Romani Roots

Romani Roots welcomes the storytelller, Victor Vishnevsky to our site. Some of our members may recognise him from other websites and we are pleased that he has kindly contributed some of his stories to ours. We will place more of Victors' stories as they are contributed by Victor and we do hope our members enjoy them.

Victor is prolific storyteller and has currently two books in print at this time:

 "Memories of a Gypsy" and "The magic power of life".                   

These books may be ordered through Salo Press.
The web site of the publisher is:

http://mysite.verizon.net/resrrexl/index.html

Please click on "orders" for more information.
 

 VICTOR WOULD LIKE TO MAKE IT CLEAR THAT NO PAYMENT WAS MADE TO OR BY HIMSELF FOR THE PUBLICATION OF THESE STORIES AND THAT THEY WERE DONATED "FREE OF CHARGE" BY HIMSELF. 

PLEASE REMEMBER THESE CONTRIBUTIONS ARE COPYRIGHTED AND REMAIN THE SOLE POSSESSION OF THE AUTHOR - ALL THOSE WISHING TO PUBLISH ANY OF HIS WORK  MUST FIRST SEEK HIS PERMISSION, VIA OURSELVES, AT THE ABOVE EMAIL ADDRESS,  THANK YOU.

This story that I am about to write is about my school in Shanghai, China.

This was just months before the end of the Second World War and I was in a French Catholic school run by a Priest and Brothers.  I was already about thirteen years old and was in the fifth grade.

Personally I loved the school because I was very famous there for singing in the Church with a chorus of about 80 boys. I sang solo such as Ave Maria, etc, and the chorus followed me. So the Brothers, and especially the Priest, liked my voice and I was a total success.

There were two different sections in the school - one was French and the other was English, and my father decided that I should learn in English.  Now, there was a Brother who I adored, because he was a good foot ball player - in our school, in the main team, I was the goalie, and I was good at it, but this Brother taught me all I had to do to be a good goalie.

Once we had a game with another school, also Catholic, and in the middle of the game the attacker of the other team kicked the ball at the goal which I was protecting.  But it was a very near to the angle to the goal post, so I dived to save the goal, but unfortunately I hit the post with my head and went out  like a light!

The next thing I remember I was in the hospital, and this Brother was right beside me, with my parents.  Thank God nothing serious had happened.  I only had to stay for a few days for observation and believe it or not he did not let my parents stay overnight with me!  He stayed throughout the observation days by himself.

 What I want to express is how people can change after accident - I loved him even more, (I was very religious at that time), and he sometimes gave mass and I was always there to help him.

When the war came to an end I quit school, and he still used to visit me and take me to Church with him. Then one day everything changed for me because after the war you could play outside of your home at anytime, so we Gypsy boys used to play near our houses till very late at night till.

 One night as we were playing I saw a man with a  Chinese prostitute on a peddy cap taxi tricycle, (at that time there were no car taxis), this man was none other but the Brother, or Priest, (I never knew the difference because they were all dressed the same way), of the school that I loved so much. He had a cigar in his mouth and was all over her.

My reader, you must understand that this man had taught me how to love the Church, what was sinful and what was not at an innocent age, and I had believed him with all my heart.  So when I saw that he had lied to me all those years, I was in shock, and up until today, I still hate Fathers or Brothers, of any Church including Pastors.  But because my parents were Catholic, I still went to Church but only when it was absolutely necessary.  After that, whenever he came, I ran from my house, so as not to see him.

As some may know Shanghai ,China, was occupied by the American forces, some time in 1945.

 Well, what few people know is how these forces comported themselves in Shangahi and other big cities in China.  They were away from home for nearly 4 years, fighting a very hard war with the Japanese forces, and when the war was over these forces not as a whole when they took Shanghai. Some got deliriously happy, as they did not get paid for four years, so they had money by the tons. Now I know this because I was a witness to their behaviour, because my father owned a night club.

I was about fifteen years old, and played the accordion with my gypsy musicians. I say this for my reader to understand how we saw what this victorious forces behave.

At first it was quite well, but after a year or so they started to show their true colours. There were unrestrained fights in the bars between the sailors and G.I. soldiers and we had to reconstruct our  bars a few times.

When they arrived they were the most important people for us, but then, when their money was short, they even sold their 45 calibres guns for a nights fun. Then began the raping of poor Russian and Gypsies girls because they had no money to pay them, and this included the Chinese girls too.

 So began  the assaults on bars, and sometimes they took things like liquor by force from the liquor shops, beating up people for no reason, just because they were the victors.

Then one day a Ship arrived at the Shanghai harbour. It was filled only with criminals from the prison of Sing Sing, in the US. That day the other ships, that were anchored there, were not allowed to go ashore, so as not to destroy practically the all night clubs.

But business is business, and we had to open our bars for these criminals.  To our surprise these criminals, (the most kinds criminals that I ever came across), for weeks or days,( I don’t remember exactly), gave us the quietest nights we had known since heaven knows when!  They even brought gifts to the girls they went out with, and even gave fat tips to us musicians - so my reader, sometimes people are not as you may think they might be.           

We Gypsy boys in Shanghai China, to be exact, also had our gangs and not far away that we lived, lets say about three to four kilometer, was a big lake were the buffalows had their daily bath.  Around the lake it was like a park full of green grass and also flowers, and a few huts of Chinese peasents lived there, which took care of their buffalows. They made a living from selling the cheese made from and the milk of the buffalows, which sometimes my father asked me to buy some cheese  for us, of course he gave me money to buy the cheese and also the rest of the gang who had money bought some! We liked it there.

Of course, during the summer, we would swim in the lake and play foot ball on the grass field, which was wonderful for foot ball and even base ball.  There was also trees that bore fruit, but the owners would not allow us to touch them.  But we did anyway, when they were not around to see us doing that. There were in about eight boys, but girls at that time were not allowed to play with boys, that was a rule. Yet we all secretly had some one ,not to play with, but to flirt with.

 Yes my reader, and I was about 12 years old and others of the gang was my age or even a year or two younger, we loved to swim there and we used the Buffalows as a diving board.  The buffalows did not mind us diving in the lake from their backs.  These animals are very wise animals, I could swear that they knew that we the kids were having fun, of course they were domestic buffalows and would not harm any one unless you provoke them. They also got used to us and they were many and each of us who had his favourite buffalow to  climb on his back and dive in the lake.

The lake was not deep, nearly half of the body of the buffalow when out of the water, and this play went on  almost all of the summer.  So one day we gatherd as usual at  the lake and have fun, but one of the boys  said,

“ let us do something new, like  some one sai., I will show you all in and instand”,

He put his hand  in his pocket and brought out a tnenis ball, and said,

“ I will throw this ball in the lake and we all shall try to find it, who ever does  find it under the water will wil take us to his home and give us something to eat”,

Bbut not all of us were allowed to take people to eat at our home, because it was during the war, and so our leader said,

“No, let us do another thing, when we finish finding the ball we will go home and ask our elders some money. Then we can buy a pack of cigarettes  for the one who found it”

Aand so we all agreed. We all went into the lake to clime on our favorite buffalow, to dive and try to find that ball.  It took some time before some one found something, but it was not the ball that we were looking for.  To our sruprise, it was a grenad,e a weapon used in the war.  It was old and we knew that it was German because it looked llike a bottle, and had a string attached to it.  On that string was a iron ring and we all knew, except for perhaps  the younger ones, that the iron ring was to detonate the granade.

Our leader was about 14 years old and very cunning and looking my friends he said,

“This grenade has not been detonated so we all shall keep this a secret.  This will be our protection from the Japs”,

At this point we all forgot about the ball, and he went on to say,

“Let us find a place were to hide it, I think we must hide  it”, and so we did.

Then  he also added,

“No one must say to any one about this grenade,and also no one of you will have a permision to touch it unless I tell you to”.

 To us his word was law because he was much bigger and stronger than any of us, and besides he tauhgt us how to smoke cigarettes, and many other things that the adults do.

When we all went home, we all were good to our word, we told no one, at least as far as far as I was  concerned I did not tell a soul. But now i think that I should have told our elders.  I did not know it then  but a tragedy  was on it’s way. Our leader  waited till another day and went alone to the lake.  He went to where we have hidden our grenade,(but what really happend after this I don’t know, as this is  according to his version), he said that he got the grenade and wanted to test it, so  he pulled the  iron ring to detonate it. But the grenade did not explode immediately, because of  being  under the water for such along time. Instead, it just caught fire,  and burnt his arm  to such an extented  that it was burnt to the bone  and had to be amputated.

We  knew then that our smart leader was with out a hand, and would have to live with it for the rest of his life.  

                        ©2009Victor Vishnevsky

                                                            

There were two Russian Jewish persons in Shanghai china that were good friends of my fathers’. One by the name of David, the other name was Moisha.  At this time, (just after the war), there thousands of Jewish people lived in Shanghai.

 David was a rich man and his job was like a banker. He lent money to people that he knew and had confidence - for percentage of course. The other was middle class, working for a firm, and they both had families and children. They both used to visit our night club as they were our friends,among many others.

 It was summer in Shanghai - this was when it all happened. We were living in a terrace called Linda terrace, and  there were many Russians who lived with us, aswell as other natonalities. There were four buildings facing each other with big windows.  I say this because you could see perfectly  well on the opposite side what was going on in the room through these large windows.

One night this rich man came to our house to speak to my father about business, and drink Gypsy tea with him. I was sat with the other Jew was living above us with his family and the door and windows where wide open in our room.  On our table there was tea ,in very big mugs, because my father liked it that way and before we knew it , that Jewish man that lived upstairs was standing at our door.

He was very drunk and could hardly stand on his feet and when he saw the other Jew, David, he said out loud,

“Aha , I caught you David, you went spreading the word arround that I don't pay you!”

 My father stood up and said listen Moisha in my house you shall not argue.Please go outside and wait, I am sure that David will follow you . But here you won’t do a scandle”,

“Tthat's what you think”, he answered.,”I will beat him here and now”.

  Now David was a small man, so when my father saw that the man was advancing on him, he stood in between them. David took the heavy mug of the table and stood on a chair,  somehow he hit the other man over my fathers’ head with that mug, and  instantly blood started to come from the wound on other mans’  head.

 My father held him. and told me to take him outside - I was about sixteen years old at the time and  quite tough. In that instant his wife arrived, so both of us took him on the street, he was bleeding very heavily. She told me to hold him till she got a cape to take him to the hospital. So I did what she had asked me do, but it took time before she arrived and I became soaked with his blood, it  was  all over me.

Mean while ,a lot of people saw through the big windows what was happening  so she had to take him away.  Unfortunatly he died on the way, but luckily those people which were at the window, on a later day told the police what happened.

As for me, I took off all those cloths that were soaked with the mans’  blood and burned them.! It took a long time  for me to get over what happened that day. After that  I never ventured alone at night on those stairs which got me home!

 By this title, of course, I am referring to the Great Wall of China.

By all means I must tell my reader which Emperor of China started to built it, his name was Qin Shihuangdin of the Yuan Dynasty. The wall starts from the city of Shanhaiguan, just north of Beijing the Capital of China, the wall is estimated to be 6400 kilometres long, or 4ooo miles and it was built to protect China mostly from Mongolia. This was in 7^th Century B.C - though some say it was in 3^rd Century.

 This story is very polemic and no one knows the exact  date, but as I born and lived in China, there are many legends were told to me about the great wall.

Some  told stories which could have been true but others said to me they were too fantastic, so I have decided to tell my reader a story which is most probably true.

 This Great Wall was built from one Dynasty to the other, for centuries, till they completed it, that is why there are so many different stories concerning this wall. When they started to built the wall thousands upon thousands of peasants were hired to build it, and now goes the story that I heard more frequently than any other.

 Among these workers were 3 brothers ,all of them married, and daily worked to built the wall with their wives. At a certain place where they worked on the wall it fell to the ground every time. It became to such a scandal that the engineers were forced to go and tell the Emperor that they could not go any further because on that particular piece of the wall - it was impossible to continue.

 Of course the Emperor got furious and said try and try again, but then one of the advisers of the Emperor came to him and said,

  “May I  have a word, my Emperor?”

  “By all means”, he said.

  “Well it might sound a little odd, but every knows about our sorcerer, he might find out a solution, if your highness will allow!”

  “Do whatever you wish, but I want that wall fixed by tomorrow morning”

 So  his advisor went to see the famous sorcerer and told him his sad story. The sorcerer thought for a while then said,

 “Listen my friend, when tomorrow the workers, the first man or woman , or both, arrive to work, they must be buried alive in the wall. Then I am sure the wall shall not fall”

 And so the 3 brothers and their wives were preparing to go to work when one of the women of these men, who was pregnant, started having pains. So only one couple went to work whilst the others stayed behind to help with the child’s birth.

 When they arrived at the wall they were the first there and so by the order of the Emperor  they had to be buried alive in the great wall and so it was done. One Chinese’s poet was there and he made a song of this story which is sung until today.

   By the way, this Wonder of the world, the Great Wall, can be seen from  space by satellite – Yes, my reader, the wall did not fall this time. 

This story that I am about to relate, is very true, because I was on this particular marriage, there was a young Gypsy man and he wanted to marry a Gypsy women, because just after the war, his sister, said that she will bring him and his whole family to the states.

So being a Gypsy he did not want to lose his Gypsy decent, that is, he wanted his children to be pure blooded Gypsies. There was a girl not from his clan that he courted,  she was not bad looking, but he was very handsome man, so we were all surprised when his mother went to ask her hand from her father. This is where every thing started.

 The father of that girl was a very strict man as far as  his daughter was concerned, and was full of old customs, even her father was surprised that this handsome man wanted his daughter for his wife. So the father of the girl readily agreed, with one condition - he wanted a fabulous marriage party, but since the war just finished nobody, (and I mean nobody), had the means to give such a party.

He wanted at least a hundred guests at the marriage, so the poor man asked his sister in the states to send him money for the event. The mother asked the man that the party be for just a day. He got angry , but at last he agreed, so the mother of the man went about to arrange the marriage party and good to her word the mother of the groom made what the father of the girl expected.

We all knew that he did not love her, and the reason of marrying her was the reason that I wrote above, but she was the only available Virgin around. So we all went to marriage party - the father of the girl seemed very proud that his daughter is getting married a Virgin, so he went and bought a lot of red flags, to show on the wedding day, that his daughter is a Virgin symbolically. 

Need less to say that we all had fun, but when the drinks got short he asked the groom to buy some more . . . . . . . . . . . this went on from the afternoon till the small hours of that night. It went that far that we had to hide the bride and the groom from her father, and take them to the home of the groom.

 In the morning someone came to us and said that the bride was not a Virgin, and that her husband had beaten her up and shaved her head bald and after what he went through to get the money for the wedding.

He must have been furious, and he did not stop just there - he took red paint, went to the house of the father of the girl and painted a red cross on his front door, then pushed the bride inside their house.

Now when the father saw all this that happen he chased his daughter away, she was never to be seen by any one of us again!     

This time, my dear reader ,the story that I am to about relate has nothing to do with ghosts or supernatural powers.  

This story was told to me by my mother and cousins, about a mini war amongst my clan and another clan, which I will not under any circomstances reveal the name of the clan. This clan, that we had a mini war with later in my story ,became our best friends, and their munber of people was much more then ours.

 This is a true story. Well here goes,  this was in 1939, Shanghai ,China. 

One of my father's cousin was a man of about 30, years old, and he was a semi alcoholic, he was divorced for this reason, and now was looking for a women to get married too.  One evening, as usual he was high, and went to a bar were two young Gypsy girls who worked there,. It was for some time that he wanted to propose to one of this girls, but she was from a different clan.  It is not clear what he said or did to her, but the musicians in that bar were her cousins or near relitives and there was a fight.

 The musicians nearly killed my fathers cousins, he was taken to a hospital, and was in grave condition. N now the word spread very fast, so the parents of the man that was in the hospital came to complain to my father, because he was the head of our clan.  I don't know how my father gave orders to his other cousins and also our whole clan but where ever we came across the other clan, it was that  man or women would fight them.

So my clan went around and found wooden clubs or even iron clubs to use against them ,not to kill but to send them to the hospital. One of our tough guy found one of theirs and he did not need to use the club, he beat him so hard that he went to the hospital, and that is how the mini war started.

I don't how, but we gave a date to the other clan to meet us with all the force they have, and we would  do like wise. The place was right in the middle of the French conccesion, ( just to let my reader know that some one  went to the news paper and said that there will be a big fight between two Gypsy clans, and told the reporter where and when it will accure).

We the Lovara are usually a tough clan our men and women are usually tall and strong, but the other clan is not let say as tough as we are, and so about 20 of our men and women, well armed with clubs went to the place were the fight was supposed to be stared, and the other side came also, but with more men and women.

So the fight started, this fight was so famous that up untill today even my children know about it.

Of course the police came to stop the fight, but to no avail. My father was a giant of a man and when the police saw that we were winning the fight they started to put those who were hurt in a police car.

Here is the history that made the biggest news - my father was so angry that when the car with the wounded wanted to part, he took hold of the car from behind and picked it up! The police men saw this and were beating my father hands to let the car go , but the wheels of the car were in the air spining. It took the police a few minutes to make my father put the car down.

Of course there was casulties on both sides, but on our side only two went to the hospita, whilst on their side , only God know how many!  During the fight the tramways on tht street stopped, and on the next day we were all in the front page of the news papers with some pictures which were taken.

 Of course there was a picture of my father picking up the car, which was sensational. But did not stopped there, every time my clan met the other on the street, they had a fight,  or   the one who thought that he was weaker ran away. (hat included our women)  Tt  came to a point, that to avoid another fight , they or we used to walk the streets, always acompanied, in pairs or more  and this  lasted till the end of the war .

l  Later on, we just passed by each other but did not speak to each other, we only made peace when we had to leave China because of the comunists.

                    ©2009Victor Vishnevsky

This story begins  as usually, in Shanghai China, were I lived, there was a Gypsy  widow who had two sons. Her husband died very young, her first son by the name of Kolia, was about 12 years old, the other was only about 4 to 5 years old, and his name was Sania.

This Gypsy woman was from the Rumungri clan , and before she left Rússia she lived in Sibéria, like my Family did, so we knew this family very well. This particular family was known were we lived as something unusual, because her husband when he still was alive , before making a decision, of any kind, he used to go some were to be alone, and consult his dead father about what he wanted to do.

He spoke to him in a high voice, so  any body passing by could hear him. The funny thing about his behavior was that he told every one that his dead father guided him what decisions to take! And that he would not do anything by himself, unless his dead father told him to do so!  My mother used to tell me, that every body took him as if he was sick in the head, but other wise he was a very good person, minded his own business, and a good sales man.

His son Kolia was my best friend at that time , we used to play together for hours when I was not studying. Unfortunately his mother had to take over her dead husbands job so Kolia could not go to school like I did, because he had to stay with his little brother.

Before I begin to relate what happened: We the Gypsies believe very much in dreams, but every clan has it’s own way to interprete them. One  morning, this widow came to my mother and said,

"I came to you so early in the morning  to tell you  a dream that I saw, and as you are older then me and my best friend, please try to intrepid this dream for me".

"By all means", my mother said.

"Well", said the widow, "Yesterday night I have seen my dead husband in my dream and he looked very worried, and told me not to let my son Sania, to go out to play today, by any means, there is some danger awaiting  him. So I came to ask you about the dream,  and if your son could come over to my house and watch over Sania with Kolia".

My mother said she would send me over , and added, " This dream is dangerous".

We lived in the same building, and because I was a few years older then Kolia, she would feel more safer with me there.

"Go to work", said my mother, "And don”t worry I myself will look every now and then for the children".

So that day I did not go to school. instead, my mother send me to the widows house , but before I went she warned me:

"Look my son, do not let Sania to go out side of the building to play by any means".

  She did not say anything else, except to play in the house, and play we did, I mean I and Kolia. I forgot all about what my mother told me, and before long we missed Sania, he went out side the building, so I ran with all my might to catch  him. But he was already out side, I was just about two feet from him.

All of a sudden I saw a big mad dog with white bubbles coming out of his mouth, coming out of no where. The dog was about 30 to 40 feet from us, and trying to attack Sania. I just don’t know till today from were I got the force to pick up Sania and run into the house.

When this dog saw that he could not reach us he attacked a China man who was passing by, the dog  started literally to tare  him apart. I was watching through the half open door of the  building, the China man screamed, but no one dared to come near him.

I was completely horrified and then I heard what seemed to be a shot  of a gun. I closed the door from sheer fright and then I opened it again, after a minute or so, for curiosity.  This time a police man stood over the fallen body; and the dog was on the body of the Chinaman, that seemed to be dead and there was a lot of blood on the ground, Only God knows what happened to the China man, we just don’t know. But one thing is for sure that a bite of a mad dog is sometimes deadly and at that time I am not sure if there was a vaccine in Shanghai.

This proves that a dream sometimes can come true, but in my clan the good dreams like big live fish, and new born child is pure good luck.

But there is a catch to it, you must keep the good dreams  a  secret then and only then it might come true.

But bad dreams - when you see like people you don’t like, a priest, of any religion, to be dirty with mud all over you, might make you sick, and many other things that you think -  that is bad. Soyou must quickly say it to some one, so that it might not come true.

 Before I start this story, I must explain that our Gypsies, some of them of course, used to travel through south America with their families for business.

The men work with all type of metals while the women tell fortune, hence, these stories that I relate,  come from these people.

Now the story that I shall relate comes from a man who travelled a lot in these countries, he is a elderly man and my far relative,

So here starts my story: This man, with other two younger men, arrived in  Panama city in Central America , to try and see if they could find some metals and resale them.  In Panama it is always hot so they worked hard, going from one factory to the other, to see if they had some metal for sale like unused cooper etc.

But unfortunately they did not find any good factories in Panama! So they decided to go to take a plane for another country near by! When they went to the air port to go to the country they wanted to go to, the plane only that was available would be in about eight hours.  So being very tired, the elder man said, "let us go to a modest hotel and rest for a while!",  because the air port was not to far from the city, and so they went .

When they found a modest hotel they went in and took a room with three beds just to rest for a few hours, and also have a bath. In the room was the bath room, since this man was the eldest he went first to take a bath!  But in few minutes he was out of the bath room and he looked very pale and very disturbed!

"What happened?", said one of the young men.

"Well",  said the eldest, "What I will tell you  all you will  not believe me".

"What is it ?"

"Well, there is a Gypsy woman in the mirror dressed in our Gypsy style , and even smiled at me!"

 The two youngsters looked at each other with a disbelieve in there eyes.

"Well", said the elder, "If you don't believe me go in the bath room and see for your selves".

They did just that, but within a few seconds they were out of the bath room, even more horrified and one of them said:

"Let's get the hell out of here , before she come out".

So they went down and talked to the manager, the eldest said to the manager:

"You have given us a haunted room".

"What?", said the manger, " I have rented this room for many times and there was never a complaint about ghosts"

"Well for your information, we saw a Gypsy woman in the mirror of the bath room"

"Funny", said the manger, "A few weeks ago a Gypsy man killed his wife in that room for one reason or another! Why she did not appear for the other customers ?".

"Well I know why", said the eldest , "She appeared to us because we are Gypsies like her!"

And so they went away with out paying anything for the room and the manger did not complain.

                                               (© LAUREL VICTORIA GRAY)

When I was in China after the war, my father had a night club by the name of Alla verdi, it is a muslim name but we did not change it  for the reason that the man from whom we bought it was very popular, in Shanghai.  It was known by almost all the foriegners in Shanghai. The year was in 1946, just after the war, and the city was booming with American sailors and soldiers.

Now hear is where  my story begins - I was about 15 years old and was helping my father with our Gypsy band and the Gypsies artist of course.  There were many Gypsy girls, and also Russian girls working for us! some worked behind the bar serving drinks, and some where with the show, which we offord our costumers to entertain them.

There was a beautifull Gypsy girl by the name of Nadia, she was about 19 years old, and  was the star of the show.  She danced Gypsy/Russian style solo, like there was no other one in Shanghai, so we paid her double what the others got.  But she was an orphan and her Aunty raised her, because for some reason, her mother died very young and untill today no one knew who her father was!  But he was a Gypsy that was for sure! she was a very timid girl never drank hard drinks, and a wonderfull character. Her Aunty used to pick her up after she finished her work!

As times were very hard she was the one that supported her Aunties' family, so one night, a sailor of the U.S. Navy came with his friends, in our night club. When the show began and she danced, this sailor must have fallen in love with her, because after that night he almost used to come every night. But he did not even speak to her, and vice versa - how they began to comunicate is a mystery to me,even untill today.

Then one day her Aunty came to our house and said to my father that Nadia did not come home that night!  Nor did she come to work for over a month. Later  - much  later, the story came out - that she was caught by her Aunty, with the  help of the local police, and brought home! But what happened next!

One morning they found her dead with her head in the kitchen oven. She had just opened the gas and pushed her head inside of it!

Well this is a very sad story, but very true. 

 ©2008 Victor Vishnevsky

 This story begins some where in Russia.

We the Romani people, not as a whole, but most of us, some times good friends, (men of course), in life we used to do promises -  that when we will have children we shall unite our families through them.

That is exactly what happened  for the two Romany young friends, but one was from a noble family the other was not - that was, less fortunate,. You see, my reader, every different clan that I have seen personally, has it's noble clans and less fortunate clans.

Although these friends were Lovara, they were seen differently by the noble clan. To be more specific, the noble clan is usually  rich by tradition, even their {vordona}, (this is wagons), and  their horses are of best quality.  So you can see by sight,  who is the {Vaida}, the chief, by his way of living. all of the other clans like the Kelderasha, Matchvaya etc, have the same way of living their lives.

Now to go back to my story - these two friends got married and both of them had children.  Now when the children grew up , the noble gypsy saw that his friend had a beautiful daughter, and asked her hand to be married to his son, as promised.  But the mother of the noble Gypsy secretly did not like the idea because the girl came from not to noble a clan.  But they married any way, and were very much in love.

The wife of the noble Gypsy was a wonderful wife, she did everything in her power to please her mother-in-law, but to no avail!  We, the Lovara, every Saturday (in the woods of course), had a habit that each tent were they were camped, that the married women should go to the market and cook, what ever they wished.  They then serve this food to the men in the camp.

So the women used to gather together and each had to say what she will cook.  This recently married women said the this time she would cook a soup, so they agreed, because the other ones would cook different dishes. Well here was the catch, we the Lovara never make soup out of matten meat, (that is sheep meat), untill today I don't know why!

Now the mother- in-law tried, in this months or years, wanted to find some way to separate this marriage, some how,  by hook or by crook.

So she said to her daughter- in- law, "I will go with you to the Market!"

The young woman said,"By all means".

And so they went.

What happened next is hard to believe - when they were at the market some how her mother- in-law changed the cows meat, and in it's place she placed the sheep meat. So when they came back in the camp the women usually united to show each other what have they bought. But when they saw what that young woman bought they all became surprised.  So the word started to spread in the camp. 

At that time this was a shame for a young wife to make such mistakes, and so her husband came to her and said:

"Why did you buy the sheep meat?".

But she said,"I did not buy this meat, how could I? I know the rules".

But all in vain was her argument, because this noble Gypsy man became a laughing stock of the whole clan, so he had no choice but to leave her!  

  ©2008 Victor Vishnevsky