engleski

Following Uniparental Genetic Traces: Origin and Migrational Routes of Bayash (Vlax) Roma living in Croatia

The origin and migrational routes of the Roma were traditionally traced by linguistic evidence, due to the lack of historical documents. The continuous development of DNA analysis enables us to tell the story of the population’s migration history using molecular genetics which describe parental genetic history through mitochondrial DNA and Y chromosome lineages. The Bayash are a branch of Romanian-speaking Roma, living dispersed in Central, Eastern, and South-eastern Europe. Larger Bayash groups migrated to Croatia, most likely during the 19th century, after the abolition of slavery in Romania. They now live in eastern (Baranja) and northern (Međimurje) part of the country. We investigated these populations in a dozen of villages, using holistic anthropological methods. DNA samples were collected from 384 Bayash (Vlax) Roma and their uniparental genetic markers were analysed. In both uniparental systems, we identified two main layers of the Bayash gene pool: the ancestral (Indian) and the recent (European). At least 50% of the Croatian Bayash carry typical Indian (South Asian) paternal lineages, while Indian maternal lineages are also widely present (27%). The reduced diversity of H1a patrilineages and M5a and M35 matrilineages implies the descent from closely related ancestors who may have lived on the Indian subcontinent. We also describe the diversity and genetic relatedness of the endogamous Roma groups in Croatia and the Balkans.

Roma ; Bayash ; Vlax Roma ; Croatia ; mtDNA ; Y chromosome ; haplogroup ; migration ; endogamy ; founder population

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