![]() An organization, founded in Switzerland in 1926, arose to remove Romany children from their homes and erase their identities. “Romany children were often forcibly taken from their families to be raised by more acceptable Christian foster families.” This practice was officially carried on from the early 18 th century until less than half a century ago. These include fortune telling, repairing metal tools, working with horses, and entertainment.Ĭertain Christian churches throughout history also abused gypsies. ![]() Gypsies are known for practicing trades outside the mainstream portable trades. Some of these customs have included looking after the elderly people in one’s community and maintaining close family ties throughout one’s life. Oppression has caused these groups of people to remain close together to intermarry, and to adhere to tradition. Historians have traced their spread across all parts of the world and the prejudice which followed them. Gypsies were initially thought to have come from Egypt, but they originated in India. Gypsy is also used as a description for a nomadic or "free-spirited" person, whose personality and lifestyle may be similar to historical gypsies. Who are the gypsies? Definition of GypsiesĪ gypsy is a member of a people originating in South Asia and traditionally having a wandering way of life, living widely scattered across Europe and North and South America and speaking a language (Romani) that is related to Hindi a Romani person. Tension exists between the romantic portrayals of carefree gypsies and realistic scenes of rejection and fear. This image is not outdated but pervasive in parts of the world, such as England, where Romani or Gypsies wander from village to village, typically unwanted and regarded with suspicion. Children approach to stroke the horse and thread flowers into its mane, but their parents pull them back with stern words of discipline. Some yell “get lost, gyppoes!” A few secretly admire the teal, crimson, and ochre of the cart and the ornate flowers painted around their window shutters. They ignore the stares of villagers gathered to watch and jeer. A dark-skinned man holds the reins, a woman of similarly dark complexion sitting next to him, wearing flowing clothes as bright as their wagon. A brightly colored wagon is pulled by a heavy horse through the streets of a village, past a post office, grocery store, and other shops.
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