Romani Customs and Traditions: Romani Law
These attitudes have an impact on how the Roma approach conflicts with the gajikano legal system. Romaniya has no equivalent to the concept of conflict of laws. Roma law is self-contained and cannot incorporate rules of a foreign legal system. The gajikano legal system is equally insular so far as Romaniya is concerned. But unlike the gadje who know nothing about Romaniya, Roma are necessarily aware of gajikano law.
The Roma believe they should approach and respond to the gadje with caution, especially if the gadje profess good intentions, or claim to serve the best interest of the Roma. Roma are also cautious with gajikane notions of due process, civil rights, and neutrality of law. Furthermore, not only do the Roma consider non-Roma marimé, they also believe that Roma names and rituals lose their magical effectiveness if uttered to gadje. To the Roma, the purity of their law plays a crucial role in maintaining cultural identity and integrity.
Although the Romani people do not formally gather to pursue an objective, their need to survive as a distinct and isolated group provides them with a common purpose. Roma law ensures that the host country's legal systems and cultures minimally influence Roma life. Although Romaniya has sacred aspects that direct Roma to lead their lives properly by attaining a state of purity and preventing contamination, it does not advocate imposing its values on non-Roma. Its main purpose is to achieve a state of balance, or kintala, that pleases the spirits of the ancestors, or mulé. Conversion of the gadje would not make much sense because they and their ancestors are outside the Roma world.
Each Roma group can determine its own form of mediation. Although there are many words for "group" in the Romanes language, four primary associations can be identified: (1) natsia, meaning nation; (2) kumpania, plural kumpaniyi, an alliance of households not necessarily of the same natsia but of the same geographic area bound together for socioeconomic reasons; (3) vitsa, or clan; and (4) familiya, which consists of the individual extended family. Each associated unit is involved in the administration of justice, beginning with the smallest, the familiya, which informally settles minor disputes, and extending to the larger units with increasing formality.
Each community is ruled by a chief, a man who is chosen for his age, experience, and wisdom. Some Roma tribes call this chief Rom baro, meaning "Big Man." The chief of a Roma community is a man who inspires respect by his strength and intelligence, a man who by his own life sets an example for the other Roma. Often, the chief may be able to read and write to some extent. He settles minor disputes on the basis of his mature judgment, and his decisions are followed by other members of the community. However, if the matter to be settled is a serious one, such as theft, adultery, acts of physical violence, or complicated disputes between two parties, a court is convened. This court is called the kris.
Divano
When the Roma cannot settle a controversy amicably in a divano, a kris Romani may become necessary. In former times, the kris usually mediated three kinds of cases: property losses, matters of honor, and moral or religious issues, including disregard of marimé taboos. If the matter to be settled is a serious one, such as theft, defaults in payments of debts, adultery, acts of physical violence, serious marimé violations, or complicated disputes between two parties, a court is convened. This court is the most important moral force in Roma life.
Krisnitorya
While the judges have been chosen because of their personal authority, they are expected to allow behavior that might be considered prejudicial or disruptive in gajikano trials. Participation by the audience is expected and encouraged by custom. Members of the audience, although not formally called as witnesses, may feel justified in expressing views. Whether their contribution to the proceedings is based on personal observation or opinion does not matter. Ultimately the judge weighs the value of the cumulative evidence to make rulings. Parties or witnesses will be perceived as credible if their statements have "the ring of truth." A person who can demonstrate in court that he or she has conformed to accepted communal standards may also be considered credible by the court.
The tribal chiefs are not necessarily aware of all the laws. These laws have never been written down or codified. They have been passed along for generations by word of mouth, but this fact makes the decisions nonetheless binding. The Roma interpret laws according to contemporary custom. Former interpretations of laws may be gradually revised as the needs of the community evolve. The exclusive reliance on oral transmission has led to a high degree of flexibility. Nevertheless, there is a shared feeling that the law is clearly defined. Few ever challenge this notion. This strict adherence to the law in part accounts for the continued cohesion of the Roma in spite of their persecution and forced migration.
Kris Romani
The audience of a kris was once largely male. Women and unmarried or childless men were allowed to attend only if they were needed as witnesses. It is now acceptable to have the entire family present for support. Witnesses may speak freely about the case. The Roma believe there can be no justice without hearing the matter out to its fullest. Exaggerated claims and ornate stories referring to folk tales and mythology are common. When members of the audience think the witness is not being truthful or responsive, they may hiss or make jokes. In some delicate matters, such as adultery, the public and witnesses can be excluded.
At a kris only Romanes may be spoken. Furthermore, arguments are often presented in a special oratory that differs grammatically from ordinary Romanes and resembles a legal jargon. When the accused testify on their own behalf they are expected to be truthful. The kris can further insure their honesty by invoking the magic power of the dead, or mulé, with an oath. If the witnesses must swear an oath, an altar of justice consisting of icons of the clan present is erected. In complex situations, the judge may ask for expert opinions from tribal chiefs or the elders. Nonetheless, only the judge decides guilt and punishment.
Socially disruptive behavior may result in legal sanctions, including a sentence of marimé. In addition to strong taboos against exploiting or stealing from a fellow member of the Roma community, Roma consider crimes of violence and noncommercial association with gadje as crimes against Romani society as a whole and therefore marimé. A marimé label can be removed by the forgiveness of the offended party, the passage of time, or by another kris Romani. Readmission to Roma society following a sentence of marimé is cause for celebration.
Divorce cases are complex. Even today, many Roma marriages, which may not be legal marriages according to gajikano law, are still arranged, and the groom's family pays a bride price. If the marriage ends in divorce, a kris may be called to determine how much, if any, of the bride price should be returned to the groom's family.
Economic cases cover such issues as who has the right to engage in fortune telling in a specific territory. Roma believe that every Roma has the right to work. Accordingly, groups divide territory into economic units. Controversies may result when some Roma encroach on others' territory, and then a kris is called. A first-time offender may receive a warning by the kris. Repeated violations result in a sentence of marimé.
The judge declares the verdict in public to those who are present. If the accused is found innocent, there is a celebration and an oath of peace is sworn. The decision of the kris is final and binding. Even in countries such as Spain and the United States, where the Roma are considered by some gajikane scholars to be semi-assimilated, the verdict of an official state trial is not final. A kris will still be held. Beyond its judicial function, the kris plays an important role in maintaining the customs of the Romani people.
If, at the end of a trial, the defendant is found to be innocent, there is great joy and relief in the community. A banquet may be held, and the former defendant has the right to propose the first toast. If, on the other hand, the defendant is found guilty, any number of different penalties might be invoked. These range from the largely symbolic one of having to pay all court expenses, including food and drink for the judges, to the most serious of all, permanent banishment from the community of Roma.
Punishment
There are no jails or executioners in a Roma community. Perhaps the most severe punishment for a Roma is marimé, or banishment, from his own community. This banishment is achieved by declaring the offender marimé, a term that means socially rejected in its legal sense. It is considered a sentence of social death. Marimé stigmatizes all wrongdoers as polluted and justifies their expulsion from the community. The offender cannot have any social contact with other members of the tribe. The simple pleasures of Romani life, eating together and camaraderie, are forbidden, and the guilty party is condemned to live in the world of the non-Roma. No marriages are arranged for those stigmatized as marimé, and without marriage in Roma society one's economic and social life is over. When they die, no one will bury them, and they will not have a funeral. In many cases, not only the offender, but his or her own family as well, is declared marimé. This harsh punishment is a great deterrent to crime within the Roma community. It can last for days or years. It involves permanent loss of status and respect even when the guilty party has been reinstated. Permanent marimé is rare and used only for serious crimes such as murder.
A temporary marimé sentence may be imposed for less serious crimes. If a Rom steals from another Rom, for example, the thief is publicly shamed and banished from the community until he has repaid the victim. The kris may impose a form of "community service" and require the marimé Rom to work for an indefinite time without pay in order to compensate Roma society for violating the taboo of stealing from another Roma. Temporary sentences of marimé are also imposed for offenses such as familiarity with the gadje or failure to pay a debt on time.
In all cases of marimé, enforcement depends primarily on a superstitious fear of the consequences of violating the marimé rules. The individual who violates a marimé prohibition has succumbed to powers of evil and destruction that are so frightening that even his own family shuns him for fear of contamination. Such an individual becomes tainted and can be redeemed only by making the prescribed amends.
The entire Roma community is responsible for enforcing sanctions. Roma have no police or prisons. They have no "law enforcement" in the gajikano sense. Peer pressure fueled by communal knowledge of a verdict ensures compliance. The Roma community may place a curse on the guilty party to insure that he or she accepts the chosen punishment, and it appears that this practice is still effective. Only in rare cases, when the Roma have difficulty enforcing a judgment by the kris, do they turn to the gajikano penal system. The kris may ask the gajikane authorities to arrest the defendant. At this point, the accused will usually accept the punishment and the charges will be dropped. Should the wrongdoer persist, however, he or she might be forced to endure a gajikano court trial. Vindication by a non-Roma civil court does not erase a previous conviction by the kris in the mind of the Roma.
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