What is gypsy life like? How does a gypsy baron live?

According to the results of the population census, 204,958 Roma live in Russia. This ancient people belongs to the eastern branch of the Gypsy people, and at a time when its western branch is losing languages ​​and customs, the eastern Gypsies are trying to preserve them.
The exodus of Gypsies from India occurred about a thousand years ago, when several ethnic Aryan groups went north.

Experts count three waves of gypsy migrations - first from India to Asia, then in the 14th century to Europe, and at the end of the 19th century to America. The language of all Gypsies comes from Sanskrit, but each ethnic group has its own dialect. Ethnographers divide the gypsies into three large groups- These are the Domari (gypsies living in the Middle East), the Lomari living in Europe, and the Romani inhabiting Eastern Europe and Russia.
Gypsy scholar Nikolai Bessonov, in the article “Gypsy ethnic groups in the post-Soviet space” (National Geographic magazine), believes that Gypsy ethnic groups in Russia are distinctive, but differ in language, customs, faith and occupations.

Russian gypsies

The largest gypsy ethnic group is the Russian Roma. The ancestors of the ethnic groups came out of Poland in the 18th century; Roma were engaged in horse trading, music and fortune telling. In the 19th century they were artists, musicians, merchants, and some were peasants; The main faith was Orthodoxy, and the language became the Russian-Gypsy dialect.
The Russian government treated the Gypsies favorably, they were given the right to be assigned to estates, and Russian aristocrats married Gypsy singers. After the revolution, horse markets disappeared, the Gypsy merchants were destroyed, but the Nazi occupation dealt an even greater blow to the Gypsies - the Nazis shot entire camps of Gypsies.
In modern Russia, 100% of Russian gypsies lead a sedentary lifestyle, they nice houses, often an excellent education, many are engaged in trade, agriculture, and become musicians and artists.

Ukrainian gypsies

Servas came from Romania, the main religion is Orthodoxy. In Russia they live in Rostov, Samara and Voronezh. Before the revolution, there were good blacksmiths among the Serovs. After the revolution, servas settled in cities and villages, children went to study; during the war, their men became officers of the Red Army and fought against the Nazis. Now these people have an excellent education; among them there are many scientists, businessmen and musicians. Linguists note that the servas are losing their language and assimilating.
Among the Ukrainian gypsies there are the Vlachs - immigrants from Wallachia. These are Orthodox Christians, also famous for their blacksmithing, which they still do today. In Russia, Vlachs live in the south, the majority are engaged in small trade and part-time work, but the Vlachs have preserved their culture and way of life.
The Gypsy people of Crimea descended from the Moldavian Gypsies who came to Crimea and under the influence Crimean Tatars became Muslims. The Crimea came to Russia in the 1930s. Now people are engaged in business, many live in Moscow, but still remain Muslims - they pay bride price for their wife and go to the mosque. This is very musical people, there are many good athletes among the bottom.

Polish gypsies

Polish Roma live in the Smolensk region, in language and traditions they are close to Russian gypsies. They did not stop wandering even in winter, exchanging wagons for sleighs and asking to spend the night in Russian houses in the villages. If they were refused, they camped in the nearest forest, lighting a huge fire. Eyewitnesses recalled that the women of this nationality remained barefoot in the deepest frost. Until the middle of the 20th century, the ethnic group was engaged in horses and fortune telling. now they live in houses and have prestigious professions.

Romanian gypsies

They are called kelderars or kotlyars. Orthodox Christians, they have their own “zest”: their outfits have become an example for gypsy fashion. Before the revolution, men made and soldered boilers, and their wives wondered; now boilers live by resale or handing over metal. It is Kotlyarki and Vlashki who tell fortunes on the streets of Russian cities. The people live in communities and observe customs: they preserve the language and folklore, which is little known to ethnographers. According to the old customs of the Kotlyars, they give a ransom for a girl.

Hungarian gypsies

The Lovaris are relatives of the Kotlyars, in the past they worked with horses, often lived off female fortune tellers, became pop artists under the USSR, and have now mastered the business. Among the gypsies they are considered rich but arrogant people. They follow traditions, but dress in modern clothes.
Magyars - these gypsies were always involved in music, weaved baskets, and made bricks from adobe. Magyar women never told fortunes. Under the USSR, Magyars worked in the countryside and in enterprises, but after the collapse of the country, many chose to leave. Russian gypsies consider the Magyars not gypsies, which is very offensive.

Carpathian gypsies

This small nation is called the Plaschuns. Before the revolution, the wives of the plashuns were thieves, and now there are few literate people among them. Despite their poverty, the Shrouds adhere to traditions and are in no hurry to assimilate.
In addition to these ethnic groups, separate families of Moldovan gypsies live in Russia: Kishinevs, Ursars, Chokenaris, Lingurars; There are also Lotvas in the country - Latvian gypsies.

Gypsies of Central Asia

These gypsies are called Mugat, they are Muslims and adopted clothing and traditions from the peoples of Central Asia. If you see a woman with a child asking for alms on the streets of Moscow, most likely she is a Mugat, because begging is a tradition that Mugat have used to earn their living for centuries; in addition, Mugat have been engaged in fortune-telling and witchcraft. In the USSR they worked in agriculture, and then were left without work; Russian gypsies do not consider Mugat gypsies.

“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. The romantic was different in that it contrasted with the jaded, corrupted by civilization European consciousness the other is 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. Certainly, fiction he embellished a lot, 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. And every diaspora has its own gypsy barons!

Title meaning

Cultural and musically educated people will associate this phrase with the famous operetta 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, 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 “romantics with high road"? 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 great amount Rumors, legends, and fairy tales envelop 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 Soviet era of a total shortage, 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. Horse stealing, theft in Soviet time The poor Roma people rarely made a living. 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 not allowed intimacy before the wedding. 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. Last locality- truly the Moldavian 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, quadriga 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, cushioned furniture make up the interior surroundings 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.

The European Union still cannot resolve the Roma problem: a year ago they were deported en masse from France and Italy, however, the nomads are citizens of the EU (mainly Bulgaria and Romania), and nothing prevents them from returning again. Human rights activists justify the high crime rate among Roma people by allegedly being poor and illiterate. But hundreds of millionaire Gypsies in Eastern Europe live such outrageously luxurious lifestyles that doubt creeps in about the poverty of this nation. The Interpreter blog has already written that Europe was rocked by a scandal in France last year.

From there, on the orders of Nicolas Sarkozy, several thousand Roma were deported (at the same time, they were paid 400-500 euros each for deportation). They were sent to Bulgaria and Romania. Sarkozy was accused of racism, France was harshly criticized by Brussels and the UN, but Paris turned a deaf ear to this criticism. Since it is impossible to overcome Roma migration with one expulsion, deported Roma, as practice shows, still return back to France; the country's Ministry of Internal Affairs has even developed a special law prohibiting Roma from returning to France.

House of rich gypsies

According to international human rights organizations, the rights of Roma are also violated in almost all European countries - the Czech Republic, Italy, Spain and so on. In Finland, for example, the Ministry of Internal Affairs has prepared a special law prohibiting begging. According to human rights activists, it is clearly directed against the Roma. The most dramatic situation is in Hungary - the growth of nationalism and great-power chauvinism in this country led to the beginning of the deportation of Roma from a number of villages.

Sarkozy's actions were supported by 69% of the French at the time. And they can be understood. That's just the statistics. “Pouin” provides several figures: in 2009 in Paris, more than 3 thousand offenses were committed by Romanians (meaning, of course, Romanian gypsies), which is 138% more than the year before. Two thirds of these offenses are thefts, and the perpetrators of half of these crimes are minors. In the first 7 months of 2010, Romanian gypsies committed about 3,500 thefts in the Paris region; 20% of thefts in Paris, according to the police, are the work of Romanian gypsies, and a quarter of these crimes are committed by minors.

Similar picture observed in Italy as well. Recently, the Italian Ministry of Internal Affairs published statistics: Romanian citizens, mainly Roma, account for 15% of intentional murders, 16% of rapes, 15% of extortion and almost 20% of robbery attacks on apartments and villas in the country. And this despite the fact that both Romanians and Romanian gypsies make up no more than 1.5% of the Italian population.

She's waiting for something. Under supervision...

Human rights activists justify the Roma criminality by allegedly their poverty and illiteracy. This is partly true: among the gypsies of Eastern and Central Europe(primarily Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary and Slovakia) higher education have 1%, average special 10%. The European Union annually allocates 70-100 million euros for the adaptation of Roma, and about 60 million more to private charities. But, European officials sigh, at least half of these funds do not reach the poor - they are stolen by both Eastern European officials and the Roma “establishment”.

The European press describes the difficult everyday life of the Roma with enviable regularity. Like this story from Bulgaria: “European Union help has already arrived here - several beautiful buildings. But, as Angel Rashkov, a local gypsy baron, explains, in reality everything is not so good. “These houses look really nice from the outside, but I don’t recommend going inside,” he says. “Hepatitis is rampant there and we can’t control it.”

Another rich gypsy house

The baron, who owns a brewery and a small distillery, steps carefully between shards of glass and excrement. “All this rubbish needs to be cleaned up, otherwise we'll all get sick,” he says, making his way to his shiny Rover 75 in the bottle green color popular in Britain. - On European city does not look like it".

Poor countries of the former communist camp have joined the European Union before, and in some of them - for example, in Slovakia - the Roma issue also had to be resolved. But in ghettos like the Sheker and Stolipinovo neighborhoods on the outskirts of Plovdiv, EU officials will have to deal with the extreme impoverishment of the Roma and their almost complete isolation from society.

According to official data, 400 thousand Roma live in Bulgaria. In fact, there may be twice as many of them - those who have received an education often consider themselves Bulgarians or Turks. Baron spoke about the average level of income in the ghetto: “As a rule, a family - a woman, a man and two to seven children - lives on 200-300 leva per month. It's about 100 pounds."

How important! He doesn't need to hide anything...

True, this baron forgot to tell what income he personally has, and whether he allocates anything to support his poor compatriots. Nothing is still known about the income of the Gypsy “elite”, represented by local “barons”, kings and their entourage. Only rumors leak to the press. And they are like that. The “King” of Romanian gypsies, Florian Cioaba (he inherited the title from his father) has up to 50-80 million euros a year. His Koldash clan belongs to about 300 families, and at least half of them have houses worth more than 3 million euros.

The total income of the “king” and his clan is close to 300-400 million euros per year. It consists of donations from ordinary gypsies to the common fund (deductions of up to 5-10% of criminal and semi-criminal income), smuggling of cigarettes from Romania to Western Europe, hotel business and trade.

A similar picture is observed among the Roma “elite” and other countries of Eastern and Central Europe. Even in impoverished Moldova, the gypsy “baron” Arthur Cerari and his clan have up to 20-40 million euros a year. And in Kosovo, the clan of “baron” Nedjmedin Neziri - up to 100 million euros per year (Kosovo gypsies mainly trade in Germany and Austria).

How do you like this interior!

Like most of the rest of the "elite" of Eastern Europe, and former USSR, these gypsies deliberately demonstrate a luxurious lifestyle, literally swimming in gold (on interior decoration The house of the gypsy “king” of Romania Florian Cioaba took up to 55 kg of gold). Of their excess income, only crumbs go to the “cattle”, and even then - mainly for some dirty deeds. The super-luxury of the “elite” does not cause indignation among the people subordinate to them: secretly, most of the lower classes dream that one day they too will be able to become the owners of a golden toilet and the “right of the first night.”

Two years ago, a series of photographs by Italian photographer Carlo Gianferro circulated around the world media. Since 2004, he has photographed the interiors of wealthy gypsy houses in Romania, Bulgaria and Moldova. We only present a few of them in this material.

Florian Cioba is not awake

These are the houses of millionaire gypsies in the vicinity of the Romanian cities of Timisoara and Buzescu (photographer Nigel Dickinson)

Another unfortunate but rich "Pinocchio"

And here, as we see, they are not in poverty...

What is the future for this baby?

Instructions

According to historians, the gypsies left India many centuries ago, after which they found themselves scattered throughout the world. It is difficult to find a country where “Roma” have not set foot - this is what the gypsies themselves call their fellow tribesmen. The uniqueness of this people lies, in particular, in the fact that, while preserving their traditions, they do not remain indifferent to the influence of other cultures.

Among today's gypsies, two main groups can be distinguished - nomads and those who lead a sedentary lifestyle. Nomadic life, when a camp sometimes consists of hundreds of gypsies, including small children, women and old people, is still found both in Russia and throughout the world. Often, Roma from poorer regions tend to go abroad, choosing big cities, hoping to make money there. Unfortunately, the level of education among Roma youth and children still remains far from the norm. That's why most of nomadic camp gypsies, as a rule, expect to make money by begging, fortune-telling and fraud on the streets of megacities.

In a number of European cities, after a corresponding decision by local authorities, Roma were evicted to certain areas. And the camps that appear from time to time in parks and squares of large cities often cause fierce disapproval among local residents. Gypsies are accused of parasitism, unwillingness to lead labor activity, penchant for various types of crime, etc.

Nomadic gypsies choose the outskirts of cities and forests for stops. On the territory of Russia, according to official statistics, camps setting up tent camps are periodically identified. In order to create a temporary dwelling in the forest, gypsies use a wide variety of materials - plywood, cardboard, polyethylene, etc. Unfortunately, it is not only camp gypsies who live in such primitive conditions. For example, on the outskirts of Belgrade, Serbian gypsies created the whole city, whose houses are created from what “came to hand.”

Among the gypsies today there are both poor, barely wealthy representatives (for example, immigrants from Central Asia who make a living as beggers in Russia) and very rich ones. Representatives of the Roma diaspora, who lead a sedentary lifestyle, tend to strive for a luxurious lifestyle. Magnificent stone and brick houses, filled with expensive furniture, paintings in gilded frames, an abundance of colorful carpets and marble staircases - this is far from full list“attributes” of such mansions.

IN gypsy houses Can live as one or several families. Among the traditions inherent in this people, a special place is occupied by the respect of young people for the older generation. Men and women old age enjoy unquestioned authority among other family members. At weddings and other holidays accompanied by a feast, the oldest guests are always seated in the most honorable places.

Gypsies appeared in Russia three hundred years ago. The first camps came from Poland and almost immediately received Russian citizenship. By Senate decree of 1733, they were allowed to “live and trade horses,” and were also allowed to be assigned to any class. So, in addition to the gypsy peasants, gypsy burghers and merchants appeared, and the 19th century was marked by numerous marriages between Russian nobles and soloists of gypsy choirs.

The situation of the Roma in Russian Empire one might even call it privileged. For example, any “unpatched tramp” was subject to being sent to the stage under the law on vagrancy - just not gypsies. The law, of course, was not rewritten, they simply decided that it was not written about free camps.

Until the revolution, the main occupations of Russian gypsies were barter and resale of horses, but a new government came, which considered trade an extremely suspicious activity. However, Roma activists put forward the thesis of “a people in rags.” This temporarily softened the hearts of the Bolsheviks, and it was then that the Roman Theater was organized on a wave of emotion. But the idyll did not last long. Soon executions, raids and mass deportations to Siberia began.

Despite all the suffering during the Great Patriotic War the gypsies voluntarily went to partisan detachments and fought in the ranks of the Red Army, including in the artillery, tank, and flying troops. Many of them were awarded military awards. So the front-line soldier Budulai from the famous film by Alexander Blank has many real prototypes.

About a quarter of Soviet Roma died during the genocide. The losses would have been greater if not for the help of the Slavic population. The gypsies were warned about the appearance of punitive forces and were hidden at the risk of their lives. This was explained, among other things, by the fact that the gypsies brought tangible benefits to the local peasants: some supplied the peasants with cheap handicraft products, others contracted to dig up vegetable gardens, carry firewood and peat.

After the war, no attempts were made to impose a sedentary lifestyle on the Gypsies until 1956, when a decree was issued banning vagrancy.

In the early 1990s, life for the Roma changed again. They became the first “shuttles” during perestroika. Nowadays, alas, many families are mired in the criminal business - drug trafficking. But there are still gypsy intellectuals, artists and musicians; many Roma work in manufacturing and construction.

According to official data, the number Russian gypsies- 183 thousand people. But the word “Gypsies” refers to many different ethnic groups, of which more than twenty are represented in Russia; we have described some of them.

Ruska Roma

Activities: Horse trading, fortune telling, music.
History: Came to Russia in early XVIII century. Already in the 19th century, Russian gypsies were not only nomads, but also artists, merchants and peasants. Nowadays the majority has a good education and has various professions. Features: The largest group. The Russian-Gypsy dialect is the language of intergroup communication. Very hospitable; They easily make contact with representatives of other nationalities.

Activities: Horse exchange, blacksmithing, fortune telling, music (songs of Russian gypsies are performed).
History: Ukrainian Gypsies. Came from Romanian lands, live in Ukraine from early XVII century, a significant number of them settled in Russia (Rostov, Voronezh, Samara).
Features: One of the most educated ethnic groups. Many famous gypsy artists of Russia (Slichenko, Erdenko dynasty) are servas.

Activities: Music and crafts (brick making, basket weaving).
History: They lived sedentary for several centuries and were subjected to strong assimilation. They appeared within the borders of the USSR in the middle of the 20th century after the annexation of Transcarpathia. IN Soviet years worked in factories and agriculture. After 1990, many lost their jobs and began to leave for Russia.
Features: Speak Hungarian. By religion, Catholics and Protestants.

Occupations: Trade, blacksmithing, fortune telling.
History: Having migrated to the Crimean peninsula, they adopted Islam; many borrowings from the language of the Crimean Tatars appeared in the dialect. The famine of the 1930s forced part of the Crimeans to move to Transcaucasia, Ukraine and Russia.
Features: Counted the best dancers. Conservative. Other gypsies prefer not to have conflicts with them.

Chisinau residents

Occupations: Trade, fortune telling.
History: After the abolition of serfdom, they migrated from Moldova to Ukraine and Russia. Before the revolution, the process of formation of the merchant class took place. Before the decree of 1956, they had earned criminal income, but with the transition to settled life they took up legal business.
Features: They maintain their dialect, which contains many Moldovan words, they honor ancient customs. They are prosperous, they build spacious beautiful houses- examples of “gypsy taste”.

Occupations: Horse trading, fortune telling.
History: The first camps moved to Russia from Hungary in the 70s of the 19th century. They could not stand the competition with the Russian gypsies - horse traders who knew the market better, and for a long time lived on the earnings of women fortune tellers.
Features: The transition from Catholicism to Orthodoxy is now being completed. Among the gypsies they have a reputation as rich and somewhat arrogant people.

Lingurary

Activities: Making wooden spoons, troughs and other utensils.
History: Some of the Lingurars migrated to Moldova from the Balkan countries in the middle of the 20th century.
Features: Orthodox Christians. The Gypsy language has been lost by the Lingurars - they speak Moldavian. Subject to assimilation. You can still find women selling spoons, including outside of Moldova.

Kotlyary (kelderary)

Occupations: Tinning dishes, making cauldrons, fortune telling, metal resale.
History: Romanian origin, Orthodox. They moved to Russia at the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th centuries, living in large closed communities.
Features: They have a rich folklore, observe a strict set of moral standards based on the concept of “defilement” - pekelimos. Women continue to practice fortune telling.

Occupations: Blacksmithing and fortune telling.
History: The ancestors lived in the Danube principality of Wallachia already in the 17th century. Most numerous in Ukraine and in southern regions Russia.
Features: Women still wear National costumes. They retain their dialect of the Roma language. The majority are engaged in small trade and low-skilled labor. Hoes, horseshoes, chains, etc. are still made today.

Lyuli (mugat)

Activities: Crafts, livestock barter, music, fortune telling.
History: Direct descendants of people from India settled in Central Asia before reaching Byzantium. Much in customs and clothing was borrowed from the indigenous population (although, for example, Central Asian gypsies never wore a burqa).
Features: Muslims. Native languages ​​are Tajik and Uzbek. After 1992, they were forced to go to work in Russia and Ukraine. Men were hired for agricultural work and construction, but often the only source income became the collection of alms.

Activities: In the past - performances with trained bears.
History: Moldavian gypsies, Orthodox. In the 19th century, blacksmithing became the main craft of men; In Soviet times, women were hired to do agricultural work on collective and state farms.
Features: Continue to live and work in Moldova, rarely traveling beyond its borders; several families still perform with bears.