco and celebrate its Indian and Romani heritage.
A new generation of artists and scholars is shedding light on this forgotten connection, fostering collaborations between flamenco and Indian classical artists.
These fusion performances are a powerful reminder of the cultural threads that connect us across continents and centuries.
Flamenco is more than just a dance; it is a living history, a testament to the enduring spirit of a people who have faced unimaginable hardship.
It is a story of migration and resilience, of cultural fusion and the fight for recognition.
The next time you witness the passion and fire of a flamenco performance, listen closely. You might just hear the distant echo of a Rajasthani folk song, the jingle of a kathak dancer’s bells, and the whispers of a journey that began a thousand years ago, in the heart of India.
And in that moment, you will understand that flamenco is not just Spanish; it is a global heritage, a dance of a thousand stories, with its soul firmly rooted in the soil of the Indian subcontinent.
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