EVERYTHING ABOUT GYPSIES TOTUL DESPRE TIGANI #7 Non-Romany Gypsies Non-Romany Gypsies are communities that are not related with Roma by origins and ethnicity and obviously do not know the Romany Law, which may be classified as follows: 1) Ethnic Groups: peoples having a defined history, culture, language, social structure and ethnic identity in the same way as Roma have; 2) Traveller Groups: peoples that are not true ethnic entities, but communities that have been called Gypsies because of apparent features, such as their wandering character, their lifestyle and their typical occupations, as well as the fact that they usually have encoded languages or jargons, which in many cases include Romany terms. Ethnic Groups · Domari The Domari people are often referred to as the ″Middle Eastern Roma″. However, they are a different people. There is no contact between Roma and Domari, and actually, they are not considered in the statistics of estimative Romany world population. The Domari are known under several names, such as Náwwar, Gážar, Karači, Qorbat, etc., terms that often are used in a derogatory manner. They are present in a large geographic area, from Central Asia to the Maghreb. The closest resemblance between Domari and Roma is the language, both having the same roots, but definitely not being the same tongue. There is also no certainty about the historic period in which the Domari appeared in the lands where they live at present, apparently having migrated from the Indus Valley. There is also not any relationship between them and the Dom people of India, besides an ethnonym similarity. Actually, the term Dom in India is applied by the higher castes to different unrelated tribes of various origins, but none of them has never used this word as self-designation. Therefore, it is unlikely that groups that never employed the term Dom as a self-reference in their homeland would then identify themselves in this way after having emigrated. As a matter of fact, the Domari are a people of Scythian stock, and as well as Roma, they were not autochthonous of India, but settled there in early times, with the establishment of Scythian tribes in the Indus Valley and Northwest India, where also Roma settled when exiled from their original homeland. In the same way as Roma, the reasons by which they left the Indus Valley and did never return back again there, should be understood as an attempt to come back to their ancient homeland in the Middle East. The Domari ethnonym might be related with Edom, a people of mixed Hurrian stock and whose language probably kept many Sanskrit words which pertained to the Hurrian language, widely spoken in the Middle East in the ancient age. Many “Romany” features such as the predisposition to wandering from place to place, the lack of interest in recording their own history and writing their own language, the particular attraction for gold, and many other characteristics are indeed typical of Scythian culture. The Domari are a discriminated, stigmatised minority in the whole Muslim environment where they live, and the only community in the world that achieved in creating an association for having a voice in behalf of their people is the small settlement in Jerusalem, since this city is again in Israeli hands. The related community settled in Gaza enjoyed a decent life while this land strip was under Israeli control, but since the Arabs have took the rule, the Domari there have fallen in disgrace, impoverished and isolated. There is not any brotherhood relationship between Israeli Roma and Domari, besides that of being neighbours like Jews and Arabs. · Qarači They are a people of Azerbaidjan who call themselves Dom, but they are a distinct group from the Domari dwelling in the same region, who self-designate also Dom, and are as well called Qarači by the Azeri. There is little research done about this group, that some consider to be an old offshoot of ″Central Asian Gypsies″ (Lyuli?). They were studied by the Armenian Rom scholar Kerope Patkanov, who stated that they spoke a language of the same root of Domari and Romany, but also Azeri and even Tat. · Lyuli or Luli The Luli are a group settled mainly in Tadjikistan, also present in all the Turkestan region and Russia. They call themselves Mughat, meaning ″fire-worshippers″, or also Ghurbat, ″exiled″. It is known that they arrived in Central Asia in the 13th century c.e. from the area of Multan, in the Indus Valley, by which they are also called Multani, besides Jughi and Lyuli. They have Asian features, so it is possible that they descend from Persian groups assimilated into the Turkic peoples that once ruled over India. They have not any Romany tradition, and the only reason by which they are called Gypsies is because of their nomadic lifestyle. Their social organization is based on clan divisions. In some areas of the Middle East, the term Luli is applied to the Domari people. · Lambadi or Banjara (Ghor) This is one of the several groups that are usually called ″Gypsies of India″, as well as others allegedly related with Roma. Actually, none of these communities in India may be ethnically or culturally linked with Roma; the apparent similarity is that these peoples are peripatetic and have no written language ‒ too little for establishing any relationship, besides the fact that their tongues are not intelligible with Romany. None of them has any self-designation term that may be related with the ethnonym Rom. The Lambadi are named in more than fifty ways; Banjara is the term used during the British rule, but they call themselves “Ghor”. They live in Central India, but apparently came from the North. They keep their own traditions, which are utterly different from those of Roma. Their main occupation is farming. · Gadia Lohar The Gadia Lohar or Gaduliya Lohar have been thought to be possible relatives of Roma people because they are traditionally blacksmiths and live in Rajasthan. Such is the criterion used by many scholars to establish the origin of peoples! They dwell in bullock carts, called gadia, and according to their tradition, they are nomadic in order to be loyal to a vow pronounced by their ancestors. Ethnically, they are a Rajput tribe. · Narikorava Their name is related with jackal chasing. Also known as Kuruvikaran for another of their traditional activities, that is bird trapping. They are nomads and live in Southern India, but according to their language, called Vagriboli, they came from the north. There are no features in common with Roma, besides the nomadic life. Traveller Groups The Travellers are groups of nomadic people present mainly in Western European countries, whose origins remain unknown until now. They belong to the same ethnicity of the population of the countries where they live, but they are distinguished by their unconventional lifestyle and their rejection to social inclusion according to the established patterns. · Yenish / Jenisch / Yeniche The Yenish are often mistakenly considered a branch of the Roma. Actually, they are ethnic Germans whose origins seem to be a kind of association of wandering artisans that became a solidly endogamous group in the 17th century c.e. They speak a mixed language, composed by German dialects, mainly Alsatian, Rotwelsch, Yiddish and Romany. The presence of these two last elements is owing to the fact that their working activity enabled them to get in touch with other groups such as Jewish merchants and Romany traders, from whom they adopted some terms into their language. The Yenish have Germanic features and are present in all German-speaking countries and in France. Their traditional occupations are metalsmiths and basket-makers. Their relationships with Roma are rather conflictive, so that both groups avoid meeting each other. · Irish Travellers These are the so-called “Irish Gypsies”, who are Celtic by ethnicity. They are by tradition caravan-dwellers and metal-workers. Their origins are remote, very likely the ancestors of these Travellers were wandering blacksmiths already present in the island before the arrival of Roma in the British Isles, and this hypothesis would reasonably explain why Roma did not settle in Ireland. They have their own dialect, called Shelta, Sheldru, Gammen or Pavee. It is an hybrid tongue, consisting in Old Irish vocabulary and English grammar, with many jargon expressions and also some Romany terms ‒ for instance, they call the settled population “Gadje”, even though the Travellers are not Roma. Their Irish designation is Lucht Siúil or Lucht Siúlta, the Walking People. They are also known as Tinkers, a term that is also applied to other peripatetic people and is often derogatory. They are present in Ireland, Great Britain and the United States. · Scottish Travellers A nomadic group with distinctive cultural patterns since old times. They speak a Gaelic tongue with some Romany terms, commonly known as Cant (this name is also applied to Shelta). Besides the typical profession of metalsmiths, they have a rich oral tradition and are well-known as storytellers and singers. Some of them have emigrated to the United States and Canada. · Camminanti Also known as Camminanti Siciliani or Camminanti di Noto, their origins are unknown. One of the hypotheses suggests that they may be the remnant of the above mentioned Sicilian Roma, thoroughly assimilated into Sicilian culture and no longer recognizable as Gypsies, but this possibility is remote: in the first place, because they do not acknowledge themselves as Gypsies, and then because of their physical traits, that are not those typical of Roma, but not those most common among Sicilians either. They have a higher rate of blond individuals than average Italians, what suggests a Nordic or Slavic origin. Sicily was under Norman rule for a period, by which a Scandinavian origin is plausible. They are resident in Southern Sicilian towns, mainly Noto, during the winter season, and travel throughout Italy during the warm period, working as grinders, tinkers, repairing items and selling automobile pieces. They eventually meet Sinti and there are some rare cases of intermarriage; however, Sinti try not to camp near them. They have also some Romany terms in their jargon, which is based on Sicilian dialect. · Quinquis Quinquis is the abbreviated term for Quinquilleros, that means ″cheap metalware sellers″, one of their traditional occupations. They are also known by several other names as Cibiqueros, Mercheros, Languilleros, etc. This group is present in Spain, mainly in Castilla. There is the erroneous idea that they are the offspring of Gitanos and ″Payos″ (Gadje), because they do not look like Gypsies but have some apparent resemblances concerning their lifestyle. This is not the case, as Gitanos avoid any relationship with them. A better creditable hypothesis suggests that they descend from common citizens that around the 16th century c.e. were excluded or self-excluded from society by an unknown reason, and the only choice for survival was that of imitating Roma, who are able to cope with the most adverse situations. Other possibility is that they were tinkers who arrived in Spain from Central Europe during the Habsburg rule in Spain ‒ which suggests a possible connection with the Yenish ‒ because of the peculiarity that, as well as the Camminanti, there are many blond people among them, more than average Spaniards. They speak a jargon with some loanwords from Caló. · Woonwagenbewoners This is a Dutch term that means ″Caravan-dwellers″. They are ethnic Dutch people who descend from farmers and other workers that were displaced during the Industrial Revolution and began to wander in search of temporary jobs. They have continued this lifestyle for generations until now. · Gourbetsya A nomadic group present in Greece, the Gourbetsya are ethnic Vlach people (Romanian). Conclusion One day Roma decided to put an end to their long exile in India, and headed towards the west in search of their original homeland, but their homeland was occupied by fierce, intolerant people. Roma avoided any contact with Arabs, so that not a single Arabic word was introduced into Romany language. They found a better environment in the land where Assyrians and Armenians dwelled, until they could no longer stay there as the invaders were approaching. Indeed, they were pushed into Europe by the Turks, so that not even their words were taken ‒ the few Turkish terms in Romany belong to Balkan dialects, adopted during the Ottoman rule, when Roma were already settled in Europe. During their long exile in the Indus Valley, it is obvious that intermarriage with the local (Scythian) population took place, as it happened later in Europe. Also the Jews of India have a predominant Indian DNA and would be considered of “Aryan” stock, but this logical consequence of a long sojourn cannot deny their true origins. As a matter of fact, Roma have never had the intention of going back to their land of exile in India. Roma have inherited an ancestral, atavic feud, by which they cannot settle back in the Middle East either. Europe seems not to be the most welcoming place to live; maybe the American Continent would be a better land to settle for a people that lives still in exile. In this essay we have presented different human communities whose unconventional patterns of social life have been criticized, stigmatised and harshly repressed by the establishment, once through persecution and attempts of annihilation, now through “politically correct” methods of assimilation. These peoples, commonly called Gypsies, be they Roma or not, are simply lovers of freedom.
Posted on: Mon, 21 Oct 2013 19:51:03 +0000