Laws about ritual cleanness and uncleanness (in Romanes užo – biužo) form an important part of the Roma traditions. From her first menstruations onwards, and till the menopause, a woman is potentially as unclean and could thus also render a man unclean (mahrij): A man is not allowed to touch her skirt or, in the case of younger girls, her dolls. A women, on the other hand, is for example, not allowed to sit near the tools used for work. Should this happen, the entire work becomes unclean – mahrime – and has to be thrown away or broken.

When a Rom considered ritually unclean, he cannot eat and drink among the other Roma, but only among his closest relatives. In feasts, he sits, drinks and eats on the side; no one is allowed to shake hands with him or even to touch him. This continues till the moment where the uncleanness – mahrimos – ceases. Other things are considered ritually unclean. For example, the following;  touching a dog with one’s hand, dogs and cats licking plates; eating or drinking from plates or vessels on the floor; washing together men and women’s clothes; washing together upper body and lower body clothes etc. are all “unclean”. Ritual uncleanness can also result from swearing – or invoking the evil eye  – at utensils or tools belonging to another Rom.

From that moment onward, the utensils and tools are then unclean.

These traditions are still very much alive among many different Roma groups – more so even among the Kalderaša (where it is called pekelimos-mahrimos), among Lovara (marhimo), among Sinti (prasepen) and among Travellers in England (moxadapen). The most rigoristic laws on cleanness and uncleanness are to be found among the Polish Roma (mageripen): They have an extremely complicated structure containing items which for other Roma do not imply ritual uncleanness. For example, in fights among Roma, it is forbidden to use a knife or any other metallic object. On the other hand, among Roma who have settled down long ago, for example in the Carpaths and in the Balkan, this tradition is slowly loosing relevance or even has totally disappeared.