The Gypies

THE GYPIES

—Patricia Follmer

When spring comes, the drom (“road”) beckons all Roms, as the Gypsies call themselves. Whether they are nomads who have stopped for the winter or sedentary Gypsies living in cities, their hearts are awakened. They believe that all land under their feet is their own.
José, a Gypsy of Arles, in Provence, once told me about his youth before World War II, when he traveled with his large family in a horse-drawn caravan to Switzerland, Germany, the Netherlands, the west coast of France, through the Pyrenees, Montpelier, and then back to Arles again by autumn, making the same circuit year after year, selling horses and rugs and doing metal work. “We went everywhere. We stopped in the fields, amused ourselves in the trees. If we wanted a fruit, we ate it. We were savage. We were free.”
The Gypsies, it is thought, wandered out of Central Asia about 4,000 years ago. They have never stopped moving. They arrived in Europe in the late Middle Ages, and used the annual religious pilgrimage they found there as pretexts for large tribal gatherings, since they ordinarily traveled in small groups to avoid the authorities. At the gatherings, they conducted family business-baptism, marriages, trials and exchanged news.
The tradition continues today. Every May, Gypsies from all over Europe gather in the village of Les Saintes Maries-de-la-Mer, in the south of France, to venerate their patron saint, Sara-Kali. The campgrounds are filled with trailers, clotheslines, and cooking fires. Inside each caravan, the entire family sleeps crowded together on the floor under feather quilts. Although they live communally, Gypsies preserve their privacy through mutual respect and strict codes of behavior; they feel there is something wrong with a man who needs to hide behind walls.
The Gypsy is happiest in the natural world, where he can hear the rain at night on his caravan and smell the woods. He lives from day to day, and he likes uncertainty. He has known practically from infancy that sudden changes from comfort to discomfort are essential for a healthy life. As a result, he has a deep sense of self reliance.
Today many Gypsies have moved into the cities (there are communities in Boston, New York, Newark, and Los Angeles) or have been forced into “settlements.” But they paint their ceilings blue to remind themselves of the sky, and they cover their walls with rugs to bring back the feeling of a tent. “We don’t like fancy houses,” josé says. “We like an old house with fireplace for heat and cooking. We eat with the fingers-no need for forks or spoons. We are free like that, and it is because of this that the Romany will never change. We will always stay as we were born.”

PDF file: The Gypies.pdf

                                                                                               

                                                                                                        Brought to you by,

                                                                                                        Khabirul Basar Tonmoy

                                                                                                         Department of English,

                                                                                                          University of Rajshahi.