Gypsy law : Romani legal traditions and culture
Walter O. Weyrauch (Editor)
"One thousand years ago Gypsies, or Roma, left India. Today Gypsies can be found in countries throughout the world, their culture still intact in spite of intense persecution. This authoritative collection brings together leading Gypsy and non-Gypsy scholars to examine the Romani legal system, an autonomous body of law based on an oral tradition and existing alongside dominant national legal networks." "For centuries the Roma have survived by using defensive measures, such as the exclusion of gaje (non-Gypsies) from their private lives, their values, and information about Romani language and social institutions. Sexuality, gender, and the body are fundamental to Gypsy law, with rules that govern being pure (vujo) or impure (marime). Women play an important role in maintaining legal customs, having the power to sanction and to contaminate, but they are not directly involved in legal proceedings." "These essays offer a comparative perspective on Romani legal procedures and identity, including topics such as the United States's criminalization of many aspects of Gypsy law, parallels between Jewish and Gypsy law, and legal distinctions between Romani communities. The contributors raise broad theoretical questions that transcend the Gypsy context and offer important insights into oral legal traditions. Together they suggest a theoretical framework for explaining the coexistence of formal and informal law within a legal system, They also highlight the ethical dilemmas encountered in comparative law research and definitions of "human rights." Book jacket."--Jacket
Print Book, English, 2001
University of California Press, Berkeley, 2001
Aufsatzsammlung
xiv, 284 pages ; 24 cm
9780520221857, 9780520221864, 0520221850, 0520221869
45094150
Romaniya : an introduction to gypsy law / Walter O. Weyrauch
Autonomous lawmaking : the case of the "gypsies" / Walter O. Weyrauch and Maureen Anne Bell
Theorizing gypsy law / Thomas Acton, Susan Caffrey, and Gary Mundy
Informal systems of justice : the formation of law within gypsy communities / Susan Caffrey and Gary Mundy
Gypsy law and Jewish law / Calum Carmichael
Juridical autonomy among fifteenth and sixteenth century gypsies / Angus Fraser
Institutional non-marriage in the Finnish Roma community and its relationship to Rom traditional law / Martti Grönfors
A glossary of Romani terms / Ian Hancock
The Rom-Vlach gypsies and the Kris-Romani / Ronald Lee
Complexities of U.S. law and gypsy identity / Anne Sutherland
Oral legal traditions of gypsies and some American equivalents / Walter O. Weyrauch