We [Roma] believe in one god, o Devel or o Del, and the devil, o Beng, and we believe that there is a constant struggle between them for dominance over our lives. To live properly is to abide by a set of behaviours collectively called Rromanipen, Rromipe or Rromanija, and this entails maintaining spiritual balance. This Ayurvedic concept, called karma in India (and in Romani kintala, or in some dialects kintari or kintujmos) is fundamental to the Romani worldview.
Wow, this is pretty interesting stuff. However, I don't think any Gypsies still believe in such? Maybe it's part of their tradition and something connected to their culture, but I don't think it still exists today. Anyway, I don't know...
Anyway, "my" Gypsies are Muslim and they are strongly following it and are religious. The non-Muslim Gypsies from here mostly have Christian-Orthodox/Serbian names like Novica, Zdravko, etc. and the most common surnames are Jovanović and Nikolić. They are often known to wear huge golden Orthodox crosses around their necks (something which I believe is the same as for Romanian Gypsies).
As for the Slovak/Hungarian Gypsies, my friends from Hungary tell me that Gypsies there are "ultra Catholic"
vijayjohn wrote:Oh, sorry! I meant 'who' and 'how much'.
Ohhhhhh... okay, I got it then!
vijayjohn wrote:Makes sense. It's an athematic word anyway, i.e. a loanword (maybe from Romanian?).
I have absolutely no clue about its etymology. Couldn't find anything. Also I don't know any word, in any Balkan language which sounds remotely close to it.... (maybe you could check in your materials, if you'll have time and will... anyway it's not that important, so nevermind )
vijayjohn wrote:Čudàci here is the plural form of čudàto 'weird'.
Ohh, okay! I got it now in Serbo-Croatian "čudaci" is a plural of "čudak" (weirdo)
vijayjohn wrote:This comparison with your variety is really interesting, thanks!
You're welcome, and thank you as well! Anyway, I'm not a native Roma so I cannot guarantee anything... It's just how I think it is... Anyway, maybe when I'm back to my hometown I can talk to my fellow Gypsies from the Masjid and maybe they can translate it for me into how they would say it. We will see...
vijayjohn wrote:To me, you kind of sound like an imam when you're reading the story.
https://vocaroo.com/i/s0LjN1zWAZsG
vijayjohn wrote:Sure! I'll probably be three times as confused by it as you were by my text, but it's worth a try anyway.
A'ight... So, as they like to say in American movies: Here goes nothing :
Na džanava so te pišinav... ake, odlučinava te pišiv o akava diveste... So me kerđum adive...
Me siklino uštava ko dešu jekh, andar i bući. Ćerava popodne, andar o fakulteti...
Ama adive uštljum ko dešu duj sati, te džav ki Džamija, adaleske isi Džuma.
Majpalal, ovljum ko bankake, em onda vratinđum e sobeste.
Adive odmarav Nego, mangljum te phučavtu, dali šaj te koristina akava tema te prevodina đilja? ili mora te otvorina nova tema? Uglavnom, mangljum te phenav - so kerđam baše Bajramsko dive :
Posle Bajramsko namazi, amen đilavđan iljahije (amaro islamsko hor), em jekh iljahija bušel "Jusuf, kaj sijan?" - priča o resuleske Jakupi a.s.; hem leskoro čhavo Jusuf a.s. kana Jakup a.s. izgubinđa leskoro čhavo... Vov ovilja bhut bibaxtalo... Mangljum te zumave te prevodine akava tekst: "Sao dobor vakti dovaja ja kerđa, hem taro Allahi, Jusufe rodinđa. 'Jusuf, Jusuf, kaj sijan tu?' Rovel o Jakupi, hem phenela: 'Jusuf, kaj sijan?' Jusufe fordinđa o phral ko bunari, i košulja anđa, oj sa ratvalji. Bhut raća na suća, Jakupi runđa. O leskoro rojba ole kořjarđa. Jusuf, Jusuf, kaj sijan tu?' Rovel o Jakupi, hem phenela: 'Jusuf, kaj sijan? O Allah mazumi na mukhel Resule, palo le dobor brš, dikhel e Jusufe!"
hahah so... this is my variety of Romani... that's how I speak it... I'm not a native speaker though, so there could be mistakes still... anyway, I wanted to say, that I've decided to use "ć" and "đ"... just for the sake of more variation and making it more interesting (since I know that you use "k/t" and "g/d" in your variety ) - although in speaking I'd rather pronounce them as kj and gj.