I come from a gypsy / travelling family AMA

[TowerTumble]

I have name changed for this. I see so much misconception and ignorance around the travelling community and towards families like mine. I've started an AMA so if you have any questions to try and stop this misconception I'll answer everything I can!

Glad the thread is still going! I asked before but it got lost -

Do Gypsies/Travellers/Roma have class systems?

Thanks

But if you live in a house and you had a formal education and you have a professional job, in what sense are you a gypsy? I thought the whole point of being a gypsy is that you travel and live outside of structured society.

Not the OP but thought I'd answer as no one has responded. Yes, very much a class system, like every other organisation of humans. I can only speak for Irish Travellers, but the ones drinking in back gardens blaring music and bare knuckle fighting in the streets are seen as at the bottom of the pile (but they often think they are at the top!) The ones at the top live in very nice houses and their husbands have reputable businesses, they aren't OTT about clothes/decor but very much are traditional in their roles. Money helps you move up class and women and their behaviour can also be a family's descent.

Being Gypsy and traveller isn’t about travelling and living in a caravan. It’s in your blood. You can be born into a house, get a full education and have a great job but you are still a gypsy or traveller. Nothing to do with travelling at all.

women and their behaviour can also be a family's descent

What does this mean @transitvanwoes?

I didn’t know there was a class system, thanks for that.

@transitvanwoes Thanks for responding, is the system just based on wealth and behaviour? No sort of hereditary aristocracy? DP used to work alongside some traveller lads and they were always claiming that this one or that one was related to the King Of The Gypsies, and he never knew if it was a wind up or an actual thing!

I asked this question earlier but haven’t seen an answer so I’d love it if anyone from the travelling community sees this:

The OP referred to preferring to maintain a separate ethnic identity, and to the racism/prejudice sadly suffered by the travelling community, and I would like to know more about this. Is there traveller DNA? Or is it more of a voluntary thing like following a religion would be for someone who’s Catholic, for want of a better comparison?

I’m asking because I was adopted and was told that I had gipsy heritage, amongst many others, and the only thing that didn’t show up in a recent DNA test was anything suggesting Irish (or Roma) heritage as far as I can tell, and I’m trying to piece together my history.

There is a very strong sense of reputation and honour in GRT communities, a lot of which is tied to the behaviour of girls and women. Undesirable behaviour could really affect the social standing of your whole family. If a girl was thought to have gone off with a boy (and not be a virgin) it could 'mark' your previously well thought of family.
@AChunkOfPurestGreenMilady I don't have a lot of insider info on this, perhaps @babylamb4 could add something here, but bloodlines are considered very important and men who were known for fighting would have been well thought of and this then would have passed down to the sons. I know that older generations complain that things have become so materialistic and they feel the younger generation have lost their way so to speak. In my circle they are all below the poverty line but would own a lot of crown derby and types of crystal that are for display only, which seems to give status. A woman who is "clean and decent" will have good standing. Young children are presented with rolex's for birthdays, but I highly suspect they are fakes.

Don't know about the Roma or gypsy bit, but Irish Traveller is a distinct ethnicity that is separate from Irish on DNA. I did read that that is largely due to their endogamous marriages, but it is recognized nonetheless.

Also to add that drug use really affects social standing, especially if it's a woman. Alcoholism has always been a problem (and seems quite normalised) but drug use is a very significant rising issue and has been the cause of a number of deaths in young people. This will not be admitted to, Travellers are often very guarded about medical issues and there's a big stigma around mental health. There was a story of one young mum who died suddenly and there was an inquest, which was obviously public. It ruled her cause of death was cocaine related and the family were very upset about this, saying her children would be scandalised (for having a "druggie mum"). They felt this was only made public because they were Travellers, they didn't understand that inquests are open to the public.

Very interesting, thanks @transitvanwoes.

That makes sense @transitvanwoes DP said there was lots of chat about bare knuckle fights and so on. He liked working with the GRT gangs, you got finished in half the time and they were a good laugh - and when DS was born they gave him a crate of beer, which was sweet.
Is it possible for a family to come back from being scandalised, or does it mean you're cancelled forever? If the parents were shamed, does it follow the children too?

On the comparison to festivals - this was a campaign some travellers started a few years back to try to explain to the world that not all travellers were like this, just as not everyone leaves crap at festivals. Unfortunately, it didn't work because as many have said two wrongs don't make a right and the festivals pay for all the junk to be cleaned up, rather than the taxpayer.

Thank you @transitvanwoes

I’ve been googling and it’s so fascinating! It seems that Irish Travellers self -evolved as an ethnicity in their own right, maybe around the 1600s, but then there are records of them going back to the 1100s. There aren’t any written-by-Traveller records as everything about their culture has been passed down verbally and through their stories, but this link gives some of the history: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_Travellers#:~:text=Genetic%20analysis%20has%20shown%20Irish,distinct%20from%20the%20settled%20Irish.

I also found something that said that Irish traveller DNA has evolved to be different now from Irish DNA, but if you do a DNA test it will just show up as “Irish, Scottish or Welsh” regardless of whether you are a Traveller or not!

Thanks to everyone who has contributed on this thread.

This sounds very much like the organisation I work for!

How are you finding it?

Great, and they are all fab ladies who are real role models for their community, leading classes / workshops, giving talks, delivering training, doing health outreach. The men are doing well also, organising a number of physical activities for Traveller men.

Judging by your username, I’d say it is…😀

This sounds amazing and change really does need to start and be driven by the community themselves. I think years back there was a Traveller organization in our area but it closed down. It's great the men are on board, they really need to be the ones pushing for change as the women will not do anything their husbands/fathers disapprove of.

@TammyinCork how have the general Traveller community been with the services? Are they receptive to the education?

Very much so! A great number of women chose to do two third-level courses, fitting them in around their work and family commitments!

@TowerTumble is Romani still spoken by gypsies/travelers?