Gypsies
Gypsies are wandering people found on every continent, but most prominent
in Spain and the Balkans. Despite much wandering, they still cling to their
identity and customs. Some still travel in small caravans, although many
now live in settled communities.
They went to Persia in the 1st millennium A.D. and have since divided into
the Gitanos, Kalderash, Manush, Rom, and other groups. They had spread throughout
Europe by the 16th century and appeared in North America in the late 1800's.
Estimates of the number of gypsies range widely, but there are perhaps 10
million worldwide; half a million died in Nazi concentration camps during
World War II. Since the end of Communist rule in East Europe, they have faced
increased discrimination and persecution there, particularly in Romania.
Beng:
The Gypsy name for the devil. The Bengs often battle God, but are always
defeated. They live in the woods where they conduct their evil businesses
at night.
Butyakengo:
A Gypsy protective spirit who lives in a person's body and which forms
a part of a deceased ancestor. It is transferred from the father and mother
to the eldest son or daughter.
Devel:
The Gypsy supreme deity. He is also called Del.
Moshto:
In very old traditional Romany (Gypsy) belief, the god of all things good.
The old Romany religion may be influenced by Zoroastrianism, and there are
similarities between Moshto and Ahura Mazda. Moshto has three sons. The eldest
son creates new life and things from recycled energy. The middle son preserves
and repairs what already exists. And the youngest destroys that which needs
to be so that the energy of such things can be recycled by the first son
into new things.
Mulo:
In Gypsy belief, a vampiric creature, a spirit of the dead, who lives in
the mountains. The body of a Mulo lacks bones and the middle finger of each
hand is missing.
Suyolak:
Suyolak is a gypsy wizard who has knowledge of every cure. He is chained
to a big rock and if he were to break free he would destroy the whole world.
Urmen:
In gypsy belief, they are a group of three female spirits of fate who decide
the destiny of humans. Two of them are good spirits, while the third is
continuously trying to harm people. Their queen is Matuya who employs gigantic,
terrible birds called the Charana.
Tarot was generally believed to have been introduced into Europe by gypsies
in the mid-15th century.
Vampires
The word "vampire" comes from the Slavic word obyri or obiri,
which evolved into the Bulgarian word "vampir". Although sources differ greatly,
some say that the Greek word nosophoros (which means "plague-carrier") that
evolved into the Old Slavonic word "nosufur-atu" is a synonym for the word
"vampire". In our culture, the words "vampire" and "nosferatu" are interchanged
often.
Nowhere do we see more vampire folklore than in the stories of the Slavic
people. Perhaps the reason for this is the historically high population of
gypsies in that area. The migration of the gypsies has been traced back across
the continent to northern India, where the religion had a cast of certain
bloodthirsty deities (such as Kali) and creatures (such as a bhutu). It has
been theorized that with this as a base of folklore, the gypsies picked up
bits and pieces of other legends as they migrated toward the north-west and
as a result, altered the folklore of the Slavic nations.
Even inanimate objects and animals were thought to be able to become vampires:
pumpkins, watermelons and other fruit that was left out past a certain amount
of time, latches that were left unlatched too long, dogs, horses, sheep and
snakes are among the objects with vampiric potential in older superstitions
of the Slavic gypsy community.
Updated 5 April 2003 |
