Transcending the usual patterns of ethnology and sociology, this consideration works towards discovering the essence of Gypsy identity, arriving at what is called , a state of being and lifestyle of Indian origin. This essence thus turns Gypsies into a fragment of the East in the middle of the Western world, explaining more than 10 centuries of encounters and clashes, of fascination and discrimination, that has existed between Gypsies and non-Gypsies. romipen