Petrika and Totana

At each visits I had related to the household of Petrika and Totana, his third spouse, whom he had married about six months earlier than. Petrika was a sedate man a minimum of fifty years outdated, with a moustache however no beard, and a protracted, straight, although considerably fleshy nostril. He had had kids by his two earlier wives, and 4 of them had been within the camp :Stano, together with his spouse Tudora and boy Kirtsho; Turi, together with his

spouse and baby; Kira, then not too long ago married to Bistem, who was a refined-looking youth of seventeen, son of Totana by her late husband Ilia; and an single lady, Bada. To mark their Christianity the lads wore sheepskin Jcalpaks as an alternative of fezes and turbans, however their garments had been in any other case related, with some minor variations of braiding, to my disguise, although Turi’szabuna was product of darkish crimson velvet, and his jacket (thalik) had a fur lining. Turi was a sturdy younger fellow of a pleasing if unenergetic temperament, and never good-looking. He had a reasonably however shy little lady, Busa, the one one in every of his 4 kids who had lived, and his spouse Gina was a really darkish lady, good-looking and industrious. The higher a part of the family work fell to her share. Suitably dressed she would have been stunning, however, owing to her husband’s poverty, she had unbecoming garments; a heavy darkish woollenshawl.as an example, over her head as an alternative of a homosexual kerchief, and she or he went with out footwear or stockings. She was, furthermore, remarkably silent: I don’t suppose we exchanged six sentences in the course of the week I spent along with her folks; and she or he was virtually equally reserved in the direction of her husband’s mother and father.

She didn’t smoke within the presence of her father- in-law ; however when he was away, or so occupied as to be unlikely to note, she would take a cigarette from me, unroll it, borrow her mother- in-law’s little pipe, and luxuriate in a whiff.

Not like Persians and Arabs, who’re happy with their family tree, the Gypsies resemble the Turks, who thus categorical their religion within the equality of all lessons of Ottomans, and the democratic Bulgarians, in having no surnames. As some compensation every Gypsy boasts two private names of his personal, one for residence and the opposite for official use. Petrika was recognized to the police and different bizarre folks as Gyorgi, Totaua as Kostandina, Turi as Todor, and Bistem as Tanasi. When it’s essential to outline an individual extra precisely, the title of his or her father is added within the genitive case, as, for instance, Turi (son) of Petrika, and Totana (daughter) of Shudrila.