Gypsies are looked down upon in our society as something close to untouchables
FOR centuries there have been gypsies in our midst. Staying for a brief period at one place, they are always on the look for a new destination. Wandering throughout their lifetime, packing up and shifting humble household is an easy task for them. It is an unending movement on carts. Whether it is their instinct or acute poverty, they are and have always been the perennial outcasts.
These gypsy tribes are a sub-culture. In Pakistan they are found all over and don’t own any land or house. Gypsies are in their hundreds of thousands in Pakistan, though an accurate count could never be conducted, probably because they are always on the move. People don’t know and don’t want to know about them while at the same time, gypsies also kept their affairs undisclosed. Subsequently, they have been left out of the boundaries of modern social life. It is one of the reasons why people develop misconceptions about them. but the matter of the fact is that gypsies have a very developed and interesting social system. Their norms and values represent a civilized culture.
I had the opportunity of meeting and mingling with a few gypsies near Islamabad and at some other places on the G.T. Road. At first they were very reluctant to talk about themselves; perhaps they feel threatened by any such interaction. They know that they are the weakest social class without any contact in the world around them.
In a cottage township near Islamabad, four different tribes were staying. Their major tribes are Changgar, Patu, Kunggar, Phularwan, Sotter and Kalyar. They are distinguished by their daily work and the style of cottages. In spite of being together, those tribes were quite indifferent to each other’s affairs. In fact, they were from different regions of the country. Some of them belonged to Bekanir, Gurdaspur and Ferozpur districts of India who migrated to Pakistan in 1947. Other tribes originate from various cities of central and southern Punjab. They have multilingual culture and speak Marvari, Seraike as well as Punjabi languages. They don’t stay long at one place and think that the local people don’t tolerate them for longer duration.
Another reason for their wandering is the ownership of the land of their stay. All the time they camp on the land of others. Where next? Only the elders know and all the rest simply follow them.
The Changgar tribe consider themselves superior than the other gypsy tribes. Their cottages are made up of bush stuff brought from the suburbs of the city. A weak looking cottage in reality is very strong. It is safe from rain and storm. The Changgar tribe doesn’t change the place so often. Men of this tribe are idle and good-for-nothing. However women are industrious and complete most of the work.
Earlier they used to make and sell straw baskets but now they collect iron pieces, paper and waste materials, sell them and thus earn a living. The buyer of their collected waste materials has a distinguished position among them. He also settles their mutual disputes.
Their cottages are very skillfully made by stitching together different cloth pieces. It is done in a way to make it waterproof. Pieces of plastic are also stitched in various layers of cloth. It is all done masterly.
The Kunggar tribes are the most wandering gypsies. They don’t stay at one place for more than fifteen days. They like small cities and towns. They usually beg for food and like to cook at home. Whole families live in one cottage even after several new members are added to the family. However, the size of the cottage increases with the passage of time and eventually has room for more children. It is traditional in this tribe of settling their children separately after their marriage. This way a new family is founded. They have incredible number of children. Men of this tribe are fond of growing moustaches. Moustaches symbolize gracefulness of a man and if a man is found involved in a crime, his moustaches are shaved.
Sometime ago, the people of Kunggar tribe used to make earthen toys and received wheat flour in exchange. Now women folk of this tribe move around and paint ladies’ hands with henna while men sell perfumes. Watching monkey’s perform various tricks is their favourite pastime. Since the wildlife protection department has banned keeping wild animals privately, these monkey performers can scarcely be seen.
The Phularwan tribe doesn’t stay at one place for more than two months at a place. Men of this tribe are hawkers, selling petty things but their women are beggars. There is a chief of every group who makes decisions about various affairs of the group. Understandably, these people don’t go to police or law courts for justice. Women of the Phularwan tribe sell glass bangles door-to-door in cities and villages. These bangles are popular among village girls.
The Patu tribe is ruled by women. A man can’t be physically rough to his wife and he can’t disobey her. If ever such an unpleasant incident takes place, the wife leaves her husband and goes to her parents. Then the poor husband has to pay a huge fine for the return of his wife. Men of Patu tribe are not hardworking but they are very talented in the art of acting. They disguise so convincingly that the one who was limping a while ago is now a blindman. Women of this tribe can be seen either selling petty things at bus stops or begging around. Young girls hand over their earnings to their mothers.
For ages, these people have upheld the custom of endogamy. They are so particular about it that they don’t even enter in a marital relationship with other gypsy tribes. Usually marriages are decided in exchange. Engagements are made in childhood. Child bride symbolically stays for a few days in her husband’s house but they are formally married off in their adult age. Dowry comprises a few ordinary things. The Kunggar tribe has very different marriage customs. The groom is seated on a big basket and bathed in public. Three or four men prepare henna for groom and apply it on his hands and feet. In case of childhood marriage, an elder of the family spells on water and which the bride and the groom then drink.
In these gypsy tribes divorce is very much disliked. In exchange marriages, divorce takes place for both couples. But the Patu tribe does not like exchange marriages and they don’t marry in blood relations. Nevertheless, the daughter of the maternal uncle is preferred. The maternal uncle is an important personality. In the event of a disagreement between the sister and the brother, the uncle’s opinion is decisive. If a woman intends to leave her husband, she will cut her pigtail. This news spreads like wildfire. Then the husband has to leave her in any case.
Education is something alien to gypsies. Homelessness and poverty are the major reasons for this backwardness. These people live miserably in these cottages and they are deprived of the very basic amenities of life. Usually they live on begging, except for a few who work on petty jobs.
They remain aloof to the razzmatazz of modern life. Gypsies are not liked by the people of settled society for a number of reasons. Some people think that they are involved in criminal activities. Others fear them as child abductors and nefarious gangsters without any religion or morality. While looking at them hardly anyone will think of a subculture that is well structured and socially developed. It is a possible reason for having an unpleasant picture of them. They have been on move for generations. But a dream of settled and developed life has never been lost during the nomadic centuries of their existence. Their eagerness to become part of the civilized society has yet not diminished.
Gypsies are looked down upon in our society as something close to untouchables
