Gypsy rules of life: interesting facts. Bright, beautiful and, at the same time, the hard life of gypsies
One gypsy legend says that God loved the gypsies so much for their fun and talent that he did not tie them to patches of land, like other nations, but gave the whole world for life. Therefore, gypsies can be found on all continents except Antarctica.
One of the most interesting gypsy concepts is the concept of "badness". It is associated with bottom the body of a married or just an adult woman. It is enough for her to walk over something, as this place becomes "desecrated". Clothes worn below the waist by a woman and shoes are automatically considered "desecrated". Therefore, in the female National Costume many gypsies in the world include a large apron. And for the same reason, in order not to be defiled, gypsies prefer to live in small, one-story houses.
Only 1% of Russian gypsies wander.
Gypsy short hair is a symbol of dishonor. Hair was cut off by the exiled and isolated. Until now, the gypsies avoid very short haircuts.
Medicine knows no cases of leprosy among gypsies. That is, gypsies do not get leprosy.
Gypsies understand many simple phrases spoken in Hindi. That is why gypsies are so fond of some Indian films.
Gypsies have "undesirable" professions, which are usually hidden in order not to "fall out" from the gypsy society. These are, for example, factory work, street cleaning and journalism.
Like every nation, the gypsies have their own national dishes. Since ancient times, the gypsies lived in the forest or near it, so they ate animals caught on the hunt - hares, wild boars and others. A special national dish of the gypsies is a hedgehog, fried or stewed.
Carriers of gypsy genes are called romanorat. Romanos are recognized as having the right, if they wish, to become gypsies. Romano rat are the band's guitarist Rolling Stones» Ronnie Wood, Sergei Kuryokhin, Yuri Lyubimov, Charlie Chaplin and Anna Netrebko.
The word "lave?" in Russian jargon, borrowed from the Romany language, where it has the form “love?” (Gypsies do not “kayat”) and the meaning is “money”.
An earring in one ear of a gypsy means that he is the only son in the family.
More about gypsies...
Many people associate the word "gypsies" with such concepts as freedom, liberty. In fact, rather strict morals reign in the gypsy family.
Gypsies, natives of India, wherever they appeared, led an isolated way of life - they are strangers everywhere. But those who stayed for a long time in a particular area, over the years adopted the customs of the indigenous population. Mostly Russian Roma (Russian Gypsies) and Serves (Ukrainian Gypsies) live in Russia. Magyar gypsies from Western Ukraine and Central Asian Lyuli gypsies come to Moscow in search of work.
Gypsies differ in religion - Orthodox Christians mostly live in Russia and Ukraine, but there are Muslims and Catholics.
NO DISCOS!
Marriages among the gypsies are concluded quite early: the elders are afraid that the youth will “go wild and spoil”. In addition, a younger girl quickly gets used to the way of her husband's family.
It is not customary for gypsies to go on dates, to discos. Usually young people get acquainted at the weddings of relatives and other celebrations. Parents, of course, look after future spouses for their children, but more often they act as advisers, not dictators. Every father, every mother wants the family with which to intermarry to be respected, noble and decent. And if you're rich, even better. But no one is forced to marry.
Living among one's own presupposes awareness of everything. "Gypsy Post" knows where the beauty has grown up and where you can send matchmakers. As soon as the son hinted to his parents about his choice, preparations for matchmaking begin.
Sometimes this is a separate festive event with its own canons - to whom to say what, where to sit, and so on. And if the families have agreed, a wedding is being prepared.
WITNESSES OF CHASTITY
Gypsy wedding celebrations are like theatrical performances. For example, only those women whose family life succeeded. The blessing of the bride and groom with icons is obligatory - for Christians, of course.
And the chastity of the bride is an indispensable condition. The bride and groom are solemnly escorted to separate apartments with songs, dances, then just as solemnly welcomed. As a sign of purity, girls pin red flowers on their chests. A wedding veil is opened over the heads of the bride and groom so that the guests can verify the innocence of the bride, other, already “adult” songs and ditties are sung to the young. Girl puts on new outfit, a scarf is tied on her head.
In some groups of Crimean gypsies, bride price is still paid. And at the weddings of gypsy-lovers they don’t give gifts, it is believed that anyone can come and just enjoy the happiness of the young.
The legends that gypsies steal brides have a real basis. This happens in our time if parents do not approve of the choice of children. But in such cases, wedding feasts, as a rule, are not arranged. Everything is quiet and modest.
"BARO ROM" AND HIS WIFE
Young people in most cases stay with the groom's parents. Then, over time, they move under their own roof. Only the most younger son with his family he must stay with his parents - someone needs to take care of them.
The daughter-in-law gets up earlier and goes to bed later. She performs all household functions under the guidance of her mother-in-law. A gypsy will never reread a man, will not enter into a male conversation until she is addressed. There are legends about the fidelity of gypsy women, they know how to respect men, take care of them, and most importantly, they protect the honor of the family. You will never hear a gypsy woman dishonor her husband in front of strangers or talk about what he should do. She silently goes and does it. She will earn money herself and will never reproach her husband for not bringing money.
However, for the most part, gypsy men feel responsible for their family, children, and relatives. This is instilled in them from childhood.
Sometimes men, of course, allow themselves to be lazy, lie down on the couch in front of the TV. They love to show off in society in chic clothes, to splurge: he big man, "baro rum"!
All men are in love with horses. A ring depicting a horse's head or a horseshoe is a worthy decoration for a gypsy. If you can’t own a horse, then at least forge its image on the gates of the house! Many men collect figurines of these animals. Now cars are replacing horses, and any gypsy will name dozens of the best foreign cars.
"WILL I WANT!"
The standard of living of many gypsies is very low: it is a squatter building without water, sewerage and gas. There are such places throughout the post-Soviet space. But in Europe, as, indeed, already here, some gypsies live quite decently: they travel in cozy wagons with a trailer.
Genetics is a stubborn thing. Therefore, in multi-storey buildings, the gypsies are stuffy, difficult, they want freedom. They try to live closer to the ground - in private houses, or at least on the ground floors.
Gypsies decorate their homes with carpets, stucco, and love expensive dishes. Food is always prepared a lot - you never know who will look at the light. A gypsy will never let a person out of the house without giving him at least some tea. By the way, tea is brewed strong, adding lemon and apple slices to it, and drinking from crystal glasses.
Modern gypsies, of course, do not wear 12 skirts, like Gorky or Tolstoy characters. But their clothes are often different from what others wear. Most of all, of course, gypsies love black. But they are not indifferent to bright colors - red, white, turquoise, gold. Favorite fabrics - chiffon, velvet, guipure. Length - maxi or midi, short skirts are worn only by city girls, and even then rarely. Shoes in everyday life - without a heel, but the festive one is very chic! Gypsies love gold jewelry, and more diamonds. Favorite stones are turquoise and corals.
WHO ARE YOU, WHO IS YOUR FATHER?
It is not customary for gypsies to speak out loud about love, you cannot touch a strange woman even in a dance. If you are a real man know how to manage your emotions. I liked another gypsy - do not show it, well, except in a song or dance, throw out your passion. The hot temperament of men sometimes leads them into the arms of strangers, not gypsy women. Society treats this condescendingly, although it does not welcome it.
Mixed marriages do happen though. And if the wife is of a different clan-tribe, she gradually “gypsies”: she takes on the gypsy culture, customs, language. If the spouse is of a different nationality, then the gypsies sometimes try to take over in order to build life in their own way. In the end, this is how it turns out: after all, life depends on the woman. Very rarely occurs in gypsy families divorces. But if a man leaves, then he, as a rule, takes care of the children or takes them to new family. When meeting gypsies, they ask each other: “Whose are you? Who is your father?"
Fortune telling is a primordially gypsy skill passed down from generation to generation - both joy and sorrow for a fortune teller. If you see trouble and can't do anything, it's hard! From the outside it may seem that everything is simple - he looked at the cards and voiced. In fact, it is hard work for the soul, for the mind. To see the past, present, future, you need to tune in, enter a certain state and concentrate. And after the session, you should restore strength. But when you are thanked by people who have found their love or overcome an illness, have given birth to a baby or achieved success in business, is that not happiness?
OUT OF TIME
But the real gypsy happiness is to be a child in a camp. You are the tastiest, you are always with your mother, everyone loves you, kisses, gives gifts, spoils you. Therefore, if one of the “strangers” in the car or on the street refused to give a gypsy a coin, he will not be upset, and his self-esteem will certainly not suffer from this. Well, if they offend, then there will always be someone in the camp - a sister, brother, aunt or godmother who will console, reassure.
Unfortunately, the gypsy mother sees her task only in ensuring that the child is well fed and healthy. Not everyone understands the need for education. Yes, and it is difficult for gypsy children to study in regular school. Poor knowledge of the local language interferes - the kids simply do not understand what they want from them. In addition, for gypsies there is no category of time, because of this, learning to come to class on time is beyond their power.
Social conditions are also sometimes against studying - there is nothing to wear, shoes, there is no place in the house where to do homework. In addition, gypsies have a prejudice that at school more liberated peers will teach their children something bad.
Nevertheless, having an education is already becoming prestigious. And many encourage their children to study. Of the universities, the gypsies prefer the institutes of culture and ... tourism business- that's where it manifested itself, longing for the nomad! ← Older post
Many people are afraid of gypsies, they are afraid of their curses, fortune-telling, extortion of money. However, those gypsies, gypsies, who walk around the city are not quite real. In fact, real gypsies will never wander around the city and beg for money, and at the same time pretend that they understand something in fortune-telling. Gypsies are the forerunners of fate: what they see is what they say! Their purpose is to help people predict fate and get away from bad rock to help them on their way to happiness.
But only gypsies from God can do this, and you rarely meet them, because gypsy people- like a wheel of good fortune: if you get it, then you deserve it, and if you don’t, then you don’t need it. After all, one cannot know one's destiny, it changes every day, every hour, every moment. No wonder they say: “If you guess a lot, you will lose your fate,” so sometimes it’s better not to know your karma so that it doesn’t change for the worse.
Everyone knows that the gypsy people are, first of all, dancing, dancing, singing in front of the fire until the morning, but no one knows how and how the gypsies live. Now you will probably say that it is theft. Not at all - the gypsies are quite bright, beautiful life, and it will be interesting for everyone to live one day with a gypsy, to know their life, to understand their joys and troubles, but first you should learn more about who the gypsies are ......
There is a sufficient number of statements about who the gypsies are. For example, scientists say that ethnicity or nationality, but people say that gypsies are a “way of life”. There is also an opinion that gypsies are a “profession”. Oddly enough, the gypsies agree with each of these statements. Many say that the Gypsies are similar to the Jews, they are scattered around the world and consist of a small number of ethnic groups that differ from each other in customs, dialects, culture and even appearance. Gypsies sometimes do not even recognize each other, but the gypsies still have more in common than distinctive. For example, origin. All of them by ethnic composition- classical and European, often they are called none other than romale. Gypsies also have language and speech in common. Gypsies know three languages: Romani, Domari, Lomavren. All three languages are related to each other, but two of them fall into dialects, so do not be surprised if a gypsy from Russia does not understand the songs of a French gypsy. Among other things, all gypsies have such a feature as gypsy law. This is a series of rules and codes that regulate relations within a gypsy family, and which must not be violated. Being a gypsy means not only being born one, but also observing certain rules and traditions, without which the life of a gypsy cannot exist. Their rules can be compared with our regulatory documentation, with our rights and obligations as a law-abiding citizen and just as an honest person.
Many probably remember the sensational melodramatic series called Carmelita. It was there that the basic rights and obligations of the gypsies were indicated and justified, which Carmelita, alas, did not want to follow. For example, a gypsy woman has no right to marry a Russian guy, which Carmelita successfully accomplished by marrying Maximus. Also, a girl does not have the right to remain alone with her beloved before the wedding, they should only be in places surrounded by huge amount of people. There is also a ceremony of matchmaking, wedding. One of the most important violations of a gypsy is her insincerity and impurity in the truest sense of the word. A gypsy gets married only once and forever! The bride should not be with anyone except her fiancé, and then her husband, after the wedding night, the husband shows the sheet to relatives to prove that his bride was really clean before that night. If something goes wrong, and it turns out that the bride was with someone else before her husband, then she is cut and kicked out of the camp, and no one will ever marry her.
However, the gypsies can not only correctly comply with the gypsy laws, but also have a decent fun. For example, the gypsies have such a wonderful holiday as "Ivan Kupala", or in another way it is called "Summer Holiday". On the eve of this holiday, girls weave wreaths to hang them on tall tree, and the guys should get the wreath of their beloved girl. If the guy guesses right, then after some time he must send matchmakers and marry this girl. Also in this festive evening gypsies make bright, hot fires, and young couples jump over the fire, and also move out - they dance, sing songs, arrange various games.
The main qualities of gypsies are: hospitality, intelligence, eloquence, emotionality, vigor, professional success and, of course, gypsies do not have the right to be discouraged, they are artists.
Gypsies not only live in a special way, celebrate holidays, have fun, but also interpret the gypsy flag in a different way. For example, the blue stripe is the sky, the green one is the field, roads, the wheel is the gypsy soul, but the red color for them is the color of the holiday.
Gypsies, in addition to songs, are very fond of horses. From time immemorial, the main occupation of men is horse trading, and for women, fortune-telling.
Gypsies are a very unusual and vibrant people, representatives of this particular nation, profession and lifestyle create good mood for people. They themselves live, rejoicing in every new day, if you have not yet met such a gypsy or gypsy, then everything is still ahead of you.
Anna Kondratieva
Mood now - Merry
At the gypsy flag
has its own symbolism: the upper part of blue color, which means the sky, the lower part of the cloth - green - means grass, and
in the middle is a red wheel - a sign of the eternal road.
WEDDING. Parents marry their
sons and daughters at the age of 16-18. a suitable pair
parents choose. Here the groom got married, the bride's parents are looking closely -
good or not. If the adults have agreed, then they should arrange a magnificent wedding for the bride and groom. Sometimes the bride
steal. This is an old law. liked the guy gypsy girl- He can steal it. It is important that later, when all
open, it was in keeping with tradition. That is, the "thief" must be an honest and decent person. Required for gypsies
stamp in the passport, and the wedding in the church is welcome. “On the wedding day, the main organizers of the holiday can be considered
matchmaker and matchmaker, who must be elderly and not be relatives of the newlyweds. We walk either in the house or in a cafe
or a restaurant. We dance with families. The hosts announce: “And now let such and such a family come out.” And everyone, young and old, must
dance. At midnight, the matchmakers take the young to the bedroom and remain at the door to guard their peace. Then they have to bring sheets
and show all the guests, they say, the wedding is honest. 
LANGUAGE. Although the gypsies have their own language, they do not have an alphabet. Therefore, they write gypsy words in Russian, Hungarian or
Romanian letters - depending on the place of residence.
GOLD AS A MEMORY OF PARENTS
Gypsies wear too much gold, say gajos (non-gypsies). Roma has a simple explanation for this. "Strangers
they think that we are very rich if we walk in gold. But buying gold is a long tradition. When our families wandered for centuries
what property could we buy and carry with us? Only decorations. - Besides, father
families should leave their children an inheritance, and what could be better than chains, earrings or bracelets? And since in
Since our families have 5-6 children, we buy a lot of gold. And it is believed that in this way the child retains the memory of his father and mother. Children
keep these precious gifts for them all their lives. And for the daughter - it is also a solid dowry.
Gypsy code of honor: listen to elders and husband
Gypsies sacredly honor their laws. The main rule: real rum will never offend, offend, rob those people
among which he lives. “The Romales are accustomed to trust each other, share the last piece of bread and always help in difficult times.
minute. If rum comes to me and says: “I give you gold to keep”, then he can be calm - with his values
nothing will happen. If we find out that one of ours has broken the law, then we can delete such a person from our
life. For example, for murder, drug trafficking.
Gypsies consider expulsion from the community the most terrible punishment. A person is no longer invited to visit, to help.
Roma are hospitable people. If they move from city to city, they can always live with their fellows, borrow.
It will not be possible to hide the dark past. Gypsy mail (based on the principle: word of mouth) works at lightning speed and make inquiries about
This or that family will not be difficult.
The Roma are divided into peculiar castes according to the ways of earning: some beg for alms, others trade in the markets.
A separate niche is occupied by those who have their own business, for example, restaurants or shops. They enjoy special respect
creative dynasties are the gypsy intelligentsia.
The law of respect for elders is unshakable. Children should listen to their parents. “God forbid, the kids disobey their father, we punish
child with a whip. Not with a hand or something else, but with a whip. So did both fathers and grandfathers. Every house has a whip. And wives should be obedient to their husbands in everything. “A wife should be able to cook, entertain, and earn. If
discord occurs, then for advice they go to the elders, whom the gajos (non-gypsies) call the gypsy barons. But the gypsies don't
barons, there are simply respected people who have authority among the Roma.
ROMAN BELIEFS: HORSESHOE UP AND PAIN WITH JOY 
Gypsies pay great attention to various symbols and superstitions, because this is how they pass from generation to generation
folk wisdom. If a gypsy found a horseshoe on the road, he cannot pass by, but must act according to science. "Horseshoe
for a gypsy - a symbol of happiness. And it should hang on the door of the house with the ends up so that happiness does not spill out. If the gypsies
finds a horseshoe on the road that lies with the ends away from him, then this is a sign of good luck. He should pick her up and hang her on the door
your home. If the gypsy does not pick up a horseshoe, he will be lucky only on this day. If he picks up, he will carry
Always. If the horseshoe found is directed towards the gypsy, it cannot be picked up, since it brings bad luck.
It is necessary to throw it over the left shoulder or hang it on a tree with its ends down so that bad luck pours out, spit and
keep going further.
HERBS AND SPELLS. Gypsies do not like doctors, preferring to turn to healers for help in the old fashioned way. Maybe that's why
many Roma do not get sick often and live long lives. “You can’t buy medicines in a pharmacy, chemistry is all that. I only heal
folk remedies. For example, when my eyes hurt, I make an infusion of elderberry. It can be drunk for coughs and colds. Giving infusion
you need to say: “Oh, pain, from the eyes go into the water, go into the grass, go into the ground.
Go to the earth spirit. There is your home. Go and rejoice." And it always helps me!
All my life I wonder what only gypsies can say about pain: “Go and rejoice!”.
KOTLYARY - "METALLISTS", CRIMEA - GOLDEN
Our people - Kotlyary - the most ancient of the gypsies. By the way, we call ourselves Gypsies and never call ourselves Roma. Roma as
as a rule, the Chisinauians who came from Moldova and Romania call themselves, or the Crimeans - these are Muslim gypsies. Although our language
common, but they are different. Residents of Chisinau are engaged in fortune-telling, wandering ... Crimeas - buying and selling gold. And we - boilers - always
made their living with iron. My grandfather and my father were blacksmiths. But now all the men of my camp earn by
that they conclude contracts with various enterprises and buy parts and various scrap iron from them for nothing.
Why do gypsies love gold so much
Only the lazy did not notice the addiction of gypsies to gold. Jewelry, teeth and compliments gypsies prefer gold and more.
Gilded and golden wallpapers, mobile phones, shoes, buttons, sunglasses frames… Even the red wheel on the gypsy flag
some organizations are repainted in gold.
The simplest explanation for such an addiction would be banal self-interest. Indeed, the gypsies great attention give
prosperity. It is impossible to pass by proverbs based on a play on words: "poor - consider that a thief", "where there is poverty, there is theft."
Dressing children beautifully even for going to the sandbox, talking about the success of your business to the place and not to the place,
demonstrate the expensive purchases made - it may seem that wealth for the gypsies is an end in itself. However
wealth is just one of the main ways to show your professional viability, your sharpness, luck,
high professional level(the second, of course, to boast of all this directly, in words).
Another reason for the addiction to the gold jewelry of gypsies (although gypsies and men love such jewelry) ethnographers believe
poverty insurance for women in case of divorce. If the husband drives him out of the house, he may not give money with him and not share
property, but it is unlikely to pluck the hoop earrings. In any case, a similar system exists in many Eastern
peoples: Turks, Arabs ...
But apart from practical basis Gypsy passion for gold is also mystical.
Gold is a special metal, many peoples think so. Gold doesn't rust, which is probably why it's considered a metal.
pure, and moreover, attracting happiness and money. Among the peoples of Europe, stories about gold are often associated with blood, with
curse. In gypsy tales, it may be associated with evil spirit, but accentuations “where there is gold, there are curses and
blood, no. The main “golden” plot of gypsy tales is that a lucky gypsy finds a treasure by hitting a snake with a stick or
goblin (who, by the way, is not a negative character in itself - he punishes for bad deeds and helps
good people).
Gold - best gift for a wedding, especially for a bride; so, the godmothers give her gold jewelry almost obligatory
okay. If a young husband wants to show his love and care, he pays his wife to put gold crowns on her teeth (this is
demonstration of one's own wealth, and a magical gift - luck and profitability, which gold attracts). Kotlyars of Russia,
having the custom of ransoming the bride, still use gold coins for this, or their specially made from gold
copies. The bride is bought not for money - for Gold.
Gifted or inherited gold cannot be sold or exchanged - this is more than a bad omen, it is very
Badly. Then luck will turn away, and luck is what gypsies attach great importance to. An extreme case of profit
from such gold - surrender to a pawnshop with a mandatory subsequent redemption.
Hoping to attract good luck and "money", gypsy parents sometimes give their children names associated with gold: Golden,
Sumnakai, Suvnakuni, Zlatan, etc.
In Romania, near Bucharest, there is one of the richest cities in the world - the gypsy Buzescu. In a provincial town, former traveling merchants got rich and changed their wagons to luxurious mansions. There are about 800 houses here, each costing from 2 to 30 million dollars. This is Beverly Hills No. 2 - the capital of gypsy millionaires.
Six-year-old twins Gelu and Edi Petrache are waiting for the holiday to begin on Easter Sunday. They live in one of hundreds of quaint houses built in Buzescu after the fall of the communist regime in 1989. The wealth of the gypsies in Buzescu, legal and otherwise, comes mainly from the trade in silver and other metals.
Along the main street of the town of Buzescu, with a population of 5,000 different styles, from villas to castles. The men of this city are usually busy traveling on business, and women look after the expensive household.
Hands folded on a solid belly, a straw hat sits on his head like a crown: an elderly gentleman named Paraskiv, lounging on a bench, looks around his quarter - his kingdom. The view opens up to him, in the eyes of a stranger, rather unexpected for a deep Romanian province. On both sides of the main street and even along the side unpaved lanes, fantastic mansions rise. Their facades are strewn with balconies and columns, the roofs are in towers, turrets and domes. Behi and Mercy are proudly driving along the streets. Here is the driver of a truck transporting pigs, slammed on the brakes and stares around in surprise. Paraskiv smiled. It is his hometown Buzescu, the site of the rarest phenomenon in European demographics - the rich Roma.
“I built my first house back in 1996,” says Paraskiv, nodding toward his villa, a bizarre hulk. The names of his children, Luigi and Petu, are stenciled on the top of the tin-covered tower. “The sons want to dismantle the house and build a new, different form. They say that this one is no longer fashionable,” Paraskiv shrugs. “If the kids want it that way, I agree.”
Only two stories high, Paraskiv's house is considered modest here. Giant five-story palaces with ribbed columns sprouted like mushrooms on the southern outskirts of the city. There are also houses that resemble modern offices with rounded mirrored walls. There are buildings like ancient castles with battlements. Houses in the style of Swiss chalets are also popular, with a peaked gable roof and gnomes at the entrance. In total, about a hundred gypsy mansions have grown in an ordinary provincial town of 5,000 inhabitants, 80 kilometers southwest of Bucharest. About a third of the city's residents are Roma, not all of them rich, but rich enough to turn the city into a visual, albeit odd, object of national pride.
“Rich Gypsy” sounds like a mistake, a sly mockery. The life of many of the two million Romanian gypsies (they make up about 10 percent of the total population of the country) is very unsightly. Their communities live in filthy urban slums or in towns - cardboard huts clinging to each other - on the outskirts of cities. About the same way the Roma live all over Eastern Europe where this people is despised for poverty, lack of education and stubborn isolation from other nationalities.
For many gajes, as the non-gypsies are called by the Roma, the luxurious mansions in Buzescu are like an eyesore, boasting of undeserved wealth. But the gypsy elite cares little about the opinion of strangers. Residents of the town make it clear that they do not want outsiders to ask them questions and take pictures. “Pleaka, pleaka” (“Go away, go away”), the children shouted to me. The adults looked unfriendly and turned away when I approached them. “These mansions are for insiders only,” Gelu Duminica, a sociologist who specializes in Roma people, told me. “This is a way to demonstrate wealth and status within the gypsy community.”
For residents of luxurious gypsy houses, appearance is very important. 13-year-old Kasi preens for her future husband, 14-year-old Sami, whose picture hangs on the closet door. Arranged marriages between children from wealthy families are still very common in Buzescu. Kashi is already living with Sami's family, but they will officially get married when they are 17 years old.
Parents try to give their children everything they themselves lacked: good cars, heaps of toys.
But where did this wealth come from? The local Roma say simply: “Metal trade”. In Buzescu, most of the gypsies belong to the Calderas group, which translates as "coppers". They are traditionally associated with blacksmithing. In the early 1980s, the Buzescu families traveled around the country in wagons and stopped in towns where they sold cauldrons - copper stills for brandy production. For the best craftsmen such as Paraskiv, it was profitable business, because cauldrons were sold for hundreds of dollars. The communist authorities, however, monitored the activities of the gypsies, and therefore wealthy families tried not to draw attention to themselves.
After the fall of the communist regime in Romania in 1989, the Kalderashi entrepreneurship took off in full swing. The creators of cauldrons and their sons traveled all over Romania and Eastern Europe, collecting silver, copper, aluminium, steel and other valuable metals and alloys in abandoned factories, not always legally. Many Roma from Buzescu hit a big jackpot in the metal trade. “After the revolution, even a fool could build five mansions by selling metal,” grinned Marin Nicolae, a former cauldron merchant.
For a whole week I wandered the streets of Buzescu, trying to persuade someone to let me into the house. Photographers Karla Gachet and Ivan Kaszynski have already walked this road: they lived in the gypsy quarter for two months and, having shown unprecedented perseverance, were admitted to several houses. I stood at the front gate and held in my hands the photographs that Karla and Ivan had taken inside the luxurious mansions, appealing to the curiosity and vanity of the owners. Sometimes it worked.
And then the front doors swung open to reveal gleaming marble spaces, chandeliered ceilings and, as the centerpiece of the play, the huge staircase from the movie Gone with the Wind. Most of the rooms looked completely uninhabited. Often the only inhabitants of such mansions are old people and small children who live in the back rooms and eat in the kitchen. Parents and older children are away, they are engaged in business, returning home only for holidays, christenings and funerals.
Most of the spacious rooms are used only on holidays, for weddings and funerals. Preparing for Easter, Simona Iancu polishes the front hall to a shine.
Douro and Valeria Constantin rarely dine in their sumptuous marble-floored dining room.
Another surprise for me was that they live in modern mansions in the same way as they lived a hundred years ago. At Victor Filisan's house, I asked permission to use the toilet. And the owner took me not to a modern bathroom with a jacuzzi, but to a separate house at the end of the site - they use this toilet with their wife. Traditionally, in order to maintain ritual purity, many Roma cannot cook and use the toilet under the same roof. Other ancient traditions are also alive. I have seen teenage wives serve dinner to their young husbands. Organized by parents marriages of children from the age of 13 and today are very common in the rich families of the city.
On every street, new houses are constantly being built or old ones being demolished to build even more imposing and luxurious mansions in their place, as Paraskiv's sons plan to do. It seems that there is nothing permanent here, except for family ties.
“We are the most civilized gypsies in Romania,” a man named Florin boasted to me. “If we see something beautiful, we immediately want something even more beautiful.” When I repeated this phrase to the elderly widow Rada, who also used to be the mistress of the mansion, but now lives out her days in little house, where chickens run around the kitchen, she looked at me, a stupid gadge, and said: "No matter how high you build a house, everyone ends up in the grave anyway."
In the backyards of rich Roma houses, old village traditions are still alive. On the day of the christening of a child, men send a pig as a gift godparents. Some wealthy gypsies, especially older people who grew up in nomadic wagons, feel uncomfortable in posh mansions and prefer to live in outbuildings and kitchens in the yard.
On Easter morning, Zakharia Bureata tied a tie made of solid gold thread, on which his name and the brand of his car - “Hummer” are woven. Other residents of the city try to imitate his style. “People think that all gypsies are poor and dirty,” one of the owners of the mansions told me. “They should have looked at us!”
Outside the affluent Buzescu quarter: a small kitchen belonging to a poor gypsy family serves as a dance floor for six-year-old Yasmine Iancu. She is spinning in a dance for grandfather Ion. Yasmina's mother works in Spain. In many gypsy families, adults all year round doing business abroad and raising children older generation.
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Most of our ideas about gypsy culture are true. They really adore bright decorations and pretentiousness, and still do not skimp on emotions: if a wedding, so that the whole world will know, if a quarrel, so that several future generations will not talk to each other.
Modern communities of, say, American gypsies look a little different than we might imagine: women are not necessarily dressed in long colored skirts and headscarves. However, there is something that all members of the community strictly follow.
For example, it is very rare for a gypsy to get an education. We are in website they were quite surprised by this and decided to find out about other rules of conduct that gypsy girls should follow.
Marriage traditions
Gypsies hold their culture sacred, and an outsider who claims to be a gypsy's hand is called Gorger - that is, someone who does not belong to their community and is not a gypsy. Girls mostly find their love among the community, with rare exceptions. Desire to keep own culture so large that marriages between cousins and sisters are not uncommon here.
A girl must marry a virgin. What will happen to a gypsy who does not retain her virginity until marriage? It is considered dirty and defiled the community. In doing so, she risks being left broke: no gypsy man would go against the rules of the community by marrying her after she had given herself to another.
By the way, average age marriage - 16–17 years for girls and 18–19 years for boys, and this marriage, according to traditions, should last for life. A gypsy who is married may not even think about divorce. In the Romani community, remarriages are not welcome, and in order not to "desecrate" the community, a woman can enter into only one marriage for life.
It is extremely rare for women to leave their husbands. And, as a rule, they no longer enter into a new relationship. In the eyes of the community, this casts a shadow not only on her, but also on her daughters.
Submission to parents
A girl growing up in a gypsy community early age surrounded by rules dictated by parents. Of course, such a system exists in most other cultures, but in gypsy culture, parents (and especially the father) have great authority, and the daughter is obliged to do what she is told. When she gets older, she is allowed to leave the house only accompanied by family members (and these are not necessarily parents - sisters, brothers, aunts and uncles can accompany the gypsy).
For the same reason, parents often choose a husband for their daughter without relying on her opinion. Arranged marriages among Roma are not uncommon. And after the parents marry the gypsy, she will be obliged to honor and obey her husband in the same way as her parents.
Boys have much more freedom in this regard - they can leave the house alone, choose their own bride, etc.
Can't call the police
As a rule, gypsies sort out their affairs loudly and noisily, often rushing into a fight with representatives of a hostile family. And this is also part of their tradition. However, all problems are solved within families, without the involvement of the law. It is not in their rules to sue or call a police squad: the gypsies are more likely to come in a crowd to the house of rivals or arrange a showdown at a wedding. IN worst case the family will renounce the one who calls the police to the showdown. Anyone in the Romani community must know that doing so is against the rules. Men accept this, but some girls are still trying to bring the raging relatives to order with the help of the law.
Gotta deal with the violence
Statistics domestic violence in gypsy communities is incredibly high. A study in England showed that 61% of married gypsies in England experience violence from their husbands. Women have to put up with it. Gypsy Sisters contestant Mellie says that once ex-husband locked her in the trailer, and when she managed to get out, hit her several times. The girl's family convinced her to take the man back. The girl explains why this is so: "This is a gypsy tradition, and it must be honored."
Maintain cleanliness in the house
If in most countries a woman can afford not to be a housewife and sometimes be too lazy to do the cleaning, then for a gypsy this is unforgivable. Hygiene in Gypsy culture takes important place, and it is the woman who is responsible for maintaining cleanliness in the house. She must abide by several rules, in particular, not to share her dishes or cutlery with anyone, including her spouse. All utensils are washed several times: under running water, in a separate bowl with boiling water and again under running water.
Wash men's and women's clothing relies separately. The upper part of the body is considered clean, while the lower part is dirty, so that the clothes “to the waist” and “below the waist” are washed separately from each other. And of course, underwear is also subject to personal washing.
Pregnancy is a special period
Pregnant woman should not make physical contact with someone. At this time, she does not even sleep in the same bed with her husband. It is supposed to take water procedures only in consecrated water. In addition, a gypsy woman carrying a child is released from household duties: during this period, her husband prepares food and keeps the house clean.
American gypsies, however, sometimes neglect this rule - their women are more independent.
Wear bright and provocative clothes
Despite the fact that the behavior of a gypsy should be chaste, her outfit should really scream about the opposite. Thus, she can attract the attention of her future husband without making any effort (because the first gypsy girl cannot get to know guys). Most a prime example such behavior is the American gypsies who dress up every day as if for a holiday. And if a wedding or birthday is planned, in the course go the most spectacular jewelry and the most luxurious dresses.
Can't go up to the 2nd floor
Photographer Evgeny Domansky captured how the male and female parts of the camp of gypsy-kotlyars enter the bus through different doors so as not to touch.
In gypsy culture, the concept of "foulness" is still widespread, which is directly related to the fact that the lower part of the body is considered dirty. This does not apply to girls and virgin girls, but puberty married woman considered "unclean" below the waist, and touching her skirt or shoes means "to be defiled". Because of this, if the family lives in a 2-story house, a woman was forbidden to go up to the 2nd floor - only children and young girls. But in some gypsy houses there is a garage on the 1st floor, so the woman automatically ended up on the 2nd floor. About the people living in such houses, other gypsies say that they are "fucked up." For the same reason, because of the "filth", during the feast, women sit separately from men.
Guests for men and women also come separately
It is customary among gypsies-kotlyars that a married woman can only wear a skirt. Kirill Kozhanov says that unmarried Kotlyar girls often wear jeans, and after marriage they can put on a skirt right over them.
Certainly some features gypsy life outdated. Not only that, they are also quite cruel towards the girl. What do you know about any other similar traditions in other countries?
