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Revision as of 02:02, 6 April 2007 editIan.thomson (talk | contribs)58,562 editsNo edit summary← Previous edit Revision as of 02:14, 6 April 2007 edit undoIan.thomson (talk | contribs)58,562 edits Deleted paragraphs that portrayed Roma as inherently more superstitious or supernatural than non-Roma, which is only documented in non-Roma fiction featuring Roma characters to hide poor writing.Next edit →
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'''] (Gypsy) mythology''' is the myth, folklore, religion, traditions, and legends of the ].The Gypsies, who call themselves Rom or Romany, are a nomadic culture which originated in India during the Middle Ages. They migrated widely, particularly to Europe. Rom have a long tradition of magic and shamanism. It is said that Rom are able to read the stars and the alignment of the planets which is used in times of confusion. More powerful gypsies are said to have passive ] powers such as, ], ], ], or ]. Some legends include the ability to ], travel through ] by way of ], invoke curses or blessings, conjure/channel spirits, and skill with ]-casting. '''] (Gypsy) mythology''' is the myth, folklore, religion, traditions, and legends of the ]. The Gypsies, who call themselves Rom or Romany, are a nomadic culture which originated in India during the Middle Ages. They migrated widely, particularly to Europe. Some legends (particularly from non-Roma peoples) say that certain gypsies are said to have passive ] powers such as, ], ], ], or ]. Other legends include the ability to ], travel through ] by way of ], invoke curses or blessings, conjure/channel spirits, and skill with ]-casting.


'''Origins''' '''Origins'''
The Romani originated not too distant from the four countries. Like the four countries mirroring in ways ancient China, the Romani mirror their real world counterparts the gypsies (one tribe of which, RL fact, is known as the Rom), which happened to originate in India. So, the birthplace of the Romani is a country not extremely far from the four countries, to the south west. The country in question was going through a social 'restructuring,' and adopting the strict social hierarchy system of castes. Various groups, for political and other reasons, were not included in these newly formed castes, and were casteless, and thus below anyone else on the social totem pole. Three groups made up the majority of the casteless: Thieves, musicians/actors (RL fact time, historically performing arts have had a negative social conotation... take a look at eastern theatre's history, for example...), and magicians whose magic was deemed 'heretical' by the local religion. With life in their once native land now unbearable, these casteless people grouped together forming bands which migrated originally to the west. Over many many years, their language and culture developed into something entirely foreign from their roots, and they were truly gypsies, or the Romani as they call themselves. The Romani originated in India. According to mythology, the country was going through a social restructuring and adopting the strict social hierarchy system of castes. Various groups were not included in these newly formed castes for political and religious reasons, and left at the bottom of the caste system. Three groups made up the majority of the casteless: Thieves, musicians/actors (RL fact time, historically performing arts have had a negative social conotation... take a look at eastern theatre's history, for example...), and magicians whose magic was deemed 'heretical' by the local religion. With life in their once native land now unbearable, these casteless people grouped together forming bands which migrated originally to the west. Over many many years, their language and culture developed into something entirely foreign from their roots, and they were truly gypsies, or the Romani as they call themselves.


'''Lifestyle'''
The Romani lifestyle at first appears innately contradictory. On the one hand, they seem to be very carefree, living life for the moment in a carnival like atmosphere. Yet they also appear incredibly paranoid and distrustful of outsiders. This seems to be rooted in the fact they're constantly surrounded by death. Romani die young, frequently ending by violent means. Compared to most cultures, the Romani tend towards being extremely short lived. Their magic frequently centers around invoking the spirits of the dead. Whevere they travel they aren't truly welcome, and it's extremely common to find themselves in a land where the natives want nothing more than to wipe out the gypsy race from the face of the world. Given this life, the Romani seek to make the most out of it. They're acutely aware of the temerity of their stay in this world, so they seek to prolong it as best they can, and make the most out of what they have. Thus, their paranoid distrust of strangers is an attempt to prolong their lives, and the carefree lifestyle is an attempt to make the most out of their life, by enjoying every second they can.
The Romani are a nomadic people, having no true home they continuously travel, rarely stopping for more than a few days time at any town, before packing up and their caravans of covered wagons heading out in search of the next town. At a town, the troup will set up camp, brightly colored tents, and proceed to earn their bread. Throwing an impromptu carnival, the Romani band provides many amusements, from music to fortune telling to dancing. Gypsy metalwork, among the finest extant, is traded for supplies. Pickpocketing and similar of the locals as they gawk at the Romani provides supplemental supplies as well.
In addition to helping provide food for their stomachs, music and dancing are an extremely important part of the Romani lifestyle. Music and dance play major roles in all Romani ceremonies, from the feeding of the grave of a loved one, to a wedding ceremony, to the birth of a child. When not singing for their supper, or performing a ceremonial dance, they still frequently sing, dance and make merry simply for the sheer enjoyment they take in these performances. So steeped and surrounded in music from birth, they tend to be much more proficient at the subject than outsiders.




'''Magic and superstitions'''
Magic is a fairly common practice amongst the Romani. Among the ancestors of the Romani, those casteless ones(see Origins) there were magicians that the church had considered 'heretical' or against the religion. Well, magicians specializing in divinary magic and magic pertaining to the spirits of the dead were especially common amongst these 'heretical magicians.' This facet of their origin shaped some details of how the Romani came out. For one thing, they don't get along well with religion, and though superstitious tend to never follow any faith. The second is that among the three primary kinds of magic practiced by the Romani, divinary and spirit related are found. Romani magic's first branch is divinary, the art of prognostication or predicting the future. Though their are many variations upon this, the most commonly practiced form of divination is with tarot cards, which Romani magicians also invoke for more physical magic. The second branch is spiritual, and relates to communicating with the shades(or spirits) of the dead, and similar shade related magic. The final branch of Romani magic is simply fire, general manipulations and such of fire(RL fact: Romani being fire related magicians was based off a documented 'folklore' that was held in the middle ages. It was believed gypsies were somehow 'immune' to fire, and held some mysterious power over it)
Romani, despite lacking any religion or faith in a higher power, are extremely superstitious. Though they don't believe in an organized afterlife of any form per se, they do believe in the shade, or spirit, which survives the body, and must be placated by a proper burial(which, for them, implies cremation, and 'feeding the grave'). They also tend to take fortune telling, and other 'portents' or 'omens' very seriously.





Revision as of 02:14, 6 April 2007

Roma (Gypsy) mythology is the myth, folklore, religion, traditions, and legends of the Roma people. The Gypsies, who call themselves Rom or Romany, are a nomadic culture which originated in India during the Middle Ages. They migrated widely, particularly to Europe. Some legends (particularly from non-Roma peoples) say that certain gypsies are said to have passive psychic powers such as, empathy, precognition, retrocognition, or psychometry. Other legends include the ability to levitate, travel through astral projection by way of meditation, invoke curses or blessings, conjure/channel spirits, and skill with illusion-casting.

Origins The Romani originated in India. According to mythology, the country was going through a social restructuring and adopting the strict social hierarchy system of castes. Various groups were not included in these newly formed castes for political and religious reasons, and left at the bottom of the caste system. Three groups made up the majority of the casteless: Thieves, musicians/actors (RL fact time, historically performing arts have had a negative social conotation... take a look at eastern theatre's history, for example...), and magicians whose magic was deemed 'heretical' by the local religion. With life in their once native land now unbearable, these casteless people grouped together forming bands which migrated originally to the west. Over many many years, their language and culture developed into something entirely foreign from their roots, and they were truly gypsies, or the Romani as they call themselves.


Roma myth topics include the following:

Also See

External Links

  • Encyclopedia Mythica
  • Gypsy Folk Tales
  • Gypsy Sorcery and Fortune Telling by Charles Godfrey Leland
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