They differed from the European Roma in their culture, language, and lifestyle.

It is believed that the ancestors of these peoples came from India through Iran and Afghanistan around the 10th-12th centuries. They retained individual words and traditions indicating Indian origins.

Before the Soviet era, many Lyuli led a semi-nomadic lifestyle. They moved with their families, especially in the south of Uzbekistan, trading, performing, or providing services (for example, fortune-telling, healing). Now most of them are settled, but the memory of the nomadic past is still alive.