Devla is a Romani chief deity. He is the head of the Romani pantheon. He was briefly mentioned by Sam.

Although not seen, it is known that he is still alive, as he was referenced by Sam in a ritual which invokes his power to bewitch and depower the Men of Letters bunker lock-down mechanism. As the ritual did take effect, it can be assumed he is alive.

However, the power is not strong, as it was able to be "dampened" by British Men of Letters's counter bewitchment.

Powers and Abilities[]

• Bewitchment - He's able to bewitch machinery, which was once applied. By invoking his power via a certain ritual, the bewitchment will take effect shortly.

Lore[]

The word Devla is a verb of the real name Devel but it sounds a lot like the word Devil That's why many do not want to say the real name Devel (also called Devla, O Raj, Deloro and DEL) is the name of God in the Romani religion. Devla was mistaken with the devil by the general public when the Romani tribes arrived in Europe during the 12th century. Devla is often mentioned in Roma folk songs.

When Romani is translated into English, the word Devla is usually translated as "God", as shown in this Romani language textbooks.

Romani Christians also refer to the Christian God as Devla or Del when they speak Romani, although these Romani words existed in traditional Romani folk beliefs and in the Romani language centuries before any Romani adopted Christianity. That is, "Devel" is a common noun meaning a "God" It is based on the Sanskrit word "Deva" which is related to the Latin words "deus" (god) and "divinus" (godly, godlike). "O DEL" or "DEL" and "DELORO" is based on the Israelite word "El Elyon" and "ELOHIM" meaning "God Most High" ("God the highest").

There is a common misconception among many Gadje (non-Roma persons), particularly by English-speaking persons, that Romani worship the devil. This is only because the word Devel sounds a lot like the word devil but is actually a false cognate. The Romani word for devil, or Satan, is actually "Beng". The Serpent name in Romani language is "Sharkanis", "Sherkano", and/or "Bizuzo".

Appearances[]

• Season 12
  • Who We Are (mentioned only)

Trivia[]

• In reality, most of Romani people embraced predominantly Christianity, Islam, and Shaktism branch of Hinduism. Presumably, that is why his overall power in Supernatural is very weak, compared with other deities, in term of overall deities power in Supernatural.