Stews are common amongst Romani throughout Europe. Potatoes are also a staple in their diet. Another traditional dish cooked by Romani people is sarma, salmaia or sodmay (cabbage stuffed with meat and rice). Romani people consume dishes consisting of stuffed peppers, especially on holidays and special occasions.
The first was a dish of grey squirrels Rukimengro Xeliax. Rabbits, when they abounded, were much easier to trap, but Gypsies enjoy squirrels when they get the chance. Pek Staani (roast venison) followed, with Phyvengere (potatoes) and Chimerimen Puruma (braised onions).
Although most Gypsies and Travellers see travelling as part of their identity, they can choose to live in different ways including: moving regularly around the country from site to site and being 'on the road' living permanently in caravans or mobile homes, on sites provided by the council, or on private sites.
Some of the poorer gypsies eat carrion meat without special preparation; but others prepare it by washing, soaking with nettles or garlic, and boiling until the smell has gone. Sedentary gypsies eat carrion meat only when with gypsies who prepare it in this way.
Romani Americans eat sarma (stuffed cabbage), gushvada (cheese strudel), and a ritually sacrificed animal (often a lamb). There are several spicy Romani American soups. Fusui eski zumi is a Romani butter bean soup often made with ham. Pertia is a soup made with jellied pig's feet and pig's ears.
The Roma also consume roasted apples, almond cakes, rabbit or hedgehog stew, clay-baked hedgehog and trout, snails in broth, pig stomach, and fig cakes. Rabbit stew is made with rabbit meat, innards, bacon and onions. Baked hedgehog is flavored with garlic, and is called hotchi-witchi or niglo, in Romani.
For Romany people, the family is very much their support system. They observe strict hygiene laws known as Mochadi, which consist of important principles about, for example, hand washing prior to handling food or dishes, after getting dressed in the morning and before going to the kitchen.
In anthropometric terms, Roma are clearly 'Caucasoid', rather than 'Mongoloid' or 'Negroid'. Nowadays, most schol- ars use such terms gingerly, if at all. Yet a number of recent scientific papers distinguish between Gypsies and 'Caucasoids', by which they mean not Georgians or their neighbours, but 'Whites'.
Some of the better known areas of work that Gypsies and Travellers are involved in include seasonal agricultural work, motor trading and tree-felling. Some are employed as academics, teachers and public servants and in this way they add to the local economy.
The vast majority of Roma are Christians. They are Catholic Manouche, Mercheros, and Sinti; Muslim Ashkali and Romanlar; Pentecostal Kalderash and Lovari; Protestant Travellers; Anglican Roma; and Baptist Roma. The Roma's religious beliefs are occupied by God and Virgin Mary.
Talk to older relatives for clues and family stories. Old family photos can help to identify Gypsy heritage. Photographs taken at gatherings such as hop picking or fairs might be a sign, although these were often annual events which brought together families from many backgrounds, not just Gypsies and Travellers.
As can be seen in all Gypsies of the world, Gypsies in Turkey usually marry their relatives at a young age since marrying a non-Gypsy means automatic extradition from the Gypsy community (Sutherland, 1990). Therefore, they believe that they can protect their communal life through endogamy.
One of the Oxford English Dictionary definitions of Gypsy is, 'term for a woman, as being cunning, deceitful, fickle, or the like … In more recent use merely playful, and applied esp. to a brunette.
Romanichal residing in England, Scotland, and Wales are part of the Gypsy (Romani), Roma, and Traveller community. Romanichal. A Gypsy Girl by George Elgar Hicks (1899) Regions with significant populations.
If the handkerchief is stained with three roses the girl is virgin, if the handkerchief is not stained the girl can´t get merried because she´s not virgin. Then, the handkerchief is displayed.
Joe Grey, also called Joey Grey is a gypsy travellers stew/coddle. This is one of those dishes born out of necessity - A one-pot dish that could be cooked at the side of the road over a campfire using simple ingredients that travel well.
Participants from Gypsy and Traveller communities described experiencing a range of health difficulties, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, diabetes, bladder problems, “the c-word” (cancer), and mental health difficulties.
Other legends include the ability to levitate, travel through astral projection by way of meditation, invoke curses or blessings, conjure or channel spirits, and skill with illusion-casting.
While the gypsies can be lauded for remaining fiercely independent and protective of their unique culture, that isolation has also reaped certain negative consequences. Unstable employment, teen marriage and rigid gender roles might be hallmarks of the Roma way, but they're also Roma risk factors.
In comparison with other studied groups from Ukraine (mainly Ukrainians but also other minorities) Djaczenko found that Gypsies have the lowest cephalic index, the widest nose, darkest pigmentation, and the most dense beard.
Sponges and clothes used to clean the body must never be used to clean dishes or cutlery. Hands must be washed in a separate sink from the kitchen sink to avoid contaminating the dishes, utensils, and food.
