Sounding the Blessings: Live music's sacred role in Roma weddings

And how to welcome divinity.

Romani singer Rejo Tallava performing live at a Roma wedding | Picture by Martina Petkova

“Listen, listen, my brother, to what I am saying,” begins a traditional song performed by famous singer Rejo Tallava at Roma weddings.

So, what is he saying? What is he singing about?

It depends on the wedding, on the bride and groom, on the best man and maid of honor, on the guests.

The melody is always the same. The lyrics, however, change. After the opening line, “Listen, listen, my brother, to what I am saying,” anything can follow.

The one thing that is certain is that the words that follow are blessings.

Who has the right to bestow a blessing?

In many cultures all over the world, we elevate select people to a role that connects us with God. Priests, popes, kings, and their variants. All of them, every single one of them, share one characteristic: the connection with God removes them from the rest of us.

They are somehow higher, superior, and more “pure” than the mere humans around them. Their role…