NOBODY RECOGNIZED, SUPPOSEDLY HAVING MAGICAL SKILLS.y's ory Cl THERE<i> WAS</i> COChPREJEJEJUDICEs Ml BECAE EAEAEAST A A ACCOUNTSHC REFERRED TO THE DARK COMPLEXIONl AND BLACK HAIR AND LIKENED THEMy TO SIN BECAUSEChannel FUNDAMENTALIST MEDIEVAL CHRISTIAN DOGMA MADE VERY CLEAR N BETWEEN LIGHTNESS AND PURITH AND DARKNESS AChannel <i>NARRATOR:</i> ALL OVER EUROPE, LAWS WERE LAID DOWN TO KEEP GYPSIES, WHO WERE LUMPED INTO THE CONGLOMERATION OF HOMELESS WANDERERS KNOWN AS "VAGRANTS, ROGUES, AND STURDY BEGGARS," OUT OF CITIES AND TOWNS. LEGISLATION IN EUROPE FORBADE ROMA TO STOP ANYWHERE TO BUYMysr PROVISIONS OR EVEN TO DRAW WATER FROM THE VILLAGE WELLS. SOME ROMA WERE FORCED TO STEAL TO SURVIVE, THEN CONDEMNEDies: FOR IT BY THE SAME PEOPLEerieiee WHO HAD FORCED THEM INTO LIVING AS OUTLAWS.HC A SHOP OR EVEN FROM THE VILLAGEe PUMP--YOU CAN'T GET WATER-- YOU'RE FORCED TO DO THAT. U'RE NOT GOING TO--ANYBODY ory Ch WanneTElECESSARYnelll TO FEED A CHILD. e History Chan RUMORS ABOUT E GYPSIES BECAME INGRAINEDHC IN LOCAL EUROPEAN LORE. ROMA WERE SAID TO BE ADEPT AT STEALING VILLAGE CHILDREN, WHOM THEY WOULD SUPPOSEDLY INDOCTRINATE INTO THE EVIL GYPSY LIFE.e HiHiHistorChannelFr THEIR WAY INTO FOLKLOREe HiHistl LIRE AND PER EVEN TODAY.l y ChChCh >>ory's I WAS IN LOVE WITH WHEN I WAS ABOUT 10 y Channey's WAS SHIRLEY TEMPLE, AS A LOT OF YOUNG BOYS WERE. AND THE MEAN, WICKED STEPMOTHER IS GOING TO LL HER TO THE GYPSIES, AND SHE'S DRAGGINGie SHIRLEY TEMPLE TO THory y y Chal GOING TO GET YOU."y' AND I REALIZED FOR A SEC I GO, "WE'RE THE BAD GUYS? THIS CAN'T BE." <i>NARRATOR:</i> OTHER VARIATIONS THE STORIES HAD THE GYPSIES BOILING BABIES IN THEIstorory Ct AND DEVOURING THEM FOR DINNER.i: >> THERE WERE LAWS IN FULL VIEW OTHE The e e Mystei AND ANY CITIZEN COULD storory THE POT ER <i>NARRATOR:</i> IN MODERNULD HAPPEN.C PSYCHOLOGICAL TERMS, THE STORIES OF ROMA STEALING CHIThe Hi SEBE A PERVERSE KIND OF PROJECTION ON THE PART OF THE EUROPEANS. IN TRUTH, MANY LAWS ALLOWEHistsn l OF 14 TO BE FORCIBLY TAKENTHC FROM THEIR FAMILIES AND SOLD INTO y's Y.Mysterie sterie0s, A ROMANY CHILD COULD BE SOLD INTO SLAVE FOR THE EQUIVALENT OF 48ENTSHC C AGAINST ROMA BECAME NOT ONLY OPPRESSIVE, BUT DELY.s: 15th CENTURY AND INTOstororory' THE 16th CENTURY--IT WAS ILLEGAL TO<i> BE</i> A GYPSY. I MEAN, FAMILIES WOULD BEries: <i>NARRATOR:</i> ANY PARTS OF EUROPE, IT WAS LEGAL TO HUNT DOWN AND KILL GYPSIES AS IF THEYThe e e History Channl ENGLAND PASSED A LAW DECLARING WITH A "V" ON THEIR BRnelllSTie: THEN Es: IF THEY RAN AWAY AND C CAUGHT, THEY WERE SLAVES: TO A PIECE OF LAND, TO NOTHi BE CONNECTED TO SOME LORD OF THIS AREA WAS IN AND OF ITSELF A SUSPICIOUS KIND OF BEHAVIOR,l SO THEREMyststeries:TEMPTChananl TO GET THEM TO SETTLE DOWN, TO STOs: TO OUTLAW THEIR WHOLE LIFE.s: <i>NARRATOR:</i> IN SPAIN, KING PHILIP IV DECREED THAT THE ROMANY LANGUAGE BE OUTLAWED AND THAT GYPSIES BE SETTLED INTO SEPARATE ROMANY ENCLAVES.s: THEIR BEAUTIFUL NATIVE TONGUE GRADUALLY DIED OUT THERE. IN OTHER COUNTRIES, ROMA WERE ROUNDED UP AND EXPORTED AS SLAVE LABOR TO COLONIES IN THE NEW WORLD, INCLUDING AMERICA. IN EASTERN EUROPE, WHERE MOST ROMA HAD BEEN ENSLAVED SINCE THE ARRIVAL OF THE FEUDAL SYSTEM, THE WORD FOR GYPSIES,<i> TZIGANE,Hr</i> OFTEN THE PRIME ROM WOMEN WERE TAKEN FOR BREEDING PURPOSES WITH THE NON-GYPSY POPULATION. FROM THESE UNIONS AUTOMATICA BECAME SLAVES THEMSELVES. GYPSY MEN WERE CASTRATED SO AS NOT TO PRESENT A THREAT TO THE LOCAL NOory'y's MystHEY SERVED.: OF PERSECUTION AND SLAVERY, THE ROM CLUNG WITH TENACITY TO THEIR WAY OF LIFE AND TO THE LANGUAGE AND UNIQUE CUSTOMS THEY CARRIED WITH THEM FROMy's r THEILOORORORGOTTEN HOMELANDory'' IN INDIA.y's s s Channel >> CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS TOOK GYPSIES WITH HIM ON HIS THIRD VOYAGE TO THE AMERICAS.annelies: DESPITE BEING FORCED TO LIVE AND WORK AMONG A DIVERSITY OF SOCIETIES, THE GYPSIES HAVE MANAGED TO PRESERVE THEIR ANCIENT LANGUAGE AND THEIR CULTURE. >> THE GYPSY LANGUAGE IS A UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE. I HAVE FILM FROM EUROPE, AND GYPSIES ARE TALKING IN THE GYPSY LANGUAGE, AND WITH JUST A DIFFERENT SLANG, I COULD UNDERSTAND WHAT THEY WERE SAYING, BUT YET I DO NOT SPEAK THE LANGUAGE OF THE COUNTRY THAT THE MOVIE WAS FILMED IN.■ [PEOPLE SPEAKING ROMANY] >> A ROMANY FAMILY IN HUNGARY WILL SPEA HUNGARIAN AND ROMANY, MUCH LIKE I SPEAK ENGLISH AND ROMANY. AND SO THE LANGUAGE PRETTY MUCH HAS SURVIVED, ALTHOUGH YOU'D HAVE TO LEARN THE DIFFERENT DIALECTS AND, YOU KNOW, ACCENTING CERTAIN WORDS. YOU'D HAVE TO STUDY IT, EACH GROUP, WHICH WOULD TAKE A LIFETIME. <i>NARRATOR:</i> FROM THEIR CULTURAL PRACTICES TO THEIR LANGUAGE, ROMA HAVE ALWAYS BEEN SECRETIVE AND EVASIVE, PRIMARILY FOR THEIR OWN PROTECTION. THEIR YEARS OF SLAVERY AND OPPRESSION TAUGHT THEM TO BE WARY OF INFORMATION THEY GIVE TO OUTSIDERS. THEREFORE, THEY HAVE GAINED A REPUTATION AS LIARS... THOUGH MOST OFTEN, DISTORTIONS OF THE TRUTH HAVE THEIR ROOTS IN SELF-PRESERVATION. >> THERE'S A SECRETIVENESS AMONG THE GYPSIES, AND THEY WANT TO KEEP PEOPLE AWAY FROM THEM, AND THE LESS THEY KNOW, THE BETTER. AND THAT CAN BACKFIRE ON YOU BECAUSE THEN THEY HAVE MISCONCEPTIONS AND THEY DON'T HAVE ACCURATE INFORMATION, BUT THAT'S SORT OF A PRICE THE GYPSIES HAVE PAID. <i>NARRATOR:</i> THOUGH THEY HAVE ADOPTED CUSTOMS OF SOME OF THE COUNTRIES THROUGH WHICH THEY HAVE PASSED, GYPSIES HAVE ALSO CARRIED WITH THEM THEIR TRADITIONAL OCCUPATIONS. THEIR METALWORKING SKILLS MAY HAVE ORIGINATED IN THE BYZANTINE EMPIRE, BUT IN INDIA, A GOOD FORTUNE-TELLER, OR SPIRITUAL HEALER, WOULD BE REGARDED WITH THE HIGHEST ESTEEM AND STATUS. THOSE VOCATIONS HAVE REMAINED POPULAR WITH SOME ROMA UNTIL THIS DAY. >> WITH FORTUNE-TELLING, THERE IS A SKILL, AND THAT SKILL IS OBSERVATION. WE HAVE BEEN THROUGH HELL FOR CENTURIES, AND WHAT THAT HAS DONE HAS TRAINED THE ROMA PEOPLE TO BE VERY OBSERVANT, TO WATCH WHAT'S HAPPENING, BE AWARE OF YOUR SURROUNDINGS, TO LISTEN TO EVERY WORD AND HOW THE PERSON IS SAYING IT, LOOK AT THEIR EYES. SO WHEN A FORTUNE-TELLER IS SITTING WITH YOU, THEY'RE REALLY LISTENING TO YOU. [WOMAN SPEAKING ROMANY] >> THEY WERE THESE SORT OF ROVING PSYCHOLOGISTS. THEY WERE VERY SMART. THEY KNEW THAT THESE PEASANTS-- THEY NEEDED TO HEAR A POSITIVE VOICE, AN OUTSIDE VOICE TO REASSURE THEM, TO MAKE UP SOMETHING ABOUT THE FUTURE. >> IT WAS AN EASILY TRANSPORTABLE SKILL. IT WAS ALSO A PROTECTION, UP TO A POINT, BECAUSE PEOPLE WOULD HAVE BEEN A LITTLE LESS LIKELY TO BE MEAN IF THEY THOUGHT YOU HAD SOME SORT OF CONTROL OVER THEIR DESTINY. <i>NARRATOR:</i> ANOTHER MECHANISM BY WHICH GYPSIES HAVE KEPT THEMSELVES SEPARATE COMES FROM WITHIN THE CULTURE ITSELF IN ONE OF MANY ASPECTS OF ROMANY LIFE BROUGHT WITH THEM ALL THE WAY FROM THEIR LONG-FORGOTTEN HOMELAND, INDIA. >> ONE OF THESE INDIAN CHARACTERISTICS IS THE IDEA OF RITUAL PURITY AND RITUAL POLLUTION, AND THIS EXTENDS INTO ALL KINDS OF AREAS. IT EXTENDS INTO HOW YOU PREPARE FOOD, HOW YOU INTERACT WITH MEMBERS OF THE OPPOSITE SEX, HOW YOU WASH THINGS, EVEN WHERE YOU HANG CLOTHES ON THE LINE. >> IT'S BASED ON THE NOTION OF KEEPING BODY FLUIDS SEPARATED, SO WOMEN HAVE AN OBLIGATION WHEN THEY'RE MENSTRUATING TO STAY AWAY FROM MEN. CHILDBIRTH IS A PERIOD WHERE WOMEN ARE TO BE KEPT SEPARATE FROM MEN. THESE POLLUTION RULES, OR CLEANLINESS RULES, MAY HAVE SOME VARIATIONS IN VARIOUS PARTS OF THE WORLD, BUT THEY ALL HAVE THEM, AND THEY ARE A VERY IMPORTANT PART OF KEEPING THEMSELVES SEPARATE. [MUSIC PLAYING] <i>NARRATOR:</i> IF A ROM MARRIES A NON-ROM, HE OR SHE THEN BECOMES <i>MARIME,</i> OR POLLUTED, AND CAN BE REJECTED FROM THE GROUP. THROUGHOUT THE CENTURIES, GYPSIES HAVE CONTINUED TO OBSERVE THESE STRICT RULES OF BEHAVIOR IN ORDER TO PRESERVE THEIR TIES TO THEIR FAMILIES AND THEIR CULTURE. >> IT ALSO HELPS TO BREED RESENTMENT BECAUSE PEOPLE DON'T LIKE TO BE REJECTED. PEOPLE DON'T LIKE TO BE BRUSHED OFF AND TURNED AWAY. EITHER IT WILL HURT THEIR FEELINGS PERSONALLY, OR THEY'LL SAY, "WELL, THEY MUST BE HIDING SOMETHING. THEY MUST BE UP TO SOMETHING." <i>NARRATOR:</i> WHILE IN MANY COUNTRIES, SUCH AS SPAIN AND HUNGARY, ROMA WERE FORCED BY LAW TO STAY IN ONE PLACE, THROUGHOUT THE MIDDLE AGES AND ON INTO THE 20th CENTURY, MANY GYPSIES MANAGED TO RETAIN THE NOMADIC EXISTENCE THAT HAD BECOME THEIR CHERISHED WAY OF LIFE. >> I RAN RECENTLY INTO SOME OLD FOLK TALES, ROMANY FOLK TALES. IT'S LIKE, UM, TO NEVER SLEEP TWICE IN THE SAME PLACE, TO NEVER EAT 3 TIMES IN THE SAME SPOT, TO NEVER WASH TWICE YOUR FACE IN THE SAME RIVER. THAT SHOWS HOW ROMA TE TO KEEP GOING. STRAnelll WAR FORCED THEM WEST. THEY SURVIVED BY THEIR SKILLS AND BY THEIR WITS, MANAGING TO KEEP THEIR ANCIENT CULTURE ALIVE. BUT AS THEY APPROACH THE MILLENNIUM, THEY STILL STRUGGLE UNDER A CURSE NOT ON OTHERS, BUT INSTEAD A CURSE<i> ON</i> THE GYPSIES. [PEOPLE SHOUTING] >> I THINK OF THE GYPSIES AS HUNTERS AND GATHERERS OF THE MODERN WORLD. AND HUNTERS AND GATHERERS AND NOMADIC PEOPLE ARE VERY MISUNDERSTOOD, NO MATTER WHAT GROUP IT IS. <i>NARRATOR:</i> AS THE MIDDLE AGES MELTED INTO THE LATTER CENTURIES OF THE SECOND MILLENNIUM, THE GYPSIES, ALONG WITH ALL THE REST OF THE WESTERN WORLD, FOUND THEMSELVES LIVING IN A SOCIETY TURNED UPSIDE DOWN BY RAPID TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGES. THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION WAS ON THE HORIZON, AS WERE A WAVE OF SOCIAL UPHEAVALS THAT WERE ABOUT TO SWEEP THROUGH ALL OF EUROPE. IN ROMANIA, THE MOLDAVIAN AND WALLACHIAN ROM, KNOWN AS THE VLAH, HAD BEEN ENSLAVED BY THE CHURCH AND THE CROWN FOR OVER 500 YEARS. WITH THE END OF FEUDALISM AT HAND, THE LIVES OF THE VLAH ROM WERE DESTINED TO IMPROVE. IN 1864, FOLLOWING THE CRIMEAN WAR, PRINCE ION CUZA OFFICIALLY GRANTED 600,000 ROMANY SLAVES THEIR FREEDOM. >> THERE WAS A MOVE ON THE PART OF A LOT OF THE FREED SLAVES TO GET OUT OF ROMANIA. THOSE WHO WERE ABLE TO GET AWAY DID, MANY MANAGING TO COME AS FAR AS NORTH AND SOUTH AMERICA. <i>NARRATOR:</i> AMERICA'S OPEN-DOOR POLICY ALLOWED THOUSANDS OF HUNGARIAN AND VLAH ROMA TO SETTLE AND ESTABLISH THEMSELVES. SOME OF THEM CONTINUED THEIR TRAVELING LIFE. OTHERS FORMED COMFORTABLE COMMUNITIES IN PLACES SUCH AS NEW YORK AND CALIFORNIA. TOM MERINO'S GRANDFATHER WAS PART OF AN ENORMOUS WAVE OF GYPSIES WHO CAME TO THE NEW WORLD TO ESCAPE OPPRESSION AND ECONOMIC HARDSHIP DURING THE LATE 1800s UP THROUGH THE TURN OF THE CENTURY. >> I'M SURE THAT THERE'S A LOT OF GRANDPAS AND GRANDMAS OUT THERE WHO ARE WATCHING THIS, SAYING, "OH, YEAH. I REMEMBER THE GYPSIES COMING THROUGH." THEY WOULD JUST SET UP A TENT ALONG A RIVER, ASK THE FARMER IF THEY COULD STAY FOR A FEW DAYS, AND THE GIRLS WOULD TELL A FEW FORTUNES IF PEOPLE STOPPED BY, THE MEN WOULD MAKE REPAIRS, AND THEY WOULD MOVE ON. >> MY MOTHER AND FATHER, WHICH ARE NOW BOTH DECEASED, THEY LIVED THE TRADITIONAL GYPSY LIFE, WHICH WAS THE TRAVELING. THEY DID A COMPLETE CIRCUIT OF THE UNITED STATES--IN THE SUMMERTIME, IN THE NORTHERN PARTS, IN THE NORTHERN STATES, AND THEN IN THE WINTERTIME, THEY WOULD EITHER GO TO CALIFORNIA, ARIZONA, TEXAS, FLORIDA-- AND THEY WOULD HAVE THEIR OWN IMMEDIATE LIFE STYLE. <i>NARRATOR:</i> ONLY A SMALL PERCENTAGE OF THE FREED ROM OF ROMANIA TRAVELED TO THE AMERICAS FOR ASYLUM. SOME MIGRATED TO AREAS OF EUROPE WHERE THEIR BRETHREN WERE ALREADY FREE AND FOUND WAYS TO ADAPT THEIR NOMADIC WAY OF LIFE TO THE SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC EARTHQUAKES RUMBLING ALL AROUND THEM. IN ENGLAND, THE TRADES OF COPPERSMITHING, TINSMITHING, ENTERTAINING, AND FORTUNE-TELLING SERVED THEM WELL UNTIL THE END OF FEUDALISM. WHEN THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION BURST UPON THE SCENE, THEY FOUND SOME PRACTICAL WAYS TO ADAPT, ADDING NEW VARIATIONS TO THE OCCUPATIONS UPON WHICH THEY HAD RELIED FOR MORE THAN 800 YEARS. >> THEY MADE THE OLD GYPSY PEG OUT OF A PIECE OF WILLOW. THE SAME TIME THEY WAS MAKING PEGS, THEY WAS MAKING A CHRYSANTHEMUM FLOWER OUT OF A PIECE OF ELDER. ALL THE FAMILY WOULD BE INVOLVED, AND THEY WOULD DRIVE THEN INTO A VILLAGE. THE LADY WOULD GO WITH THEM, AND SHE HAD A BASKET ON HER ARM, AND SHE WOULD FILL THAT WITH PEGS, LACE, AND FLOWERS, AND THEN SHE WOULD GO KNOCKING ON ALL THE DOORS AROUND, TELLING FORTUNES AND SELLING HER PEGS, LACE, AND FLOWERS OUT OF THE BASKET, AND AT THE SAME TIME, SHE WOULD SAY THAT HER HUSBAND IS AT THE OTHER END OF THE VILLAGE WITH HIS GRINNG BARROW SHARPENING ALL THE KNIVES FOR THEM. AND THAT IS HOW THEY GOT A LIVING. [HORSES NEIGHING] <i>NARRATOR:</i> TRADING IN HORSES, BRICKLAYING, AND OTHER MANUAL JOBS, AS WELL AS SALVAGING SCRAP, WERE OTHER TRADITIONAL FORMS OF EMPLOYMENT. NONE REQUIRED A REGULAR PAYCHECK OR A PERMANENT ADDRESS TO PROVIDE AN ADEQUATE INCOME. AS THESE MODERNIZED ROM MOVED FROM PLACE TO PLACE, THEIR MODES OF TRANSPORTATION BEGAN TO CHANGE, AS WELL. BY THE LATE 19th CENTURY, THE NOW-LEGENDARY SILHOUETTES OF THE GYPSY CARAVANS BEGAN TO APPEAR ON THE OUTSKIRTS, ON THE ROADS, EVEN IN THE PARKS OF MAJOR URBAN CENTERS. BRITISH-BORN ROM GORDON BOSWELL COLLECTS AND RESTORES RARE, AUTHENTIC GYPSY CARAVANS ANDstoh DISPLAYS THEM IN HIS ROMANY MUSEUM IN SPALDING, ENGLAND. >> THERE'S ABOUT A 90-YEAR LIFE SPAN OF THESE WAGONS FROM ABOUT 1865 UP TO ABOUT '55, WERE THE LAST GENUINE ONES TO BE BUILT. IN ONE OLD BOOK OF DICKENS-- THIS CHARLES DICKENS BOOK-- IT MENTIONS THAT HE SAW A COTTAGE-TYPE THING COMING DOWN THE ROAD, MADE OUT OF WOOD, ON 4 WHEELS, BEING PULLED BY 2 HORSES. THAT WAS ACTUALLY THE FIRST MENTION OF ONE IN ANY BOOK. IF YOU COULD AFFORD TO HAVE A GOOD HOME MADE, THE COACH-BUILDERS OF THE DAY WOULD MAKE THEM, BUT A LOT OF THE GYPSY PEOPLE MADE SOME THEMSELVES. NOT JUST ORDINARY PAINT-- 22-KARAT GOLD LEAF WAS PUT ON ALL THESE WAGONS AND CARTS. I SUPPOSE THE MORE GOLD LEAF YOU HAD ON YOUR WAGON, IT SHOWED MORE WEALTH YOU HAD. <i>NARRATOR:</i> THESE LOVINGLY DECORATED, PICTURESQUE CARAVANS, AS WELL AS THE ROMA'S NOMADIC WAY OF LIFE, STOOD IN STARK CONTRAST TO THE BLEAK AND OPPRESSIVE CLIMATE OF THE URBAN INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION AND TRIGGERED YET ANOTHER CHANGE IN PERCEPTION OF THE GYPSIES BY THE NON-GYPSIES, WHOM THEY CALL THE<i> GADJE.</i> >> THE KIND OF UGLY LIFE DESCRIBED BY DICKENS, FOR EXAMPLE, LED TO A KIND OF ANGST ON THE PART OF WRITERS AND PAINTERS AND SO ON, LONGING FOR AN EARLIER, SIMPLER TIME, AND ROMA EPITOMIZED THIS. THEY WERE OUTSIDE OF ALL OF THIS, STILL LIVING IN THE FIELDS AND FORESTS AND CATCHING RABBITS, AND... THEY BECAME IDEALIZED. <i>NARRATOR:</i> THE EUROPEANS OF THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION ROMANTICIZED THE GYPSIES ASie AMERICANS DID THE NOBLE SAVAGE. MOST OF THIS FANCIFUL NEW LITERATURE ONLY SUSTAINED THE ORIGINAL CLICHES, DEPICTING GYPSIES AS WILD AND UNINHIBITED, DABBLERS IN THE OCCULT, AND CRAFTY THIEVES. DURING THESE RAPIDLY CHANGING YEARS, THE HARDY, ADAPTABLE ROM MANAGED TO RESIST THE MAGNETIC FORCE PULLING HORDES OF OTHER LOWER-CLASS WORKERS INTO THE WORLD OF WAGE LABOR. >> A GYPSY WEDDING TRADITIONALLY LASTS 3 DAYS AND NIGHTS, BUT IT'S NOT UNTIL THE THIRD NIGHT THAT THE COUPLE IS ALLOWED TO CONSUMMATE THE MARRIAGE. Hi stl KNOW WHERE WE WAS GOING. THAT'S ALL THEY WANTED. AND THIS IS WHY, I THINK, WE'VE GOT OUR CULTURE STILL. NOW, IF WE WENT TO THE SECONDARY SCHOOL, ALL THE TEACHERS WOULD BE TEACHING US IS HOW TO GO AND GET A JOB, HOW TO GO AND GET A GOOD JOB. WE DON'T WANT A GOOD JOB. WE'VE GOT OUR OWN WAY OF GETTING A LIVING. [CHILDREN SINGING] >> THEIR EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM, IF YOU WANT TO CALL IT THAT, IS PRETTY AMAZING. IT'S VERY, VERY GOOD. IT'S NOT BASED ON LITERACY, THOUGH. IT'S NOT BASED ON LEARNING FROM READING. IT'S BASED ON VERY KEEN OBSERVING. THEY LEARN TO THINK ON THEIR FEET, AND THEY TEACH THEIR CHILDREN TO DO THAT. <i>NARRATOR:</i> CHILDREN AND THE INSTITUTION OF THE FAMILY HAVE ALWAYS BEEN OF PARAMOUNT IMPORTANCE IN THE ROMANY CULTURE. >> ROMANY FAMILIES ARE STRICT IN THE SENSE, THEY'VE GOT TO WATCH OUT FOR EACH OTHER. THEY'VE GOT TO TAKE CARE OF THEIR CHILDREN, KNOW WHERE THEY ARE. MY FAMILY, MY FRIENDS WERE MY RELATIVES, YOU KNOW. I GREW UP WITH FRIENDS WHO ARE MY FIRST AND SECOND COUSINS, AND WE HAD THIS HUGE FAMILY, SO I WAS NEVER WITHOUT PLAYMATES, YOU KNOW. WE'D ALWAYS VISIT SOMEBODY ON A SUNDAY. THERE WOULD BE THIS BIG FEED AT GRANDMA'S HOUSE. MY CHILDHOOD WAS-- I HAD A HAPPY CHILDHOOD. <i>NARRATOR:</i> AN AMERICAN ROM OF SERBIAN DESCENT, TOM MERINO GREW UP IN A TRADITIONAL ROMA COMMUNITY. ALTHOUGH STILL CLOSE TO HIS FAMILY, HE LEFT THE TRADITIONAL LIFE STYLE TO PURSUE A CAREER AS A FILMMAKER. >> IF I HAD STAYED IN THE CULTURE, WHAT WAS LIKELY TO HAPPEN IS THAT THERE WOULD BE A MARRIAGE, WHICH WOULD BE A GIRL SELECTED FOR ME. BOTH PARENTS WILL GET TOGETHER AND TALK ABOUT WHAT A GOOD MATCH THIS WOULD BE. THERE'S A LOT OF TALK, A LOT OF POLITICS, A LOT OF BACK-SLAPPING, AND THEN, IF EVERYTHING'S RIGHT AND THE DOWRY IS RIGHT, THERE'S A MARRIAGE. IT'S GREAT. IT LASTS FOR 2 OR 3 DAYS. THEY REALLY KNOW HOW TO HAVE A GOOD TIME. <i>NARRATOR:</i> ANOTHER OCCASION THAT TRADITIONALLY BRINGS LARGE GROUPS OF GYPSIES TOGETHER IS THE DEATH OF A FRIEND OR RELATION. >> PEOPLE COME FROM MILES TO THESE FUNERALS, AND DURING THE PERIOD OF TIME WHEN THE BODY IS LAID, WE NEVER EAT MEAT DURING THAT WEEK, AND SOME NEVER EAT AT ALL. AND THEY CERTAINLY DON'T GO-- WE NEVER TAKE OUR CLOTHES OFF. WE NEVER GO TO BED. IT'S A RESPECT FOR THAT PERSON. WE'RE WITH THEM AS LONG AS WE CAN BE WHILE THEY'RE ON EARTH. <i>NARRATOR:</i> AUTHENTIC CARAVANS, LIKE THOSE FOUND IN THE BOSWELL MUSEUM, ARE EXTREMELY RARE, IN PART DUE TO THE TRADITION OF BURNING A PERSON'S POSSESSIONS, INCLUDING THEIR WAGONS, AFTER THEY HAVE PASSED AWAY. >> N JUST THEIR HOME IS BURNED. THEIR FAVORITE HORSE, 9 OUT OF 10 TIMES, WAS PUT TO SLEEP. THE HORSE AND THE HARNESS AND THE WAGON WAS ALL PUT TOGETHER AND BURNED. >> THEY HAVE A PERIOD OF ABOUT A YEAR IN WHICH THEY WORK TOWARDS PUTTING THAT PERSON TO REST. AND THEY DO IT THROUGH A SERIES OF FEASTS CALLED<i> POMANA,</i> AND THE SPIRIT OF THE PERSON IS SAID TO BE THERE, AND THEY PICK SOMEBODY TO WEAR CLOTHES TO REPRESENT THAT PERSON. THE IDEA IS THAT THAT PERSON IS RESTLESS AFTER DYING, AND THEN THEY SORT OF ARE NO LONGER RESTLESS, AND THE FAMILY HAS PAID ITS DUES, AND THEY CAN MOVE ON. <i>NARRATOR:</i> A LONG-STANDING MYTH AMONG THE<i> GADJE</i> HAS BEEN THAT THE ENIGMATIC KING OF THE GYPSIES PRESIDED OVER THESE MAJOR COMMUNITY EVENTS. MANY ROM HAVE BEEN DESCRIBED AS KINGS OR QUEENS THROUGHOUT THE CENTURIES. >> THE IDEA OF THE KING OF THE GYPSIES IS, LIKE EVERYTHING ELSE RELATED TO THE GYPSIES, PARTLY NOT TRUE AND PARTLY ACTUALLY PROMOTED BY THE GYPSIES. AND IT WAS A WAY, WHEN OUTSIDERS CAME AND SAID, "WHAT'S GOING ON HERE? WHO'S IN CHARGE?" THEY WOULD HAVE A KING, AND IT WOULD BE MAYBE SOMEBODY WHO'S THEIR SPOKESPERSON OR A LEADER THAT COULD DEAL WITH THE NON-GYPSIES. >> WHAT WE DO HAVE IS HEADS OF FAMILIES IN DIFFERENT CITIES WHO CONTROL AN AREA, AND THEY IMPERSONATE OR SELL THEMSELVES BY SAYING, "I AM THE GYPSY KING IN THIS AREA." BY SAYING THAT, YOUR CULTURE-- THE NON-GYPSY CULTURE--LIKES TO HEAR, "I AM THE KING. I AM THE REPRESENTATIVE." IT OPENS DOORS. IT MEANS SOMETHING. BUT IN REALITY, THERE ARE NO KINGS. THERE ARE NO QUEENS. THAT'S A FALLACY THAT WAS MADE BY NON-GYPSIES YEARS AGO. >> GYPSIES CURRENTLY MAKE UP 14% OF THE POPULATION OF EASTERN EUROPE. nel <i>NARRATOR:</i> FLAMENCO MUSIC FRANZ LISZT'S HUNGARIAN RHAPSODIES... [CLASSICAL MUSIC PLAYING] EVEN SOME ELEMENTS OF AMERICAN JAZZ, SWING, AND BLUES... [JAZZ PLAYING] HAVE ALL FOUND THEIR INSPIRATION IN THE ORIGINAL INSTRUMENTATIONS AND MELODIES THAT THE GYPSIES BROUGHT WITH THEM FROM INDIA. >> ROMA BROUGHT ACROSS MANY INSTRUMENTS LIKE CYMBAL, GUITAR, LOTS OF DRUMS AND PERCUSSION AND TAMBOURINE AND... YOU GET INVOLVED IN A LOT OF FAMOUS MUSIC LIKE... HUNGARIAN<i> CS RD S,</i> THE FLAMENCO MUSIC... >> THESE ARE INDIANS, SO WE HEAR INDIAN MODALITIES. THE HAND MOVEMENT, THE ARM MOVEMENT, THE FINGER CYMBALS AND THE BELLS OF FLAMENCO DANCING COMES FROM INDIA. THE DRUMMING IS FROM INDIA. OFTEN THEY'LL HAVE A<i> TAQASIM,</i> WHICH IS ARABIC FOR IMPROVISATIONAL PLAYING. THEY'RE A KIND OF BLUES, I CALL IT. AND THAT'S VERY ROM STYLISTIC. IT'S EMOTING, THEY'RE SPEAKING THROUGH THEIR PLAYING THAT NON-RHYTHMICAL, MELISMATIC MUSIC. <i>NARRATOR:</i> SINCE THE ROM TRADITION WAS NOT A WRITTEN ONE, MUSICAL ABILITY PASSED FROM GENERATION TO GENERATION AND BECAME AN IMPORTANT MEANS OF KEEPING A CULTURE ALIVE. [WOMAN SINGING] >> THE ROM, THEY HAVE A TRADITION OF STORYTELLING. AND THEY WOULD TELL THESE STORIES OF FAMOUS ROM IN THE REGION. AND SOMETIMES MUSIC WOULD HELP TELL THE STORY. THEY WOULD SAY, "GREAT-GRANDMOTHER USED TO SING ME THIS SONG WHEN I WAS VERY YOUNG. I WAS 3, AND I STILL REMEMBER IT, AND HERE ARE THE WORDS." AND THEY PLAY AND THEY SING. [PEOPLE SINGING] AND AT THEIR KNEES, AT THEIR ANKLES, ARE THEIR BABIES. SO IN THAT SENSE, THEY CARRY ON TRADITIONS AND TELL HISTORY, STORIES TH
