Can i just say a little about your topic
Romani or Gypsy who are we really ? There isn;t a country called Gypsyland or Romaniland ?
The name gypsy wasn;t our choosing but called to us by the gaji Why ? Because they didn;t know how else to describe the unusual sight of people so dark and mysterious and that lived originally in tents not caravans as most believe, that came much later, they wore bright vivid colors and spoke a strange tongue imagine how you would think if you saw them for the very first time how would you describe them ?
The first were so dark almost black in color.
People had never seen the like of before, as the centuries went by they married into many families and now we have blonde blue eyed etc but the true ones were dark and dark eyed exotic in looks.
They were always thought to be un- christian having no belief in God Why ? again because if they didn;t comply with the people of the land they lived in that was seen as very wrong how could these people believe in any religion after the way they were treated and what they saw done to people in the name of religion,that subject has caused more wars than anything else.
Way Way back before we can imagine there was in every country a tribe of people who chose to ROAM rather than be like everyone else and live in a house. this is where the word Romani derives .
From these tribes come all our families from across the world they were unwelcomed where ever they went because they didn;t comply to the norm
Amazingly we will find more about them than your average person why because people were fascinated by them, they could live without all the comforts of a brick dwelling and survive so much is wrote of them more so than ordinary people it just means you have to look, not just census records try newspapers there is a huge amount written about gypises or romani through the years.
Unfortnately like any people there is good and bad amongst them and mostly you will only hear or be told the bad , but hey the gaji did far worst than the romani people ever did.
I will say this people even today consider us all the same but it is very annoying to be classed as one we are not , many have gone under the pretence of being a gypsy and they have no right to claim that, thats why lots of the old ones get annoyed or won;t speak about it.
In the old days the tribe was ruled by each family usually the elder member.
Some families joined especially through marriage which again they believed strongly that they should keep the line true by only marrying into the families of the true blood.
They had their own rules and laws which they did use, as for Kings & Queens noo that was done for the gaji benefit, it helped to give them status not just among themselves as a sign of respect but the gaji liked the idea of royalty if it meant they could camp without being bothered great.
They had a council of the higher ranking men etc and these ruled the tribes, but there was a leader who's word was always obeyed by all.
The women were the workers not the men although they did do work the woman did much more than just keep the family clean and fed, it wasn;t for men to bring up children or do the chores never that wasn;t allowed.
It was a great delight for a gypsy man to have a daughter it ment he would gain wealth when she married, a son would mean he had to pay not so good.
The one thing I admire about all the true Romani is the fact they could change their trade and make money where no other man could, the sad part is that they lived by natures rules so much has been lost through the years about living off the land how many today would know if they walked along a real country lane what wood was good for things or which plants they could eat or use as medicines this is what we are losing as a hertiage.
I am very proud to admit my family were of these people and only wish I could have know them better sadly most have gone now like the true families it has all died.
Why did they move so much over the years it wasn;t just they followed the seasons for work on the farms in the early days they were a cheap labour force with no outlay for living expenses and most families were welcomed by the farmers year a upon year, until machinery came, then it all changed they had to find other ways to make money which they did very well, but many caused trouble many were when brought to court called vagabonds and rogues this law goes back to before 1700s which gave the judge powers to imprison and even have them killed or transported, so what choice did they have but to move on quickly
Another thing I have found too I always thought they called children after their parents as a sign of respect , how wrong it was done for a much more crafty reason, many had the same name so as to confuse the law if they were caught for what ever hard to prove if you have 6 called same name which one is guilty and as most gaji couldn;t tell them apart it made it even easier to decive
Anyway this is only my opinons hope it helps to clear up some things
My favourite quote is from my own Great- Great Grandfather he said :
We are children of Nature it seems hard we cannot live on forever among the grasses and woods changing our tents from season to season to follow the summer sun.
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