Romani: Erroneous Stereotype
The following text is the transcript of the introduction to a music programme aired in the US in 1997 and following that there is a detailed letter of complaint
Transcript of the opening segment of Sound and Spirit of the Gypsies from PRI and WGBH Boston (aired February 1997)
They speak their own language. They disregard local law. They practice suspicious professions - fortune tellers, dancers, fiddlers, horse-traders, living a mysterious romantic lifestyle. Around the globe gypsies pass across the landscape - always the quintessential outsiders.
I am Ellen Kushner. Welcome to Sound and Spirit where this time we encounter the spirit of... The Gypsies! They suffered centuries of persecution at the hands of those who found them strange, disturbing and alien. But, paradoxically, the very societies that castigated gypsies have also revered their special skills, and ascribed mysterious magical powers to them. Romantic to some, threatening to others, always seen from a distance by outsiders' eyes, the gypsy ways are largely hidden to us. But there is one place where insider and outsider meet, where we catch a true glimpse of the joy, the pain and the longing of the gypsy experience - in their music. This hour we will hear gypsy music from all over the world...from India where the gypsies are said to have originated...
Spain, Romania, the British Isles, the US - gypsies live in all these places but most do not consider themselves to be OF these places. Journalist Isabel Fonseca, who lived and travelled with gypsy families throughout Eastern Europe writes,
"Nostalgia is the essence of the gypsy song, and seems always to have been, but nostalgia for what? Nostos is the Greek word for a return home. The gypsies have no home. And perhaps uniquely among peoples, they have no dream of a homeland. To traditional gypsies history is not an important concept. The gypsy language, Romany has no written form, and few of the world's gypsies have acquired literacy in other languages. Knowledge of past events often does not extend beyond what the oldest gypsy in a community can recall."
In her travels, Fonseca observed that many east European gypsies knew nothing of their people's origins or even of their recent history. For example, most did not know that half a million gypsies had been killed in the Holocaust 50 years ago, nor were they particularly interested. Without history there is no happy past for the gypsy to fondly recall. Instead gypsy songs tell of present joys and of present sorrows. Their music is passionate blend of melancholy and independence, as in this song from Spain, "We the Gypsies, we were meant to be wanders, no one will change our ways..."
Response: February 17, 1997
For your information, the misrepresentations you have aired nationally regarding the Roma can be construed as defamation of character, and the subjective harm arising therefrom might well be considered a cause of action which could be filed in federal court. There are roughly 1 million Roma living in the USA. These people have jobs, children in school, young adults applying for jobs. Would you, at WGBH or PRI, hire a person you thought had such different ethics that they thought it OK to steal a chicken??
How do you think your program will affect their position and their prospects? We are not fictional characters, we are real human beings. And it is high time we are taken seriously!
The beginning of the future starts with accurate information about who we, the Roma, really are, and our true current situation in the world. It is time to look beyond the stereotypes of thieves and fortune-tellers, colourful dresses, and the operatic "Carmen" image. Let me remind you that each culture, without exception, is marked by social problems such as poverty, illiteracy, and crime. These are by no means unique to the Roma. We need not look beyond the American cities to see problems with education (high school crime and illiteracy), teen pregnancy, child abuse, discrimination, unemployment, etc. There is no need to elaborate! It is up to the scholars, journalists, educators, and the news and entertainment media to start projecting the real picture.
Ian Hancock, a well respected scholar and Romani leader, and himself a Rom, summarised the reasons for their status and stereotypes nicely (1):
"Roma are kept on the move by legislation. Even in this country, current laws forbid Romani Americans to remain in some states, while in modern Britain Gypsies may only stop legally on government reservations, and in modern France they are obliged to carry passes that must be stamped by the police in each parish. Although gypsies are required to keep moving by law, the establishment re-interprets this as evidence of their romantic and free spirit.
Forbidden to do business with shopkeepers, the Roma have had to rely upon subsistence theft to feed their families, and thus stealing has become part of the stereotype."
But not all of us are nomadic and, as described by Ian Hancock, it is easy to see that our hardships do not project a romantic image. No, the romantic image is not an accurate one! Many of us are sedentary and wish not to be nomadic. We hold various professional positions - we are doctors, lawyers, accountants, teachers, social workers, various artists, writers, actors, poets, builders, etc. We are people, real people, yes people who feel and think and have children who we love, just like you.
We don't deliberately deceive the Gajo, we simply do not trust him, but why should we? He discriminates against us, burns our homes, beats our men, tortures our children, rapes our women, and tries to eliminate us from the face of the earth! Let me assure you that there is scarcely a Rom, as there is scarcely a Jew that is not aware of the Holocaust. Those who survived cannot forget, some marked with numbers burned into the flesh forever. Those who lost their loved ones cannot forget. I know many
Roma and Jews who wish not to talk about it, who will avoid the subject altogether, who will even ignore the questions posed to them unless they are with someone they truly trust, someone that truly cares about them. They do not need to see the documentaries - they do not need or wish to be heroes - because in my book they are already heroes. I was raised in the 1950's in Eastern Europe and I can tell you that the Jews and the Roma were taught never to disclose their ethnic heritage (if indeed it was not hidden from them altogether by their own parents!) and with good reason!! If IsabelFonseca concludes that they know nothing of the Holocaust and have no interest; it is because she was excluded from their confidence. The very appearance of such a statement casts great doubt on the validity of the remainder of her collected data, to say nothing of her conclusions!
We are Roma and Roma we shall remain. We do not wish to assimilate, we do not wish to give up who we are - we do not want to be sterilized; we do not want to die - would you? We are a nation in spirit, yet we also strive to be individuals - don't you?
We are an ancient people of India. Our original homeland is northern India: Delhi and its surroundings: Rajasthan, Eastern Punjab, and Haryana. That is the home or the great land (Baro Than as we call it), that we dream of, the home we carry with us wherever we go, the home we get nostalgic about, believe it or not. Are you perhaps surprised to learn we even have a name for it - or would you rather believe Fonseca's claim that it does not exist? You don't know this, because you don't have to know this, but we do.
We have a history of pain and suffering. Our origins/history can be traced to the ancient warrior classes of Northern India – the Kshatriyas, Rajputs, and Jats. We are identifiable by our language, true religious beliefs (as opposed to what may be rendered convenient or necessary by local circumstances), and customs, all of which can be directly traced to those of the Punjab in northern India. There is much linguistic research and evidence linking Romany to Punjabi; compendia of the large number of Punjabi words which are still preserved in Romany; and at least several dictionaries of the Romani language (WR Rishi's Romani, Punjabi, English and Multilingual dictionaries (2,3), AP Barannikov's Romani Russian Dictionary(4)), to name a few. I myself have published poetry in both English and Romani (5), and I would like to call your attention to a beautifully compiled collection of Romani poetry accompanied by English translations from England in 1875 (6). One should not ignore the religious analogies between Roma and the Hindu tradition, and the anthropological research showing the frequency of ABO blood groups among the Roma of Europe closely approximates that of the high military castes in India.
Not all "gypsies" or nomadic peoples are Roma. Therefore it is appropriate for the Romany people to be referred to by their proper name, Roma (singular Rom). The name Roma and the Romany flag were approved and passed at the First World Romany Congress, held in London, England in 1971. This organization, run by Roma, composed of delegates representing most European countries, Russia, U.S.A., and India, is dedicated to social issues, war crimes, culture, and language. Their goals include, among others, the standardization of written Romani language, and the development of an encyclopaedia (not about but for Roma). The name Roma has also been registered with various international bodies such as the United Nations, in particular, UNESCO, ECOSOC, and the International Human Rights Commission.
There are some 15 million Roma dispersed across the world. Their history is one of suffering and misery, but it is also one of the victories of human spirit over the blows of fate. Today the Roma revive their culture and are looking for their identity. On the other hand, they integrate into the societies in which they live. If they are understood by their fellow citizens in their new homelands, their culture will enrich the society's atmosphere with the colour and charm of spontaneity."
The etymology of the word Rom
According to Indian linguists, the word "Rom" is derived from Rama, from the Sanskrit root ram. Rama in Sanskrit has the following meanings:
- One who pervades and operates all
- One who roams about
- Dark-coloured
- Husband (which is the same as in the Romani language)
- Pleasing, delighting, charming (in Sanskrit ramana is masculine and ramani feminine and in Romani language the feminine is also romni (meaning 'wife').
- One who pleases or delights others. "Roma of Europe do please others and delight others by their excellent music and dances", notes WR Rishi in Roma.
Nowhere does linguistic evidence suggest a meaning of "man of low caste" as suggested in your program.
There IS history, there IS language, there IS home of origin, and there IS culture, my friends! There is a Romany culture, known to very few, for your information, collected and documented in the Nehru Roma House & Museum (Nehru Romano Kher) at Chandigarh, India. This culture is rich with world class ethnic and jazz music, dance, theatre, art and even literature. There are world famous people of Romani descent, including: Django Reinhardt, a number of Romani musicians and singers, Yul Brynner, Carmen Amaya, Tony Gatlif; scholars and Romani leaders, Ian Hancock, WR Rishi, Vania de Gila Kochanowski, Sait Balic, Jan Kochanowski Poets Leksa Manu , Karlis
Rudevi s, Andro Lole tye, Sali Ibrahim, Rajko Djuric. One need also be reminded of the enormous influence the Roma have had on famous artists (such as composers Georges Bizet, Franz Liszt, and poet Federico Garcia Lorca).
Flamenco is only one particular dance of many of the Roma, such as the Romani Czardas of Hungary, the Stick dances of India, the Cocek of Macedonia, and various scarf dances of central and Eastern Europe. Flamenco is not a sexually charged dance - sorry! The art of Flamenco dance does not express any sexual qualities or characteristics
Yes the dance is definitely passionate, and passion is often mis-interpreted as having sexual or erotic connotations. Being a Romani dancer myself, I can assure any audience that in summary the true Flamenco is a dance of passion, struggle, and survival over the millennia, and not one of sexuality. Unfortunately many western popular performers of Flamenco have interpreted and misrepresented the dance as such for lack of understanding its roots and origins.
The true story of the Romani people must be told in order for us to move towards a better future. There are Roma and Romani organisations which can (and do!) represent their own people, including The Roma National Congress, International Roma Federation, European Roma Rights Center, Union Romani. It just takes more effort to find them than to talk to the Gajo (non-Roma). In spite of all my grievances, I truly believe that you meant no harm. On the contrary, your program was meant to be somewhat educational and entertaining, and musically it was indeed entertaining.
But tell me, if the program had been about the Afro-American, the American Indian, the Hawaiian, or perhaps some other culture, would you air so many misconceptions and inaccuracies as you have about the Roma without receiving numerous phone calls, threats, lawsuits, and even riots in the streets?! Just contemplate for a moment the potential reaction on a hot summer's evening in Los Angeles, New York, or even Boston or Philadelphia to a media statement such as "Black Americans disobey local laws, speak their own language, practice suspicious professions, have no home or history or written language, and no dream of a homeland.."
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