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Welcome to RomanyJib .
This is a sister-site to Romanygenes 1 & 2 and AmericanRomanichals.
Since Jackie Blackmans excellent "Gypsies Passing Through" site closed many had expressed to me a void for dedicated researchers to interact to-gether and exchange information and so this site hopes to compliment Romanygenes and add a interactive element which is not available on the original RomanyGenes sites.
We hope you will join us to participate in the researching and recording of Romany family history for future generations.
There is of course the excellent "Roots Chat" and we hope to work in a similar vein and to compliment each other and in the true spirit of history and research Kushti Bokt Sandy and Sue.
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INTRODUCTION TO UNDERSTANDING OUR PEOPLE

GYPSIES * Romanichels *
They are not, contrary to legend, a lost tribe of Egyptians,

Calling them Gypsy was wrong in the eyes of many of the old ones, they were named "Gypsy" by Europeans who wrongly attributed their swarthy complexion to being vagabonds from Egypt.
At times they were also referred to as Bohemian
In the old days when asked of their origins most would refer to themselves as Travellers in the sense they moved about.
The word is used in a way today not by themselves,but to describe anyone,who moves about or appears to be a Travelling or Traveller who settles ,which is also wrong, there are many who are not of the bloodlines ,but because they appear to those who know no better, they are called Gypsy or Traveller.
Even though they don't like the term Gypsy, it was the name used by many people over the years who studied them and wrote about them, even today its still the most popular name to used by non Gypsies ,I am sorry if this offends some ,but using this word on this site is only done with respect.



In England they are known as Romanichels
Romanes is the language (Jib) and its not a written word ,but spoken and can only really be learned by rokkerin the jib ( talking the language)
Can tute rokker Romanes mora ? "Can you speak romany friend ?"
This language is theirs alone, no other people has a language like Romanes, yes many words studied by Scholars can be linked to other languages or lands especially from the Indian continent.

Why ? you may ask did they need to speak this language? Well it was used to comminucate between themselves so others could not understand them.. almost like a secret code, only known to those who should know, to speak it was a way of knowing they were of the people.

Gypsies worldwide, more properly known as "Rom," are part of an ethnic group whose ancestors possibly left India a thousand years ago ,according to Scholars.

Roma/Romani *maybe* came from Northern India, possibly in several migrations from the tenth to thirteenth centuries, according to Scholars.

Some Roma, called Zott, may have travelled from India to Persia as early as 430 C.E. Scholars believe the name Roma comes from the Sanskrit "domba," or "man from a caste of musicians"
Romani, the language spoken by the Roma, is related to the Hindi and Panjabi languages spoken in northern India
Although Romania has a large population of Roma, the terms "Roma" and "Romani" have nothing to do with either Rome or Romania

When you think of the term "Gypsy," you may conjure up images of thieves, scammers, fortune tellers or shady-acting individuals. Set your stereotypes aside, and enlighten yourself as to the history and origins of the Romanichels
There so much that people don't know about real Romanichels: here we hope to show the true people,by those who should know because its their ancestors :

Romani are an Ethic group: each country has its own

1. Roma in Eastern Europe and Central Italy, emigrated also (mostly from the 19th century onwards), to the rest of Europe, but also on the other continents;
2. Iberian Kale, mostly in Spain, but also in Portugal Southern France and Latin America
   
3. Finnish Kale in Finland emigrated also in Sweden
4. Welsh Kale in Wales
5. Romanichal in the United Kingdon emigrated also to theunited States And Australia & New Zealand
   
6. Sinti in German-speaking areas of Central Europe and some neighboring countries;
7. Manush, in French-speaking areas of Central Europe:Romaniseal in Sweden and Norway
   

One might ask what is the reason for these pages on the Gypsies ?
If any one wants to know about Gypsies, then first of all accept them as a human beings and not ‘less human’ or ‘savage’, because they lived in circumstances or settings different than the settled world.
A Gypsy whom one may encounter is just an individual who belongs to a particular ethnic group, which has its own distinct history, ways, customs and habits.

These few pages will not be exhaustive enough to provide a complete knowledge or history of this particular people. It is my earnest hope that these pages serve as a source of discovery to remove ignorance which, I think, has been the cause of great fear, violence, and repression towards a very mis-understood people.

Due to Racism & perscution over the years,they had to hide their identity as a matter of simple survival, not as some would have people believe to decieve.
The old ones didn't marry in the recognized way by the Church ,but by their own tribal way this resulted in some of the children, taking their father's surname, others their mother's or even Grandparents name.. The one thing they did do was have their children christened, their fear of the unknown was as great as the settled comminunity regards the after life.
They were a very supertious people.

They also believed the death of a close kin, or more especially a parent, the using or speaking of their forename was considered unlucky, so they would change their name to avoid bringing bad lucky on themselves or their family
Sometimes what appears as a mis-spelling can be the result or a totally different name.

Many couples married * legally* only to satisfy the moral issue of the time and this is why it appears they had children before marriage on certain records.
The Tribal marriage was as binding as any legal paper marriage in their eyes, they married for life and it was usually the family who decided who they would marry.
There are many 1st cousin marriages ,which may to some appear a close link ,but to them it was right to marry within your own kind ,although many did marry outside the family.

Census officials sometimes showed their prejudice to unmarried couples by referring to the unmarried woman as kept mistress or unmarried

I hope this site may serve as an incentive for those who want to find out about their own hertiage to share their memories and family stories with us all.
It is well known that over the centuries the Gypsies who came in contact with different peoples, established blood relations with non gypsies by marriages, which we should accept not as a problem ,but welcome all who have bloodlines no matter how little.

It is not possible to speak of Gypsies as one group:
Those who migrated to different lands under various situations have also differences in their way of life, language and culture, but they belong to the same stock of nomadic people.
Until the 19th century no one, still less the Gypsies themselves, knew anything about the origin of this particular group of people.

The colour of their skin was tanned; their customs and habits were rather strange; their nomadic livestyle meant they move from one place to another.
Most settled people over the centuries believed that all Gypsies were thieves and would steal anything including children .. all untrue
All this contributed to a deep seated mistrust of the Gypsy population by the well settled population. This also gave rise to a lot of strange conjectures full of myths about their origin.

Since the Gypsies do not have a written tradition, it can become extremely difficult to undertake research, but this site has people who knew the real people not those shown in books or films ,true living people who lived a hard and much of their lives a perscuted one.

The nomadic way of life of the Gypsies is a fact which is mysterious and typical of this people. It is something that cannot be fully explained by scientific research already undertaken. First of all the nomadic way of life is so ancient: its rooted in their souls.
Its not just about a way of life, its something more than that and not easy to put into words.

We can say that being nomadic was one of the essential features for the survival of the Gypsies. However nomadism is not the only characteristic that defines them.
We cannot say that the Gypsies are only ‑ those who are traveling and others are only descendents of Gypsies, we all come from the same group of people ,but some chose another road or path ,because of the way they were treated by society and at times their own people.

The family is the centre of the Gyspy life.It is in the family that the Gypsy finds his or her security and protection, which is what I hope this site offers to those who come here, We are all family, helping keep intact the Gypsy culture and traditions, sharing a common interest that of wanting to keep alive a history of a people who are our Ancestors.

Some hundred years ago, it was believed that the Gypsy culture was coming to an end and those interested in learning about them tried to write it down, maybe some of that written was not so truthful, but today more are coming forward and wanting to show that the myths and negative attitudes about their people can be written in truth, by those who would know because they are descendants of a people who need to be kept alive and deserve their place in history in a postive way.


Please remember to keep checking through the Menu as its updated with more information
We update information about all topics listed in the menu box top left hand page
as and when we find things so its worth checking .............
We also add new subjects regular: regarding new topics on site..


Helpful hints on using site:
It seems some maybe finding it hard to navigate this site...........
please if you do have difficulties say and we will try and amend it so everyone can access things easily.Either send Sandeyb Raeg or Ballymor a private message by clicking on names and then click send message:we will answer you as soon as:

NEW**Internal Links Page **Quick Find Links to pages in Sub Menu
If you click on this page in menu box it will open up a list of pages attached to other main pages ,just click on blue writing and it will open up the page you are looking for, due to space and if subject is linked we have put some pages together.

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Finding Topics on Site:
Alternatively use of the *search this site * will find specific pages, just put any combination of words and it should take you to pages with those words in subject.
Just scroll down through until you find what you are looking for:
Or you can scroll through the menu which is below the *search this site*
When you click on the subjects it will open page but check also as the are some with sub pages attached.......... which will show in menu box below each topic.

How to add to pages:
On each page in top left hand corner is *Easyedit* if you wish to add to any page use this:A box will appear with Easyedit toolbar:
don't be afraid to play about if you mkae mistakes just click cancel
The page will open allowing you to add writing etc, but remember to click save after you finish......... if you make mistake just click cancel

When you make a post:
When posting you are limited to how many words you can write, so its best if you are writing an article or a story to make a *new page* and then post it, that way you are not restricted on the word count.

Making a new Page :
Below Menu is * Add a New page* click on this and it will open a box, put title of page and click save......... then use Easyedit to reopen page and begin adding writing etc ......... don't forget to click save when you finish.
Anytime you wish to add more to page just go to page and open easy edit and follow the above intructions

I hope this helps those who were finding it hard to navigate ,but any suggestions will be looked at and if we can help make it simpler we will try.

I also want to assure everyone that all information as in BMD & CENSUS can be found on Internet either on free sites or payed ones, and as long as its not copied and pasted directly from the original documents but transcribed and formatted as a new work it is then your transcription. (This is pertaining to Official Government Census and BMD etc.)

*Census Returns are Crown Copyright and transcriptions are provided here by permission of HMSO
Under Licence No. C2007001105

Copyright
All Census data produced has been obtained from the Office for National Statistics and is © Crown Copyright reproduced with the permission of the Office of Public Sector Information and the Queen's Printer for Scotland. The source of all Census data is Office for National Statistics.
Users are granted permission to reproduce Crown Copyright material for their personal use provided that a Click-Use Licence has been obtained. A Click-Use licence can be obtained from OPSI, where you can also check if your organisation already has a license. When reproducing Census material, the source must be acknowledged.
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Personal Photos or Personal posts belong to those who put them on here and should be so respected
If anyone feels that someone has abused this please let me know and it will be dealt with.
If you don't understand about Copyright or rules regarding living people information please ask either via a post or in private Pm we are always here to help.

At all times our aim is to show respect and trust towards those we want to find in the past and also to those who still alive today and at no time do we wish to cause any disrespect.
All information that is received is received in good faith and with a view to help others in their family history research if by any chance an Innocent error has been made unintentionally please let a Moderator know ASP and we will deal with the error
Thank you.
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SandeyBuckland
I am happy to help anyone with their Queries regarding Family or just general Questions ,but please be patient as I do this in my spare time which is limited, I will always answer any Questions posted and try and find information if I can, but it may not be straight away when its posted , so please don't think you are being ignored.
The more people who join this site can only help us all as we try and find out about our Families ,So please do encourage others to join.
If you have any problems with site like putting on photos or just not sure how to get about please just ask we will help anyway we can



















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Romany & Traveller Family History Society

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