Roma, gypsies, Roma - a traditionally wandering people native to North India, spread throughout the world, mainly in Europe.
Language and origin
Most Roma speak one form of gypsy, closely associated with the modern Indo-European languages of North India, as well as the main language of the country in which they live. It is believed that groups of Roma left India many times, and by the 11th century they were already in Persia, at the beginning of the 14th century. - in Southeastern Europe, and in the XV century. reached western Europe. By the second half of the twentieth century. they spread throughout all inhabited continents.
Persons of Roma ethnicity call themselves by one common name “rum” (which means “man” or “husband”), and all non-Gypsies - by the term “gadjo” or “gadjo” (a word with a derogatory connotation that means “hillbilly” or “barbarian” ) Many Roma consider the name “gypsies” offensive.
Demography
Due to their nomadic lifestyle, the lack of official census data, as well as their mixing with other nomadic groups, the estimate of the total world number of Roma is in the range of two to five million people. No reliable statistics based on sporadic reporting in different countries can be obtained. Most Roma still live in Europe, especially in the Slavic states of Central Europe and the Balkans. A lot of them live in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, Hungary, the countries of the former Yugoslavia and neighboring Bulgaria and Romania.
Eternal migrants
The stereotypical idea of nomadic gypsies often contradicts the fact that less and less of them truly constantly migrate. However, their relocation is limited. All nomadic Roma people migrate along established routes that ignore national borders. They also follow a chain of kinship or tribal ties.
Gypsies' predisposition to a nomadic lifestyle is caused by forced deportations or deportations. 80 years after their first appearance in Western Europe in the 15th century, they were expelled from almost all countries of Western Europe. Despite the fact that the Roma nationality became the reason for the systematic persecution and export abroad, the Gypsies, however, continued to appear in one form or another in the countries that they left.
Objects of Persecution
All unsettled groups living among settled peoples seem to be comfortable scapegoats. This is also the case with Roma, whom the local population regularly accused of many atrocities, which was a prelude to further official and legal prosecutions. Their relations with the authorities of the host country were marked by consistent contradictions. Official decrees were often aimed at assimilating them or forcing a settled way of life, but local authorities systematically denied them the right to set up their camp.
During the Holocaust, the only fault of the Roma was their Roma nationality. This led to the Nazis killing 400,000 Roma.
French laws now prohibit them from becoming a camp and made them the object of police surveillance, taxed them and called them up for military service, like ordinary citizens.
Spain and Wales are two countries that are often cited as examples of states where gypsies became settled, if not completely assimilated.
Recently, the countries of the socialist camp of Eastern Europe tried to implement forced settlement programs designed to put an end to their nomadic way of life.
Gypsy professions
Traditionally, the Roma were engaged in work that allowed them to maintain a nomadic lifestyle, on the periphery of a settled society. The men were cattle traders, trainers and entertainers, tinkers, blacksmiths, kitchen utensil repairmen, and musicians; women wondered, sold potions, asked for alms and entertained the public.
Before the advent of veterinary medicine, many farmers sought gypsies to consult with them on livestock and herd health.
The modern life of the Roma reflects the "progress" of the gajo world. Trips are now made on caravans of cars, trucks and trailers, and livestock trade has been replaced by the sale of used cars and trailers. Although the mass production of kitchen utensils left tinkers without work, some urban gypsies have become auto mechanics and are repairing car bodies. If some people of Roma ethnicity still lead a nomadic life, then many settled, practicing their skills or working as laborers. Traveling circuses and amusement parks also provide modern gypsies as trainers, kioskers and fortune tellers.
A family
The classic Roma family consists of a married couple, their unmarried children and at least one married son, his wife and their children. After marriage, a young couple, as a rule, lives with the husband’s parents until the young wife finds out the lifestyle of her husband’s family. Ideally, by the time the eldest son is ready to leave with his family, the youngest son will marry and bring his new wife to the family. Previously, marriages were traditionally organized by elders of a family or group to strengthen political and family ties with other families, groups or, occasionally, confederations, although at the end of the twentieth century this practice was significantly reduced. The main feature of the Roma marriage unions was the payment of kalym to the parents of the bride by the parents of the groom.
Ethnic groups
The distinctive features of the representative of the Roma nationality are determined by territorial differences, reinforced by certain cultural and dialectal features. There are three main branches, or nations, of gypsies:
- Kelderari are tinned cookers coming from the Balkans, and then from Central Europe, who are the most numerous.
- Iberian gypsies, or Zhitanos, are of Roma ethnicity, whose representatives live mainly on the Iberian Peninsula, in North Africa and in the south of France. Strong in the art of entertainment.
- Manouche (from the French manouche), also known as Sinti, is a Roma nationality, whose representatives live mainly in Alsace and in other regions of France and Germany. Among them are many traveling showmen and circus performers.
Each Roma nationality is divided into two or more subgroups that differ in their professional specialization or territorial origin.
Political organization
Officially, no body, congress, or any “king” adopted by all Roma was ever elected, although the “international” congresses of Roma were held in Munich, Moscow, Bucharest, Sofia (in 1906) and in the Polish city of Ruvne (in 1936). Nevertheless, the existence of political power among the Roma is an established fact. Those who received noble titles, such as the “duke" or "earl," in their early historical relations with the local population, were probably no more than the chieftains of groups that moved in numbers from 10 to several hundred households. These leaders (governors) were elected for life from among prominent families. Their strength and power varied depending on the number of associations, traditions and relationships with other entities within the confederation.
The voivode was the treasurer for the whole group, determined the route of its migration and participated in negotiations with local municipal authorities. He led through the council of elders, who also consulted with the senior union woman. The influence of the latter was strong, especially in relation to the fate of women and children, and was based on the apparent ability to earn and organize women within the group.
Social control
The strongest institution of social control of people of Roma ethnicity was “Chris” - the norms of customary law and justice, as well as the ritual and tribunal of the group. The basis of the Gypsy Code was comprehensive loyalty, coherence and reciprocity within a recognized political unit. The death penalty of the tribunal, which concerned all disputes and violations of the code, was excommunication from the group. A sentence of ostracism could exclude a person from participating in certain events and punish him with unskilled work. In some cases, elders granted rehabilitation, followed by a celebration of reconciliation.
Social organization
Roma groups consist of vice, that is, associations of extended families with a common origin on both the paternal and maternal lines, numbering at least 200 people. A big vice can have his own boss and advice. You can apply for a vice as a result of marriage with a member of the clan. Loyalty and economic cooperation are expected at the household level, and not at the level of vice. Gypsy does not have a general term for a household. A person can probably count on the support of a circle of significant relatives, with whom he is physically close and not in a quarrel.
Spiritual beliefs
Gypsies do not have an official faith, and in the past they tended to despise organized religion. Today, Roma often turn to the dominant religion of the country in which they live, and describe themselves as “many stars scattered in the eyes of God.” Some groups are Catholics, Muslims, Pentecostals, Protestants, Anglicans, and Baptists.
Roma follow a complex set of rules that govern such things as neatness, cleanliness, respect, honor and justice. These rules are called "romano." Romano means acting with dignity and respect, like a Roma man. Romanipe is the gypsy name for their worldview.
Keepers of tradition
Roma disseminated folk beliefs and practices in the areas where they settled (for example, Romania), preserving national customs, dances and the like, which largely disappeared from rural life at the turn of the 21st century. Their musical heritage is huge and includes, for example, flamenco. Although gypsies have a rich oral tradition, their written literature is relatively poor.
At the beginning of the XXI century, Roma continue to struggle with contradictions in their culture. Despite the fact that they are forced to defend themselves less frequently from persecution by a hostile society, some mistrust and intolerance remained. Perhaps an even bigger problem they encountered was the erosion of their lifestyle under the influence of the city in industrialized societies. The themes of family and ethnic loyalty, typical of Roma music, helped preserve certain notions of what Roma nationality is, but some of the younger and more talented spokesmen of this music, under the influence of material reward, drifted away to the outside world. Individual housing, economic independence, and mixed marriages with neroms have become more common.