A History of the Gipsies: with Specimens of the Gipsy LanguageSimson, Walter
History
A History of the Gipsies: with Specimens of the Gipsy Language
Simson, Walter
Romanies; Romanies -- Languages
occurred in which both horse and woman were sacrificed at the same time;
the death of the horse, alone, being then considered insufficient to
atone for her excessive guilt. The individuals who catch the horse bring
it before the priest. They repeat to him all the faults and tricks it
had committed; laying the whole of the crimes of which the woman is
supposed to have been guilty to its charge; and upbraiding and scolding
the dumb creature, in an angry manner, for its conduct. They bring, as
it were, an accusation against it, and plead for its condemnation. When
this part of the trial is finished, the priest takes a large knife and
thrusts it into the heart of the horse; and its blood is allowed to flow
upon the ground till life is extinct. The dead animal is now stretched
out upon the ground. The husband then takes his stand on one side of it,
and the wife on the other; and, holding each other by the hand, repeat
certain appropriate sentences in the Gipsy language. They then quit hold
of each other, and walk three times round the body of the horse,
contrariwise, passing and crossing each other, at certain points, as
they proceed in opposite directions. At certain parts of the animal,
(the _corners_ of the horse, was the Gipsy's expression,) such as the
hind and fore feet, the shoulders and haunches, the head and tail, the
parties halt, and face each other; and again repeat sentences, in their
own speech, at each time they halt. The two last stops they make, in
their circuit round the sacrifice, are at the head and tail. At the
head, they again face each other, and speak; and lastly, at the tail,
they again confront each other, utter some more Gipsy expressions, shake
hands, and finally part, the one going north, the other south, never
again to be united in this life.[184] Immediately after the separation
takes place, the woman receives a token, which is made of cast-iron,
about an inch and a half square, with a mark upon it resembling the
Roman character, T. After the marriage has been dissolved, and the woman
dismissed from the sacrifice, the heart of the horse is taken out and
roasted with fire, then sprinkled with vinegar, or brandy, and eaten by
the husband and his friends then present; the female not being allowed
to join in this part of the ceremony. The body of the horse, skin and
everything about it, except the heart, is buried on the spot; and years
after the ceremony has taken place, the husband and his friends visit
the grave of the animal, to see whether it has been disturbed. At these
visits, they walk round about the grave, with much grief and mourning.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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