This confusion may have arisen when Chicanere began traveling with Romanichals. The members of the second German Gypsy migration of 1850-70 also traveled with Romanichals and were absorbed into their culture. I say this because in reading about the Melungeon I can find no evidence of the ritual cleanliness regulations that the Gypsies brought with them when they migrated out of India 1000 years ago and continue to practice today in varying degrees as a key component of their cultural identity. Some of these cleanliness regulations may seem as severe and obscure to us as the Indian caste system. Things that come into contact with the upper body must not come into contact with the lower body.
Great care is taken to avoid allowing unclean things to enter the body.
Food improperly cooked or dishes and utensils improperly cleaned must not be taken into the mouth. Even amongst themselves contemporary Roma in Eastern Europe will share a pipe but will wrap their hand around the pipe stem and draw smoke through the fist. The cat is an especially unpopular animal because it licks itself, taking dirt from the outside to the inside. Bad luck can also contaminate. Trouble with the authorities, for example, can bring Gadje scrutiny to the entire clan.