Home is the Heart
Page 8
Sex and marriage: The stereotype of the gypsy male as an exotic seducer is just that, a stereotype, perhaps rooted in fact, but not necessarily true. On the other hand, the idea of a gypsy woman being sexually arousing isn’t far from the truth, but she is also considered untouchable. Traveller women are expected to remain virgins prior to marrying. Therefore, to Travellers, marriage is extremely important. Children are highly valued, and a young couple is expected to produce a child within twelve to eighteen months of marriage. Fidelity and monogamy are the ideals. A marriage between a gypsy and a gorgio is not unheard of. However, if the outsider is to survive in the gypsy world, he or she must turn away from their origins and totally embrace gypsy ways.
Cleanliness, inside versus out: The idea of cleanliness is fairly convoluted in the Traveller world. All waste water from body washing must be thrown away. It is kept well away from water for dishes and laundry. Clothes washing, and defecating and urinating, is done outside. No waste bin is kept inside a waggon. All cooking is done outside. Nothing cooked is saved, so no leftovers. Tidiness inside a waggon is extremely important. External tidiness is not. This is part of the reason many landowners do not want gypsies on their land. Also of note, birth and death take place on the edge of camp. Hospitals are where a gypsy goes to die. Possessions of the dead are burned. Children, not dead relatives or ancestors, are the focus of continuity.
Language: Most gypsies adopt the language and names of the region where they do their travelling. In the past, Travellers of Ireland used a version of Gaelic called Shelta. Many gypsies with Roma backgrounds spoke the language often called Romani or Romanes. I chose to go with good old Irish Gaelic for the endearments in this story; so sue me. By the early 1900s, the use of Gaelic was on the wane in the United Kingdom. Similarly, Shelta is becoming less common in Traveller communities.
Homosexuality: I found not one word about homo-sexuality in any book I read about Traveller-Gypsies. Thus, all ideas about it are my own extrapolation from things I gleaned about sex, sexual taboos, marriage, and childrearing among these people during the early 1900s. Looking at more recent material, it is fairly apparent that homosexuality is not condoned within the Traveller community as it is incompatible with long-held ideas of marriage and children. With kinship, mutual aid, and protection being paramount, and, as all decisions are a group concern, banishment is the ultimate punishment. One who is banished is considered to be dead, and his or her name is rarely, perhaps never, mentioned.
To learn more, I suggest these books:
Gypsies by Thomas Acton
A Traveller’s History of Ireland by Peter Neville
The Traveller-Gypsies by Judith Okely
People of the Road, The Irish Travellers by Matthias Oppensdorff
Also:
Selected Poems: “Roghá Danta” by Nuala Ni Dhomhnaill
—JM Gryffyn
Glossary
a chuisle mo chroí (Irish Gaelic)—pulse of my heart
a dheartháir (Irish Gaelic)—my brother (used when calling out to someone)
a ghrá (Irish Gaelic)—my love
a ghrá mo chroí (Irish Gaelic)—love of my heart, my heart’s beloved
auld (Irish Gaelic)—also ould; old
bréa (Irish Gaelic)—excellent, fine
Brüderlein (German)—little brother
céadsearc—first love
céilí (Irish Gaelic)—a celebration of music and dancing
chal (Romani)—man or fellow
codladh sámh (Irish Gaelic)—sleep well
deartháir (Irish Gaelic)—brother, actual sibling (as opposed to braitháir, used for a religous brother)
gut (German)—good
gorgio (Romani)—also gajes; non-gypsy, outsider, stranger
kris (Romani)—council of leaders, elders
loí le grá (Irish Gaelic)—to be love sick
m’anamchara (Irish Gaelic)—my soul mate
mo chroí (Irish Gaelic)—also *a chroí; my heart
mo chuisle (Irish Gaelic)—also *a chuisle; my pulse, my heartbeat
mo ghrá-sa (Irish Gaelic)—also *a ghrá-sa; my own love
mo leannán (Irish Gaelic)—also *a leannán; my love or my lover
mo roghá (Irish Gaelic)—my favorite
mochadi (Romani)—unclean, ritually impure
muirnin (Irish Gaelic)—sweetheart
ó m’anam (Irish Gaelic)—from my heart
Tinker (Irish/Scottish)—perjorative term for gypsy
Traveller (Irish/Scottish)—term for gypsy
* a is used when speaking directly to a person, mo is used when speaking about them
About the Author
A die-hard romantic, JM GRYFFYN fell in love with words when she read Ray Bradbury’s All Summer in a Day at age twelve. After that, her goal was to write her own stories about people who don’t quite fit into the world at large. She believes in love at first sight but is quick to admit love forever is tougher to achieve. Still, she refuses to give up hope—and so she writes about just that. She lives in Texas with her two Australian Cattle Dogs, whom she spoils almost as much as she did her two amazing daughters back when they were little kids. JM wants to go on record thanking all the folks who encouraged her during her years as a fan writer. She is absolutely thrilled to join the Dreamspinner family.
Visit her LiveJournal at
http://jm-gryffyn.livejournal.com/.
Also from DREAMSPINNER PRESS
http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com
Copyright
Home Is the Heart ©Copyright JM Gryffyn, 2012
Published by
Dreamspinner Press
382 NE 191st Street #88329
Miami, FL 33179-3899, USA
http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the authors’ imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Cover Art by Catt Ford
This book is licensed to the original purchaser only. Duplication or distribution via any means is illegal and a violation of International Copyright Law, subject to criminal prosecution and upon conviction, fines, and/or imprisonment. This eBook cannot be legally loaned or given to others. No part of this eBook can be shared or reproduced without the express permission of the Publisher. To request permission and all other inquiries, contact Dreamspinner Press at: 382 NE 191st Street #88329, Miami, FL 33179-3899, USA
http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/
Released in the United States of America
February 2012
eBook Edition
eBook ISBN: 978-1-61372-374-6