Gadjo
In Romani culture, a gadjo (feminine: gadji) is a person who has no Romanipen. This usually corresponds to not being an ethnic Romani, but it can also be an ethnic Romani who does not live within Romani culture. It is often used by Romanies to address or denote outsider neighbors living within or very near their community. Romanies of Western Europe and the Americas often interpret gadjos as "impure" because they consider that only those following Romani Code are "pure".
Etymology
The exact origin of the word is not known. One theory considers that the word comes from the proto-Romani word for "peasant" and has the same root as the Romani word "gav" (a village). Romani ancestors were nomadic musicians and craftspeople; they did not live in villages[citation needed].
See also
- Gadjo dilo ("The crazy gadjo") is a French-Romanian film about a Frenchman who travels to Romania after a Romani musician.
Notes
References
- Lev Tcherenkov, Stephan Laederich "The Rroma"
- Raymond Buckland "Gypsy Witchcraft & Magic"
External links
- Caravan goes away in Russian
- Excerpts from Roma by WR Rishi: ETYMOLOGY OF THE WORD "GAJO" http://web.archive.org/web/20080514005741/http://www.romani.org/rishi/retygajo.html
 | This Romani-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |