Editor's Note: The Romany & Traveller Family History
Society in Britain has released this article about the Vlax Romani population.
For more information contact the address at the end of this article.
Romani organizations everywhere receive a small but
regular stream of letters from people claiming to be Roma, or who claim
Romani descent, asking for information on the organization, and sometimes
asking how they might add their support to the cause. All help is welcomed,
but it is clearly not enough in itself for an individual to present himself
as a Gypsy in a letter without substantiation.
This raises the question of what is a Gypsy, and how may an individual
legitimately claim that ethnicity. There are at least two aspects to legitimizing
ethnic identity:
(a) what the individual sincerely believes himself to be, based on
upbringing, cultural and/or linguistic heritage and membership in an ethnic
community, and
(b) how other members of the ethnic community in question perceive that
individual. In other words, while you may regard yourself as a Gypsy, do
other Gypsies similarly regard you as a Gypsy?
When a Vlax Rom moves into a community and establishes contact with the
local Romani population, he is first of all questioned as to his family
background. In fact such a newcomer upon first meeting is asked not sar
san (how are you) but kasko san (whose are you) and kas zhanes
(who do you know). Members of the community will then place telephone calls
around the country to verify the identity of the new person, and to ascertain
that he is not in trouble, or being excluded (gonimé or bolimé).
There are very many people who have one or more
Romani ancestors, but for whom contact with the community has been lost
through out-marriage, or the decision to withhold ethnic continuation from
the next generation. Strictly, since descent is patrilineal, a Romani woman
marrying a gadjo (non-Romani man) becomes a member of that man's
family, and is hence out of the community. Children of such unions are
not considered Roma by Roma. A non-Romani woman marrying a Rom becomes
the daughter of her Romani family and her children have the choice of joining
the ethnic community, given the right social circumstances.
Belonging to a Romani ethnic community, and being able legitimately
to identify oneself as a Rom or Romni, means interacting socially and frequently
within that community, and maintaining certain cultural behaviors, in particular
those dealing with ritual pollution, food preparation, male/female relationships
and so on. For Romani- speaking Gypsy populations, use of the language
is essential. Among some Australian, American or European Romani groups
for example, you will be excluded from certain functions if you cannot
participate using the Romani language. It also means recognizing yourself
as a person of color, i.e. as non-white, according to the U.S. Bureau of
the Census.
If you genuinely know yourself and are known by
others to be a Gypsy, and want to be recognized as such by the Romani organization
to which you are applying for membership, you will need to supply as much
genealogical evidence as possible, in particular the names of individuals
within the Romani community who can vouch for you. If you suspect that
you have a Romani forebear but know little more than that, organizations
such as the Romany & Traveller Family History Society in Britain
(6, St. James Walk, South Chailey, East Sussex, BN8 4BU) exist which
can help you to trace your family's roots, especially if they trace back
to the Romanichal community |