Chrissie's Books

If you are trying to understand how gypsies think, reason and behave this is one book I can recommend, but I learned that there are gypsies and then there are gypsies. There are those that are scarcely nomadic any more - the Gitanos of Spain and France,the Sinti of Germany and the Rudari of Romania! The Rom that are dispersed around the world may be split up into four main tribes: the Lowara, the Tshurara, the Kalderasha and the Matchyaya. They differ in appearance, temperament, occupations, language and mode of living. Their customs and traditions differ. The Lowara and the Tshurara are predominantly horse dealers, while the Kalderasha, which are the most numerous, are coppersmiths and live in tents. The author, who was born in Antwerp, Belgium, left home at the age of twelve to live with Lowara Rom. It is the customs, traditions, beliefs and behavior of this group that one learns most about in this book. The author spent ten years living with the Lowara, during the 1930s. The dates are very unclear. There are few people who straddle both the Rom and the Gaje communities, as non-gypsies are called by the Rom. The book concludes with the treatment of the Rom during WW2.

The book covers the food, festivals, manner of comportment, clothing, marriage, birth of children and death among these people. The author was accepted as one of them, although he periodically left them and returned to his birth family. It is very strange to observe how his Belgian family reacted! He stayed predominantly with one "large family", living with them in a horse drawn wagon, several wagons making up the kumpania. A little time is spent with both Tshurara and Kalderasha Rom, allowing readers to learn about the tribal differences. My reaction to this was that there was little tolerance between the different groups. Intermarriage is rare.

Although I learned a lot from this book, I do not necessarily trust the validity of all the statements. The author is speaking as a Lowara speaks. He was not impartial. I questioned his credibility, particularly his judgments of gypsies from other tribes. He was very supportive of the Lowara beliefs and extremely critical of the Tshurara Rom. Here I am, trying desperately to "see" as the Rom do, to understand how they think, and I find they are so mistrustful and hateful towards each other and of course the Gaje too.

Trickery is central to their lifestyle. No denial of this is made in the book! I use the word trickery because I cannot drop my moral code and see their actions as they see them. They feel for example it is OK to steal chickens, because they need them for food, we are told they only take a little and only what is absolutely necessary. Do I believe that? How do you define what is "necessary"? I still cannot excuse or accept this behavior. They feel they may cheat non-gypsies because they are mistreated.

After reading this book I cannot forgive or even really understand their life choices. They are intolerant of non-gypsies and of each other! Although I have learned a lot, this book has not made me more forgiving or more tolerant of their misdemeanors. I have learned so many things about them that I do not like! I cannot think as they do. I thought this book would bring me closer rather than pushing me away from the Rom!