Gypsy (term)

For other uses, see Gypsy (term) (disambiguation).

The term gypsy (or gipsy) has several overlapping meanings. Initially the word was used to refer to the Romani people, who first appeared in England at about the beginning of the 16th century. Although in certain contexts it is still used to describe the Romani, it also describes those in English speaking countries who live a lifestyle similar to that of the Romani, or as a translation of equivalent words in other languages.

Etymology

Main article: Names of the Romani people

The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) states that a gypsy is a

"member of a wandering race (by themselves called Romany), of Hindu origin, which first appeared in England about the beginning of the 16th c. and was then believed to have come from Egypt".

The OED records the first usage of the word in English as 1514, with several more in the same century, and that both Edmund Spenser and William Shakespeare used the word.

The word derives from the word for "Egyptian" in Latin, the same as the Spanish Gitano or the French Gitan. It emerged in Europe, in the 15th century, after their migration into the land of the Romani people (or Roma) in that continent. They received this name from the local people either because they spread in Europe from an area named Little Egypt, in Southern Balkans or because they fitted the European image of dark-skinned Egyptians skilled in witchcraft. During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries it was written in various ways: Egipcian, Egypcian, 'gipcian, 'gypcian. As the time elapsed, the notion of Gypsy evolved including other stereotypes, like nomadism, exoticism. John Matthews in The World Atlas of Divination refer to gypsies as "Wise Women."

English law

Gypsy has several different and overlapping meanings under English Law. Under the Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960 Gypsies are defined as "persons of nomadic habit of life, whatever their race or origin, but does not include members of an organised group of travelling showmen, or persons engaged in travelling circuses, travelling together as such.", this definition includes such groups as New Age Travellers, as well as Irish Travellers and Romany.

Gypsies of Romany origins have been a recognised ethnic group for the purposes of Race Relations Act 1976 since CRE V Dutton 1998 and Irish Travellers in England and Wales since O'Leary v Allied Domecq 2000 (having already gained recognition in Northern Ireland in 1997).

Other groups sometimes called gypsies

A number of groups are commonly included under gypsy even though they are not part of the Romani people proper. This is notably the case with the Dom people and the Lom people of the Middle East and Central Asia. These are known as Kowli (کولی) in Iran and Iraq. The Arabic terms Ghajar (غجر),Salab (صلب) and Nawar (نور) distinguish occupations: the Ghajar or Salab are entertainers, while the Nawar are traders; Nawar is also used as a pejorative term to mean vulgar, or low in North Levantine Arabic, and are used as insults (see also Garachi, Lyuli, Zott)

"Travellers" is a wider term for groups of people with a nomadic lifestyle, traditionally including but not restricted to the Romani. The Irish Travellers and Scottish Travellers are often included under the term "gypsies". In Central and Western Europe, the Yeniche are known as gypsies (or Zigeuner and other local equivalents of the term) although they are not considered part of the Romani people.

Similarly, the Indigenous Norwegian Travellers are unrelated to the Romani, not to be confused with the Romani Norwegian and Swedish Travellers.

In India, the Banjara are sometimes dubbed gypsies. Various ethnic groups in South-East Asia are known as "Sea Gypsies". Colloquially, gypsy names also any person perceived as fitting the Gypsy stereotypes (compare Bohemianism).

Gypsy populations

United Kingdom

See also: Romnichal and Anglo-Romany

There is no official figure for the number of Travelling People in the United Kingdom. The Council of Europe overall estimate (in 1987) was between 80,000 - 110,000. Government statistics on 'Gypsy' caravan counts in England can be found on the UK government's website. Such counts do not include 'new' Travellers, Gypsies living in houses (whether temporarily or not) other Travelling People not considered to be 'Gypsies', or Travelling People elsewhere in England. Separate figures collected by local Traveller Education Services (TESs) show many more families and children than do the official counts. Based upon this evidence an OFSTED Report on The Education of Travelling Children (1996) estimated that the number of Travelling children in England was in the region of 50,000.

In 1999 there were 329 public Gypsy sites in England with a total of 5,387 pitches. Whilst there is no official record of the number of private Gypsy sites in the UK, it is estimated that there are approximately 1,200 (lawful and unlawful) in England. The twice yearly Gypsy counts reveal that approximately one third live on sites which lack planning permission and are referred to as 'unauthorised'. Of these about 70% are described as settled (i.e. likely to have been on the site for some time and wishing to stay) and 30% as 'transit' i.e. relatively mobile.

The Welsh Office ceased to undertake the biannual count of caravans in 1997, but a ... piece of research on Traveller Children and Educational Need in Wales (1998) - published by the School of Education at Cardiff University - identified twice as many Travelling children in Wales than did the last governmental counts, at approximately 2,000; and suggests that many more Travelling children (i.e. those currently in housing) are also not included. There are currently around 20 public sites in Wales.

The number of Travellers in Northern Ireland is estimated to be between 1200 and 1300 (or 0.07% of the total population in the area). As with other counts, these figures are assumed to an underestimation due to the mobility of Travellers, the understandable reluctance of some to give full information, and a failure to count many Travellers living in standard housing. At the time of the 1993 census in Northern Ireland, 68% of Travellers were on authorised sites, 30% on unauthorised and 2% on private sites.

According to a survey undertaken by the Traveller Section of the Save the Children Fund (SCF) in Scotland in 1996, there were 35 local authority sites in Scotland provided exclusively for Travelling People with the support of a 100% Scottish Office grant, containing 503 pitches; SCF estimated that there were a further 30 to 40 private sites. SCF also estimate that there are currently between 10 and 15 thousand Travelling People living in Scotland. Estimations as to how many are living in what form of accommodation are in a 2001 Scottish Executive report.

With regard to the demography of Travelling People as collated by various government departments, there have been various criticisms of the count from official agencies and Gypsy representative groups. In particular, there is doubt as to whether the count provides adequate measures of the need for, and provision of sites and concern about the accuracy of the data. Information about Gypsies is also needed for other purposes, not only in the housing field but also for the provision of education and health services.

— Traveller Law Research Unit (2002)

References

Footnotes

Citations

See also

• Romani people
• Names of the Romani people
• Romani populations
• Fictional representations of Roma