Re: Gypsies

[Owen Davidson <owend...>]

I read, and I believe this was in Jan Yoors' book, that the wandering Gypsy
musicians of France and northeastern Europe (including the famous Reinhardt
family) are Manouche, who are of the Sinti people, distinct from Romany Gypsies
linguistically and culturally.  Perhaps one of the makhers on the list can set 
me
straight on this (please).

Owen

Huppert23 (at) aol(dot)com wrote:

> In a message dated 6/20/00 11:25:49 AM, rlcm17 (at) hotmail(dot)com writes:
>
> << In that case, how come we have the cultural image of the "wandering
> Gypsy"?
> Am curious -- Robert Cohen
>  >>
>
> I don't know about Eastern Europe, but I was living in France as recently as
> 1973 and there were plenty of wandering Gypsies there, then. I don't know how
> many were musicians but certainly some were. The routine was that the
> musicians (adults) would play outdoors, usually by an outdoor cafe or
> restaurant. The kids would go around to the tables and ask for $. The rumor
> was that if you got too enthralled with the music, the kids would pick your
> pocket.
>
> Some of the Gypsies then were in horse drawn caravans, but usually they drove
> a particular Citroen vehicle which was speciallly designed (and named, I
> think) for them.
> It was common to see a vacant field with a sign "No Gypsies," meaning they
> cannot park or camp there.
>
> About Gypsies and Jewish music, I only know that there are some Gypsies here
> in Chicago who have a tradition of having Jewish music at their weddings.
> They say their families come from New York ( I believe that's somewhere on
> the East Coast). I remember that they mentioned one of the famous
> clarinetists there who used to play  their family's weddings. I think it was
> Brandwein, but maybe it was Tarras.
>
> Joshua Huppert
>

--
Owen Davidson
Amherst  Mass
The Wholesale Klezmer Band

The Angel that presided oer my birth
Said Little creature formd of Joy & Mirth
Go Love without the help of any King on Earth

Wm. Blake


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