How is Gypsy wedding

For Gypsy wedding is almost the most important event in the life of the family, so money was not sorry. When Gypsy walked, everything. And wedding of them in all villages rattled. From village to village I went, all counter wine watered. With the musicians. Wore what is the best, but not because of the neighbors took. Some families were ruined during the wedding.

(Total 24 photos)

Source: svpressa.ru

Chudovo, Novgorod oblast, Russia, 6 Sep 2014

Photo: Konstantin Chalabov / RIA Novosti

1. Bride on the Gypsy wedding in the camp in Chudovo.

Marriage using the courtship was most common in Roma. Along with this, there were others. Roma could sasatami their children, when they were still nursing. Parents have agreed that upon reaching a certain age will be married. This agreement was respected strictly. Sometimes Gypsies Woo a girl of 9-10 years, and if the girl's parents agree, then take it to him and she lived with them until 13-15 years, and then arranged the wedding. Such early marriage was necessary to keep the younger generation in the traditional way of life. Now, of course, extremely rare to see newlyweds 14-15 years. In recent years, the age of marriage varies from 16 to 20 years.

2. Women with the bride's attire.

The custom of exchanging brides (Romany is called "Ceres St schimbate"), when one family gave daughter the bride and take the groom's sister, as wife for his son, was beneficial to both parties and has saved families from having to purchase.

3. The groom.

Matchmaking took place on a strictly regulated ritual. In the home of the bride came to parents and relatives of young men; two of them were called matchmakers. They also negotiated with the parents of the bride. The bride might not know about the coming of the matchmakers, but if it were known in advance, it is still never present at the same time as long as it does not call. If the parents eventually agreed, then called the bride and asked about her desire, knowing that the daughter will not go against the will of the father. Future father-in-law hung on the girl's neck a gold coin in a sign that no one else needs to Woo her. In the case when children make a match still nursing, the boy's father also gave a gold coin to the girl so she could wear it when she grows up.

4. Tables on the Gypsy wedding in the camp.

Roma had extended this form of marriage, as theft of the bride. This was due primarily to economic reasons — no money for wedding or paying the ransom. But more often resorted to kidnapping, if the parents did not allow the youth to marry.

In General, the kidnapping by mutual agreement or violent, not fictitious theft provided customs Roma, but they were not the dominant form of detention. In addition, the Roma themselves do not welcome. The outcome of such shoots is twofold: either young so arrange the escape that they will not catch (so that after some time they returned to camp, where they were accepted as husband and wife); if the youth had time to catch up, the outcome could be very tragic.

5. Bride on the Gypsy wedding in the camp.

Marriages could be contracted between members of different ethnic groups, although the most frowned upon marriages within their own group (if only betrothed were not relatives).

6. The bride preparing for the wedding.

When choosing a bride Roma guided by its origin (ie, wealth and reputation of her parents), as well as her beauty and professional qualities.

7. If the bride paid the ransom, it is done before the wedding — during or after the rite of courtship. The ransom (in Kelderari — Ando vast — literally "in the hand") is a sign of respect to the family of the groom, and compensation to the bride's father because he is deprived of the potential galytchiny. The amount is determined during courtship the bride's father, guided by the degree of prosperity of the groom's family.

8. This tradition was aggravated by the dependent position of women in the new family. My husband's parents, paying in gold for the daughter, considered themselves the rightful masters of it. Apparently, so has the custom of return of the redemption in the form of a gift to the young (sastra). This happened on the second day of the wedding, when the guests gave gifts to the young. Thus, parents tried to ease his daughter's life.

9. The cost of the wedding often took upon himself the groom's relatives, sometimes by agreement divided in half with the parents of the bride. About the dowry Gypsies in courtship girls was not mentioned at all, but it definitely was given — it was featherbeds, pillows, clothes and jewelry. But now it is not a bed or clothing, and the keys to the house, where they will live young (if the bride's parents are able to provide it), car keys or jewelry.

10. The wedding guests portrayed the young gifts in the form of valuables or money. "Mandar chancy Qatar of Affairs may booth" — "From me a little bit more of God" — sentenced Roma, presenting gifts to young. Sometimes collected gifts pay back the wedding expenses.

11. Wedding Gypsies were arranged in any time of the year, but most often in the summer. To the appointed day of the wedding and invited gathered at the selected location several families of Gypsies.

Gypsy wedding starts at the bride's home. Here musicians play, and the girl wearing the wedding dress down to dance to the guests.

12. After that someone of the guests carries the bride to the groom's house, where already covered wedding table to the young. Guests enjoyed separate tables — separate for men and women. At the wedding can have several hundred people.

13. Then young walked into the bedroom, which sometimes could remain an old woman. It was in the midst of the wedding feast. The highlight of the wedding was the removal of shirtless young on a tray, decorated with red flowers. Guests made a toast to the bride's parents and thanked for bringing up her daughter, than those very proud. All guests were handed paper flowers or ribbons of red, which pinned on the clothes and the hair; red — a symbol of marriage. If the bride was immaculate, the guests presented gifts to the young. If not (which was extremely rare), her parents compensate for all the wedding expenses.

14. After young went back to the hotel from the bedroom, the girl wears the outfit of a married woman: a headscarf, on the skirt of the apron. Some Gypsies and changing the bride's hairstyle, braiding hair in braids.

15. The boy at the tray of money.

Usually a wedding lasted two or three days; the rich Gypsies walked the whole week. After the wedding, the wife always went to live with her husband.

16. The tray with the money.

Nowadays it often happens that Roma register the marriage in the registry offices only when necessary. If registration occurs, as a rule, it is not woven into the fabric of a traditional wedding. It may be a month before the wedding or a week after. Marriage registration before marriage does not mean that the bride and groom actually became husband and wife.

17. The other girls show themselves mainly on Gypsy weddings of friends and acquaintances.

18. Gypsy weddings are characterized by the absence of any tradition of divorce. As a rule, the Roma is rare. If the woman is not satisfied with something, she can just walk away from the man, but no special customs for this the Gypsies is not available.

19. Nowadays divorces are more frequent. As before, in courtship of the dowry don't say — although give it. But on the second day of the wedding, when the young are presented with gifts, the bride's parents give posao.

20. This is done publicly to everyone at the wedding saw it and in the case of divorce the woman could get their stuff back — after all, if marriage is not registered legally, it is often marginalized by their interests in the divorce.

21. Bride on the Gypsy wedding in the camp in Chudovo.

22. Guests at a Gypsy wedding in the camp in Chudovo.

23. The woman on the Gypsy wedding in the camp in Chudovo.

24. The groom is a Gypsy wedding in the camp in Chudovo.