Gypsie culture is one of its own, basically meaning that they have their own distinct lifestyle. If you hear the word gypsy, then likely you imagine a scarved fortune-teller. Or maybe you think of a band of traveling musicians and dancers in colorfully decorated costumes travelling in wagons. The truth about gypsies is, of course, much more complex than a few outdated stereotypes.
Because gypsies have been persecuted worldwide for much of their existence, they don't typically trust outsiders and haven't shared much of their story. Gadje is the word that Gypsies use for non-gypsies or outsiders, this translated means "the great unwashed". This seems in some ways racist towards outsiders but in many ways the Gypsy culture has been pressured to feel threatened by people outside of the culture. But today, more gypsies are speaking up so the rest of the world can understand and appreciate their culture. TV shows like "My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding" also aim to let us take a peek at their contemporary lives. Gypsies have been harassed and persecuted throughout their history of existence, but many people don't know the Turks specifically executed gypsies during World War I, while Hitler wiped out more than 1 million during World War II. During WWII, not only were gypsies killed, they were also subject to medical experiments. Those still alive in concentration camps were often blamed for crimes committed by others. Although society has changed dramatically the history of un-fair treatment still stands as a fear to many members of the Gypsy culture.
"Gypsy" derives from Egyptian, so it is mistaken that Gypsies are from Egypt or Romania. Not so. Research shows ethnic gypsies came from a group of diverse military people who gathered centuries ago in northern India to fight Muslim invaders and to resist the eastward movement of Islam. Eventually they split into smaller groups and spread throughout Europe and northern Africa, where several subsets developed, including the Romnichals in England, the Rom in Eastern Europe, the Ludar in Romania and the Black Dutch in Germany. There were also groups in Hungary and the former Soviet Union. Today, there are gypsies in countries throughout the world. When they began their migration, Gypsies weren't welcomed by people in other countries because they looked and spoke differently, and they were often harassed or even physically harmed. Although this made life even more difficult the Gypsy people still stood strong to their beliefs and way of life. More than likely their bravery was not a accepted in a positive manner. These factors are contributed to the development of their wandering lifestyles. It is estimated that there are around one million gypsies in the United States today. The population in the United States has largely spread into American society, there is a noticeably larger amount of Gypsies (Romani) in Oregon with lesser significant concentrations in Washington, New Jersey, Maine, West Virginia and Utah. Although American Romani communities can be found in most major metropolitan areas. Romani, Commonly referred to as "Gypsies" separate from other Europeans. Gypsies began settling in America in the mid 19th century, leaving behind centuries of "bad blood" in Europe. Majority of Americans are unaware of the cultural and historical prejudices involving Romani and the Europeans. American Romani are cautious about the stigma associated with their heritage, they do not face discrimination here in America as they do in Europe. For the gypsies the outcome is rewarding and the economic and social position of Romani in the United States is more favorable than in Europe. Beneficially many Gypsies own family businesses, and fit in well with the community. Due to both the size of the American Romani population and the lack of knowledge of a historical and cultural presence, such as the Romani have in Europe. For example the U.S. Census does not distinguish Romani as a group, since it is neither a nationality nor a religion. Americans are very unaware of the existence of the Romani as a culture, when the word "gypsy" comes to mind most Americans associate it with a profession or a trade rather than a culture or ethnic heritage. Because of Americans lack of education about the Gypsy (Romani) culture many of them do not use the term around non-Romani people.
Family is everything to gypsies. Those who still move about frequently tend to travel as a big extended family. Although family members often have their own homes, they're still in constant contact with one another, often because the extended family works together as an economic unit. When there is a major event such as a wedding or funeral family members gather from all over. To the gypsies the main holidays/events are funerals and weddings. As seen on the television series the Gypsies take great pride in their weddings and focus all of their attention on making the celebration as festive as possible. The brides always have big, and expensive wedding dresses, the bigger and more costly the dress the better! Marriages are typically arranged by the parents, with many couples marrying in their mid-to late-teens, then joining the family business. New couples live with the husband's parents for at least the first year or two, or until the first child is born. Most families have three or four kids, who are often part of adult conversations and endeavors, as children are expected to learn from and follow behind their elders. Whenever there's a major event, such as a wedding or funeral, family members from all over gather, sometimes numbering in the hundreds or even thousands
Gypsies also have a strong community focus. They neither want their children to learn foreign, non-gypsy ways, nor become polluted from contact with non-gypsies. Historically, only friends or relatives watch gypsies' kids (through babysitting or day care), and kids only attend public school until age 10 or 11.This seems racist in their own way, but from the information I have gained writing this paper I would assume that they became this way because of the way they have been treated by people outside of their culture. Most of the gypsies' education comes from the home and community. Like other traditional cultures, gypsy women serve their men and defer to them in general, but women have some power and social standing. They're respected for their money-making ability, for one thing. Fortune-tellers, who are all female, are sometimes the main source of income, so the husband serves as support staff. As the times changed, so did the gypsies' traditional occupations. Horse traders became used car dealers and repairmen, while metalworkers began hawking items like watches and jewelry. Members of the Kalderash clan, once Romanian slaves who worked as coppersmiths, now work in the scrap metal business. Over the centuries, gypsies tended to work at occupations they could perform independently, that required little overhead, that appealed to people everywhere and that weren't negatively affected by frequent travel. Some of these jobs included metalworking, woodworking, carpentry and horse trading. Often, jobs were tied to a section. Many Ludar, for example, were animal trainers and show people, while many Rom were fortune-tellers. Gypsies worldwide are famed for their singing, dancing and musical skills; they're credited with creating flamenco in Spain, while many Hungarian gypsies are musicians.
Ethnic gypsies have a very strong taboo system. Basically, gypsies consider the upper half of the body as pure, and the lower half, mainly the feet and genitalia, as contaminated. Pollute yourself, and you just might be ostracized for up to a year or even expelled from the community. In practice, this means if a gypsy touches his lower body, he must wash his hands. And anything your feet touch is considered perpetually contaminated. So there's no such thing as the three-second rule when it comes to dropping food on the floor. And don't even think about washing your undies with, say, a tablecloth. While young children and the elderly are allowed some leniency when it comes to taboo situations, they're strictly enforced on adults, especially married adults. Like in other traditional cultures, gypsy women who give birth are considered totally contaminated, as is the child being born, so both are temporarily isolated from the rest of the family.