The Roma: A Homeless and a Free People
The villagers hear the approaching sound of hoofs, rolling wagon wheels, and the clamor of the rocking pots and pans that dangle along the sides of the moving caravan. The villagers feel a sense of excitement for that the Gypsies bring and also a sense of dread based on folklore and prejudice. The Romany people, better known to some as the Gypsies, have a long and colorful history shrouded in legend and folklore. The name Gypsy is a distortion of the name for Egyptians, even though modern scholars argue that the Roma almost certainly orignate from the area around Northern India. To the Europeans, they were a cursed people. As expert blacksmiths, one of the legends claimed that the curse originated because they were the ones who made the nails used in the crucifixion of Jesus. The Roma have been known to put their own spin on the tale by saying that they were forced to do so, but they made the nails particularly...