|
maškaral o gav – "in the middle of a village". Used in the sense of living in the
middle of a village among Gadže.
The expression has an important social sub-text. In
feudal Slovak society Roma lived in distant settlements at the edge of a village. If a Roma family arrived
maškaral o gav, maškar o gadže (among
Gadže), that meant an exceptional elevation of their prestige, occasionally a sign of
assimilation. Often blacksmiths lived maškaral o gav so that farmers who needed
almost daily services from them would have them at hand.
| 
