Mogati Paradoxes

Often, so I have been told, members of the Romani community do not want to wash mens/boys and womens/girls gear in the same washing machine at home and want two machines. So at least, as I say, I have been told. Some people have told me that they want or that they even have two machines so as not to wash the clothes of men/boys and women/girls in the same machine. I must say that I have only been told this; I have not actually seen the homes of those claiming thus.

Obviously there must be separate loads for men/boys and women/girls and also the clothes for the top half and those for the bottom half of the body must be washed separately but to demand and/or have two machines for the purpose is going a little too far – or is it a case of trying to be more Gypsy than others, which I think is more the case, by those that claim to use two machines or wanting two. If they want to be really separating that much then really they would need four machines.

For, nothing seems to be thought of though by going to a laundromat and using machines that have previously had Gohja clothes in them, of all kinds, top and bottom clothes often together. This is rather a paradox to me.

Then there is the issue about medical profession and medical professionals of our own People. It is claimed that we cannot, for reasons of taboo, have our own nurses, doctors, dentists, etc, and that it is against the mogati (marime) taboo.

But then we moan when the Gohja doctors, medics, nurses, health visitors, etc. don't treat us according to our Culture. They do not know our Culture in those aspects and therefore we either need to teach them – O Del forbid – or have our own medical personnel, and the latter is the only thing that makes sense to me in this case.

Many Rom, it would appear, have the same problem as regards to, it would appear, dealing with litter and garbage around the homes and settlements and bags of trash on the balconies, as they see it and claim it to be unclean to handle it and they would get defiled by doing so, while at the same time women and children are sent by many groups to scavenge on landfill sites and rubbish tips. The truth is in this instance that the men are simply to bone idle and lazy to clean up their own trash and it has nothing whatsoever to do with the mogati taboo.

Many could not possibly, so they say, eat food cooked and served by Gohja when they happen to visit there, or the chavies at school, but then they all quite happily, it would appear, traipse of to McDonald's, Burger King, Tapas Bars and other general restaurants not run by Rom, get pizza delivered, etc. without even thinking that that food has been prepared and cooked by Gohja hands and is, therefore, theoretically, ritually unclean, that is to say mogati/marime.

Let's stop being and acting dinlo and let's look at it all from the right angle.

© Veshengro, May 2007