The True Romany

[Dept of PMM Artists & things]

The true Romany was never a (diddikai) gypsy who goes from door to door selling pegs and telling fortunes - although the true Romany could fashion anything from wood and certainly excelled in palmistry and astrology. The true Romany learned a trade, travelled the highways and byways from place to place, selling the products of his trade, whether it was tinkering, horse dealing or working as a smith. They never bought land or had many possessions. They did not understand land property acts and deposit accounts, only horse rearing and dealing, the trade of a smith or day to day marketing of goods they had made.

The Petulengro Romany family, perhaps the most famous of all Romany's were horse dealers. When the Petulengro`s came to England in the sixteenth century they brought with them the age old secrets of herbal recipes and remedies. This proud and romantic race came originally from Arabia and through the centuries had wandered across Asia, through India, Egypt to Hungary and then to Romania, and it is from the Romanian stock of gypsies that the Petulengro`s were descended from.

They established themselves as horse breeders and dealers. They traded Welsh and Exmoor ponies with the Hungarian and Romanian Zingari. It was in Romania that Jasper Petulengro met Anyeta, a Romanian Zingari,and a true Romany herbalist whose instinctive wisdom and knowledge of herb lore and traditional remedies handed down from generation to generation brought about many cures as she travelled through the land in the days of Queen Victoria. She passed on her knowledge to her son, the famous Gypsy Petulengro, once King of the Romanies, and in turn he passed on his knowledge to his son Leon Petulengro.

It was Gypsy Petulengro`s wish that the Romany secrets should be passed on for the benefit of all, and that the Romany secrets would not die with them as the Romanies are now sadly a dying race. Years ago we used to see the beautiful (vardos) gypsy caravans in the country lanes. The gypsies would pull to the road side to gather herbs, berries and roots. The gypsies all had an air of sprightly health about them. They accepted all that the (Kooshti Duvel) good God and the sun gave to them. When they were ill they would go to the fields and hedgerows, just as their mother`s did and their mother`s before them.

Nature cannot tell you what is wrong with you when you are ill, and all the herbs in the world are no good to you if you don`t know how to use them. But who tells the cattle, horses and sheep what is wrong with them? I am referring to an inborn instinct that sick animals have to eat the right herb when in trouble.

KOOSHTI SANTE! That is Romany for `Good Health`. Good health is innate in the Romany people because for generations they have lived in the open air. They thrive on freedom and wanderlust and rely on roots, berries and herbs - nature`s own remedies - as medicines and preventatives. It is within the power of each of us to achieve good health and to lay the foundations of our children`s future well-being on sure ground by keeping to the right diet. Fresh green foods, herbs, vegetables, berries all contain a direct message from the sun. Packaged, tinned, bottled, adulterated food is a poor substitute.

Today no one would dream of existing on a diet of mushrooms, stinging nettles, herbs, fish, and rabbit the way some Romanies once did. Yet they were never ill - and we often are. There are many explanations for this, they had no stress, plenty of fresh air and a healthy diet. Gypsies have always been foremost in their knowledge of natural remedies. These were guarded with the greatest secrecy. Today many gypsies have forgotten the remedies of their forefathers. But the Petulengro`s have always been known as the Romany medicine tribe.

http://gypsymagicspells.blogspot.com/2009/01/true-romany.html