Gypsies are a mysterious nomadic people. Their life and history are shrouded in many myths and prejudices, and their culture is original and rooted in the distant past. Historians, culturologists, ethnologists, and ordinary people are concerned about the question of where they came from, how they live, and what kind of faith the gypsies have.
Gypsies - who are they?
Gypsies are one of the largest ethnic groups in Europe. Bulgarian ethnologists call him intergroup ethnic education. The essence of this definition is the features of the settlement of gypsies in different territories. The mosaic distribution of gypsies is associated with a huge variety of their varieties and distinctive features. Depending on the territory of residence, there are different ethnic names: Sinti, Manush - people, Kale - black, Roma (Romani) - the general political designation of all Gypsies living in Europe.
Without a permanent habitat, gypsies live in all corners of the planet except Antarctica.
Types of Gypsies
The division of gypsies into ethnic groups depends on the territorial location and occupation. Ethnologists distinguish three western and three eastern branches of gypsies.
Western ones include:
- Roma is one of the largest groups. It includes gypsies occupying the territory of Europe.
- Sinti - German and French gypsies.
- Iberians - Spaniards and Portuguese.
The eastern branch is formed by:
- Luli is a Central Asian gypsy.
- Bosa - gypsy peoples occupying the territories of Turkey and the Caucasus.
- House - Arab peoples and people living in Israel.
There are small gypsy groups that are difficult to attribute to any particular branch. Ethnic groups living in Europe live close to the culture, but are not related to the Roma: Travelers from Ireland and Yenishes from Central Europe.
Researchers of gypsy culture talk about the possibility of dividing gypsies into groups according to their occupation.
What faith do gypsies profess?
Gypsy culture is closely related to religion. Religion of gypsies forms their traditions, customs and moral and ethical standards and depends, as a rule, on the territory of residence. The main denominations to which the gypsies belong are Christianity and Islam. But to this day, the official beliefs have preserved the features of Hinduism, Shaivism, animism, Zoroastrianism and magical elements.
Researchers argue that the adoption of a religion was a way of self-defense. Settling in a particular region, the Roma tried to at least outwardly correspond to the followers of the local religion, so as not to come into conflict with the indigenous population.
Regardless of which faith the gypsies of a particular group belong to, their mentality and beliefs that have developed over the long period of their existence leave an imprint on the adherence to one or another moral code.
The external adoption of the official religion gives the Roma the opportunity to pay tribute to their pagan and animistic idols. So, for example, the Central Asian gypsies had gods denoting the Sun. The faith of the gypsies in the west is based on the idolization of the moon. The full moon was considered a holiday in which magical rituals and witchcraft rites were held. The gypsy faith in India is based on the idolatry of the phallus; the cult of Shiva and the goddess Kali is also widespread here.
No matter what faith the gypsies belong to, they pay great attention to protection from evil spirits. A major challenge is to protect the newborn from powerful demonic forces. After birth, he is sprinkled with salt water and given him a name that will be pronounced only at certain periods of his life. The rest of the time, a worldly name is used.
Veneration of saints
The faith of the gypsies is based on the veneration of female religious images. Despite the dominant role of men in society, the main saint among them is a woman. Whatever faith the gypsies confess, everyone honors the mythological image of St. Sarah. There are several legends associated with it. According to the first, she was the savior of the relatives of Mary Magdalene, during a terrible storm she saved them, finding the way to the shore by the stars. The second legend says that she was the first to receive holy Revelation from the saints who sailed past her camp.
Gypsies who believe in the afterlife try to protect themselves from meeting the deceased. So that nothing holds the souls of the dead in this world, they burn all the things of the deceased and their homes. There are those who do not believe in life after death. Also, according to some ethnic groups, the soul may return to earth three times, once every 500 years. Serbian gypsies claim that after death a person lives the same life, but already endlessly.
Spirits and vampires are denoted by the word "mullah." If a gypsy dies at the hands of a person, the mullah will find and track down the culprit. Slavic gypsies believe in werewolves. They become those who led a dissolute lifestyle or became a victim of a vampire.
Gypsy customs
The faith of the gypsies defines their customs. Russian Orthodox gypsies are devout and the baptismal ceremony is obligatory for them. In gypsy houses there is a "red corner" with icons. In Russia, gypsies celebrate Christmas and Easter, are married in a church for marriage. An important stage of the gypsy wedding is the recognition of the union by the community. This is the initial and most important stage of the marriage. On Radonitsa, gypsies visit cemeteries asking for alms. This tradition is considered good, since the submitters at this moment are doing a good deed, fulfilling the Christian duty.
St. George is one of the most revered gypsy saints. Holidays in honor of him are arranged in Turkey and the Balkans. Muslims also pay great attention to customs. However, women ignore the need to cover their faces, and men do not circumcise.
Myths and legends of gypsies
Whatever faith the Roma professed to confess, there are general beliefs that determine their entire worldview. There is a biblical legend that a gypsy stole a nail that the Roman legionaries had to drive into the head of the crucified Christ. For this, God blessed all the people and allowed them to steal. In reality, the tendency to theft is only a consequence of the historically established worldview of the gypsies.
They are convinced that everything created by God belongs to people and exists for the common good. So, fruits, animals, and birds are a divine gift given to people for free use. Today, theft is the main way for gypsies to earn money.
Raymond Buckland in his book Gypsies. Secrets of Life and Traditions ”tells about the real case when gypsy children baptized the same infant on loan eight times in different churches, because at baptism the priest gave the child a coin. Lack of attachment to a certain territory is also perceived as a divine gift, the gypsies believe that the Almighty has placed the whole world at their disposal.
Russian gypsies. The customs and faith of gypsies in Russia
According to official figures, today 200 thousand gypsies live in Russia. Their actual number exceeds these figures by at least five times. This is due to the fact that during the census in the USSR, many indicated other nationalities.
"Russian Roma" have their own dialect - a mixture of Russian, Polish and German. The traditional occupations of Russian gypsies are horse breeding, playing music, dancing, fortune telling and circus. It was in Russia that the genre of gypsy romance was born.
Most Russian gypsies are Christians. But what kind of faith the gypsies have in Russia is not important, the main common gypsy law for them. The smallest number of rules governs relations with non-Gypsies: here it is necessary to adhere to the norms of behavior that are established in society. More important are the laws of communication with both Gypsies and non-Gypsies: the prohibition of murder, rape, and bodily injury.
Mandatory is respect for the guest. The largest number of rules states behavior within the gypsy community. The main thing is that no one has the right to elevate himself above another. However, in each community there is an unspoken leader and mediator responsible for communication with the outside world. Most often, such a person is a gypsy baron.
Gypsy laws strictly regulate communication with each other, with elders, children and women, the procedure for holding holidays, the rules for choosing clothes and the list of “decent” activities are regulated. Worthy professions are those that are associated with creativity, needlework, pottery and carpentry.
A significant part of Russian gypsies today is associated with crime. Among them, like among other ethnic groups, there is theft, begging and drug trafficking. At the same time, there is another side of gypsy society, which includes talented singers, musicians and actors. For example, in Russia there is a gypsy theater popular around the world .
Impact on culture
The unique color of gypsy art had a tremendous impact on world culture: music, poetry and cinema. Everyone knows the heroes: the gypsy Esmeralda from the Notre Dame de Paris, Hugo, the fateful Carmen Georges Bizet, the Pushkin Zemfira and Aleko, the modern Boho style, touching romances and the music of Goran Bregovic - all of this heritage is owed to the gypsies by humanity.
Finally
Gypsies are a complex and mysterious people. You can not fully experience their culture without plunging into it personally. The main thing is not to form your ideas, only based on the image of dirty beggars on the streets. In fact, Gypsies are an original and extraordinary ethnos with their own laws, customs, rich culture and valuable heritage.