The Gypsies

Front Cover
Simon and Schuster, 1967 - Belgians - 256 pages
As a boy of twelve, Jan Yoors fulfilled many an adventurous youth's fantasy when he left his comfortable Belgian home to live and travel with a tribe, or kumpania, of Gypsies. Adopted into the extended family of Pulika, Yoors passed his days with the patriarch's sons and nephews, learning the traditions and participating in the rituals of the Gypsies, or Romani. As the years passed, he divided his life between the world of his birth, where he became a noted tapestry artist, filmmaker, and war hero, and the world of the Romani, where he returned regularly for more than five decades. The nuanced portrait details the rhythms of life among the Romani; the exceptional occurrences of birth, marriage, and death; and the highly codified system of conduct of the Gypsies. Roadside caravans, evening meals, multifamily feasts, village fairs, convocations of the kris (the Romani tribunal of justice), and wedding celebrations: all are powerfully evoked in both word and image. Comprehensive and vivid, expressive and lyrical, this volume is testimony to the author's remarkable facility with language -- both written and visual -- and an unequalled portrait of daily life among the Gypsies.

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Contents

Section 1
13
Section 2
35
Section 3
48
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