A Brief Introduction to Gypsies

吉普赛人简介

By Larry Romanoff, April 26, 2022

通过拉里·罗曼诺夫，2022年4月26日

 CHINESE  ENGLISH

“May you wander over the face of the earth forever, never sleep twice in the same bed, never drink water twice from the same well and never cross the same river twice in a year.” 

“愿你永远飘荡在大地上，永远不在同一张床上睡两次觉，永远不在同一口井里喝两次水，永远不在一年内翻越同一条河两次。” 

An old Gypsy curse

一个古老的吉普赛诅咒

First, let me tell you of my personal experiences with Gypsies. These cover a period of approximately ten years mostly in Italy, Romania, Germany and France.

 首先，让我告诉你我与吉普赛人的个人经历。这一时期约为十年，主要在意大利、罗马尼亚、德国和法国。

One stark memory is of a Gypsy man perhaps 45 years old with what appeared to be a badly-twisted and lame leg supported by a crutch, begging for money in my piazza in Rome. It was painful to watch the man navigate the curbs and flagstones, making his way around the piazza, hoping for a few coins. He was there all morning on most days, but around noon he would pause his circular pilgrimage, stop to empty his pockets and count his bills and change, and apparently decide he had enough for a good meal. So, he would stand up, put his crutch over his shoulder and waltz over to the nice restaurant across the street for lunch.

 一个鲜明的记忆是，一个大约45岁的吉普赛男子在我位于罗马的广场上乞讨，他的腿似乎严重扭曲，腿跛了，拄着拐杖。看着这名男子在路边和石板路上穿行，在广场上走来走去，希望能得到几枚硬币，我感到很痛苦。在大多数日子里，他整个上午都在那里，但在中午左右，他会暂停他的循环朝圣，停下来掏空口袋，清点账单和零钱，显然他觉得自己有足够的钱吃一顿美餐。所以，他会站起来，把拐杖扛在肩上，然后跳华尔兹到街对面那家不错的餐厅吃午饭。

Another fond memory is of a young Gypsy girl, perhaps only 15 or 16 years old, sitting on the steps of the basilica in the piazza with an infant wrapped in a swaddling blanket and again begging for money. Many church-goers coming and going took pity on the girl and gave generously. But now her blanket was becoming unkempt so, completely oblivious to the surrounding parishioners, she unwrapped the blanket, laid it out and re-folded it so it was again nice and neat. It was a surprise to see there was no infant there; just an empty and cleverly-folded blanket which, with the pathetic facial expressions and body language, was enough to make a good living.

 另一个美好的回忆是，一个年轻的吉普赛女孩，可能只有15或16岁，坐在广场的大教堂台阶上，抱着一个裹在襁褓毯里的婴儿，再次乞讨。许多来来去去的去教堂的人同情这个女孩，慷慨地捐赠。但现在她的毯子变得凌乱不堪，所以，周围的教区居民完全没有注意到她，她打开毯子，把它放好，重新折叠起来，这样它又漂亮又整洁了。看到那里没有婴儿，真是令人惊讶；只有一条空空的、巧妙折叠的毯子，加上可怜的面部表情和肢体语言，足以维持良好的生活。

I could not recount the number of times I was approached on the street in Rome (and in other cities) by a very attractive young Gypsy woman, in her early 20s and carrying an infant. She would come very close to me, intimate and friendly, choosing one subject or another for conversation while her infant held a largish piece of cardboard between us. It didn’t take long to realise the purpose of that cardboard was to block my view of her free hand reaching for my pockets. It was beautifully executed and, with the charming voice and lovely smile of a pretty young mother, suspicions were neutralised. And these girls were everywhere. I couldn’t imagine the number of passports and wallets that must have disappeared due to this virtual army of young Gypsy mothers.

 我记不清在罗马（以及其他城市）的街道上，有多少次我被一位20出头、抱着婴儿、非常迷人的年轻吉普赛女子接近。她会走得离我很近，亲密而友好，选择一个或另一个话题进行交谈，而她的婴儿则在我们之间拿着一块更大的纸板。没过多久，我就意识到那张硬纸板的目的是挡住我的视线，让我看不到她伸手去拿我的口袋。这部电影制作精美，以一位年轻漂亮的母亲迷人的声音和可爱的微笑，消除了人们的怀疑。这些女孩无处不在。我无法想象有多少护照和钱包因为这群年轻的吉普赛母亲而消失。

My second-most favorite experience was in a retail shop in Rome. I cannot recall the goods it sold, but it had tables rather than high shelves, rather like a billiard hall with 50 tables, and about the same size and height. As I was walking around, I noticed a commotion where a young Gypsy girl, perhaps 15 or 16 years old, must have been caught trying to steal something, and where several men were trying to corner her. The girl dodged and weaved, and made her way almost to the wide exit doors but two adult men were blocking the aisles leading out. I wish you could have been there to see this. The girl paused for a moment, then chose one aisle and rushed right up to the man and screeched to a halt within less than a foot from him. But at that instant, just before the man could grab her in his arms, the girl pulled up her sweater, fully exposing her lovely young breasts. The man appeared stunned, and for a split second he froze, with that fraction of a second more than sufficient time for the girl to duck under his arm and disappear into the street. I was overcome with admiration because her timing was perfect. That act was not only choreographed, but must have been rehearsed 100 times, and was as professionally-executed as any maneuver I have ever seen. It was like watching a Jackie Chan movie.

 我第二喜欢的经历是在罗马的一家零售店。我想不起它卖过什么东西，但它有桌子而不是高架子，更像是一个有50张桌子的台球厅，大小和高度差不多。当我四处走动时，我注意到一场骚乱，一个年轻的吉普赛女孩，可能15或16岁，一定是在试图偷东西时被抓住的，还有几个男人试图把她逼到墙角。女孩躲闪着，迂回着，几乎走到了宽阔的出口，但两个成年男子挡住了通往出口的过道。我希望你能在那里看到这一切。女孩停顿了一会儿，然后选择了一条过道，径直冲到那个男人面前，尖叫着在离他不到一英尺的地方停了下来。但就在那一刻，就在男子将她搂在怀里之前，女孩拉起毛衣，露出了她年轻可爱的乳房。这名男子似乎惊呆了，有一瞬间他僵住了，那一刻的时间足以让女孩躲到他的胳膊下消失在街上。我钦佩不已，因为她的时机恰到好处。那一幕不仅是精心编排的，而且肯定已经排练了100次，而且是我见过的最专业的动作。就像看成龙的电影一样。

However, my favorite Gypsy story took place in Romania, the “home” of the Gypsies. I was walking around downtown Bucharest with a friend, and at an intersection we came upon a Gypsy woman perhaps 45 years old who had a small table set up on the sidewalk with flowers she was selling. And these were not single-stem roses, but elaborate and beautiful bouquets of rare and expensive flowers, all elegantly arranged. I was totally impressed. I said to my friend, “Jesus, this is a lot better than in Rome. In Rome, all the Gypsies do is beg and steal. Here, they are at least trying to earn money by doing something useful.” And my friend said, “Well, it would be better if they weren’t stealing the flowers from the cemeteries.”

 然而，我最喜欢的吉普赛故事发生在吉普赛人的“家”罗马尼亚。我和一个朋友在布加勒斯特市中心散步，在一个十字路口，我们遇到一位大约45岁的吉普赛妇女，她在人行道上摆了一张小桌，桌上摆着她正在卖的花。这些玫瑰不是单茎玫瑰，而是精心制作的美丽花束，由稀有而昂贵的花朵组成，排列得十分优雅。我印象深刻。我对我的朋友说：“耶稣，这比在罗马好多了。在罗马，吉普赛人所做的就是乞讨和偷窃。在这里，他们至少是想通过做一些有用的事情来挣钱。”我的朋友说：“如果他们不偷墓地的花，那就更好了。”

But not all events were as pleasant. I cannot eradicate from my memory the picture of a small Gypsy girl perhaps 8 or 10 years old, half-sitting and half-lying on the sidewalk begging for money. She had her dress pulled up to reveal a horribly twisted and mangled leg that appeared to have been broken in several places with none of the parts in their proper position or at a correct angle. Even worse, most of that leg had been severely burned, displaying much more ugly scar tissue than human flesh. It was wrenching to contemplate the suffering that child must have undergone at some earlier point in her life. Naturally, the donations were copious. But then I recalled seeing another young girl of similar age with essentially the same injuries in Florence some months prior. And another in Bologna, and in Venice, and Naples, and in Paris and Marseilles. And I was forced to conclude that such similar injuries to small Gypsy girls in such a number could not have been a coincidence. The injuries had to have been deliberately inflicted; there was no other possibility.

 但并不是所有的事情都那么愉快。我无法从记忆中抹去一个大概8岁或10岁的吉普赛小女孩半坐半躺在人行道上乞讨的画面。她让人把裙子拉起，露出一条扭曲不堪、扭伤不堪的腿，腿似乎在好几个地方断了，没有一个部位处于正确的位置或角度。更糟糕的是，那条腿大部分被严重烧伤，留下的疤痕组织比人的肉要难看得多。想到这孩子在生命的早期一定经历过的苦难，她感到痛苦。当然，捐款是丰富的。但后来我回忆起几个月前在佛罗伦萨看到另一个年龄相仿的女孩，基本上也有同样的伤势。还有一个在博洛尼亚、威尼斯、那不勒斯、巴黎和马赛。我被迫得出结论，这么多吉普赛小女孩遭受如此类似的伤害不可能是巧合。伤势必须是故意造成的；没有其他可能性。

Things may have changed since I lived in Rome but, with the Gypsies being almost entirely nomadic at the time, there were no Gypsy cemeteries. No one knew who died or how or why they died, nor what happened to the body. The leader of a Gypsy Clan or a Group has more or less life and death authority over those under his command, and it would be this man who could levy a death penalty for violations – or for being elderly. He would decide when and which infants would be physically mangled to assist the community’s begging efforts. It would be this man who would direct and organise all the begging and thieving categories and arrange for the instruction and training and, judging by experience, this of necessity would begin at a very young age.

 自从我住在罗马以来，情况可能发生了变化，但由于吉普赛人当时几乎完全是游牧民族，所以没有吉普赛人墓地。没有人知道谁死了，他们是怎么死的，为什么死的，也没有人知道尸体发生了什么。吉普赛氏族或团体的领导人对其指挥下的人或多或少都有生死权，而正是这个人可以对违法行为——或老年人——判处死刑。他将决定何时以及哪些婴儿会被身体撕裂，以协助社区的乞讨工作。这名男子将指挥和组织所有的行乞和盗窃活动，并安排指导和培训，根据经验判断，这项工作必须在很小的时候就开始。

Some Background

 一些背景

The Gypsies have historically been nomads, wandering tinkers and thieves. They would not settle down in any one place but would be constantly on the move, usually traveling in their colorful wagons, stopping in a town for a day or a few days, then moving on. They were curious, novel, and often entertaining. Many were excellent musicians or gymnasts, sometimes offering to entertain at wedding parties where they would capably acquit themselves. They sometimes had small circuses and were apparently gifted at training animals like bears.

 吉普赛人历来是游牧民族、流浪的修补匠和小偷。他们不会在任何一个地方安顿下来，而是不断地移动，通常乘坐五颜六色的马车旅行，在一个城镇停留一天或几天，然后继续前行。他们好奇、新奇，而且常常很有趣。许多人都是优秀的音乐家或体操运动员，有时会主动提出在婚礼派对上款待他们，在那里他们可以很好地表现自己。他们有时会有小型马戏团，显然擅长训练熊等动物。

Most often when entering a town they would perform small repairs for the townsfolk – sharpening knives, repairing pots and pans, doing small kinds of metal work. The men were mostly good blacksmiths and would often shoe horses as part of the local service, while the women would engage in clothing repairs and in fortune-telling. And, while some men and women were thus engaged, the remainder of the clan would freely roam the town to steal everything not nailed down. It was usually only after their departure that the townsfolk would begin to receive an accounting of everything missing. It was so bad that many towns in Europe began to pay Gypsies to go away as soon as they appeared.

 大多数情况下，当他们进入一个城镇时，他们会为城镇居民做一些小的修理工作——磨刀，修理锅碗瓢盆，做一些小的金属工作。这些男人大多是好铁匠，经常为马匹穿鞋，作为当地服务的一部分，而女人则从事服装修理和算命。而且，当一些男人和女人这样订婚时，其余的氏族成员会自由地在镇上游荡，偷走所有没有固定下来的东西。通常只有在他们离开后，镇上的居民才会开始收到丢失的所有东西的账目。情况非常糟糕，欧洲许多城镇开始付钱让吉普赛人一出现就离开。

Gypsy women became known as palm readers and petty thieves, suspected of sorcery. A Bologna chronicle from 1422 gave this account of a visit from a Gypsy group: “Amongst those who wished to have their fortunes told, few went to consult without having their purse stolen. The women of the band wandered about the town, six or eight together; they entered the houses of the citizens and told idle tales, during which some of them laid hold of whatever could be taken. In the same way, they visited the shops under the pretext of buying something, but one of them would steal. While a turban-wearing Gypsy woman told your fortune, her children would pick your pockets. It was said that the Gypsy women cast spells and practiced witchcraft; the Gypsy men were experts at picking locks and pilfering horses.”

 吉普赛妇女因涉嫌巫术而被称为掌上阅读者和小偷。1422年的博洛尼亚纪事记录了一个吉普赛团体的来访：“在那些希望算命的人中，很少有人去咨询而钱包却没有被偷。乐队的女人们在镇上四处游荡，六八个人在一起；她们走进市民的房子，讲闲话，其间有些人抓住了任何可以拿走的东西。同样，她们也在街上逛商店r是买东西的借口，但其中一个会偷东西。当一个戴着头巾的吉普赛女人告诉你命运时，她的孩子会扒你的口袋。据说吉普赛妇女施咒语和巫术；吉普赛人是撬锁和偷马的专家。”

“They always had a fortune telling tent set up. They did palm reading by holding a man’s hand while trying to pick his pocket with the other hand. I’d seen it many times in plain sight in front of their tent. I was told they wanted to get a man inside where a young female fortune teller could sexually distract a man while Mama picked his back pocket from behind a tent flap. But that was woman’s work. So was setting up and taking down the tent. Men just stood around and “supervised” the women. The men’s real job was casing stores in town by day and breaking and entering by night on the last night before packing up and moving on to the next town in the morning.”

 “他们总是搭起一个算命帐篷。他们握着一个男人的手，同时试图用另一只手扒他的口袋。我在他们的帐篷前清楚地看到过很多次。他们告诉我，他们想让一个男人进去，一个年轻的女算命师可以在妈妈扒他的背上的麻子时，让一个男人在性方面分心。”从一个帐篷的门帘后面。但那是女人的工作。搭建和拆除帐篷也是如此。男人只是站在周围“监督”女人。男人们真正的工作是白天在镇上的商店里打点行装，在最后一天晚上破门而入，然后在早上收拾行装前往下一个镇。”

Over time, they apparently became excellent horse trainers and horse traders, with excellent judgment of horseflesh in terms of both evaluating and stealing. They also navigated to trading of ferrous and non-ferrous scrap metals and the collection of waste and eked a reasonable living. They slowly progressed to some kinds of small retail businesses, though most still made their fortunes out of begging and theft. But times change; as the UK has learned to its dismay, one of their prime talents is the illegal collection of social assistance from the British state.

 随着时间的推移，他们显然成为了优秀的驯马师和马匹交易者，对马肉在评估和偷窃方面都有着卓越的判断力。他们还从事有色金属和有色金属废料的交易和废物收集，并维持了合理的生活。他们慢慢地发展到一些小型零售企业，尽管大多数仍然靠乞讨和盗窃发财。但时代变了；正如英国沮丧地了解到的那样，他们的主要才能之一是从英国政府非法获得社会援助。

Some Gypsies in Europe have become relatively wealthy, at least to the extent of accumulating property worth 5 or 10 million euros, and those who are no longer migrant sometimes own very large homes. Their occupations have also changed: European Gypsies, especially in Romania and Germany, are heavily involved in illegal real estate businesses, with stolen luxury cars being another favorite. While they have not yet progressed into respectable banking, Gypsies are often entangled in money-laundering and various usury activities, typically granting short-term loans at high interest in Romanian or other local currency. In Romania, when you are offered US dollars on the street or in your hotel at an attractive rate of exchange, the dollars are almost always counterfeit (excellent reproductions, too) and the seller is almost invariably a Gypsy. Blackmail is another favorite.

 欧洲的一些吉普赛人变得相对富裕，至少积累了价值500万或1000万欧元的财产，而那些不再是移民的吉普赛人有时拥有非常大的房子。他们的职业也发生了变化：欧洲吉普赛人，尤其是罗马尼亚和德国的吉普赛人，严重参与非法房地产交易，偷来的豪华汽车是另一个热门话题。虽然吉普赛人尚未发展成体面的银行业，但他们经常卷入洗钱和各种高利贷活动，通常以罗马尼亚或其他当地货币发放高息短期贷款。在罗马尼亚，当你在街上或酒店里以诱人的汇率收到美元时，美元几乎都是伪造的（复制品也很好），卖家几乎都是吉普赛人。勒索是另一种最受欢迎的方式。

But even the settled and non-nomadic Gypsies still maintain their fundamental thieving nature, problems with the law being the normal course of events. Romanian gossip is replete on almost a daily basis of some Gypsy’s fancy home being stormed by Interpol agents yet one more time. Some of this relates to teams of small children taken to England on beg-and-steal missions. Gypsies were (and still are) repeatedly accused of forgery of nearly every kind, including property ownership documents and residence documents. There are records from as far back as the early 1400s telling how Gypsies traveled around Europe with “safe-conduct letters” from the Pope, all of which were apparently forged. They are generally accused of deception of every kind, of embezzlement and tax evasion, and of stealing everything including electricity from the grid.

 但即使是定居的和非游牧的吉普赛人仍然保持着他们基本的偷盗性质，法律问题是正常的。罗马尼亚的流言蜚语几乎每天都充斥着一些吉普赛人的豪宅再次遭到国际刑警组织特工的袭击。其中一些与带到英国执行乞讨和偷窃任务的幼儿团队有关。吉普赛人曾（现在仍然）多次被指控伪造几乎所有类型的文件，包括财产所有权文件和居住文件。早在14世纪初，就有记录显示吉普赛人带着教皇的“安全行为书”周游欧洲，所有这些信显然都是伪造的。他们通常被指控各种欺骗、贪污和逃税，以及从电网窃取包括电力在内的一切。

One website in Romania published this comment from a reader: “Gypsies, through everything they do, are a burden to any community. You can’t live with individuals without law, God, education, morals. How many of the approximately two million Gypsies work? Very few, under 5% probably. But they reproduce in ignorance. How can individuals who have no profession, no home, no future, ensure a future for their children? All these future generations of Gypsies will be Europe’s future criminals, future killers of the elderly who, after a lifetime of work, can be slaughtered without problems by gypsies.

 罗马尼亚的一家网站发表了一位读者的评论：“吉普赛人，无论他们做什么，都是任何社区的负担。没有法律、上帝、教育和道德，你不能与个人生活在一起。大约200万吉普赛人中有多少人工作？很少，可能不到5%。但他们在无知中繁衍后代。没有职业、没有家、没有未来的个人如何确保他们的孩子有未来艾德伦？所有这些吉普赛人的后代都将是欧洲未来的罪犯，未来的老年人杀手，经过一生的工作，吉普赛人可以毫无问题地屠杀他们。

Why should The Romanians, Mr. President, bear the gypsy terror? Why not be able to travel in Bucharest, after a certain hour, thanks to the Gypsies? Why should Romanians be labelled Gypsies, while Gypsies are called Roma? Wake up Romanians. For those who want to know what gypsies in Romania do, they are a state within the state, the laws applying only to the ‘suckers’ of Romanians, who toil hard for the Gypsies to have social benefits and from where they steal.” (1)

 总统先生，罗马尼亚人为什么要忍受吉普赛人的恐怖？多亏了吉普赛人，为什么不在一个小时后去布加勒斯特旅行呢？为什么罗马尼亚人应该被称为吉普赛人，而吉普赛人则被称为罗姆人？醒醒罗马尼亚人。对于那些想知道吉普赛人在罗马尼亚做什么的人来说，他们是国家中的一个国家，法律只适用于罗马尼亚人的“笨蛋”，他们为吉普赛人获得社会福利而辛勤劳动，从哪里偷东西。” (1)

About the Gypsies in Transylvania, the historian J. Lebprecht wrote that they fall into two categories: “those with permanent residence, who deal partly with agriculture, part with crafts and especially with blacksmithing, and some of them make their living out of the fiddlery, progress well and lead a quiet life. Then are the gypsies of the village, who are not stable and roam the whole country”. Other travelers through the Romanian countries, three hundred years ago, remember [these] as the horror ethnicity that stole the children and horses of the Romanians. The most feared was the category was “neots”, gypsies without craftsmanship, without houses or tents who wandered around the country and [committed] robberies and murders. Another job, apart from blacksmithing and brass, they hardly have. [Their] Nature is the same as in other countries, they have the same mores and their supreme virtue and the specific difference is theft and laziness.”

 关于特兰西瓦尼亚的吉普赛人，历史学家J.Lebprecht写道，它们分为两类：“那些有永久居留权的人，他们一部分从事农业，一部分从事手工艺，尤其是铁匠业，其中一些人以提琴为生，进步良好，过着平静的生活。然后是村里的吉普赛人，他们不稳定，在全国各地游荡。”。三百年前，其他途经罗马尼亚国家的旅行者都记得，这是一个可怕的种族，偷走了罗马尼亚人的孩子和马。最令人恐惧的是“neots”，吉普赛人没有手艺，没有房子或帐篷，他们在全国各地游荡，犯下抢劫和谋杀罪。除了铁匠和黄铜，他们几乎没有其他工作。他们的本性和其他国家一样，他们有着相同的道德和至高无上的美德，具体的区别是偷窃和懒惰。”

It is interesting to observe, certainly in Romania but in other European countries as well, that Gypsies are rarely held to account for these crimes. In one case in Romania, a Gypsy who had perpetrated an astonishing act of deception in the sale of a property was essentially forgiven by the judge and received only a two-year suspended sentence. In another recent case, Romania’s National Integrity Agency notified the Tax Inspectorate that an apparently wealthy Gypsy had not paid taxes on at least several hundred thousand euros of income, and in one year had declared income of 38,000 euros but spent 140,000 euros. No action was taken by the officials.

 有趣的是，观察到吉普赛人很少被追究这些罪行的责任，这在罗马尼亚当然是如此，但在其他欧洲国家也是如此。在罗马尼亚的一个案件中，一名吉普赛人在出售一处房产时犯下了惊人的欺骗行为，法官基本上赦免了他，只判处两年缓刑。在最近的另一起案件中，罗马尼亚国家廉正局通知税务检查局，一名显然很富有的吉普赛人没有为至少数十万欧元的收入纳税，一年内申报的收入为3.8万欧元，但花费了14万欧元。官员们没有采取任何行动。

It seems that some subset of Gypsies has perfected the techniques of insinuating themselves into the channels of officialdom in such a manner as to more or less guarantee immunity from prosecution. It is possible that blackmail plays some part in this process, but this is likely a minor part, perhaps a kind of backstop, since many of this ‘subset’ have apparently become expert at becoming ‘friends of the court’ with relations at the highest levels of government and the judiciary. In Romania, for example, some rich Gypsies are close friends with the brothers and sisters of the President, are present at baptisms of the elite’s newly-born, regularly attend the funerals of a Prime Minister’s mother, and so on.

 看来，一些吉普赛人已经完善了向官场渠道暗示自己的技巧，从而或多或少地保证免于起诉。勒索可能在这一过程中发挥了一定作用，但这可能只是一个小部分，或许是一种支持，因为这一“子集”中的许多人显然已经成为与政府和司法机构的最高级别关系成为“法院之友”的专家。例如，在罗马尼亚，一些富有的吉普赛人与总统的兄弟姐妹是亲密的朋友，参加精英阶层新生儿的洗礼，定期参加总理母亲的葬礼，等等。

My friends in Romania and a few other European countries tell me that regular citizens would be in jail, but the police and authorities seem to tolerate crimes by Gypsies who then prosper. They claim this is in no small measure due to their ability to involve themselves in local political and social affairs, often seen sharing a table with people of high rank and status – politicians, policemen, judges, prosecutors, businessmen. They have no easy explanation as to how this influence is achieved, but many believe it to be carefully-planned from a central source and taking advantage of an instinctive natural talent.

 我在罗马尼亚和其他几个欧洲国家的朋友告诉我，普通公民将被关进监狱，但警方和当局似乎容忍吉普赛人的犯罪行为，吉普赛人随后获得了成功。他们声称，这在很大程度上是因为他们有能力参与当地政治和社会事务，经常看到他们与政界人士、警察、法官、检察官、商人等高级别和地位的人共用一张桌子。对于这种影响是如何实现的，他们没有简单的解释，但许多人认为这是从一个中心来源精心规划的，并利用了本能的天赋。

They can be astonishingly bold. In one instance in the village of Iasi in Romania, a group of Gypsies commandeered a cemetery, set up tents and began to barbeque piglets and have a huge party. They even confiscated the chapel. They simply claimed the area as theirs, and refused entry to the townsfolk to bury their dead. The local police for some reason seemed unable to deal with this, and it was only a huge outcry in the media that forced some action.

 他们可以非常大胆。有一次，在罗马尼亚的亚西村，一群吉普赛人占领了一座公墓，搭起帐篷，开始烤小猪，并举行了一个盛大的派对。他们甚至没收了教堂。他们只是声称该地区是他们的，并拒绝进入城镇埋葬死者。由于某种原因，当地警方似乎无法处理这一问题，只有媒体的强烈抗议才迫使采取了一些行动。

As a rule, Gypsies do not assimilate. They may adopt the superficial trappings of the society in which they live, even including the local religion although they are almost never seen in a church and maintain their own traditions for marriage. In the UK, at least until very recently, the Gypsies fought viciously to maintain, and were successful in obtaining, official government approval for their nomadic lifestyle. Thus, most were not registered anywhere, had no obligation to place their children in schools, and operated virtually as a state within a state, a group of anonymous and independent itinerants.

 一般来说，吉普赛人不会同化。他们可能会采用他们所生活的社会的表面装饰，甚至包括当地的宗教，尽管他们几乎从未在教堂见过，并保持自己的婚姻传统。在英国，至少直到最近，吉普赛人为了维持他们的游牧生活方式而进行了恶毒的斗争，并成功地获得了政府的正式批准。因此，大多数人没有在任何地方注册，没有义务让他们的孩子上学，实际上是作为一个州中的一个州，一组匿名和独立的巡回者进行运作。

It doesn’t seem to have been all bad: “In Provence, it seems the Gypsies were welcomed. It is there that they first began to be called Bohemians. People flocked to them to have their fortunes told. The Gypsies claimed to have dukes and counts among them and later added captains and kings. The Spanish nobility protected the Gypsies at first. Gypsy women were adored for their beauty and seductive charms; Gypsy men were admired as excellent judges of the quality of horses, and hired by nobles to procure them for their stables.”

 这似乎并不全是坏事：“在普罗旺斯，吉普赛人似乎受到了欢迎。正是在那里，他们开始被称为波西米亚人。人们蜂拥到他们那里去算命。吉普赛人声称他们中有公爵和伯爵，后来又增加了船长和国王。西班牙贵族起初保护吉普赛人。吉普赛人妇女因其美丽和高贵而受到崇拜诱人的魅力；吉普赛人被视为优秀的马匹品质鉴定人，并被贵族雇佣为马厩采购马匹。”

But the good times don’t seem to have lasted; the Gypsies were generally treated very badly and expelled from nation after nation.

 但美好的时光似乎并未持续；吉普赛人通常受到非常恶劣的待遇，被逐出一个又一个国家。

Gypsy Expulsions

 吉普赛人驱逐

In England, the Egyptian Act of 1530 was passed to expel Gypsies from the realm, for being lewd vagabonds, conning the good citizens out of their money, and committing a rash of felony robberies. In 1562, Queen Elizabeth signed an order designed to force Gypsies to settle into permanent dwellings, or face death. Under King James I, England began to deport Gypsy people to the American colonies, as well as Jamaica and Barbados. Dumping undesirables into the colonies became a widespread practice, not only Gypsies, but also “thieves, beggars, and whores” – these forming the early populations of North America. There were repeated expulsions from Spain, Portugal, England, Scotland, France, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden, Egypt.

在英国，1530年的埃及法案被通过，将吉普赛人驱逐出境，理由是他们是淫荡的流浪汉，骗取了善良公民的钱财，犯下了一连串的重罪抢劫。1562年，伊丽莎白女王签署了一项命令，旨在迫使吉普赛人定居到永久住所，否则将面临死亡。在国王詹姆斯一世统治下，英格兰开始将吉普赛人驱逐到美洲殖民地，以及牙买加和巴巴多斯。将不受欢迎的人倾倒到殖民地成为一种普遍的做法，不仅吉普赛人如此，还有“小偷、乞丐和妓女”——这些构成了北美早期人口。西班牙、葡萄牙、英格兰、苏格兰、法国、德国、瑞士、丹麦、瑞典、埃及等国多次被驱逐出境。

In Scotland, “a decree was issued in 1624 that traveling Gypsy men would be arrested and hanged, Gypsy women without children would be drowned, and gypsy women with children would be whipped and branded on the cheek.” Many were hanged for being “Egyptians”. In 1497, the Diet (legislature) of the Holy Roman Empire issued a decree that expelled all Gypsies from Germany for espionage. In 1510, Switzerland followed suit and added the death penalty. A Swiss chronicler denounced Gypsies as “useless rascals who wander about in our day, and of whom the most worthy is a thief, for they live solely for stealing.”

在苏格兰，“1624年颁布了一项法令，规定旅行的吉普赛男子将被逮捕并绞死，没有孩子的吉普赛妇女将被淹死，有孩子的吉普赛妇女将被鞭打并打在脸颊上。”许多人因为是“埃及人”而被绞死。1497年，神圣罗马帝国的国会（立法机构）颁布法令，以间谍罪将所有吉普赛人驱逐出德国。1510年，瑞士紧随其后，增加了死刑。一位瑞士编年史家谴责吉普赛人是“无用的流氓，在我们这个时代到处游荡，最有价值的是小偷，因为他们的生活完全是为了偷窃。”

“133 laws against Gypsies were passed in the Holy Roman Empire between 1551 and 1774. One of those, passed in 1710, made it a crime to be a Gypsy woman or an old Gypsy man in Germany. They were widely viewed as a godless and wicked people. Violators were to be flogged, branded, and deported. To be a Gypsy man in Germany was to be given a life sentence of prison at hard labor. Children of Gypsy people were taken away from them and put into good Christian homes. In 1493, they were banned from Milan because they were beggars and thieves who disturbed the peace.”

 “在1551年至1774年间，神圣罗马帝国通过了133项针对吉普赛人的法律。其中一项于1710年通过，将德国的吉普赛人妇女或吉普赛人老人定为犯罪。他们被广泛视为不虔诚和邪恶的民族。违者将被鞭打、打上烙印并驱逐出境。在德国成为吉普赛人将被判处死刑在劳役中坐牢的痛苦。吉普赛人的孩子被从他们身边带走，安置在基督教的好家里。1493年，他们被禁止进入米兰，因为他们是扰乱和平的乞丐和小偷。”

“Gypsies were never well received in Germany. Near the close of the nineteenth century, things got worse as Germans subscribed to the theories of Italian criminologist Cesare Lombroso. One of his ideas was that criminality is inherited. As one proof of this, Lombroso pointed to the Gypsies, whom he described as generation after generation of people who are vain, shameless, shiftless, noisy, licentious, and violent. Not to mention puppeteers and accordion players.

 “吉普赛人在德国从来都不受欢迎。在19世纪末，随着德国人赞同意大利犯罪学家塞萨尔·隆布罗索的理论，情况变得更糟。他的一个观点是犯罪行为是遗传的。隆布罗索指出吉普赛人就是一个证据，他将他们描述为一代又一代的人他们虚荣、无耻、无能、喧闹、放荡和暴力。更不用说木偶演员和手风琴手了。

“In 1886, Bismarck noted “complaints about the mischief caused by bands of Gypsies traveling about in the Reich and their increasing molestation of the population.” In 1899, a clearing house was set up in Munich to collate reports of the movements of Gypsies. The general German opinion was that the nomadic Gypsies used the cover of being entertainers and perfume dealers, but actually focused on begging and stealing. These people are by nature opposed to all work and find it especially difficult to tolerate any restriction of their nomadic life.”

 1886年，俾斯麦提到“对吉普赛人在帝国四处游荡所造成的恶作剧的抱怨，以及他们对民众日益增长的骚扰。”1899年，慕尼黑建立了一个信息交换所，以整理吉普赛人运动的报告。德国的普遍看法是，游牧吉普赛人以演艺人员和香水经销商为幌子，但实际上主要是乞讨和偷窃。这些人天生反对一切工作，他们发现很难容忍游牧生活受到任何限制。”

“By the 1960s, Gypsy caravans were now mostly drawn with motorized vehicles, and tents had largely been replaced by rough shacks. Many took up residence in state supplied slum housing. Most Gypsies remained uneducated and illiterate. Many of the men became scrap dealers, and some worked with copper to produce ornamental, decorative pieces of art. Gypsy women were still noted for fortune telling and begging. Some Gypsy children turned to shoplifting, picking pockets, and stealing from vehicles, since they were immune to prosecution.”

 “到了20世纪60年代，吉普赛人的大篷车主要由机动车辆牵引，帐篷基本上被简陋的棚屋所取代。许多人居住在国家提供的贫民窟。大多数吉普赛人仍然没有受过教育和文盲。许多人成了废品商，一些人用铜制作装饰性艺术品。吉普赛女性仍然以算命和乞讨闻名。一些吉普赛儿童转向商店盗窃、扒窃和从车上偷窃，因为他们不受起诉。”

“A 1989 report by the European Community stated that only 35 percent of 500,000 Gypsy children in the 12 member states attended school regularly; half had never been to school even one time; hardly any went on to secondary education; and Gypsy adults had an illiteracy rate of 50 percent. In France and Italy, Gypsy families still work the circus and fairgrounds. In many countries they operate repair services of various types; sell used cars, furniture, antiques, and junk; sell carpet and textiles. They still hawk, make music, and tell fortunes.”

 “欧洲共同体1989年的一份报告指出，在12个成员国中，50万名吉普赛儿童中，只有35%的儿童定期上学；一半的儿童甚至从未上过一次学；几乎没有人接受过中等教育；吉普赛成年人的文盲率为50%。在法国和意大利，吉普赛家庭仍然在马戏团工作d游乐场。在许多国家，他们经营各种类型的维修服务；出售二手车、家具、古董和垃圾；卖地毯和纺织品。他们仍然在叫卖、制作音乐和算命。”

“Gypsies were ordered expelled from the Meissen region of Germany in 1416, Lucerne in 1471, Milan in 1493, France in 1504, Catalonia in 1512, Sweden in 1525, England in 1530, and Denmark in 1536. From 1510 onwards, any Romani found in Switzerland were to be executed, while in England (beginning in 1554) and Denmark (beginning of 1589) any Romani which did not leave within a month were to be executed. Portugal began deportations of Romanis to its colonies in 1538.”

 “1416年，吉普赛人被命令驱逐出德国梅森地区，1471年被驱逐出卢塞恩，1493年被驱逐出米兰，1504年被驱逐出法国，1512年被驱逐出加泰罗尼亚，1525年被驱逐出瑞典，1530年被驱逐出英国，1536年被驱逐出丹麦。从1510年起，在瑞士发现的任何罗马人都将被处决，而在英国（1554年开始）和丹麦（1589年开始）则被处决。”任何在一个月内没有离开的罗曼尼人都将被处决。1538年，葡萄牙开始将罗马人驱逐到其殖民地。”

Gypsies were slaughtered with impunity throughout Holland, in a serious attempt to eradicate the entire race. “Elsewhere in Europe, they were subjected to ethnic cleansing, abduction of their children, and forced labor. In England, Romani were sometimes expelled from small communities or hanged; in France, they were branded, and their heads were shaved; in Moravia and Bohemia, the women were marked by their ears being severed. As a result, large groups of the Romani moved to the East, toward Poland, which was more tolerant, and Russia, where the Romani were treated more fairly as long as they paid the annual taxes.”

 吉普赛人在荷兰各地被屠杀而不受惩罚，这是一次根除整个种族的严肃尝试。“在欧洲的其他地方，他们遭受种族清洗、绑架孩子和强迫劳动。在英国，罗曼尼人有时被驱逐出小社区或被绞死；在法国，他们被打上烙印，剃光头；在摩拉维亚和波希米亚，这些妇女的标志是耳朵被割断。结果，大批罗姆人被杀害罗马人向东迁移，前往更宽容的波兰和俄罗斯，在那里，罗马人只要缴纳年度税款，就会得到更公平的待遇。”

“Even though the majority of Gypsy people left the Ottoman Empire and moved on to Europe, some remained. In 1696, Sultan Mustafa II issued orders for Gypsies to be disciplined for their immoral and disorderly lifestyles. They were described as “pimps and prostitutes”, and decrees were issued to regulate Gypsy prostitution.”

 “尽管大多数吉普赛人离开奥斯曼帝国，迁往欧洲，但仍有一些人留下来。1696年，苏丹穆斯塔法二世下令对吉普赛人的不道德和无序生活方式进行惩罚。他们被称为“皮条客和妓女”，并颁布法令管制吉普赛人卖淫。”

“Settled people are usually suspicious of rootless, masterless wanderers with no fixed address. The Gypsies traveled about Europe as did no other people (other than the Khazars after converting to Judaism and suffering the extermination of their kingdom), so they knew more than most about what was happening in various countries, and the activities of their inhabitants. This led to rumors that Gypsies were being used as spies.”

 “定居的人通常对无根、无主、没有固定地址的流浪者持怀疑态度。吉普赛人在欧洲旅行，其他人（除了皈依犹太教并遭受王国灭绝的哈扎尔人）都没有这样做过。”因此，他们比大多数人更了解各个国家正在发生的事情，以及他们的居民的活动。这导致了吉普赛人被用作间谍的谣言。”

This latter paragraph should be noted. There were repeated tales, many apparently documented, of Gypsies certainly “knowing more than most about what was happening in various countries” and quite likely collecting intelligence on government and court matters, again with their apparent ability to insinuate themselves into the political and social structures of various cities and nations. Accusations of spying would almost naturally follow and may well have been justified.

 应注意后一段。吉普赛人肯定“比大多数人更了解各国发生的事情”，而且很可能收集有关政府和法院事务的情报，这方面的故事屡见不鲜，许多显然有文献记载，他们显然有能力潜入各个城市和国家的政治和社会结构。对间谍活动的指控几乎自然而然地会随之而来，而且很可能是正当的。

I would also note that the expulsions and even much of the mistreatment of the Gypsies does not appear to have been racially motivated in the sense of a powerful “anti-Gypsy” sentiment, but more from an accumulated and exasperated intolerance for their crimes and socially-inacceptable behavior. Although in fairness, an excess of the latter will often lead to excesses of the former, but still not free of blame.

 我还要指出，驱逐吉普赛人，甚至对吉普赛人的许多虐待，似乎并不是出于强烈的“反吉普赛人”情绪的种族动机，而是由于对他们的罪行和社会上不可接受的行为的累积和愤怒的不容忍。虽然公平地说，后者的过度往往会导致前者的过度，但仍然不能免除责任。

History and Origin

 历史与起源

“Gypsies have long been among the most mysterious, exotic peoples on earth, described as a race of nomads who have no real home. Gypsies do have their own language, Romani, and they identify themselves as Romani people. Gypsy history remained unknown for centuries, largely because they had no written language and, strangely enough, they had forgotten where they came from. Gypsies generally claimed to be Egyptians – hence the name “Gypsy”. Although these people were proven to not be Egyptians, the name Gypsy stuck (as well as the word “gyp”).”

 “吉普赛人长期以来一直是地球上最神秘、最有异国情调的民族之一，被描述为一个没有真正家园的游牧民族。吉普赛人有自己的语言，即罗曼尼语，他们认为自己是罗曼尼人。吉普赛人的历史几个世纪以来一直不为人所知，主要是因为他们没有书面语言，而且奇怪的是，他们忘记了他们从哪里来。吉普赛人通常声称自己是埃及人，因此得名“吉普赛人”。尽管这些人被证明不是埃及人，但吉普赛这个名字（以及“吉普赛”这个词）依然存在。”

The origin of the Gypsy people has been a subject of curiosity to historians for a long time. The current state of affairs seems to be that few historians know very much and are mostly guessing. Wikipedia tells us that “Genetic findings suggest an Indian origin for the Roma (Gypsy). Because Romani groups did not keep chronicles of their history or have oral accounts of it, most hypotheses about the Romani migration’s early history are based on linguistic theory.” Wiki also tells us that “There is also no known record of a migration from India to Europe from medieval times that can be connected indisputably to Roma.”

 吉普赛人的起源长期以来一直是历史学家好奇的话题。目前的情况似乎很少有历史学家知道得太多，而且大多是猜测。维基百科告诉我们，“基因发现表明罗姆人（吉普赛人）起源于印度。因为罗姆人群体没有记录他们的历史或口头记录，大多数关于罗姆人移民早期历史的假设都基于语言学理论。”维基还告诉我们，“也没有已知的记录表明中世纪从印度到欧洲的移民与罗姆人有无可争辩的联系。”

This is typical of the speculation that still occurs today. Questionable genetic findings “suggest” Gypsies may have originated in North West India, and questionable linguistic studies have identified a small number of words or expressions in the Gypsy tongue that bear some resemblance to Sanskrit. But if the Roma (Gypsies) did indeed originate in India, there is no known record of any migration so the entire theory is simply a theory.

 这是今天仍在发生的典型猜测。有问题的基因发现“表明”吉普赛人可能起源于印度西北部，有问题的语言学研究发现吉普赛人的语言中有少量与梵语相似的单词或表达。但是，如果罗姆人（吉普赛人）确实起源于印度，没有任何已知的移民记录，因此整个理论只是一个理论。

These movements of people in history can be fascinating. It reminds us of the puzzle over the Hungarians – the Magyars – since they are clearly not a European people and their language is in no way a European language, yet they inhabit a country inside Europe. Many theories were presented over the years, all based on largely uninformed speculation, until it was discovered that this nation of people were Mongols and migrated from Western Mongolia centuries ago to form a new homeland more or less in the center of Eastern Europe. So far as I am aware, no one yet knows how or why that would have occurred.

 历史上的这些人的运动可能很吸引人。这让我们想起了匈牙利人——马加亚人——的困惑，因为他们显然不是欧洲民族，他们的语言绝不是欧洲语言，但他们居住在欧洲内部的一个国家。多年来，人们提出了许多理论，这些理论基本上都是基于不知情的猜测，直到人们发现这个民族是蒙古人，几个世纪前从蒙古西部移民到东欧中部，形成了一个或多或少的新家园。就我所知，还没有人知道这是如何或为什么发生的。

In terms of the Gypsies, and considering the timing of their relatively sudden appearance in all the countries of Europe, there were many such movements of peoples at more or less the same time, perhaps coinciding with the destruction of Khazaria and the partial extermination of the Khazars and their also relatively sudden appearance in all the countries of Europe.

 就吉普赛人而言，考虑到他们在欧洲所有国家相对突然出现的时间，差不多在同一时间有许多这样的人运动，也许与卡扎里亚的毁灭和卡扎尔人的部分灭绝以及他们在欧洲所有国家的突然出现同时发生。

We have a potential involvement with the Mongol invasions, which occurred at about the same time the Gypsies appeared, and also the Tatars from the Russian steppes. And in addition to the Khazars, we have the Kievan Rus and the Pechenegs and Cumans – who may have been the people who drove the Magyars into what is now Hungary. According to some Romanian journalists and historians, the Gypsies arrived in the area with the last Mongol invasions that dragged the Gypsies with them.

 我们可能与蒙古人的入侵有关，这大约发生在吉普赛人出现的同时，还有来自俄罗斯大草原的鞑靼人。除了哈扎尔人，我们还有基辅罗斯人、佩切内格斯人和库曼人——他们可能是把马加亚人驱赶到现在的匈牙利的人。根据一些罗马尼亚记者和历史学家的说法，吉普赛人是在蒙古人最后一次入侵时抵达该地区的，那次入侵将吉普赛人拖到了一起。

Whatever the truth of this, and I pretend no expertise on this topic, there are many facts that suggest the Roma did not originate in India but are some form of what would now be considered European. While I am not familiar with all Gypsies everywhere, I have seen a great many, and none appear to be of Indian extraction. Some are swarthy, but many if not most appear to be some brand of European rather than Indian. Many could pass as Italian, Romanian, Russian, or Hungarian. You can see the photo of the Gypsy girl below.

不管这是什么事实，我假装没有这方面的专业知识，有很多事实表明罗姆人不是起源于印度，而是现在被认为是欧洲的某种形式。虽然我并不熟悉各地所有的吉普赛人，但我见过很多吉普赛人，而且似乎没有一个是印度血统。有些人皮肤黝黑，但许多人（如果不是大多数的话）似乎是某种欧洲品牌，而不是印度品牌。许多人可能会被认为是意大利人、罗马尼亚人、俄罗斯人或匈牙利人。你可以看到下面吉普赛女孩的照片。

And then there is a fascinating article in the archives of the Atlantic Magazine from February of 1866, in an article written by George Washington Hosmer asserting that the Gypsies are in fact Europeans. The author says they were referred to as “Bohemians” for hundreds of years and that “it is remarkable that that name has been so little considered in attempts to penetrate this mystery.” He states, correctly, that the Gypsies were nomads who “dwelt in their wagon-camps in the open country, and were under a vow never again to sleep beneath a roof. They also refused obedience to any sovereign.” (2)

 1866年2月，《大西洋》杂志的档案中有一篇引人入胜的文章，乔治·华盛顿·霍斯默写了一篇文章，声称吉普赛人实际上是欧洲人。作者说，数百年来，他们一直被称为“波西米亚人”，“值得注意的是，在试图揭开这个谜团时，很少考虑这个名字。”他说，吉普赛人是游牧民族，他们“住在野外的马车营地里，发誓再也不睡在屋顶下。他们也拒绝服从任何君主。”(2)

Hosmer also states that while there are similarities in the language with Hindu dialects, the similarities are even better for a Bohemian than for Hindu origin. “The Bohemians were Czechs, a branch of the Slavic race of undoubted Asiatic origin, and the Czech language descended from the Sanskrit almost as directly as the Hindu dialects did. Here is a good reason why the Hindu dialects and the Gypsy tongue – if the Gypsies were Bohemians – should closely resemble one another. They were from the same parent stem.” He says “The Gypsy language is a mixture of corrupt words from the Wallachian, Slavonian, Hungarian, and other nations. These are the cognate languages of the Slavic race, all descended from the same source, and that also the source of the Cech. The first list of Gypsy words ever made was cited to prove an Egyptian origin, [but] they were Slavic.”

 霍斯默还表示，虽然这种语言与印度教方言有相似之处，但波西米亚人的相似性甚至比印度教血统的人更好。“波西米亚人是捷克人，是斯拉夫种族的一个分支，毫无疑问起源于亚洲，捷克语几乎和印度教方言一样直接从梵语中继承下来。这里有一个很好的理由，为什么印度教方言和吉普赛语——如果吉普赛人是波西米亚人的话——应该彼此非常相似。他们来自同一个父母茎他说，“吉普赛语是华拉契亚语、斯拉沃尼亚语、匈牙利语和其他国家的腐败词汇的混合体。”。这些是斯拉夫族的同源语言，它们都来自同一个来源，也是切赫语的来源。有史以来第一个列出的吉普赛单词被用来证明起源于埃及，[但]它们是斯拉夫语。”

Epilogue

 后记

I don’t know if it is possible to make a link between the migrations throughout Europe of the Khazars and the Gypsies, but there seem to be some common elements that suggest the Gypsies might even have been a lower class of the Khazars or of people similar. Whatever the truth of this, and this is speculation on my part, there do appear to be some common shared elements between these two peoples.

 我不知道是否有可能将整个欧洲的卡扎尔人和吉普赛人的移民联系起来，但似乎有一些共同的因素表明吉普赛人甚至可能是卡扎尔人或类似人群的较低阶层。不管这是什么真相，我也只是猜测，这两个民族之间似乎确实存在一些共同点。

Both were driven from their place of origin and had no homeland. Neither had a written language. Both were itinerant, fiercely independent, vowing no allegiance to any nation and a distinct unwillingness to be subjugated or to assimilate. Both groups appear to have a long history of pursuing wealth by other than accepted means, even though the types of preferred crimes were different. Both the Khazars and the Gypsies indicated a natural ability to insinuate themselves into the authoritative structures, to admittedly varying degrees, and both seemed to possess a facility for creating personal immunity. Both had a facility for “knowing more than most about what was happening in various countries”.

 两人都被赶出了自己的原籍，没有故乡。两人都没有书面语言。两人都是流动的，极度独立，发誓不效忠任何国家，明显不愿被征服或同化。这两个群体似乎都有着通过非公认手段追求财富的悠久历史，尽管偏好犯罪的类型有所不同。哈扎尔人和吉普赛人都显示出一种自然的能力，可以在不同程度上暗示自己进入权威机构，而且他们似乎都拥有创造个人免疫力的能力。两人都有“比大多数人更了解不同国家发生的事情”的能力。

And, of course, both groups were reviled for their behavior and subjected to repeated expulsions from almost every country in which they chose to settle. On a more sinister note, both groups appear to consider their “lesser members” as being expendable.

 当然，这两个群体都因他们的行为而受到谴责，并在几乎所有他们选择定居的国家多次遭到驱逐。更险恶的是，这两个团体似乎都认为他们的“小成员”是可以牺牲的。

In the 1960s and 1970s many TV programs carried a kind of disclaimer at the end: “Any similarity to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events, (or other ethnic groups) is purely coincidental.” I could make such a disclaimer here.

 在20世纪60年代和70年代，许多电视节目的结尾都带有一种免责声明：“任何与真人、活人或死人、或真实事件（或其他族裔群体）的相似之处，纯属巧合。”我可以在这里做出这样的声明。

I must confess that in the above commentary I have unintentionally slandered many Gypsies by presenting a one-dimensional picture of the entire race. It is true that the descriptions above, while true and accurate, represent only a subset of Gypsies. There are many today who have indeed assimilated to one degree or another, who are fine and upstanding citizens, and who do not deserve the characterisations levied above. This may be more true in the diaspora of North and South America than in Europe.

我必须承认，在上述评论中，我无意中诽谤了许多吉普赛人，展示了整个种族的一维图景。诚然，上述描述虽然真实准确，但只代表吉普赛人的一个子集。今天，确实有许多人在某种程度上已经同化了，他们是优秀而正直的公民，不应被赋予上述特征。这在北美和南美的侨民中可能比在欧洲更为真实。

This is a fascinating subject that rewards reading and research, but I would caution readers that on the subject of Gypsies there is a huge amount of uninformed rubbish on the Internet, especially on their origin, social structures, traditions and customs, behavior. Much of this is almost at a high-school level, so caution is advised. One website tells us that “Romani social behavior is strictly regulated by Indian social customs”, which is nonsense, and another that “Virginity is essential in unmarried Gypsy women”, also nonsense. Similarly, “One of the Romani traditions is to get married at the age fifteen. To distinguish between non married and married women is to notice that married women have their head covered with a cloth called “Batic”, the symbol of married women.” If so, I have never seen it.

 这是一个吸引人的话题，值得阅读和研究，但我要提醒读者，关于吉普赛人的话题，互联网上有大量未被告知的垃圾，尤其是关于吉普赛人的起源、社会结构、传统和习俗、行为。这其中大部分几乎是高中水平，因此建议谨慎行事。一个网站告诉我们，“罗曼尼人的社会行为受到印度社会习俗的严格管制”，这是胡说八道，另一个网站告诉我们，“未婚吉普赛女性必须保持童贞”，这也是胡说八道。同样，“罗马人的传统之一是在15岁结婚。要区分未婚和已婚女性，就要注意已婚女性的头上覆盖着一块叫做“Batic”的布，这是已婚女性的象征。”如果是的话，我从未见过。

I have accumulated a few references for you (“READING” below). The first is one of the best I have found. It appears to be free of misinformation and ideology, and is excellent, entertaining, informative, and easy reading.

 我为你积累了一些参考资料（“阅读”如下）。第一个是我找到的最好的。它似乎没有错误信息和意识形态，而且非常优秀、有趣、信息丰富、易于阅读。

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Mr. Romanoff’s writing has been translated into 32 languages and his articles posted on more than 150 foreign-language news and politics websites in more than 30 countries, as well as more than 100 English language platforms. Larry Romanoff is a retired management consultant and businessman. He has held senior executive positions in international consulting firms, and owned an international import-export business. He has been a visiting professor at Shanghai’s Fudan University, presenting case studies in international affairs to senior EMBA classes. Mr. Romanoff lives in Shanghai and is currently writing a series of ten books generally related to China and the West. He is one of the contributing authors to Cynthia McKinney’s new anthology ‘When China Sneezes’. (Chapt. 2 — Dealing with Demons).

罗曼诺夫先生的作品已被翻译成32种语言，他的文章发布在30多个国家的150多个外语新闻和政治网站上，以及100多个英语平台上。拉里·罗曼诺夫是一位退休的管理顾问和商人。他曾在国际咨询公司担任高级管理职位，并拥有国际进出口业务。他曾是上海复旦大学的客座教授，向高级EMBA课程介绍国际事务的案例研究。罗曼诺夫住在上海，目前正在撰写一系列十本书，内容大致与中国和西方有关。他是辛西娅·麦金尼新文集的撰稿人之一“当中国打喷嚏时”（第二章–对付恶魔).

His full archive can be seen at

他的完整文章库可在以下找到：

http://www.bluemoonofshanghai.com/ and https://www.moonofshanghai.com/

He can be contacted at:

他的联系方式如下：

2186604556@qq.com

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READING

阅读

https://owlcation.com/humanities/The-Gypsies

History of the Gypsies

 吉普赛人的历史

https://allthatsinteresting.com/gypsies-history

A People Without a Country: The Gypsies

一个没有国家的民族：吉普赛人

https://www.romanianhistoryandculture.com/vlachspechenegscumans.htm

Romanian History and Culture; Pechenegs, Cumans and the Vlachs

罗马尼亚历史和文化；

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pechenegs

Pechenegs

佩切涅格人

https://adevarul.ro/locale/focsani/lucruri-putin-stiute-despre-tigani-venit-s-au-raspandit-principatele-romane-erau-proprietatea-statului-tiganii-domnesti-1_5673ef3f37115986c691199a/index.html

Lucruri puţin ştiute despre ţigani: de unde au venit şi cum s-au răspândit în Principatele Române. De ce erau „proprietatea statului“ ţiganii domneşti

卢克鲁里·普伊加尼：在罗姆尼的原则上，我们要做的事情是：我们要做的事情是让我们的生活变得更美好。“国家所有权”的概念

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romani_people

Romani people

罗姆人

https://atinganos.wordpress.com/2011/11/26/tigani-bogati-din-romania/

Wealthy Gypsies in Romania

罗马尼亚富有的吉普赛人

https://www.partidaromilor.ro/romii-origini-limba-traditii-istorie/

Roma: Origins, language, traditions, history

罗马：起源、语言、传统、历史

https://naayram.blogspot.com/2012/02/tigani-nu-romi.html

Gypsies, not Roma

吉普赛人，不是罗姆人

https://www.dezvaluirea.ro/tiganii-au-confiscat-un-cimitir-din-iasi-purcei-la-protap-crestinii-n-au-fost-lasati-sa-si-depuna-mortii-foto/

Gypsies confiscated a cemetery in Iasi. Piglets on the spit, Christians were not allowed to lay their dead. Photo

吉普赛人没收了亚西的一座公墓。小猪躺在唾沫上，基督徒不被允许躺下他们的尸体。照片

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NOTES

注释

(1) https://asapteadimensiune.ro/de-ce-tiganii-nu-sunt-discriminati-in-romania.html/comment-page-1

Gypsies are not discriminated against in Romania

吉普赛人在罗马尼亚不受歧视

(2) https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1866/02/the-origin-of-the-gypsies/627983/

The Origin of the Gypsies; By George Washington Hosmer; February, 1886 Issue

吉普赛人的起源；乔治·华盛顿·霍斯默；1886年2月号

Copyright © Larry Romanoff, Blue Moon of Shanghai, Moon of Shanghai, 2022

版权所有（拉里·罗曼诺夫, 上海的蓝月亮, 上海之月, 2022