Gypsies have been surrounded all their lives by speculation, tales and myths that are passed down from generation to generation. And all these myths are firmly rooted in the minds of not only ordinary people, but also writers and journalists.
Let's try to figure out what is true in the statements about the gypsies, and what is not quite.
Gypsies are nomadic people
You cannot imagine the roaming of the gypsies as aimless wanderings or romantic craving for changing places. For centuries, crafts were the basis of life for most of them, the gypsies were skilled traders, skilled blacksmiths, jewelers and horse breeders. Therefore, this phenomenon was based on economic reasons: the artisans of the camp needed markets for their products, the artists needed a new audience for their performances, the fortunetellers needed a change of clientele. In each case, the area of movement was definite and relatively small - about 300–500 km². And even when faced with unfavorable conditions, the Roma were in no hurry to leave the territories in which they were persecuted. This is how the Sinti ethnic groups appeared in Germany, the Calais in Spain and the Travelers in England. They managed to survive in the midst of legislatively organized violence.
In the USSR, back in October 1956, a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Council was issued "On the introduction of Gypsies involved in vagrancy to labor", equating nomadic Gypsies with parasites and prohibiting the nomadic way of life. 60 years have passed since then, and today every Roma in Russia has their own home (rare exceptions of a marginal nature only confirm the rule).
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The gypsies have a baron
This concept arose on the territory of Russia and is associated with the release of Johann Strauss's operetta "The Gypsy Baron" in 1885. In the Gypsy language there is the word "baro", which means big, in combination "baro manush" or "paradise baro" - a big person, an important person. Due to the consonance of the word "baro" and the word "baron" existing in European languages, it was the latter concept that came into use when talking about gypsies.
Most Roma ethnic groups do not have a leader in the community or a big man, with the exception of the Kelderars. In any case, baros are those people who are more educated than others, or simply live better, so they can be asked for advice and they are the ones who conduct a dialogue with the authorities.
Gypsies know how to hypnotize and guess
Gypsies are wonderful at confusing and distracting, but not hypnotizing.
The Gypsies had to earn money, and since the whole of Europe looked at them as a strange and mysterious people with supernatural abilities, the most adventurous simply began to use this stereotype. Gypsies know perfectly well that a person has five senses and they must be "loaded" all together at the same time in order to disorient the victim: vision - with bright clothes, hearing - with fast speech, smell - with a specific smell, touch - just by stroking the victim … And in the head of the gypsy there are still a million necessary skills in the field of human psychology, which he has been taught from childhood. It's simple, no magic.
Gypsies are one people
The expression "Gypsy - he is a Gypsy in Africa" has never been understood by the Gypsies themselves, because they are divided into completely different ethnic groups, which have their own languages, customs, religions, professions, and folklore.
Even the Gypsies themselves have invented quite a few sayings on this score: “Kazhnoneste narodoste ekh chib, romende but chiba” (“Every nation has one language, the gypsies have many languages”), “Kitik Roma, dakitik custom: con bride torginel, con free es lan chorla, the dowry is gone”(“How many gypsies, so many customs: who sells brides, who steals them for free, who gives them with a dowry”) - the well-known gypsy scholar Nikolai Bessonov writes about this.
Gypsy men wear earrings
On the Internet, you can read that an earring in a gypsy's ear means that he is the only son.
Another statement is that the old people allegedly wore large earrings, which were called "gypsy horseshoe", so that happiness was accompanied. But in Russia the image of a gypsy with an earring in his ear took root thanks to "The Elusive Avengers" and Yashka the Gypsy. In fact, for gypsies, the earring is exclusively part of the female image. Gypsy scholar Kirill Kozhanov even wrote in one of his articles that when he meets gypsies-kotlyars (they live on the territory of the Russian Federation), with whom he is quite friendly, they always ask to remove his earring.
Roma do not work or study
There is a stratum of declassed citizens in any nation, including the Gypsies. They really have only primary education and are engaged in the trade or sale of illicit goods.
But there are many representatives of this nationality, assimilated on the land on which they live: they honor their culture, serve the state, study science, etc. Every year a congress of the Roma is held in Prague, which attracts the best representatives of the Roma ethnic groups. Singer and musician Elvis Presley, Nikolai Slichenko (actor, and now head of the Romen Moscow Music and Drama Gypsy Theater), Zlatan Ibragimovich (footballer), Ivan Rom-Lebedev (Soviet actor), Dufunya Vishnevsky (film director), Tony Gatlif (film director, winner of the Cannes Film Festival prize), Alexey and Mikhail Ilyinsky (writers), Alexander Berdnikov (musician, member of the "Roots" group) - the list of Roma who contributed to science and culture does not end there, and let's hope that he will only grow.
Gypsies have never served in the army
It would be more correct to say - they never started a war. But they had to take up arms, and more than once.
Throughout history, the Roma of various states were drawn into armed conflicts: they fought wars for and against the Ottoman Empire, fought in the army of the French King Henry IV, served in the Portuguese troops, Russian Roma stood up to protect the Fatherland in 1812 and 1941, and etc. They served in the infantry, aviation and tank forces; very many were awarded medals and orders.
Gypsies are free-loving
The spread of the myth of free gypsies was largely facilitated by the poet Alexander Pushkin, who created the image of the passionate gypsy woman Zemfira in the romantic poem "The Gypsies". Alas, the beautiful story is far from reality. Zemfira was a serf. In addition, all her behavior contradicts the traditional way of life of the Gypsy family, where strict moral rules are observed. A girl must keep her purity until she gets married - otherwise she will face universal condemnation. She can marry only a representative of her nationality (and her parents choose her fiancé). And after the wedding, the gypsy should be submissive to her husband in everything. So in real life, Zemfira's romance with the stranger Aleko was hardly possible in full view of the whole camp.
Meanwhile, with the light hand of Pushkin, the myth about the character of the gypsy woman went for a walk all over the world literature. The charm of the Pushkin image also affected Prosper Merimee, who created the legendary image of Carmen. This heroine also has little in common with a true gypsy woman, but for more than 100 years her image has been stirring the souls of people, inspiring the work of poets and composers.
A. Kozakevich. * Stolen Child *. H., M. 1880s.
Stolen children
"Lie still - or the gypsy will steal you!" With this phrase, mothers frightened children not only here in Russia, but throughout Europe. The stereotype is so entrenched that few people doubt it. Did you know that the gypsy people fell victim to libel?
Alas, not only folklore tradition, but also art has worked to create an unsightly image. With a constancy worthy of better application, poets and writers resorted to such a spectacular plot move as the kidnapping of a baby by a camp passing by (so, naturally, that the true parents were found in the finale). Now few people remember the tragicomedy by Alexander Hardy "The Beautiful Egyptian", or "Gypsy" by Eugene Scribe. Moreover, the 17th century short story "The Innocent Egyptian" by Jean-Pierre Camus has been forgotten. But the play "Scapin's Tricks", created by the great French playwright Moliere, is already better known.1
Let us also recall Cervantes's "Gypsy". The heroine of this novel, Preciosa, was kidnapped by a child from a noble family. All these works once played a role in the inculcation of gypsy phobia. There are, however, plots that affect the subconscious of the current generation. Who does not remember that Esmeralda in Hugo's novel is the stolen daughter of a French city woman? And who doesn't know the ending of The Marriage of Figaro? Everyone who has watched this brilliant comedy knows that Figaro became a victim of insidious gypsies in infancy, and only a special mark on the body, applied by prudent parents, helped to find out the truth.
In general, all sorts of moles, amulets on the neck, and other attributes necessary for recognition after many years are such a standard literary technique that sometimes it becomes just boring. So, the topic of stolen children was developed in stories, articles of the tabloid press, comics and children's plays.2 And then the cinema got involved. Yesenia from the sensational Mexican film is again not a gypsy by blood, and her appearance in a foreign environment is shrouded in the fog of an illegal deal.
So is it any wonder that the myth still exists in the public consciousness to this day? Few people want to hear that in real life, theft of children by malevolent gypsies occurs as "often" as cannibalism.
A very significant case occurred in 1802 in England. A certain Mary Kellen asked the police for help. She said that the gypsies who were passing by Plymouth dragged her away by force. The "kidnappers" were immediately arrested, an investigation began - and what then? It turned out that the impudent girl had escaped from the workhouse in Rotherhit and asked for refuge in the camp. (I will explain that the workhouses in England at that time were something like hard labor prisons, and you could get there at any age.) When the truth was revealed, the judges were so outraged by the treachery of the fugitive that the gypsies were released from custody, and the benefit was even collected.
But there were no fair-haired children in the camps? Where from?
Let's not forget that Roma are people like everyone else. And they also have childless couples. It is hardly worth explaining what a misfortune this is for the family. In such cases, people usually go for adoption …
Now put yourself in the shoes of the nomadic gypsies. Of course, they would prefer to take on their own blood to raise the child. But even if the little gypsy remained an orphan, distant relatives took care of him. The gypsy clan is usually very ramified, so that an unnecessary orphan was extremely rare in the national environment. What should a childless couple do? There was only one way out. Adopt or adopt a child of a foreign nationality.
What happened in practice. And without any abductions. Gypsies used to tell fortunes in many villages. Sooner or later, they found a baby who was perceived as an "extra mouth". After that, the Roma reached an agreement either with their relatives or with the peasant community. And very often the adoption was even documented. So that then no one clung to. It turns out that either the Roma are raising orphans, or their own children are mistaken for stolen goods because of their uncharacteristic appearance.
