i wasn't sure if you were the right person to ask but i thought you might have a better idea than me atleast. can you tell me of the relationship between karelians and romanis? i know Äigan but im not sure if it's a word used with a negative connotation, for example.
I don't know super much, but historically karelians and roma people had good relationship from what I've heard and read. Nowadays, it depends, and negative attitudes have spread from Russian and Finnish main cultures.
In Russia during SU era the roma were subjected to assimilation politics in same way as most classified minorities of the time, and many roma were also deported to Siberia during 1930s. Discrimination is still common.
In Finland, many evacuees of Finno-Soviet war were roma, but they often get overlooked when evacuees are talked about, and the attitudes are still not great even in modern day. But this shared evacuation history sometimes helps with relationships between especially older Karelians and roma people, and in the aftermath of the wars, roma were generally more welcomed into Karelian households than those of Finns, from what I have heard.
I also know there's been several intermarriages between roma and karelian peoples, although that's just based on the people I know around me.
I believe Ä** is based on russian word which is slur for roma people, although I am not 100% sure, so personally I use "romana" when speaking karelian to be safe, although I see especially older people still using Ä** too.














