What is the religion of the gypsies? Gypsy ministry: from heart to heart.
One of the most frequently asked questions to me is what is the REAL faith of the gypsies?
People who ask it are usually pre-set to hear one of the following options: “Hinduism/paganism”, “fire/sun worship” or simply “Gypsies don’t believe in anything”.
And I, as an honest woman, have to destroy their world, explaining that Muslim gypsies have a Muslim faith, and Christian gypsies have a Christian faith, and in both cases it is real. And if Christian gypsies are quite mobile in relation to Christian denominations (Catholic Magyars do not see a big problem in going over to the camp of evangelists, because there is a cross here and there, for example), then from Christianity to Islam and vice versa they rarely and reluctantly switch, mostly The transition is made by women to their husband's faith. True, interreligious marriages among Roma are rare.
The adherence to the faith of their ancestors among the Gypsies is surprisingly persistent, although I have seen many times in Tyrnetika statements that the Gypsies always follow the religious customs of the area where they are located. However, there are known cases when Russian gypsies in France, having fled there during Civil War with the nobles, they did not baptize their children for years, looking for Orthodox churches - and having already found them, they baptized everyone en masse and at once, in large quantities. Some of the “newborns” were already fifteen or sixteen years old at baptism; they were developing mustaches or growing breasts. Sometimes the next day after baptism, the newly baptized people got married right there (if this is not a joke, of course). The Lovarian gypsies, who have been living in Russia for decades, are moving from Catholicism to Orthodoxy slowly and cautiously and mainly for the small number of Catholic churches and for the reason that “here is Christianity and there is Christianity.” Muslim gypsies in Latin America have not forgotten Islam a hundred years after arriving from the Balkans; you can still meet them there.
Does this mean that gypsies of different religions have nothing in common and no common, primordial beliefs or superstitions?
Of course there are, although now they are partially blurred. But traditionally, there is. And here they are:
1. Belief that God is one. Gypsies treat polytheism with distrust and surprise; no polytheistic Gypsies have been found. It is not known whether their Indian ancestors had such a belief; I am inclined to think that this installation was picked up while moving along the Bolshoi Silk Road, i.e. quite late, a little more than a thousand and less than one and a half thousand years ago.
2. Beliefs in the dead returning to the world of the living, be they vampires, dead people seeking burial, or warning ghosts. There is not even a separate name for them, because this is one of the natural states of the dead. He may be lying in a grave, he may be visiting his wife, he may be dancing in a clearing, he may be dreaming - this means danger. A dead man is a dead man, whatever the names are.
3. Special beliefs around Bakht - good luck, happiness. This also includes beliefs in “black luck”, i.e. failure, in essence, “gypsy luck”, which carries you along a crooked path, and the evil eye as a deprivation of luck. This belief system is developed and complex; it occupies a lot of space in the worldview and life of the Roma. At the same time, Bakht is not something personified or animated. This is a property, a quality. I have already written a little about beliefs on this topic.
4. Beliefs in defilement. They are the ones who are disappearing with the development of hygiene products and assimilation; the rest are holding on much stronger. The carriers of defilement can be the organs of the pelvic region, women’s legs and skirts, death, human entrails, certain types of sick people (oddly enough, in addition to tuberculosis patients and others like them, this sometimes includes the mentally retarded and mentally ill), who have committed certain types of crimes, and well. , of course, feces.
As for the animation of the forces of nature (the vampire moon, the kidnapping whirlwind) and the beliefs in brownies and mermaids, upon closer examination, almost all of this turns out to be borrowed, and especially a lot from the Slavic population. In addition, they clearly occupy a smaller place in the worldview of the Roma than those listed above.
By the way, as for my story about Lilyanka Horvath, if you noticed, only the beliefs around the dead and - a little - monotheism are actively revealed. However, I have a background there for the next gypsy theme - of course, Bakht. The first person to notice this was, it seems, gray_koala :) So now you know what secret of her life Lilyanka will have to unravel in “Princes and Bastards”.
Did you like the story? Gild the handle, beautiful;)
First, let's get acquainted with the literary tradition. Based on the quotes below, one can judge what they have written about the religiosity of the Gypsies over the last two hundred years:
They do not profess any religion, but follow fetishism, that is, they worship objects useful to their life: tents, carts and forges; They believe, like the Turks, in predestination.
Mihail Kogalniceanu. 1837
The gypsies have no trace of religion, and if one eastern writer claims that “in the world there are seventy-two faiths and a half,” meaning by “half” the faith of the gypsies, then this is not true, because they have no faith at all. 2
"Light in Pictures" 1880
Without understanding anything Christian faith, the gypsy usually willingly accepts it, but only outwardly. At the same time, he does not even distinguish what kind of faith he accepts - for him all faiths are equally incomprehensible; he only looks at which one is more profitable for him. 3
A. Schiele. 1878
...Gypsies are not at all religious and are more superstitious than pious. As many researchers of gypsy life have noted, when asked: “What faith are you?”
The gypsies answered: “Which one do you need?” 4
Nadezhda Demeter. 1995
It’s interesting, let’s say, that in the Russian outback they may well be Orthodox: they go to church and earnestly cross themselves.
If they migrate to Tataria tomorrow, they will be exemplary Muslims. They seem to be “afraid of being fired.” 5
Nikolai Klimontovich. 1997
By and large, the literature on the religious views of the Roma can be divided into two movements. They are not formalized into strict schools, since often the same author in the first paragraph leans toward one system of views, and then, without batting an eye, defends another. Such confusion is typical of Gypsy studies. But let's still make a distinction.
There are two theories:
1. Gypsies are pagans. But they hide it, accepting a different faith for the sake of appearance. 2. Gypsies are conformists who change religion with extraordinary ease, guided only by profit. Agree, this is not the same thing. In the first case, the gypsies have their own religion. They may hide it for security reasons, but it still exists.
Pagan religion? In the modern world this is not a crime.
In India alone, eight hundred million people worship pagan gods - which does not prevent governments from concluding diplomatic treaties with this state, but
ordinary people
There is no doubt that the gypsies were originally pagans. Their ancestors, wandering around India, professed the same faith as the entire population of this hot eastern country... If we look at the world as a whole, it turns out that many peoples in that distant era worshiped idols, the spirits of ancestors and the like. The ancestors of modern Swedes, Norwegians, Lithuanians, Estonians, Latvians, Poles, and Irish were then pagans. I'm not even talking about our own ancestors.
Even in those Western countries that officially adopted Christianity relatively quickly, pagan communities continued to exist, which caused a lot of concern among the dominant church.
But the indigenous peoples of Europe still believed in Christ, didn’t they?
We believed. Some before the gypsies, some at the same time, and some even later... And another big question is whose “Christian experience” is longer! When the camps reached Byzantium, they no longer adhered to pagan cults. Their conversion to Orthodoxy was recorded in writing already in 1322 by Simon Simeonis and Hugo the Enlightened. However, the gypsies adopted Christianity not in Byzantium, but much earlier - while in Armenia. In any case, it is from Armenian language V gypsy language included some words from church usage. So the word " patradi " (from the Armenian "patarag" - worship) - found in many dialects of European gypsies, where it means Easter. In the Balkans, gypsies use the Armenian word " Hung "(incense). The Indian word "trishula" (Trident of Shiva) was transformed into a cross on the territory of Armenia (" trushul " - among European gypsies, and among Armenians " tresul
"). So, we Russians should not forget that the gypsies adopted Christianity two hundred years earlier than us. I am sure that this fact, well known to scientists, will seem amazing to our society.
Who won: the gossipers or the sensible Europeans?
Not least of all, this depended on the gypsies themselves. It was their everyday behavior that inclined the church and parishioners to one policy or another. I dare say that the gypsies “passed the test” of religious loyalty with honor.
In any case, the Inquisition did not touch them (for more details, see).
Let's look at the situation using the example of one specific country. In Sweden, the gypsies were greeted with caution. At first they were mistaken for a fragment of the Mongol-Tatar horde, before which the entire West was in awe at that time. Believing that they were dealing with pagans, the Swedes even called the newcomers “Tatars” - it took a hundred years for this erroneous term to be supplanted by the word “Gypsies”. Accordingly, the church at first shared the subconscious fear of the pagan East. In 1560, half a century after the appearance of the nomads, a decree was passed strictly prohibiting the clergy from dealing with them... Meanwhile, time passed. The secular authorities of Sweden, following the example of their neighbors, adopted anti-Gypsy laws, which, by the way, were implemented carelessly. Queen Christina discussed with her court council whether to send the gypsies to America, but this was just a discussion. In practice, the Gypsies were equated with “vagabonds and poor people,” only those caught red-handed stealing and the like were sent to the galleys. In a word, nomadic camps and society seemed to be eyeing each other. Already in 1686 the church realized its mistake. baptized in order to lure gifts from strangers. On this occasion, wild orgies are organized. The nomads worship a small idol, which is kept in great secrecy by the leader of their tribe.8 This was written in the 19th century, but even today you can find in quite respectable publications cave ideas about the religious views of the gypsies. Rosemary Helen Guilley writes:
"The world of gypsies is inhabited different perfumes and deities. Del is both God and “everything that is above” - the sky, the heavens and the celestial bodies. Faraun is a god who is said to have once been a great pharaoh in the long lost land of the gypsies, "Little Egypt". Beng is the devil, the cause of all evil. Like Christians, gypsies imagined the devil as a monster with a reptile-like tail and the ability to change appearance. There are legends about a conspiracy with the devil. The worship of the moon and fire is strong among the gypsies; apparently they never worshiped the sun, at least not seriously. The moon is identified with the god Alako, the protector of the gypsies, who takes their souls after death. At first Alako was Dundra, the son of a god sent to earth to teach people the law: he ascended to the moon when he completed his mission and became a god. Fire is considered sacred, with the power to heal, protect, preserve health, and punish evil.
The cult of Bibi is the worship of a goddess like the Greek Lamia, who strangles gorgio - non-gypsy children, infecting them with cholera, tuberculosis and typhoid.
Gypsies also practice the worship of the phallus and inanimate objects such as the anvil. The horse and the bear are considered god-like creatures."9
Don’t ask where the researcher got such, to put it mildly, unverified information. Conversations about the beliefs of the gypsies were always conducted according to the principle: “One woman said it.”
Here is a quote from the work of a foreign gypsy scholar, who, however, did not share the theory about the “godlikeness” of the horse, and wrote something exactly the opposite: "This horse sacrifice is also seen among the gypsies Russian Empire
. In 1830, a Russian landowner told me that the gypsies in the vicinity of Moscow and on the Don sacrifice horses and eat part of their meat, performing the most ancient rite of idolatry."10
The inventions of our compatriot Eliseev caused great harm to Gypsy studies. As you know, he published a book according to which the names of the Indian gods Brahma and Lakshmi were preserved in Gypsy folklore. Again, I will not dwell here on exposing this falsification. Those interested can refer to a separate ARTICLE on this topic.
Defenders of the dying theory have found a way out. For several decades now, there has been a thesis in pseudo-scientific journalism that the gypsies have their own pagan God - Davel... The reader, without understanding it, may even believe it. After all, in the Gypsy-Russian dictionary there is a vocative form of the word affairs, sounding devla.11 But I can’t resist making a snide comment. “Why,” I ask my opponents, “did you stop there? With the same justification one could argue that the Italians have their own personal God - “Dio”. And the British have a separate pagan deity - they call him " Year." And the French also have “Dieu.” And the Spaniards have “Diaz.” It would take a long time to list, but will such an approach be objective?”
Unfortunately, even now some Russian authors consistently defend the absolutely false point of view that the gypsies of our country have a whole pantheon of pagan gods. At the same time, they cannot introduce us to a single living pagan, usually referring to the fact that they themselves met them, but a long time ago, and in a remote province... and in general, the gypsies are a very secretive tribe. They reveal their secrets only to those whom they trust unquestioningly.
Needless to say, this is nonsense. Faith in God is not something shameful. The entire history of mankind shows that people are proud of their faith and willingly tell strangers about its postulates. Ethnographic science does not know peoples who, in the absence of religious persecution, would hide their true beliefs. This especially applies to our homeland.
So: not a single gypsy confirms that they worship Dundra or Faraun, not a single Russian woman who has entered into an interethnic marriage has encountered anything unusual in the religious sphere. What kind of people are these? All as one - conspirators are worse than intelligence officers or professional revolutionaries!..
(Just don’t pass off as paganism a belief in creatures similar to our brownies, goblins, and mermaids. Such characters were borrowed from the Russian common people during two centuries of ethnocultural contacts. If we include goblin in the pagan pantheon, then let’s first deny the indigenous people the right to be called Christian. )
So, we seem to have figured out the first theory. But before I part with it, I will quote a most interesting fragment.
It's like a bridge. Connecting thread. Smooth transition to theory number two. Western gypsy scholar Charles Lelan, who visited Russia in the late eighties of the 19th century, was forced to grit his teeth and admit that our gypsies are Orthodox.
Look, however, in what form this confession was made:
“I discovered, having studied this subject, that the Russian gypsies profess Christianity. But the church of the Greek rite, as far as I saw, is practically little better than idolatry. Therefore, I cannot consider them a model of evangelical religiosity.”12
As you can see, my dear Russian readers, from the point of view of a Western researcher, our Orthodoxy is, in essence, the same paganism. You offended? Now try to put yourself in the place of the gypsies. Where Russian believers listen to one printed slander, they listen to thousands. In order to better understand the gypsies, let's do a little psychological experiment. Let’s imagine that a Western journalist, having visited Moscow, writes the following:
“From the outside, a Russian person looks Orthodox (this is embodied in icons, prayer services and churches). But in the depths of barbarian souls sits a cult, absorbed with mother’s milk, which is carefully hidden from the uninitiated. For Russians worship the navel of a whale that vomited out all living things.”
Of course, for Russians such an article is just poorly written fiction. And the gypsies should be sympathized with. They have been written about them in this vein for several centuries now. And they are not going to stop... Now about the second theory, which says: “Gypsies are hypocrites.” There is a preconception that the nomadic people changed religion under the influence of self-interest.
Ethnographers relied on the fact that in every country the gypsies “adapt” to the dominant church.
From their reasoning it appears that, having driven to unfamiliar places, the head of the family gathered everyone around the fire and made a speech: “Stop praying in the old way. There are different orders here. From tomorrow we will pretend that we believed in a different god!”
You say nonsense? Can’t a scientist reason so primitively?
Maybe. It all started with the founder of Gypsy studies, Grelman, who said: “Gypsies simply adopt the religion of the country in which they live. Where the Gypsies choose a place to stay, that’s where they take the religion. Not a single Gypsy knows anything about the basics of religion, it’s just as easy for him in every new place, change your faith, just like other people change their clothes."13
Following Grelman, the same postulate was repeated by his numerous followers, almost word for word. Since the middle of the 19th century, it has become good practice to add, to complete the set, a parable about a nomad who was asked what his faith was.
Meanwhile, the power of the Porte was wavering. Beginning in 1830, ethnic Turks began to gradually leave Serbia, and after independence from the Ottoman Empire was declared in 1878, there was virtually no Turkish population left. At least two consequences logically followed from this. First, mosques and mullahs disappeared. Secondly, having lost external Islamic influence and finding themselves in a purely Orthodox environment, Muslim gypsies, according to all the tenets of gypsy studies, had to immediately change their faith “like a dress.”
Did this happen? Djordjevic (how to go against the truth?) admits that no. Instead of a mass conversion to Orthodoxy, an inexplicable incident occurred. In a number of regions, Muslim gypsies gradually lost Islamic rituals. Neither holidays, nor the birth of a child, nor funerals were no longer accompanied by appropriate ceremonies. And despite all this, people from the described communities continued to consider themselves Muslims, and when the lack of rituals was pointed out to them, they made the excuse that this was their “Pharaonic” faith.
In 1892, Bishop Melenty’s soul could not stand it, and he began to insist on converting the “atheists” to Orthodoxy. Gypsies began to be baptized en masse. Again, according to the myth about this people’s disregard for matters of faith, everything should have gone smoothly.:
But for some reason some of the gypsies refused, and some, even though they had been baptized, preferred to move further away - just so as not to be called by a new Christian name. In places where no one knew them, they hid the fact that they had undergone the rite of baptism.17 In a word, when an honest ethnographer speaks in Djordjevic, he recognizes precisely the tenacity of religious beliefs. In his essays, he devotes a lot of space to Muslim groups living in Serbia. They were known by different names
Koran Roma
 |
| of Turkish origin and "Beli Gypsies" (who came from Bosnia). All these people, despite their Orthodox surroundings, held tightly to the faith of their fathers, celebrated Bayram and Ramadan (although, like throughout the Islamic world, their women did not cover their faces with veils).18 |
The criterion of truth is practice. Since there is a widespread postulate in literature that gypsies change their faith based on profit, you just need to look at what happened in reality. Imagine, a corresponding experiment was carried out in the Ottoman Empire. Immediately after the conquest of Christian lands, the Ottoman Turks adopted a differentiated tax scale. Already in 1530 it was announced that the tax on Orthodox Gypsies would be 25 achka. But those of them who convert to Islam will pay three points less.20 This was not an empty shock. An effective mechanism for collecting taxes was established (the so-called “gypsy sanjak”). To correctly evaluate the results, let’s try to reason with numbers in hand. For this we need a time jump to the end of the 17th century. The essence of Ottoman policy has not changed in a century and a half. Just as under Suleiman the Magnificent, the gypsies who worshiped Allah were charged less tax. A Christian gypsy paid six groschens, and a Muslim five. What is the result? It turned out that in the register of 1695 only 10,000 gypsies out of 45,000 were listed as Muslims.21 Less than a quarter! As we see, the tax press did not greatly influence the very people who are supposedly guided only by profit. In the Balkans, the myth of Roma indifference to religion was dealt a crushing blow. For centuries, tens of thousands of people remained faithful to Orthodoxy while under Muslim rule. And they were not tempted by tax breaks.
The situation in our country is extremely interesting. It allows you to beat the last marked card from the counterfeit deck.
As we know, Russian gypsies, back in the 19th century, certainly kept icons in the “red corner” of the tent, observed fasts, and so on.
- Of course, they were pretending... They wanted to please the Russians.
- the writing brethren grin. Is that so? History itself made sure that the gypsies could adequately object to common accusations. After the victory of the October Revolution, the party began to intensively instill a materialist worldview. Priests were imprisoned and shot, churches were blown up or potato storage facilities were set up there. Monasteries were adapted into concentration camps or prisons. The communists abused believers in every possible way, and was atheistic in nature.
This cannot be said to be ineffective.
All the peoples of the USSR experienced its influence to one degree or another.
For some of them, the proportion of atheists in a certain period reached 50-60% (not according to official reports, but in reality). Only the gypsies did not submit to this trend. It would seem that now, when both the rulers and most of the population are unanimous in their godlessness, the gypsies realize their benefit.- What faith are you, gypsy?
- Which one do you need? No, no one has heard such words from these people. Despite the immediate danger, the nomads continued to keep icons in a place of honor, they noted church holidays
, got married, baptized children, and buried the deceased with a funeral service. Sedentary gypsies, including communists and Komsomol members, behaved the same way... Yes, they did not advertise their faith. But they kept fasts, prayed, and when they were directly asked, they did not hide their Orthodoxy. It cannot be said that the party lost sight of the Roma. Anti-religious brochures were issued in their native language, the essence of which boiled down to the phrase " religion cheese choking gas "22 (translation, I hope, is not required?). The result was zero. This alone shows what the arguments about the indifference of the gypsies to faith, about their “conformism”, “desire for profit” are worth. The cruel communist experiment had by-effect- one of the most persistent myths of gypsy studies has been refuted.
Moreover, not only Christian gypsies, but also Muslim gypsies showed their tenacity of conviction. Crimea and Mugat (aka “Lyuli”) did not allow the party to distort its spiritual world. It was not possible to impose atheism on them.
By the way, in last years evidence of the persistence of faith can be found. Representatives of many ethnic groups migrate far from their traditional habitats. So the gypsies of Central Asia have often come to Russia for the last 10 years. I communicated with them a lot, but they never tried to pass themselves off as Orthodox. On the contrary, they sincerely talked about their faith in Allah. A significant part of the ethnic group kyrymitika roma
moved in the early 1930s from the Crimean Peninsula to Russia. However, cases of conversion from Islam to Orthodoxy are still rare.
The most revered holidays for this national minority are religious ones. Let's assume for a second that the gypsies, as journalists say, disguise themselves and pretend. Then why are there practically no Russians at these holidays?
If we are dealing with a performance designed for the gullible, we should celebrate Easter and Christmas in public, inviting all the neighbors!
There is another proof of the strength of religious foundations.
During a gypsy trial, a person who stands his ground is required to venerate himself on an icon. If he swore before God, then no matter how strong the evidence of his guilt, the words of justification must be believed. But not only financial issues, but also the entire future life of the gypsy, the reputation of the children, and so on depend on the decision of the Gypsy court.
Now we have reached the end of the reasoning. As we see, everything is so clear that there is nothing to argue about. One can only be surprised at a theory that managed to develop for two hundred years in complete contradiction with the facts.
1. Kogalnichan. Essay on the history, customs and language of the gypsies. Northern bee. St. Petersburg, 1838. No. 82. P. 327.
2. Light in pictures. 1880. No. 8. P. 140.
3. Shile A. Gypsies. Nature and people. St. Petersburg, 1878. No. 11. P. 34-35.
4. Demeter N. Gypsies: myth and reality. M., 1995. P.74.
5. Klimontovich N. Gypsy essay. Russian telegraph. 10/29/1997.
6. Weideck H.E. Dictionary of gypsy life and lore. NY., 1973. P. 376.
7. Etzler Allan. Gypsies in Sweden. JGLS (3). XXV. Parts 3-4. R.82, 83.
8. Weideck H.E. Dictionary of gypsy life and lore. NY., 1973. P. 428.
9. Guili R. E. Encyclopedia of witches and witchcraft. M., 1998. P.616, 617.
10. Weideck H.E. Dictionary of gypsy life and lore. NY., 1973. P. 104.
11. Gypsy-Russian and Russian-Gypsy dictionary (Kelderar dialect). M., 1990. P.63.
12. Weideck H.E. Dictionary of gypsy life and lore. NY., 1973. P. 65
13. Grellmann H.M.G. Historischer Versuch uber die Zigeuner.
Gottingen, 1787. P.102.
14. Shile A. Gypsies. Nature and people. St. Petersburg, 1878. No. 11. P. 34-35.
15. Demeter N. Gypsies: myth and reality. M., 1995. P.74
16. Borђeviћ Tihomir R. Our people's life. Book 7. Beograd, 1933. P. 53.
17. Ibid. pp. 52-57.
18. Borђeviћ Tihomir R. Our people's life. Book 6. Beograd, 1932. pp. 90-97.
19. Marushiakova E.; Popov V. Tsiganite in Bulgaria. Sofia, 1993. pp. 76-7.
People who ask it are usually pre-set to hear one of the following options: “Hinduism/paganism”, “fire/sun worship” or simply “Gypsies don’t believe in anything”.
And I, as an honest woman, have to destroy their world, explaining that Muslim gypsies have a Muslim faith, and Christian gypsies have a Christian faith, and in both cases it is real. And if Christian gypsies are quite mobile in relation to Christian denominations (Catholic Magyars do not see a big problem in going over to the camp of evangelists, because there is a cross here and there, for example), then from Christianity to Islam and vice versa they rarely and reluctantly switch, mostly The transition is made by women to their husband's faith. True, interreligious marriages among Roma are rare.
The adherence to the faith of their ancestors among the Gypsies is surprisingly persistent, although I have seen many times in Tyrnetik statements that the Gypsies always fulfill the religious customs of the area where they are located...
Material from Wikipedia
Total population: 8~10 million
Settlement: Albania:
from 1300 to 120,000
Argentina:
300 000
Belarus:
17 000
Bosnia and Herzegovina:
60,000
Brazil:
678 000
Canada:
80 000
Russia:
183,000 (2002 census)
Romania:
535,140 (see population of Romania)
Slovakia:
65,000 (officially)
USA:
1 million Handbook of Texas
Ukraine:
48,000 (2001 census)
Croatia:
9,463 to 14,000 (2001 Census)
Language: Gypsy, Domari, Lomavren
Religion: Christianity, Islam
Gypsy is a collective name for about 80 ethnic groups united by a common origin and recognition of the “Gypsy law”. There is no single self-name, although recently the term Romanies, that is, “rum-like,” has been proposed as such.
The British traditionally...
Gypsies are one of the most amazing peoples, which can only be found in the world. Many would envy their inner liberation and lifelong optimism. The gypsies never had their own state, and yet they carried their traditions and culture through the centuries. In terms of the degree of their presence on the planet, they can compete with another people, until recently scattered around the world - the Jews. It is no coincidence that Jews and Gypsies were at the very top of the list of those representatives of the human race that were subject to complete destruction, according to racial laws Hitler. But if many books have been written about the genocide of Jews - the Holocaust - and many films have been made, dozens of museums in the country are dedicated to this topic. different countries, then few people know about Kali Trash - the genocide of the Roma. Simply because there was no one to stand up for the gypsies.
Figure 1. Gypsy girl. Eastern Europe
Source unknown
Both Jews and Gypsies are united by the belief in their own special destiny...
History of the Gypsies Resettlement of the Gypsies How do the Gypsies live? Where did the gypsies come from in Russia? Musical culture Gypsy
There are more than 12 million Roma in the world. Calculating their exact number is practically impossible, since most of them are not registered in general civil censuses. Most Roma do not want to recognize their true national origin. The reasons for this can be both economic and social.
The Roma are a distinct ethnic minority, distinguished mainly by their Roma blood and the Roma language. Until now, scientists around the world are wondering where the gypsies came from on earth.
History of the Gypsies
Scientists from the University of Rotterdam managed to reveal the secret of the gypsy genealogy. The bulk of this people live in Europe, but most of the gypsies live in Hungary and Romania. Since the Gypsies do not have written history monuments, their historical homeland is currently...
Christianity.
Islam is still very widespread.
So it turns out they don’t have a single religion? What is their national identity based on? Do they have a language or is it different everywhere?
1. There is a type of legend like this:
Why does God love gypsies?
Because when he was crucified, the gypsy stole the fifth nail.
Something like this.
where is the fifth nail if there are only 3 of them?
Well, these are thieves, too, among themselves. like the robber nearby stole a nail from the cross of Jesus. That's why God forgives thieves.
they have no national religion.
depends on habitat
seriously?
It doesn't happen that way. Usually a nation is very closely connected with religion.
In the Catholic West, soon after the appearance of the Gypsies, laws were adopted everywhere to expel them, and starting from the 18th century, the Gypsies were accused of criminal tendencies, confirming this with many facts accumulated by that time.
The outside world and its inhabitants, i.e. those who are not gypsies are called gaje by gypsies. Gaje, for gypsies, are “unclean” creatures, gaje of any gender and age are absolutely unclean, without any exceptions. Cheating in Gadje is considered not a vice, but a virtue.
Contacts with gaje are allowed according to necessity: economic or forced. Gaje for Roma is the absolute antipode. Love relationship with gaje and marriage are punished by marime - temporary or lifelong excommunication.
The religion of the Gypsies is adapted to Christianity, but with Gypsy tricks - sort of Catholics with Jewish bells and whistles. The gypsies claim that... It is to their advantage that their ancestors lived in Israel from time immemorial. Sex life regulated by the Jewish Orthodox...
Historical information about the gypsies is intertwined with myths and wanders with them, from century to century, and from country to country. It has now been precisely established that the Gypsies originate from Northern India. However, it is unknown what prompted their exodus from this region and when it began. They were presumably driven out by invasions by the Greeks, Persians, Scythians, Kushites, Huns and Arabs. For one reason or another, approximately IX-X centuries large groups of people left their homeland and moved west...
The Gypsies are the largest of the peoples who still do not have their own state and live literally all over the planet. Everyone has heard about the gypsies, everyone has seen them, but they don’t look like common man Therefore, at the everyday level, there are numerous myths and stereotypes about this people. Mostly negative. And they arose, as often happens, from ignorance and the same unusualness.
Below are the 10 most important myths and stereotypes about gypsies. What’s interesting is that these myths exist in all countries of the world...
Gypsies are one of the most mysterious peoples of our Motherland. What is the religion of the gypsies? Are there Orthodox gypsy priests? Who will bring Orthodoxy to the camp?
Halfway around the world - to Russia
Why the gypsy tribe left their historical homeland India, the northwestern lands of Rajasthan, Gujarat and Kashmir is not known for certain. One version says that the Mughal conquest is to blame for this, another says that a group of Gypsy jewelers and musicians was presented to the Shah of Persia and some of their descendants moved to Europe, the third believes that the Gypsies are the descendants of captives brought by the Macedonian from India. The Gypsy language consists of two-thirds Sanskrit words, a stop in Byzantium added Greek words, the rest depends on the country of residence.
In the pre-revolutionary Russian Empire, Gypsy men were engaged in buying and selling and exchanging horses, blacksmithing, and basket weaving, and women were engaged in sorcery, fortune telling, and embroidery. Gypsy songs and dances have long aroused interest among surrounding peoples. Therefore, many gypsies, even before the revolution, joined Russian choral groups or created their own, successfully performing on the domestic stage and touring. Russian nobles were crazy about gypsy songs and beautiful gypsy women.
After the revolution new government tried to make the gypsies sedentary, this was largely successful. However, gypsies like to leave home for a long time and remember their nomadic life.
During the Great Patriotic War, many young Roma went to the front. After the war sedentary image life was accepted by 90% of nomadic families. And today only one percent of Russian gypsies are nomadic. Their professions are also, for the most part, ordinary, but they have a special penchant for creativity. Not only scenic, but also literary and artistic.
There are no gypsy villages in our area; these people are exotic to us. Sometimes a car with a trailer scurries along the streets of the regional center, and male gypsies buy iron. Scrap metal is sold for smelting. Or gypsies appear with large checkered bags, offering inexpensive items to local residents. On Easter, gypsy families come to the temple from somewhere. Their Easter cakes delight local parishioners with their size - huge, enough for the whole family.
And in the city of Balakovo, which is located not far from my small homeland, there are many gypsies and they take an active part in the life of the church community.
Gypsy religion
All Russian Roma are Christians, the majority are Orthodox. But it has its own characteristics.
- Gypsies are very superstitious. They, the fortune tellers, themselves ardently and naively believe in fortune telling. Fighting among themselves, they later become confused by their wishes. At the Diaconnik forum, priests share their impressions of their Roma parishioners. It turns out that temperamental guests from the camp often repent of curses and oaths spoken in the heat of the moment: “A crying gypsy flies in: “Wai-wai, father, quickly say a prayer, I cursed my daughter-in-law again!” And the other, offended by her husband, vowed not to cook dinner for him, as a result, the children were left without food. Three days later, the whole family came to the temple to save themselves from the impossible promise through the prayer of St. Basil the Great.
- The source of superstition is lack of education. Often gypsies, while celebrating Christian holidays in a magnificent manner, do not know the Bible at all. They do not have a clear idea of what the Almighty forbids and what he allows. As a result, for example, luxury items are placed in the grave at funerals, including televisions, carpets, expensive wines and laptops. At the same time, a priest is invited to perform the funeral service; there is a story about this by Archpriest Alexander Dyachenko.
- Lack of education is a consequence of early marriages and closeness to strangers.
Gypsies live in isolation; if there are many of them, they gather on the same street or in the same village. Their communication with foreigners is purely business-like, and only a few close people are allowed into their personal lives and into their homes. First you need to earn their trust.
Communication only within one’s own circle gives little new culturally. Missionaries hardly remember the gypsies. Young people leave school at the age of 12-14, entering into early marriage. As a rule, couples are not registered in the registry office, therefore the priest, by law, does not have the right to marry them. On the better side, these events differ from Middle Eastern Muslim weddings in that there is little or no difference in the age of the bride and groom. Here a girl will not be given to an old man. A cute boy and girl get married and soon begin to have children and provide for their family.
Gypsy family in Orthodox church on Palm Sunday
Many Roma do not receive either religious or secular education.
But, between you and me, what then can be attributed to the religious lack of education of Russians, who are the clientele of the same fortune-tellers and do not know the Bible? How can we justify the fornication of our youth?...
The problems of the gypsy tribe are a reflection of the problems of other Russians, but with their own national specifics.
In the village of Vnukovo, where I once lived, there lives a gypsy. I met this cheerful woman about sixty years old on the platform, waiting for the train. The gypsy said that she practices divination, including removing damage. I thought I was doing this with God's help. He goes to pray for his clients to Matrona of Moscow. And he tells fortunes for only 500 rubles. The gypsy woman invited me to visit and offered to spread out the cards. The temptation was great. I could hardly resist visiting - everyone wants to know the future. But the kind woman did not suffer from a lack of clients even without me. Many Russians turned to her for help constantly.
Sermon among the gypsies
Of course, the gypsy faith mixed with folk superstitions, needs correction. In addition, many people do not know the exact moral standards of Orthodoxy. We need to talk about them.
In the gypsy environment there is a basis for deep religiosity - respect for traditions, family values.
According to eyewitnesses, the rest of Russians have a lot to learn from the Roma.
- Respect for older people, to the word of the elder.
- Large families, love for children.
- Community, mutual support.
- Self-government, problem solving at a meeting.
The moral atmosphere in a gypsy settlement, in a clan uniting families, depends on older relatives and authoritative people. But this coin has two sides. If the leaders are committed to honest business, then everything will be fine in the camp. If not, woe to both our own and others.
Gypsies at a service in an Orthodox church in Sviblovo, Moscow
It doesn’t happen once at a time - in some places they make money through photography and video shooting, construction, trade, musical performances, and in other places they make money from crimes. The environment also influences - there is a request for fortune telling, there is a request for heroin - there will be those who will provide everything.
I am surprised by the position of the press: if someone sells drugs, then his buyers are innocent sheep, led astray. I think the guilt here is mutual.
Unfortunately, from the outside Orthodox people There is no targeted missionary work among the Roma, as among many other nations. Articles are no substitute for real dialogue when people meet face to face. They write a lot on the Internet about the history of the Roma, about culture, about crime. But if you look for videos on the topic of missionary work, then, as a rule, they were filmed by representatives of other Christian denominations and sects. They have something to say about their successes, about their activities in the Roma community, which has lasted more than a decade. Many gypsies are involved in their organizations and enthusiastically testify to Christ. And on the part of the Orthodox, only priests scold fortune tellers, warning their flock.
I spent half a day looking for some kind of meaningful video about gypsies and Orthodoxy, but more often I came across videos of Protestants, evangelists, Baptists...
Here is the story of one Ukrainian preacher, a Christian, but not Orthodox, who enlightened the Roma of Transcarpathia. Oksana Serdyuk: “What was not easy to do was to share the message of Christ with adults. The reason was that they were afraid to trust us. They thought that we, like many other people, wanted to make fun of them, and once again remind them what position they occupy in society. But it was easy to convey the Good News to children, teenagers and young people. They were always available to us and were with us almost 24 hours a day throughout the month. This caused many of them to give their youthful lives For Christ! Until then, I never thought that I would “get involved” with the gypsies. It was so unexpected and strange for me. But the fact remains a fact, and I don’t dare regret anything; on the contrary, I fell in love with them very much. Now they are a piece of my heart. Serving the gypsies is great!”
Another Ukrainian preacher, seeing the camp, was at first timid; he walked three kilometers away from it, but found the strength to return to the fires near which the gypsies were resting. And his ministry has been going on for 16 years. Now the gypsies talk about meeting him with tears in their eyes - they are happy that this man with a Bible in his hands once became their friend.
And how many gypsy misconceptions need to be dispelled.
Archpriest Dimitri(Kineshma) shares on his blog: “I have heard more than once from Russian gypsies (Russian Roma) the idea that you cannot pray in the gypsy way - God, they say, does not hear”.
Archpriest Mikhail(Rostov region) notes: “In Gypsy families, daughters-in-law are harshly commanded by the eldest mother-in-law. There were cases when tear-stained gypsies returned icons and crosses to the temple, bought without a “blessing,” and there were also “removals” from services.”.
The job of a priest is to serve in a church; he cannot comprehend the immensity - thousands of people in camps, almost ignorant of Christ. We need initiative on the part of lay believers.
This is a rare but gratifying phenomenon. There is an Orthodox Gypsy cultural and missionary center in St. Petersburg. Details in the video.
Every nation gives birth to righteous people. On an Orthodox forum, I saw one girl’s thoughts about her gypsy friend. She lives honestly and fervently believes in Christ. One day there was a religious procession in their area and this elderly woman, who was walking along with everyone else, had a heart attack. She recently suffered a heart attack. But despite her poor health, the gypsy did not leave the procession and behaved stoically. “I am far from such sincere trust in God!” – the narrator notes.
The life of Stavropol gypsies, including the baptism of a baby and the priest’s opinion about them in this film.
The gypsies consider Nicholas the Ugodnik, St. George the Victorious, and Basil the Great their patrons and beloved saints. Of course, Christ and the Mother of God.
Heart to Heart
Evgeny Chernyaev
Correspondent:“Hello, Evgeniy. I am the author of the Orthodox publication “Elitsa Media”. Please tell our readers about the problems of missionary work in the Roma community. How did you come up with this idea? How it all began? What difficulties do you encounter in the course of your activities?
Evgeny Chernyaev, missionary (Moscow):“I always dreamed of being a youth pastor, and never thought of working with the gypsies, I was a rather squeamish person and did not like dirt. Once, during my studies at the seminary, a friend invited me to go and serve in the camp, to testify how I came to God. When I got there, I didn't feel at ease. There is dirt all around, dirty children screaming in an incomprehensible language, throwing stones at you. Dirty glasses dirty dishes, I was afraid to even drink water. But what struck me was the joy in visible poverty. I said, how can they be happy living such a life?..
Then I came several more times to the camp with these missionaries, and then these missionaries disappeared and I was left alone, and at that moment a turning point occurred for me, I fell in love with these people, such love poured into my heart for them that I realized: I I can’t leave them, and continued to walk alone. Over time, God gave me a command, we began to conduct weekly lessons for children, teach them to read and write, bring them to church on Sundays, do medical examinations, provide humanitarian aid, hold camps for gypsies, send them to school.
What difficulties did you face?
It is quite difficult to become one of the gypsies if you are not a gypsy. More than a pound of salt had to be eaten with them before they began to trust even a little.
They are quite closed and marginalized, lack basic education and skills, a lot of drugs and drunkenness, lack of housing and documents.
Evgeny Chernyaev with gypsy children
When I brought the children to church for the first time, the church looked at the gypsies with suspicion, and they looked at the parishioners; it took a lot of time to reconcile them. The lack of documents makes the process of moving them around Moscow difficult. And we constantly need to rent transport. People often do not like and are afraid of gypsies, which in turn results in a shortage of ministers and donations. Today we dream of having our own minibus for ministry, which would make our life much easier.
Another significant difficulty is cultural. Let’s say parents can forbid their fully grown son or daughter from going to church, or a husband can forbid his wife. The lack of education and profession makes it difficult to choose how to earn money; most often it is begging or musicians in the subway, trains and passages. What the gypsy ministry taught me is to love them and serve them, not expecting anything, because you will be disappointed, you need a lot of patience and a lot of work.
Today it seems to you that there is already an awakening in the camp, and tomorrow you come and two or three people are sitting at the service. In my opinion, heart-to-heart ministry is even more appropriate here.”
Christian missionary Evgeny Chernyaev with his camp
Gypsy priests needed
The Gypsy ethnos needs priests who speak their language, think Gypsy, and know Gypsy customs and mentality. Then the influence of Orthodoxy on this people will bear more good fruits.
So far in Russia there is only one Roma priest, Elizbar Ivanov. The youth of the future shepherd, then a boy named Edward, was spent in a dysfunctional criminal environment, in a family of atheists. The young man's interest in Orthodoxy made him persecuted by his relatives. At first, the seventeen-year-old boy was forced to pray, hiding in the attic, and then even in an open field. It’s time to remember the martyrs for the faith. The young man was supported only by the local elderly priest, Father Andrei Lazarev.
The drug trade in the city flourished, Edward’s fellow tribesmen distributed drugs, but they themselves became drug addicts and died. The Russian comrades drank and got drunk. Orthodoxy became salvation for Edward. Then he led his loved ones to this salvation and managed to change their views. He baptized everyone. Willpower plus the power of faith works wonders.
On the left is Father Elizbar Ivanov, on the right is Father Andrey Lazarev
In one of his interviews, Father Elizbar says: “I remember my first years in the temple. All my friends who had already gotten married laughed at me and reported to my mother. She began to scare me that she would commit suicide if I did not leave the faith, that she would go to church and quarrel with all the clergy. It would be better for me to give away all the church books and go back to the gypsy life. But I answered her: “Mom, I’m already a gypsy, don’t worry, but I will never leave my faith. Because faith has given me a lot. Faith gave me the fact that I did not become a drug addict or a drunkard; faith allowed me to understand what it means to be human and to treat everyone humanly. Faith allowed me to know where the soul is, where love is, and the most important thing that faith gave me was the understanding that God exists.”
Watch a documentary video about the fate of Priest Elizbar, listen to the hero himself and his mentor, Father Andrei.
What I noted in the stories of preachers and priests about missionary work is that, first of all, you need love for your neighbors. Don't skimp on love. It gives rise to interest and determination to enter the environment of a foreign nation. She strikes a chord in our hearts strangers and makes them like-minded people, brothers and sisters in Christ.
How to love strangers? Probably, you need to think more about them, try on their problems, trying to understand: why do they live this way and not otherwise? And how can we change their lives and thinking for the better?
Christian missionary work is a labor of love, regardless of denomination.
Gypsies are perhaps one of the most incomprehensible and mythologized peoples on our planet, and this has been the case for many centuries. There are rumors around the world that when gypsies come to a city, they seduce men and women and then steal everything in sight, including children.
There are also many myths about cunning and mysterious gypsy fortune tellers and gypsy camps. In any case, even if we put all myths and misconceptions aside, the Roma remain one of the most interesting ethnic groups in history.
WHERE THEY CAME FROM
The origins of the Gypsies are shrouded in mystery. At times it seemed that they appeared on the planet by someone mysteriously. This in itself may have created a sense of fear among Europeans and contributed to the atmosphere of mystery surrounding the Gypsies. Modern scholars suggest that the Gypsies originally migrated en masse from India in the fifth century.
This theory suggests that their flight was linked to the spread of Islam, which the Roma were desperate to avoid in order to protect their religious freedom. This theory states that the Gypsies migrated from India to Anatolia and further to Europe, where they split into three separate branches: the Domari, the Lomavren, and the Gypsies themselves. Another theory suggests that there were as many as three separate migrations over several centuries.
NOMADIC LIFESTYLE OF GYPSIES
Many stereotypes have long been formed around the gypsies. Who doesn’t know the phrase “gypsy soul” (which is used in relation to freedom-loving people). According to these stereotypes, gypsies prefer to live, as they say, not in the “mainstream” and avoid social norms to be able to lead a nomadic life, replete with fun and dancing. The truth is much darker.
For many centuries, Roma were often forcibly expelled from the countries in which they lived. Such forced evictions continue to this day. Many historians have suggested that the real reason The nomadic lifestyle of the gypsies is very simple: survival.
GYPSIES HAVE NO HOMELAND
Gypsies are people without a specific citizenship. Most countries refuse to grant them citizenship, even if they were born in that country. Centuries of persecution and their closed community have led to the fact that the Roma simply have no homeland. In 2000, the Roma were officially declared a non-territorial nation. This lack of citizenship makes Roma legally “invisible”.
Although they are not subject to the laws of any country, they cannot access education, healthcare and other social services. Moreover, Roma cannot even obtain passports, making their travel very difficult or impossible.
GYpsy PERSECUTION
It's worth starting with the fact that the Gypsies were actually enslaved people in Europe, especially in the 14th - 19th centuries. They were exchanged and sold as goods, and they were considered “subhumans.” In the 1700s, Empress Maria Theresa of the Austro-Hungarian Empire passed a law that outlawed Gypsies. This was done to force the Roma to integrate into society.
Similar laws have been passed in Spain, and many European countries banned Roma from entering their territory. The Nazi regime also persecuted and exterminated Roma by the tens of thousands. Even today the gypsies are persecuted.
NO ONE KNOWS HOW MANY GYPSIES THERE ARE IN THE WORLD
Nobody knows how many gypsies live around the world today. Due to the discrimination that Roma often face, many of them do not publicly register or identify themselves as Roma. In addition, given their “legal invisibility”, the birth of children without documents and frequent moves, many Roma are listed as missing.
Also problematic is that Roma are not provided with social services, which would help paint a clearer picture of their numbers. However, The New York Times estimates the number of Roma people worldwide at 11 million, but this figure is often disputed.
GYPSIES - AN OFFENSIVE WORD
For many people, the term “gypsy” means nomad and is not considered a racial slur. But for the “Roma” themselves (or “Romals” - the self-name of the Gypsies) this word has ominous overtones. For example, according to the Oxford Dictionary English word“gypped” (derived from “gypsie” - gypsy) means a criminal act.
Roma, often called gypsies, were considered losers and thieves, a word that was burned into their skin during the Nazi regime. Like many other racial slurs, the word “gypsy” has been used for centuries to oppress the Roma people.
FUTURE, CHEAP...
There are many myths surrounding gypsies. One of these myths is that gypsies have their own magic, which has been passed down for centuries from generation to generation. The myth is associated with tarot cards, crystal balls and fortune tellers' tents, as well as other stereotypes. The literature is replete with references to the gypsy language and the magical arts of this people.
In addition, there are many films that show gypsy curses. Even in art, there are many paintings that describe Roma as mystical and magical people. However, many scientists believe that all this magic is fiction, resulting from the fact that people simply did not know anything about the gypsies.
LACK OF FORMAL RELIGION
In European folklore it is often stated that the Roma made a temple out of cream cheese. Presumably, they ate it during a period of severe famine, so they were left without an official religion. Generally, Gypsies join the church that is most widespread in the country in which they live. However, there are many traditional Romani beliefs. Some scholars believe that there are many connections between Roma beliefs and Hinduism.
MODESTY
Although gypsy weddings are often accompanied by mass celebrations and luxurious attire, the everyday clothing of gypsies reflects one of their main life principles - modesty. Gypsy dancing is most often associated with women's belly dancing. However, many Romani women have never performed what is considered today belly dancing.
Instead, they perform traditional dances that use only their bellies for movement, not their thighs, as moving the hips is considered immodest. Additionally, the long, flowing skirts typically worn by gypsy women serve to cover their legs, as exposing their legs is also considered immodest.
THE GYpsy CONTRIBUTION TO WORLD CULTURE IS HUGE
From the very beginning of their existence, the Gypsies were closely associated with singing, dancing and acting. They carried this tradition throughout the centuries and significantly influenced world art. Many Gypsies have assimilated into different cultures, influencing them. Many singers, actors, artists, etc. had gypsy roots.
