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76-698: The Estonian Defence League was dissolved in 1940 after the Soviet occupation of Estonia . The Omakaitse was reestablished during the German Operation Barbarossa in 1941 by the Forest brothers who took control of the country before the German troops arrived allowing Jüri Uluots to establish a co-ordinating council in Tartu to proclaim the provisional government of Estonia. The Germans disbanded

152-578: A Communist organisation. The Estonian Omakaitse relied on the former regulations of the Estonian Defence League and Estonian Army , insofar as they were consistent with the laws of German occupation. The tasks of the Omakaitse were as follows: On 15 July, the Omakaitse had 10,200 members, on 1 December 1941, 40,599 members. Until the mobilisations of February 1944, the membership was roughly 40,000. Approximately 1000–1200 men of

228-742: A nomadic , itinerant lifestyle. Linguistic and genetic evidence suggests that the Roma originated in the Indian subcontinent , in particular the region of Rajasthan . Their first wave of westward migration is believed to have occurred sometime between the 5th and 11th centuries. They are thought to have arrived in Europe around the 13th to 14th century. Although they are widely dispersed , their most concentrated populations are believed to be in Bulgaria , Hungary , Romania , Serbia and Slovakia . In

304-635: A country that has excluded them ethnically and culturally. The very common carnivals throughout Brazil are one of the few spaces in which the Roma can still express their cultural traditions, including the so-called "carnival wedding" in which a boy is disguised as a bride and the famous "Romaní dance", picturesquely simulated with the women of the town parading in their traditional attire. Genetic findings show an Indian origin for Roma. Because Romani groups did not keep chronicles of their history or have oral accounts of it, most hypotheses about early Romani migration are based on linguistic theory. According to

380-462: A dark colour"). Likewise, the name of the Dom or Domba people of north India—with whom the Roma have genetic, cultural and linguistic links—has come to imply "dark-skinned" in some Indian languages. Hence, names such as kale and calé may have originated as an exonym or a euphemism for Roma . Other endonyms for Roma include, for example: The Romani people have a number of distinct populations,

456-417: A large part of the basic lexicon. Romani and Domari share some similarities: agglutination of postpositions of the second layer (or case-marking clitics) to the nominal stem, concord markers for the past tense, the neutralisation of gender marking in the plural, and the use of the oblique case as an accusative. This has prompted much discussion about the relationships between these two languages. Domari

532-602: A legend reported in the Persian epic poem, the Shahnameh , the Sasanian king Bahrām V Gōr learned towards the end of his reign (421–439) that the poor could not afford to enjoy music, and so he asked the king of India to send him ten thousand luris , lute-playing experts. When the luris arrived, Bahrām gave each one an ox, a donkey, and a donkey-load of wheat so they could live on agriculture and play music for free for

608-560: A noun (with the plural Romani , the Romani , Romanies , or Romanis ) and an adjective. Both Rom and Romani have been in use in English since the 19th century as an alternative for Gypsy . Romani was sometimes spelled Rommany , but more often Romany , while today Romani is the most popular spelling. Occasionally, the double r spelling (e.g., Rroma , Rromani ) mentioned above is also encountered in English texts. The term Roma

684-399: A number of ancient isoglosses with central Indo-Aryan languages in relation to realization of some sounds of Old Indo-Aryan . This is lent further credence by its sharing exactly the same pattern of northwestern languages such as Kashmiri and Shina through the adoption of oblique enclitic pronouns as person markers. The overall morphology suggests that Romani participated in some of

760-482: A significant genetic mark on the Y-DNA of the Roma there, creating a higher frequency of Haplogroups J and E3b in Romani populations from the region. A full genome autosomal DNA study on 186 Roma samples from Europe in 2019 found that modern Romani people are characterized by a common south Asian origin and a complex admixture from Balkan , Middle East, and Caucasus -derived ancestries. The autosomal genetic data links

836-545: A variety of reasons, such as fear of discrimination. Others are descendants of intermarriage with local populations, some who no longer identify only as Romani and some who do not identify as Romani at all. Then, too, some countries do not collect data by ethnicity. Despite these challenges to getting an accurate picture of the Romani dispersal, there were an estimated 10 million in Europe (as of 2019), although some Romani organizations have given earlier estimates as high as 14 million. Significant Romani populations are found in

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912-460: A variety of tactical transport vehicles and a small number of BTR-80 armoured personnel carriers. Romani people This is an accepted version of this page The Romani people ( / ˈ r oʊ m ə n i / ROH -mə-nee or / ˈ r ɒ m ə n i / ROM -ə-nee ), also known as the Roma ( sg. : Rom ), are an ethnic group of Indo-Aryan origin who traditionally lived

988-600: A voluntary territorial defense organisation until 2 October 1943, when the Estonian puppet government ('Self-Administration') issued a regulation with regards to calling the male population to Home Guard Service. It became compulsory for men aged 17–45 to become members of the Omakaitse . The regulation on 29 January 1944 made membership of the Omakaitse obligatory for males aged 17–60 and not affected by general mobilisation. The combat battalions consisted in men who either for health reasons or for their age were not mobilised into

1064-677: Is an organisation within Kaitseliit. Every member of WVDO has a function/task in a case of crises (civilian or armed) The Defence League's girls’ corps – Kodutütred was established to increase patriotic feelings and readiness to defend the independence of Estonia among young girls; to enhance the love for home and fatherland; to encourage respect for the Estonian language and ways of thinking; to be honest, enterprising, responsible, and capable of decision-making; to respect nature; and to respect one's parents and others. The Defence League's boys’ corps – Noored Kotkad . The objective of

1140-689: Is increasingly encountered as a generic term for the Roma. Because not all Roma use the word Romani as an adjective, the term became a noun for the entire ethnic group. Today, the term Romani is used by some organizations, including the United Nations and the US Library of Congress. However, the Council of Europe and other organizations consider that Roma is the correct term referring to all related groups, regardless of their country of origin, and recommend that Romani be restricted to

1216-489: Is now believed to have occurred beginning in about 500 CE. It has also been suggested that emigration from India may have taken place in the context of the raids by Mahmud of Ghazni . As these soldiers were defeated, they were moved west with their families into the Byzantine Empire . The author Ralph Lilley Turner theorised a central Indian origin of Romani followed by a migration to northwest India as it shares

1292-642: Is the highest-ranking officer of the Defence League; though he may not be the senior officer by time in grade. The Commander has the responsibility to man, train, equip and develop the organization. He does not serve as a direct battlefield commander. The Commander is a member and head of the Chief of Staff which is the main organizational tool of the Commander. The Commander is appointed by the Commander of

1368-480: Is used exclusively for an older Northern Romani -speaking population (which arrived in the 16th century) while Rom/Romanes is used to describe Vlax Romani -speaking groups that migrated since the 19th century. In the English language (according to the Oxford English Dictionary ), Rom is both a noun (with the plural Roma or Roms ) and an adjective. Similarly, Romani ( Romany ) is both

1444-534: Is used to represent the phoneme /ʀ/ (also written as ř and rh ), which in some Romani dialects has remained different from the one written with a single r . The rr spelling is common in certain institutions (such as the INALCO Institute in Paris), or used in certain countries, e.g., Romania, to distinguish from the endonym / homonym for Romanians ( sg. român, pl. români ). In Norway, Romani

1520-532: The European Journal of Human Genetics "has revealed that over 70% of males belong to a single lineage that appears unique to the Roma". Genetic evidence supports the medieval migration from India. The Roma have been described as "a conglomerate of genetically isolated founder populations", while a number of common Mendelian disorders among Roma from all over Europe indicates "a common origin and founder effect ". A 2020 whole-genome study confirmed

1596-692: The 20th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Estonian) . Estonian Defence League The Estonian Defence League ( Estonian : Kaitseliit , 'Defence League') is a voluntary national defence organization of the Republic of Estonia , under management of the Ministry of Defence . Its aim is to guarantee the preservation of the independence and sovereignty of the state, the integrity of its land area and its constitutional order. The Defence League possesses arms and engages in military exercises, fulfilling

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1672-694: The Balkans , in some central European states, in Spain, France, Russia and Ukraine. In the European Union , there are an estimated 6 million Roma. Outside Europe there may be several million more Roma, in particular in the Middle East and the Americas. The Roma may identify as distinct ethnicities based in part on territorial, cultural and dialectal differences, and self-designation. Like

1748-633: The Greek Αιγύπτιοι ( Aigyptioi ), meaning "Egyptian", via Latin . This designation owes its existence to the belief, common in the Middle Ages, that the Roma, or some related group (such as the Indian Dom people ), were itinerant Egyptians . This belief appears to be derived from verses in the biblical Book of Ezekiel (29: 6 and 12–13) which refer to the Egyptians being scattered among

1824-654: The June deportation in 1941 and the breakout of war between Germany and the Soviet Union, the former members of the Defence League and other civilians formed partisan groups in the woods called forest brothers . As clashes with the retreating Soviet 8th Army , destruction battalions and NKVD escalated into the Summer War , the partisan groups formed themselves into Omakaitse of rural municipalities and regions. The formation of countywide structures began right after

1900-520: The Ksp 58 , MG3 machine guns and M2 Browning heavy machine guns. Squad level anti-tank capabilities are provided with 84mm Carl Gustav recoilless rifles. In addition, indirect fire is provided by 81mm and 120mm mortars on battlegroup level. Defence League battlegroups also include dedicated anti-tank units equipped with 90mm Pvpj 1110 anti-tank guns and FGM-148 Javelin ATGMs. The Defence League utilizes

1976-599: The Omakaitse (2.5–3%) were directly involved in criminal acts, taking part in the round-up, guarding or killing of 400–1000 Romani people and 6000 Jews in the concentration camps of Pskov region of Russia and Jägala, Vaivara , Klooga , and Lagedi camps in Estonia. Guarded among others by the few percent of the Omakaitse, 15,000 Soviet prisoners of war died in Estonia, some of them because of neglect and mistreatment and some executed. The Estonian Omakaitse remained

2052-649: The Portuguese Empire during the Portuguese Inquisition . Since the late 19th century, Roma have also migrated to other countries in South America and Canada. The Romani language is an Indo-Aryan language with strong Balkan and Greek influence. It is divided into several dialects , which together are estimated to have over 2 million speakers. Because the language has traditionally been oral, many Roma are native speakers of

2128-506: The dominant language in their country of residence, or else of mixed languages that combine the dominant language with a dialect of Romani in varieties sometimes called para-Romani . Rom literally means husband in the Romani language , with the plural Roma . The feminine of Rom in the Romani language is Romni/Romli/Romnije or Romlije . However, in most other languages Rom is now used for individuals regardless of gender. It has

2204-572: The numerals in the Romani , Domari and Lomavren languages, with the corresponding terms in Sanskrit , Hindi , Odia , and Sinhala to demonstrate the similarities. Note that the Romani numerals 7 through 9 have been borrowed from Greek . Genetic findings in 2012 suggest the Roma originated in northwestern India and migrated as a group. According to the study, the ancestors of present scheduled caste and scheduled tribe populations of northern India , traditionally referred to collectively as

2280-545: The Ḍoma , are the likely ancestral populations of modern European Roma. In December 2012, additional findings appeared to confirm that the "Roma came from a single group that left northwestern India about 1,500 years ago". They reached the Balkans about 900 years ago and then spread throughout Europe. The team also found that the Roma displayed genetic isolation, as well as "differential gene flow in time and space with non-Romani Europeans". Genetic research published in

2356-582: The Americas with Columbus in 1498. Spain sent Romani slaves to their Louisiana colony between 1762 and 1800. An Afro-Romani community exists in St. Martin Parish due to intermarriage of freed African American and Romani slaves. The Romani population in the United States is estimated at more than one million. In Brazil, the Roma are mainly called ciganos by non-Romani Brazilians. Most of them belong to

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2432-748: The Defence Forces or by the Supreme Commander in Chief of the Defence Forces . The current Commandant is major general Riho Ühtegi , who assumed the position in 2019. As of 2020, Colonel Eero Rebo is the Defence League Chief of Staff. Standard uniforms of the Estonian Defence Forces are the ESTDCU issued to Defence League personnel. On some festive occasions (such as parades), white armbands with

2508-400: The Defence Forces, Police, and other state organizations. The organisation is divided into 4 Territorial Defence Districts ( maakaitseringkond ) that consist of 15 Defence League regional units ( malev ) whose areas of responsibility mostly coincide with the borders of Estonia's counties. In case of mobilization, each of the districts will form a battalion sized maneuver unit. Today,

2584-525: The Defence League has over 15,000 reservists. The affiliated organisations of the Defence League combine more than 25,000 volunteers, in all, and include the Estonian Defence League's women's corps ( Naiskodukaitse ), the Estonian Defence League's boys’ corps ( Noored Kotkad ), and the Estonian Defence League's girls’ corps ( Kodutütred ). WVDO – Women's Home Protection  [ et ] ( Estonian : Naiskodukaitse (NKK))

2660-458: The Defence League is, on the basis of the citizens’ free will and initiative, to enhance the readiness of the nation to defend its independence and its constitutional order, including in the event of military threat. The Defence League plays an important role in supporting the civil structures. Its members aid in putting out wildfires, volunteer as assistant police members, and ensure safety at various events. Units, consisting of voluntary members of

2736-820: The Defence League, also participate in international peace support operations such as in the Balkan states. The Defence League and its affiliated organisations have positive relations with partner organisations in the Nordic countries, the United States, and the United Kingdom. In 1999, the Estonian Parliament adopted the EDL Law, which provided the position of the Kaitseliit in society and national defence and also described its main tasks, structure, legal basis for operations and control and co-operation with

2812-498: The English language, Romani people have long been known by the exonym Gypsies or Gipsies , which many Roma consider a racial slur . The attendees of the first World Romani Congress in 1971 unanimously voted to reject the use of all exonyms for the Roma, including "Gypsy". However, it is not considered a slur in the UK and Romani people in the United Kingdom commonly refer to themselves as "Gypsies". The first Roma to come to

2888-480: The German Armed Forces. The men were mostly wearing civilian clothes, but were obliged to wear armbands with distinctive insignia. Their training was incomplete and they were armed with old British, German and Russian rifles and light and heavy machine guns from World War I . Therefore, the Omakaitse territorial battalions were deployed to Lake Peipus coast guard duties and insignificant sectors of

2964-477: The Gypsy, Roma and Traveller grouping, this is the name used to describe all para-Romani groups in official contexts. In North America, the word Gypsy is most commonly used as a reference to Romani ethnicity, though lifestyle and fashion are at times also referenced by using this word. Another designation of the Roma is Cingane (alternatively Çingene, Tsinganoi, Zigar, Zigeuner, Tschingaren), likely deriving from

3040-717: The Indian subcontinent. In addition, they theorized of a possible low- caste ( Dalit ) origin for the Proto-Roma, since they were genetically closer to the Punjabi cluster that lacks a common marker characteristic of high castes, which is West Euroasian admixing. The Roma may have emerged from what is the modern Indian state of Rajasthan , migrating to the northwest (the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent ) around 250 BCE. Their subsequent westward migration, possibly in waves,

3116-462: The Kaitseliit. Since 2000, Victory Day parades have been organized by Kaitseliit again every June 23. The 2015 parade also saw a rising number of military contingents from NATO countries take part: Latvia, the United States, Finland, Poland and Sweden, while 2016, aside from the US and Latvian troops also featured new contingents from Lithuania and Denmark. In 2006, the first Fleet Review in Estonian history

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3192-555: The Persian word چنگانه ( chingane ), derived from the Turkic word çıgañ , meaning poor person. It is also possible that the origin of this word is Athinganoi , the name of a Christian sect with whom the Roma (or some related group) could have become associated in the past. There is no official or reliable count of the Romani populations worldwide. Many Roma refuse to register their ethnic identity in official censuses for

3268-448: The Roma in general, many different ethnonyms are given to subgroups of Roma. Sometimes a subgroup uses more than one endonym , is commonly known by an exonym or erroneously by the endonym of another subgroup. The only name approaching an all-encompassing self-description is Rom . Even when subgroups do not use the name, they all acknowledge a common origin and a dichotomy between themselves and Gadjo (non-Roma). For instance, while

3344-550: The Romani language shares several isoglosses with the Central branch of Indo-Aryan languages, especially in the realization of some sounds of the Old Indo-Aryan. However, it also preserves several dental clusters. In regards to verb morphology, Romani follows exactly the same pattern of northwestern languages such as Kashmiri and Shina through the adoption of oblique enclitic pronouns as person markers, lending credence to

3420-1175: The Romani population "was founded approximately 32–40 generations ago, with secondary and tertiary founder events occurring approximately 16–25 generations ago". Haplogroup H-M82 is a major lineage cluster in the Balkan Romani group, accounting for approximately 60% of the total. Haplogroup H is uncommon in Europe but present in the Indian subcontinent and Sri Lanka . A study of 444 people representing three ethnic groups in North Macedonia found mtDNA haplogroups M5a1 and H7a1a were dominant in Romanies (13.7% and 10.3%, respectively). Y-DNA composition of Muslim Roma from Šuto Orizari Municipality in North Macedonia , based on 57 samples: Y-DNA Haplogroup H1a occurs in Roma at frequencies 7–70%. Unlike ethnic Hungarians, among Hungarian and Slovakian Roma subpopulations Haplogroup E-M78 and I1 usually occur above 10% and sometimes over 20%, while among Slovakian and Tiszavasvari Roma,

3496-456: The United States arrived in Virginia , Georgia , New Jersey and Louisiana during the 1600s. Romani slaves were first shipped to the Americas with Columbus in 1498. Spain sent Romani slaves to their Louisiana colony between 1762 and 1800. An Afro-Romani community exists in St. Martin Parish due to intermarriage between freed African American and Romani slaves. The Romani population in

3572-532: The United States is estimated at more than one million. There are between 800,000 and 1   million Roma in Brazil , most of whose ancestors emigrated in the 19th century from Eastern Europe. Brazilian Roma are mostly descended from German/Italian Sinti (in the South/Southeast regions), and Roma and Calon people. Brazil also includes a notable Romani community descended from Sinti and Roma deportees from

3648-463: The arrival of the German 18th Army . The first such organisation was created on 3 July 1941 in the town of Kilingi-Nõmme . It included the units of Omakaitse and forest brothers of rural municipalities. The Pärnu County Omakaitse was formed on 8 July, after the 18th Army had taken the town of Pärnu . The countywide Omakaitse organisations of Valga , Petseri , Võru , Tartu , Viljandi were formed on subsequent days. 9,175 Omakaitse troops attacked

3724-579: The beginning of the 1990s). The basic infantry weapon of the Defence League is the 5.56mm LMT R-20 Rahe , but the majority of the memberbase is equipped with the 7.62mm G3 rifle and its variants. The G3-based rifles are being phased out in favour of the R-20 Rahe in Territorial Defence ( Maakaitse ) maneuver units while backline units will retain the G3. Suppressive fire is provided by

3800-405: The carriers might be of Romani origin. Among non-Roma-speaking Europeans, it occurs at 2% among Slovaks , 2% among Croats , 1% among Macedonians from Skopje, 3% among Macedonian Albanians , 1% among Serbs from Belgrade , 3% among Bulgarians from Sofia, 1% among Austrians and Swiss, 3% among Romanians from Ploiești , and 1% among Turks . The Ottoman occupation of the Balkans also left

3876-506: The dominant haplogroup is H1a; among Tokaj Roma it is Haplogroup J2a (23%); and among Taktaharkány Roma, it is Haplogroup I2a (21%). Five rather consistent founder lineages throughout the subpopulations were found among Roma – J-M67 and J-M92 (J2), H-M52 (H1a1), and I-P259 (I1). Haplogroup I-P259 as H is not found at frequencies of over 3% among host populations, while haplogroups E and I are absent in south Asia. The lineages E-V13, I-P37 (I2a) and R-M17 (R1a) may represent gene flow from

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3952-551: The ethnic subgroup Calés (Kale) of the Iberian peninsula. Juscelino Kubitschek , Brazil's president from 1956 to 1961, was 50% Czech Romani by his mother's bloodline, and Washington Luís , the last president of the First Brazilian Republic (1926–1930), had Portuguese Kale ancestry. Persecution against the Roma has led to many of the cultural practices being extinguished, hidden or modified to survive in

4028-819: The front. However, in the defence of the Väike Emajõgi river line against the Soviet Tartu Offensive in August–September and the Riga Offensive in September 1944, some of the battalions became involved in serious combat operations. When the Army Group North started to withdraw from mainland Estonia , most of the members of the Omakaitse returned to their homes. However, the members who got evacuated to Germany were sent to

4104-488: The host populations. Bulgarian, Romanian and Greek Roma are dominated by Haplogroup H-M82 (H1a1), while among Spanish Roma J2 is prevalent. In Serbia among Kosovo and Belgrade Roma Haplogroup H prevails, while among Vojvodina Roma, H drops to 7 percent and E-V13 rises to a prevailing level. Among non-Roma Europeans, Haplogroup H is extremely rare, peaking at 7% among Albanians from Tirana and 11% among Bulgarian Turks . It occurs at 5% among Hungarians , although

4180-402: The insignia of the given territorial unit are worn. Civilian uniforms are worn by the women's division during parades and ceremonies. Armbands have also previously been worn on civilian clothing to distinguish members of the Defence League from civilians during periods when Defence League units did not have sufficient inventories to supply every member with a uniform (during World War I ; and in

4256-505: The language and culture: Romani language , Romani culture . The British government uses the term "Roma" as a sub-group of " White " in its ethnic classification system. The standard assumption is that the demonyms of the Roma, Lom and Dom , share the same origin. The English exonym Gypsy (or Gipsy ) originates from the Middle English gypcian , short for Egipcien . The Spanish term Gitano and French Gitan have similar etymologies. They are ultimately derived from

4332-400: The largest being the Roma, who reached Anatolia and the Balkans about the early 12th century from a migration out of northwestern India beginning about 600 years earlier. The Roma migrated throughout Europe and Iberian Calé or Caló. The first Roma to come to the United States arrived in Virginia, Georgia , New Jersey and Louisiana during the 1500s. Romani slaves were first shipped to

4408-570: The main group of Roma in German-speaking countries refer to themselves as Sinti , their name for their original language is Romanes . Subgroups have been described as, in part, a result of the castes and subcastes in India, which the founding population of Rom almost certainly experienced in their south Asian urheimat . Many groups use names derived from the Romani word kalo or calo , meaning "black" or "absorbing all light". This closely resembles words for "black" or "dark" in Indo-Aryan languages (e.g., Sanskrit काल kāla : "black", "of

4484-519: The medieval French referred to the Romanies as Égyptiens . These exonyms are sometimes written with capital letter, to show that they designate an ethnic group . However, the word is often considered derogatory because of its negative and stereotypical associations. The Council of Europe consider that "Gypsy" or equivalent terms, as well as administrative terms such as "Gens du Voyage" are not in line with European recommendations. In Britain, many Roma proudly identify as "Gypsies", and, as part of

4560-456: The nations by an angry God. According to one narrative, they were exiled from Egypt as punishment for allegedly harbouring the infant Jesus . In his book The Zincali: an account of the Gypsies of Spain , George Borrow notes that when they first appeared in Germany, it was under the character of Egyptians doing penance for their having refused hospitality to Mary and her son. As described in Victor Hugo 's novel The Hunchback of Notre-Dame ,

4636-449: The northwest Indian origins, and also confirmed substantial Balkan and Middle Eastern ancestry. A study from 2001 by Gresham et al. suggests "a limited number of related founders, compatible with a small group of migrants splitting from a distinct caste or tribal group". The same study found that "a single lineage... found across Romani populations, accounts for almost one-third of Romani males". A 2004 study by Morar et al. concluded that

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4712-417: The orders of the German Army Group North . On voluntary basis, the formations were summoned yet again on 2 August 1941 under the name of the Estonian Omakaitse . The Omakaitse organisation of Tallinn was formed on 28 August and later in Saaremaa island. Members were initially selected from the closest circles of friends. Later, candidate members were asked to sign a declaration that they were not members of

4788-485: The organisation is to raise these young people as good citizens with healthy bodies and minds. In addition to numerous interesting activities, such as parachute jumping, flying gliders, orienteering, shooting weapons, etc., the boys’ corps also participates in numerous events, the most popular but also the most difficult being the Mini-Erna 35 km reconnaissance competition. The Estonian Victory Day (1919) has been celebrated until WWII with military parades, organized by

4864-460: The poor. However, the luris ate the oxen and the wheat and came back a year later with their cheeks hollowed by hunger. The king, angered with their having wasted what he had given them, ordered them to pack up their bags and go wandering around the world on their donkeys. Linguistic evidence has indisputably shown that the roots of the Romani language lie in India: the language has grammatical characteristics of Indian languages and shares with them

4940-439: The proto-Roma to groups in northwest India (specifically Punjabi and Gujarati samples), as well as, Dravidian-speaking groups in southeastern India (specifically Irula ). The paternal lineages of Roma are most common in southern and central India among Dravidian-speaking populations. The authors argue that this may point to a founder effect among the early Roma during their ethnogenesis or shortly after they migrated out of

5016-420: The provisional government but allowed the armed units in the Omakaitse after Estonia became a part of the German-occupied Reichskommissariat Ostland . During World War II Omakaitse existed from 3 July 1941 – 17 September 1944 at the Eastern Front (World War II) . The Omakaitse was a unique organisation in the context of the Eastern Front , as in Latvia , which otherwise shared a common fate with Estonia, there

5092-577: The retreating Soviet forces. The battle of Tartu lasted for two weeks and destroyed a large part of the city. Under the leadership of Major Friedrich Kurg, the Omakaitse drove the Soviets from Tartu, behind the rivers Pärnu and Emajõgi , securing South Estonia under Estonian control by 10 July. After the arrival of the 18th Army troops the Omakaitse organisations were subordinated to local Wehrmacht field commanders. This happened in Pärnu on 10 July, in Tartu on 11 July, in Valga on 12 July and in Võru on 14 July. The Omakaitse units disbanded on 29 July 1941 at

5168-400: The significant developments leading toward the emergence of New Indo-Aryan languages , thus indicating that the proto-Roma did not leave the Indian subcontinent until late in the second half of the first millennium. The first Romani people are believed to have arrived in Europe via the Balkans in the 13th or 14th century. Romani people began migrating to other parts of the continent during

5244-477: The tasks given to it by the law. The organization is divided into 4 Territorial Defence Districts that consist of 15 Defence League regional units, called malevs , whose areas of responsibility mostly coincide with the borders of Estonian counties. The Defence League is a voluntary military national defence organisation, which acts in the area of government of the Ministry of Defence. The Defence League possesses arms and engages in military exercises. The main goal of

5320-417: The theory of their Central Indian origin and a subsequent migration to northwestern India. Though the retention of dental clusters suggests a break from central languages during the transition from Old to Middle Indo-Aryan, the overall morphology suggests that the language participated in some of the significant developments leading toward the emergence of New Indo-Aryan languages . The following table presents

5396-415: The variants dom and lom , which may be related to the Sanskrit words dam-pati (lord of the house, husband), dama (to subdue), lom (hair), lomaka (hairy), loman , roman (hairy), romaça (man with beard and long hair). Another possible origin is from Sanskrit डोम doma (member of a low caste of travelling musicians and dancers). Despite their presence in the country and neighboring nations,

5472-536: The word is not related in any way to the name of Romania. Romani is the feminine adjective, while Romano is the masculine adjective. Some Romanies use Rom or Roma as an ethnic name, while others (such as the Sinti, or the Romanichal) do not use this term as a self-description for the entire ethnic group. Sometimes, rom and romani are spelled with a double r , i.e., rrom and rromani . In this case rr

5548-572: Was conducted by Kaitseliit in June in Saaremaa. In 2016, the Sakala subdivision of Estonian Defence League formed the first Estonian military pipe band and their first performance was during the yearly Victory Day parade the same year. Band uses 4 sets of drums and 12 special sets of "war pipes" made by Andres Taul. Idea for such a unit originally came from President Lennart Meri in 2001 whilst he

5624-433: Was no organisation of this kind. The Estonian Defence League did not completely cease to exist after being closed down during the Soviet occupation in summer 1940. Its members hid some of the weapons but it was done on their own initiative and only in a few locations. They maintained communication, common listening to foreign radio stations was organised as well as discussions of world affairs and future prospects. After

5700-503: Was once thought to be a "sister language" of Romani, the two languages having split after the departure from the Indian subcontinent—but later research suggests that the differences between them are significant enough to treat them as two separate languages within the central zone ( Hindustani ) group of languages. The Dom and the Rom, therefore, likely descend from two migration waves from India separated by several centuries. In phonology ,

5776-518: Was visiting the Viljandi Folk Music Festival . The idea was later revived by President Toomas Hendrik Ilves in 2010 and Ando Kiviberg , notable local piper and head of Viljandi's folk festival, was assigned to form the band. According to Kiviberg one of the goals of the band is also to promote bagpipes amongst males, as Estonia is lacking male pipers. The Commander of Defence League ( Estonian : Kaitseliidu ülem )

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