What is the Difference Between Gypsy and Hippie

The key difference between gypsy and hippie is that gypsies prefer an itinerant life while hippies prefer freedom from prevailing social norms.

Gypsies and hippies are two groups of people who are different from the mainstream culture. Gypsies value freedom and lead a nomadic life. Hippies have beliefs that are different from the main culture. They are open and tolerant. They value peace and lead a communal life and follow astrology, holistic medicine and Eastern religions.

CONTENTS

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. Who are Gypsies
3. Who are Hippies
4. Gypsy vs Hippie in Tabular Form
5. Summary – Gypsy vs Hippie

Who are Gypsies

Gypsies are a group of nomadic people with Indo-Aryan origins. Their real name was Romani or Roma. They left India and came to Persia in the 11th century, Southeastern Europe in the 14th century, Western Europe in the 15th century and by the 20th century, they inhabited every part of the world.  There are about 2-5 million Roma around the world, but the majority can be found in Romania, Serbia, Montenegro, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Bosnia, Croatia, Hungary, Czech and Slovenia. The Romani people were identified as gypsies because Europeans thought that they were Egyptians.

Most Romani people speak a form of Romany, which is a language closely related to modern Indo-European languages of Northern India and the main language of the country in which they live. They are called by different names throughout the world, such as Zigeuner and Sinti (Germany), Cigány (Hungary), Ciganos (Portugal), Gitans (France). These people usually travel from place to place and live in the vicinity of the settled society. They also engaged in work that suit such lifestyles. The men in gypsy groups were earlier engaged in occupations like animal trainers, exhibitors, livestock traders, metalsmiths and musicians, while women were involved in fortune-telling, selling potions, entertaining and begging. Gypsy marriages were generally arranged by the adults to strengthen kinship and political ties.

Some modern gypsies still travel from place to place, but the majority have shifted to a settled life. Modern gypsies own caravans, cars, or trailers. Their lives have now improved and they engage in occupations like selling used vehicles, mass production of stainless steel pots and pans and mechanics. Some still work as entertainers and animal handlers in circuses and as fortune-tellers.

Who are Hippies?

Hippies are members of the counterculture of the 1960s. This is a movement that started in the United States. Hippies rejected the mainstream culture of the United States. This movement started on college campuses in America and later spread to other countries as well. The word ‘hippie’ was derived from the word ‘hip’, which means ‘aware’. They are also called flower children.  They are famous for their long hair, distinctive lifestyle and unconventional, casual dresses, which are mostly of hallucinogenic colours. They also wear beads, rim-less granny glasses and sandals. Hippie men usually grow their beards while women wear long-granny dresses.

They also follow communal living and vegetarian diets with unprocessed food. They were followers of holistic medicine and astrology as well. Hippies encouraged the use of marijuana.  Their ideas were based on openness and tolerance, which was a contrast to the prevailing middle-class restrictions. They mainly followed Eastern religions like Buddhism and Hinduism and stayed away from Judeo-Christian. Hippies developed their own lifestyle because they felt alienated from the prevailing middle-class society during that time. According to them, repression and materialism dominated that society. Generally, hippies are social dropouts. They engaged in regular jobs, while some did business.  Rock and folk music were fundamental among the hippies and singers like Bob Dylan, Joan Baez and musical groups like the Beatles, Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, and Rolling Stones were those that were most closely identified with this movement.

What is the Difference Between Gypsy and Hippie?

Gypsies are a group of nomadic people with Indo-Aryan origins, whereas hippies are members of the counterculture of the 1960s. The key difference between gypsy and hippie is that gypsies prefer an itinerant life while hippies prefer freedom from prevailing social norms.

The following infographic lists the differences between gypsy and hippie in tabular form for side by side comparison.

Summary – Gypsy vs Hippie

Gypsies are a group of nomadic people with Indo-Aryan origins. They lead an itinerant life yet always keep in touch with civilized society. Hippies, on the other hand, are members of the counterculture of the 1960s. They were social dropouts and were against the prevailing social norms; as a result, they started their own lifestyle.  The key difference between gypsy and hippie is that gypsies prefer an itinerant life while hippies prefer freedom from prevailing social norms.

Reference:

1. “Romani People.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 12 Sept. 2021.
2. “Hippe.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 12 Sept. 2021.

Image Courtesy:

1. “Festival-hippies-happy-hippy-fun-1043512” (CC0) via Pixabay
2. “373301” (CC0) via Pxhere

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