Why gypsies never call themselves "gypsies". Gypsies: who are they and where did they come from? Little-known facts about one of the most mysterious peoples Characteristic features of gypsies

Since we are talking about nomadic peoples, I thought it would be interesting to introduce the reader to this article, just published. I'm not sure if everything in it is correct, for example, are Yul Brynner gypsies, Yuri Lyubimov, Charlie Chaplin and Anna Netrebko. But overall, I like it and it seems to be true.

Historical information about gypsies, intertwined with myths and roam with them, from century to century, and from country to country. It is now well established that the Gypsies originate from Northern India. However, it is not known what prompted them to leave this region and when it began. They were presumably driven out by the invasions of the Greeks, Persians, Scythians, Kushites, Huns and Arabs. For one reason or another, around the 9th-10th centuries, large groups of people left their homeland and moved west ...

Gypsies are the largest of the peoples who still do not have their own state and they literally live on the entire planet. Everyone has heard about the gypsies, everyone has seen them, but they do not look like a simple layman, therefore, at the household level, numerous myths and stereotypes walk about this people. Mostly negative. And they arose, as often happens, from ignorance and the same unusualness.

Below are the 10 most important myths and stereotypes about gypsies. What is curious is that these myths exist in all countries of the world, and not only in Russia.

Gypsies live mainly in Central and Eastern Europe.

This myth often circulates in Western Europe, they say, all gypsies live in the Balkans and to the east. And some consider the inhabitants of the states of the former Yugoslavia not Serbs, Montenegrins or Bosnians, but Gypsies, and they use this term rather as an insult (just as in Russia, ordinary people often call representatives of the Caucasian peoples “khachiks”, without understanding who they really are) . The same fate for the Hungarians and Romanians.

But in fact, most of the gypsies live in the United States - about a million people, followed by Brazil (more than 600 thousand). But then really Romania and Bulgaria. But the gypsies there are far from being the majority of the local population (500 and 300 thousand, respectively). In Russia, according to the 2010 census, 220 thousand people called themselves gypsies.

Gypsies are a nomadic people

This myth is very ancient and firmly settled in the minds of Europeans. If you ask a question even to children all over the world: “Who are our nomadic people?”, They will answer in chorus: “Gypsies”. But for several centuries, no mass natural (if there is no war, for example) migrations of gypsies has been observed. The myth was born from the Middle Ages, when the gypsies really were nomads and is passed down from generation to generation.

Every gypsy family has many children

This myth is from the same series as the "nomadic people". A century ago, indeed, the gypsies were distinguished by the fact that they were prolific. But let me! Think of your great grandparents. How many brothers and sisters did they have? Often, a lot. Now gypsies all over the world give birth like everyone else. Norma - one, two children in the family. Naturally, there are also large families, like any other nation.

Gypsies steal children

Admit that you yourself, or your acquaintances in childhood, were scared by your parents: “If you behave badly, the gypsies will come and take you away.” This myth is perhaps the most dense. And he went from the fact that among the gypsy children there were and are not quite classic gypsies - not dark, not curly, but fair and nothing from us (from a Russian, a Frenchman, a German, an Englishman - emphasize the necessary) not different.

This is where gossip and gossip begins. It is not uncommon for distant gypsy relatives to adopt children for various reasons, and if these children do not look like "parents", then this is also a reason to whisper.

In central Greece, not far from the city of Farsala, a blond girl was found in a gypsy family, not at all like her "parents", now the Greek police are trying to identify the girl. After a DNA test showed that four-year-old Maria was not related to the couple she lived with, she was confiscated from the gypsies.

Gypsies are ruled by barons

Well, since the gypsies do not have a state or something resembling it, then they are ruled by barons, sort of authoritative men whose power can be called "royal". This myth is also ancient and is connected with the fact that when it was necessary to resolve some important issues (for example, the police suspect some gypsy of crimes or the local authorities need to resolve some legal issues with the camp), then the gypsies were represented by the baron - usually the most authoritative person.

But in any other situation, such a leader is not required, and the gypsies decide all the main issues by general meetings. Now there are no barons in the classical sense. But we and the Europeans have a stereotype that this certain baron still "keeps" his people under control.

In general, such things are almost irrelevant. Many gypsies are socialized into the society of the state where they live and obey the authorities, just like any other people and peoples. But like everyone else, there are marginalized groups. It is by them that all gypsies are often judged.

Gypsies all over the world share a common culture

The saying: "Gypsy - he is also a Gypsy in Africa" ​​does not accurately reflect reality. Yes, there is a gypsy language, which belongs to the group of Indo-European languages, but gypsies are different in different countries. Firstly, their language has a bunch of dialects and branches, depending on the geographical location. Secondly, their culture cannot be called uniform. This is largely influenced by the religion of the state where they live.

For example, Russian gypsies are mostly Orthodox, while Crimean ones are Muslims. Croatians are Catholics, and Palestinians are also Muslims. Many of us believe that gypsies, wherever they are, are looking for connections with each other, with their people. But in reality they cannot be called a single people. Rather, Roma in a particular state have in common with each other, but do not maintain ties with Roma from other countries.

Gypsies don't serve in the army

The roots of the myth are simple: since the gypsies do not have their own state, then what is the point for them to fight for an alien, non-native state? It seems that the myth has a rational grain, and indeed it is not so easy to find gypsies in the army, in addition, they call themselves a peace-loving people.

But ... Let's start with the fact that there are not so many gypsies in general (there are about 10 million people in the world, and in Russia, as indicated above, a little more than 200 thousand), and even fewer men of military age. And history nevertheless proves that the gypsies serve. A typical example - the gypsies were in the active parts of the Napoleonic army. But at the same time, a myth arose about the pacifism of the gypsies: the gypsies of the French army publicly fraternized with the gypsies of the Spanish.

Nevertheless, the gypsies also fought as part of the army of the Ottoman Empire, there is evidence of service in the French army of Louis XIV, etc. But there was really no mass desire to fight among them.

Gypsies do nothing but steal, tell fortunes and sell drugs

The myth is not taken from scratch. No one will argue that the gypsies often stole before. But simply because there was nothing to eat. In connection with the dislike for the gypsies, they could not just take and enter the elite of the local population and live drunk. We can say that life forced to steal. It's the same story with drugs. As they say, the family has its black sheep.

As for fortune-telling, this also went from ancient times: you had to somehow earn money. And since the gypsies guessed willingly, a myth arose that they all knew how to do it. The Europeans themselves are largely to blame for this - since the gypsies are different, then some supernatural abilities were attributed to them. The most enterprising gypsies use this stereotype to the fullest.

All gypsies can play guitars

Well, what is a wedding without gypsies, judging by the works of the XIX century. Bears, red shirts and guitars. The whim of the landowners grew into a still current myth. All this is from the category - all black Americans can rap and play basketball, all Brazilians play football before they start walking, etc. In fact, gypsies play guitars no more than Russians. And, say, Hungarian gypsies generally prefer to play the violin.

Gypsies always live in communities

A very ancient, very stable and international myth. Like, all the gypsies, one after another, live closely with each other, and where one is, there is a second. Yes, and everyone knows each other. The fact is that this has happened before. But for more than a decade, this has basically not happened. Although it is not uncommon for several families to live nearby, this is due only to common interests and mentality. Gypsies do not have a communal system for a long time, and in developed countries this has long been forgotten.

Some interesting facts:

"Gypsies" is a collective term, the same as "Slavs", "Caucasians", "Scandinavians" or "Hispanics". Gypsies include several dozen nationalities.

Gypsies are divided into several ethnic groups. Calderas is one such group. The other main groups are gitans and manush. Calderas are metal specialists: tinkers, tinsmiths, etc. Gitans settled mainly in the south of France, in Spain, Portugal and North Africa. The Manush specialize in animal training, travel and perform.

There are also smaller ethnic groups of gypsies: Bledari, Rudari and Lingurari are engaged in various kinds of woodwork (Blidari specialize in making things for the home); chobatori--shoemakers; kostorari - tinkers; gilabari — musicians; lautari - musical instrument makers; meste-ri lakatushi - locksmiths; salahori - masons and builders; vatrashi--gardeners; zlatari - goldsmiths. The pronunciation may vary in different regions, but in general these names are easily recognizable...marriages between members of different groups are rare.

The gypsies have a national anthem, flag and artistic culture, including literature.

Gypsies are conditionally divided into eastern and western.

"Eastern" gypsies began to be called gypsies only in the 19-20 centuries, when Europeans visiting Asia drew attention to their resemblance to gypsies, as well as some common crafts and traditions. The "Eastern" Gypsies have a culture that differs sharply from the "general Gypsies" (i.e., the culture of the noticeably more numerous and culturally developed "Western" Gypsies), although they both have a common cultural heritage of Indian ancestors. "Eastern" and "Western" gypsies practically do not communicate.

Romani languages ​​are overwhelmingly descendants of Sanskrit. Ethnically, the gypsies are the descendants of the Aryans, with a Dravidian admixture (the Dravidians are the indigenous population of India, conquered by the Aryans, one of the oldest written cultures, at the time of the conquest was more developed than the culture of the nomadic Aryans).

There were no gypsies in India at all, there were Indians. According to the latest genetic and linguistic studies, the ancestors of the Gypsies, a group of Hindus of the "home" caste of about 1000 people, left India sometime in the 6th century. It is assumed that the Indian ruler presented this group of musicians and jewelers to the Persian, as was the custom of that time.

Already in Persia, the size of the group grew greatly, a social division appeared within it (mainly by profession); part of the pratsygans in the 9th-10th centuries began to gradually move westward and finally reached Byzantium and Palestine (two different branches). Part remained in Persia and from there spread to the east. Some of these gypsies, in the end, reached the homeland of their distant ancestors - India.

The gypsies left Byzantium during the period of its conquest by Muslims, in the hope of getting help from fellow Christians (people and times were naive). The exodus from the Roman Empire lasted for decades. Some of the Gypsies, however, for various reasons, remained in their homeland. Their descendants eventually converted to Islam.

There is a hypothesis that the gypsies received the nickname "Egyptians" back in Byzantium, for their swarthyness and for the fact that the most noticeable part of the gypsies, like visiting Egyptians, was engaged in circus art. Another nickname was also connected with circus art and fortune-telling, from which the word “gypsies” also came: “atsingans”. Initially, this was the name of some sectarians seeking secret knowledge. But over time, apparently, the word has become a household word, ironic for anyone who is engaged in esotericism, magic tricks, divination and divination. The gypsies themselves then called themselves "Roma" and gave themselves the nickname "Kale", that is, dark-haired, swarthy

It is believed that it was the gypsies who widely spread belly dance in Muslim countries. However, there is no proof or refutation of this.

Traditional Gypsy occupations are the arts, trade, horse breeding and handicrafts (from prosaic brick making and basket weaving to romantic jewelry and embroidery).

Soon after coming to Europe, the gypsies became one of the victims of major socio-economic crises and were subjected to severe persecution. This has led to strong marginalization and criminalization of Roma. From the complete annihilation of the gypsies, on the whole, the neutral or friendly attitude of the majority of the common people, who did not want to fulfill the bloody laws against the gypsies, saved them.

It is said that the famous Papus learned fortune telling from the gypsies.

The Inquisition was never interested in gypsies.

Medicine knows no cases of leprosy among the gypsies. The most common blood types among gypsies are III and I. The percentage of III and IV blood is very high compared to other European nations.

In the Middle Ages, Gypsies, like Jews, were accused of cannibalism.

In the 18th and 19th centuries, with increasing tolerance for them in European society, the criminality of the gypsies dropped sharply and greatly. In the 19th century, a very rapid process of gypsy integration into society began in Europe.

Gypsies came to Russia more than 300 years ago. Like other now rooted peoples (for example, the Kalmyks), they received imperial permission to live in Russia and engage in traditional crafts (trade, horse breeding, fortune telling, singing and dancing). After some time, these gypsies began to call themselves Russian Roma, until now it is the most numerous of the gypsy nationalities in Russia. By 1917, the Russian Roma were the most integrated and educated Roma in Russia.

At various times, Kalderars (Kotlyars), Lovaris, Serves, Ursaris, Vlachs and other gypsies also immigrated to Russia.

Almost all the names of Romani nationalities are either the names of key professions or reflect the name of the country they consider to be their home. This says a lot about gypsy priorities.

The famous gypsy national costume was invented in the 19th century. The Kalderars were the first to wear it. The Russian Roma national costume was invented by the artists to create a more exotic stage image. Historically, gypsies have always tended to wear clothing specific to their country of residence.

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.

In 1812, Russian Roma voluntarily donated large sums to the maintenance of the Russian army. Young gypsy guys fought as part of the Russian troops. At the same time, which is funny, many French gypsies fought in Napoleon's army. There is even a description of the meeting during the battle between the Spaniards and the French of two gypsies from different sides.

During the Second World War, the gypsies participated in hostilities as part of both regular armies (USSR, France; privates, tankers, military engineers, pilots, medics, artillerymen, etc.), and partisan groups, mixed and purely gypsy (USSR , France, Eastern Europe). Gypsy guerrilla actions against the Nazis are sometimes called "Aryans against the Aryans".

As a result of the systematic targeted extermination of the Roma by the Nazis, about 150,000 (for comparison, in the USSR lived from 60,000, according to the census, to 120,000, according to assumptions) died in Europe. The "Gypsy Holocaust" is called Kali Trash (there are also variants of Samudaripan and Paraimos).

Among the prominent Gypsies there are scientists, writers, poets, composers, musicians, singers, dancers, actors, directors, boxers (including champions), football players, historians, politicians, priests, missionaries, artists and sculptors. Some are more famous, for example, like Mariska Veres, Ion Voicu, Janos Bihari, Jem Mays, Mateo Maximov, Yul Brynner, Tony Gatlif, Bob Hoskins, Nikolai Slichenko, Django Reinhardt, Bireli Lagren, others less, but also can boast of significant contributions to gypsy culture.

If you see the phrase “nomadic people” without quotes in an article about Russian gypsies, you can not read it. The author will not write anything really reliable if he does not even know the fact that only 1% of Russian gypsies wander.

According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, despite the fact that in the media, according to the mention in criminal articles, gypsy frauds are in the first place, they are in the last place in the statistics. Ethnographers believe that the situation with gypsy fraud and drug trafficking is similar in Russia.

During Stalin's time, Roma were subjected to targeted repression.

The term "gypsy baron" has been used by gypsies for only the last couple of decades, and by no means by all. This is a borrowing from the media and romantic literature. The term is used specifically to communicate with non-Roma.

There are several notable gypsy theaters in the world: in Russia, Ukraine, Slovakia, Germany, as well as smaller theaters and studios in these and other countries.

One of the most interesting gypsy concepts is the concept of "badness". It is associated with the lower 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, many gypsies of the world include a large apron in the women's national costume. And for the same reason, in order not to be defiled, gypsies prefer to live in small, one-story houses.

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. The Romano Rat are recognized as having the right, if they wish, to become gypsies. Romano rat are the guitarist of the Rolling Stones Ronnie Wood, Sergey Kuryokhin, Yuri Lyubimov, Charlie Chaplin and Anna Netrebko.

The word "lave" in Russian jargon is borrowed from the gypsy language, where it has the form "love" (gypsies do not "akay") and the meaning is "money".

An earring in one ear of a gypsy means that he is the only son in the family.

Gypsies live in many European countries, as well as in North Africa, North and South America and Australia. Groups related to European gypsies also live in the countries of Western Asia. According to various estimates, the number of European gypsies ranges from 8 million to 10-12 million people. There were officially 175,300 people in the USSR (1970 census). In Russia, according to the 2010 census, there are about 220,000 Roma.

Once I was shocked by the anti-fascist film "The Crossing" with Anthony Quinn and Malcolm McDowell in the lead roles and a terrible scene of the extermination of gypsies.

Those interested can watch this film here.

Gypsies are a people without a state. For a long time they were considered immigrants from Egypt and were called the "Pharaoh tribe", but recent studies refute this version. In Russia, the gypsies managed to create a real cult of their music.

Why are gypsies "gypsies"?

Gypsies don't call themselves gypsies. The most common self-designation of gypsies is Roma. Most likely, this is the influence of the life of the gypsies in Byzantium, which began to be called Byzantium only after its fall. Prior to that, it was thought of as part of Roman civilization. The common "Romale" is a vocative case from the ethnonym "Roma".

Gypsies also call themselves Sinti, Kale, Manush ("people").

Other peoples call gypsies very differently. In England they are called gypsies (from Egyptians - "Egyptians"), in Spain gitanos, in France bohemiens ("Bohemians", "Czechs" or tsiganes (from Greek - τσιγγάνοι, tsingani), Jews call gypsies צוענים (tso'anim), from the name of the biblical province of Zoan in ancient Egypt.
The word gypsies, familiar to the Russian ear, is conditionally raised to the Greek word "attsingani" ("αθίγγανος", "ατσίγγανος"), which means "untouchable". This term is first encountered in the Life of George Athos, written in the 11th century. Conditionally - because in this book one of the heretical sects of that time is called "untouchables", and it cannot be reliably asserted that the book is about gypsies.

Where did the gypsies come from

In the Middle Ages, gypsies in Europe were considered Egyptians. The very word Gitanes is derived from the Egyptian. There were two Egyptians in the Middle Ages - upper and lower. The gypsies were so nicknamed, obviously, by the name of the upper one, which was located in the Peloponnese region, from where they migrated, but belonging to the cults of lower Egypt is visible even in the life of modern gypsies.

So, Tarot cards, which are considered the last surviving fragment of the cult of the Egyptian god Thoth, were brought to Europe by the gypsies. In addition, the Gypsies brought the art of embalming the dead from Egypt. Of course, the Gypsies were in Egypt, and probably the route from upper Egypt was the main route of their migration. However, today's genetic studies have proven that the gypsies do not come from Egypt, but from India.

The Indian tradition has been preserved in the Gypsy culture in the form of mindfulness practices. The mechanisms of meditation and gypsy hypnosis are in many ways similar, gypsies, like Indians, are good animal trainers. Gypsies are also characterized by the syncretism of spiritual beliefs, which is one of the features of modern Indian culture.

The first gypsies in Russia

The first gypsies (serva groups) in the Russian Empire appeared in the 17th century on the territory of Ukraine. The first mention of gypsies in Russian history occurs in 1733, in Anna Ioannovna's document on new taxes in the army. In addition to the maintenance of the regiments, determine fees from the gypsies, both in Little Russia they are collected from them, and in the Sloboda regiments and in the Great Russian cities and counties assigned to the Sloboda regiments, and for this collection to determine a special person, since the gypsies are not written in the census . The next mention of gypsies in Russian historical documents occurs in the same year.

According to this document, the gypsies of Ingermanland were allowed to trade horses, as they "proved themselves to be local Urzhens." According to this document, it is clear that since the gypsies "showed themselves to be local natives", it means that they have lived here for more than a generation. Further expansion of the gypsy contingent in Russia came with the expansion of its territories. When parts of Poland were annexed to the Russian Empire, “Polish Roma” appeared in Russia, when Bessarabia was annexed, Moldavian gypsies, after the annexation of Crimea, Crimean gypsies. It must be understood that the Roma are not a mono-ethnic community, so the migration of different ethnic groups of Roma took place in different ways.

On an equal footing

In the Russian Empire, the gypsies were treated quite friendly. On December 21, 1783, the Decree of Catherine II was issued, classifying the gypsies as a peasant class. They were taxed. At the same time, no special measures were taken to forcibly enslave the Roma. Moreover, they were allowed to be assigned to any class, except for the nobility. Already in the Senate decree of 1800 it is said that in some provinces "gypsies have become merchants and petty bourgeois."

Over time, settled gypsies began to appear in Russia, some of them managed to acquire considerable wealth. So, in Ufa lived a gypsy merchant Sanko Arbuzov, who successfully traded horses and had a solid spacious house. His daughter Masha went to the gymnasium and studied French. And Sanko Arbuzov was not alone. In Russia, the musical and performing culture of the gypsies was appreciated. Already in 1774, Count Orlov-Chesmensky called the first gypsy chapel to Moscow, which later grew into a choir and laid the foundation for professional gypsy performance in the Russian Empire.

At the beginning of the 19th century, the serf gypsy choirs were released and continued their independent activities in Moscow and St. Petersburg. Gypsy music was an unusually fashionable genre, and the gypsies themselves often assimilated among the Russian nobility - quite famous people entered into marriages with gypsy girls. Suffice it to recall Leo Tolstoy's uncle Fyodor Ivanovich Tolstoy-American. The gypsies also helped the Russians during the wars. In the war of 1812, the gypsy communities donated large sums of money to maintain the army, supplied the best horses for the cavalry, and the gypsy youth went to serve in the uhlan regiments.

By the end of the 19th century, not only Ukrainian, Moldavian, Polish, Russian and Crimean gypsies lived in the Russian Empire, but also Lyuli, Karachi and Bosch (since the annexation of the Caucasus and Central Asia), and at the beginning of the 20th century they migrated from Austria-Hungary and Romania lovari and kolderar.

Currently, the number of European gypsies, according to various estimates, is determined from 8 million to 10-12 million people. There were officially 175,300 people in the USSR (1970 census). In Russia, according to the 2010 census, there are about 220,000 Roma.

Gypsies are one of the most, perhaps, incomprehensible and mythologized peoples on our planet, and this has been the case for many centuries. There are rumors around the world that when gypsies come to town, they seduce men and women and then steal everything they see, including children. There are also many myths about cunning and mysterious gypsy fortune-tellers and gypsy camps. In any case, even if we put all the myths and misconceptions aside, the gypsies remain one of the most interesting ethnic groups in history.

1. Where did they come from

The origin of the gypsies is shrouded in mystery. Sometimes it seemed that they appeared on the planet in some mysterious way. This in itself may have evoked a sense of fear among the Europeans and contributed to an atmosphere of mystery around the Roma. Modern scholars suggest that the Gypsies originally migrated en masse from India in the fifth century.

This theory suggests that their flight was due to the spread of Islam, which the Roma were desperate to avoid in order to protect their religious freedom. This theory claims that the Gypsies migrated from India to Anatolia and further to Europe, where they split into three separate branches: Domari, Lomavren, and the Gypsies themselves. Another theory suggests that there were as many as three separate migrations over several centuries.

2. Gypsy nomadic lifestyle

Many stereotypes have been formed around the gypsies for a long time. Who does not know the phrase "gypsy soul" (which is applied to freedom-loving people). According to these stereotypes, gypsies prefer to live out of what is called the "mainstream" and eschew social norms in order to be able to lead a nomadic lifestyle teeming with fun and dancing. The truth is much darker.

For many centuries, the Roma were often forcibly expelled from the countries in which they lived. Such forced evictions continue to this day. Many historians have suggested that the true reason for the Gypsies' nomadic lifestyle is very simple: survival.

3. Gypsies have no homeland

Gypsies are people without a specific citizenship. Most countries refuse to grant them citizenship, even if they were born in that country. Centuries of persecution and their closed community have left the Gypsies with no homeland. In 2000, the Roma were officially declared a non-territorial nation. This lack of citizenship renders Roma legally "invisible".

Although they are not subject to the laws of any country, they cannot access education, health care and other social services. Moreover, the Roma cannot even obtain passports, which makes their travel very difficult or impossible.

4. Gypsy persecution.

It's worth starting with the fact that the gypsies were actually enslaved people in Europe, especially in the 14th - 19th centuries. They were traded and sold like a commodity, and they were considered "subhuman". In the 1700s, Maria Theresa, Empress of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, passed a law that outlawed gypsies. This was done to force the Roma to integrate into society.

Similar laws have been passed in Spain, and many European countries have banned Roma from entering their territory. The Nazi regime also persecuted and exterminated Roma by the tens of thousands. Even today, gypsies are persecuted.

5. Nobody knows how many gypsies there are in the world

No one knows how many gypsies live all over the world today. Due to the discrimination Roma often face, many of them do not publicly register or identify as Roma. In addition, given their "legal invisibility", the birth of children without documents and frequent moves, many Roma are listed as missing.

Also problematic is that Roma are not provided with social services, which would help to paint a clearer picture of their numbers. However, The New York Times estimates the number of Roma worldwide at 11 million, a figure often disputed.

6. Gypsy is an offensive word

For many people, the term "gypsy" means nomad and is not considered a racial slur. But for the "Roma" themselves (or "Romals" - the self-name of the gypsies), this word has ominous overtones. For example, according to the Oxford Dictionary, the English word "gypped" (derived from "gypsie" - gypsies) means a criminally punishable act.

Roma, often referred to as gypsies, were considered losers and thieves, a word burned into their skin during the Nazi regime. Like many other racial slurs, the word "Gypsy" has been used for centuries to oppress the Roma.

7. Future, cheap...

There are many myths surrounding gypsies. One of these myths says that the gypsies have their own magic, which has been passed down for centuries from generation to generation. The myth is associated with tarot cards, crystal balls and fortune-telling tents, as well as other stereotypes. Literature is replete with references to the gypsy language and the magical arts of this people.

In addition, there are many films that show the curses of gypsies. Even in art, there are many paintings describing Roma as mystical and magical people. However, many scientists believe that all this magic is fiction, derived from the fact that people simply did not know anything about gypsies at all.

8. Lack of formal religion

European folklore often claims that the Roma made a temple out of cream cheese. Presumably, they ate it when a period of severe famine set in, so they were left without an official religion. As a rule, gypsies join the church that is the most common in the country in which they live. However, there are many traditional gypsy beliefs. Some scholars believe that there are many links between Roma beliefs and Hinduism.

9. Modesty

Although gypsy weddings are often accompanied by mass festivities and luxurious attire, one of their main life principles, modesty, is reflected in the everyday clothes of gypsies. Gypsy dancing is most often associated with women's belly dancing. However, many gypsy women never performed what is commonly considered belly dancing today.

Instead, they perform traditional dances that use only the bellies for movement, not the thighs, as the movement of the thighs is considered immodest. In addition, the long, flowing skirts commonly worn by gypsies serve to cover their legs, as exposing the legs is also considered immodest.

10. Gypsy contribution to world culture is huge

From the very beginning of their existence, the gypsies have been closely associated with singing, dancing and acting. They carried this tradition through the centuries, significantly influenced world art. Many gypsies assimilated into different cultures, influencing them. Many singers, actors, artists, etc. had gypsy roots.

Mysterious peoples on our planet lived in the past. For example, such as .

Gypsies are a people without a state. For a long time they were considered immigrants from Egypt and were called the "Pharaoh tribe", but recent studies refute this. In Russia, the gypsies have created a real cult of their music.

Why are gypsies "gypsies"?

Gypsies don't call themselves that. Their most common self-designation for gypsies is "Roma". Most likely, this is the influence of the life of the gypsies in Byzantium, which received this name only after its fall. Prior to that, it was thought of as part of Roman civilization. The common "Romale" is a vocative case from the ethnonym "Roma".

Gypsies also call themselves Sinti, Kale, Manush ("people").

Other peoples call gypsies very differently. In England they are called gypsies (from Egyptians - "Egyptians"), in Spain - gitanos, in France - bohemiens ("Bohemians", "Czechs" or tsiganes (from Greek - τσιγγάνοι, "tsingani"), Jews call gypsies צוענים (tso 'anim), from the name of the biblical province of Zoan in ancient Egypt.

The word "gypsies", familiar to the Russian ear, conditionally goes back to the Greek word "attsingani" (αθίγγανος, ατσίγγανος), which means "untouchable". This term is first encountered in the Life of George Athos, written in the 11th century. “Conditionally”, because in this book one of the heretical sects of that time is called “untouchables”. So, it is impossible to say with certainty that the book is about gypsies.

Where did the gypsies come from

In the Middle Ages, gypsies in Europe were considered Egyptians. The word Gitanes itself is derived from the Egyptian. There were two Egyptians in the Middle Ages: upper and lower. Gypsies were so nicknamed, obviously, by the name of the upper one, which was located in the Peloponnese region, from where their migration came. Belonging to the cults of lower Egypt is visible in the life of even modern gypsies.

Tarot cards, which are considered the last surviving fragment of the cult of the Egyptian god Thoth, were brought to Europe by the gypsies. In addition, the Gypsies brought the art of embalming the dead from Egypt.

Of course, the gypsies were in Egypt. The route from upper Egypt was probably the main route of their migration. However, modern genetic studies have proven that the gypsies do not come from Egypt, but from India.

The Indian tradition has been preserved in the Gypsy culture in the form of mindfulness practices. The mechanisms of meditation and gypsy hypnosis are in many ways similar, gypsies are good animal trainers, like Indians. In addition, the gypsies are characterized by the syncretism of spiritual beliefs - one of the features of the current Indian culture.

The first gypsies in Russia

The first gypsies (serva groups) in the Russian Empire appeared in the 17th century on the territory of Ukraine.

The first mention of gypsies in Russian history is found in 1733, in Anna Ioannovna's document on new taxes in the army:

“In addition to the upkeep of these regiments, to determine fees from the gypsies, both in Little Russia they are collected from them, and in the Sloboda regiments and in the Great Russian cities and counties assigned to the Sloboda regiments, and for this collection to determine a special person, since the gypsies are not in the census written."

The next mention of gypsies in Russian historical documents occurs in the same year. According to this document, the gypsies of Ingermanland were allowed to trade horses, since they “proved themselves to be local natives” (that is, they had lived here for more than a generation).

A further increase in the gypsy contingent in Russia came with the expansion of its territories. When part of Poland was annexed to the Russian Empire, “Polish Roma” appeared in Russia, when Bessarabia was annexed, Moldavian gypsies, after the annexation of Crimea, Crimean gypsies. It must be understood that the Roma are not a mono-ethnic community, so the migration of different ethnic groups of Roma took place in different ways.

On an equal footing

In the Russian Empire, the gypsies were treated quite friendly. On December 21, 1783, the Decree of Catherine II was issued, classifying the gypsies as a peasant class. They were taxed. At the same time, no special measures were taken to forcibly enslave the Roma. Moreover, they were allowed to be assigned to any class, except for the nobility.

Already in the Senate decree of 1800 it is said that in some provinces "gypsies have become merchants and petty bourgeois."

Over time, settled gypsies began to appear in Russia, some of them managed to acquire considerable wealth. So, in Ufa lived a gypsy merchant Sanko Arbuzov, who successfully traded horses and had a solid spacious house. His daughter Masha went to the gymnasium and studied French. And Sanko Arbuzov was not alone.

In Russia, the musical and performing culture of the gypsies was appreciated. Already in 1774, Count Orlov-Chesmensky called the first gypsy chapel to Moscow, which later grew into a choir and laid the foundation for professional gypsy performance in the Russian Empire.

At the beginning of the 19th century, the serf gypsy choirs were released and continued their independent activities in Moscow and St. Petersburg. Gypsy music was an unusually fashionable genre, and the gypsies themselves often assimilated among the Russian nobility - quite famous people entered into marriages with gypsy girls. Suffice it to recall Leo Tolstoy's uncle Fyodor Ivanovich Tolstoy-American.

The gypsies also helped the Russians during the wars. In the war of 1812, the gypsy communities donated large sums of money to maintain the army, supplied the best horses for the cavalry, and the gypsy youth went to serve in the uhlan regiments.

By the end of the 19th century, not only Ukrainian, Moldavian, Polish, Russian and Crimean gypsies lived in the Russian Empire, but also Lyuli, Karachi and Bosch (since the annexation of the Caucasus and Central Asia), and at the beginning of the 20th century they migrated from Austria-Hungary and Romania lovari and kolderar.

Currently, the number of European gypsies, according to various estimates, is determined from 8 million to 10-12 million people. There were officially 175,300 people in the USSR (1970 census). In Russia, according to the 2010 census, there are about 220,000 Roma.

The content of the article

gypsies, or Roma - a nomadic people, more precisely, ethnic groups with common roots and language, whose origin can be traced from northwestern India. Today they live in many countries of the world. Gypsies are usually black-haired and swarthy, which is especially characteristic of populations living in countries close to India, although lighter skin is not typical for gypsies at all. Despite spreading all over the world, the Roma remain a clearly defined people everywhere, more or less adhering to their own customs, language and maintaining social distance from the non-Roma peoples in whose environment they live.

Gypsies are known by a number of names. In the Middle Ages, when the Gypsies first appeared in Europe, they were erroneously called Egyptians, as they were identified as Mohammedans - immigrants from Egypt. Gradually, this word (Egyptians, Gyptians) was abbreviated, becoming "gypsy" ("gipsy" in English), "gitano" in Spanish and "giphtos" in Greek. Gypsies are also called "zigeuner" in German, "gypsies" in Russian, "zingari" in Italian, which are variations of the Greek word athinganoi, meaning "do not touch" - an insulting name for a religious group that previously inhabited Asia Minor and avoided, like the gypsies , contacts with strangers. But the Gypsies do not like these names, preferring the self-designation "Roma" (plural, Roma or Roma) from "Romani (person)".

Origin.

In the middle of the 18th century European scientists managed to find evidence that the Romani language comes directly from the classical Indian language Sanskrit, which indicates the Indian origin of its speakers. The sero-anthropological data, in particular information about blood types, also indicate an origin from India.

Much, however, remains obscure regarding the early history of the Gypsies. Although they speak one of the languages ​​of the Indian group, it is very possible that they are actually descended from the Dravidian natives of this subcontinent, who eventually began to speak the language of the Aryan invaders who occupied their territory. In recent years, scholars in India itself have embarked on an academic study of the Gypsies, and, in addition, there is a revival of interest in this subject in scientific circles in the West. Gradually, the myths and misinformation surrounding the questions of the history and origin of this people are dissipated. It became clear, for example, that the Gypsies were nomads not because they had any nomadic instinct, but because widespread discriminatory legislation left them no choice but to continue their constant migration.

Migration and resettlement.

New historical and linguistic evidence indicates that the Gypsies migrated from northwestern India in the first quarter of the 11th century. as a result of a series of Islamic invasions led by Mohammed Ghaznavid. According to one hypothesis, the ancestors of the Gypsies (who are sometimes called “Dhomba” in the literature) organized themselves into military units called Rajputs to fight these invasions. Over the next two centuries, the Gypsies moved further and further west, stopping in Persia, Armenia and the territory of the Byzantine Empire (in the modern language of the Gypsies there are many Persian and Armenian words and, especially, many words from Byzantine Greek), and reached southeastern Europe in the middle of the 13th century.

The movement into the Balkans was also caused by the spread of Islam, which had caused the gypsies to migrate from India two centuries earlier.

Not the entire mass of Gypsies crossed the Bosporus and ended up in Europe, one of its offshoots migrated eastward to the regions of today's Eastern Turkey and Armenia and became a separate and quite distinct sub-ethnic group known as "lom" ("Lom").

Another population widely distributed throughout the Middle East is the "dom" ("Dom"), which was long thought to be part of the original Gypsy migration (from India, but later separated from the mainstream somewhere in Syria). While the "house" itself and their language are clearly of Indian origin, their ancestors evidently represented a separate and much earlier wave (possibly 5th century) of migration from India.

In the Byzantine Empire, the Gypsies acquired a deep knowledge of metalworking, as indicated by the metallurgical vocabulary in the Gypsy language of Greek and Armenian (non-Indian) origin. When the gypsies came to the Balkans and, in particular, to the principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia, this knowledge and skills ensured a steady demand for their services. This new artisan population of gypsies proved to be so valuable, in fact, that in the early 1300s laws were passed making them the property of their employers, i.e. slaves. By 1500, about half of the gypsies managed to leave the Balkans for the north and west of Europe. The resulting division between those who remained in slavery in Wallachia and Moldavia (today's Romania) for five and a half centuries, and those who left there, is of fundamental importance in the history of the Gypsies and is referred to in literature as the First European Gypsy Diaspora.

It didn't take long for the people of the Balkans to realize that the Gypsies were completely different from the Muslims they feared so much. But the population in countries more distant from the Balkans, i.e. in France, Holland, and Germany, for example, one had never met directly with Muslims before. When the gypsies came there with their exotic speech, appearance and clothing, they were associated with Muslims and were called "pagans", "Turks", "Tatars" and "Saracens". The Gypsies were easy targets because they had no country to return to, no military, political or economic power to defend themselves. Over time, one country after another began to introduce repressive measures against them. In Western Europe, punishments for being a Romani included lashing, mutilation, deportation, galley slavery, and even, in some places, execution; in eastern Europe, the gypsies remained slaves.

Political changes in Europe in the 19th century, including the abolition of slavery for the Gypsies, led to a sharp increase in their migration, which marked the period of the Second European Diaspora of the Gypsies. A third diaspora emerged in the 1990s with the fall of communist regimes throughout eastern Europe.

The gypsies who were in slavery were either domestic slaves or slaves in the fields. These broad categories include many smaller professional groups. The Gypsies, taken to work in the houses of the landowners, eventually lost their language of Indian origin and acquired Romanian based on Latin. Now Romanian-speaking gypsies such as "boyash" ("boyash"), "rudari" ("miners") and "ursari" ("guide bears") are found not only in Hungary and the Balkans, but also in Western Europe and other regions of the Western Hemisphere.

Much more of the ancient traditions were preserved by groups of gypsies descended from field slaves. Kalderas ("coppers"), lovara ("horse traders"), churara ("sieve makers") and mochvaya (from the Serbian city of Mochva) all these groups speak closely related dialects of the Romani language. These languages ​​form a dialect group called Vlax or Vlach, characterized by a strong influence of Romanian in it. By the end of the 19th century. Vlaxo-speaking gypsies undertook long journeys in search of places where they could settle. Countries in Western Europe were inhospitable due to centuries of antigypsy legislation in them, so the main flow of migration went east to Russia, Ukraine and even China, or, through Greece and Turkey by sea to North and South America, South Africa and Australia. After the First World War, the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in central Europe caused a mass exodus of gypsies from these lands to western Europe and North America.

During World War II, the Nazis chose the Gypsies as the target of genocide, and the Gypsies were destined, along with the Jews, for extermination by the notorious decree of Reinhard Heydrich of July 31, 1941, to implement the "Final Solution". By 1945 almost 80% of all the gypsies in Europe had died.

modern settlement.

Gypsies are dispersed throughout Europe and western Asia and are found in parts of Africa, North and South America, and Australia. However, it is not possible to establish the exact number of Roma in each country, since censuses and immigration statistics rarely distinguish them as a special article, and centuries of persecution have taught Roma to be careful in indicating their ethnicity in census questionnaires. There are between 9 and 12 million Roma in the world. This estimate is given by the International Roma Union: about one million in North America, about the same in South America, and between 6 and 8 million in Europe, where Roma are concentrated mainly in Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and elsewhere in the Balkans.

In the approximately one thousand years since the exodus of the Gypsies from India, their way of life has become remarkably varied, although each group has retained to a greater or lesser extent elements of the main culture of the Gypsies. Those that have settled in one place for a long time tend to acquire the national features of the people who have adopted them. In both Americas, a significant number of gypsies appeared in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, although there is a tradition among the gypsies that on the third voyage of Columbus in 1498, there were gypsy sailors among the crew, and the first representatives of this people appeared there in pre-colonial times. It is documented that the first gypsies appeared in Latin America (in the Caribbean) in 1539, when persecution against this people began in Western Europe. They were gypsies from Spain and Portugal.

New waves of immigrants began arriving in the Americas after 1990.

Gypsy life.

Despite their common linguistic, cultural and genetic heritage, the Gypsy groups have become so diverse as a result of the influence of time and space factors that it would be wrong to try to draw a generalized portrait of them. In the rest of the article, special attention is paid to the Vlaxo-speaking gypsies, who are the largest and most geographically distributed population.

social organization.

Taken as a whole, the life of the gypsies is called "romanipen" or "romania" and is built on the basis of a complex system of family relations. A group of kindred families forms a clan (“vista” clan), headed by a leader called “baro” (he is not a king; the so-called kings and queens among the gypsies are an invention of journalists). He is the recognized leader of his group and can direct its movements and represent it in contact with outsiders. On important matters, he may consult with the elders of the whist. Violations of the rules of morality and behavior can be considered by a special male assembly called "kris" ("kris"). This court has jurisdiction over a wide range of infringements, including material and matrimonial matters. Punishments may include the imposition of fines or expulsion from the community, the offender being called merimé or ritually unclean. Since contact with non-gypsies is avoided as a matter of course, and since the gypsy community itself must exclude anyone who is a merimee, the individual in this position finds himself, ultimately, in conditions of complete isolation. This idea of ​​ritual pollution, inherited from India and extended to the individual in his relation to food, animals and other human beings, was the most general factor that contributed to the fact that Gypsy populations remained separate from others and internally united.

Marriages with Goje (non-Gypsies) are frowned upon; even the choice of marriage with other gypsies is limited. In the case of mixed marriages, children will only be considered Roma if their father is one. The family plays an active role in the marriage formalities, which to the uninitiated can seem lengthy and complicated. First, there are long negotiations between the parents, especially about the amount of "darro" (dowry). This is the amount to be compensated for the earning potential of a bori or daughter-in-law who passes from her family and is included in the family of her new relatives by marriage. The wedding itself (“abiav”) is held in a hall rented for this occasion with the presence of many friends and relatives. The celebrations accompanying the wedding usually last three days. Once established, a marriage union usually remains permanent, but if a divorce is necessary, the consent of the "kris" may be required. As a rule, civil and church marriages are becoming more frequent, even if they represent only the final phase of the traditional ritual.

The official religion did not have much influence on the way of life of the Gypsies, although they did not manage to avoid attempts by missionaries to convert them to their faith. They adopted, in most cases superficially, such religions as Islam, Eastern Orthodoxy, Roman Catholicism and the Protestantism of those countries in which they lived for some time. The exception is the surprising and very rapid acceptance by some groups of the charismatic "new" Christianity of recent years.

The most famous religious holidays of the Romani Catholics are the annual pilgrimages to Quebec to the Basilica of St. Anne (Sainte Anne de Beaupre) and the town of Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer on the Mediterranean coast of France, where gypsies gather every time from everywhere 24 – May 25, to honor their patron saint Sarah (according to legend, an Egyptian).

Livelihood and recreation.

Gypsies prefer activities that provide them with a minimum duration of contact with the "gadge" and independence. Services that cater to occasional needs and an ever-changing clientele fit well with the Gypsy way of life, which may require the individual to leave urgently to attend a wedding or funeral, or a "kris" in another part of the country. Gypsies are versatile and the means by which they earn a living are numerous. But there are some main Gypsy trades, such as horse trading, metalworking, divination and, in some countries, picking vegetables or fruits. For joint economic ventures, the Roma may also form a purely functional "kumpania" association, the members of which do not necessarily belong to the same genus or even to the same dialect group. In the field of self-employment, many Roma work as peddlers, especially in Europe. Some resell goods bought at a lower price, others trade on the streets, noisily offering their own goods, although in the 20th century. a number of gypsy crafts suffered from competition with mass-produced products. Women play their full role in earning a livelihood. It is they who carry baskets with manufactured goods from door to door and are engaged in fortune-telling.

Although many of the names of the various Gypsy groups are based on the professions they held during the period of slavery, they can no longer serve as a reliable guide to the activities of specific families. In Mexico, for example, "coppermen" are now far more often mobile film operators than metalworkers. For many "coppers" in the United States, the main source of income is the fortune-telling parlor ("office"), which may be located in front of the fortune teller's house or in the front of the store.

Gypsies are also known to be great entertainers, especially as musicians and dancers (several famous actors, including Charles Chaplin, speak of their Gypsy ancestors). In Hungary, and in Romania in particular, gypsy orchestras with their virtuoso violinists and cymbalists have developed their own style, although much of what the audience hears is, in fact, European music in a gypsy interpretation. There is another, very special type of music - the original music of the gypsies, which is a highly rhythmic sequence of tones in which few or no instruments are used and the dominant sound is often the sound of clapping hands. Research has shown that much of the Central European classical music tradition and the work of composers such as Liszt, Bartok, Dvorak, Verdi and Brahms are marked by significant Romani influences. The same has been demonstrated by research in relation to Jewish klezmer music, whose characteristic features are unusual scales and lively rhythms.

In Andalusia, in southern Spain, according to one study by the University of Wisconsin, gypsies, along with Moroccans, created the flamenco tradition as a covert way to express anger at the repressive Spanish regime. From Andalusia, the style spread across the Iberian Peninsula and then into Hispanic America until flamenco song, dance and guitar playing became an accepted form of folk entertainment. Since the late 1970s, the music of the six-guitar Gipsy Kings has propelled modern flamenco-based music into the pop charts, and the late Django Reinhardt's jazz guitar technique ) (he was a gypsy) experienced a renaissance thanks to his great-nephew Bireli Lagrene.

Like all peoples with a developed oral tradition, the narration among the Gypsies reaches the level of art. Over the course of many generations, they expanded their folklore baggage by selecting and adding to it the folk tales of the countries in which they settled. In exchange, they enriched the folklore of these nations with the oral histories acquired by them during past migrations.

Due to strict restrictions on socializing with outsiders, the Roma spent much of their free time in each other's company. Many of them believe that the negative effects of being among the gajes can only be offset by the time they spend among their own at communal ritual events such as christenings, weddings, etc.

Food, clothing and housing.

The eating habits of Western European Gypsy groups reflect the influence of their nomadic way of life. Soups and stews that can be cooked in one pot or cauldron, as well as fish and game meat, occupy a significant place in their cuisine. The diet of settled Eastern European gypsies is characterized by the use of a large amount of spices, especially hot varieties of pepper. In all groups of gypsies, food preparation is strictly conditioned by the observance of various taboos of relative cleanliness. The same cultural considerations determine the issues of clothing. In Gypsy culture, the lower part of the body is considered unclean and shameful, and women's legs, for example, are covered with long skirts. Similarly, a married woman should cover her head with a scarf. According to tradition, acquired valuables are turned into jewelry or gold coins, and the latter are sometimes worn on clothes as buttons. Since the head is considered the most important part of the body, many men draw attention to it by wearing wide hats and large mustaches, and women love large earrings.

Mobile homes are of great importance to families whose livelihoods require them to be constantly on the move. There are still a large number of gypsy families, especially in the Balkans, who travel in light open wagons drawn by horses or donkeys and sleep in tents of traditional design made of canvas or woolen blankets. A comparatively recent appearance of the gypsy's residential wagon, decorated with intricate carvings, complements rather than replaces the tent. Along with the less picturesque horse-drawn wagon, this residential wagon is rapidly falling into disuse, making way for the motorized trailer. Some gypsies with trucks or cars with trailers closely adhere to the old habits of people with carts, while others have fully embraced modern conveniences such as bottled kitchen gas and electricity.

The current population of gypsies.

Various Romani groups in Europe were almost completely destroyed by the fires of the Holocaust, and it was not until more than four decades later that their national movement began to gain momentum. For the Roma, the concept of "nationalism" does not mean the creation of a real nation-state, but implies the acquisition of recognition by mankind of the fact that the Roma are a separate non-territorial nation of people with their own history, language and culture.

The fact that Roma live all over Europe but do not have their own country has led to enormous problems since the fall of Eastern European communist regimes and the resurgence of ethnic nationalism there. Like those gypsies who first came to Europe seven and a half centuries ago, the European gypsies of the 20th century. are increasingly perceived as very different from traditional European peoples and a nuisance. To combat these prejudices, the Roma organized themselves into several political, social and cultural groups in order to develop ideals of self-determination. The International Roma Union has been a permanent member of the United Nations Economic and Social Development Council since 1979; by the end of the 1980s, he gained representation in the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and UNESCO, and in 1990 the formation of the European Roma Parliament began. By the beginning of the 1990s, a large number of such Roma professionals as journalists and political activists, educators, and politicians had already appeared. Ties were forged with the ancestral homeland of India - since the mid-1970s, the Indian Institute of Gypsy Studies has been operating in Chandigarh. Roma organizations focused their work on combating racism and stereotypes in the media, as well as obtaining reparations for war crimes that led to the death of Roma in the fires of the Holocaust. In addition, the issues of standardization of the Roma language for international use, the compilation of a twenty-volume encyclopedia in this language, were resolved. Gradually, the literary image of the "nomadic gypsies" is replaced by the image of the people, ready and able to take their place in today's heterogeneous society.

The main source of information on all aspects of Gypsy history, language and lifestyle is the Journal of the Gypsy Lore Society, published from 1888 to the present.