WHILE some people won’t walk under a ladder and many will salute a magpie, a gypsy girl has revealed the traveller superstitions that she believes in.
Chantelle Devonshire, a 22-year-old gypsy wife from Cambridge, told Fabulous about the traditions that many travellers will be adopting this month.
She explained that throughout the duration of May, she will not cut her hair or wash a blanket, and definitely won’t be purchasing a broom.
The traveller explained that in her community, people see such actions as ‘bad luck’, and many claim that doing these acts in May could see something bad happen to one of their family members.
Chantelle told Fabulous: “Different travellers up and down the country have different beliefs.
“A lot of people think that we’re old-fashioned and don’t keep up with the times.
“Travellers like to keep the old traditions alive. I think that’s why a lot of them stick by their beliefs.”
Chantelle explained that for many travellers, May is a very significant month.
She shared: “In the month of May, some travellers believe that if you buy an outside brush, it means that you’re going to swipe one of your family members away, like they’re going to die.
“I won’t buy an outside brush (a broom) this month. I’ll use a leaf blower or something else. I’ll be sticking to these traditions.
“You can’t wash a blanket in May, because you’ll wash your family away and you can’t cut your hair in May.
“That’s a really old one, even my granny remembered her mum talking about it.
“My granny was telling me a story about a man who once bought a brush in May.
“A few months went past and the man came back and said that his son died and two other of his family members died.
Travellers say it’s bad luck to cut their hair in May
Chantelle Devonshire
“One time, my granny saw me washing a blanket in May and she was going on at me saying ‘you shouldn’t be doing that, you’re going to wash one of your family members away, just get another [blanket].’
“I asked my granny ‘why do people believe in it?’ and she said ‘it’s all passed down from travellers years and years ago, they used to say it was bad luck.’”
Not only this, but Chantelle explained why travellers will often have longer locks this month, as she added: “Travellers say it’s bad luck to cut their hair in May.
“I don’t know the reason why, but a lot of travellers years ago didn’t have a certain religion, but they just always believed in luck.
“My husband believes in not cutting hair in May, so at the end of April he went and got his haircut. He believes it’s bad luck.
“He’ll leave his hair and then cut it again in June.”
Typically, Gypsies is a term used to describe Romani people, who migrated to Europe from India.
Meanwhile, traveller refers to a group of people who usually have either Irish, Scottish or English heritage.
While many English gypsy girls are allowed to drink alcohol and go on holiday with their friends before they get married, many Irish traveller girls are not allowed to do this.
Generally, both gypsies and travellers will share the same morals.
When it comes to not washing blankets, Chantelle explained: “Travellers wash everything before May.
“They’ll get everything ready so that when May comes, they won’t do it.
“I washed all of my blankets at the end of April, so they’re all fresh. I’ve got loads of quilts in the cupboard that I can use too.
“If I spill something on one of my blankets this month, I’ll put it aside in the dirty laundry basket and use another one.
“Travellers believe that it’s washing away your family members, and wishing bad on things.”
It’s all passed down from travellers years and years ago, they used to say it was bad luck
Chantelle Devonshire
But Chantelle revealed that it’s not just gypsies that believe in these superstitions, as she claimed: “I’ve had a few non-travellers say that their granny does this and they do this too.”
Chantelle explained that in the future, if and when she has children, she will raise her little ones to follow the same rules.
She added: “I will raise my children to believe in this in the future.
“My husband has been brought up the same, even though we come from two different families, his family are the same.
People who haven’t heard about it will look at me and think I’m crazy, but it’s just the way I’ve been brought up
Chantelle Devonshire
“Some travellers don’t believe in it, and when I met my husband’s family, I thought, ‘what if they don’t believe in it? They’re going to look at me weird’.
“But when I said I can’t wash my blanket, they knew what I was talking about.”
Chantelle claimed that while some people will think her beliefs are ‘weird’, she isn’t phased and will continue to follow these traditions.
She concluded: “I get two different responses to my beliefs – the first one, people look at me and think, ‘she’s crazy, she needs to be locked away’.
“Then, the second one, people will say ‘I’ve heard that before’.
“People who haven’t heard about it will look at me and think I’m crazy, but it’s just the way I’ve been brought up.
“Everyone’s had a different upbringing. It’s how I was taught. If you don’t like it, that’s just life.”
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