It was a nice day yesterday, and after cutting the grass, we sat outside with some friends and had a glass of wine. During the conversation, Claire remarked that she though maybe she was a gypsy. Well, that got me to thinking….
Soon after I met Claire and her family. I began to hear the term “gypsies.” I’d heard the word before but I kind of associated it with the “romantic” version of Gypsies — colorful folks in quaint caravans who play the fiddles, perform palm readings and dress in scarves and bright peasant dresses…. always cheerfully on the move.
But it became apparent that in Cleveland, Ohio, they have a less festive image of the Gypsies, that have them living outside the law in makeshift encampments and preying on good, upstanding folks. Another term that the people in Cleveland (and I’m sure other places) use is Hillbillies. It seems like Hillbilly and Gypsy kind of fall into the same category….. mostly an undesirable moniker.
Believe it or not, growing up in Maysville, I don’t remember either of those terms being used. During the summer, especially, we had “migrant workers,” come to town and usually set up a “camp” just outside the city limits. Although many came to pick cotton, or to “pull bolls,” the the biggest group was there to cut broomcorn, and were referred to as “broomcorn Johnnies.” These groups probably fell into the the same category as Hillbillies and Gypsies did in Cleveland.
But, as happens regularly, I got a little off the subject — I intended this blog to be about Gypsies.
So first things first — they’re not really Gypsies. The call themselves Rom,” or “Romany.” Gypsy is a name that was put on them by the gadie — in the Romany language, gadie means “barbarian.” And to the Romanys, this means anyone not a Romany. The term “Gypsy” probably isn’t a good term and it’s not even accurate — it’s a shortened version of “Egyptian,” and was chosen because of the belief that Gypsies originated in the Nile delta. They didn’t — they’re originally from northern India.
So the Romany may have been from northern India, but they didn’t stay there. By the 11th century they were in Persia (Iran, today) and by the 1400s could be found all over Europe. Today an estimated two to five million Romany live all over the world, including North America and Australia. But the majority still reside in Europe with large numbers in the Czech and Slovak Republics, Hungary, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria and Romania. (Romania takes its name from Rome, the empire — not Rom, the people.)
However, the Romany presence in Europe didn’t mean that the Europeans were very pleased to have them there. It didn’t help that the Romany, traditionally nomadic and organized in family-oriented bands, lived and worked on the fringes of settled societies. These social traits often made the Romany scapegoats for trouble — after all, they were just “passing through.” Romany were frequently labeled grifters, thieves, and witches, and were persecuted accordingly.
They were often given the boot — Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, and England are just some of the countries that had laws expelling the Romany from their borders between the 16th and 19th centuries. A lot of the time, the Romany didn’t take the hint and came back — they could then be killed, shipped off in forced migrations to colonies in North and South America, Brazil or Australia. The practice and rationale of sending people you don’t like or want around to your own colonies sounds a little screwy, but the Europeans apparently figured it was better than having them on the outskirts of town.
Sometimes a country would decide to “rescue” the Romany from their lifestyle and make them “respectable” folks — without consulting the Romany on the matter, of course. In 18th century Hungary, Romany were made to settle and farm, and Rom children were taken from their families to learn new trades. The Romany language was outlawed, as was their music (except on holidays!) It didn’t take, however, and forced assimilations in Spain were also unsuccessful.
When the 20th century rolled around, things didn’t get any better for the romany — it didn’t help that Europe was clearly a mess in that era. The Nazis, who didn’t much like anyone that wasn’t them, had it in for the Romany from the start, even though the Romany were already subject to discriminatory laws in Germany. They were required to register with officials, prohibited from traveling freely, and frequently sent to forced-labor camps. The Nazis kept these laws in place and added to them, making the Romany subject to forced sterilizations and other horrifying racist laws.
Here in the United States, anti-Gypsy laws were on the books at one time or another in Mississippi, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Texas, Indiana, Georgia and Maryland. In the late 19th century, Romany were even specifically barred from immigrating to the U.S.
The Romany aren’t as persecuted today as they were in the past, but stereotyping still exists. Today, if you say that someone “gypped” you — meaning cheated or deceived you — You’re using a racial slur. “Gyp comes from “gypsy.”
Some people admire their nomadic, property-eschewing style as a type of independence, but generally, that’s not the case….
Living here in West Virginia, we have a group known as the Hillbilly Gypsies. They formed in 2001 in Morgantown and have been performing their own brand of old time bluegrass and original mountain music ever since.
So maybe Gypsies get a bad rap — probably because they’re different….sound familiar? But maybe they’re on to something — they say
Gypsies do not like to stay
They only come to go away.
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