In the former Yugoslavia, one woman has had more hits over more years than just about anyone else: Esma Redzepova, also known as "Queen of the Gypsies."
Gypsy leaders. The Boswells were for centuries one of England's largest and most important Gypsy families. The Boswell clan were a large extended family of Travellers, and in old Nottinghamshire dialect the word bos'll was used as a term for Travellers and Romani in general.
Aside from representing the Romany gypsy way of life and the freedom of travelling, these tattoos also symbolize luck, independence, good fortune, desire and living life. The female face or head has been the centre point of traditional renderings in the tattoo scene since the Jerry days.
Here is the Peaky Blinders Gypsy debacle explained. Tommy Shelby and his kin are Irish-Romani (sometimes spelled Romany) Gypsies, a unique cultural and ethnic group present in Britain since the 1500s.
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.
Most Eastern European Roma are Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, or Muslim. Those in Western Europe and the United States are mostly Roman Catholic or Protestant. In southern Spain, many Roma are Pentecostal, but this is a small minority that has emerged in contemporary times.
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.
Women are interested in fashion that shows their sense of "shame" and their status as guardians of purity for the family. Because of this role, women are expected to cover their legs at least to the mid-calf. Married women traditionally cover their head with a scarf and tie their long hair up or braid it.
Roma, singular Rom, also called Romany or Gypsies (considered pejorative), an ethnic group of traditionally itinerant people who originated in northern India but live in modern times worldwide, principally in Europe.
What's in a name? The RTFHS website includes lists of surnames that frequently occur in the Gypsy and Traveller community. Gypsy surnames which occur in Surrey include Cooper, Matthews, Ayres, Smith, Green, Taylor, Williams, Brazil, Shepherd, Beaney, Chapman and Scott among others.
Although they are dispersed, their most concentrated populations are located in Europe, especially central, eastern and southern Europe (notably southern France), as well as western Asia (mainly Turkey).
“Gypsies” were considered dirty, deceitful, too lazy to work, and prone to steal. The most heinous accusation was that they kidnapped the young, a charge frequently hurled against Jews as well. Several of these stereotypes clearly derive from the nomadism of Roma.
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.
Common Gypsy names
You may have Romani, Traveller or Gypsy ancestry if your family tree includes common Romani or Gypsy surnames such as Boss, Boswell, Buckland, Chilcott, Codona, Cooper, Doe, Lee, Gray (or Grey), Harrison, Hearn, Heron, Hodgkins, Holland, Lee, Lovell, Loveridge, Scamp, Smith, Wood and Young.
In comparison with other studied groups from Ukraine (mainly Ukrainians but also other minorities) Djaczenko found that Gypsies have the lowest cephalic index, the widest nose, darkest pigmentation, and the most dense beard.
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.
They observe strict hygiene laws known as Mochadi, which consist of important principles about, for example, hand washing prior to handling food or dishes, after getting dressed in the morning and before going to the kitchen. Latrines are kept at a distance from the living area.
Gypsies don't have a permanent home because their life is more on traveling, because of this, it is impossible for them to have a job at the office and make a lot of money. Most gypsies settle making money by looking for temporary jobs like gardeners, nail artists, and painters.
At the same time both qualitative and quantitative studies show a steady trend of gradual increase in the marriageable age and age at first child birth among Roma, and today most of the Romani females get married after reaching the lawful age of 18.
It's not uncommon for Romanichal gypsies to marry their first cousins. The wedding had begun with all traditions of a typical traveller wedding.
“Roma” is the word (ethnonym) that the Roma use to describe themselves: it is the term for the members of that specific people and it is Romani for “man”. “Gypsy” is a derogatory, disparaging term – for many an insult — used by the majority population to define the Roma people.
Although most Gypsies and Travellers see travelling as part of their identity, they can choose to live in different ways including: moving regularly around the country from site to site and being 'on the road' living permanently in caravans or mobile homes, on sites provided by the council, or on private sites.
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.
Regardless of the origin theories, Lowland Gypsies are still viewed as a Romani group, with Romani culture being a part of Scottish Lowland Gypsy culture.