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Professor Documents Gypsy-American Life in Book |
| By
Deanna Lytle |
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Oct 4, 2002 |
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| Dr. David Jim Nemeth |
"This is society’s image of a Gypsy," said Dr. David “Jim” Nemeth, holding up a copy of a science-fiction novel featuring Gypsies showing a dark-haired man with sharp eyes and a beard in a futuristic space suit. Contrast that image with the cover of Nemeth’s latest book — a middle-aged man leaning over pots and pans, working diligently to restore their tin finish. This is the true image of the Gypsy, a people the UT professor of geography explores in his latest book, The Gypsy-American: An Ethnogeographic Study (Edwin Mellen Press, Lewiston, N.Y.).
Nemeth’s fascination with Gypsies began when he was a college student. While trying to find a book about Tahiti in the library, he accidentally knocked a book off the shelf about Gypsies. "Inside, the author talked about Gypsies being killed during the Holocaust. Here I was, about to graduate from college, and I had never heard of that before." The book piqued his interest, and Nemeth began to study Gypsies and related groups like the Irish Travelers extensively.
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| Members of the Thomas Nicholas family of the Rusuriya tribe of Gypsy-Americans and friends of the author |
His book, which came out this summer, explores the history, culture and future of Gypsies and Gypsy research. What makes Nemeth’s book special is that it’s one of the first scholarly works to declare that there is really no such thing as a Gypsy. "The Library of Congress no longer uses the term ‘Gypsy,’ for example. It uses the term ‘Romanies,’" Nemeth explained. In addition, anyone can call himself or herself a "Gypsy." Both of these things make actual Gypsies harder to define and study, he said.
In the first part of his book, Nemeth covers the entry of the Gypsies into Europe — a situation he says is relevant to American immigration today. While trying to enter Europe during the Crusades, Gypsies told how they were related to the Magi from The Bible and to Prester John, a legendary king of the Indies. These stories allowed the Gypsies from the east to be disassociated with the Islamic forces that Europe was fighting and gain entry into countries. "We’ve got a similar situation now," Nemeth said. "People from the east trying to enter America have to give pleasing stories or else they won’t be let in."
Nemeth also writes about the time he spent with a Gypsy family. He said Gypsies are very secretive; they don’t like outsiders. But Nemeth was able to become a part of a family because they believed him to be lucky for them. During his time with the family, he attended a Gypsy court, heard family anecdotes and learned wipe-tinning. Wipe-tinning is a process used to restore the tin coating to culinary utensils and is a major vocation for Gypsies. Nemeth began assisting Thomas Nicholas, head of his host Gypsy family, with wipe-tinning and ended up being more of a partner in the business. His book includes pictures of wipe-tinning and other aspects of Gypsy life.
Nemeth hopes people will have a newfound respect for Gypsies after reading his book. "You can find a lot to respect about a people if you take the time to get to know them."
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