Gypsies can now be found in all corners of the planet, except perhaps Antarctica. In European countries alone, their number is 12 million people. I invite you to learn 11 national habits and characteristics of the Gypsies, some of which will greatly surprise you.
"Gypsies" is a collective term, the same as "Slavs", "Caucasians", "Scandinavians" or "Latin Americans". Several dozen nationalities belong to the gypsies. In many regions of Russia you can still find gypsy camps, they smell of Pushkin's Bessarabia, their language is a rough verbal lump, and their clothes are an endless holiday.
They start families very early
A 14-year-old girl for gypsies is already a potential bride. At weddings and other celebrations where you can dance, all girls over 14 years old will dance until the very end of the celebration, because they know that the fathers of their sons are currently watching and evaluating them. An unmarried gypsy 19 years old is already an old maid.
They ransom brides with jars of gold
On her wedding day, the bride is redeemed in kilograms or “in jars” of gold. The bride's father or brothers, if there is no father, set the price themselves, for example two three-liter jars filled with gold rings, chains, etc.
They show the wedding guests the “honor of the bride”
On the wedding day, gypsies have one exciting moment for everyone, when the older women of the family take the bride into the bedroom and check whether she is a virgin or not. Actually, deflowering takes place right there, behind closed doors - without any participation of the groom. Afterwards, the guests are shown a snow-white sheet or shirt with a blood stain on a beautiful large tray.
A wedding between gypsies from different countries is impossible
For example, there is unlikely to be a wedding between Kotlyars and Russian gypsies, since this is tantamount to a wedding with a non-gypsy. The gypsies of one state see the gypsies of another state as a special people and never maintain contact. Russian gypsies are mostly Orthodox, Crimean and Palestinian are Muslim, Croatian are Catholic.
They often adopt children
A gypsy family must have at least one son. If an heir is not born, then they no longer take risks and take a boy from the orphanage. Moreover, the child can be anyone: Bashkir, Russian, red-haired, freckled, fair-haired, blue-eyed. This is partly the reason for the myth that gypsies kidnap children.
They are reluctant to send their children to school
A child is most often sent to school so that he learns to read, write and count, since from the age of six to eight children are accustomed to adulthood - they begin to help their parents in trade. Therefore, if a gypsy child after the third grade still goes to school for lessons, and does not help his parents in the market, it means that he is wasting his time instead of learning the family business.
For them, a woman cannot stand higher than a man
If a gypsy has a two-story house, no woman can climb to the second floor if a man is on the first. This law is still observed today.
Their women wear two skirts and an apron every day
Women still wear two skirts and an apron. Below the waist, a woman is considered to be “dirty” and “unclean.” The touch of her skirt can “desecrate” not only any object, but also a person. Therefore, the underskirt is considered unclean, since it touches the woman, and the second one is also considered unclean, since it is still slightly soiled by the lower one. Only the apron is considered clean. You can touch it, lean dishes against it, wipe your hands on it.
They have an internal court
In the event of a dispute, respected gypsies gather to listen to the parties' arguments for and against. For gypsies, this is an important moment in the settlement of relations, and it is not subject to publicity. Punishments can be very different. One of the most serious ones was “they gave me 24”. The guilty gypsy is forced to leave the community and is given 24 hours to do so.
They swear in the coffin
Among the gypsies, the oath ritual is very important to prove that they are right. The most common oath is on an icon. The rarest and in the most intractable situations is the oath in the coffin (among the Kotlyars). If a gypsy wants to prove that he is not guilty, then a special coffin is made for him, in which he must lie down and take an oath. It says that if he is lying at the moment, then he will soon lie in this coffin.
Their children are saving money for their parents' funerals
Gypsy funerals are traditionally rich. Sometimes children spend several years saving money for the funeral of their parents, who are still alive and well at that time. If death came suddenly, then after the burial the relatives will collect money for a decent tombstone. A stone monument with a full-length portrait of the deceased is considered especially “chic”.
Today the world celebrates International Roma Day. On April 8, 1971, the First World Gypsy Congress took place in London, at which the Roma recognized themselves as a single, non-territorial nation. Judging by the 2010 census, 220 thousand representatives of this ethnic group live in Russia. In fact, of course more.
1. Gypsies use meat by-products very widely in their cuisine. For example, one of the most popular gypsy dishes is harba. It is prepared from the blood, liver and lard of a pig or sheep. Vegetable stews seasoned with lard are also popular
2. Gypsies consider tea their national non-alcoholic drink. Various herbs and berries are added to black tea
3. Roma prefer strong alcoholic drinks. For men, vodka is preferable, for women - cognac. Grape wines, as a rule, are not consumed. It is considered honorable to drink a lot, but not to get drunk 
4. Young people are usually prohibited from drinking alcoholic beverages in front of older people or are required to ask their permission
5. The cult of age among the gypsies is expressed not just by respect for older people, but by respect for those who are older in general. The opinion of elders is perceived as authoritative. It is considered a terrible crime to raise a hand against an old person, even if he is physically strong
6. Many gypsies have a disrespectful attitude towards a young woman until she gives birth to a child. But the status of the mother is surrounded by honor 
7. Traditionally, gypsies smoke a lot. The first reason is mystical. According to ancient beliefs, fire and smoke scare away demons and the restless dead. To ensure that they do not reach a person, one must smoke continuously. The second reason is aesthetic. It is believed that smoking makes the voice correct for singing.
8. The most popular type of gypsy fairy tales are horror stories. Common characters in such horror stories are the living dead and ghouls, which seem to be an echo of the folklore of Indian ancestors, as well as small spirits like goblins and brownies
9. Some gypsies believe that a person in the next world needs everything the same as in ordinary life. If a person dies, then, depending on his gender, relatives or friends are given 3 items through the coffin: an icon (if a man died - male, woman - female), a bed and a carpet, symbolizing the road
10. As for jewelry, rings made of gold are popular among gypsies. Among the Eastern European representatives of this nationality, sets of eight rings of approximately the same thickness are in great fashion, one ring for each finger of the hand, except for the large ones, which necessarily differ in pattern 
11. An earring in one ear of a gypsy means that he is the only son in the family
12. It is considered impolite for a woman to walk in front of a man if he can go around behind him, and to stand with his back to the man if he is sitting 
Despite the fact that the absolute majority of gypsies live in Europe, their roots are from the north of Hindustan, this is indicated by scientific data, as well as the self-names of the main gypsy groups. Most often, Gypsies call themselves "Roma" or "Roma", for example, the famous Moscow Gypsy theater is called "Romen". These names go back to the Indo-Aryan "d'om" with the first cerebral sound (somewhere between the sounds "r", "d" and "l") and indicate relatives of the gypsies who now live in India and are called "doms" or " domby". Western European gypsies call themselves "Sinti", which can be associated with the ancestral homeland of the gypsies - the Sindh region in the territory of modern Pakistan. The Gypsies of Spain and Portugal traditionally called themselves "kale", i.e. “black” (cf. the name of the Indian goddess Kali - “black”).
According to linguistic and genetic studies, the ancestors of the Roma left India in a group of about 1 thousand people. The exact time of the exodus is unknown, but not earlier than the 6th century AD. After spending several centuries in Persia, the ancestors of the Gypsies reached Byzantium, where they began to be called Atzingans, i.e. untouchable. From the Byzantine name came the Russian name “gypsies”, the Bulgarian “tsigani”, etc. Gypsies entered Europe through the Balkans in the 12th century. It is in the Balkan countries that the percentage of the Roma population today is the highest. For example, in Bulgaria the Roma make up 4.9% of the population, in Romania - 3.3%, in Macedonia - 2.85%.
Gypsies are one of the Aryan (by language) peoples, therefore they were mercilessly exterminated by the Nazis, who declared them to be spoiled Aryans, replacing the purity of the Aryan race. During the Second World War, up to 200 thousand Roma were killed, about 30 thousand of them in the occupied territory of the USSR.
There are now up to 12 million Roma in the world. According to the 2010 census, about 220 thousand Roma live in Russia. The presence of Gypsies in Russia was first recorded in written sources at the beginning of the 18th century. You should not mix Russian gypsies (Ruska Roma) and Central Asian gypsies called “Lyuli”. Lyuli are Muslims, while Roma are Christians, their languages and origins are also different, and Lyuli are called Gypsies only because of the similarity with the traditional way of life of European Gypsies. Russian gypsies do not consider Lyuli as relatives; they are contemptuously called “lyulyaiki.”
Next are the most beautiful, in my opinion, gypsies. Most of them are Russian gypsies; there is also a Hungarian gypsy and a representative of Spanish-Portuguese gypsies in the ranking. Rita Hayworth is not included in the ranking because... she, contrary to erroneous belief, does not have gypsy roots.
16th place. Almaza Plakhotnaya(born May 21, 1982) - dancer, artist of the Romen Theater. Her mother Ekaterina and younger sister Adeline are also artists of the Romen Theater. VK page - https://vk.com/id8816801
15th place. Rada Rai(real name - Elena Gribkova; born April 8, 1979, Magadan) - Russian singer, performer of Russian chanson. Father is a gypsy, mother is Russian. Official website - http://www.radarai.ru/
14th place. Raya (Raisa) Udovikova(after marriage - Bielenberg) - Norwegian singer and actress. Born in 1934 in a gypsy camp near Kursk. In 1966, she married a Norwegian journalist and moved abroad. Since 1967, he has lived in Norway (Oslo), works at the National Drama Theater, performing leading roles in Norwegian, and tours in many countries in Europe, America and Asia, performing songs in Russian, Gypsy and Norwegian.
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13th place. (born October 27, 1963) - film actress. For a long time she was an actress of the Romen Theater, whose artistic director is her father Nikolai Slichenko. Also working at the Romen Theater is her mother, Nikolai Slichenko’s wife, Tamila Agamirova.
12th place. Angela Lekareva (Batalova)- singer, dancer, artist of the Moscow musical and dramatic gypsy theater "Romen". Born July 28, 1984. On stage since I was two years old. She received mastery lessons from an outstanding choreographer, her mother, Ganga Batalova.
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11th place. Soledad Miranda/ Soledad Miranda (July 9, 1943, Seville, Spain - August 18, 1970) - Spanish actress, dancer and singer. Her parents are Portuguese gypsies.
10th place. Diana Savelyeva(born May 16, 1979, Lvov) - Russian actress and singer, performer of the role of Esmeralda in the musical "Notre Dame de Paris", the role of Hyde in the musical "Monte Cristo", the role of a gypsy in the musical "Count Orlov". Website - http://saveljeva-diana.narod.ru/ VKontakte page - https://vk.com/id82172048
9th place. Lyudmila Senchina(born December 13, 1950, village of Kudryavtsy, Nikolaev region, Ukraine) - Soviet and Russian singer and actress, People's Artist of Russia.
From an interview with Lyudmila Senchina:
- They say that you are a purebred gypsy? Judging by your appearance, you can't tell...
- My father, grandfather and paternal grandmother are Moldavian gypsies. My dad was born in a gypsy camp. And my mother is Ukrainian.
- Have you inherited anything gypsy?
- Some kind of crazy energy, entrepreneurial spirit, ingenuity, endurance, slight recklessness. I believe that I inherited the most valuable character traits. When a black streak comes, I wave it away recklessly and think: then the road will be something else - brighter and better. I think I took this from my gypsy relatives.
From another interview:
“Dad is one half Gypsy, and the other half Moldavian, the surname Senchin is Moldavian, it has no masculine or feminine gender.”
8th place. Adeline Plakhotnaya(born May 29, 1988) - dancer, model, artist of the Romen Theater. Her mother Ekaterina and older sister Almaza are also artists of the Romen Theater. VK page - https://vk.com/id16515633
7th place. Lilya (Leoncia) Erdenko- singer, successor to the world-famous Moscow gypsy dynasty, daughter of the famous singer Nikolai Erdenko. Berlin radio station Multikulti named Leoncia "Queen of Russian Gypsy Music." Official website - http://www.leonsia.ru/ VKontakte page - https://vk.com/id43823160
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6th place. Lyalya Moldavskaya- dancer, actress, member of the gypsy ensembles "Russka Roma" and "Svenko".
5th place. Nelly Maltseva- dancer. She became the heroine of two issues about dancing in the gypsy electronic magazine "Svenko".
4th place. Rada Matvienko(born September 24, 1991) - Kazakh singer and actress. Performs songs in almost a dozen languages, including Gypsy. VK page - https://vk.com/id51427709
3rd place. Patrina Sharkozy- dancer, actress, singer, performer of the Romen Theater, member of the Svenko ensemble. She played the main role of the gypsy girl Zemfira in the film "Sinful Apostles of Love." Patrina is from a family of Hungarian gypsies, her father is the famous singer Janos Sarkozy. Patrina's VKontakte page - https://vk.com/patrinasharkozi
Patrina Charkozy dressed as an English gypsy
2nd place. Ekaterina Zhemchuzhnaya(born March 28, 1944, Tula) - artist of the Romen Theater, People's Artist of Russia. Maiden name - Alexandrovich. She acted in films as gypsies, for example she played Zoritsa in the Soviet TV series “Eternal Call”. Ekaterina Zhemchuzhnaya is the mother of actress Lyalya Zhemchuzhnaya.
Over the centuries, attitudes towards the Gypsy people have been very contradictory, and their way of life has always caused at least bewilderment and misunderstanding among everyone. While most people associate gypsies with thieves and beggars, the gypsy elite are literally drowning in gold and wealth. Today, some gypsies continue to lead a nomadic lifestyle, constantly on the road, and some have chosen a settled, stable life, which, by the way, does not at all prevent them from invariably remaining a separate group and in no way assimilating with the rest of society. TravelAsk presents 20 bright and eloquent photographs that fully demonstrate the peculiarities of life, everyday life and culture of the Roma people.
Scavenger City
Gypsy Quarter
When there is a lot of garbage, it is removed.
Gypsy houses
The houses of rich gypsies have their own style.
Residence of a gypsy baron in Moldova
Local residents even build copies of world-famous architectural monuments.
Interior decoration of houses
The interior decoration of the palaces matches the appearance.
Housing...
But such housing can hardly be called a home. Author of the photo: Maxim Bespalov.
Gold BMW
The chic of gypsy majors.
Vehicle
But for a simple gypsy, one horsepower is enough.
Gypsy Baron
The gold from gypsy jewelry could feed hundreds of ordinary gypsies for a long time.
Gypsy "King" of Romania
The most influential and respected baron.
"Golden youth
Life is full of luxury surrounded by gold and jewelry.
Roma
A family of gypsies shovels sawdust, which they use to heat their home. Author of the photo: Maxim Bespalov.
Parents and children
Mom and children.
We live in dirt and without roads
Breadwinner
Sleepers are also firewood.
Baroness
Not every queen can afford that much gold. Author of the photo: Maxim Bespalov.
A typical representative of the gypsy “elite”
Clothing and jewelry should be as rich as possible.
Gypsy wedding
A gypsy wedding is a closed ceremony. Outsiders are not invited to the holiday.
Gypsy gay wedding
The fun ended in a mass brawl because of a drunken guest who wanted to know what was under the bride’s skirt.
Bride's dress
The chic outfit weighs more than ten kilograms due to the large amount of gold.
Gypsies are rightfully considered one of the largest ethnic minorities in Europe. Roma also live in North Africa, North and South America and Australia. Gypsy culture has deeply influenced world music; especially Russian, Romanian, Hungarian, Balkan, Spanish folk music, as well as classical music of the 19th century, jazz, flamenco. A lot of paintings, poems, and feature films are dedicated to the gypsies. In his Top 15 most beautiful gypsies I decided to collect famous women with gypsy roots. If you have suggestions for adding a particular candidate to this rating, write in the comments.
15. Lyalya Black(real name - Nadezhda Khmeleva born February 15, 1909, Nalchik - September 2, 1982, Moscow) - theater and film actress, actress of the Romen Theater, dancer, performer of gypsy songs and romances. Born into the family of a Moscow nobleman, Sergei Alekseevich Kiselyov, and a gypsy, Maria Georgievna Polyakova, singer and dancer of the Strelna Gypsy Choir I. Lebedev. Films: “The Last Camp”, “Fire”, “The Taste of Halva”, “The Camp Goes to Heaven”.
14. Lyalya Moldavskaya- actress and dancer of the gypsy ensembles "Russka Roma" and "Svenko".
13. Diana Savelyeva(born May 16, 1979) - Russian singer, performer of gypsy romances, artist of the Mosconcert. Winner of first place in the competitions "Sun" (1986) and "Jazomania" (1995), laureate of the "Romansiada" (2000), laureate of the festival of gypsy art "At the turn of the century" (2001), member of the jury of the "Romansiada" in 2005. Cousin granddaughter of Nikolai Zhemchuzhny. Born into an artistic gypsy family. Her father is a performer of gypsy songs and dances, Alexander Savelyev. She became a model for Nikolai Bessonov's paintings "Tabor Dance" and "Esmeralda and Phoebus".
12. Rada Rai(real name Elena; April 8, 1979, Magadan, USSR) - Russian singer, performer of Russian chanson. Gained fame with the songs "Kalina" and "Soul". The greatest support in promoting the singer was provided by the Chanson Radio Station. The debut album, "You are my soul...", released in 2008, was released in an unusually large circulation and settled in the top positions in the Russian charts.
11.Maria Shashkova(born 1980, real name Cleopatra) - dancer and belly dance choreographer, multiple winner of international belly dance competitions. Daughter of the artist and musician, former leader of the gypsy ensemble "Terne Roman" Alexei Shashkov and choreographer Svetlana Shashkova.
10. Mariska Veres(born October 1, 1947 - December 2, 2006) - Dutch singer, lead singer of the group "Shocking Blue". Her father, Lajos Veres, a Hungarian gypsy by nationality, was a violinist in a gypsy orchestra.
9. Nelly Maltseva- dancer of the gypsy ensemble "Svenko".
8.Raya Udovikova(born in 1934 in a gypsy camp near Kursk) - actress, singer. In 1953, during a tour of the Romen Theater in Dnepropetrovsk, she joined his troupe and went with her to Moscow. She played many comedic and dramatic roles in the theater.
7. Leoncia Erdenko(born February 27, 1972 Moscow) - successor to the world-famous Moscow gypsy dynasty, daughter of the famous singer Nikolai Erdenko. Main genre: performance of Russian gypsy folklore (classics, tradition, adaptations).
6.Adelina Plohotnaya(born May 29, 1988) - actress of the Romen Theater since 2007, graduated from GITIS. Performances: “Love under the tents”, “Confession of a Gypsy violin”, “We are Gypsies”, “Gypsies and Gypsies in Africa”, “Grushenka”, “We have a concert today”, “Witchcraft love”, “King of Diamonds”, "Bells of Love" Filmography: “The Hare over the Abyss” (2006), “Gypsies” (2009), “On Betrayal” (2010), “Sklifosovsky” (2011), “Legends of the Circle” (2013).
5. Patrina Sharkozy(born March 19) - actress of the Romen Theater since 2006. She studied dance in the Gilori ensemble. In 1999 she graduated from the All-Russian State Institute of Cinematography (workshop of A.V. Batalov). After graduating from the institute, she worked at the theater-studio A.V. Batalova. Theatrical works: “Run horses, run…”, “Hotel “Tabor” 5 stars”, “Love under the tents”, “Confession of a gypsy violin”, “We are gypsies”, “Grushenka”, “Horseshoe of happiness”, “Witchcraft love” ", "Gypsy Paradise", "Princess Kristana", "Countess - Gypsy", "We have a concert today."
4.Rada Matvienko(born September 24, 1991) - singer, actress, TV presenter from Kazakhstan, comes from a family of Russian gypsies. Semi-finalist of an international music competition Avon Voices. Basic roles in the film: “Racketeer”, “December Tango”, “My Dear Children”, “Book of Life”, “Brothers”, “Xenia XD” (main role), “Mustafa Shokai”, “Angels”. Champion of Kazakhstan in social Latin dances "Bachata", "Salsa" 2008, as well as Arabic "solo tabla". TV presenter of the program: "Alakai".
3.Soledad Miranda(born July 9, 1943 Seville, Spain) - Spanish actress. She became best known for her roles in films directed by Spanish director Jesus Franco. She also used the pseudonyms Susan Korda or Susan Corday. Her parents are Portuguese with Romani ancestry.
2. Rita Hayworth / Rita Hayworth(October 17, 1918 - May 14, 1987) - American film actress and dancer, one of the most famous Hollywood stars of the 1940s. Real name - Margarita Carmen Cansino, was born in the family of a famous performer of Spanish flamenco dances, a native of Seville with gypsy roots - Eduardo Cansino.
