Making a Living as a Romani

        Subsistence is defined as "a source or means of obtaining the necessities of life" (Merriam-webster.com 2015) and anthropologically refers to "the way by which a culture obtains its food" (Oregonstate.edu 2015). The term includes methods for obtaining food like farming, hunting, and gathering. However, in a more modern context it also describes the jobs a culture seeks out and how groups maintain their livelihood. Jobs provide a means for acquiring money that can be used to purchase homes and food, contemporary elements of subsistence. For the Roma or Romani people, several of these elements have persisted through time while other areas have seen drastic changes.

        In the past, the Romani were mistreated and pushed out by society. Today they are found living in the countryside in rural communities, away from larger groups. The group forms one of the largest minorities in Europe but many of its people continue to live in isolated areas outside of cities. As a result, their lifestyle has remained itinerant, or nomadic in nature. However, as times have changed many Romani have also led more settled lives (Encyclopedia Britannica 2015). Unfortunately, many of the children do not attend school and many families live in poverty, struggling to find affordable housing, health care, and other necessities (LiveScience.com 2015).

        The traditional jobs of the Romani included many of the jobs you would expect to find on farms and in the country. A majority of men handled livestock and animals (Encyclopedia Britannica 2015) or worked with metal to repair jewelry and kitchenware (Open Society Foundations 2015). The women in Romani culture found work as entertainers and told fortunes to bring in some money for the family (Encyclopedia Britannica 2015). The Romani were very good at these jobs and were often consulted for advice about animals and livestock (Encyclopedia Britannica 2015). Some people still make a living from these jobs but as the world around them has changed so have they.

        The Romani who have chosen the more settled lifestyle over the traditional find themselves in different jobs than their relatives. They are still good traders but have swapped the livestock market for the automobile market and now sell used cars and trailers (Encyclopedia Britannica 2015). The men who had learned to work with metal to fix pots or pans have lost those jobs but still have ways of utilizing their skills. They use their knowledge of metal to fix cars and other machinery working as “mechanics and auto body repairmen” (Encyclopedia Britannica 2015). Today, some Romani continue to find work as entertainers in circuses or at amusement parks. Often, these jobs highlight the traditional skills of the Romani as they are hired as animal trainers or fortune tellers (Encyclopedia Britannica 2015).

        For the Romani people, their way of life is greatly affected by their environment. Some continue to live and thrive living as their ancestors did. They live off of the land and find work and money by exploiting the skills they have learned in their rural communities. Other groups have adapted to a changing world and have adapted their skills to match it. In both groups, there is a similarity in skills and job interests that unite them on another level to illustrate their connectedness through culture.

References

Encyclopedia Britannica

    2015 Rom | People. Electronic document.
          http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/250432/Rom, accessed May 22, 2015

Lallanilla, Marc
     2015 Intriguing Facts about the Roma, Livescience.com. Electronic document.
          http://www.livescience.com/40652-facts-about-roma-romani-gypsies.html, accessed May
          22, 2015

Marsh, Adrian
     2015 Gypsies, Roma, Travellers: An Animated History. Open Society Foundations. Electronic
          document, http://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/voices/gypsies-roma-travellers-
          animated-history, accessed May 22, 2015

Merriam-webster.com
     2015 Subsistence | The Amount of Food, Money, Etc., That Is Needed To Stay Alive.
          Electronic document. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/subsistence, accessed
          May 23, 2015

Oregonstate.edu 

     2015 Definitions of Anthropological Terms. Electronic document. 

          http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/anth370/gloss.html, accessed May 23, 2015 

Many Roma, One Language

     The Roma, in general, speak a language which they call řomanes. This roughly translates to “the Romani Language.” The language itself is an Indo-Aryan derived language that has been spoken entirely in Europe since the middle ages. Linguistics have tried to outline the development of the language, however it is difficult as the earliest known texts of the language date back to only the sixteenth century. However, linguistics have still been able to divide the development into three stages, Proto-Romani, Early Romani, and Modern Romani, based on comparison with the development of more documented Indian languages.

     There is a common misconception that the Roma, or Gypsies as they are often referred to as, have more than one language. This is inaccurate. However, geographic variations in the language do exist, as with all languages. Since the sixteenth century, various dialects of the Romani language have emerged. As the Byzantine Empire fell, Romani-speaking populations immigrated into eastern and central Europe in hopes of a better life. There, they came into contact with a variety of other languages, such as Turkish, Romanian, Hungarian, German, and various Slavonic languages. This contact led to alterations of the morphology and phonology of the language, which depended on the region in which the community was located.

     The variations found in the language between different geographic regions exemplifies how languages change over time. These changes likely came about due influences from the dominant culture and the tendency of minority cultures to incorporate aspects of the majority culture as time progresses. Children of Roma background who were raised speaking both Romani and the dominant language of the region were likely to blend aspects of the dominant language into Romani, either unconsciously or purposefully in an attempt to make Romani more similar to the dominant language. It is remarkable how the language has maintained enough of its uniformity across its dialects to still be considered one language, especially when one considers what the Roma and their culture have been through during their time in Europe.

     Despite facing centuries of persecution and discrimination, the Romani language has remained strong. In the past decade or so, the Romani have begun to have a stake in local media outlets. However, publishing documents in Romani has been strictly limited to local outlets due to the language’s lack of geographic diversity. These local texts have presented another problem in that a uniform codification system for the language has still not been formally developed. This means that how the language is written can vary from location to location. Romani intellectuals from various regions in Europe have begun to come together in an effort to create a uniform, official alphabet and grammar system which can be universally implemented, though progress is slow.

References

Romani Linguistics Website
     2015 What is Romani?. University of Manchester.
     http://romani.humanities.manchester.ac.uk/whatis/whatisromani.shtml

Religion, Values, and Beliefs of the Roma

Throughout the centuries the Romani people were believed to lack a religion, but that is not the case (Hancock, 2011). The Roma, having come from India, have religious ties to Hinduism, the prevalent religion in that area (Hancock, 2011). Once they emigrated from India they carried aspects of their original religion with them. As the Romani people traveled west and settled along the way they eventually acquired the popular religion in those areas. The reason for that is because the Romani people needed a formal religious institution for religious ceremonies such as baptisms and funerals (Advameg, Inc., 2015). The religions that were acquired by the Romani people were adapted and show evidence of Hinduism, their original religion.      

Furthermore, since the Roma moved westward with large settlements in Europe the religions in that area are the ones most popular amongst themselves. For example, the Roma did not greatly acquire the Islamic religion from the Middle East because they migrated quickly through the area and saw the people there as enemies (Hancock, 2011). On the other hand, the great amounts of Romani people in Europe led to a strong adoption of Christianity (Hancock, 2011). It is also important to note that within the different areas of Europe they identified with various branches of Christianity such as Catholic in Spain and Lutheran in northern Germany (Matras).

In Roma communities there are various values and beliefs that have developed practices of proper social action (Matras). Those practices will vary between different Roma settlements, which developed through isolation (Matras). Since the Romani people have religious roots in Hinduism, which is characterized by dualism, they also show that character in their later developed beliefs. The Roma believe in kuntari, which is a universal balance (Matras). Furthermore, the Romani also have strong beliefs in the dualistic relationship between being “pure” and “polluted”. Purity must be maintained in personal hygiene, the preparation of food, and personal behaviors and manners (Hancock, 2011). To maintain that pure state, spiritual balance must be maintained (Hancock, 2011).  In doing so, an individual avoids having shame placed upon them, becoming polluted, and in extreme cases of pollution, being ostracized by the community (Hancock, 2011).

Ultimately, the Romani people are a group that has been subject to a great deal of migration. Due to their movement and thus further intertwinement into the global village, it has caused their religious beliefs to be pressured and influenced. Still, the Roma maintain characteristic values and beliefs which are derived from their past Hinduism ties in India. Therefore, the Romani people have changed their religious orientations with respect to where they settle, but not without adapting it by adding aspects of their original religion from India (Hancock, 2011).

References

Advameg, Inc

2015 Roma. Electronic document, http://www.everyculture.com/wc/Norway-to-Russia/Roma.html, accessed May 29, 2015.

Hancock, Ian

2001 ROMANI (“GYPSY”) RELIGION. Electronic Document, http://www.radoc.net/radoc.php?doc=art_b_history_romanireligion&lang=en&articles=true, accessed May 29, 2015.

Matras, Yaron

ROMA CULTURE: AN INTRODUCTION. Electronic Document, http://romafacts.uni-graz.at/index.php/culture/introduction/roma-culture-an-introduction, accessed May 29, 2015

Inside Look on the Marriage and Family Life of The Romani

                                         A Romani family


The Romani, also known as the Gypsies has a wedding ceremony that is a blend of orthodox rituals with their own customs. But there have been references to the Romani’s performing immoral acts (Kim 2002). Just as every group of people, there’s always a bad bunch, and the Romani aren’t any different. To judge the whole group on account of the acts of a small section is the same thing the United States used to do towards African Americans. A small part of the Romani people have went into the child trafficking business. This new behavior was sprung up from the effects of globalization. Globalization has modified and changed what some of these Romani people believed in. They have lost their way in the pursuit of monetary gain and had to make adjustments, although the adjustments weren’t good.

Believe it or not, the Romani people have strict rules when it comes to sexual impurities. They like to maintain tribal and social purity, in doing so, they marry within the group (Female First 2008). But marriage outside of the tribe does happen from time to time. It is a worse offense if a woman marries a gadjo (male outsider) than if a man marries a gadji (female outsider); the gadji will not be accepted if she doesn’t conform to the ways of the tribe (Kim 2002). This is due to the fact that the females are the guarantors for the survival of the group. The male serves more as a protector and he takes responsibility of what happens with the family. The Romani takes family as a great importance in their society. They put much value in extended family, everyone is taking care of and problems are solved as a family (Radio Prague 2000). According to the Rombase ethnology, first priority for the Romani is the feeling of belonging to their family (Rombase 2003).

When it comes to the age for marriage, it usually takes place early; the average age would be in the early-mid teen years. The children are married through arrange marriages by their parents. The family of the groom would give the family of the bride a “bride price” which serves as a compensation for the loss of their daughter and as a promise that she will be taken care of (Kim 2002). It is known to be a disgrace if a formal proposal is rejected, but if all goes well, the groom’s father will have a serious but polite meeting with the bride’s father about the future of their kids. But over the years, young couples have been against arranging marriages because globalization has modified their view on the importance of staying pure to their culture. They now leave the group on an extended vacation together, but when they come back, they are chastised.

At the wedding, the bride and groom kneels before the elders while holding icons, here the elders bless the two with bread and salt. Singing, dancing, and food are a big part to the marriage ceremony. In some weddings, a procession circles the bride while carrying a staff. Gifts aren’t giving to the newly wed until it is established that the bride is a virgin; sometimes the bed sheet is even shown.  The gifts are usually money placed in carved out bread (Advameg, Inc 2015).    

References

Advameg, Inc

2015 Gypsies - Marriage and Family. Electronic document, http://www.everyculture.com/Russia-Eurasia-China/Gypsies-Marriage-and-Family.html, accessed May 24, 2015.

Female First

2008 Romani Marriage Traditions. Electronic document, http://www.femalefirst.co.uk/weddings/Romani+Marriage+Traditions-125.html, accessed May 24, 2015.

Radio Prague

2000 The Romani Family. Electronic document, http://romove.radio.cz/en/clanek/18241, accessed May 24, 2015.

Rombase

2003 Sociology & Ethnology. Electronic document, http://rombase.uni-graz.at/ped/data/impulse.en.pdf, accessed May 24, 2015.

Son-Ung Kim

2002 Romani Social Customs and Traditions. Electronic document, http://www.sociologyindex.com/romani_customs_and_traditions.htm, accessed May 24, 2015.