THE
HAMPSHIRE GYPSIES
A
Gypsy family encamped in Essex in 1895
A
Gypsy legend relates that God fashioned the first man from a sour lime and
baked him in an oven, but He misjudged the baking-time and burned the man quite
black.
It was this man that became the ancestor of
the Negroes, and then God made another man and though he took care with his
cooking he miscalculated the ingredients and this became the first white man in
the world. But third time lucky, and the Lord baked a perfectly brown man that
became the ancestor of the Gypsies.
Another less pleasant legend that explores
the origin of these nomadic people and that is that they are the descendants of
Cain who was outlawed by God to be a 'wanderer, a fugitive on earth' for
murdering his brother Abel.
A third story is that as the bodyguards of
Christ the Gypsies drank far too much and were thus unable to defend him, and a
Gypsy blacksmith is said to have made the nails for the Crucifixion.
The Gypsies are also accused of not giving
shelter to the Virgin Mary and Her Child as they fled out of Egypt, and for all
these stories the Gypsies are doomed to be the waifs and strays of the earth.
The Gypsy people have roamed the earth
since time immemorial and though modern research has shown that they originated
from the north of India it was once believed that they had come out of Egypt
and were known as 'Egyptians' from which the word Gypsy is derived. In Europe
they were known as the 'Lords of Little Egypt' and the word for men of their
own race is Rom and from this word
Romany has become a name for all Gypsies.
It is not know when they settled in Britain
but during the 15th century they had established themselves in Scotland and may
have arrived here much earlier.
The Gypsies were nomadic and hence gathered
food and hunted for small game, and became experts
in the ways of animals and also herbal medicine. The forests of England were
the favourite haunts of these people and the New Forest was for many hundreds
of years a well loved home, mainly due to it being abundant in herbs and other
medicinal plants, its wild game and also its springs of fresh water. The forest
also gave them some protection from the local people who feared and despised
these dark eyed people, and persecuted them for many years. The English found
their language mysterious and the fact that they used herbs and plants for
medicine considered them magicians. There dress was also considered strange,
the women like bright colours and wore heavy jewellery and gold-hooped
ear-rings which contrasted against their jet black hair, the men also wore
ear-rings and had gaudy neckerchiefs.
But above all the English was awed by the
nomadic life of these people and the extravagant taboos and rituals that were
observed at births, marriages and death in particular, as the gypsy people
would smash their tents and wagons into small pieces and set fire to them.
Today though these rituals and dress are things of the past and it is difficult
to visualize the life of the Gypsy a hundred years ago when most of the
families spoke their own language and roamed the countryside in family's. In
Hampshire most of the Gypsies have settled in to permanent housing supplied by
the local council.
But at the end of the 19th century they could be found still living in
tents and wagons at Shave Green, Godshill, Copythorne, Longdown, Thorney Hill,
Bransgore and other places deep in the Forest. There were also a few places
outside the forest which were popular with the Gypsies, Bournemouth, Blackhill
near Wellow and also near the railway town of Eastleigh. It was quite a common
site to see them camping in their traditional ways with their tents and carts
and the occasional yard, which was a from of wagon.
Today the onslaught of economic pressure
has made life for Gypsies more difficult. Goods and services are more expensive
and financial assistance that many people seek out to help with things like
understanding the pros and cons of annuities were not something available to most Gypsies. Many other advancements forced Gypsies to adapt
such as the coming of the petrol engine which took over the horse drawn
transport. Gypsies now use large trailers and trucks as well as modern caravans
with all mod cons inside. A true Gypsy caravan is a rare site, though there is
one standing in Sandy Balls wood at Godshill which has been lovingly restored.
There is a tale that goes with this particular yardo however.
It relates how a young Gypsy lad fell in
love with a girl and wanted to marry her. His bride said she wanted a real
caravan that was gaily painted with carvings of intricate designs, so he
painted the caravan in chrome yellow and merged it into the browns and olive
greens of the Forest and painted the shutters and panels in red and blue.
Inside there was all the comforts of home and it was said to be one of the most
beautiful yardoes in the land and worthy of a true Romany bride.
But sadly the girl died from sickness and
it may be then that he carved the two small faces which can be found at the
corners of the door lintel, depicting a dark skinned man on one side and a fair
haired girl on the other, to remind future generations that this caravan was
made especially for two young Gypsy lovers.
It was the right of the wife that the Gypsy
husband should provide the living quarters
and this was normally a bell shaped tent that had a hole in the top for a
chimney. 'Benders' were the traditional type of New Forest Gypsy dwelling and
the name came from the fact that they were supported by a semi-circle of green
saplings bent over and tied and then covered with leaves or brushwood. Most
couples had their own pony and cart but the yardo was normally for the better
off Gypsy.
These travellers also took pride in their
colour schemes, and bright yellows, reds and blues were painted on their
wagons, and a belief among them was that black is unlucky for a caravan and
normally meant that somebody in the family would die before the next new moon.
Though it is thought that black was used by the didkais, a mixed breed of
Gypsies, but the true Romany classed black as taboo.
Gypsies married at young ages and among the
pure blooded courtship and marriage were bound strongly by custom. The man
often giving his dikia or neckerchief to the girl of his choice who would then
fasten it over her hair if she agreed to marry him. Most couples eloped and set
up their own camp and live together for a while before returning back the
family fold. Though this may seem a casual affair to some, it is a known fact
that divorces among the Gypsy people were extremely rare for they believe in
the fact that marriage is for life.
The wedding ceremony would vary from one
family to another and a lot has been written about the custom of 'jumping the
broomstick'. It is unlikley that the New Forest Gypsies observed this custom
and it may have been a metaphor used to indicate that the marriage did not take
place in a recognised place such as a church.
The simple ceremony of holding hands was
probably observed though some complex variations were practised, At Bently in
1878 such a marriage took place between David Burton and Emmy White, and in
front of witnesses the couple held hands
and pledged their love for one another. A loaf of bread was broken and a thorn
was used to prick the thumbs of both persons and a drop of blood was dropped on
each half of the loaf, this was then eaten by the couple, each one eating the
half with the others blood on, the rest was them crumbled over their heads. The
day after the couple returned to the camp and took part in feasting and
drinking, and participating in the singing and dancing which was a part of
Gypsy life that was enjoyed.
Birth also had its special customs. Women
at this time were classed as mochardi, or unclean, in the ceremonial sense. And
a woman that was pregnant was move from the living wagon so that it would not
be defiled by the birth.
Records show that in the New Forest, Gypsy
women would go alone to a certain holly tree along the Godshill Ridge to give
birth, but normally a special tent was set aside and men were not allowed near
the scene.
The woman would have her own set of
crockery and would not prepare food for weeks before or after the birth. Once
the baby was born and quarantine was ended , this could be two weeks or maybe
two months, the special tent and everything inside was burnt. Like marriage,
the Gypsies would often observe two levels of religious custom. The child would
not be touched by its father until it had been christened, normally according
to the rites of the Christian Church. These ancient rites have long since gone
and Gypsy women have their babies in hospital with the husbands attending,
normally in their best suits!
But the customs that were connected with
death and burial have lived on and again the living wagon or tent plays an
important role. If a member of the family died in it it was burnt. In harder
times a special tent was erected for the dying and this was burned instead when
the person had died. While the dead lay waiting for burial the Gypsies would
fast and a vigil would be kept over the body, sometimes there were three who
kept this vigil, which was set out to guard against the ghost of the dead
arising to visit a lone person. These were quite common in the New Forest and
one is recorded by Frank Cuttriss in 1915, where the watchers were changed at
regular intervals. The Gypsy does not like to touch their own dead and a gorgio
(non-Gypsy) was brought in to lay the corpse out for burial. The coffin was
normally a lot larger than the occupant as they would be buried with their
possessions. The body was dressed and buried in his best clothes and if it was
a Gypsy woman, all her valuables were placed inside, unless she had full
blooded Gypsy daughters to inherit them.
In Otterbourne in 1911, Alice Barney was
buried with all her jewellery except a heavy gold ring which was handed to a
relative and this is still around today worn by one of her descendants.
Often other things that were considered may
be useful in the after life was also buried along with the body, knives,
walking sticks, watches and money were all buried and a musician who was
skilful would often be buried with his fiddle.
Hampshire Gypsies would often bury their
dead with food to feed them on the long journey and to protect them against
evil. The prepared body would be given a proper Christian burial and would
normally be attended by a large number of people all come to pay their last
respects.
When a former, King of the Hampshire
Gypsies, Robert Cooper who was a brother of Nethemiah Cooper, was buried the
local newspapers carried a report showing that nearly a hundred Gypsies
attended.
Tradition says that whatever a Gypsy owned
that had not been buried with him was ritually destroyed. The crockery was
smashed and cooking implements and iron kettle rods would be hammered out of
shape and buried, the living quarters would be bunt and reduced to ashes. Any
horse or dogs would be slaughtered and buried and any horse brasses were
battered and the harness cut to pieces. Nothing was to be used by the living in
case the soul of the dead might return to claim what was rightfully theirs.
This belief that the dead must be sent comfortably on to the next world is
still around today but most of the rituals are no longer practised.
Some Gypsies however were not buried in
consecrated g round and John Bairacli-Levy, who lived for a while in the New
Forest found a secret Gypsy burial ground at Woodgreen, and also one at
Blackwater near Farnborough may have been one as well. Often a Gypsy killed by
accident was buried on the spot and his grave marked by a cross of stones. At
Woodgreen there are two crosses pressed flat in the soil that are said to mark
the graves of two Gypsies who died during a fight. A rose or thorn bush was
often planted on the grave to prevent the ghost from emerging. But normally
once the burial had taken place the grave was normally forgotten, though there
are instances where an annual pilgrimage has been made to burial grounds, one
notable one was or Gernaia Lee who was buried at Otterbourne, and here
relatives came every year from Nottingham on the anniversary of her death to
tie red ribbons on the thorn bush growing on the grave.
Nema komentara:
Objavi komentar