Gypsy mansions. Gypsy barons

Gypsies have always been surrounded by an aura of mystery for me. They appeared, as if out of nowhere, on their rough, barbaric horse-drawn carts, collecting unwanted garbage and speaking in their croaking brownie language. Mom and grandmother said that the gypsies sell vodka and drugs, cast fortunes and spells, and steal children. But Mom kept a battery of Chumak-charged water cans in the pantry, and Grandmother claimed that Jesus gets upset when I make worms from bread crumbs. Their testimony could not be trusted.

In mid-April, when it warmed up enough that I was allowed to stay outside until late, I decided to reveal all the secrets of the unusual people and set up an observation post on a grassy hill opposite their “clan” house.

This house, it should be noted, was remarkable in itself. A low fence made of rickety slats, which, perhaps, I could have simply stepped over, was more likely a symbol of a fence, a line separating outside and inside, rather than actually protecting me from anyone. Although there was nothing to guard, only dirt grew in the gypsy yard. Even the burdocks and weeds that filled the area seemed to cower timidly, not risking crossing the demarcation line. There was also a large stable in the yard where carts and horses were kept. And a house.

The house was good. A majestic three-story building made of white brick, easily towering over the neighboring huts. The windows had slightly worn decorative frames, and the House of Culture of the Railway Workers could have envied the mighty double doors.

So I watched him, lying on my belly in the weeds. Unfortunately, the extensive spying provided more questions than answers. The gypsies never returned alone. On foot they moved in twos and threes, on carts, sometimes up to six people sat. But not a single lost gypsy child, running as fast as he could, in fear of getting hit in the neck by his gypsy father.

They unloaded all the metal or electronic trash they brought in and took it into the house. Always. Not a single nut or nail was left to sink into the yard dirt.

And finally, not a single gypsy left the building or returned after nine in the evening.

The latter was especially difficult to verify, since at half past nine I already had to sit in the kitchen and devour the prepared dinner, without messing with the bread. At the cost of a slap on the wrist and four days of house arrest, I was finally convinced of this. Fact - at nine o'clock the door was closed behind the last gypsy, and they did not leave until the next morning.

The few trusted street friends I shared my discoveries with simply laughed. Their minds were occupied by a much more serious mystery - who would win in a fight, the Terminator or the Shredder? Only my best friend, Artyom, giggled and grimaced a lot, and gave me advice to look inside.

For several days I weighed the pros and cons, preparing escape routes. Finally, I made up my mind.

Checking the time with the dog-shaped Chinese digital clock, which for the first time became truly useful, I lay in my native place, waiting. At exactly 21:01, I grabbed the pre-prepared box under my arm and flew head over heels down the hill. He crossed the road, bending down as if under oncoming German fire, carefully stepped over the fence, crept up to the window, carefully plunged the box into the dried mud, climbed onto it and pressed his nose to the glass.

The first thing that struck me was that there was no home. There were no rooms, corridors or nooks. All three floors were one huge room, not divided into parts. Like a hangar or a Hollywood set. The similarity with the decoration was enhanced by the ligature of the supports that held up the roof instead of walls. The floor was covered with scrap iron. A carpet of teapots, refrigerators, wrought-iron fences and fittings occupied the entire surface, with the exception of a small patch near the doors. The gypsies, dozens of gypsies, were dispersed among the scrap, breaking into groups and talking in their clicking talk.

In an instant everything became silent. People silently fell backwards, like puppets with their strings cut. A portly, iron-toothed gypsy, standing closer to the window, hit her cheek on the corner of a rusty washing machine in her fall. She lay there, her eyes shining, empty as if from glass, and ichor was oozing profusely from a cut on her cheek.

I felt terrified. I jumped off the box and rushed home, firmly knowing that I would not tell any of the adults about what I had seen. The only one I shared with was Artyom. He reacted lightly:

Tired tsegene, jay kave are sleeping,

Like coolie, ne konekene, koneke.

Hey, friend, I’ll knock you out,

Don't be afraid, stubborn,

Close your eyes, nah, nah, nay.

I didn't listen to the second verse. And when I came to Grandma again the following summer, I almost forgot about my adventures. The gypsies did not allow me to completely erase this from my memory.

They seemed to be everywhere. They appeared alone, entered courtyards, knocked on apartments, asking for trash. Several times I saw gypsy carts from the window after nine in the evening. What little I knew about them has changed. I felt something was coming. When on a July evening I realized that I had not met a single gypsy all day, I felt that the moment had come. Again I found myself on the outskirts and looking out the window of a fake house.

Everything has changed. There was no more rubbish; an octagonal column extended from the floor to the ceiling, from which metal remains protruded in growths. It seemed that its entire surface was in motion, pistons were clicking, assorted displays were burning, and individual parts were rotating. The gypsies formed two round dance circles, moving slowly in salting and anti-salting directions, respectively. The circles converged and diverged, similar to the convulsions of sea jellyfish.

The column began to sound. The thin, barely audible sound of a forest mosquito in a matter of seconds gained the power of the loudspeaker and hit the ears. The glass was shaking. The gypsies opened their mouths and howled. A bass howl, from the very guts, counterpointing to the ringing and buzzing of the mechanism, chilled me to the very liver.

Over the centuries, attitudes towards the Gypsy people have been very contradictory, and their way of life has always caused at least bewilderment and misunderstanding among everyone. While most people associate gypsies with thieves and beggars, the gypsy elite are literally drowning in gold and wealth. Today, some gypsies continue to lead a nomadic lifestyle, constantly on the road, and some have chosen a settled, stable life, which, by the way, does not at all prevent them from invariably remaining a separate group and in no way assimilating with the rest of society. TravelAsk presents 20 bright and eloquent photographs that fully demonstrate the peculiarities of life, everyday life and culture of the Roma people.

Scavenger City

Gypsy Quarter

When there is a lot of garbage, it is removed.

Gypsy houses

The houses of rich gypsies have their own style.

Residence of a gypsy baron in Moldova

Local residents even build copies of world-famous architectural monuments.

Interior decoration of houses

The interior decoration of the palaces matches the appearance.

Housing...

But such housing can hardly be called a home. Author of the photo: Maxim Bespalov.

Golden BMW

The chic of gypsy majors.

Vehicle

But for a simple gypsy, one horsepower is enough.

Gypsy Baron

The gold from gypsy jewelry could feed hundreds of ordinary gypsies for a long time.

Gypsy "King" of Romania

The most influential and respected baron.

"Golden youth

Life is full of luxury surrounded by gold and jewelry.

Roma

A family of gypsies shovels sawdust, which they use to heat their home. Author of the photo: Maxim Bespalov.

Parents and children

Mom and children.

We live in dirt and without roads

Breadwinner

Sleepers are also firewood.

Baroness

Not every queen can afford that much gold. Author of the photo: Maxim Bespalov.

A typical representative of the gypsy “elite”

Clothing and jewelry should be as rich as possible.

Gypsy wedding

A gypsy wedding is a closed ceremony. Outsiders are not invited to the holiday.

Gypsy gay wedding

The fun ended in a mass brawl because of a drunken guest who wanted to know what was under the bride’s skirt.

Bride's dress

The chic outfit weighs more than ten kilograms due to the large amount of gold.

“Gypsies in a noisy crowd / Roam around Bessarabia / Today they are over the river / In tattered tents they spend the night...” Thus begins Pushkin’s famous southern poem, which almost 200 years ago glorified the Bessarabian region and sowed great interest in society towards the exotic people described in it. What distinguished the romantic was that it contrasted the European consciousness, jaded and corrupted by civilization, with a different one - a “pure”, natural, natural attitude towards life. Therefore, the heroes of such works were either independent, proud highlanders, or freedom-loving children of the roads, gypsies, or brave, risky pirates-smugglers without a family or tribe. Of course, fiction embellished a lot of things, put a lot of things in a special light. How do Roma people actually live? Let's conduct a little research, based on ethnographic materials of the former Bessarabia, and present-day Moldova.

Three capitals

There are 3 recognized centers of the gypsy tribe on the territory of the state. All of them are located in the northern part of Moldova, in the cities of Soroca, Ataki and Edinet. This does not mean that nowhere else in the territory of the former Soviet republic will you meet these dark-skinned, black-haired people with a quick, tenacious gaze and a peculiar guttural speech. The long colorful skirts of Roma women sweep the pavements of Chisinau, Balti, and Ungheni streets. But it is in the north of Moldova that the largest, most numerous communities of this once nomadic people are concentrated. And every diaspora has its own gypsy barons!

Title meaning

For cultured and musically educated people, this phrase will be associated with the famous operetta by the Austrian composer Johann Strauss. However, we are interested in a different meaning of the expression. Gypsy barons are authoritative representatives of a tribe (camp) or an entire clan.

The Roma people, although considered wild and uncontrollable by Europeans, are in fact not alien to some kind of organization and obedience to their laws, “customs and traditions.” Therefore, ordinary gypsies allowed a fairly respectable, respected person to “stand” over them, who could speak colorfully and brightly, and who knew several of the main languages of the area where the camp usually roamed or where the clan settled. He had to resolve controversial issues between “his own” and the local population, the administration and law enforcement agencies. Gypsy barons also regulated intra-camp or intra-community relations.

Play on words

By the way, about the “baronetcy”. The Roma people actually do not have any high titles, especially noble or aristocratic ones. But there is a sonorous word “baro”, which means “important”. And rum baro translates as “important gypsy.” What does this combination remind people whose language is far from the dialect of “highway romantics”? That's right, the same “baron”. This is how the myth arose that the leaders of the camp were aristocrats from the aborigines. That is, gypsy barons! However, those who have had direct contact with the life of the camp and know its nuances from the inside will say the opposite: power there is concentrated in the hands of not one person, but a group of the most respected people. They lead the society on the basis of fairly strict local gypsy laws. By the way, unwritten!

From fairy tale to reality

Also, a huge number of rumors, legends, and fairy tales shroud the life of this once nomadic tribe. Yes, long gone are the days when the life of gypsies was spent on wheels, to the cheerful clatter of horse hooves and the creaking of wagons. Most representatives of the nationality began to lead a sedentary lifestyle in the second half of the twentieth century. Many parents even sent their children to school - albeit not for long, for grades 3-4, so that they could learn to read and write. In the Soviet era of total shortages, gypsies sold jeans and rubber flip-flops, books and cosmetics, cigarettes, “chameleon” wallets and many other various attributes of a “beautiful” life. And also the famous lollipops, toffees, and chewing gum. Naturally, along the way, they offered to tell fortunes, “tell the whole truth,” cast a spell, remove damage, and even cure a sudden illness. In Soviet times, horse stealing and theft were rare activities for the poor Roma people. The children, however, begged, but not obviously, in moderation.

The situation has changed dramatically over the past 20-odd years. The gypsies, on the one hand, have clearly “cultivated” and become somewhat civilized. On the other hand, there was a strong social stratification. Crime and marginalization are now quite common phenomena among Roma. But they still adore gold, bright, colorful outfits, dance and sing wonderfully, maintaining their originality. Even a little grimy gypsy has a cool mobile phone, most often “expropriated”. It is mainly women who work in families. The scope of their labor is still the same markets, trade. Men make a living by delivering goods and “getting things done.” Girls are prohibited from intimacy before marriage. And even the custom of showing the sheet after the first wedding night is honored and followed by the gypsies. Elders in the family are always respected, adultery is punished cruelly, divorces are rare, abortions are prohibited, they love and give birth to many children - these are the basic realities of the life of gypsies.

On the issue of castles

As already mentioned, the social stratification of the nationality is immediately apparent, one has only to walk along those streets of the small village of Edintsy or the larger cities - Ataka and Soroki, where the Roma population is concentrated. The last settlement is truly the Moldovan capital of this people. Old houses with peeling window frames, cracks along the facade, crumbling plaster, standing in cluttered, unkempt courtyards, look sad and scream about deep poverty. The picture is completed by half-naked, dirty kids with clearly hungry, but very cunning faces.

It’s a different matter at home for the gypsy barons and simply very rich representatives of the diaspora! In the same Soroki, an entire hill is reserved for their lush buildings! And the dwellings themselves, in their whimsical architectural designs and richness of decoration, can compete with the palaces of show business stars. And another question - who will win the argument!

Architectural fantasies

You can imagine how the gypsy barons live, at least from the external parameters of their houses. There are no one-story ones. Rarely two floors. Usually at three and four. Red tiled roofs, columns and balustrades, arches, pediments, stucco moldings, statues, weather vanes... Turrets, medieval spiers, domes like on cathedrals are also signs of “baronial” palaces. Many are decorated with coats of arms, which the owners claim are ancient. True, for some reason with images of the head of the family himself, who, in fact, tells about the history of the family. The courtyards are tiled and resemble Italian courtyards. They have fountains, gazebos or just benches, comfortably placed under the canopy of trees, among flowering flower beds. and goddesses, the quadriga of the Bolshoi Theater, the spire of the Admiralty, wonderful animals, peacocks - the usual attributes of the palaces in which the clan of the gypsy baron lives. But this splendor often recalls the title of the novel “The Splendor and Poverty of Courtesans.” Most of the buildings are not completed, work goes on year after year, and there is no end in sight.

Interior decoration

Icons, paintings, gilding, marble, natural wood, antique carpets and newfangled wallpaper, upholstered furniture make up the interior ambiance of homes. Eye-catching luxury, sometimes clearly tasteful, but more often colorful and tacky, is the main element in interior decoration. Many rooms, including separate bedrooms, living rooms, dining rooms, even offices for receiving guests and petitioners. Gypsy barons, photos of which you can see in this article, pass on their title by inheritance, and with them many serious responsibilities and obligations to their fellow tribesmen. Indeed, at present, it is these people who have the full power in the diaspora. It is customary for gypsies to resolve legal disputes, even family disputes, through the baron. That’s why their houses have separate rooms for reception rooms.

Instead of a conclusion

To say that the Roma people are rich is an understatement. As the media indicated, in 2012, according to estimates, Baron Arthur Cerari of Soroca and his clan had an annual income of up to 40 million euros. And this is not the ceiling yet! Particularly impressive, oddly enough, are the funerals. Crypts made of Italian marble, graves where cars, computers, household items, furniture and much more are placed along with the body, which the Roma believe their relatives may need in the next world, once again confirm the truth of the famous song: “Gypsies love rings.” , / And the gold rings...” Yes, they love glitter, noise, movement, everything bright, exotic - just like themselves.

Next, we want to show you the gypsy village of Buzescu, which is located 80 km from the capital of Romania, Bucharest. In this small town with a population of only 5,000 people you can find a large number of luxurious houses, striking with their architecture and unusual solutions. Some houses surprise you with their strangeness, what all this strangeness is about, you will understand when you look at this post.

Have you seen a stainless steel fence? The one that sparkles in the photo?
The gypsy, who owned a “firm” for the robbery of copper extracted on European railways, also dreamed of one and stole, it turns out, for the sake of something sacred, namely, a house in his homeland. The employees of his “company,” who received 50 euros per outing, were given a suspended sentence, and Dan Julien, as the leader, was sentenced to 4 years in prison and a 70,000 euro fine. This very house should be used to pay this fine.

This is the main street of the village.

There is a competition here - whoever has a taller and fancier house is cooler.

It is clear from the architecture that the gypsies love the Belle Epoque style.

People are rare on the streets of the village, since the majority of the population spends a lot of time in Western Europe to work.

But some residents prefer the antique style - with porticoes.

Roofs clad in metal rival the sophistication of their forms.

Here is a close-up of the forged roof of one of the houses in the previous photo. Probably also made of stainless steel.

When a house is located on the outskirts of a village, that is, in a less prestigious location, its owner tries to increase the number of floors.

Where does the view of this type of fairy-tale town come from?)))

There are many unfinished houses among these houses - their owners have still earned enough to complete them.

Limousines are part of the bragging rights of the villagers.

Of course, there is no arguing about tastes.
The owners of these houses declare their spiritual values in their decorative decoration.

In some houses, the fence ends with pins made of pure silver!

However, many members of the families living in these “villas” continue to do traditional work and ride horse-drawn carts.

This house is modeled after a courthouse.

His owner is a drug dealer. When he was tried, he vowed that if he was not convicted, he would build a house in the style of a courthouse in Buzesko.
Apparently, he was cleared out.

Roma children usually study little. Girls get married early, and boys get used to real “business.”

But the owners of the pompous pitchforks do not keep an eye on the outskirts of their village.
The same toilets on the streets.

And they also keep their original houses. Often their relatives simply do not want to move to “palaces” because they do not feel comfortable there.

The interior of one of the houses.

If we abstract from the display of attributes of spiritual values, the interior of these houses, like their facades, also imitates villas from Hollywood films.

But the inhabitants of Buzescu retain their own gypsy style of clothing.

The owner of the house shows off a portrait of her daughter in a wedding dress.

Men shine with gold.

And this is the burial of a thief who died while stealing wires in Spain.

The famous gypsy village of Buzescu is located 80 km from the capital of Romania, Bucharest. In this small town with a population of only 5,000 people you can find a large number of luxurious houses, striking with their architecture and unusual solutions. Some houses surprise you with their strangeness, what all this strangeness is about, you will understand when you look at this post.
Have you seen a stainless steel fence? The one that sparkles in the photo?
The gypsy, who owned a “firm” for the robbery of copper extracted on European railways, also dreamed of one and stole, it turns out, for the sake of something sacred, namely, a house in his homeland. The employees of his “company,” who received 50 euros per outing, were given a suspended sentence, and Dan Julien, as the leader, was sentenced to 4 years in prison and a 70,000 euro fine. This very house should be used to pay this fine.