Gypsy World: The Silence of the Living and the Voices of the Dead

by Patrick Williams, Catherine Tihanyi (Translation)

For many of us, one of the most important ways of coping with the death of a close relative is talking about them, telling all who will listen what they meant to us. Yet the Gypsies of central France, the Manuš, not only do not speak of their dead, they burn or discard the deceased's belongings, refrain from eating the dead person's favorite foods, and avoid camping in the place where they died.

In Gypsy World , Patrick Williams argues that these customs are at the center of how Manuš see the world and their place in it. The Manuš inhabit a world created by the "Gadzos" (non-Gypsies), who frequently limit or even prohibit Manuš movements within it. To claim this world for themselves, the Manuš employ a principle of cosmological just as the dead seem to be absent from Manuš society, argues Williams, so too do the Manuš absent themselves from Gadzo society—and in so doing they assert and preserve their own separate culture and identity.


Anyone interested in Gypsies, death rituals, or the formation of culture will enjoy this fascinating and sensitive ethnography.

128 pages, Paperback

First published June 15, 2003

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Reviews

[Sezin Koehler · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was amazing. I learned so much about Romany culture, and their rituals and practices around death are so powerful. Highly recommend this study.

[Lindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really interesting book about the Manus of France. A little difficult in parts, maybe because of the translation, but definitely a good read.