Lovari Roma were first of all skilled merchants and horse breeders. They knew well illnesses and way to heal horses as well as how to shoe horses. That is why they were appreciated among all great army leaders. Some groups also work with metal, smith, copper-smith as well as with gold and silver. Also they played instruments, danced, told fortune, gambled and to a certain extend stole.
According to a list of curses and things that were prohibited and which refer to a certain trades and are listed in anthology of The Laws of Manu (Manavadharmasastra) from the second century b.c. it can be seen that Roma were engaged with those trades which this law listed as unworthy for members of higher class. Among these prohibited trades they chose those that mostly suited their particular way of nomadic life and existence. Constant migrations and ramblings and invasions through history as well as the invaders that needed people who know how to groom and heal horses, shoe horses, repair arms and at the end to play and sing as well as dance to amuse solders in the hours of rest, conditioned versatility of Roma to develop these abilities as the chance to survive.
