A fascinating account of the Vlax Rom in America as of the 1970's. The author was for seven months the principal of a Gypsy school in the California Bay area, and thus in closer touch with the community than most non-Gypsies can be. That plus additional research elsewhere produced a detailed, first hand picture of a very odd and interesting society.
For one example out of many ... . When one of her informants realized that Sutherland had succeeded in tricking information out of her that she did not intent to give, the result was not anger but admiration. The ability to trick other people and not be tricked is a crucial life skill in that community. A child who believes his parents when they are lying to him is seen as stupid.
For another example. From the standpoint of the Rom, the Gaje, non-Gypsies, are more nearly a resource than a society. That includes not only the obvious fact that they are getting their income mostly from Gaje, whether as welfare, payment for farm labor, or the take from fortune telling, but also the fact that important Gaje, such as the local chief of police or welfare officer, are tools in intra-Rom conflict. Being viewed as having influence with such is one of the ways in which a local leader maintains his power.
The people the author writes about come across as human beings, interesting, complex, competent at navigating their particular world, and very different.
The one question I was left with was how much has changed in the forty some years since the book was written.
ISBN-13:
978-0881332353
ISBN-10:
0881332356
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