A thousand years ago, a group of people who later became the Romanies were driven out of northern India by an invading army. This group then took to traveling the world, adopting words, cultural customs, and religious beliefs from the people they encountered. Romani authors Hristo Kyuchukov and Ian Hancock explain why Gypsy is a scornful name and why they prefer to be called Romanies. A thousand years ago, a group of people who later became the Romanies were driven out of northern India by an invading army. This group then took to traveling the world, adopting words, cultural, and religious beliefs from the people they encountered.