The New Nomads

By Kiša Lala © Iain McKell – “The New Gypsies” (Published by Prestel) Wandering the edges of townships in the grey zones between cities, the Gypsies of Central Europe live off the grid. Myths, rumours, lies cloud their histories for they heed no rules and leave few traces – instead, they survive off the land, and sometimes they beg, thieve and steal. Count Kálnoky tells me at his residence, in the village of Miklosvar in Romania where I was staying as a guest, that he was indeed wireless: the Gypsies had cut the cables to fence the copper for their lawless trade. If Gypsies can’t be trusted it is because they play a different game: While we build around hearth and home, and bank our paper money, Gypsies scavenge, forage and live as nomads, content to be rootless and transient. While we fill our archives with images, texts and our libraries with facts, their stories remain oral and they choose to forget the rest. Gypsy woman with her golden smile – Romania – © Photo Kisa Lala 2011 © Iain McKell – “The New Gypsies” (Published by Prestel) Romanian Women © Photo Kisa Lala The Romanies or Gypsies, were nomadic tribes that migrated from central India, probably Rajasthan during medieval times. I am told that the word Gypsy comes from the Greek for “Egyptian.” Their clans are frowned upon in cities because Gypsies are forever outsiders – much like the Jews were made pariahs for praying to a different god. Some books published recently that explore Gypsy lifestyle are Patrick Cariou’s “Gypsies” that retraces the migration of the Romany people from India, and, Iain McKell’s “The New Gypsies,” a book of beautiful vagabonds inspired by the British fringe cult whose members, known as “horsedrawns,” eschew modern city life and thrive as intercity nomads. © Patrick Cariou – Gypsies – powerHouse Books © Iain McKell – “The New Gypsies” (Prestel) The roving life seems romantic, but it’s not for the timid. To winter in open fields, to bed in barns, wagons, trailers means Gypsies are strong in their will to be free. They barter for work and stow their riches in silver and gold, knowing it can’t burn like paper, or vanish when people stop believing in its value. Gypsies are always on the move but when they halt, they build houses of silver, knowing if all else fails, they can just melt their roofs and leave. A Gypsy’s trailer. © Photo Kisa Lala A gypsy house lined with silver in Romania – © Photo Kisa Lala 2011 Walk anywhere in a straight line and pretty soon you’ll cross a gate, a fence, a road or come to the end of a field and reach the beginning of a town. It’s hard to get lost when every inch of soil is mapped and watched through the cross-hairs of Google earth. Like the pirates of the seas, the Gypsies claim the right to rove. To travel on land is to move through pathways followed by border crossings that only birds ignore because they perch wherever they land. The Gypsies have learned to do the same. Rajasthani woman – The Gypsies may have originated from the Rajasthani nomads © Photo Kisa Lala 2011 A Rajasthani woman cooking- © Photo Kisa Lala 2011 Varvara a Romanian woman lives off the land in ramshackle cottage – © Photo Kisa Lala 2011 View “New Gypsies” by Iain Mckell Text & Interviews: Kiša Lala Spread ArtCulture: www.Spread ArtCulture.com

Read the original:

The New Nomads

Posted by on August 25, 2011. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.