The University of Toledo
The University of Toledo Digital Repository
Department of Geography and Planning
College of Arts and Letters
2013
Gypsy Territoriality and the Ofisa Shell Game
Michael L. Chohaney
The University of Toledo, [email protected]
David J. Nemeth Ph. D.
The University of Toledo, [email protected]
Follow this and additional works at: http://utdr.utoledo.edu/geography
Part of the Geography Commons
Recommended Citation
Chohaney, Michael L. and Nemeth, David J. Ph. D., "Gypsy Territoriality and the Ofisa Shell Game" (2013). Department of Geography
and Planning. 1.
http://utdr.utoledo.edu/geography/1
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Gypsy Territoriality and
the Ofisa Shell Game
By Michael Chohaney and Dr. David J. Nemeth
Abstract
Romanies have sustained their remarkably successful underground
existence depending on specialty trades in territorial niche markets.
The Rom, an ethnic Romani sub-group, rely on fortune-telling as their
major source of income. Fortune-telling “offices,” translated from
ofisas in the Romani language (Rromanes), are the center of urban
market areas, with entire towns being sold as fortune-telling
territories. Many Rom sell ofisas via internet message boards and
streaming video websites, exposing valuable information on desirable
location attributes, territorial disputes, as well as the (self) appraised
value of their territories. By mining these posts, one of the co-authors
was able to compile a large georeferenced dataset on ofisa prices and
characteristics, which offered initial insights into measureable
attributes impacting ofisa prices. These empirical results when mapped
inspired the creation of a crude ofisa location prediction model. Our
poster presentation graphically highlights findings from the data
gathering process, including ofisa design, terminology, and territorial
disputes. In general, the data-dredging process from Internet sources
reveals previously unknown details about Rom communication,
territoriality, and ofisa location selection.
Ofisa: Rromanes for a
Fortune Telling “office”
An
outsiders
view,
from the
street
Mind the [economic] Gap: A used car lot
doubling as an ofisa (or vice versa)
Territorial Bluster:
Excerpts from
online feuding
Ofisas and Towns
for sale: Online
advertisements
very cute towns cheap rent all over houses with sings ez llc . ashland is a tourist town
bus lodes of ppl a day its a summer town only starts in april and stops in early
November. and the 4th of july fair is grate. medford is a year a round town very cheap
and easy to live there lots of cheap house with sings on busy st. grants pass
winter town busy little sky town lots of house with sings cheap rents all over the
town also a tourist town in the summer all 3 towns are on the 5 hi-way so who
ever go's from California to Portland and the other way around must come this
way. medford is not a tourist town but there's a little town right next to it call
Jackson vill that one is a year round tourist trap but its tiny and right next to
medford . we are leaving it just had a baby and the family want to all be together
there's 3 towns in a row ashland is 6 miles from medfor, medford is 20 miles from
grantspass . im asking 25000 for all 3 o.b.o or ashland 11000 medfor 9000 grantspass
6800 if u are interested call rachel my mother inlaw 415 994 1934 or my husband
miller 916 548 1062
well your selling a business nothing to worry about,, now when you post that you can get ss and drivers thats
bad! and black people saying that there gypsys thats a crime lol Ok lets see if you can understand what im
saying... Lets say im a Cop an i see your offica for sale "Hmm... let me get a detective on this to act like a
clint an lets see what Info we can get out of them we got the address where there located an we got a
Number on them to set up an appointment so its very Easy!" then they walk in... you start doing the
bullshit to get money out of them... then your caught an in custdy too the police then your in the
intaragasion room with a few FBI agents saying "we got a few people we want you to see... an if you give us
Info on there were abouts we will give you a Light offince on your crime" your gonna give them Up.... an get
100 people in trouble. Or... the guy that runs the Psychic Scam Site comes in the room an see's all the adds
an desides "Hey let me put them on the website im running an all the guysha could see that there scamers"
Next thing you know... your Offica is on the ten o clock News on that state lets just make it very plane an
simple so you can Understand STOP PUTTING YOUR OFFICA FOR SALE ON THE FORM CAUSE
YOUR GOING TO GET ALOT OF PEOPLE IN TROUBLE BECAUSE YOUR OFFICA IS A LOW LIFE
BUSSNIESS THAT AIN'T MAKING A DOLLER AN YOUR TRYING TO PIN THE DUMP ON SOMEONE
ELSE..... YOU FUCKING MENTAL TRASH!
Danny no one has given up telling fortune on here
these are just people trying to sell there towns
that dont make money have a beda or dont
belong to them lol. As far as people giving up
telling fortune and if they do then we lose are soul.
Fortune telling is not apart of the gypsy soul not
when every guyshee does it now a days.Gypsy's
no who they are they just like to make it seem
there better then everyone else.But whatever as
limit would say its 2009 almost 2010 times
changed.LMfao
There will be problems for the next nut that
thinks they "own" baytown too.. This nut in the
video dont live in baytown or have a officia.. We
already dealt with the last guy that said he
owned it. You was the stupid one that got
screwed if you THINK you bought it.
We own baytown..Been here for over 20yrs.We
all own our houses here.You filmed everything
except the man with the 500k house and the Big
travel trailer lot on N. MAIN. The other shago
that has a sign and owns his house on GARTH
RD. The Mans son on 146 owns that house for
12yrs and the mans uncle that lives on i-10 that
sells trailers. We had problems with this before
and the TOWN IS NOT for sale to NO ONE.
The town people already know about it. This
video is a standing joke!
: Tico Lee is asking $25k for a office located
: in North Hollywood California, I was going
: to buy the place but when I contacted the
: Department of City Planning & Zoneing
: that had told me that this place was NOT
: zoned for commercial buisness or any type of
: buisness, So this guy (Tico Lee) was
: planning on swindleing me for $25K?
: Yeah right!
i have noticed that ther are so mutch places for sale
on this site and around the world i know ther is a
bad ressesion going on but come on roma dont give
up this is are soul ? KNOWLIMT SAYS... FORTUNE
TELLING WILL NEVER GO AWAY... ITS JUST AS
OLD AS PROSTITUON <-- SELLING YOUR BODY
FOR SEX... JUST BECAUSE YOU DONT SEE AS
MANY HOOKERS WALKING THE STREET ANY
MORE... DOESENT MEAN PROSTUTION DIED... IT
JUST MEANS THEY DONT HAVE TO WALK THE
STREETS ANY MORE... THEY ADVERTISE ON
CRAIGS LIST... SAME THING WITH FORTUNE
TELLING... IT DIDENT DIE... THE ( INTERNET ) HAS
JUST CHANGED THE WAY WE RUN ARE
BUSSNESS... AND IS FORTUNE TELLING ARE
SOUL... WOW REALY TUFF... I BELIVE ITS IN ARE (
BLOOD ) IN ARE HEARTS... BUT IN ARE SOULS
An Insiders View:
Ofisa Interiors
Lyn Smith©
FOR ALL OF THOSE THAT HAVE HEARD RUMORS
THAT MELBOURNE FLORIDA IS FOR SALE... IT IS
FALSE!. PAUL is not in charge of sale on anything of
thTHE TOWN ITS SELF IS NOT FOR SALE NOR
ARE ANY OFFICE'Sis town.... IF YOU HAVE ANY
QUESTIONS CALL ME AT 321-751-6644. I REPEAT
MELBOURNE FLORIDA IS NOT FOR SALE!~
Madam Butterfly
has “the Gift”
BEWARE: office/house for sale in glendale az
Buyer beware, whoever buys this place is going to lose
their money. The place is not in the right zone, and will
not be approved for any other psychics. The place is redflagged by the city of Glendale. Furthermore, these people
claim jumped in my city, that's what they do, they set up and
sell places. I've been here for fifteen years, I own this town,
ask anyone in Arizona. If you don't believe me, call the city
of Glendale Planning Department, give them this address:
7927 North 51st Avenue Glendale, Arizona 85301 and see for
yourselves. Mods, please don't delete this, that is all.
-SteveRats
Nov 23, 2012
Selling my place in Phoenix
on camelback rd it's a house
with sings to bedrooms and a
separate office one bathroom
big living room nice full
kitchen just remodeled the
whole house lots of traffic
lots of parking rent is 1400
asking $15000 call teddy at
(602) 614-3141 CLICK HERE
FOR PIC
http://www.picturetrail.com/sf
x/album/view/24292714
Pleasant hill ca for sale whole town in bay area no
house just office on busy street on main street in
town near walnut creek and concord office rent
is 490$ upstairs of restaurant I'm asking 60,000 I
paid 65,00 thousand I'm asking 60,00 thousand in
beautiful area landlord is good no issues with city or
any beda in town call Diana (650)669-3066 or
daughter thats running town right now (707)6415655
I have decided not to stay here anymore, going to family in NJ...towns are good little
towns, one has population of 35,000 the other smaller one has around 18,000 I had
offica but did not re do the lease....20 minutes from Lexington Ky., Lexington is
prohibited. The towns are Georgetown Ky and Paris Ky....I still have business licence
but you will have to find your own place. Just going back to family after I sell. 6,000 for
both. 859-421-0967 (Johnsonggypsy-01/31/2013)
lexington & surrounding ares has been family owend for many years evry one in the
south knows this with you running buiesness & advertising you will have trouble
buyers &sellers be ware (chicagopizza-02/02/2013)
I enjoyed our chat on the phone....let me remind you that you ARE NOT in
Lexington...you are in Nicholsville which is also a different County...you are 38 miles
one way from my area. The fact that you have been in Nicholsville for years does not
give you the authority to threten me and tell me that I cant sell....I will take out the
advertising part in my ad...but that is all I am going to do. DO NOT THRETEN ME... So
you mind your business and I will mind mine...that simple. (Johnsonggypsy02/03/2013)
I still tell fortune the good old fashion way i watched
my mamie so while everyone went from breaking eggs
to selling crystals ( that guyshay are hip knowing
there 10 for 99 cents rocks) i'm still doing it the old
way where 98% of the guyshay forgot or never heard
the old ways .....we still do the bewocho
well for one thing they didnot threaten you spelled corectly. and we do have the right
to lexington goergetown paris versailes danville thats been our area for 40 years
even the roma in louisville know this and all the way to new york so where the
hell do you get off by saying thats not our area you will be contacted very soon by
others about this i know who your family is they to will be notified. lexingon and
surrouding area is our towns any one tryies to buy these areas will be in big problems
and you will waste your money ask any one in the north south west and east and they
will tell you the same . .. p,s there has not been any threats what so ever just facts
placed about our areas(dwcorpus007-02/07/2013)
Albemarle North Carolina located in Stanley County. 35
minutes from Charlotte. There is also another town in the
county named Locust which is 20 minutes away from
Charlotte. Asking $4500 please email me at
[email protected] if interested
- Albemarle (Oct 3, 2013)
scam scam scam!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! people been there 20 years
- gypsygypsygypsy (Oct 5, 2013)
who cares to spend money to live in towns that have 35000 population anyway, i think
my zip code has that many people.(AdrianaCalifornia-02/07/2013).
Where
the
“gift”
is
shared
… for a
price…
Tico was messing with the wrong people!
house and town in ohio for sale in IT SOMEONE ELSES TOWN!
The man who is selling the town doesnt own it.He is trieng to sell the peoples towns. The town is newark ohio. It
belongs to the muchuwia,They have lived there for 40 years and the man is selling the peoples town. There is trouble
giong on with the man and the people who own the town. He moved there and the people got mad and now he
is selling the house. Im not posting this to make more trouble Im posting to make sure that people know that they
would be giving thair money and they are walking into trouble.
Its not nice to sell a town for big money and the who ever buys it would have to fight for it.
-gypsypeanuts
Jan 19, 2013
New York
Gypsy Turf War Chino Hills .ChicagoMike VS BIG MIKE POMONA
Okay everybody here's the Los Angeles Gypsy gossip Mario mikeys had someone Brake into to. Chicago Mike & Crystals office in Chino Hills
They busted all their windows stoled all their stuff stoled all their clientele information and. Urinated on their walls so now Chicago mike has took
Mario and his father Big Mike And his son Luigi mikeys to court. ChicagoMike has got restraining orders against the adams family and they cannot
come within 500 yards of him his wife or his sister or his cars or his home and place of business I've heard Chicago mike has the highest. Priced
attorney. In Southern California Chicago Mike and adams family has went to court. 3 times and every time they went to court the end
result for the Adams family was horrible. And it's getting closer and closer to jail time for the Adams Family. Next court date February 22nd
2013
-GypsyNewsInLa909
Jan 13, 2013
Hypothesized ofisa
territorial boundaries
Los Angeles
Online
Ofisa for
sale Ad
Territorial Feuding or
Coincidence?
La Botanica:
Notice the
Religious
Iconography
Preliminary Analysis
Statistical modeling is used as a means to establish evidence of
empirical regularity of ecological attributes typically associated with
ideal ofisa locations.
Smaller territories are more contested and thus hypothesized to be
more valuable; therefore, areas where ofisas agglomerate (higher
counts) should exhibit ideal features for successful business.
Using anecdotes as a guide, I constructed a count regression model of
ofisas within 1 and 1.5 mile grid-cells in New York city and Los Angeles,
respectively, imposed on Census Tract data using 2011 ACS 5-year
estimates. I chose the variables based on previous knowledge and insight
gained from online ofisa advertisements.
The Young
Drabarni
watches
potential
clients go
by…
Typical aspatial count data models are initially employed; however,
the final analysis will include a spatial Poisson hurdle model, a
Bayesian conditional autoregressive model. Models using alternative
grid cell sizes will also be tested.
The final step of the analysis applies a straightforward hedonic price
model to measure attributes affecting the asking price of ofisas listed
for sale online. This model will incorporate the ofisa’s physical
attributes as well as ecological factors significant found significant in
the previous analysis step.
An essential
Component
of any
respectable
Ofisa
NYC Models
LA Models