Gypsy Lore

Learn about Gypsy lore: Rom history, Fortune telling, Holocaust, Romani Gypsy Shamanism and "The Black Triangle"!

Origins Of The Roma/Rom History

History of the Roma

Diverse, nomadic…to be Roma, or “gypsy,” is to be a member of an ethnic minority that is difficult to define. Throughout their history,

the Roma have been comprised of many different groups of people, absorbing outsiders and other cultures while migrating across continents.

This has resulted in creating a patchwork of groups calling themselves Roma, each with differing cultures, customs, and written languages.

Despite their differences, the Roma do share certain attributes. Made up of four “tribes,” or nations (natsiya), they are bound together at

least through Rom blood and Romani (or Romanes), the root language they share. The Roma also hold common characteristics: they are extremely loyal to family and clan; a strong belief in both Del (God) and Beng (the Devil); belief in predestiny; and Romaniya, loosely translated as certain standards and norms in codes of conduct (which vary in degree from tribe to tribe). At their core, because of their history, they are a people who are adaptable to changing conditions.

No one knows where the Roma originated. Because they arrived in Europe from the East, they were thought by early Europeans to be from Turkey or Nubia or any one of vaguely acknowledged non- European places. They were even thought to have been from Egypt, and were called, among other things, Egyptians, or ‘Gyptians, which is how the word “Gypsy” originated.  

In the second half of the 18th century, European scholars studying the Roma found that the Romani language shared basic words, including numbers, action, family relationships, etc. with the Eastern Indian languages. 

Indeed, its roots appear to be based on Sanskrit, the historical language of the Hindus of India. While Romani has many dialects, it is a spoken-only language. There are, still, many common words used by each dialect. Thus, based on language alone the Roma are divided into three subgroups: the Domari of the Middle East and Eastern Europe (the Dom), the Lomarvren of Central Europe (the Lom), and the Romani of Western Europe (the Rom). Among themselves the Roma speak their own language; otherwise they speak the language of the country they currently occupy. 

Today there are approximately more than twelve million Roma living across the world. It’s difficult to put a final tally on their numbers, as many Roma lie about their heritage due to economic, social and  political reasons.

Gypsy Magic for the Lover’s Soul © 2005 by Allie Theiss.  All rights reserved.

Rom History In the US

The Rom arrived in the United States and Canada from Serbia, Russia and Austria-Hungary beginning in the 1880s, as part of the larger wave of immigration from southern and eastern Europe in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Primary immigration ended, for the most part, in 1914, with the beginning of the First World War and subsequent tightening of immigration restrictions. Many in this group specialized in coppersmith work, mainly the repair and refining of industrial equipment used in bakeries, laundries, confectioneries and other businesses. The Rom, too, developed the fortune-telling business in urban areas.

Virtually all the anthropological and sociological work on North American Gypsies concerns the Rom, an emphasis which has led a British observer to label the North American academic tradition "Kalderashocentric," Kalderash being one of the Rom subgroups. The first work covered in this bibliography to concern the Rom appeared in 1903. Material appeared sporadically after that, and steadily from 1928 onward. This group is also referred to in the literature as Nomads, Coppersmiths, Nomad Coppersmiths, Vlach (or Vlax) Gypsies, or by reference to a country from which they immigrated to North America, as Brazilian Gypsies, Bulgarian Gypsies, and so forth. The individual subgroup terms Kalderash and Machwaya are also used. While in the Kalderash dialect of the Romani language, Rom is both singular and plural, the Machwaya dialect has plural Roma, which is also found in the literature. The inflected language of the Rom belongs to the "Vlach" branch of the Romani language family. Native speakers refer to "speaking Romanes" (adverb) "in the Gypsy fashion."

A group of Rom who began immigrating to the United States and Canada from eastern Europe in the 1970s is represented primarily in the police literature, where they are referred to as Yugoslavian Gypsies. 

(reprinted from The Gypsy Lore Society) http://www.gypsyloresociety.org/cultureintro.html

Gypsy Fortune Telling (Dukkerin')

No matter their original origins, Gypsies, or Romas, are prized for their remarkable psychic abilities and the gift to attract good fortune or upset a life with a curse. All are born with such gifts, but what makes their powers so innate is their relationship with nature. Their bond with the spirits of the outdoors allow their gifts to evolve naturally. 

Gypsies believe that within their own there are certain ones who posses great power through the ability to perform magic with their special range of knowledge. Such people known in the Gaje, or white man’s world, are usually called witches, warlocks or wizards but within the Roma society they are known as chovihanis. 

Among the chovihani there are four favorites for fortune telling (or dukkerin`): palm reading, tea leaves, the crystal, and cards. These methods are of a “Practical” nature and do not take anything complex or expensive to utilize.

Surprisingly, the Roma usually do not consult a chovihani or anyone else for past, present or future knowledge. Nor are the chovihanis held in high esteem because of their gifts; rather it is the money brought in by their gifts that gives them a place of honor within the society.

Palm Reading:  Uses the lines, mounts, divisions, and types of hand to tell of a persons past, present, and future.

Tea Leaves:  The use of Chinese tea or any large-leafed variety with a round cup, white or very pale, with a handle.  After the tea is almost entirely drunk, the tea is swirled around three times in the cup with the left hand.  The remaining liquid is then poured out and the leaves are read.  

The Crystal:  Utilizes a crystal ball (or any reflective surface), a black cloth (to put the ball upon) a comfortable chair and a table.  The trick here is to "gaze" into the ball and not stare.  Symbolic images appear and are interpreted.

The Cards:  A deck of tarot cards and/or ordinary playing cards are used to gain insight of a person's actions and how they relate to the present and future circumstances.

Excerpt from: Gypsy Magic for the Prosperity's Soul © 2005 by Allie Theiss.  All rights reserved.

Gypsies During The Holocaust

Like Jews, the Rom Gypsies were chosen for total annihilation just because of their race. Even though Jews are defined by religion, Hitler saw the gypsies as a race that he believed needed to be completely annihilated. The Nazis believed that both the Jews and Gypsies were racially inferior and degenerate and therefore worthless.

On December 16, 1942, Heinrich Himmler had a "Final Solution" to the gypsy problem and issued an order to send all gypsies to the concentration camps, such as Dachau, Mauthausen, Ravensbruck and Sachsenhausenexcept to perish and become human guinea pigs. But the chosen gypsies, these "lucky" ones from Germany and Nazi-controlled Europe were sent to Auschwitz/Birkenau, where a special Gypsy Family Camp was erected. 

At the hands of the so-called "doctors" at Auschwitz/Birkenau they would torture Gypsy children and adults by putting them into pressure chambers, tested with drugs, castrated, frozen to death, and exposed to various other traumas. Some gypsy adults of child-bearing years were lured into voluntary sterilization on the false pretense that to do this would allow them to go free. The female volunteers were injected with chemical substances producing horrible pain, inflamed ovaries and bleeding. If the subject lived through all of that, the damaged ovaries were then removed, without anesthesia, and sent to Berlin. Men and women were positioned repeatedly for several minutes between two x-ray machines aimed at their sexual organs. Their seared flesh was prime for infection, which many died from. Void of anesthesia, men had their testicles sliced off and sent to Breslau.

The man in charge of life and death at Auschwitz/Birkenau, Dr. Josef Mengele, oddly enough loved the gypsy children as much as he hated them. He had a soft spot for them and would give them treats of chocolate and candies. In turn, the children would call him "Uncle Pepe". This Uncle facade allowed Dr. Mengele to get close to the children and made it easier to take them to the children's barrack, nicknamed "The Zoo", in order to be primed for medical and scientific experiments.

In July 1944, the order was given from Berlin to close down the Gypsy Family Camp. Those strong enough to be moved were to be sent to work camps, while the others, mostly women and children, were to be liquidated in the gas chambers. At the end of July and early August 3,000 men were marched out to walk the long distance to the work camps with nothing for survival but the meager clothes on their backs..

"Night of the Gypsies", August 2/3, 1944, the SS rounded up the rest of the gypsies by luring them out of the barracks with the promise of water and bread. Since it was well known by the SS that the gypsies would not go quietly to their deaths, the SS was prepared. After the gypsies realized what was going on they fought back with their bare hands but they were no match for the clubs and guns of the SS. The gypsies were loaded onto the lorries and driven to the gas chambers. Dr. Mengele drove the children under his care to the gas chambers and led them straight to their death. The gypsies fought for their lives until their last breath.

Figures for the number of gypsies killed during the holocaust range from 200,000 to a conservative 500,000. As gypsies could not read or write, many were not registered at the camps and if they were registered, a simple 'Z" was placed where their name should be. Most gypsies were either killed in transit or where they were captured with no record of their deaths. A more realistic number of gypsy deaths is between 1.5 and 4 million, 80% of the European gypsies, slaughtered at the hands of the Nazis.

Dr. Josef Mengele escaped while in custody of the Allied forces and led a long life in South America until he died in 1979 in a drowning accident in Brazil.

The gypsies still await recognition for their suffering.

Excerpt from: Gypsy Magic for the Family's Soul © 2006 by Allie Theiss.  All rights reserved.

The Ancient Power Of Healing - Romani Gypsy Shamanism

Deep in the Romanian forest, at the darkest time of night, a Chovihano (Gypsy Shaman) squats over a wooden floor as he engages in an ancient healing ritual. The ones that gather for healing do not see what the Chovihano is doing for he is bathed in the blackness of the night. All they can hear is his low conversations with the Trees and with the Spirits of the Sun, Moon, Air, Earth, Wind and Fire asking for their aid. With his Bakterismasko (magic wand) he drums up the energy around him which by now is starting to flow freely, but powerfully around him.

The Chovihano jingles the Bakterismasko’s bells to ward off any lower unsavory spirits from joining in on the healing ritual. He mummers commands in the Romani tongue as he sprinkles salt for protection around those who have come for healing. He can feel the spirits have gathered to join him in his healing quest and he is in complete control of the Otherworld’s activity.

The Chovihano smiles and talks to all the spirits. It would appear to an outsider that he is talking to himself, but the gypsies that gather know that their Chovihano is in deep conversation with his Guardian Spirits. The gypsies watch him, as they are gathered around a fire with the clan’s Patrinyengri (an herbalist and usually the Chovihano’s wife), as she burns the sacred herbs of rosemary and mugwort for protection and for visions, while she too utters sacred words in the Romani language.

Now it is time for the healing to begin. The Chovihano walks about and jingles, as he is ladened with charms, amulets, talismans, coins and bells for protection. The Chovihano, with the aid of his tambourine, lucky charms and Spirit Guardians, rocks back and forth, moans and makes odd noises as he works himself into a healing trance. He is making contact with his Spirit Guides who will help keep everyone safe during the ritual.

His goal in this healing ritual is to be able to stand in the shoes of those in the group who are sick and/or troubled or bothered by a malevolent spirit so that the problems can pass through him and he can place those problems into one of the three levels of the Otherworld where they belong. If need be he can also travel to the three levels of the Otherworld for soul retrieval, which occurs when someone loses a part of their soul in a past or present life.

To be a Chovihano one is normally the son of the current Chovihano and begins his training in childhood. If no son is born to the Chovihano, then he hand picks his successor - with the help of his Spirit Guides - from the young males. The current Chovihano stays the Chovihano until he dies or is too sick to help. This is when the new Chovihano takes his place in the gypsy hierarchy.

The lifelong commitment of the Chovihano is an honor given to the chosen few, but his influence is felt by all the gypsies and throughout the generations.

Excerpt from: Gypsy Magic for the Dreamer's Soul © 2007 by Allie Theiss.  All rights reserved.

"The Black Triangle"

This infuriates me to no end that the deaths of so many gypsies have been ignored by a large chunk of the world - mostly in the United States.  This is why I wrote the screenplay, The Black Triangle, a historical drama with fact blended in with fiction to create a compelling and eye opening story.  

Update (March 19, 2008) - I have an LA Manager now and I'm working hard on a rewrite. Because of this I am not permitted to handout any more copies of the previous version for review - sorry. Please keep the positive thoughts flowing!!

Activist Lubo Zubak (http://www.romafilmfund.com/) helped me out tremendously in my research and for that I am forever grateful.  Please visit his site and see if you can give him a hand in his filmmaking.

Check out our growing collection of Gypsy Lore Links!

BOOKS AND WEB SITES USED IN RESEARCH

These are the resources I used as I wrote the screenplay.  I encourage you to pick up one of the books or visit the web sites today.

1.  Gerald Posner and John Ware, Mengele: the complete story (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1986).

2.  Linda Jacobs Altman, The Forgotten Victims of the Holocaust (Berkeley Heights, NJ: Enslow, 2003).

3.  Erika Thurner, National Socialism and Gypsies in Austria, ed. Gilya Gerda Schmidt (Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 1998).

4.  Romani Rose, The National Socialist Genocide of the Sinti and Roma (State Museum of Auschwitz, 2003).

9. Holocaust: Non-Jewish Victims -  http://www.holocaustforgotten.com/romgypsies.htm