GYPSIES

Anthropological Analysis of the Gypsies of Southern Spain



Anthropological Analysis Gypsies of Southern Spain

Introduction

The Gypsies (from Egiptanos or Egyptian), also known as the Roma people are an ethnic group probably from the region of Punjab, now divided between India and Pakistan, who emigrated to Europe. It is widely believed that the Gypsies spread throughout the world from the Punjab region. The appropriate population of the Gypsies has not been identified, rather, it had been predicted that Spanish Gypsy population ranges from 50000 to 4500000; and other indicates places where they inhabit, ranges between 3m to 6m.

The history of the Roma (“gypsies” in English) is one of many prejudices and misunderstands. During the fifteenth century, first Gypsies arrived in Spain. It had been anticipated that Gypsies migrated from India to Spain in 1425 and Barcelona in 1447. They were accepted by Spain, and proper protection was provided to them. In 1492, when official discrimination among Muslims and Jews commenced, the Gypsies considered as one of those groups. The reason behind this was that their appearance was similar to the Muslims and Jews (www.ebook3000.com/).

Discussion

It is believed that Gypsies arrived in Spain around 1415; after so much of struggling and traveling around the country. After three centuries, it became clear that the expulsion of the Roma was difficult, in the same way as the Jews and Muslims. A law was established that were against the right of the Roma, as well. For example, Gypsies could not marry to other community people or occupying a position of the administrative office. During the last decades of 19th century, the fate of the Gypsies began to change. The Cadiz Constitution of 1812 recognized the Roma as citizens. Many Roma/ Gypsies found working in the fields of Andalusia and Extremadura, and they decided to spend their rest of the lives as nomads. Nineteenth century and early twentieth century was the golden age for Roma/ Gypsies. They developed fields which was full of mechanization. Therefore, the professions of the Gypsies were not clear as they were involved mostly in street vendors or entertainers. Many Roma had to move to the cities and elsewhere due to the lack of work. With the new life, they came with the new culture. Initially they helped themselves for creating their own culture. The Evangelical Church of Philadelphia was the first church of the Gypsies.

This church is similar to a Roman Catholic community, but distinguish between this was that the congregation in this church was extra lively and noisy. Additionally, the new church was another form of development. The trafficking of drugs and its use were some of the problems in them. Initially they were the vendors of these things, but over the times, Gypsies began to use drugs well. Drugs been used by the southern Strait of Gibraltar. Quickly, the sale of the drugs reached the north. This lifestyle was one of the reasons for discrimination against the Roma. Moreover, Spanish Gypsies divided in to Gitanos and Hungaros ...