Devla

Devla (also called Devel, Dol and Del) is the name of God in the Roma religion. Devla was mistaken with the devil or Satan by the general public when the Roma tribes arrived in Europe during the 14th century. Devla is often mentioned in Roma folk songs.

When Romany is translated into English, the word Devla is usually translated as "God" as shown here in this Romany language textbook:

http://books.google.com/books?id=ENqAjucuu4MC&pg=PA196&lpg=PA196&dq=devla+roma&source=web&ots=j-bfQ07JWV&sig=zJB7LzzlNPgWQMbJ5-D-2AQCUSs.

Romany Christians also refer to the Christian God as Devla or Del when they speak Romany, although these Romany words existed in traditional Roma folk beliefs and in the Romany language centuries before any Roma adopted Christianity.

There is a common misconception among many Gadje (non-Roma persons) that Roma worship the devil. This is only because the word Devla sounds a lot like the word devil but is actually a false cognate. The Romany word for devil, or Satan, is actually "Beng".

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