Gitanos #5 - a few more thoughts

In general, when I think of gitanos and the culture of the gitanos I know in Andalucia, I think of courtesy.  In a public setting, courtesy seems to be very important.  You do not say negative things about others.  Sure, in your own family or with your good friends, you speak your mind but in other situations, you temper criticism by saying it's only your point of view and of course you respect others' right to be different, and you're not trying to imply that your views are any more valid that the views of others, and....

Concrete examples come from conversations about flamenco which, among gitanos in Andalucia (especially in Jerez de la Frontera, the place that I know best), especially in gitano "flamenco families" is a very important topic of conversation about which people hold very strong opinions.

When referring to flamenco artists whose artistic abilities you frankly suspect they despise, they will tell things like... although what you've just seen is not their favorite style and is not something they would ever do themselves and perhaps has a bit too much of...whatever...still, they deeply respect the right of others to do their own thing.

Something else that I've observed is that gitanos, or at least the ones I know, have a sense of humor I'll refer to as the "B'rer Rabbit syndrome."  Out-foxing others is looked on favorably and is often considered funny.  And if someone out-foxes YOU, well, you should laugh a bit.

This "B'rer Rabbit syndrome" (know the story of B'rer Rabbit and the Tar Baby?) is closely akin to the Robin Hood ideal, or maybe to the character of Little John in Robin Hood's band.  It's something that comes of being the under-dog.

A few other comments:  in England, you find people called "Travelers" closely associated with Gypsies/Roma - so closely associated that many people assume they are one and the same.  They are not.  Travelers, to the best of my knowledge (and I'm no expert here) come from Irish stock.  Whether I'm right on wrong on this score, they have different values, a different way of life, and are ethnically different.

Gitanos, according to what I've read, make up about 10% of all Gypsies/Roma.  In many cases, their ancestors came into Spain (centuries ago) from northern Africa but others came through Europe and entered Spain by crossing the Pyranees from France.

Male chauvinism:  Spanish men in general seem to exhibit more male chauvinism that you find in the United States, and gitanos as a group perhaps more than the average Spanish man.

Finally, in Spain, gitanos greatly respect flamenco professionals and especially flamenco singers (cantaors), whereas the Gypsies/Roma in England, for example, consider it very important for a man to excell at boxing.  In other words, do not expect to find the same values in people because of their ethnic roots alone.

And that's enough on that topic.