The beliefs of the Roma & Sinti - Summarised

Is there only one God or more gods in the Romani Faith? And who is the God of the Romani People?

 In Romani language we have various dialects and sub-dialects.

We call God

Devla

Del

Devel

Debel

Devl

Dol

Dél

Dejl

Džejl

Devloro

Mostly we have Devla or Del

In some dialects also exist a word for Goddess

Devľi

Devleisa

Develkija

In other Indic (Indo-Aryan) languages God is Dev or Deva and Goddes is Devi or Debi.

In Dravidian language Malayalam is God Daivam (m with bindu over is almost not heard), Goddess is Devataviya.

If we call on God in the Romani language "Oh God!" we say "Devlale!" in many dialects, this seems to be plural and in fact it should be "oh Gods!", same as we use in "Romale" (Oh Roma people) or in "Čhavale" (oh boys).

In Indic (Indo-Aryan) language Bengali is plural - "Debata" (gods).

In Dravidian Malayalam language it´s "Daivannale", -le is used for plural in this language.

Why does Romani uses plural is probably rooted in Hinduism, as it´s recorded that the Roma people prayed to the Sun, Moon and Tree in the countries which forbade iconography, this shows also some parts of original religion, as to all 3 things Hindus pray.

Another question is why does Romani countains a word for Goddess?

The answer is that it´s probably some remnant of Shaktism (which is a movement inside Hinduism), as it´s reported that Christian Roma people pray to Virgin Mary and also exists Saint Kali Sara.

__

Who is the Romani God? And is there more gods according to the old Romani beliefs? Let´s discover it!

As i mentioned before in another post in the Romani language we call God mainly "Devla" or "Del" (there are versions of this word in our dialects) and that this word is straight from Sanskrit.

Also i mentioned that we call to God "Devlale", which is plural "-le" makes from it plural, same as in the Malayalam which is Dravidian language.

So, is there more gods in our beliefs?

The answer is yes and no, as our religious beliefs are similar to the Hindu.

Let´s see how does it really is in Hinduism (and also in our Romani traditional beliefs).

According to Hinduism there is one absolute reality called Param Brahman = Supreme Deity, which manifests itself in many avatars (incarnations), be it gods like Shiva, Vishnu, goddesess Kali, Durga, Parvati etc (among others).

We can read it also in the Upanishads (which is part of Hindu Vedas, the Upanishads are exactly from the late Vedic period - circa 1100 to 500 BCE).

I chose a photo of Aum (or Om) which according to the Mandukya Upanishad represents absolute reality, be it all states of time, all states of atman (soul, self), all states of consciousness and all knowledge.

Also according to the Romani beliefs Devla is all which is mentioned about the Aum.

It is also reported that the Roma earlier practiced some form of the Shaktism (which in fact is still practiced in Christianised form) and other Hindu-like beliefs (mainly Shaivism) with strong pre-Aryan (animistic) traditions, where another deity or object was seen as the representative of Devla (i.e. God = absolute reality).

So, the religion of the Roma people (same as Hinduism) is not as classical monotheism nor polytheism, as it´s understood by the Europeans.

_

Zoroastrian influence on the Romani beliefs. Dualism - God = Good, Satan = Bad

Zoroastrianism (the religion of pre-Islamic Persia/Iran & Afghanistan) and how it influenced Romani beliefs?

According to Abrahamic faiths (Judaism, Christianity & Islam) God created evil, as everything comes from God, as we can read in the Old Testament's Isaiah 45:7 and Qur'an 113:2.

But in the faith of the Roma is impossible that God created evil, that evil comes from God.

Yes, there is an opinion that God is doing punishment, but never without a reason.

So, from where is the evil coming from?

We can say that majority of the Roma believe that evil comes exclusively from Satan.

This belief is a form of dualism, which we can meet within Zoroastrianism, where exists supreme deity Ahura Mazda, nowadays called Ohrmazd (a creator, a good spirit, the lord of wisdom, the lord of truth), and his sibling Angra Mainyu, nowadays called Ahriman (destructive spirit, evil spirit, the lord of evil and the lord of lies), both of them have own armies of spirits and a human is free to choose to be good or evil.

According to Zoroastrianism there is constant war between good and evil, where at the end will win good.

_

The Hindu Trishula in Romani religious tradition

Almost every Romani person knows that he or she calls Christian Cross Trušul (in one Slovak Romani sub-dialect is Cross called Trišul) but doesn't knows origin of this word.

So, Trishula (Trišul) is what Hindu gods are holding in their hands, for example Shiva is very known Hindu god which holds Trishula in his hands.

In India also village gods (local gods) worshipped by only one village or tribe or even family lineage are holding Trishula.

_

Rašaj - Priest

Rashaya is Prakrit word for priest, nowadays in other Indic languages are used different words but in Romani language we say Rašaj (this way Rashaya is being read even in original Prakrit).

In modern Indo-Aryan language it´s probably Rishi.

We in our diaspora call Rašaj Christian priests or pastors but the origin of this word is rooted in Hinduism.

_

What is the cycle of life and death in the traditional Romani Beliefs?

The red thread on wrist

In the Romani community

The red thread (indraľori) is supposed to protect the child from being a victim of evil eye, because it draws attention to himself and not to the child, so the child can no longer get evil eye.

It is also part of this topic that Romani mothers should be at home within three days of birth, because the child is being cleansed of the world it came from, and therefore they have too much evil power over him, as reported by an journalist Gejza Demeter.

"No later than the third day, an infant must get a string or thread on his wrist - red, black, green, but not white, because white is the color of death. The spirits will see a thread and understand that the child is a living human, and they will give him peace."

It´s not worn whole life, it will be taken down after baptism.

In Hindu communities

Red is the color of fire and blood, so it is associated with energy, strength, power, determination. Hence the red thread are worn symbolically :

- Ward off evil from the person who wears this red thread.

- To control mood swings that one experiences in their daily life.

- To keep the wearer steadfast on the ritual or ceremony as a reminder on his/her wrist

- It also reminds you of the importance of who you are and what you stand for.

Other colours

Yellow Thread - Yellow is associated with joy, happiness and energy. It is usually used in marriages.

White Thread - White means safety, purity, and cleanliness. White sacred threads are used for “Yajnopavita, Janeau or Poonal”.

Black Thread - Black is a mysterious color associated with fear and the unknown. Black thread is worn as a protection from evil eyes.

There is also a popular belief these sacred thread signifies the blessing of Trideva - Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh. From the blessing of Brahma we get fame, from the blessings of Vishnu we get defending power against evil and from the blessing of Shiva we get the power to destroy our negative qualities.

Hindus wear it whole life and it´s usually tied by the Hindu priest.

_

The black birdie who brings (wants) death

In Romani traditional beliefs

There is a "kalo čirikloro" who wants (or brings) the death of a person, often in sad Romani songs we can hear about him, but where is the origin of the belief?

We must go to see Hinduism and its beliefs about gods of the death, time, unfulfilled desires and karma.

There is a god of death called Yama - god of death and justice, his name is also Kala (a male form of goddess Kali), Kala operates as a god of time also, not only as a god of death, and is connected with god Kaal (he haves same atributions as Yama-Kala).

Yama (Kala) is of black complexion and rides black buffalo, but some Hindus claim that he is connected with god Shani, and many times they don't differentiate these two.

God Shani is a god of karma, divine retribution and justice, is of a black complexion, haves black robes and rides a black vulture, sometimes also a black crow and sometimes a chariot with horses.

There is also a goddess Dhumavati, she is a goddess of strife, loneliness, unfulfilled desires and inauspicious things.

She is of dark-complexion, with dakr clothes, rides a horseless chariot, or a black crow, or black crows are pulling a chariot and stands in the cremation ground.

As you can see, the black bird, be it a vulture or a crow always supports the gods and a goddess connected with the death.

This is from where our tradition of black birdie wanting (bringing) the death comes from.

-

I think you have a question why the Roma see in White colour death and bad powers while in India is seen as positive colour. And why the Roma never wore the white thread?

White colour

Among the Roma

White in the Romani culture is seen as a colour of death and sorrow.

In India

In India it haves two meanings, which seems to be very different, and seems that in Indian society is White standing for very different things due to the mixed culture of the Aryans and the others (Dravidians & Adivasis).

White is colour of the Brahmin caste, from which are priests, i.e. those who claim to be of Aryan origin, they also wear White colour.

According to Hinduism is white colour a colour of peace and purity, same as in the Western cultures.

But among the people of India is white seen as a colour which is absent of colour and is the only colour widows are allowed to wear.

It is the acceptable colour at funerals and ceremonies that mark death in the family.

It reflects the essential quality of the colour itself, in principle; white, as a colour, repels all light and colours and therefore, when a widow wears white, she disconnects herself from the pleasures and luxuries of active and regular participation in a society and life around her.

Thus it´s a colour of death in the folk understanding of the white colour in India.