Despite the official atheism in the former USSR, many Gypsies have maintained religious traditions and beliefs. Gypsies customarily observe the religion of the people among whom they live.
The religious belief of the Roma is monotheistic while their worldview may rather be defined as dualistic. The dualistic view of the world as 'good' and 'evil', namely God and the devil, seems to be shared by most Romani groups.
The Roma do not follow a single faith, but are Catholic Manouche, Mercheros, and Sinti; Muslim Ashkali and Romanlar; Pentecostal Kalderash and Lovari; Protestant Travellers; Anglican Gypsies; and Baptist Roma.
A Gypsy is a member of a race of people who travel from place to place, usually in caravans, rather than living in one place. Some Gypsies object to this name, and prefer to be called Romany.
81.6% of people from the Gypsy or Irish Traveller ethnic group were born in England, and 6.1% in the other countries of the UK. 3.0% were born in Ireland and 8.3% were born somewhere else in Europe (other than the UK and Ireland). Less than 1.0% of Gypsy or Irish Traveller people were born outside of Europe.
Both Rom and Romani have been in use in English since the 19th century as an alternative for Gypsy. Romani was sometimes spelled Rommany, but more often Romany, while today Romani is the most popular spelling.
Talk to older relatives for clues and family stories. Old family photos can help to identify Gypsy heritage. Photographs taken at gatherings such as hop picking or fairs might be a sign, although these were often annual events which brought together families from many backgrounds, not just Gypsies and Travellers.
Couples marry young - girls at around 16 or 17, and boys between 18 and 19. They're not supposed to marry non-travellers but marriage to second cousins in families is common.
Romani is the only Indio-Aryan language that has been spoken exclusively in Europe since the Middle Ages and whose vocabulary and grammar are related to Sanskrit. The language used by Romani people is a source of great pride, facilitating the connectivity and communication between people across the world.
Although they have no formal resolution, their opposition is associated with their belief about the afterlife. Gypsies believe that for one year after a person dies, the soul retraces its steps. All of the body parts must be intact because the soul maintains a physical shape.
Some of the better known areas of work that Gypsies and Travellers are involved in include seasonal agricultural work, motor trading and tree-felling. Some are employed as academics, teachers and public servants and in this way they add to the local economy.
Yet the dedication to cleaning – born during nomadic days when keeping wagons clear from dust and dirt on the road was a tough undertaking for traveller women – remains important. As a result, cleaning is a process that takes priority over everything else – including school.
"Gypsy people and travelling people have a very strong faith. Every one of them believes in God through Jesus Christ," says Billy Welch.
A gorger is a Romani word for a non-Romani person.
Adult Roma were shown to have intelligence scores very similar to South Asians, with average adults, in a wide variety of samples, demonstrating IQs in the 70 range.
Many Roma refer to themselves by one generic name, Rom (meaning “man” or “husband”), and to all non-Roma by the term Gadje (also spelled Gadze or Gaje; a term with a pejorative connotation meaning “bumpkin,” “yokel,” or “barbarian”).
It's not uncommon for Romanichal gypsies to marry their first cousins. The wedding had begun with all traditions of a typical traveller wedding.
Their lifestyle is comparable to what it was five hundred years ago. The task of the Romani woman is to take care of the children, to maintain the household, and to hold together the extended family. As mother, she knows precisely the details of her children's lives, including all of the stupid things they do.
Romani communities are dispersed across all Australian states, with significant populations located in New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia. Around 14,000 Roma live in Western Australia, mostly immigrants from Macedonia and their children. Nearly all lead sedentary lives.
Based on genome-wide SNP arrays and whole-genome sequences, it has been determined that the Romani people carry approximately 20–35% South Asian ancestry [4,7], and North-West India constitutes the major source of this component [4,7,54].
One of the Oxford English Dictionary definitions of Gypsy is, 'term for a woman, as being cunning, deceitful, fickle, or the like … In more recent use merely playful, and applied esp. to a brunette.
Rom (man) and romni (woman) also mean "husband" and "wife." Roma avoid Soviet ceremonies and have their own interesting wedding ceremonies, which are strictly observed, even in big cities. These ceremonies blend Orthodox wedding ritual and Gypsy custom.
The families band together in clan systems, cordoned off from mainstream society. The familial structure is often strictly paternalistic, with women tending to home and children, while men may or may not work. Arranged marriage among adolescent brides and grooms remains common.
Who are the Roma? The Roma are an ethnic group who have lived in Europe since their migration from India over 1,000 years ago. Roma cultural heritage includes a rich oral tradition, art forms such as flamenco, an emphasis on family, and Romanës, the Roma language.