Al-Nawar (Arabic: نور) is an Arabic term for several nomad communities used primarily in Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and Palestine.[3] The term, regarded as derogatory, is used by Arabs for several diverse ethnic groups.[3] They have historically been called "Gypsies", though as a whole they are not Romaniper se. The Dom people are especially known as Nawar.[4] While both they and Romani people originated from India, they came from two drastically different ethnicities and cultures.
This numerically small, widely dispersed people have migrated to the region from South Asia, particularly from India. As in other countries, they tend to keep apart from the rest of the population, which regards them as dishonorable yet clever. The Nawar have traditionally provided musical entertainment at weddings and celebrations. The participation of Nawar women in such activities is lucrative, yet at the same time it reinforces the group's low status. Nawar also appear at festivals to work their trade as fortune-tellers, sorcerers, and animal trainers. In Syria today, one may still encounter Nawar encampments in rural areas.
^Joseph B. Glass and Rassem Khamaisi. Report on the Socio-Economic Conditions in the Old City of Jerusalem. Munk Centre for International Studies, University of Toronto. p.4
Dupret, Ghazzal, Courbage and Al Dbiyat, Collective 'La Syrie au présent : Reflets d'une société', entry『Musiques nawar entre tradition et modernité』by Benoit Gazzal, 2007, ISBN978-2742768523
Commins, David Dean. Historical Dictionary of Syria, p. 118. Scarecrow Press, 2004, ISBN0-8108-4934-8.
Syria 100,000–250,000 
Jordan 70,000
Palestine 15,000[1] 
Lebanon 3,112 (estimated)[2]
