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The Story of Kalo and Bango: A Dom Legend 29/12/2011

A legend claimed to be told among Dom Gypsies of India englihtens one of most important periods of world Gypsies' history including Indian Gypsies. The legend in which honor and pain is being told together points at transforming of Natural Human Beings to Gypsy Universal Community as a result of capturing of their natural resources by surrounding populations.

The legend quoted by Ali Mezarcıoğlu in "The Book of Gypsies" from the web page named "Rombase" is claimed to be collected in Jullundur. Here is the legend:

"Once upon a time the Dom had their own kingdom. They had a beautiful life. They were never attacked and they never waged war because the woods, waters and God gave them everything they needed. The Dom king kept an army only so he could see what handsome young men he had in his kingdom.

Only "bamana" (Brahmans, the highest Aryan "varna" – caste) wanted to conquer all of India and therefore they even sent their generals and army of "Kshatrias" (the second highest Aryan "varna") to the jungle to find states that were still free. The soldiers did, indeed, find an independent Dom state. They invaded it, slaughtered everyone they could, and plundered all kinds of Dom property. Some Dom managed to hide in the woods; some ran far away in different directions, where we don't know; some became slaves to the Brahmans.

Two brothers, Kalo and Bango, remained alive. They were very courageous. At night they returned to their town where now the foreign victors were ruling, and they stole back what had been stolen from them: precious jewels, gold, beautiful art works, magnificent musical instruments, statues of their Holy Mother, everything they could find. They carried their treasures far into the woods and buried them in hollows. Until today, nobody knows where everything is hidden.

But once, at night, misfortune struck: Guards caught the two brothers and took them to their chief. There the brothers were interrogated as to where they had hidden the "stolen" treasures. The captors did not get one word out of the brothers. And so the new ruler had them thrown into boiling wax, and there, these two poor brothers burned and boiled to death.

But even in death the brothers didn't leave the victors in peace. They haunted them. They came every night and put terror into the hearts of the new ruler and his court. They choked them and left them with bruises. The ruler no longer knew what to expect. And so the "spirits of the dead" told him to erect a monument to them in the village of Domgau, where Dom might come by and remember their distinguished past. And it was done.

What else did the brothers Kalo and Bango say? That there will be no peace on earth until the Dom-Roma are treated with the same respect as other people."

Source: Ali Mezarcıoğlu Çingenelerin Kitabı Cinius Yayınları ( Ali Mezarcıoğlu The Book of Gypsies Cinius Publishing Company) - ROMBASE

Photo: The Alternate