Gypsy Group Research Articles

Roma (Gypsies) in the Soviet Union and the Moscow Teatr ‘Romen’

The Moscow Teatr “Romen,” dating back to 1931, is famous throughout the Soviet Union, and its performers have been some of the country's best-known. The Teatr “Romen” connects Roma from all over the country, and many who work there are related; three generations of a family may appear on the stage at one time. These families, along with Roma working as professionals, make up an lite within the Romani community in Moscow. They are the most outwardly assimilated (wearing European dress, etc.), most fluent and literate in Russian as well as Romani. These families usually move in different spheres than do Roma who live in villages around Moscow and work in cooperatives or as independent merchants, although extended family networks may include Roma of all spheres. Most studies of Gypsies (including those of non-Roma, such as Irish Travellers in the United Kingdom) assume a certain homogeneity of culture and of class: The refusal to acknowledge Gypsy upward mobility in the context of a dominant society has also prevented research of class difference within Gypsy groups and created a sense of marginalized homogeneity that does not reflect reality.The Teatr “Romen” is a case that demands such acknowledgment. Yet, in a sense, these élite performers are doubly marginal, both as performers and as ethnic outsiders who “threaten the rhetoric and narratives of nationalism.” Currently in the USSR, such narratives are in flux, as many national minorities demand greater cultural and political autonomy. Roma, however, are not demanding their own republic, and requests for schools and radio shows are often tempered by the assertion that, “this country has been kind to Gypsies.” Roma élites are also in a peculiar position: charged with representing Roma to outsiders, they are also concerned about maintaining the integrity of the urban community as Roma. Because of this, they must negotiate the interstitial area between cultures.

Plant retrotransposon from Lilium henryi is related to Ty3 of yeast and the gypsy group of Drosophila.

The lily retrotransposon del 1-46 is 9345 base pairs (bp) long. It has long terminal repeats (LTRs) of 2406 bp (left) and 2415 bp (right), which differ in sequence by 1.4%. Sequences similar to those involved in priming DNA synthesis in retroviruses occur in the internal region. Near the left LTR is a sequence complementary to 18 residues at the 3' end of methionine initiator tRNA of three plant species, and a run of 12 purines occurs close to the right LTR. One internal reading frame of del 1-46 has relatively few stop codons. The 1462-codon product from this frame has motifs, in N to C terminus order, corresponding to those identified with RNA binding, protease, reverse transcriptase, RNase H, and integrase functions in retroviruses and certain other retrotransposons. Amino acid sequence comparisons of three conserved pol regions show del to be closely related to the Ty3 retrotransposon of yeast (37-40% identity). del is also related to the gypsy group of Drosophila (17.6, 297, gypsy/mdg4, and 412), showing closer identity with their reverse transcriptase (32-38%) and RNase H (36-45%) domains than with their integrase domain (21-26%). It is proposed that a gypsy group ancestor exchanged the integrase region with a more distantly related element since its divergence from a del/Ty3 common ancestor. The occurrence of related retrotransposons in three different kingdoms (plants, animals, and fungi) strongly implies their horizontal transmission in recent evolutionary time.

Teaching about the Gypsies at Levanger College of Education

Summary The author describes an extensive project undertaken at Levanger College of Education since 1976. The project grew out of a concern about the conflicts which arose annually when gypsy groups passed through Levanger. A group of students carried out extensive research into the situation and background of the gypsies and presented their findings at a cultural evening. This presentation began a process of change in attitudes towards the gypsies, and the project was extended. Later, it involved students in work at the Gypsy School in Oslo and with the production of teaching materials. These have been added to constantly and have been widely disseminated. The project continues, and has been extensively reported.

"Luck on the Road": Problems of Fieldwork among the Gypsies

All field-workers must deal with problems of entry and rapport-gaining ability to cope with a field situation in such a way that work is possible (Nader 1970:113). The anthropologist who chooses to d o fieldwork among a pariah group faces particularly trying problems of establishing an effective field persona and at the same time maintaining self-identity. One of the few defenses available to such groups is to hold the stranger firmly at arm's length unless he is willing to offer complete commitment to them. Consequently, insights gained by this type of work, however valuable they might be, are often won at great personal cost to the researcher. In this paper I wish to address some of these difficulties, using data drawn from a 1975 summer research project among a group of conservative Gypsies, or Rom, in one of Spain's large cities. In particular, a period of three weeks spent traveling with the Gypsies, during which the anthropologist-informant relationship steadily deteriorated into conflict, serves to bring into sharp focus certain aspects of Gypsy social structure as these are related to the limits of the anthropologist's role as participant.

Population genetic aspects of primary congenital glaucoma. II. Fitness, parental consanguinity, founder effect.

This paper deals with some other population genetic aspects associated with the incidence of a type of primary congenital glaucoma that occurs very frequently in the Gypsy population of Slovakia. In addition to the decreased fertility of affected individuals of Gypsy origin being determined, the relative reproduction fitness and the selection coefficient against this disease were estimated. An increased number of kinship intermarriages in parents of the patients were recorded, namely in the Gypsy group (45.6%). The average inbreeding coefficient for the Gypsy group (F = 0.0091) and the non-Gypsy group (F = 0.0030) was calculated. Based on the high frequency of primary congenital glaucoma in a relatively small Gypsy subpopulation and on data about their origin, immigration, and settlements in the territory of Slovakia, the authors consider a special case of gene drift--the founder effect--to be the most plausible explanation of the given fact.

Genetic structure of the Greek gypsies.

Data are presented on several polymorphic genetic markers in 200 Greek gypsies. Polymorphic loci studied were: the ABO, MN, Rhesus, Kell and Duffy blood groups, hemoglobin, and ceruloplasmin. A survey for congenital malformations and hereditary diseases was also carried out on this group. The ABO, Rhesus, MN and Duffy system frequencies varied significantly from the figures obtained for the Greek population. However, there is a characteristic similarity between various gypsy groups studied in other nations and the distribution of polymorphic traits in the Punjab region of India. Cystic fibrosis, renal tubular acidosis, 21-hydroxylase deficiency, Hoty-Oram syndrome and homozygous beta-thalassemia were diagnosed within the gypsy group studied.

Genetic markers in Welsh gypsies.

Data are presented on polymorphic genetic markers of 84 Welsh gypsies, members of an inbred population characterised by a high incidence of phenylketonuria and other recessively inherited diseases. Sixteen polymorphic loci were studied: the ABO blood group distribution was comparable to that of the surrounding population, the B gene frequency being 7-5%, a lower frequency than most earlier studies in gypsies. The haptoglobin 1 gene frequency (23-7%) was very different from that of the British population, resembling the frequency found in India and some previously reported gypsy groups. The data on Welsh gypsies for the various loci are discussed in relation to the known evidence for a number of European gypsy populations, and in relation to the genetic structure of these populations. It is concluded that genetic divergence has occurred in the European gypsies, and that this may have been accentuated by the dispersal, isolation, and inbreeding which have occurred during the present century.