Category: romany

Photographer – Nukshi Alice

~ George Crawford ~ 1 Comment

NukshiAliceFrom her ABOUT Page:  Nukshi is a documentary and portrait photographer and an artist living and working in Nottinghamshire.
Her sensitivity to situations, culture and people, has allowed her to adapt well to new challenges and environments.  She captures her images by getting involved with people, their culture and lifestyle, which motivates her to preserve those times and moments.  Knowledge and empathy with her subjects is the key to her image success, especially when intimate portraits are involved.

With an open mind and a quest to explore extreme situations, places, cultures, people and learn from that interaction. She intend to travel more, in doing so broaden her abilities. Often able to impart new skills to individuals in an exchange for their confidence in her, which has allowed her to bond with them easily.

VardoWhen a friend sent a link to her website I was, of course, immediately interested in the vardo.  Looking beyond the structure, there is wonderful documentation of life on the road.  An exterior wash stand tripod, pragmatic stairs, cooking tripod, and the ubiquitous tea kettle extend the home.

fullinteriorA homey interior, with an eye for beauty is shown in this “typical” vardo.

CookingA rare site where I live.  Nomads and Travellers are not often welcome in the modern world.  I’m glad this couple can live as they wish.

interior

More details are documented on her website.  I picked a few of my favorites for this post.

GeorgeAnd let’s not forget the people who keep this tradition alive.  It’s all well to look at the staged “gypsy” wagons across the web, but it’s important to remember that these are truly home, made complete by their inhabitants.

grinderA way to make a living. I still remember the knife grinder who made his way around the city in St. Louis many years ago.  His was not quite this flashy but had the housewives scurrying out with handfuls of knives and scissors when he came around.  I suspect that’s a rare job in America today.

Many more images from this series and others are viewable on Nukshi’s website.  Have a look and read the little story that accompanies the photos.

Romany Rai

~ George Crawford ~ Leave a comment

Romano Rai (Romany Rye) (Traditional, English)

I’m a Romano Rai, just an old didikai,
I build all my temples beneath the blue sky,
I live in a tent and I don’t pay no rent,
and that’s why they call me the Romano Rai.

Didi-a-didi-a-didi-di-kai, chavves,
Tika-dika-tika-a-lai

Your Daddus tryin’ to sell a mush a kushto grai.
I’m a Romano rai, just an old didikai,
I live in a mansion beneath the blue sky,
I was born in a ditch, so I won’t ever grow rich,
But that’s why they call me the Romano Rai.

Tikka, tikka, didikai, tikka, tikka, didikai
That’s why they call him the Romano Rai

Tikka-tikka-didikai, tikka tikka, didikai,
That’s why they call him the Romani Rai.

I’m a Romano Rai, a true didikai,
My temple’s a mansion beneath the blue sky,
I’m a Romano Rai, a true didikai,
just campin’ around, on any ol’ ground,

But that’s why they call him the Romano Rai.

 

*Didikai is a term than Romanichal (British) call mixed-blood Romani.

Party Time

~ George Crawford ~ Leave a comment

partytimeThis is part of a series of images, mostly Romany, Irish and Scottish Travellers collected from around the internet.  Many of these historic images found on the web are without citation.  When a clear link to a source is found, I try to include it.  If a source is known, please pass it on and I will gladly include it or remove it if necessary.

Vanniers ambulants

~ George Crawford ~ Leave a comment

vanniersA homey scene.  A mother cooking, father and son engaging in their craft.

This is part of a series of images, mostly Romany, Irish and Scottish Travellers collected from around the internet.  Many of these historic images found on the web are without citation.  When a clear link to a source is found, I try to include it.  If a source is known, please pass it on and I will gladly include it or remove it if necessary.

A Convergence

~ George Crawford ~ 2 Comments
goodolddays
 
This is part of a series of images, mostly Romany, Irish and Scottish Travellers collected from around the internet.  Many of these historic images found on the web are without citation.  When a clear link to a source is found, I try to include it.  If a source is known, please pass it on and I will gladly include it or remove it if necessary.

Home is the Hearth

~ George Crawford ~ 2 Comments

atHomeSome important facts about caravan living before the ultra-modern RVs came along that may help people understand some of the choices I have made about my own wagon:

  • The caravan is the hub around which camp is built, but most “living” actually takes place outside in the wide world.  Sometimes this means tents or other temporary structures provide protection from the elements.  Prior to the second world war, caravan Travellers in Europe often slept outdoors, often under the caravan while the kids were corralled inside.  This makes a lot a sense as adults stay up later, and kids can wander off.
  • Cooking is done outdoors, over a fire.  The stove, when there is one, is for heat and drying.
  • The hearth is the focus of family life, just as it has been for a million years.  That is where people congregate, music and stories happen there, and it is provides comfort and cheer.
  • There is no water closet or toilet inside the caravan.  That is disgusting yet one of the most common criticisms I see or receive about mine or other traditional wagons.
  • A consistent anthropological observation about nomads is the strict rules of hygiene and cleanliness.  Working and wandering outdoors can be a dirty business so strict rules are adhered to.  Some of these reach the level of taboos and can be traced back over at least a thousand years.  Living on the road can make one appreciate this need.
  • The fancy wagons of 19th century Britain are the exception, not the rule.  Carts and wagons have likely served as the home base for nomads of various types since 500 B.C. or before.  They came to their peak of perfection in Britain in the 19th and very early 20th centuries before morphing into the RVs we see today.
TravellerinSWengland
A Traveller in southwest England. This simple accommodation is much cheaper and more readily built than the fancy production models.

A considerate Traveller carries a fire pan to prevent scorching the earth by the roadside.