The untold Romani roots of Boho culture
The untold Romani roots of Boho culture
Where did the widely celebrated Bohemian mindset and aesthetic come from?
When the wandering Romani entered the Kingdom of Bohemia in the 15th century, they weren’t chased away like most everywhere else. They were given a letter of protection, issued directly by the Holy Roman Emperor and Czech King, Zikmund.
The Romani kept this letter as they continued to travel into France, which is how and where they started being called “Bohemian.”
It’s as simple as that. At least the beginning of the story is.
What does boho mean?
The Kingdom of Bohemia had its own rich culture, which is still alive to this day within the Czech Republic. However, when we say “Bohemian” or “Boho” we don’t think of the historic Bohemian or Czech style.
The “Bohemian” label has stuck since the 15th century as a descriptor for some of the most prominent qualities of Roma culture: free-spiritedness, nomadism, artistic talent, music, rich colors. When the Romani entered France, they were met with the same hostility and racism as everywhere else in Europe. For several hundred years, they were persecuted and ostracised, called devil-worshipers. For several hundred years they were living on the outskirts of society. And for several hundred years, they were known as La bohème - a term used specifically for the Romani of France.
For the Romani, these times were no different than what came before or after. Poverty, violence, uncertainty. Not knowing what the future holds but knowing how to cherish the present moment. Never having a settled home, or permanent possessions. Finding security not in money, or documents, or carved out pieces of land, or any other structure that society comes up with. But in connection to nature, to the tribe, and to oneself.
How this life manifests in reality, beyond words and descriptions, is head-spinning. Falling asleep under the open sky, snuggled up with your loved ones. Being woken up by police who beat you up and purposefully scatter your tribe in different directions - so you can’t find each other again. Being constantly on the road, in search for a nice place to settle for a few days, knowing that soon you will live and might never come back. Never having a home and always having a home - somewhere inside yourself. Never keeping money because it’s fickle, but always keeping golden jewelry because it’s timeless. Not for its aesthetic value, though the Romani do have a strong aesthetic taste. Gold is always for sale, always in demand. It’s there to ensure survival.
“There is no such thing as unsold gold.”
Pepi
Beyond the challenges of surviving day by day, the Romani have always been incredibly joyful and warm people. Also bold. The gold they have for insurance is usually not hidden away but worn proudly. It just as easily comes off when it needs to be converted to cash. The bright colors, long skirts, floral patterns, scarves, braids - it’s not only the perseverance of the ancient Indian, Rajasthani roots but also radical self-expression and testament to the joy of being alive.
The Romani stand out not because they want to. It’s because they can’t help not to. They are who they are. They have never contorted themselves to fit in.
This is what the Parisian artists and intellectuals “borrowed” from the La bohème, four centuries after the Romani first set foot in France.
Anti-establishment free-spirited people, living in poverty. If we put ourselves in the shoes of the starving Parisian artists from the 19th century, we can imagine the deep soul resonance with the despised “Gypsies” and the style with which they live, dress, dance, and decorate.
Is it appropriation?
Of course, if the French artists and intellectuals had recognized the Romani as their brothers and sisters in fate, values, or even humanity, today it would be widely known that the Boho culture is, in fact, Roma culture.
But they opted for another route.
In 1851, Henri Murger published the book “Scènes de la vie de bohème” which cemented, if not coined, the term “bohemian” as a descriptor for the free-spirited lifestyle. In the preface, he takes time to spell out how the Bohemians from his book (French artists and intellectuals) are not the Bohemians that everybody else knows as, you guessed it, Bohemians. Or in his words, “dancing-bear leaders, sword-swallowers, gilt watch-guard vendors, street lottery-keepers, and a thousand others vague and mysterious professionals […]”
After centuries of calling the Romani “bohemian”, the French counter-culture borrowed their symbols and aesthetic, along with the name, and rejected everything else about them: the history, the poverty, the fight for survival.
The Romani were to remain “vague and mysterious.”
Boho culture - how to tell?
If you Google “Boho style”, you’ll see a lot of beige. This is what happens when vibrant and unique things hit the mainstream.
But in between the beige pictures, you will inevitably see some of the bright colors and unconventional, bold style that is associated with the term “Bohemian.”
Are they Bohemian?
Is this lamp Bohemian? Or that pillow? Or that long skirt? Or those earrings?
The boldness and vibrancy of the boho aesthetic, or to be more accurate: the Roma aesthetic, comes from not even asking such questions. Not seeking to fit into definitions.
The Romani don’t paint their walls white or light grey so that certain colorful items might “pop.” Their walls are (to give a few examples) bright pink, or bright green, or covered in wallpaper with huge floral patterns. The walls themselves “pop.” The decoration of the home is never a cemented “aestehtic” but a living, breathing process where you pick a bold color you are crazy about, enjoy it for an year, and then re-paint everything with something new. Nothing is ever permanent.
When they pick a lamp or a pillow, they don’t ask themselves “would it go with this” or “would it fit there.” If they love the lamp or the pillow, they bring it home.
Whether it clashes or fits perfectly is beside the point. Who can tell? The people who think they can tell, who believe they have an eye for color-coordination and interior design, can shine in many areas but the Bohemian style is not one of them. The charm, the unimitable character of the Bohemian style comes from the spark that each item emits on its own and the connection it forges with the heart of its owner.
Centuries ago, as well as today, many items of clothes, furniture and decoration in Romani homes come from the trash.
This is also Bohemian, but most of all, Romani. What society throws away, the Romani spin into gold. This has been true for centuries both symbolically and very literally.
So are those earrings labeled “Boho style” on an expensive jewelry website truly Boho style?
At best, they are a good imitation. But the true “Boho style” earrings are pure gold and can be bought only, if you’re very lucky, in pawnshops.
But what is the ultimate marker of the Boho style?
The willingness to let go of those earrings.
The Romani’s relationship with material possessions never exceeds the mere usefulness. Even the joy something brings is recognized as temporary. The Romani don’t hold onto anything material. Just as they have never been seduced by any markers of prestige invented by society. They have never aspired to be part of the “elite.” They don’t care how they’re perceived. As rebels, as free-spirited, as savages? It’s all the same to them, because above all, they know who they are. They don’t look outside for a definition of what is within.
So if you find the perfect Boho lamp, or pillow, or earrings - how can you be certain they are authentically “Bohemian”?
Here is how you check. Buy the lamp or the earrings. Fall in love with them. Revel in how joyful and glorious they make your heart feel. And then give them up and never see them again.
Now, you are Bohemian. Even more than the French.
Beautifully written!