Many people think that gypsies are all pagans and worship fire or the sun. But in fact, most of the Roma profess the religion of the country where they live. This can be, for example, Christianity, Islam or Buddhism.
What do the gypsies believe in?
The Gypsy faith has its own characteristics. So, the Orthodox Gypsies consider their patron saint Nicholas the Pleasant and St. George, and the Catholics - Blessed Seferino and at the same time a certain Sara Kali, who is completely a mythical character.
Roman Lunkin, Candidate of Philology, Religious Studies, Senior Researcher at the Center for the Study of Problems of Religion and Society at the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences, comments: “Gypsies accept the religion of the country where they are and where they have been living for a long time. Currently, as far as I know, there are those who profess Islam and those who profess Christianity (they are the majority because many Roma live in Russia, Romania, Hungary, Moldova. In general, Roman Catholics, Protestants, Orthodox and Muslims”.
What religious customs do the Roma observe?
In Russia, most of the Roma are Orthodox and are baptized. Many of them are quite devout. So, in the houses of sedentary gypsies there is a "red corner" with icons. They try to observe religious rites, and married couples must get married in a church, and the wedding ritual is considered more important than registering a marriage in a registry office. But even more important is the "gypsy wedding", which is played even before the wedding - it means the recognition of the marriage by the gypsy community.
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The biggest religious holidays for Orthodox Gypsies are Christmas and Easter. For Turkish Gypsy Christians, the biggest holiday is Hidrelez, which is celebrated on the night of May 5-6. It is also celebrated in the Balkans, where it is called Ederlezi and is dedicated to St. George.
The Russian Vlach gypsies have an interesting custom. On Radonitsa, women and children certainly visit cemeteries, where they ask for alms from visitors. And these are not necessarily beggars. In this way, they fulfill a certain Christian "duty" by helping other people to do a good deed. By the way, Russians often know about this, and on this day willingly serve the Gypsies with trifles.
Muslim gypsies also pay attention to religious practices, but not all. Thus, gypsies in Islamic countries never cover their faces. Not everyone practices the rite of circumcision.
Religious myths of the gypsies
By the way, there is such a legend among the Christian gypsies. When Christ was crucified, gypsies passed by and stole one nail. For this, God allegedly allowed the gypsy people to steal sometimes. Therefore, the Roma do not see anything wrong with theft and fraud. Romani culture specialists consider this myth not so long ago and believe that it was born in the Balkans.
Another legend says that God especially loves the gypsies for their fun and talent, therefore he did not tie them to pieces of land, as he did with other peoples, but gave them the whole world. Therefore, they led a nomadic lifestyle. Indeed, gypsies can be found in all parts of the Earth, except perhaps Antarctica.
As you can see, the gypsies have their own interpretation of faith. “I cannot say that Roma are very religious people,” says Roman Lunkin. - They rather have a more developed tribal system, which is the basis of their life and true religion. The rest is all the cultural characteristics of the country where they live, in which they are embedded."