What it means to be a Roma Gypsy
Guest Author Maureen Pemberton
Something like 15 million Roma (Rom/Romanies/"Gypsies") live scattered across the world, in various countries and continents. Often subjected to racism, violence, genocide, stereotyping (romantic, racist and otherwise) and misinterpretation, they have a long history of survival that dates back well into the 5th century at the very earliest.
It all started in North west India. They are said to be descendants of the ancient warrior classes of Northern India, especially from the Punjab.
R Padmirshi Rishi of India (20th century; he died relatively recently) was one of the many celebrated scholars/linguists who studied evidence to piece together the real truth and origins of the Roma. He said the Roma, "...are identifiable by their language, religion and customs, which can be directly linked to those of the Punjabi of Northern India" (www.romani.org/). The Romany language has many similarities to other Northern Indian/Pakistani languages (Hindi/Urdu/Punjabi) in fact.
Some research suggests the Roma have a link with the Banjara and the Rabari tribes of North West India (from Rajasthan). The Banjara live in 22 states and the Rabari are nomadic herders (Kajira Djoumahna, The Tribal Bible).
The Roma do not have any direct genetic/cultural links with other nomadic people, other than those mentioned above. This is quite relevant to the fact that many Travellers in, say, the U.K, are not Roma.
Names
The name Roma (plural) is what Romany "Gypsies " prefer to be called. Rom is the singular noun/adjective/name group, while we have variations of Romany/Romani etc. Middle eastern Roma call themselves the Dom, while Egyptian Arabic describes (female) Egyptian Roma as Ghawazee (literally, "Invaders of the Heart". The singular noun is Ghazi for a Male and Ghaziya for a female).
"Gypsy" is an erroneous name that resulted from the early Mediaeval misconception that the Roma came from Egypt when many entered Europe via Greece. It must be stated, however, that some Roma liked this idea of being mistaken for Egyptian pilgrims as they were often treated with kindness, until they were "found out", unfortunately!
Viewed from the other side, the Roma call anyone who is not Roma as "Gadje/Gadjo"(foreigner). The Spanish word for a "non-Roma" is Payo.
Romany Life: Stereotypes
As the Roma travelled and eked out their livings, often in self-employed family trades (horse trading, farming, musical instrument makers, blacksmiths, etc. in the beginning) it was often assumed that they were just nomadic. However, this is a myth.
While many may have been in the beginning, as Isabella Fonesu and others have pointed out, many Roma such as the Spanish Roma have been "settled" since at least the 15th Century.
Whilst many East European Roma in Bulgaria, Romania, etc. (Fonsecu ) have a nomadic lifestyle, many Roma in, say, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and so on are settled. Some Roma are nomadic and some aren't. Many don't have the typically "Roma" jobs of blacksmiths, horse traders, farming, etc., but many are well-educated, integrated into many societies contributing as citizens in the society in which they live, working in mMany different types of work. This surely dispels the very harmful stereotype of the Roma being lazy; this is erroneous and untrue. However, as Fonescu painfully points out, there is much poverty and degradation amongst Romany communities across Europe, with the escalation of racism, violence, victimisation, illiteracy and the never-ending spectre of unemployment.
Romanies have been seen as colourful, exotic, freedom loving beings, denied a 3 dimensional humanity. Fonsecu reiterates that Romanies are no more freedom loving than anyone else. Given that many live outside mainstream cultures and have retained their own cultures (out of distrust of mainstream cultures) they often live by different values, and their first allegiance is to their group. They are not individualistic, as in the "capitalist/liberal" Western sense of the word. To be freedom-loving suggests leaving the group and their identity behind. Many Roma have an identity, which is of belonging to a group.
Negative stereotyping ensures that the Rom are still stubbornly and inaccurately seen as thieves, swindlers, unreliable, roguish, etc., all terms which have been thrown at other ethnic minorities with equal hostility. Negative characteristics are seen in all cultures and groups, but they certainly do not represent the truth of an ethnic group. Stereotypes arise out of misunderstanding and misperception; using one small example to describe a whole group of people inaccurately. Other names given by Europeans to the Roma, are "Tsigen, Tzigane, Tsiagne, bohemien/nne, Bohemians" et al, none of them strictly accurate, either. However, the name Sinti (used in Germany to describe the Rom) refers possibly to Sindh in North India.
Migration (5th century C.E), The Holocaust (1940's)
Migration may have started as early as the fifth century (Tejal, Bring out the Belly dancer in You), probably to find a better way of life. Being different attracted hostility and prejudice. Many of the Roma were forced, like European Jews, to live in segregrated areas of town and they could be punished for breaking certain social laws concerning interaction with the general population. In southern Spain, for example, the Roma there (arriving from Belgium in the 14-15th century) lived amongst the Moors and Jews. It is said that this cultural melange created flamenco, flamenco Culture and art. In Spain all three ethnic groups were prey to the Spanish Inquisition and, over the centuries, many were killed and brutalised, or paradoxically forced to conform to mainstream social 'norms'. Many countries had policies of forced assimilation of the Roma, to non-participation with the general public. Sometimes there was a schizophrenic swing between the two policies.
Killing, torture and discrimination of the Roma was rife across Europe, and this culminated in the Holocaust during the 1940s. This is described in greater detail in Fonescu's excellent 'Bury me Standing'. Something like a quarter to one third of the Roma in Europe were killed, and up to a mind-numbing 70% of Roma were known to be killed in specifically Nazi controlled regions (www.romani/org/local_persecution.html).
The Holocaust had also claimed victims within the Jewish communities (the largest numbers, gay people, dissidents/critics of the Nazi regime, religious leaders, trade unionists and so on).
It has been commented that anti-Roma feeling is particularly strong in East European, although hostility to them is found in the West too. In the UK, the policy has been to allow Romanies to be nomadic (as opposed to forced assimilation), but this has not been without controversy.
The Romantic Fortune teller
One of the most enduring stereotypes of The Roma is that of the Fortuneteller. And yet the Roma are no more psychic than anyone else! They do not have any talented propensity for telling the future. This only came out about because many Roma women, like other European women, from the 15th century onwards, were healers and herbalists. Again healing and intuition are very closely entwined. However, the Catholic Church felt concerned about these women healing in the community and associated them with the Occult, labelling them "Witches". Many women, Roma and non-Roma alike, were burned at the stake...
Ironically, later the18th/ 19th Century Industrial revolutions across Europe saw a rise in the Romantic movement, and the Roma started to be seen as people living an idealised life, steeped in Nature. Academic curiosity about the Roma and their lives started from there.
Cultures: Morality and Cleanliness
At the very heart of Roma culture is the concept of codes of honour, which is believed to have stemmed from the Hindu spiritual belief system. Fonescu gives an invaluable outline of the main ideas on Romany codes of conduct and cultural values.
The Roma are very strict about cleanliness, although many people persist in believing the stereotype that the Roma do not care about cleanliness. What people often fail to understand (say Fonesu et al) is that some Roma live in the most deprived and appalling living conditions, without adequate water or sanitation. The powerlessness that many have (lack of skills, lack of literacy, etc.) cannot change this situation, nor, often, does anyone outside the Roma community seek to try to address this issue.
Some Roma, such as the North American Vlach Rom, follow a strict cleanliness code, where hands are always washed after touching shoes, clothes worn on the lower body is washed separately from clothes worn on the upper body; many Roma believe in the notion of contamination and have a list of actions and objects that are considered clean or unclean.
In terms of morality, the group identity is strong and the wishes of the group, more often than not, overrides the individual. This is seen more keenly where many Roma feel that they cannot trust the outside world and rely on the group to sustain and encourage each other, keeping their distance from the Gadjo. Much more can be gleaned from Fonescu's book 'Bury me standing '.
Conclusion
Maybe, in time, more genuine information about Roma life, culture and arts can develop a truer and more positive representation, and the state of play will, therefore, change gradually in the future.
References:
www.romani.org/
www.voiceoftheroma.org
www.romaniworld.com
www.unionromani.org
Djoumahna Kajira 2003, The Tribal Bible, Chapter 7 "Gypsy" This and "Gypsy" That, pp.207-227 (recommended)
Fonescu Isabel, Bury Me Standing,(highly recommended!!! ***** )
Tejal (video), Bring out the Bellydancer in You, (documentary section)
Maureen is an accomplished dancer and teacher, she has had a variety of dance articles published. She teaches in the west Midlands. For classes and performances, please contact her on: oris.pemberton@btinternet.com
For more about Maureen please look in the Circle of Ishtar.