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Sex Dichotomy Among the AmericanKaldera5 Gypsies (195 1)

Rena M. Cotten (Gropper)

The sexul division of hbor is an old phenomenon to anthropologists,but it has nwer been studid in detail with reference to cultures in astate of flux A study of American Kalderal Gypsies has revealed tharthis G},psy culture has canied the division of life's activities betrveenthe sores to a high degree of development and that the resultantdichotomy has influenced the process of acculturation. I shall finterylorethe reasons for the extremedistinction between male and femaleand the cons€quent difference in firnctions in a pre-acculturationsituation, and then ttre changes rurder acculturation will be discussed.Although the presentation is purely factual, the data will be seen tojusti$, me in offering Kaldera5 culture as an exception to thegenemlization that women are the more conseryative element in a

society.The Kal&ra5, or C.oppersmitlr, Glpsies form one tribe within the

Gypsy etlmic group by virtue of a common dialect of Romani, similarcustoms and beliefs, and a sense of group identity. Kaldera5 in largemigration-waves began to settle in the New World in the 1890s, todar,.about oire-half of the.50,000 {o I 00,000 G. ypsi es in the United Srares arcbf liatderaS ex;traction. The Kaldera5 themselves claim that allCoppersmith Glpsies havethe same basic institulions, regardless of rJrc

European country from which they migrated, and a cursory comparison

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of Russian, Serbian An^ (+?^^t. ^-- '\L Cr'llett (Groqter)

revealed ,lr, ,h.,*, and Greek-Argentin;. K|-deras in New york City

anv European r""flffirHl,#, #i'#:l'ur t'r,a Jo.'0r,,.*11 i* *

differentiared the Karaeras-;;;:#;e occurred seems nor ro have

ffi ##t"":#:r::'4i"'h";;;::1'.'i-:'T?,;i,'"1ffi:;*H:,FlH'H*: YHT,,[:Y,JIt It TffiH,*The Basesfor Kalderas Sq Dichotomy

1: K"gf-S G5psies are organized into paua 'king'r a"a? council of elders *;u"i::*:alds-(vffsas),ndercoqponent exerded famiri;. ;.;rT; rlP of the heads of themust be bougtt from other Kaldenai b*dr" L? 'Tr"

vfsas, wivesforbidden to m:rry reratives * ",ffi;H

smce. these Glpsies are

, :.T"[fi ff**f: l" b;; ;;;;A:HH; ffi #:I,,ff' a mother, she may

"rTlTTosd 5i$l;ngs; afterthe woman becomes

*" *y'&ffir"Y continue to reside *m n"r motr,Iii:#:.howe'er, the corple,t"

* her oum establi$naorr- ilffiH;,{ hi, ;;;ffi;:ffi } l"tr;#*.#*Itr ;trjIlfl"T.H3T,HI '" *" o.*Iil" ifr* to the v,saby rirrh.ft*;;;;; ##*

who ome from a number "f ait ;;;i r;;.

r" -* * #i; ;tr "T,.ffiX:,t"fg^:::::y,,,.q-J*;;are alienared from Lch orf,".._a.ii;;1", inreresrs, ttre womenmorher- and sis ters_in_gw b.e.caus; #"#;#:f_fflr tr

",:# j ?singte unit but herrelatiorrf,ip, *itililffi;her own affair. crcnsequenly, Karderas ,o"i"a*o*",

of the virsa are

;;ffi;ilf:?;#I-;;;-ffi ffiTT"#Ln,:il*TJ

s^ex Dichotottty Anrcng the Anterican Kartrcra.i (.i.t,psic.r 22 r

contact with objects lhat have been touched by a maxrintetyonran u.illbe sufficient to ruin dre purily of u ,r*'ri, man breaks onc of rrrcscmayrime taboos, the G,lpsies hold a "o,* ,iut, presided over bv thc*king"

or one of rhe elders -a ,tt"na.aly the mare members of thcvitsa. A formal verdict of *mayrimellJj.O*.a, and rhe offender is:rffi#}r:ffi societv. a"y i"airia*r *r,o r.*Jr1* ,",,i"u,"

ren se ro *; ;;"iliffJi;ra? Hr :l.#:,,fl ,9;:lhousehold nor eat with the Xrfa..X.,n"ri*r.rn"n, is possible onl.r.throug, nulrification of the originar ;"rdi" in another trial. This is alengthy, arduous, and

"*p"ri""!ro"Jir"u*""u*", tl) ir involves muchscheming on thepart of the ortL,,o-*rt"" *.,oa wi& an elder rvhomust then be convinced ,rrat reacceptanci is desirable and feasiblebefore he w,r consent to calr another rin, rrr the entire hisrory of rhecase must be reviewed qndrrew ,.g*""t iresentea and weighed; (3)the defendantmust pay for fo"a t"r",t "-.rJ.lwlsa-food which he rvi,be invited to eat if and when r," ir a""i-"a bimayrime(not uncrean):and (a) there is alwavs the possibility ;;;r petition wi, be refused.and the enrire chain of events *,r r,*" .'i;;J"::# Xil,:.:::r:::muchsimprerroavoidcrosecontacr*,d;r-"-J:ffi

iTrr?t"".liHl,ltxThe Sex Dichotomy ia Action

In terms of Kalderai curturg politicar life may be defined as lhalbehavior instituted by members of different extenoea famiries actingtogether; in this way, social behavirf i, *"i" r" equate with the feast_complex which is called into ,",io" *J.ontrolled b-y one extendedfamily' who act as hosts and invite other Kuri"*" a-,ies to attend fiecelebratior The political.Iifg has , f"rirf"if"", an executive, and ajudicial fom- Vitsa policies{ *" O""rilr.Aiy ru ..big men,, (ttrcpatriarchsf in meetings of rhe council ;;;r".' rf the vitsais facedwith a problem of unusual importancg ull ;; ;". will be summonedto attend a preliminary meeting in which individual opinions arcpresented aad discussed. The "king" fulfills ure .ote of chief exccutir.c:each elder is responsible to him roi *re oueaierice or rre nrarc nrcnrbcrsof their.exlendedfamily,

1d.lach *r_*.;,r* his u,ifearrd chiIdrcrrJudiciat marrers arc rhe.iurisdicrion of il ;;;r;.;;l;; ";,,;,;i;i,,

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. The second factor of major importance in dimte of women in Karderai s""*,, i *1""r;#l?T:ffiffif$#:mensruarion and for r,*,o::u:atril;*r*if a crrira, a woma, if:oxrirl (unclean), and she.is #;;;;;; :sraix of m a yr i me is conta gio u., ;; ;;;;;TJff

"I:i, :::"fr:or sleeps wilh a menstruatirig ,";r;-;;;roro,"o Even inadverrent

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I men acts as arbiter and judge, and the other men act as advocates and

] :W"f,"r theprosecutor and defendalt have presented lheir cases.

i *^-:"i.:.cto not attend council meerings, vilsa sessions ro discussI rntrers ot mterest to &e gfoup as a whole, or court trials. The political\ rn_t o. of lifebelongsexclusivelyto t. *"r,Uott, becausethepresencej 1f

women might defile ana a,,o Uecau*,n" *o_"., do not belong to{ e.:.r:*, Pllrrh and hence are

"", ,n" pr"p* people ro be entrustedI *i9 ils atrairs A w,om1n is always * ,ii* dJ;;;;;rrr;;;I only through the childre,n to whom $" h* given birth. .

stictly qpeaking, economic activities arJperformed by both sexes,but the man's interrnittent coeeersmitfring and the *o**,, Ariiyfortune-telling are not equated fu Kalderai thought ft" ;;;;;;"rain source of income,-and their claiwoyanceprovides the wherewithalfor food, rent, and clothing_ When the men get any money, it is givento their wives for safekeepingand/or arqposil.Because of the different occrpations, the sexes also vary in theirrates of int€raction with non-GypSes Metalworking co__isjs; fer,;solicited by the heads of the ixtenaed families, and the work wasbrought home to be done by the men *

" grorry. This meant that mostof the m€n were reratively isolated aoi, tne outside world. Thewoman's life has acc,stomed her to taking the initiative in

""r; ;;customers and in dealing-with tadeqpeople; within the vif.ra, h;;she must be retiring and deferential*i* ir, A" company of adult men.The careof the home is woman,s work The rrif" ,rr".p. rh;;;;,scmbs the floors, puts the featherbeds away in the morning, *a"t

", ti-"clothes, and does the shopping. ffre daify cooking (except whenmayrime) is carried on by the women, but cooting Ao* fo, f""tirrf, iocelebrate religious holidays and the lire-crises ceremonies of baptism,mariagg and death is the province of the men, for then the entire yilsa

convenes, and there would be too much danger of defiIement if thewomen bandled &e food-The dates of these feasts are determined by the occurrence of thewents being honored, Each extended family prrpu*, for the RussianOrthodoxholy days; friendsvisit eachoth".iol,, drink, and danceandthen go off to the next house. The life-crisis rites differ by their orvnnature, but the invitatior

whom they !p*d th; ;;;fl: ;H:,ffiffi#::? ;:ffi*: :::iupon factors besides the desires of the men or women: close relatives

,\ex l)tchotom_v ,,lntong lhe .,lmerir:an Kalr.lara.i G.vp.sic.t 22 j

havc a righl to attend, families of the same socioeconomic rank *,ouldbe insulted if they rvere not asked; social-climbing aspirations moti'atcthe family to request the presence of the big men. The men hat,e thefinal veto power in sociar life since they can refuse to mingle rvitJrrmwaited guests and.because they have the right to forbid rhe]r wivesto visit other houeholds:

Since tre women are occupied in fornrire-teiliirg during rirost of trre'day, they camot be expected to give the children too much attention.Even if the men are at home, they are considered too important to bebothered with the petty affairs of children, and they are overry quick toresort to physical chastisement. For these reasons, the children must beself-reliant, and older siblings are s'pposed to care for and train theiryoulger sisters and brothers. Gypsy culture reinforces this behavior byinstilling the beliefthat no child learns well who learns by having adultstell [her or] him what to do; the correct educafional method is to fumisha model the child can imitatg and these models are members of thefamily play gro*p. The mother interferes in this children's world onrywhen the youngsters demand attentiorq or become too noisy, or whenthere has been a gross infringement of Kaldera5 mles and regulations.

Thus far we have seen that the woman is most active in rhose facetsof life necessary for biological s*rvival, but cultural survival is in malehands since t},e men are the initiators and nujor participants of groupinstitutions. To phrase it another way: the focal point of interest for themen is the vitsa and its component extended families; the center ofconcern for rhe woman is her own conjugal biological family. It is thisdifference which results in the fact that sorcerers are always old womenand never old men. At least in America, the witch is nolhing but aperpetual danger to the virsa. she is very free in using her ability tocurse peoplg and these curses fall upon the members of the vilsa intowhich she has married. The witch is the symbol of feminine antisocialbehavior and thinking-she is thought to be motivated by a desire tohelp herself, her husband, and her children rvithout regard for the fateof the rest of lhe vilsa. But the old rvomen gain a certain amount ofporver in the yitra since the onlv rvay of deating rvith rvitches is to doo'cn,thing ilrev rvish-7

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Rep erc u s sions for th e In div i du aI

Rena M. Cotten (Gropper)

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Sex Dichotont.y Among the American Kaldera.i (rtD.\i(..\ 22t

Every time a wedding is held, a new wlnerability is introduced into thevirsa- As a yormg bridg the girl is an rrr*;; quantity that must bee4plored and tested bv ter tusuan4 rr* *r,r,*-i"-law,E and her sisters-.in{aw; rhe other *",ra* of rh" ,,;;;;;ii-i". *r, by the birrh ofa chil( &ey ae assurL that she is to U" , pr***, inember of theirgoup. As a matr0& the-woman ii a potintiat danger because she comesfrom another uitsa which.may hrrb;i;";l;; i*r_o".r,oward somemembers of the husband,s band. ffr.rffi ,y frimdship"the otherwives can give must be earned by the new"omer, and the women whoare closest to herare th,,, o*"

"" *Jo _u:""J[#"1,T.,ff frlj: ffiffltrffisince the position of a w-oman is dryendent on the support she mayexpect from the men in rhe,event ,f;;"i;. ; morher is afraid thather sons w,l forsake her and focus th& aftentions on their wives. Thewornm's sisters-in-raw are arxious to show rheirtrusband,s mothertlrat*.:I *-O.p her fight

$e intruOer, * ** *, fear that the bridewill excel them in feomdity-, *oting, ,oo""yirLirg sewing dancing,and other feminine accornptishments.

gratification, service, and children in exchangefor the bride_price paidby his parents, and she must do her work rvithout expectations ofgratitude from the others and regardless of her treatment at the handsof her spouse. without friends and relatives in rvhorn she can confideher o,nly avenue for the release of frustration, i, i" f,". .";;;;;non-Gypsies, and in that situation her aggressive impulses must betempered !f me knowledge that she is sffisea to make money andmay not show her real feelings toward the.stupid clients.

The destructive ener&v generated by the rvoman's unresorvedconJlicts is used to foment trouble within the vitsa, andshe sometimestries to gain ascendanceoverthe other women and, if possibre, over themen and to effect a separation from the other families.

Changes Under Accuhuration

The Kaiderai Gypsies have been e4posed to contacts with non-Gypsiesever since they have been in existence as a cultural group. From thetime they appeared in westem Europe in the early nrt"rntt century,they have lived among people who were not of their kind. and theirvery occupations required the patronage of these strangers. yet, untilrecently, the Kaldera.s were able to continue their own rvay of lifealmost untouched by foreign infruences. This resistance to accult,rationwas due to many different factors both within and without Gypsyculture and society, but one of these mechanisms has been mentionedin this article, namely, the point that the relatively intensive contactswith non-Gypsies were experienced by the lvomen, rvho had noimportant role in determining virsa policies. The men rvere keptcomparatively igrrorant of non_Gypsy culture, and the1, were made tofeel that the real business of rife was that section of behavior in whichGypsy met with Gypsy.

After 1933 the ability of the Gypsies to separate &emselves wasprogressively diminished. Mass production of utensits fashioned fromiron and steel ruined the market for handmade copper articles, and thecheapness of these factory-produced goods made it inadvisab r e to rcpa i rbroken ob.iects.e prejudice against the Gypsies increased *,irh rhedecrease in their economic utility to America,s, and the I'o,len \\.creunable to obtain fortune+eiling concessions in carnivars and fairs. thcowners preferred to lease to Americals who rvould masquerade as

If the men fmd themselves drawn into an argument between thewomen of the household, they prmish tneir Jves for bothering themand leave the house to se* mal; *rd;il synrpathy. But the onlyrraquilrity the wife eryeriencer is aoriog thi monthly seclusion. In thisnunn€r, the sexes are conditioned to *rri, air"r*t social situations. Tothe man, pleasme comes from t i, ,rroAatior, *ith his vilsa kinsmen;the woman see,ks isolation from rhe ,;;;_il" *ccess of this condi_tioning is evident in generalsociaf gatfreAgiio, tt "

men sit together

;;;|[]< between danc€s, wtrereas the *"ri" ri, near each other in

The yormg wonrm catr expect no allies from the group of otherwome4 and her contacts with &e men ae hampered because of themasculine fear of ilre unclean sfanger *a-u""u*" she must observevarying degrees of resoect-avoidance toward her husband,s relatives.Her husband is a constant reminder of the ..trauma,, experienced ingetting married; for the first time, ,t e l, ieft c*ompletely alone with agroup of strange$, and she must begin ,o urr.,*" responsibilities shehas never had before. She must piorria" fo, husband with sexual

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Gypsies. ln additiorq the women could nor cater to customers in theirstores because the practice had been declared illegar. The Karderai wereunable to support themselves, and they applied for relief.

In order to receive the benefits of the Relief Act, they had to1s1a*in in the large cities where tley were subject to much moreintensive contacts with non-Gypsies and to invasions of theirprivacy inthe form of the police, *efarl workers, landlords, *d"qp;;il,.,;nqfglibors. Male cohesiveness began' to disintegrate uecaube oi.,rr"disappeararice of the smiihry and the substitr$ion of fender- andftrmace-rqairing (occrryations which were best handled by oneindividual craftsrnan without assistance) and because of the need forseparatehousing of the biological families of the same extenced familymit This change in economic behavior had tlnee effects: in the firstplace, each Kaldera$ man began to associate with non-Gypsies, first inthe oourse of his wodg and later in the p,rsuit of amusemen[ second,&e mrn had to travel all over the city and so absented himserf from hisfanily and vitsa for the major part of each day; this in tum made forthe dis4pearmceof band solidarity, whic.h had been in the hands of thegroq of adult malesin constant and closeinteractionwith one another,and for the consequexrt attenuation ofporiticar and social life.

with the disappearance of the vifsa and extended family as theactive units in the society, the importance of the man also diminished.The biological family came to the foreground, and in this heretoforeinsignificant rmit the man end worum had been of equivalent wor6r.The mm, in his role as hu$and and father and as the link with thelargerKalderai coteries, was sryposed to be the head of the unit, but itwas reognized that the wornim had &e lion's share of the work andresponsibilities.

In the meantimg &e children arso carne under the influence of non-Gypqy youngsters encormtered in the streets- Initiative learning was

"I*d.d to include copyrng &ese new models, and the play groupchangedin cornposition- Theparents were asked for toys *a aotni"g"Iike other children have,,, and the weekly movie became a part of th;child's schedule.ro The effects of this intermingling have recentlybecome more serious with the attainment to adulthood of &e firstgeneration of children thus exposed to foreign influence. The younggirls are less acquiescent about their uncertain position in thethusbands' vifsas, the deqpotic rore of the men, and the need to try to

Sex Dichotontv Antong the ,4merican Kalderai Gypsit:.t l2:

support their households withoul male assistarce. Sonie of lhenr har,evoiced hopes of using birth control ard intentions of breaking rvith rhcconjugal vitsa N soon as they become mothers.rr

The young men have similarly come to see the difference betri,ecnthe Gypsy and non-Gypsy marriage customs, but, inasmuch as the roleof husband dwised by Kaldera5 culture is less demanding than the oneassigrred by non-Gypsy patterns, theii rebelliori is.directed only 1o

attempts to choose thet own wives. Since the custom of bride-priceremains in full force, they must acc€ptthe girls chosen by their parents,and the burden of their discontent is vented upon the wives so selected.Formerly, it was extremely rare for marriages to be dissolved afler thebirth of childre4 but today wives have been known to nrn away afterthey have given as many as four children to their husbands' vilsas. Thischange in divorce pattern is alarming since it vitiates the security thatused to be felt once the wife became a mother-the virsa can no longerbe sure that any woman will remain in the band.

Conclusian

Kalderai sex dichotomy worked efficiently as long as the culture wasin a state of equilibrium. The dominant position of lhe man wasjustified in the existence of such institutions as the vitsa council, thecourt trials, and the extended family-institutions which wereexclusively masculine pursuits. The women remained within theconfines of the biological family; they could not join together againsr

the menbecauseof the mayrime restrictions and becausethey distrustedone another as much as they distrusted the men. The culture had beenblocked out into large chunks which were assigned to either the men orthe women Those behavioral patterns which had been the province ofthe men disappeared, and the women, whcise training and attitudesremained much the same as in the pre-acculturation situation, were leftin control ofthe rest ofthe cultural institutions.

Zitsa solidarity was dependant on male cohesiorq a cohesion strongenough to overcomethe segregationaltendenciesof the rvomen. Wi&outthis cohesiveness, the biological families tend to isolate themselves and

to become engulfed in the non-G1psy community.

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Update 1995:

Culture change is to be e{pected, of course, and one should not besurprised that genderrores have atierea;rmong tre Roma. I had arguedin this article that, while the ^" hu.;;reason to complain aboutmasculine status and role assignm;, f;"r"d status and roles wereaffected considerably.by th" iriaiuia,J,rlr" ** a werrum ob(ahed

;,I,H.",il #ffi,,T:TL"i *,*i*:, ;#;Tffistatus of younger women, some of whom were her daughtms_in_law. Sothe olderwomerryheld tne geoa"r.o;. -Many factors be

women md to "_.r"iti:,:TilLffiffi T, :l:X# hT ;,:fas Caml Mifler (teEs) h^ d";;;;I ,"riogr. rn the citiesexadedfam,ies courd not rh- hor*i"; ; nucrearfamilies becameindepmdent households situated bl;cks ; i'1, uo.,,et * apart in NewYork city' This meas the order wornen*"r; *"ut" to exercise closesupervision over daily routines. f, "Jaii"rl television prognunsreinforced the knowledge ,f

"""_G)p;;;;;rotes rhe women weres$--ining from their customers. ,," oito-.", themserves felt lessconstrained in talking freely with t "

,JJr.^ in the fortune-telingstores than theyhad when the Cypqy rromen [veledto the non_Gypsyhouse&olds whoe other familt _"_U.o -coUA earesarop on theconsultation (viewing motion pi"r," nr*" iua u"* Iess effective asa source of infomlation not only because attendance was limited infrquency but arso because trre itrns tt"*r"iL often dqicted otherhistoric periods and varying g*errplri.;J"r.l

Living in cities atso aimd-sn"a ,fr" l*p"r*ce of the men aschauffeurs' Taxicabs were.readily availabre,'at first because hackscruised the sheets in search ofpot"rtia-irro and later through the

"ffii:Ji#f*ffi*y ;'* *ll"*t.or rerah;;; ;

obtainingadriv";"ffi:'J.:H?,;:T:J;:ffi ::H."ffiI:ll::oming cars themselves-Regular contact with their parents and other relatives was as easyas the closest telephone, especially wh"r, trr" Ro*u installed telephonesin their oy'sas (stores)' pay terephtnes were repkced by private ones in

Sex Dichotomy Among the Anrcrican Kalderai Gyp.sie.s 229

the late fifties. Today telephones are ubiquitous and incrude ccllurarmodels.

Frequent visits by the women to their reratives occur tlianks romodern jet airplanes, cross-country travel requiring a time erpenditurcof mere hours. Some women (and men) "onr.r,

,; ;;;fli;,rr,'rr,generous libations e,r route dull ore trdpidation satisfactorily ior"*o.r.Feminine gender marfters have decreased the emphasis on tl,"mother rolq which now requires no more than one child to regitimatea rvoman's craim to ad,rt status. Family size has decreased, pi"ilir,through the use of contracqfivedevices. Knowredge of contraceptionis availablethrorgh private consultations with health professionalsl andhusbands and in-raws are not aware of a visit. pills can be prescribedand prnchased wittro,t invotving the mother-in-raw and./or husband.Intrauterine devices can be inserted with equal lack of fanfare.

Reduction in number of births Uuttressea a change in attitudetowardpregnarcyandpaturition. when I first beganfi eldwork, middle_aged women regardedpregnancy as &e normal physiological state for)'ormg maried wome,. and birth as a process as unremarkabre asmenstmatiorl The need for seclusion during birth and for the ronowingsix weeks (because of porl'tion avoidancej presented difficulties onceth1 Rgma accefted city living as theirpreferred residential pattem. The'solved that problem by sending the parturient to a hospital for birthing.However, Rom distrust and fear of ioqpitals as dangerous places, to b1*f o"ly in oitically life-threatening circumstances, cast a shadow ofvulnerability over childbearing itserf. The yormg rvomen were quick toappreciate&e psychologicar advantagethis gavethem in gaining controlover their husbands. pregnant wome,n admitted to numerous aches andpains, eqpecially when their desires wse thwarted by their morhers-in-law' Expectant fathers begaa to side with their wives and demanded thattheirmothers treat the young women more considerately.

A woman only needs to raise a child or two to establish her claimto adulthood, as I have said. A man,s status is tied more closely to the Inumber of sons he has fathered since sons (and sometimes sons-in-rau,) \

:upply a cadre of political supporters. Hence, men still want largc i

families and uphord the custom of craiming the weaned chirdren i.cases of divorce- A contented wife who will rlmain married to him a,dproduce at least a handfur of healthy ch,dren is a goar most men desirc.even if they must argue with their mothers to achieve it.

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)JU Rena 1V1. Cotten (Gropper)

Being a daughter-inJaw is no longer as arduous as it had been andbeing a mother-in-law is less enjoyable. The order woman is left withher husband or is a widow. Since today,s Gypsy women can supportthemselves and move around on their own, there is no practicar.benefrtto be derived from financing the presence of a man (and the Roma stillfeel that individual3 who are grandparents should. cease se>nralactivities)' so there is a strong temptation tb get divorced (or at leastswa*ted), especiallyif the man spends a go..otdeal of money withoirtcontributing any. one influence that discourages such behavior is theacceptanceof the christian evangelicalmovement with its condemrn-tion of fortune-telling. A woman who cannot tell fortunes or obtainwelfarepayments for many dependents cannot take care of her financialneeds. Thus, older women do not embracethe born_again sects in largenumbers. what remains to be seen is whether their voice will be heardstrongly in the next sweral years.

NOTES

1. The aver€e yiaahas from 200 to 300 people; a large uilsa may haveas many as 600 members. The term 'king' is used to describe the leader of theentire vifsa: the word *chiel' occurs not at all. Indeed many of the Glpsygroups in America state that kings are a thing of tlre past and that ..all c4rp;i*are the sarne now." The Kalderas I studied were only beginning to follow thisline of thought toward the end of my two years' workwith them. It is mybelief, (l ) that the Gypsies feel that kingship.is not in the same high regard asformerly, and they fear that lhe gaje would seize r4ron the existence of aninstitution of kingship as an o<cuse for firther persecutions; and (2) that theyhave come to regard the word 'ting' as meaning an absolute monarch andhence unsuitable as a descriptive term for their virsa-heads. From theantlropological vieupoint it is infinitely preferable to employ .thief,- but Ifollow the custom of my frieods when I write 'iking.' one must remember,however, t}at the leadership among the Gypsies is often more like the"chieftainship" of certain American Indian tribes in that the head is an adviserand persuader.

2. See also Thompson I 929:33-38; Brown I 929: I 64-1 65; yates I 9 42: 1 0l ;Myers I 943:88-90; Myers 1945:92-93.

3. See also Thompson 1923:116-121.

}1'r,

Sex Dichotorny Anong lhe .lntericon Kaldera.i Q-ypsies -)l

4. These policies ref-er to such questions as relations tvith other vil.sasarrdtribes, relations rvith municipal authorities, time and place lbr rnoving.resolution of conflicts between different traditional usases, and similar topics.. 5. The "king" acts as the head of his extended fainily.

6. The counc i l meeting and court trial are two slighrl y di f terent ph'eno rn c r r a

among the Anierican Kaldera5 I have studied, and the term /rni applies only tothe latter. Sei also Brown 1929:162-165.

7. Among the Kalderai ill old worhen are suspeited of being sitclrcs.8. See also McFar.lane 1949:-136.

9. See also Victor Weybright (1945:2-8) on Steve Kaslov.10. Today all Kaldera5 children over two years speak a colloquial English

indistinguishable from that of their non-Gypsy contemporaries.11. This is seemingly inconsistent with the statement that the women have

long been familiar with non-G1psies. Actually, adolescent girls did very littlefortune-telling until after marriage. Today they are exposed to romantic lilms,and they supplement this information in their conversations with young non-Glpsies.

REFERENCES

Brown, Irving1 929 *The Gypsies in America." Journal of the Gypsy Lore Society 8:4.

145-176.McFarlane, Andrew

1949 "Srpplementary Notes on the Social Customs of the PtudaliJ Jounnlof the Gypsy Lore Socieqt2S:3-4 (July-October), 134-137.

Miller, Carol1988 "Girls Cro Home: The Changing Status of the Machvanlia Daughter-

in-Law." ln Papers from the Eighth and Ninrh Annual iuleeting.s,

Crypqt Lore Society, North Ameican Chapter (Cara DeSilva, JoanneGrurnet, and David J. Nemeth, eds-)- New York: Gypsy Lore Society.North American Chapter, Publication No. 4, 95-104-

Myers, John

1943 "The 'Greek' Nomad Gypsies in South Wales, during August 1942."Journal of the Gypsy Lore Society22:3-4 (July-October). ltit-94.

lr45 "Supplernentarv Jottings on the Customs ol the '(ircck' NornirtlGypsies." Jorrtnl of the Gvps1, Lore Sociery,24:34 (Julr'-()ctobcr).88-94.