Karakachans or Sarakatsani are an itinerant "white color" (i.e. non-Roma) people of the Balkans. Their name is thought to be a pejorative label coined by Turkish conquerors, for their nomadic way of life. They used to practice transhumance, grow their herds on move, winter time to Aegean shore, summer time back to Rhodopes or Balkan mountains. In the times of the Ottoman Empire, they were a relatively independent people and wealthy through trade in lamb meat and wool. After the WWII, they were sedentarized in Bulgaria. They speak Greek and are Greek Orthodox.