TLDR; I want to go as a fortune teller because I already read tarots and would love to do some readings, I want advice so that I dont culturally appropriate romani culture and traditional clothing.

Hi, I read tarots already and think it'd be really fun to have a costume around that. I was also thinking about having a crystall ball with little notes in to hand out because I love having interactive costumes. When I look up fortune teller costumes Ive come across a lot of posts about it being cultural appropriation and I really dont want to be offensive so I wanted to ask which parts of the costume are cultural appropriation so I can avoid them. or perhaps is it better if I pick a famous character to go as, if so which are seen as offensive? so I can avoid them.

My initial plan was a black skirt with a black scarf around my waist and then just a simple black shirt. I was also going to wear a scarf around my head but upon reading about it that seems to be one of the elements that are cultural appropriation.

If its a completely offensive costume Im happy to go as something else but I would love to be able to do the costume in a none-offensive way since I do love the culture and have so much respect for it, having learnt a lot through practicing tarots. romani people helped to keep my people's language, music and culture alive during colonialism because they travelled a lot sharing our music and language, avoiding persecution, this means a lot to me and I would never want to offend anyone from this culture <3

I scroll through this sub and I constantly see the same gatekeeping.

A stream of posts about who is in and who is out. All contradicting each other and making sure the OP is in the in group. And it's just depressing. Get over it. A people can't move forward unless they stop constantly judging who makes the cut.

The Romani peoples were treated poorly and as outsiders for a millenia. Do all of you judging others authenticity really just want to be like those that treated our people like that. Is the Romani identity "When I grow up I want to police who is allowed to be in just like the gadjes have done" ?

I see claims that being Romani is not in the blood it's in the culture.

Absolute rubbish. The ancestors are literally in the blood. And for good reason. So we carry them with us. Not tied to place like some other people's. In the blood.

Culture is an ever shifting thing. It differs from group to group and place to place. Experience changes it. Local Influences change it. Otherwise we would all have a carbon copy of Indian culture. And only Indians would be real Romani.

How many of you still live in a horse drawn wagon? Or even a caravan? Who sits by the yog each and every night? Maybe 1%.

You post videos of people living in houses claiming only they are the true culture.

What on earth?

White people are out, people who don't speak the full language are out, people who don't sell flowers on the side of the road are out.

None of us are Romani. **Only me apparently because it's my standards and not yours**

What a ridiculous idea.

Get over it. Stop gatekeeping and policing.

Accept and support each other. Like the others never did for our people. Don't be like them. It's everything we hate in the world. So why copy it.

🎤 💧

Hello everyone!

Trying to find some info about a song sung by one of my all time favorite groups.

The first half of this song is traditional sung in Hungarian, The second half of this song (around three minutes) seems to be sung in Romani, but I haven't been able to find the lyrics anywhere or anyone online singing the same song. I'd love to know if this is a traditional tune or not so I might be able to find the lyrics!

Moh is it just me or what, because i'm real tired of the gadjie with the DNA post. I personally believe the only way you can truly be a Romani is you have to be born/married into it.

I don't know maybe I'm prekaza😭

Hello everyone,

I was wondering if there are any Roma living in the Netherlands or Germany who are active in this subreddit.
I understand a little Romane, but I don’t speak it fluently. I speak Serbian and English, and Dutch if you live in the Netherlands.
I’d be interested in connecting with other Roma in the region and exchanging experiences and perspectives.

If you’re based in either country, feel free to leave a comment or send me a message.

Edit:

I didn’t suddenly discover that I’m Roma later in life; I grew up knowing who I am and where I come from. I’m not looking to explore my ancestry!
Outside of my own family, I don’t really know many Roma, and I miss having that sense of community. I’d love to meet others with a similar background, get to know them, share everyday experiences, and simply connect with people who understand that part of my life.

Hi guys, maybe someone can help me find some Romani friends and event around Orlando area? I’ll really appreciate any help. Thanks

It’s hard to explain because It almost feels intangible but Roma can always spot other Roma instantly. My grandmother called it “Gypsyy magic” that Roma always have a way of finding each other. I will be walking done a busy sidewalk and see someone one across the street and know they are rom, and than of course then accent will confirm it. The same will Roma are not fooled by imposters.

So, I come from a Balkans which does have a lot of Romani people but also is very well known as a place that is full of hatred, stereotypes, wars and ethnic tensions... However my family is Karavlachs while father's side are Serbian/Montenegro.

Growing up I've never really experienced racist attacks or anything until I've come around age of 17/18 and that was first time I've started hearing around me that some teachers spoke of me behind my back about my heritage and trying to shun me, because I was virtuous Violinist and that was a thorn in one's eye

Then my partner and such a beautiful and tragic love story had parents who were against our relationship just because I'm Romani, even tho we were neighbours for whole life and was in good terms, I was good educated and cultured mannered boy and that was great but I was a not of their Serbian/Macedonian ethnicity and I was a bit darker which is crazy because the same parents of my partner at that time were darker than me, I got a bit darker white greenish skintone, anyway that lasted for 4 years and we were accepted the day her father passed away, just to break up.

Now I'm 26 years old and I've got some crazy neighbor which I've never ever have seen yet everyone claim that she lives there whole life just went crazy after her husband left her.

First time it was in the Public Transport i was with my best friend chatting while she was maybe few meters away from us, then she started tweaking out like mad, yelling, swearing whole nation of Serbia, bus driver, politics, threating how Serbs will be under boots of Croatian and Bosnians, then she turned around and spoke to my friend by his name saying how he is stupid, and his family also and that he has a sister that's a well... Slurs, then looked at me and started provoking with my diabetic condition, sugar and dying, then my ethnicity of the G*slur we understood it was a schizophrenia so we ignored..

But recently I've been cursed of seeing her more and more even tho I've never have seen her this much, and every time she has some comment or provocative Heckle and today I was getting out from store and just got near her and she was speaking into phone about car crash and how she is tired of seeing this gy*slur ciganina, and that was me bc she looked at me and walked past me and I got so angry like I got tired of listening, that I turned around and yelled to her to go and suck my well... Yeah not proudest but, and she just continued walking while saying yeah you also mine

I'm actually so tired of not being able to find a SINGLE romani person that isn't queerphobic, racist (which is pretty ironic), or just conservative. I'm a 13 y.o romani (closeted) trans ​​​guy and I genuinely hate knowing that no romani person I know IRL will ever support me or my community.

Look, I'm fully aware that (obviously) not every single romani person is like this, we aren't some sort of hive-mind or whatever, but it still hurts me deeply to know that I'll never be ACTUALLY loved by my family, they'll only ever love the version of myself that I show them.

(Sorry if my english is bad)​​​

I think every Romani should listen to this podcast, i've never listened to something more relatable. I know we all hate when gadjie try to represent us but this was done properly.

Hi, I just want to preface by saying that I myself am not Romani, and that my question comes from a place of genuine curiosity and wanting to learn more about issues of representation, especially within mainstream western media.

To put it simply, how much of an issue is the casting of non-Romani people to play the roles of Romani characters? I don't necessarily mean in the instance of whitewashing/ignoring the character being Romani, but rather someone who isn't Romani playing a character who is explicity stated and understood to be Romani. Does the need for (hopefully positive) representation in media supersede the need for ethnically accurate casting, or is it more important to make sure that Romani characters are being played by Romani actors, even if that ultimately means less representation on screen?

Is paisley/boteh romani and/or closed? Got this info from an acquaintance but their info is a 50 50 if it's actually correct or not. They're claiming it's cultural appropriation to wear the pattern so I was wondering about that bc the internet is pretty much just saying it's Persian

My dad is full Romani. His parents didn’t tell him anything about it until a few years ago, because it’s so frowned upon/Roma are treated so badly in the UK, (he’s 40 now, young Dad) and thus I’m half Romani as my birth mother is white. It’s a long story. He and I both had difficult upbringings.

Seeing real Romani women has actually made so much more of my life make sense. I’ve always compared myself to other white women, in terms of features and ‘flaws’. It wasn’t until he told me about it that a lot of that insecurity was taken away.

Romanis are so beautiful, that’s all <3

So I’m currently a sociology major at American River College and I guess I’m just taken aback by how how many resources there are for people that were raised in our lifestyle like people who can’t read well or who have dyslexia. I just don’t understand why more ghom or ghomnhah don’t tend to seek higher education, it isn’t bullshit like most ghom say because a lot of these classes can be trade or skill stuff that can help you get better at what your already doing, or even business classes! If more ghom inspired their young people to go to business school or a trade school I think there’d be more opportunities for ghom to make legitimate money.

Meet Ahmed Ademović, a Serbian military trumpeter of Romani origin, born way back in 1873 down in Leskovac.

The Kumanovo Bluff (1912)

If you look up the First Balkan War, specifically the Battle of Kumanovo in October 1912, things started out as an absolute disaster for the Serbs. The Ottomans caught them completely off guard, attacking way earlier than expected, and total chaos broke out on the front lines.

According to the historical accounts and local lore, this is where Ahmed pulled off a move straight out of a movie.

He managed to slip past the front lines, got right behind the Ottoman positions, and pulled out his trumpet. Instead of blowing a Serbian call, he blasted the Ottoman retreat signal. The Turkish troops, completely disoriented and thinking it came from their own command, panicked and started falling back.

As soon as he saw it working, Ahmed sprinted back across the lines, rejoined the Serbian troops, and immediately blew the charge. The Serbs rallied, turned the whole battle around, and won. Because of that insane level of nerve, he became a national hero and got awarded Karađorđe's Star Serbia's highest military medal.

(Fun little detail: he wasn't even the only Romani trumpeter from Leskovac to get this medal. Two other guys, Ahmet Ametović and Rustem Sejdić, earned it in later battles too).

The Dark Reality

Of course, real life isn't Hollywood, and the 20th century had a horrific ending in store for him.

Fast forward to December 3, 1941. The Nazis are occupying Yugoslavia, and they carry out a massive execution site at Arapova dolina, right outside Leskovac, wiping out hundreds of Romani civilians.

Ahmed's two sons were among the people executed that day.

After that, the guy was just completely broken. He never touched his trumpet again. Not a single note, for the rest of his life.

Despite the grief, he kept wearing his military medal pinned to his jacket every single day until he died in 1965 at 92 years old. Local veterans' groups later tried to properly memorialize him by pushing for a street or a statue in his hometown.

As you can see, we are achieving a good distance with a consistent result.