The Zincali: an account of the gypsies of Spain by George Henry Borrow
page 37 of 363 (10%)
page 37 of 363 (10%)
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Separate not from THE HUSBANDS. Be faithful to THE HUSBANDS. Pay your debts to THE HUSBANDS. By the first section the Rom or Gypsy is enjoined to live with his brethren, the husbands, and not with the gorgios (13) or gentiles; he is to live in a tent, as is befitting a Rom and a wanderer, and not in a house, which ties him to one spot; in a word, he is in every respect to conform to the ways of his own people, and to eschew those of gorgios, with whom he is not to mix, save to tell them HOQUEPENES (lies), and to chore them. The second section, in which fidelity is enjoined, was more particularly intended for the women: be faithful to the ROMS, ye JUWAS, and take not up with the gorgios, whether they be RAIOR or BAUOR (gentlemen or fellows). This was a very important injunction, so much so, indeed, that upon the observance of it depended the very existence of the Rommany sect, - for if the female Gypsy admitted the gorgio to the privilege of the Rom, the race of the Rommany would quickly disappear. How well this injunction has been observed needs scarcely be said; for the Rommany have been roving about England for three centuries at least, and are still to be distinguished from the gorgios in feature and complexion, which assuredly would not have been the case if the juwas had not been faithful to the Roms. The gorgio says that the juwa is at his disposal in all things, because she tells him fortunes and endures his free discourse; but the Rom, |
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