Quote:
Originally Posted by Mynydd
That's interesting.
Not that interesting. Nearly every other nomadic people in the world has come to believe that at one point or another. And also a number of Protestant-derived sects and beliefs.
In Spain they are called Gitanos as a corruption of Egipcianos, as they were believed to come from Egypt. Apparently they arrived in Spain via North Africa, unlike Gypsies in Central and Eastern Europe.
I haven't noticed this. But their society is impermeable enough to not let outsiders know more than they should.
What they show clearly is a very strong clan-like society.
|
Yes its assumed that because of the Turkic invasions upon India, that they began to migrate, some belive that the Turks enslaved them and eventually brought them into Europe, and from their they broke away from their Turkish masters. It is said that the Ghazvanid brought a large number of Indian slaves into Iran and Afghanistan, and these Slaves eventually began to move West wards.
Well the lost tribes of Israel, are not really lost, they got assimlated and found a new identity. They merged with many of the people of the Near East. Thus all the other theories are nothing more than wishful thinking. Kurds are probably the lost tribes of Israel as recent genetic studies seems to link them closely to the Jews and especially Near Eastern Jews.
I have heard that the Gypsies of Spain did in fact come via North Africa, and thus some of them belive they are the decendants of the Moors. When the Gypsies appeared in Europe their alien clothes and dark skined features often made them to be mistaken for Arab Muslim invaders, thus in some ways has led them to be proscuated in Europe. The Gypsies were mainly Kali worshipers, the Hindue Goddesse of death, when they converted to Christianity, this became the Mary the Black Virgin. In Southern Provençal tradition, the Black Madonna is associated with St. Sara, the patron saint of the Gypsies. She was said to be the black assistant who accompanied the three Marys to France when they fled from the Holy Land after the Crucifixion. In local gypsy tradition, she is said to have been a gypsy (some say 'Egyptian') woman who helped them to land safely. A cult of St. Sara persists today at Les Saintes Maries de la Mer, one of the earliest Magdalene sites in France.
Their society does have have caste system, and even sub-castes. Their are those of the lowe castes and those of the upper castes. They are very tribal people, thus usually the marriage might be done to seek allainces and protection from other tribes, its usually arranged. The marriage for girls is usually ages 12 to 14, and for boys its 15 to 20. They do have clan system, they even have name for non-Gyspies which is Gadjo which means Barbarians in their langauge. They often work as horse traders, Mechanics, Blacksmiths, and forutine tellers. They usually don't go to school because its conflicts with their traditional culture. Although some have become assimlated into the mainstream culture of their host nation.