the yenish people are descendants of itinerant germans minstrel's from the middle ages who had a nomadic life. a separate people, called the yenish people, arose on this background. the yenish people have their own customs and do not want to be confused with the roma people, just as they also speak their own language: the yenish language, which is considered a variety of german language. there are around 400,000 in germany, 40,000 in austria and 35,000 yenish in switzerland. in belgium in the 1990s there were around 7,000 nomadic yenish, but the number of permanent residents is unknown. to this day, people of yenish origin can be found at all levels of the circus and showman buisness.