We Borrow the Earth by Patrick Jasper Lee is a book written so that gaujos or non-gypsies may hear the voice of a contemporary Romani gypsy of Britain. Lee tries to find the tacho Romano drom (the true gypsy path) that his family had lost in the emptiness of a modern spiritual context. He carries the burden of a "native" past left behind and is cognizant of the healing process that must be pursued in order to repair the damage the gaugos have wrought.
The author concentrates on the restoration of spiritual life in the woodlands and the need to restore a deeper respect for imagination as a tool for building a better world. He writes of this grounding relationship with ancestors and nature's spirits, a spiritual trek he recommends for us all in the hope of creating a world without prejudice or ownership, geography or time.
The book at times makes blanket cultural judgments about "evil" gaujos and is somewhat repetitive, but the author's anecdotal style is interesting and his theories on the historic origin of the Romani fascinating.
Article copyright Cultural Survival, Inc.
