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JOURNAL OF THE
GYPSY LORE
SOCIETY
NEW SERIES
VOLUMF IX PART 1
PRINTED PRIVATELY FOR THE MEMBERS
OF THE GYPSY LORE SOCIETY, GRINDLETON
VICARAGE. CLITHEROE, BY T. AND A.
CONSTABLE, PRINTERS TO HIS MAJESTY
AT THE EDINBURGH UNIVERSITY PRESS
CONTENTS
I. JREPO
BUL(
REVIE
NOTES
The copyr
of the
obtain
PAOB
the property
ion must be
I'llIKHASED FOR THE
I HE JO ilMVEPSlTY OlT(V]0\r() 1 nmABY JOICTY
IHE OL
I r.oM Tin
i jgjj2 CANADA COUNCIL SPECIAL CHANT ended in
lumbers,
Vol. II., sij
and A. Cox
several of th
lOR
Linguistics
(essrs. T.
I on sale
The Xev
parts and a ^'^' ^°'''
,, ^ .««o^-p«rt maiong an annual volume
Cop.es c„n .,„ be obuined at the s„bscrip,io„ pHce of « Tor
each volume bu. they are sold only ,o „,e.bers of the G,ps, U
^ocoty S,„g,e p„ts cannot a>..,vs be .supplied: .h n eo^
are avadabie for sale to .ne.bers the pHce i. «.. each, wit T
::r::. ^'"---"--' -•.--., for Which o;';:
2s. 6d. is char'jod
i
\.
JOURNAL OF THE
GYPSY LORE SOCIETY
NEW SERIES
JOURNAL OF THE
GYPSY LORE
SOCIETY
NEW SERIES
VOLUME IX
{1915—1916)
PKLXTED PRIVATELY FOR THE MEMBERS OF THE GYPSY
LORE SOCIETY, BY T. .t A. CONSTABLE LTD. AT THE
EDINBURGH UNIVERSITY PRESS
\V
r
u^*
II'
CONTENTS^
PAET 1.
PAQE
I. Report on the Gtpsy Tribes of North-east Bulgaria. By
'Petulknoro' ...... 1
Review ........ 54
Notes and (Queries ...... 64
PART 2.
I. Report ok the Gtpsy Tribes oV North-kast Bulgaria. By
'Petulenoro' ...... 65
Editorial ........ 10!)
Notes and (Queries . .111
PART8 3 AND 4.
1. Vale et Ave I By John Sampson . .113
II. Studies IN Romani Philology. By Alfkeh L. Woolner. I. . 119
III. The Norwood Gypsies and their Vocabulary. By Eric Otto
WiNSTEUT ....... 129
IV. Bkioiit's Anglo-Romam Vocabulary. By Ale.xander Russell 165
V. An American-Romani Vocabulary. By George F. Black, Ph.D. 185
Notes and Queries ...... 222
Index. By Alexander Russell ...... 225
Frontispiece. Boiikmiene disant la bonne avantcre. By Cara-
vAGoio. (Presented by A. Russell.)
* Complete Lists of the Reviews and of the Notes and Queries will be found
in the Index under these headings.
ERRATA
Pajre 80, line 6, for Sieb^nburgen read Siehmburgen.
„ 130, lines 9-16, for At the Qiu^n— There reinaint the read One of the ttoo fimt
guggettions it probaltly right. Hut thrre it just a.
„ 164, line 2 from the bottom, for kair read ktr.
K
The Gypsy Lore Soeiet\
GRINDLETON VICARAGE, CLITHEROE
r
J'ad J'resiileuts-
President — John Sampson, D.Litt.
Charles Godfrey Leland, 1888-92.
David MacRitchie, 1907-8.
Henry Thomas Crofion, 1908-9.
Theodore AVaits-Dunton, 1909-10.
The Mari^uis Adriano Colocci, 1910-11.
AiiTHiR Theslekf, 1911-12.
Geheimr.\t Prof. Ekn.st Ki'hn, 1912-13.
Lady Arthur (trosvenor, 1913 14.
iPrincipal Sir Donald MacAli.stek, K.C.H., 1914-ir).
LIST OF MEMBERS'
\st Juhi 1014— .'^O/A ,Jun> 1921
LI RR ARIES AND SOCIETIES
[219] Aberdeen, Scotland, The Univcreity Library, King's College.
[293] Aberystwyth, Wales, The National Library of AVales, care of
Sydney V. Galloway, Pier Street, Aberystwyth.
[33G] Ann Arbor, Michigan, U.S.A., The University Institute Library,
care of Henry Sotheran it Co., 140 Strand, London, W.C. 2.
[332] Baltimore, U.S.A., The Peabody Institute, care of Edward G. Allen
& IJion, Ltd., 12 and 14 Grape Street, Shaftesbury Avenue,
London, W.C. 2.
[331] Berkley, California, L^.S.A., University of California, care of B. F.
Stevens \- Brown, 4 Trafalgar Square, London, ^^'.C. 2.
[148] Berlin, Germany, Anthropologische Gesellschaft, Koniggrjitzer-
strasse 120.
[18] Berlin, Germany, Preussische Staats-Bibliothek, Behrenstrasse
40, W. 64.
[26] Birmingham, England, Free Reference Library, Ratcliffe Place.
[162] Boston, Mass., L-.S.A., The Athcna.'uni, care of Edward G. Allen
& Son, Ltd., 14 Grape Street, Shaftesbury Avenue, London,
W.C. 2.
' The numbers printed in brackets before the names indicate the order in which
members joined the Society, as determined by the dates of the receipts for their
first subscriptions. The first new member who joined after the revival of the
Gypsy Lore Society in the spring of 1907 was No. 92, and lower numbers, of which
there are twenty-seven, distinguish those who were members during the first period
of the Society's activity, which ended on June 30, 1892.
h
LIST OF MEMBERS
[39] Boston, Mass., U.S.A., The Public Library, care of G. E. Stechert
& Co., 2 Star Yard, Carey Street, Chancery Lane, London,
W.C. 2.
[326
[319
[200
[284
[260
[330
[181
[251
[27
[151
[161
[145
[265
[163
[261
[252
[268
[203
[204
[89
[156
[49
[141
[212
[255
Breslau, Germany, Staats- und Universitiits-Bibliothck.
Brighton, England, The Public Library.
Brooklyn, N.Y., U.S.A., The Public Library, Montague Branch,
197 Montague Street.
Brussels, Belgium, P)il)liothequc Royale de Belgique, 5 Place du
Musee.
Budapest, Hungary, Magyar Nemzeti Muzeum, Szechenyi orsz.
KonyvtAra, care of Gusztav Raiischburg, Budapest iv., Franzis-
kanerplatz 2.
Buffalo, N.Y., The Grosvenor Library, care of B. F. Stevens &
Brown, 4 Trafalgar Square, London, ^V.C. 2.
Calcutta, India, The Asiatic Society of Bengal (57 Park Street),
care of Luzac it Co., 46 Great Russell Street, London, W.C. 1.
Cambridge, England, The University Library.
Cambridge, Mass., U.S.A., Harvard University Library, care of
Edward G. Allen & Son, Ltd., 11 Grape Street, Shaftesbury
Avenue, London, W.C. 2.
Cardiff, South Wales, Central Public Library.
Chicago, 111., U.S.A., The Newberry Library, care of B. F. Stevens
& Brown, 4 Trafalgar Square, Charing Cross, London, W.C. 2.
Chicago, 111., U.S.A., The University Library, care of B. F.
Stevens & Brown, t Trafalgar Square, Charing Cross, London,
W.C. 2.
Christiania, Norway, Universitets-Bibliothcket, care of Camnier-
meyers Boghandel (Sigurd Pedersen og Eistein Ka;ibe), Karl
Johans Gade 41 og 43, Kristiania, Norway.
Copenhagen, Denmark, The Royal Library, care of Francis
E<1 wards, 83 High Street, Marylebone, London, \\'. 1.
Dresden, Germany, Sachsischf Lan<le.=;-r)ibli()thok. Kai.'^or Wilhclm
Platz 11.
Dublin, Ireland, The Library of Trinity College.
Dulilin, Ireland, The National Library of Ireland, care of Hodges,
Figgis it Co., Lt<l , 20 Nassau Street, Dublin.
Edinburgh, Scotland, The Advocates' Library.
Edinburgh, Scotland, The Philosophical Institution, 4 Queen
Street.
Edinburgh, Scotland, The Public Library, George iv. Bridge.
Edinburgh, Scotland, The Royal Scottish Museum, care of James
Thin, 54 South Bridge, Edinburgh.
Edinburgh, Scotland, The Signet Library, care of George P.
Johnston, 37 George Street, Edinburgh.
Frankfurt am Main, Germany, Freiherrlich Carl von Roth-
schild'sche otfentliche Bibliothek, Untermainkai 15.
Glasgow, Scotland, The Mitchell Library, 21 Miller Street, Glasgow.
Glasgow, Scotland, The University Library, care of James
MacLehose & Sons, 61 St. Vincent Street, (.ila.sgow.
LIST OF MEMBERS XI
[236] Hamburg, Germany, Museum fiir Volkerkunde, Binderstrasse 14.
[285] Harrisburg, Pa., U.S.A., The State Library of Pennsylvania.
[146] Ithaca, N.Y., U.S.A., Cornell University Library, care of Edward
G. Allen & Son, Ltd., 14 Grape Street, Shaftesbury Avenue,
London, W.C. 2.
[323] Krakow, Galizien, Poland, C. K. Biblioteca Uniwersytetu Jagiel-
loiiskiego w Krakowie {per G. Gebethner i Sp.), care of William
Dawson & Sons, Ltd. (Low's Export Department), St. Dunstan's
House, Fetter Lane, London, E.G. 4.
[269] Leeds, England, The Central Free Public Library.
[43] Leiden, The Netherlands, The L^niversity Library (Legaat Warner),
care of S. C. van Doesburgh, Breetstraat 14, Leiden.
[283] Leipzig, Germany, Universitiits-Bibliothek, care of J. C. Hinrichs,
Grimmaischestrasse 32, Leipzig, Germany.
[214] Liverpool, England, The Public Library, William Brown Street.
[243] London, England, The British Museum, Department of Printod
Books, W.C. 1.
[232] London, England, The London Library, St. James's Square,
S.W. 1.
[328] Los Angeles, Cal., U.S.A., Los Angeles I'ublic Library, care of
B. F. Stevens Sc Brown, 4 Trafalgar Square, Charing Cross,
London, W.C. 2.
[279] Manchester, England, The .lohn Rylands Library, Deansgate.
[28] Manchester, England, Public Free Reference Librar\', King
Street.
[321] Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, The Public Library, care of Henry
Sotherun & Co., 43 Piccadilly. London. W. 1.
[216] Milan, Italy, Keale Biblioteca Nazionalc di Brera, care of Hoepli it
Co., Galleria de Christoforis 59, Milano, Italy.
[327] Minneapolis, Minn., U.S.A., The Minneapolis Athenaeum.
[59] Miinchen, Bavaria, Bayer. Staats-Bibliothek.
[335] Newark, N.J., U.S.A., The Free Public Lil)rary, care of G. E.
Stechert & Co., 2 Star Vard, Carey Street, Chancery Lane,
London, W.C. 2.
[147] New Haven, Conn., L'.S.A., Yale LTniversity Library, care of
Edward G. Allen S: Son, Ltd., 14 Grape Street, Shaftesbury
Avenue, London, W.C. 2.
[275] New York, L^.S.A., Columbia L'niversity Library, care of G. E.
Stechert & Co., 2 Star Yard, Carey Street, Chancery Lane,
London, W.C. 2.
[135] New York, U.S.A., The Public Library, 476 Fifth Avenue, care
of B. F. Stevens <t Brown, 4 Trafalgar Square, Charing Cro.ss,
London, W.C. 2.
[244] Newcastle upon-Tyne, England, The Public Library, New Bridge
Street.
[143] Northampton, Mass., U.S.A., The Forbes Library, care of Henry
Sotheran & Co., 140 Strand, London, W.C. 2.
[13] Oxford, England, The Bodleian Library.
[171] Oxford, England, The Meyrick Library, Jesus College.
Xll LIST OF MEMBERS
[218] Paris, France, Bibliotheque Nationale, care of Librairic C. Klinck- J
sieck, 11 rue de Lille, Paris (vii**), France. '
[272] Petrograd, Russia, Imperial Public Library, care of Ellis, 29 New
Bond Street, London, W. 1.
[277] Philadelphia, Pa., U.S.A., The Free Library, Thirteenth and LocuRt
Streets.
[329] Philadelphia, Pa., U.S.A., University' of Penn.sylyania, care of
G. E. Stechert <\: Co., 2 Star Yard, Carey Street, Chancery
Lane, London, W.C. 2.
[342] Princeton, N.J., U.S.A., The University Library, care of G. E.
Stechert A: Co., 2 Star Yard, Carey Street, Chancery Lane,
London, W.C. 2.
[324] Sacramento, Cal, U.S.A., California State Library, care of G. E.
Stechert tV Co., 2 Star Yard, Carey Street, Chancery Lane,
London, W.C. 2.
[133] St. Louis, Mo., U.S.A., The Mercantile Library, care of G. E.
Stechert iK: Co., 2 Star Yard, Carey Street, Chancery Lane,
London, ^V.C. 2.
[233] St. Jjouis, Missouri, ['.S.A., The Public Library, care of B. F.
Stevens Sc Brown, I Trafalgar Square, London, W.C. 2.
[209] Stockholm, Sweden, The Royal Library, care of Wheldon «^- Wesley,
28 Essex Street, Strand, London, W.C. 2.
[266] Strassburg, i. Els., Germany, Kai.serliche Universitiits- und Landes-
Bibliothek.
[286] Upp.sala, Sweden, Kurigl. Universitcts Bibliotek.
[322] ITtrecht, The Netherlands, I'niversitcits Bibliotheek.
[270] Vienna, Austria, K. K. Hofliibliothek, Josefsplatz 1.
[292] Vienna, Austria, K. K. Universitats-Bibliothek.
[345] Washington, D.C., U.S.A., The Library of Congress, care of
Bernard Qnaritch, Ltd., 11 (irafton Street, New Bond Street,
London, W. 1.
[155] Wa.shington, D.C, TT.S.,\.. The Piiblir Librarv ..f the District of
Columbia.
[273] Weimar, Germany, (jrossherzoglichc Bililiothek.
IXDIVIDUALS
[119] Ackerley, The Rev. Canon Frederick George (Hon. Secretary),
Grindlctoii Vicarage, near Clitheroe. Lanca.«shire.
[157] Adams, Alfred, 493^ and 495 Collins Street (W.), Melbourne,
Victoria, Australia.
[115] Aldersey, Hugh, of Aldersey, Handley, near Chester.
[341] Allison, Miss Molly, Rye Close, King's Congleton, Alcester,
Warwickshire.
[337] Appleby, Major G. P., Farcham, Hampshire.
[259] Atkinson. Frank Stanley, 3 Avondale Road, Karlsdon. Coventry.
[312] Baker, the late Captain L. G., Army and- Navy Club, Pall Mall,
London, S.W. 1.
LIST OF MEMBERS
XUl
Bartlett, The Rev. Donald Mackenzie Maynard, St. Wilfrid's
Vicarage, Harrogate.
Bathgate, Herbert J., Superintendent, The Borstal Institution,
Invercargill, New Zealand.
Berry, Mrs. Kiley Maria Fletcher, Box 17, R.F.D. 2, Sanford,
Florida, U.S.A.
Bigge, John A. Selby, 7 Wilbraham Place, London, S.AV. 1.
Bilgrami, Syed Hossain, C.S.I., Nawal» Imad-ul-Mulk Bahadur,
Kocklands, Saifabad, Plyderabad, I^eccan, India.
Black, George F., Ph.D., New York Public Library, 476 Fifth
Avenue, New York, U.S.A.
Blaikie, Walter Biggar, LL.D., F.K.S.E., 11 Thistle Street, Edin-
burgh.
Borenius, C. Einar, Ph.D., Councillor, Finnish Legation, Stockholm,
Sweden.
Bramiey-.Moore, Mi.ss Eva, May Bank, Aigburth, Liverpool.
Hroadwood, Miss Lucy Etheldred, 3c Montagu Mansions, London,
W. 1.
Brown, Irving 11., Ph.D., Department of Komance Languages,
The University, Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.A.
Butterworth, Charles F., Waterloo, Poynton, Cheshire.
Canziani, Miss Rstclla, 3 Palace Green, Kensington, London, W. 8.
Casey, John, care of Notarius Pokrovsky, Moskovskaya Ulitza 22,
Penza, Ku.ssia.
Clugnet, the late Leon, Licencie es lettres, Villa Miryam, " rue
Carrierc, Mark'', Bourg-la-Keino, Seine, France.
Colocci, The Marquis Adriano Amerigo, Palazzo Colocci, Piazza
Angclo Colocci, Jesi, Italy.
Crofton, Henry Thoma.s \\\\a. Mauvarre, Cannes, France.
Dawkins, Richard .NPGillivray, M.A., Plas Dulas, Llanddulas,
North Wales.
DelDiicle, Franrois, deputi', 59 rue de la Tour, Paris (vi"), France.
Domville, Miss Stella li. B., Shutes, Syiiiondsbury, Bridport, Dorset.
Ehrenborg, Harald, Opphem, Sweden.
Eve, The Honourable Mr. Justice Harry Trelawney, Royal Courts
of Justice, Strand, London, W.C. 2.
Farrell, Frank James, M.Sc, Montagu House, Beccles, Suffolk.
Feleky, Charles, 508 West 114th Street, New York, L'.S.A.
Fergu.son, James, Manor F'arm, Tytherington, near Macclesfield.
Ferguson^ the late Professor John, LL.D., The University, Glasgow.
Ferguson, William, Manor Hoiise, Tvtherington, near Maccles-
field.
Fisher, the late Charles Dennis. M.A., Christ Church, Oxford.
Francis, Henry James, Hollycroft, Hinckley, Leicestershire.
Fvffe, Colin C. H., 1406 New York Life Building, Chicago, III,
U.S.A.
Gibbs, Ben R., 16 Bloomfield, Blackwood, Monmouthshire.
Gilliat-Smith, Bernard Joseph, The British Consulate, Varna,
Bulgaria.
XIV LIST OF MEMBERS
[197] Gilliiigton, Miss Alice E., The Caravans, Lilliput Hill, Parkstone-
on-sea, Dorset.
[250] Goddard, Miss Amelia, Lark's Gate, Thorney Hill, Bransgore, Hants.
[15] Greene, Herbert Wilson, M.A., B.C.L., 4 Stone Buildings, Lincoln's
Inn, London, W.C. 2.
[92] Grosvenor, Lady Arthur, Broxton Lower Hall, Handley, near
Chester.
[98] Hall, the late lie v. George, Ruckland Rectory, Louth, Lincolnshire.
[339] Hewitt, Reginald Mainwaring, M.A., University College, Notting-
ham.
[168] Hewlett, John H., Queensgate, Harrow-on-the-Hill.
[303] Hitchcock, Roger F., Switterfield, Stowupland,Stowni;ukct, Suffolk.
[213] Humphreys, A. L., York I>o(lge, Baker Street, Reading.
[90] Huth, the late Captain Frederi<k II., Beckford House, 20 Lansdown
Crescent, Bath.
[169] Huth, Sydney Franci-s, Culnistock, Cullonipton, Devon.
[144] Imlach, Miss G. M., M.A., 8 Blenheim Road, Wavertree, Liverpool.
[334] James, Alfred, o Portcanna Place, William Street, Cardiff.
[.{02] Jacob, Lieut. -Col. H. F., cmre of Llovfl's Bank, Ltd., p^i.stbnurne.
[193] John, Augustus E.. A.R.A., 28 Mallnrd Street, Chelsea, Lonchdi.
S.W. :i.
[281] Kendal, Richard P. J., Brandrcth House, Parbold, near Wigan.
[178] Kershaw, Philip, Shobley, Ringwood, Hants.
[51] Kuhn, the late Geheimrat Professor Ernst, Ph.D., Hess-Strasse 5,
Munich, (4ermaiiy.
[298] Lockyer, the late James Edward, A.M.I.C.E., Tackct Wood House,
Kingsbridge, South Devon.
[96] Lothian, the late ^L•lurice John, Kilravock, Blarkfonl Avenue,
Ld in burgh.
[130] Lovell, Miss Fenella, 203 BouUvard Raspail, Paris.
[106] Lyster, Miss M. Eileen, 9 Linudalc Road, West Kirby, (.^hcshire.
[75] MacAlister,Prineij)arSir Donald. K f P . M \,M D. f » (VL.,LL.D.,
The University, Glasgow.
[220] Macalister, Professor Robert Alexander Stewart, M.A., F.S.A.,
18 P^denmount Road, Donny brook, Co. Dublin,
[93] M'^Cormick, Andrew, 60 Victoria Street, Newton-St«wart, Wigtown-
shire.
[223] ^Lacfie, Miss Alison Bland Scott, Rowton Hall, Chester.
[158] Macfie, Charles Wahab Scott, Rock Mount, 13 Tiiverpool Road,
Chester.
[112] Macfie, John William Scott, M.A., B.Sc, M.B., Ch.B., Rowton
Hall, Chester.
[108] Macfie, Robert Andrew Scott, M.A., B.Sc., 34 Moorfields, Liverpool.
[262] MacGilp, The Rev. John D., M.A., The Crown Manse, Inverness,
Scotland.
[125] M'Kie, Norman James, M.D., 14 Arthur Street, Newton-Stewart,
AVigtownshire.
[206] Maclaren, J. Stewart, Hartfell House, Moffat, Dumfriesshire,
Scotland.
LIST OF MEMBERS XV
[240] MacLeod, William, 10 Rhode Island Avenue, Newport, Rhode
Island, U.S.A.
[1] MacRitchie, Da\'id, F.S.A.Scot., 4 Archibald Place, Edinburgh.
[136] >PWhir, James, M.B., Ch.B., Swinton, Duns, Berwickshire.
[9')] Maitland, Mrs. Ella Fuller, 131 Sloane Street, London, S.W. 1.
[97] Malleson, the late Rev. Herbert Harry, Manston Vicarage, Cross-
gates, near Leeds.
[153] Marston, Miss Agnes, B.A., 13 Denman Drive, Newsham Park,
Liverpool.
[113] Merrick, William Percy, Woodleigh, Shepperton, Middlesex.
[318] Milroy, Mrs. M. E., The Oast House, near Farnham, Surrey.
[1S8] Mitchell, William, 14 Forbesfield Road, Aberdeen.
[333] Montague, Mrs. Amy.
[172] Moreton, the late Lord, Sarsden House, Chipping Norton, Oxon.
[247] Moriarty, J. R., 119 Mecklenburg Street, St. John, New Bruns-
wick, Canada.
[217] Muir, Professor John Ramsay Bryce, M.A., The University, Man-
chester.
[105] .Myers, John, 24 Dewsland Park Road, Newport, Monmouth.
[211] Owen, David Charles Lloy<i. M D., Bron-y-Graig, Harlech, North
Wales.
[76] Owen, Miss Mary Alicia, 306 North 9th Street, St. Joseph, M<j..
U.S.A.
[11] Pennell, Mrs. Elizabeth Robins, Hotel Margaret, 95-97 Columljia
Heights, Brooklyn, N.Y., U.S.A.
[310] Phillimore, the late Honble. Robert C, Itidlett, Herts.
[308] Pohl, H., 78 Cecil Street, Greenheys, Manchester.
[80] Prideaux, the late Colonel W. F., C.S.I., Hopeville, St. Peter's-in-
Thanet, Kent.
[-27] (.^uevedo, the late Sonor I'rofessor Don Samuel A. Lafone (391 San
Martin, Buenos Ayres, Argentine Republic), care of Henry
Young & Sons, 12 South Castle Street, Liverpool.
[278] Quinn, John, 31 Nassau Street, New York, U.S.A.
[88] Rae, Mrs. John, Glenelly, Chislehurst, Kent.
[56] Riinking, Devey Fearon de I'Hoste, LL.D., 9 Overstrand Mansion.s,
Battersea Park, London, S.W. 11.
[280] Ranking, Colonel G. S. A., Beech Lawn, Park Town, Oxford.
[103] Reynolds, Llywarch, B.A., Old Church Place, Merthyr Tydfil,
Wales.
[314] Richardson, Hubert N. B., 16 Mcrchiston Avenue, Edinburgh.
[107] Robertson, Donald Struan, Trinity College, Cambridge.
[309] Russell, The Right Honble. the Countess, Telegraph House,
Chichester.
[126] Russell, the late Alexander, M.A., John Street, Stromness, Orkney.
[87] Saltus, the late J. Sanford, Salmagundi Club, 47 Fifth Avenue,
New York, L^.S.A.
[16] Sampson, John, D.Litt., M.A., The Univerity, Liverpool.
[264] Scott, Charles Payson Gurley, 49 Arthur Street, Yonkers, New
York, U.S.A.
XVI LIST OF MEMBERS
Shaw, Fred., 7 Macdonald Road, Friern Barnet, London, N. 11.
Sidebotham, Henry, Wood View, 27 Robin Lane, Pudsey, near
Leeds.
Slade, C. F., 38 Moor Road, Headingley, Leeds.
Slade, Edgar A., ' Dodpitts,' near Yarmouth, Isle of Wight.
Sowton, Miss 8. C. M., Avington, Guildford, Surrey.
Spalding, Dr. James A., 627 Congress Street, Portland, Maine,
U.S.A.
Strachey, Charles, 32 Abbey Road, St. John's Wood, London,
N.W. 8.
Strang, Ian, 27 Whitehead's drove, London, S.W. 3.
Sykes, Brig.-General P. Molosworth, C.M.G.,C.I.E.,ThL' Athena-uni,
London, S.W. 1.
Symons, Arthur, 13 Queens Gardens, London, W. 2.
Taylor, E. R., Can Hatch, Burgh Heath, Epsom.
Thesleff, the late Arthur, Stockholm, Sweden.
Thompson, Thomas William, M.A., Reptori, Derby.
Valentine, .Milward, 'J Maniiering Road, Sefton Park, Liverpool.
Wackernagel, Professor Jacob, Ph.D., Gartenstrasse 1)3, Basel,
Switzerland.
Wall, Mrs. James, 2 Thurloo Street, Rusholme, Manchester.
Wear, John, Felton Mills, Felton, U.S. (3., Northumberland.
Well.stood, Frederick Christian, M.A., Shakespeare's Birthi)lace,
Stratford -on- Avon.
White, John G. (Williamson Building, Cleveland, (Jhio, U.S.A.),
care of Bernard Quaritch, Ltd., 11 Grafton Street, New Bond
Street, London. \\' I .
Winstedt, Enc Otto, M.A., B.Liii., Isi lllley Koad, Oxford.
Woollier, Profe-s.sor .\lfred C, M.A., l^rim-iiKil of the Oriental
College, Lahore, India.
[117] Yates, Miss Dora Esther, M.A., 27 Marmion lioad, Liverpool.
[253
[325
[128
[122
[296
[187
[83
[294
[246
[199
[317
[257
[258
[9
[142
[271
[301
[225
[230
[121
[149
Honorary Secretary : Rev. Canon F. G. Ackerley,
Grindleton Vicarage, Clitheroe.
Note. — No names have been removed from the last printed List
of Members, thou<,'h in many ca,ses subscription lias not ln'on made
for either of tiie years l!)14-15, 1015-16. The etlective membership
of the Society dropped between 1914 and 1921 to a little over one
hundred.
SEP I
JOURXAL OF THE
GYPSY LOEE
SOCIETY
NEW SERIES
Vol. IX YEAU 1913-10 No. 1
I -RErOUT ON THE GYPSY TRIBES OF NORTH-EAST
BULGARIA
By ' Petc'lengbo '
PUELIMINAKY KeMARK.S
> KFOKK setting forth the results of my researches during
B
nearly four years' residence in Varna, I wish particularly to
insist upon a fact which I may have occasion to illustrate more
than once in the course of this report, namely, the unreliability
of second-hand information, whether gathered from Bulgarians,
Turks, or Gypsies themselves. The last-named race are indeed
surprisingly ignorant with regard to anything and everything
aSecting any other tribe than the one to which they belong.
They frequently do not even know the name of a neighbouring
tribe, applying one particular denomination, which as often
as not turns out to be a nickname, to two different tribes. I do
not mean to say that information gathered from this source is
altogether valueless. But it must be carefully sifted and checked
by personal observation. As for the Turk, the only piece of
information which I ever obtained from one of that race was to
the effect that in order to light a match it was quite unnecessary
VOL. IX. — NO. I. A
2 REPORT ON THE GYPSY TRIBES OF NORTH-EAST BULGARIA
to possess a matchbox, provided that a Gypsy female were in the
vicinity: you had merely to approach her person, and lo ! the
match would flare !
Bulgarians, the lords of the land, might be expected to know
something more concerning the Gypsies, who are, after all. in
Bulgaria, numerically no negligible cjuantity. Such is, however,
not the case. To them every Gypsy man is just a gypsy, a dirty
scoundrel, while every Gypsy woman is the fitting subject for some
coarse joke. At the best some lawyer may give ^ou a belated
copy of a futile bye-law, which never interested an}' one save J
perhaps its author, and has remained a dead letter since its
unfortunate birth. I would add that the Bulgarians' ignorance i
on this subject is only surpassed by their inability to understand
that there is anything in it worth learning. I should not deem
it necessary to mention these things but for the tendency, in
England, to rely implicitly upon information obtained from
persons ' on the spot,' who are therefore considered to be qualified
to report upon the most puzzling questions.
Finally there is the testimony of English and other European
travellers, showing fre([uently great insight and power of observa-
tion. But their statements are too often in the nature of
generalizations, as though some Chinese explorer visiting London
and Amsterdam might conclude, on the strength of certain
outward similarities, that the inhabitants of those two cities
belonged to one and the same race. In the interesting description
of Bulgarian Gypsies given in their book, A ReaicLna' in Btdijtirin
(quoted in J. G. L. S., vii. 158-lGO), it is not difHcult to recognize
that Captain S. G. B. St. Clair and Charles Brophy must have
come across and yet treated as a whole numerous widely difiering
tribes, of whom some were professional thieves, and others
comparatively honest. It is doubtful whether the Bulgarian
peasants really did close their doors and 'keep a close watch
upon their poultry, pigs, and other movable goods' at the
approach of the Gypsy horde with a long string of oxen and
buffaloes, for, as wo shall see, these were in all probability the
honest spoon-makers whom the police even now allow to camp
for several days at a stretch on the plain to the north of Varna,
near the State Hospital, where no ordinary Gypsy would be
allowed to remain for an hour, thereby in practice belying the
Bulgarian dictum that all Gypsies alike are thieves, and vagabond,
good-for-nothing fellows. Actual experience of the honesty of
REPORT ON' THE CYPSV TKIBES OF NORTH-EAST BULGARIA 6
this tribe has forced the authorities to draw a line of distinction
in their favour.
The whole question of Biilt,'arian Gypsies is summarily dealt
with in a single paragraph in Mr. Arthur Thesleff' s ' Report on the
Gypsy Problem ' (./. G. L. S., v. 86). We shall see that the laws
to prevent nomadizing and horse-stealing have largely remained
without effect. It is true that 'the Christian Gypsies have the
reputation [my italics] of being more orderly ' (ibid., p. 86), but
this good r».putation is scarcely deserved. The professional horse-
thieves are Christians.
Paul Bataillard, in his L'8 derniers travaux relatifs aiix
Bohemiens dans VEurope Orimtale, observes, in a note on
page 34, that it is a pity that Paspati did not study the Gypsies
with special reference to their trades, which appear to divide
them into various tribes. Later, on page 45, he insists upon the
necessity of classifying the tribes to be met with in the Balkan
Peninsula, and he mentions a class of ver}' wild Gypsies, formerly
found in Wallachia, called Xetots, about which little or nothing is
known. Paspati himself lays the greatest stress upon the distinc-
tion between Sedentary and Xomad dialects, and also between
those of Christians and Moslems. Apart from this distinction,
and from occasional references to the wild tribe of Moslem
Nomads known as Zaparis ur 1 )japaris, and to certain terms known
only to some hordes, which he describes as ' Les Nomades de la
Haute Bulgarie,' he treats all the materials at his disposal as
forming one language.
A residence of four years at Varna has convinced me of the
necessity of classification according to trades, in accordance with
Bataillard's view. It is a classification recognized by the Gypsies
themselves, as having an important bearing upon their language.
Nothing is more common than to hear a Gypsy sieve-maker say
of a particular word or phrase that it is used, not by his tribe,
but by the Tinners. In discussing the different Gypsy tribes
inhabiting the Balkan Peninsula, the following points must be
borne in mind: — (1) the district; (2) the religion; (3) the mode
of life, whether sedentary or nomad; (4) the occupation or
trade.
With regard to the first point, I propose to examine the
tribes to be met with in North-East Bulgaria, that is, roughly,
in the district south of the Danube and Cape Caliacra, having
for boundarv on the east the Black Sea, on the south the Balkan
4 REPORT OX THE GYPSY TRIBES OF NORTH-EAST BULGARIA
range, and on the west a line drawn from Rustcliuk to the
Shipka Pass. I luay have occasion to mention tribes beyond
these boundaries, as it is impossible to draw an absolutely
accurate ethnic frontier. "With regard to the fourth point, it
is necessary to remark that those Gypsies who bear the distinctive
name of a given trade do not necessarily all of them practise
that trade at the present day. Their forefathers must have
followed the occupation denoted by their trade-name for many
generations, and they must have kept to themselves to a con-
siderable extent, marrvinij within their own tribe. lutermarriag'e
between the different tribes, especially between Sedentaries liv-
ing side by side in the same Mahala, has become of recent
years very frequent. I know a member of the Tinner tribe
married to a man of the Sieve-maker clan, who has learnt his
wife's language, and speaks it, or Turkish, at home, for he says
he found it easier to learn his wife's language than to make her
learn his,
I cannot claim to have discovered all the tribes of this district.
New subdivisions are for ever cropping up when one hopes one
has come to the end of the subject. The following divisions and
subdivisions are, however, accurate, as far as they go.
Division of Tribes
A. Sedentaries.
1. Moslems.
{(i) Kalburdjis or sieve-makers: habitat — Varna. Dobritch,
and surrounding villages. Chief centre Dobritch.
(6) Kalaidjis or tinners: habitat — Baltchik, Kavarna, Varna.
Rustchuk. Chief centre Baltcliik.
(c) Demirdjis or workers in iron, of which two sub-
divisions, the Hrst known as the Yerlis, or 'locals,'
speaking no Gypsy, the second referred to as Ustalar,
the ' artisans,' speaking Gypsy.
(d) Sepetdjis or basket-makers of Shumla, to which are
closely allied the rush-carpet makers or Hasirdjis.
(^) Calgidjis or musicians, whose ancestors were wool
cleaners, known as Dri'ndaris, found in Kotel and sur-
rounding villages, in Dobritch. Varna, Shumla, Shvna.
Eski-Djumaya, and generally at all fairs. Centre
Kotel.
(/) Demirdjis or iron workers of Kazanlik.
REPORT ON THE GYPSV TRICES OF NORTn-EAST BULGARIA 5
(tj) Dawuldjis and Mehteris, or drum and pipe players.
Speak no Gypsy.
2. Christians.
(«) Sieve-makers of Dobritch and environs.
(7/) Djezvedjis or coffee-pot makers of Shumla.
{<:) Riistchuk Sedentaries (originally a tribe of Rumanian
Gypsies, formerly Nomads). Highly criminal tribe
(ruIeB- 2 (a) and (/>)).
(d) Nalbandjis or horse-shoe makers.
B. Xomads.
1. Moslems.
(a) Sieve-makers, now mostly horse-dealers. Half seden-
tary. Original centre Silistria. Wander in summer
from village to village along the river Kamtchia.
Same race as Sedentary sieve-makers (A. 1 (a)).
(/») Zagundjis, origin of appellation unknown. Carrion
caters; no trade: converts to Islam two generations
ago. Chief centres Varna, Rustchuk, and Burgas, and
chief beat the intervening district.
(/■) Demirdjis or Nomad iron workers, speaking the purest
dialect. yet recorded in the Balkans, and indistinguish-
able from the best Nomad dialects recorded by Paspati.
Wander in the Eastern Balkans. Called by other
tribes and perhaps by them.selves Aidia. Claim Slivna
as their chief centre.
{(I) Dinikovliirs. Rear buffaloes, by ■which their carts are
drawn. Men, horse-dealers. Women, great thieves :
"wear the predza. Have no tents. Sleep in carts
covered or tilted with rush matting. Found along the
Danube.
2. Christians.
(a) Grebenaris or comb-makers. Beat — the Avhole of
Eastern Bulgaria. No chief centre. Winter in villages,
rarely the same one for two successive winters. Most
criminal tribe in Bulgaria. Chiefly horse-thieves along
the Rumanian frontier. Known to other tribes as
Zavrakeia.
(/') Recent Rumanian invasion of a tribe practically identical
with the comb-makers, and equally criminal.
{c) Burgudji's or gimlet-makers, known to other tribes
6 REPORT OX THE GYPSY TRIBES OF NORTH-EAST BULGARIA
as Piirpulia. Make also shepherds' crooks.. Speak
an exceedingly pure dialect, and are otherwise interest-
ing, owing to the strangely elaborate form of their
tents. Are honest.
(d) Kashikdjis or spoon-makers, who call them.selves
Rud:iris, i.e. makers of small articles in wood, known
also to the Bulgarians as makers of wooden trouijhs,
Kopanaris or Koritaris. Rear hutlaloes. Speak no
Gypsy. Native language Rumanian, but know also
Bultrarian and Turkish. The most honest tribe in
Bulgaria, and perhaps the most numerous. Of very
pure blood, and exceedingly dark.
[N.B. — Bulgarians have told me that there is a tribe of
Kopanaris who rear horses as well as buffaloes, and are great
thieves. I have not yet met them. See also notice of 'Turciti,'
Turkish Gypsies in Rumania from across the Danube, tinkers
and rearers of buffaloes. — /. G. L. S., vi. 154. They are probably
the Dinikovlars. S»'f B. 1 (<J).]
The following notice of each tril»e, together with an account of
my dealings with them in so far as I have come into contort with
them, may prove of interest to Gypsyologists.
The Sedentauv Moslem Silve-makeus (i-. A. 1 («))
They call themselves Kalburdjia, the word being Turkish for
sieve-maker, with the plural ending according to their dialect. This
tribe is thoroughly sedentary, and they have no tradition of ever
having been nomad.s. They also seem to think that they were always
Moslems. But this is not the case. Their ancestors nmst have been
converts to Islam, though sufficiently long ago for the present genera-
tion to have forgotten the event of their conversion. Or they njay
have been Moslems when still in Rinnania. Anyhow, the point
of interest is that they are called Vlachs by the tinners, and that
they call the latter Turkish Gypsies. The sieve-maker calls his
own language Romanei^, i.e. G3'psy, and the tinner's language
Xoraxit^ies or Turkish, meaning Moslem, and the Turkish langua<:o
gadzikanes, or the speech of non-Gypsies. For the Bulgarian
language he, like all other tribes, has got the word Da.-^ihxnies.
The sieve-makers' dialect is in a splendid state of preservation,
but the number of Rumanian words, to be found in it makes it
absolutely certain that they at one time lived among a Rumanian-
REPORT OX THE GYPSY TRIBES OF NORTH-EAST BULGARIA 7
speaking population. They even refer to themselves at times as
Vlachs, though apparently not knowing that they were ever in
Rumania. I have often tried, without any success, to induce
them to explain this to mo themselves, ' You are yourselves
Moslems,' I say to them, 'how is it that you call the tinners
Moslems ? ' ' Yes, but we are different,' comes the answer ; ' we are
sieve-makers, they call us Ylachs, and we count in the Greek
way.' The latter statement refers to the fact that they know
that their words for seven, eight, and nine are Greek. This know-
ledge is not surprising, considering the large population of Greeks
still living along the coast. They refer also to the more curious
fi\ct that the tinners, who are considered to be more Moslem than
the sieve-makers, cannot count in Gypsy at all, while otherwise
possessing a pure enough dialect. It is quite possible, and would
be rather characteristic if it were so, that the Turks formerly
forbade the tinners, who are likewise often well-to-do horse-
dealers, to count in their own language !
The sieve-makers, as also the poorer tinners, work in the towns
as porters and carriers (hamals) : and the women of both tribes
seek rough work in the houses, as charwomen, washer-women, etc.
They are honest, clean, and work tidily. They are employed by
all, and yet no one has a good word for the poor Gypsy. My own
family is not behind the Bulgars in upbraiding them, and never-
theless employs them regularly in order to clear away the dirt
produced by servants of otlier races.
The sieve-makers* houses, too, are clean, and consist of one
room, rarely of two. The floor is the earth, beaten hard, portions
of which are covered with rush-matting made by the tribe of
mat-makers (vide A. 1 {d)). The walls are rarely of brick, generally
a mixture of mud, laths, and reeds. The roofs are sometimes
made of tin boxes, flattened out and padded with mud. The
chimney is generally a concavity in the wall, topped by a hole in
the roof. Cushions and eiderdowns are piled up along the wall,
and a few cooking utensils stand round the hearth. The women
of this tribe do not as a general rule wear the feredza or mantle for
outdoor use worn by Moslem women. No cloak of any kind
hides the multicoloured shalvars.
Once a year they leave iheir tidy little homes, and temporarily
give up their rather humdrum, thrifty, homely Turkish mode of
life. This is at the time of the harvest, when they camp out in the
fields under the open sky, without any tent. More than half the
8 REPORT OX THE GYPSY TRIBES OF NORTH-EAST BULGARIA
women, however, remain at home. The population in Bulgaria is
scarce, and at this time all possible hands are required for the
work of reapinj^, etc. It is at this time that all the tribes we are
considering meet for a few weeks in the fields, and get to know
somethinsf of each other's different mode of life. But their know-
ledge on these points is of the vaguest.
The Moslem sieve-maker to whom I am most indebted for my
knowledge of this dialect is a little witch-like old woman about
four feet high, almost black, with sharply-cut features and eyes
which sparkle with mischief when she knows that she has an
appreciative public. She sits on the carpet in my study, her legs
tucked up underneath her in Turkish fashion, occupying an
incredibly small space, and rocking herself with glee provoked by
her own jokes and conceits, until she at times falls over on her
side, but quickly rights herself and becomes serious for an instant,
interpolating such a sentence as this into her conversation :
' Much thank-sgiving to the Old Golden God (may I eat his little
eyes), for that he has allowed me to sit and hold discourse with
you,' passing her shrivelled old hand downwards over her forehead
and chin, as do the Moslems after prayer.
Her name is Kara Hati, i.r. Black Hati. She was born at
Dobritch, the centre of her tribe, which town was generally known
in her day by its Turkish name of Pazardjik. This name has
been olHcially revived since the Rumanian occupation. She
came to Varna ' with the Cossacks,' that is, during the Russo-
Turkish war. She was then aged about twelve, the daughter of a
rich Dobritch horse-dealer, and herself very fond of riding, with-
out saddle, bridle, or stirrups, upon her father's horses, her long
black hair streaming behind her. so she says. She married at an
early age, as all of them do, and soon settled down to the routine
of working for a lazy husband and bearing him many, many
children. When her father died, her brothers quarrelled over the
inheritance and gave her nothing. But they did not prosper for
all their wickedness. When the Turks left Varna they carried
away with them what remained of the fortune in dispute, and the
brothers died paupers. Kara Hati's husband likewise died after
some time, and she was twice married after that. The last
husband appears to have been the worst, for at his death he left
her, as .she puts it, with but two hens and a cock. All her children
save one are married or dead. The remaining one had smallpox
at an early age, as a result of which malady his arms are withered
REPORT OX THE GYP.SY TRIBES OF NORTH-EAST 15UI.GARIA 9
from the shoulder to the elbow, and he is unmarried; for, says
his mother, no girl will have him, as he cannot hold her in
his arms.
In discussing and comparing the different dialects, I shall give
specimens of the sieve-makers' speech from examples I possess
taken down from Kara Hati, which, besides being good examples
of Romani, are excellent examples of terseness and wit. Often
they are quite epigrammatic. This is due to the influence of the
Turkish language upon this dialect.
The Christian Sedentary sieve-makers, speaking exactly the
same dialect as their Moslem brethren, inhabit chiefly Dobritch
and the surrounding villages {vide A. 2 (a)). They are not so
clean as the Moslems, dress like the Bulgarians, and build their
houses on the Bulgarian model. Many of those inhabiting towns
dress as town folk, more or less in European fashion Closely
allied to them in point of language appear to bo the Christian
sedentary coflee-pot makers of Shumla (A. 2 {b)). In fact, most of
the Christian sedentary Gypsies of Xorth-East Bulgaria, whatever
their trade, appear to bo linguistically allied very closely to the
sedentary Moslem sieve-makers. There is therefore little more
to report on the subject. It must be remembered that a seden-
tary life tends to abolish the points of divergence which may
formerly have been more apparent as between the tribes. It is
rather among the nomads that wo should expect to find the
greatest contrasts, and this, we shall see, is actually the case.
The Sedentary Moslem Tinners (v. A. 1 (b))
They call themselves Kalaidjides, the word being Turkish for
one who tins copper vessels, with the plural ending according to
their dialect. Their present-day occupations and mode of life
are identical with those of the sieve-makers. They practise their
distinctive trade even less than do the Kalburdjis theirs. Their
language is, however, as we shall see in a later section, of an
altogether different order. As already mentioned, they are
considered to be more Moslem than the sieve-makers. This may
mean that they are the descendants of the original converts to
Islam when the Turks first conquered the country, whereas the
sieve-makers, emigrants at a more or less remote date from
Christian lands vdiere Rumanian was spoken, perhaps only then
10 KEPORT ON THE GYP.SV TRIP.ES OF NORTH-EA.ST BULfiAlUA
adopted Islam, individual conversions to which faith have appar-
ently continued until quite lately, as we shall see in the case
of the nomad sieve-makers. The women wear the feredza or oIki
when out of doors.
In type the tinners are on an average not so dark as the sieve-
makers. They are often well-to-do, appear to be.no longer of
pure stock, having mixed greatly with the Turkish population,
and are often ashamed of their language. Indeed many of them
have entirely forgotten it. The clan or tribal spirit, which makes
Sedentary loathe Nomad and Moslem despise Christian, is found
to exist even between the sieve-makers and the tinner.s, tliough
intermarriage is frequent. They mock each other's language, and
each tribe claims that its speech is the clear, pure, straightforward,
original lan£:uas:e. It is dithcult to decide which claim is on the
whole better founded, as will be evident when I emphasize the
lines of divergence between the two. I may mention here that
Turkish is the lincrua franca between all Moslem tribes.
The l>HiND.\in>> ' - A 1 ^rW
This tribe is. linguistically, one of ihe most interesting in the
Balkan Peninsula. I have describc<l their dialect at length on
another occasion. They are exceedingly numerous, and may be
found in ever}' town within the district wo are considering,
especially around Dobritch. They are, however, numerous in
Shumla, and south of the Balkans in Slivna, and probably
elsewhere. The Marquis Coloeci's ' Lessico Italiano-Tchinghiane '
(see Appendix II. to his Gli Zingari) is largely made up of thi.s
dialect, and as he tells me that he collected it from Nomads, we
may infer that portions of this tribe were, when he wrote, and
probably still '"^ro, in a nomad state, wandering in the region of the
Rhodope Mountains. The north-eastern centre of the Sedentary
portion of this tribe is the town of Kotel, about twenty miles
north-east of Slivna,
Throuirhout the best months of the summer one mav meet
with numerous hordes of these Gypsies wandering from village to
village all over North-East Bulgaria, and especially in the district
between Dobritch and the old Rumanian frontier prior to 1913.
During that year I was travelling in those parts and came across
hundreds of them, often in bands of about sixty individuals,
counting the women and children. Although Moslems, their
REPORT ON THE GYPSY TRIBES OF XORTH-EAST BULGARIA 11
^ omen generally ^v'eal' skirts. They often present a very ragged
ppearance, less so, however, than the men, who wear every
imaginable kind of coat and trousers that come into their posses-
ion, not even shunning bowler hats, though as Moslems many of
aein wear the red fez. The girls are said to dance in the villages to
the accompaniment of music made by the men, who may be seen
with great brass horns slung across their shoulders or violins
under their arms, sauntering at a leisurely pace behind their
donkeys, on which are packed their belongings. They have no
tents, but in the fine weatlier they camp out in the open near a
barn or on the banks of a ditch outside a village, where they may
be seen at midday, munching bits of dry bread and lounging in
the sun. There is about them a certain etlrontery and an
atmosphere of abandon associated with all members of the
dancing profession in the East. One is surprised to see their
•women dressed as Christians. A large number of them were until
lately beaters and cleansers of wool. Hence their name of
Drindari, perhaps from the sound drin drin made by the
instruments when the hammer or tidunk, as they call it, beats
the strings of the card in carding or teasing the wool. But they
are, perhaps, more generally known as Calgidjis, or musicians,
and they are in fact the musicians par excellence among the
Balkan (lypsies. The Bulgars call them K6tlenski TaUjani.
The profession of music has been the cause of many of them
leaving their tribe, settling down in towns where they are in
demand in the Icuveks or low dancing-saloons, and in the
chantants or music-halls. The Gypsy women are not found
in these places. Here the men play nightly from 7 p.m. to
3 A..M., or to a less late hour if martial law happens to be in
force, while the lowest of low houris of Bulgarian, Armenian,
Rumanian, and Greek nationality perform variations of the danse
chi ventre or more European dances. Such Gypsies often inter-
marry with the Turkish population, and the offspring of such
unions speak no Romani. Great numbers of this tribe still find
work in the fields up in the Eastern Balkans, especially as
mowers, to such an extent that one of the names by which they
are known is that of Kosaeis, i.e. mowers. Among so large a
tribe one meets with many who have accumulated a certain
wealth. Others are miserably poor and indescribably dirty. In
the summer of 1914, after visiting their capital, the town of Kotel,
I was obliged to return to Varna by forced marches, travelling day
12 KEPORT OX THE GYPSY TRIBES OF NORTH-EAST BULGARIA
and night, having been recalled by an urgent telegram. Owing to
the atrocious weather, and also in order to let our horses rest, we
frequently halted at some Turkish village along the northern
slopes of the Balkans, and took shelter in barns and other poor
du'ellings, where we found many families of this tribe huddled on
the floor under, to us, loathsomely dirty bed-coverings, swarming
with vermin. I especially noticed one young man who was so
sleepy that he lay down again almost immediately after we had
catered, for which ho was severely reproved by the woman at his
side, who said to him in their own language : ' Are you not
ashamed to lie by my side in front of strangers ? ' These people
did not know that I understood their speech, for I spoke to them
in Bulgarian, preferring in this way to overhear their conversation.
In the villages of Jeravna and Gradets, in the neighbourhood
of Kotel, there arc a number of Christian Gypsies whom I have
not included in the above division of tribes, who speak practically
the Drindari dialect. Many of the younger generation, however,
have entirely forgotten all Komani save a few swear-words and
obscene expressions.
The tribe of Drindaris is looked down upon by other tribes, to
whom Drindari is incomprehensible, and does not mix with them.
Still they are by no means, as a whole, the poorest Gypsies in the
country, and the contempt in which they are held is due, no
doubt, to their profession. Those who have regular employment
in the towns as music-hall musicians are often strict Mo.slems.
visiting the mosques regularly every Friday.
These have raised themselves above the rank and tile of their
tribe. They are often neither black-eyed nor dark-skinned, and
that, combined with the respectability of their dress, makes it
difficult to recognize that they are Gypsies at all. They are clad \
in ordinary black 'European' clothes, and often sport a cabman's
greatcoat with an astrakhan collar to it, a watch chain, and well
brushed leather shoes. One might easily take them for well-to-do
Turkish cabmen, tailors, or cobblers in their Sunday best. They
keep their wives closely veiled, indeed the women scarcely ever
leave their homes, and I have never yet met any of them. Their
playing is the best obtainable in Bulgaria, except, of course, that
of the military bands. They never play out of tune as do the
Bulgarian town bands, which latter are far worse than our so-
called ' German ' bands. These Gypsy musicians' voices, however,
are harsh and nasal, and quite unmodulated, and are unpleasing
REPORT ON THE GYPSY TRIBES OF NORTH-EAST BULGARIA 13
to the ears of most Europeans, who dislike Turkish music. The
instruments used are violins, clarinets, and flutes, apparently all
from Dresden, and native big-bellied Turkish guitars. From such
as these I obtained all the necessary data for my sketch of the
dialect of the Dri'ndaris (./. G. L. S., vii. No. 4).
The Zaoundjis (v. B. 1 (6))
In language apparently closely allied to the thrifty, poor-but-
honest, clean, sedentary sieve-makers, are ihe lowest caste of
Gypsies to be met with, perhaps, in the whole of Bulgaria. They
are nomads, but not being thieves, for which occupation as a
regular profession they are nmch too timid, they do not wander
far nor more frequently than is absolutely necessary. They are
eaters of carrion, and known to higher tribes as Zagundjis. This
is said to imply that they eat ' dead meat,' as they themselves call
it. But no Bulgarian or Turk whom I have met has been able to
identify the word, which is, indeed, quite unknown outside Gypsy
circles. They at times admit that they are Zagundjis, but they do
not like the appellation. They prefer to call themselves, like all
other tribes, simply Roma,^ i.e. Gypsies. They are Moslems in
dress if in nothing else. They never enter a mosque, and do not
make a pretence of fasting at Ramazan. They keep the more
important Christian festivals, but never fast as do the Bulgars.
They say they do not eat pork, but I think it probable that this is
not true. However, I am less in a position to prove this than
other things, not having sutHciently assimilated their ways to
partake of their food, as I do with all other nomad tribes,
fearing that were I to feast on any but very great red-letter days
with them, I might, perhaps unawares, be consuming ' dead meat ' !
The grandparents of the present elders of the tribe were Chris-
tians, and bore Christian names. They have no distinctive trade,
unless begging be called a trade, which is almost their sole means
of subsistence. In the summer months, like most other tribes,
they obtain a few weeks' work harvesting in different parts of the
country. On Mondays in the market-place they will offer to carry
one's purchases home. On such occasions they look rather
attractive : their movements are not ungraceful, and their attire,
both scanty and ragged, is often pleasingly bright in colour, in
^ The ^ becomes an r grassay^ in their dialect, i.e. an r produced by trilling the
epiglottis. I represent it by r.
14 REPORT ON THE GYPSY TRIHES OF NORTH-EAST BULGARIA
spite of its dirt. But it is not thus that they must be seen, bui
rather whilst practising their trade of begging. When 1 say theyj
in connexion with begging, I refer to the women, for the me:
rarely condescend to go round the town begging. Outside thi
camp it is the women, the bread-winners, that we must observe.
Their appearance when bent on begging is truly repulsive, an
apparently it is meant to be so. They put about their perso
the most filthy and noisome rags, in order to excite pity,
greasy, colourless skirt hides the bright Turkish bloomers. OL
rags ^ are woimd round the feet. Another rag completely hide
the hair and forehead, is wound round the neck, and ends u
across the mouth, so that only the nose and eyes are visible,
often as not they wear a man's tattered cast-awa)* coat. Thui
gagged and bound and mutHed, the Zagundji girl or hag — one i
almost indistinguishable from the other — sallies forth with a
dirty old sack slung across her shoulder and a thin stick in Ikt
hand, with which she knocks at doors and drives off dogs an 1
children. She often drags about with her a deformed child of lit r
own tribe (not a stolen child!), whom she makes beg. She i- i
most persistent beggar. She will stand from three to five minup s
at the door of a house who.se inmates do not imuiediately satisiy
her wants or drive her away. The formula is generally: 'Give
me a little bit of bread, lady ; see, I am barefooted and bare-headt 1.
kind lady (which she is not!); see what a way I have come ;i:i 1
my little heart has fainted, lady !' always ending up on that i • o
word 'lady,' the voice maintaining a highly unpleasant uniform
one-noted whine until the two last syllables are reached, wIj. a
it drops five notes or so in a sort <^f peevish complaint. She
receives old bits of bread, or two centime pieces, and goes
away without thanking. She scavenges the dust-bins, especially
outside butchers' shops, thereby exceedingly annoying lier fellow-
scavengers the dogs. She extracts bones, old bits of meat not t > >
fresh, the rotting halves of half-sucked oranges, dead chick. i;s
which have met with an accident and been killed in the slrt. i.
(This is no calumny: I have seen them do it; I am only putting
down in this report what I have myself seen.) She does not daro-
to steal, and is not often molested by the police. She very sensibly
works different quarters of the town in this way on different days,
so that one quarter may remain free from her visits for weeks at a
' Called patav^, cf. perhaps ' puttees.'
REPURT ON THE GYPSY TRIBES OF NORTH-EAST BULGARIA 15
Stretch. But this, of course, also means that they work in bands,
which is often a disadvantage, for they are too careless to portion
out the house-to-house visits equally among them, with the result
that three or four visits within half an hour to one and the same
house frequently exasperate the inmates and lessen the chances
of obtaining the required provisions.
While the women are thus engaged the men are lazily, lounging
in their tents outside the town, or if thev feel in the mood for
earning anything they mostly congregate outside a certain iron-
monger's store, where they are employed for a few piastres a da)'-
in moving and loading and unloading iron bars, zinc sheets, etc.
The women return to the camp in the early afternoon, discard
their begging rags, appearing in graceful, if not too clean, coloured
bloomers and red or yellow shirts, and spend the rest of their time
in attending to the children and preparing the evening meal,
which they call zumi, and which is a more or less savoury stew,
consisting of a judicious mixture from the contents of the filthy
begging-bag. This is the only regular meal of the day, partaken of
generally at sunset or somewiiat earlier. With regard to their
eating 'dead meat,' as they call it, they either deny it or allege, by
way of justitication, that what Gud has killed is better than what
man has slaughtered.
A subject of great interest in the Balkans in connexion with
Gypsies is the nature of the tent used by dit!erent nomad tribes.
In this respect the Gypsies are, as in all other matters, intensely
conservative, and each tribe appears to cling to its time-honoured
tent. One never finds, for instance, a gimlet-makers' tent, the
most elaborate I have yet discovered, in an encampment of
Zagundjis. The Ziigundji tent is generally very ragged, the
original goats'-hair cloth being patched up with old bits of sack-
ing or even with petticoats. For the rest, it consists of the usual
beraiid or ridge-pole, two pairs of cakals or crossed poles
supporting the berand, and the bell, or perpendicular post at the
back, strengthening the whole structure. There is no vurdon,
that is, taliga or cart, as in the case of the comb-makers, built into
the back of the tent, which is closed with a simple flap of cloth.
The tent is of course pitched with its back to the wind, but unless
the wind changes round completely, so as to blow right into the
tent, they do not trouble to move it continually, as do the comb-
makers, but they add a flap, or several flaps, to the front, stretched
over minor cakals, and in rainy weather the front is often com-
16 REPORT ON THE GYPSV TRIBES OF NORTH-EAST BULGARIA
pletely closed in this way, save for a crack through which to let
out the smoke of the fire. Often two friendly tents combine face
to face, and in bad weather are so completely closed that it is
difficult to find an entrance.
It must be noted that no two Zagundji tents are alike: in
theory they should be as above described. In practice they dirt'er
according to the degree of poverty, indolence, or eccentricity of
the inmates. A vakal may be shorter than its fellow. The
berand may be almost broken half-way across, and mended with a
string or a shred of cloth, the btli may be so small as to necessi-
tate the undue spreading out of the liind-raA-a/s in order to bring
the ridge-pole, already half broken, down to the level of the brl'.
The result of all this is a queer, nondescript, tattered structure,
which when two friendly families combine, presents an appearance
not unlike that of a wrecked Ze[)pelin, from the top of which
proceeds the thinnest little spiral of blue smoke, accompanied by
the sound of outlandish curses, yells, and peals of laughter.
The encampment, which they occasionally refer to as thana,
reminding one of the Anglo- Romani tan, and which here in Varna
consists of from twenty-five to thirty tents, is spread about in the
wildest confusion, but the position of the tents is determined
largely by the sympathy or antipathy which the inmates cherish
towards their neighbours. The constant recurring of quarrels
which s})ring up on the slightest pretext, makes it advisable to
pitch the tents at a convenient distance from one another. Only
at the Feast of the HcderUz} the Bulgarian Geoiyior Den, i.e. St.
George's Day, on the 23rd April (old style, our 6th May), or on the
Feast of the Assumption (Bulgarian Sreta Bo<jurudilm, loth
August old style), which the Zagundjis call Boi/in'itmho, and which
though Moslems they observe with as much pomp as the Christian
Gypsies, do they bury their feuds for a few hours, and as.semble to
feast in brotherly love. On such occasions tent hugs tent, and
the encampment looks like a Red Indian wigwam village. Thi.--
however, is of short duration. Feasting would not be feasting for
them without drunkenness, and though such drunkenness is far
removed from the English sodden variety, it nevertheless produces
among a race so excitable, fearfully riotous results, so that before
twenty-four hours are up it is generally thought advisable to
spread out the encampment as before the feast.
' Turkish, from Arabic Khadr Eliai>, St. Elijah, who in the Orient is confmcl
with St. George the Dragon-killer.
REPORT ON THE GYPSY TRIBES OF NORTH-EAST BULGARIA 17
There is no sight more fascinating than a Zagundji quarrel.
The Zagundji has plenty of time for quarrelling, having no trade
or occupation. His quarrels appear to take the place, say, of an
Englishman's outdoor games. In them he finds both relaxation
from the occasional work of lifting the ironmonger's iron, and
■welcome exercise of muscle and limb when he has been sitting
all day in his tent waiting for something to happen. For the
Zagundji is the most typical Gypsy in that he has no trade what-
soever. He is proud of the fact, and often alludes to it boastfully :
' We have no business, we just sit like a Cokoi} Gypsydom is
splendid ! '
The rows among the women often arise over the question as to
who is to fetch water from the spring, often half a mile to a
mile distant from the camp, or as to who is to go a-gathering
firewood. Such may be the original cause of a feud kept up on
and off for several days. In the course of mutual vituperati<m it
may suddenly become apparent to an infuriated female that her
child is unwell, and instantly she will accuse her opponent, in all
sincerity, of having given the infant the evil-eye, of having made
him jakhalo. They do not often come to blows. The tents are,
as above mentioned, pitched at a distance calculated to prevent
such a contingency. But they advance slowly from their respec-
tive tents, their pent-up rage causing them to take sharp queer
little stiff steps, as if they were walking on a narrow curb-stone,
the bloomered thighs swaying as if to balance the body. Their
arms are stretched out before them, imprecations How in torrents
from their mouths in harsh, half men's voices, while their eyes
look straight before them in the direction of the enemy, with a
fixed and evil intensity. No one not having seen this would
suspect that these wild furies were the same pitiable whining
beggars, mufHed in tilthy rags, who are to be met with in the
town. Often the two opponents are separated by the distance of
half the encampment, several peaceful neutral tents intervening,
but they always manage sooner or later to get that bee-line for
the hostile gaze, which nothing can divert. I have often crossed
and recrossed the line, endeavouring to draw their attention from
the concentrated fury which is consuming them. They appear
totally oblivious of my presence, seeming to see their opponent
through me. I have even photographed them at such moments,
but have not obtained good results owing to a bad lens and the
1 Landed proprietor : a Rumanian word.
VOL. IX. — NO. I. B
18 REPORT ON THE GYPSY TRIBES OF NORTH-EAST BULGARIA
impossibility of choosing a suitable background. Occasionally
the outstretched hands descend to earth, the arms still stretched
out as in some gymnastic exercise. A handful of earth, pebbles,
and grass is picked up : ' May your child wither like this grass,
may my curse pursue you to the throne of God, — and beyond it!'
Sometimes they will tear their garments, baring and beating their
breasts, or, turning round violently, strike their posterior parts to
enhance their mutual contempt. Having considerably spent their
fury, they return to their respective tents, often without having
actually come within fifty yards of each other. To complete this
picture, I must add that the imprecations often begin before either
party issues from the tent. The etVect is thus most ludicrous,
no enemy being seen, only the volleys of words being heard. If
one walks up to the entrance of the tent, one will find a woman
sitting on the ground, rocking lierself and gesticulating while
apparently addressing her remarks to the ground in front of her.
At times she will cease for an instant, the better to hear the
return volley, and in order to regulate her reply accordingly.
The rows between the men are more violent, though tliey by
no means always come to blows. They invariably announce their
intention of doing so, however, and when they are forcibly re-
strained by their friends, they tear their clothes, strip naked to
the waist, seat themselves on the ground, and rocking themselves
from side to side, bemoan their fate. Their language is, on the
whole, much less violent than their actions, and consists of a
simple statement of fact that their enemy has cursed them,
coupled with the fear that ho will give them the evil-eye. Fre-
quently they shed tears in great profusion. If the row continues,
they will tear down their own tent, never that of the enemy, the
inmates having already cleared out, anticipating the event. The
ridge-pole is then used as a weapon with which to strike the earth
in token of rage, or to hurl at, and fortunately miss, the enemy,
during which proceeding it is frequently badly damaged, so that
when the tent is again pitched it will have lost a little more of its
already doubtful symmetry.
The majority of Zagundjis possess no carts, and seldom horses.
When they move from one encampment to another they pack
their tents and belongings upon the backs of donkeys, by the sides
of which they proceed on foot, the whole tribe in Indian file. In
this they resemble all nomad tribes save the criminal ones, who
find it necessary to move from one district to another at a greater
REPORT ON THE GVPSY TRIBES OF NORTH-EAST BULGARIA 19
speed, and are generally provided with good horses and strong
light native carts, called taligas, and capable of travelling at a
great rate. The Zagundjis do not steal chickens while on the
move, as do the comb-makers, but they beg in the villages as in
the towns. They do not cultivate any musical talent, and at
marriajies and feasts are obliged to hire members of the drum and
flute tribe (vide A. 1 (g)), whose music they consider sufficient for
their entertainment, never dreaming of obtaining the services of
the Oalgidji tribe of musicians {vide A. 1 {e}). Like all Gypsies
they at times deal in horses, but they appear to be too indolent
to pursue the trade at all seriously. They are the most happy-
go-lucky set imaginable, and in their rags and poverty appear to
be the happiest of all Gypsies to be met with in the Balkans. The
young men and women alike are for ever singing and dancing,
laughing and poking fun at one another. Their jokes are childish
and their tears turn to laughter in the space of a few minutes.
Thev are content to live in rags, which would be cast aside as
useless and altogether unwearable by Gypsies of any other tribe.
But with respect to food they are perhaps not so poor as many
others, for by begging they can always obtain at least a little
bread, and I have rarely seen the flesh-pots of these ' Egyptians '
empty towards sunset, whereas the nomad gimlet-makers (vide
B. 2 {€)), who neither steal nor beg at all regularly, often go to bed
hungry, as I know to my cost by personal experience on several
occasions. The Zagundjis, though superstitious, are entirely
free from the trammels, both social and religious, which beset
members of other tribes of Gypsies, not to speak of the inhabitants
of this town. The suggestion that they should go to the mosque
on Fridays appears to tickle them very much, and still more so
that they should go to church on Sundays. ' We have not money
enough for ourselves, let alone for the priest. And we are not liter-
ate. What should we do there ? Climb on to the roof like Celebi
Mustapha, the Cat in the Fairy Tale ? ' At the very mention of
that cat, roars of laughter. ' But why do you not keep Ramazan ?'
' We keep Ramazan, brother, all the year round, save when God
throws before us a little bit of meat.' They marry at an early
age, and several years before the women are old enough to
bear children. They divorce during this period with the greatest
ease, the cause being frequently the inability of the parents of the
youth to pay the sum fixed upon for the purchase of the girl. A
certain sum is paid down, the remainder to follow by instalments
20 REPORT ON THE GYPSY TRIBES OF NORTH-EAST BULGARIA
after the marriage. When these instalments are not forthcoming
the parents of the girl reclaim her, and filial obedience bids her
return to the paternal tent, at least for a few days, when her
husband, if he loves her, will elope with her, or, as the saying is,
nashalel la, literally causes her to run away.' Other causes of
divorce are the inability or refusal of either contracting party to
provide his or her share of the means of subsistence, or simply, as
the Americans put it, incompatibility of temper. When once chil-
dren appear, usually two or even three years after an early marriage,
they do so in great profusion, almost yearly, and divorce becomes
much less frequent. Prostitution is almost unknown in this tribe,
and I must warn the reader against assertions on this score made
by persons who have no means of proving them, and little desire
to do so. Such persons, rather than say, ' I don't know,' will tell
almost any lie.
No doctor is called in at the birth of a child. A mother
rarely dies in giving birth to her child, but perhaps more than half
the children born do not survive the first .six weeks. If they do
survive they are of a mightily strong constitution, and will bo
rarely ill for the rest of their lives. There appears to be nothing
characteristically Zagundji about the ceremonies attending mar-
riage or death. They are according to the Moslem rites, and in
Varna are celebrated by one Ali-Hodja. a Gypsy hodja of the tribe
of tinners.
The Ziigundjis, presenting such a contrast to other nomad
tribes, have always attracted me in a special way. Neither thieves
nor artisan.s, they have reduced the wants of existence to a mini-
mum. Their detractors might contend that they are merely the
dreg.s. the outcasts of more civilized tribes. In this they might
appear to have judged rightly, inasnuich as the Zagundjis occasion-
ally admit members of other tribes into their midst. I once saw a
young Kalaidji girl, not more than fifteen years old, who had been
bought, in order to be the wife of a youth of the same age. She
looked clean and neat, and sadly out of place among the wild horde
which had adopted her. But the contention that the Zagundjis
are merely the riti'-ratf of other tribes, if ever seriously advanced,
is effectually disposed of after an examination of their dialect,
which, though allied to that of the sieve-makers, possesses sufficient
peculiarities to warrant classification apart. Other tribes do not
like associating with them. They are looked upon as unclean, as
verily they are. When the)' feel themselves to be free from the
restraints imposed upon them by their surroundings, while begging
REPORT ON THE GYPSY TRIBES OF NORTH-EAST BULGARIA 21
or in the market, that is, when they are back in the tents, their
rowdiness is almost unbelievable. The camp din continues well
on into the night. The police move them from one camping-
ground to another for this reason onl}'. If you inquire why they
moved from one corner of the low plain between Varna and the
Quarantine Station, where they had been encamped for several
weeks, they will tell you that the neighbours complained that they
could not sleep owing to the noise made by the boys ; and by
neighbours, thev mean some factorv hands living in buildings
situated at least a quarter of a mile from their camp.
The period of greatest din is just after sunset, when all strag-
glers have returned to the tents and the evening meal, the one
meal of the day, has just been dispatched, and the life-force is at
its highest. Often when returning at nightfall from some lengthy
expedition, I have been attracted by the twinkling of camp-fires
and by the noise arising from the wilderness of the sandy plain
where there are no houses. Ascending a small sand-dune, I have
seen spread before mo a scene so unlike anything to be met with
in Varna that the fancy would come to rae that I had been
transported by magic to some other land which nurtured a differ-
ent race of mankind. Black ridge-poles point skywards like the
bowsprits of wrecked ships, tattered sackcloth flaps in the seaward
breeze, twenty-five or more fires I descry in various stages of com-
bustion, some smouldering so low as scarcely to admit of my
recof'nizing the crouching figures around them, others flarin«r
high and throwing into strong relief a half naked, gesticulating,
shouting rabble. Then there is a sudden rush to one spot, and
amid indescribable confusion I behold the collapsing of a tent,
all of a sudden, and the delirious joy of the youngsters at the
sight of their elders' strife. And as the fire burns low the excite-
ment vanishes, only to reappear at some other point of the long,
straggling encampment.
The attraction of the tent life appears to be quite irresistible.
It is not that they practise some trade requiring them to leave
their winter quarters, as might be said of the comb-makers. In
the spring of 1915 they had most of them paid for their houses up
to Easter, at the beginning of April, but they were out already in
February, and the severe snowstorms and sleet hurricanes at the
end of that month did not drive them back to their houses. Some
of the houses had been rented up to 23rd April (old style, our 6th
May), the orthodox St. George's Day.
22 REPORT ON THE GYPSY TRIBES OF NORTH-EAST BULGARIA
Before considering other tribes I should like to underline the
fact of the Ztigundji s honesty, both in the English and the Fren* h
acceptance of the word. There is no love lost between them ai.d
other tribes, but according to my own experience, and what is just
as important, according to the testimony of members of other
tribes, they are above reproach with regard to these two points.
They are lazy to a degree, and great brawny men. some of who'u
have been known as champion wrestlers, will complain of a bacic-
ache after chopping wood for five minutes ; but they do not sto:il
as a rule, nor are their women of loose morals. Yet Bulgarians
Avill laugh at you if you absolve the Zagundji as to the first
accusation, and they will shrug their shoulders as to the second.
Such is the bad reputation enjoyed by all Gyp.sies alike owing to the
delinquencies of other thievish tribes on the one hand, and, on the
other, owing to a purely superficial and apparent shamelessness of
a race singularly free from the trammels which beset pre-eminently
the middle clas.ses in all human societies. I prefer to accept the
testimony of all other tribes, honest and criminal, with regard to
the Z{\gundjis, for while it is impossible to suspect the sieve-
makers, tinners, or comb-makers, to select widely dificring tribes,
of a desire to whitewash the Zjigundjis whom they despise as
unclean, one may safely credit them with greater knowledge of
the subject than the Bulgarians whose attitude towards this race
I have tried to sum up in the opening paragraphs of this report.
The Comb-Makers
Of a very different order of Gypsies are the Christian Nomad
Comb-Makers {vide B. 2 (")). Their language, as a whole, is
intelligible to the Zagundjis, but the accent is so different, the
number of Riniianian loan words so great, the almost total
absence of Turkish loan words so noticeable, that the Zagundjis
often address them in Turkish or Bulgarian rather than in Gypsy.
Their voice and accent seems to me to be one of their chief
characteristics. The accent is softer, and the voice more musical,
than those of any other Balkan race I have yet met with, and presents
a marked contrast to the guttural and nasal Drindari, the bullying
or whining Zagundji, or the rugged Bulgarian. The tone or ring
of the voice is musical to a degree, and the manner of delivery is
never coarse, as with the Zdgundjis, who shout at each other like
Armenian porters or English bargees. To hear the comb-makers
REPORT ON THE GYPSY TRIBES OF NORTH-EAST BULGARIA 23
gently discussing the aftairs of the day, or the prospects of the
morrow, around their camp-fires of an evening, is like listening
to the warbling of birds. They rarely raise their voices above a
normal pitch, excepting when excitement or a desire to persuade
makes them intersperse their syllables with falsetto notes. Their
laughter veritably ripples. This applies equally to both sexes.
Whether the women are fortune-telling, or the men are seeking
a victim on whom to practise the famous Hokano Baro or Great
Deceit, the voice is always the same, one of gentle and refined
persuasiveness. I am inclined to think that we have here an
altogether different category of Gypsy from the other tribes to
be found in Bulgaria. They themselves tell mo that they were
formerly in Rumania, but not for many generations, and that
again before that they were in Bulgaria. They have a knowledge
of the tradition that they originally came from Egypt, which
tradition does not seem to be generally known to Balkan Gypsies.
They have more of the pride of race found among Gypsies farther
West than is to bo met with among other Balkan Gypsy tribes
within my experience, though even among the comb-makers,
as with all peoples in the Near East, including, of course, the
Bulgarians, the greatest compliment you can make to a mother
is to tell her that her child is beautiful and white. It is only
among the Gypsies described in B. 2 (6) that one finds that pride
of the dark race colour.
The men of this tribe are rarely seen in the towns, whither
they come only for a few hours on market days, in order to buy,
sell, or exchange a horse. They would scorn the work of porters
and carriers, and never ofter their services as such. When business
brings them near a town, the women will occasionally go a-begging
from house to house, but they do not dress in rags, nor do they
whine as do the Zagundjis. They beg in couples, and while one
is demanding a piece of bread, the other is most likely taking an
Q^^ from the hen-coop or a handkerchief or cloth which may be
hanging up to dry in the yard. Similarly, both men and women
seldom enter a shop to buy a trifle without taking something, as
they say for a keepsake, from the counter. They have told me
that it is a disgrace to leave a shop without stealing something.
The thins: taken is often of little or no value to them, but the idea
appears to be that the theft must be at least attempted, perhaps
to keep them in training. I had a visit in the autumn of 1914
from a woman of this tribe who had that day been released from
24 REPORT ON THE GYPSY TRIBES OF NORTH-EAST BULGARIA
the Varna prison, where she had been detained for over a year
for theft. She asked me if I had news of her brother's where-
abouts, as she wished to rejoin him, and she said how good it was
to be free once more. ' And,' she added, ' I have already a
chicken in the bag,' saying which she opened the inner, concealed
portion of the begging-bag, the mouth of which lies under the
armpit, and disclosed a fat and somewhat ruffled hen. I asked
her if it were not tempting Providence to start that sort of thing
the very day she had left prison for theft, and whether she was
not just a bit afraid. She said she was not, and that it was all
a matter of Kismet, adding, ' Don't you know our Romany ways ? '
I once witnessed the stealing of a chicken. I had followed a
party, three women and a man, who were all Avell known to me,
at a distance, so that they could not know of my presence, desiring
to ascertain in what direction lay their encampment. \Vhcn they
were about two kilometres out of the town, along the high road to
Dobritch, and myself about half a kilometre behind ihem, I saw
the women stop within a hundred yards of some houses, while the
man continued walking on ahead. One of the women stooped
down, throwing something on the ground, while the other two
stood guard, looking up and down the road. Then I noticed what
at the distance looked like a rat darting across the road, at which
the crouching woman made a grab. Away it darted, soon to
return once more. Again she failed to seize it. A third time it
approached, and she got it. There was a flutter, a little dust arose
from the road, and the women proceeded to overtake the man,
who was waiting for them on the roadside, seated on a heap of
stones. Quickening my steps I soon caught them up. ' Uohre
tumen'/ I said. ' iVa is /mAy,' they answered. After Avhich tribal
greeting I asked whether the chicken was a fat one. ' God : You
saw it ? ' was their astonished reply. ' It is as dry as bones, but we
have others, and fat ones. Come to the tents, and you shall taste
them to-night,' saying which they opened the inner pocket of the
bags and showed me two fine plump hens which they had picked
up on the outskirts of Varna. The birds were somewhat choked,
for the Gypsy women are in the habit of holding their necks tight
under their arms to prevent their making a noise and betraying
their presence to passers-by. In this way they are able to carry
several chickens concealed. They never kill them themselves, for,
according to their tribal custom, which is not shared by other tribes
which I have met, the flesh of an animal killed by a woman may
REPORT ON THE GYPSY TRIBES OF NORTH-EAST BULGARIA 25
not be eaten. The killing is done by the men when they reach
the tents. I cannot imagine why the hens return to the charge
when the Gypsy woman has missed them the first time. Mr.
Mactie witnessed a better instance of hen stealing on the part
of this tribe. The woman sat sewing in camp out on a common,
and allowed the village chickens to stray within her grasp. Mr.
Macfie was a little sleepy, having travelled a long way with the
tribe that day, but he noticed a little scutHing, after which the
number of chickens diminished, diminished by one, that is, after
each scutHe. And all the time the woman sat sewing unconcernedly.
The members of this tribe are comb-makf^rs, in Bulgarian
Grebenaris, in Turkish Tarakdzis. They are known to other
tribes as ZavrakOis. They buy the horns of slaughtered animals
at the slaughter-houses in largo towns, or elsewhere in the
villages, and skilfully work them into combs, bending them
straight by making them hot, and polishing them and cutting
the teeth by means of special instruments. They work at ir-
regular intervals, sometimes remaining idle for months at a
time. Indeed, their trade is merely a blind, a sort of curtain of
respectability to hide their real occupations. They are probably
the most thievish tribe in Bulgaria, and there is scarcely a man
among them who has not been in prison at some period of his life
for horse-stealing. This latter form of theft they practised on quite
a large scale along the old Rumanian frontier prior to 1913, and
the trade will doubtless continue to flourish now as heretofore.
They collaborated with Rumanian Gypsy bands of about the
same iribo as themselves, only if anything more criminal, from
whom they received, and to whom they remitted, stolen horses,
sometimes as many as from ten to fifteen in a batch. Of course,
owing to the stringent Bulgarian and Rumanian laws, according
to which horses are entered on a registration roll, their owners
receiving a corresponding numbered and dated ticket describing
the age and appearance of the horse, the name and residence of
the buyer and seller, and also the price of the animal, it would be
impossible for the Gypsies to practise their trade without the help
of disreputable Bulgarian scribes and petty practitioners, who for
a small consideration supply spurious tickets to the Gypsy horse-
thieves. Armed with such documents they set out to find the
animal answering vaguely to the description on the ticket, and
having found a likely animal, though not at first sight the one to
which the ticket belongs, they proceed to tamper both with the
26 REPORT OX THE GYPSY TRIBES OF NORTH-EAST BULGARIA
animal's appearance and ■with the data on the ticket, until the twu
are made to correspond. I do not know much about this art of
horse-faking, but I imagine it is much the same among Gyps}-
horse-dealers all the world over. With regard to the tickets, I
may mention that I have never yet met one of the tribe of horse-
thieves who could read or write. They get to know the tickets ;t>
they do the horses, by their appearance, as a bird-fancier can
distinguish one from the other scores of birds which to outsiders
are indistinguishable one from another. They also know the
contents of the tickets by heart, having caused them to be read
over to them on so many occasions.
The most usual method of tampering with a ticket is to get
some one who can write to alter the specified age of the animal.
This is easily done, as the age is not put down in letters. For
instance, they know full well, although they cannot read, that in
order to 'rejuvenate' a ticket describing a horse as being fifteen
years old, it is sufficient to erase the ' stick,' as they call the first of
the two figures, in order to be the proud possessor of a five-year-
old. Times out of number they have requested me to remove
the stick, but I have told them that the most I could do for them
■was to teach them to write them.selves. They have always been
too lazy to avail themselves of these opportunities for learning.
The stealing of horses on a large scale is carried out in the
summer months, when large Hocks of horses are left to graze
all night on the extensive pasture ground extending for miles
along the borderland between Bulgaria and Rumania. Here
hundreds of horses roam day and night, with here and there at a
great distance a solitary watchman to guard them. As the night
wears on and the stars change their position, the watchman, who
generally manages to keep awake until midnight, grows weary v\'
his own laments upon the kaval, or native fiute, and lays himself
down on the lee-side of a tuft of grass. Why should he not rest ^
No one is about, as far as the eye can see in the moonlight. It
would be a different matter if the night were moonless. Extra
watches might then be required. He is soon a motionless heap,
snoring under his thick shepherds cloak, which he has pulled over
his head, for the Judas hours are chilly out on the border plateau,
even in June, And Avell may he continue snoring thus, while three
dark and silent men, armed with heavy wooden cudgels, approach
stealthily and squat upon the grass, forming a triangle around
him. Not a word is spoken. The night breeze whistles in the
REPORT ON THE GYPSV TRIBES OF NORTH-EAST BULGARIA 2'
grass, an occasional snort is heard to proceed from some contented
steed, for the grass is at its best and grazing is a delight. Thus
half an hour passes, and then the three dark men who have
watched the watchman depart as silently as they came. But
could the sleeper be endowed with second sight, he would assuredly
see, some two miles off, fifteen accursed Gypsy men, mounted upon
as many horses, making their way with all possible haste com-
patible with safety and with being unobserved towards the Ru-
manian frontier, where they are met by fifteen other men of their
tribe, from whom they receive money and to whom they give
up the horses. And while the newly mounted cavaliers depart
' within,' as they call it, meaning into Rumanian territory, the
fifteen whu have remained 'without' disperse and rejoin their
several camps before daybreak. Had the sleeping watchman
awakened, he would have been told : ' Lie down, sleep, or we will
knock your brains out,' and he would have perforce complied.
This tribe deplores the present-day strict laws against horse
thieving, and the less restless among them recognize that it might
be better for them to give up the custom. Vlacano, my guide, has
even expressed the wish that the laws bo made even more stringent
in order to cure his people of the habit, which entails years of
imprisonment for the perpetrator of the deed, much misery to his
family, and not infrequently the breaking up of a home, as is the
case when a man's long imprisonment causes his wife, who is the
mother of several children, to accept the courtship of another in
order to provide a home for herself and her offspring.
It is natural that the feeling of the peasantry towards these
Gypsies is one of exasperation. Their property is never safe when
the tribe is about the neighbourhood. They surprise a village by
the suddenness of their appearance, and at an hour when all hands
are busy in the fields several miles around the village, the gang
descends upon the unprotected houses, bribes the watchdogs, and
plies its dangerous trade under cover of selling combs. In a
surprisingly short time they can put a good twenty miles between
themselves and the scene of their nefarious exploits, for each taliga
is drawn by a couple of wiry horses accustomed to being driven at
a gallop when speed is thought to be advisable, and they know all
the ways and cross ways and ' black ways ' across country, and are
experts at doubling back parallel to their flight down some
unfrequented ravine or across some lonely moor, separating, if
need be, for greater safety, in order to reunite a couple of days
28 REPORT ON THE GYPSY TRIBES OF NORTH-EAST BULGARIA
later, when each little band will of a certainty have some interesting
notes to compare concerning fresh exploits, good stuft' for low-
voiced conversation at sunset, when the dish of chicken broth and
rice has been disposed of, and the women have poured water on
the men's hands, and the men have rinsed their mouths and rolled
and lit their cigarettes, and the tent-cloth has been rolled up to
the first horizontal pole in order to admit the evening breeze.
The attitude of the authorities towards these nomads is no
more lenient than that of the peasantry. A whole camp is at
times arrested and severely punished on the flimsiest of charges,
but it is doubtful whether strict justice is thereby violated, for the
tribe has assuredly been guilty, on the very day of their apprehen-
sion, of some vmdiscovered crime quite as serious as the charge
which has brought about their arrest. On the evening of the day
upon which I witnessed the theft of the chicken as above described,
when towards sun.set I was sitting by the camp-fire lazily watching
the roastinjr of one of the five chickens which constituted the day's
bag, and drowsily thinking how much more pleasant it would be
to remain in that high and breezy camp for the night than
to return on foot fourteen kilometres to Yarna, there arose a
great hullabaloo upon the roadside at about a hundred yards
distance. Before we had time to intervene an irate peasant had
felled with one blow of liis heavy stick a young Gypsy lad, by
name Ristem, who had carelessly allowed his horse to stray into a
ueighbourinc: cornfield. Ristem was carried unconscious to the
tents, where his wrinkled old stepmother had already started
chanting a lamentation, and she proceeded to bleed him in the
nape of the neck with a kitchen knife. Meanwhile the peasant,
doubtless fearing he had killed the boy, gave the alarm in the
neighbouring village of Dervent, saying that there was a dangerous
gang of Gypsies up on the hill, who had threatened him with
revolvers and had boasted that the Rumanians would soon annex
that part of the country as far as Varna. The accusation was
serious, as at that time martial law forbade the carrying of firearms.
A band of peasants came up to the camp and began searching for
revolvers, pulling the screaming women and girls by the legs out
of the tents, to the accompaniment of the ever-increasing wails and
lamentations of old Totana, Ristem 's stepmother. Altogether a
tremendous uproar, owing to the shrieks of the women and the
shouting of the Bulgarians. The male comb-makers were gently
argumentative, as ever. Of course, no revolvers were found. I
REPORT 0\ THE GYPSY TRIBES OF NORTH-EAST BULGARIA 20
believe there were none. In any case, the peasant's accusation
that they threatened him was a lie told in order to screen himself.
However, the news was conveyed to Yarna by the owner of a
bicycle shop in the town who happened to be passing, and about
an hour later, when at length supper was ready and I had just
received a ' drum-stick,' a lump of bread, and a little heap of salt,
a detachment of armed patrols silently surrounded the encamp-
ment and arrested its inmates, including myself. It was only
after some hours, at about midnight, that I was able to establish
my identity, and was offered profuse apologies and a bicycle to
return to Varna. Even then, the Gypsies were still considered
suspect, and the whole camp, including horses and dogs, were
taken to Varna, the men passing the remainder of the night in the
prison, and the women camping in the market-place surrounded
by police. I was able to procure their liberation on the following
day. This nuich I have told to illustrate the attitude of the
authorities and peasantry towards the tribe of comb-makers, an
attitude which on the whole seems to me to be quite natural, for
the whole tribe consists of gangs of restless ne'er-do-wells and
professional thieves, who, whether they enter a shop and contrive
to filch some trivial article of little value — as a keepsake, as they
are in the habit of saying (Bulgarian za spomen, Gypsy lippri-
rnaske) — or whether they are to all appearances harmlessly making
combs, are in reality coumiitting, or planning to commit, some
act of ' devilry.'
It will, therefore, easily be understood why they are constantly
getting into trouble with the police, and why every prison on both
sides of the frontier can boast of one or more representatives of
the comb-making fraternity, of both sexes. Indeed, the prison of
Costantsa, in Rumania, and those of Varna, Razgrad and Shumla
in Buljjaria, are used bv the comb-makers as the most convenient
postes restantes for correspondence. Such letters are written in
Bulgarian or Rumanian, according to the knowledge of the
amanuensis at hand. The male members of the tribe, in Bulgaria,
speak four languages: Gypsy, Bulgarian, Rumanian, and Turkish.
I have had such letters dictated to me in Gypsy on the under-
standing that I would cause them to be sent in Bulgarian.
[ Individual members of the tribe at times travel by train in order
to fetch such letters, or when a lawsuit brings them alone to a
town, and they occasionally use the telephone, speaking Bulgarian,
i owing to a naive idea that the ' machine ' might not work if Gypsy
80 REPORT ON THE GYPSY TRIBES OF NORTH-EAST BULGARIA
were used. Prison life in Bulgaria is tedious, but not at all harsh.
Mr. Scott Macfie told me that when at Razgrad the comb-makers
took him to the prison to visit one of their comrades incarcerated
for horse-stealing, and that the delinquent received them in a
pleasant courtyard, bright with roses, and that the jailer himself
served Turkish coffee while they smoked their cigarettes.
The tents of the comb-makers, unlike those of the Zagun-
djis, are always made of good, strong goats'-hair cloth. Besides the
cakala, berand and heli (vide description of Zagundji tent), they
have two horizontal poles attached about half way up the rakals
(called vrozdia) which run the length of the tent under the cloth
and end in the taliga, which is always built into the tent crossways,
so that the breadth of the tent is the length of the taliga. The
extra poles add greatly to the strength of the structure. One of them
is frequently the shaft of the taliga, turned round at right angles
to the latter. The taliga is hidden from view by carpets and
hanEfins: cloths which form a wall at the back of the tent and
prevent the wind from reaching the interior from between the
wheels. But the taliga is itself covered by the tent-cloth, and
when there are many inmates one of them often sleeps in the
taliga. The back of the tent is always kept facing the wind, and
the whole structure is continuallv being wheeled round whenever
the wind changes.
The Grobenaris are not fond of the vicinity of towns. Many
town Bulgarians do not even know of their existence. When one
mentions them, they, the Bulgars, will answer : ' Ah yes, you mean
the Kopaniiris,' whereas there is all the difference between the
Grebeniiris and the Kopanaris that there is between an honest
man and a thief, not to mention the differences of language ,
and trade, and perhaps of origin. Even the word Grebenari,
though obviously meaning a maker of greheiis or combs, seems
unfamiliar to many Bulgarians. It is, however, found in all dic-
tionaries, and is the name which the tribe itself uses, and by
which they are designated on occasional certificates of good
character which they obtain from the mayors of villages. Speci-
mens of these I have frequently been shown : the hor.se-thief
listens with a complacent smile to the perusal of the document
to the effect that he, Ivan Nicoloff, is personally known to the
undersigned, and that he is a native of such and such a village,
and a maker of combs and withal honest and of a good disposition.
The camp is pitched on a high common, well away from the
REPORT OX THE GYPSY TRIBES OF NORTH-EAST BULGARIA 31
village to which it belongs, and the comb-makers endeavour not to
steal from that village, as the camping ground is valued, and they
do not wish to be driven away or refused permission to camp on
a subsequent occasion. In such villages, which they so to speak
patronize, they are often on good terms with the peasantry, who
will treat them to drink, and allow themselves to be treated by
the Gypsies in the village kriL^ma. But it often happens that even
there where they are known, the women cannot refrain from
stealing. At Yasi Tepe, near Provadia, 1 saw a Gyps}- girl return
to the tents with an apronful of turf and dung cakes for the
tire, stolen from a farmhouse on the outskirts of the village, and
as she crossed the plain towards the encampment she was followed
by the maledictions of the farmer's wife standing at her gate.
The girl's father took the stolen property from his daughter and
himself carried it back to the farm, apologizing and explaining
how scarce fuel was in that neighbourhood. The girl appeared to
be very cross with her father, but once in the tent comforted her-
self by producing from the folds of her dress, and showing to me,
three new laid eggs which she said she had perquisitioned from
the same farmhouse. The military word requisitsia has become
very fashionable among the comb-makers since the Turco-Bulgarian
War of 1912-13, in order to describe thefts from the peasantry.
• Only,' they say, ' we do not give receipts, as do the niilitary
authorities, because we cannot write ! '
In point of food the contrast between the comb-makers and
the Zagundjis is as great as in all other respects. They rarely beg
their food : they buy or steal it. They eat meat almost daily, in
the form of chickens. They prefer to make their own bread
than to buy it ready-made. This may be because of the difficulty
of getting bread in the villages. It is often quite impossible to
get any. The peasants bake on certain days, and they will not
give or sell any, as I have found on many occasions, for fear of
running short of bread before the baking day. Whereas the
Zagundjis, who like to camp near some larger village or town,
always beg their bread, which consists of ancient lumps and odds
and ends so hard that they have to be soaked in the stew-pot in
order to be eatable. The comb-makers knead the flour on a large
round metal tray and put it to bake in the camp-fire ashes,
covering it up with them. Apparently they do not use any leaven.
The bread is eaten hot. It is timed to be ready with the zu7ni or
stew, which forms their staple dish. It is of a dark brown colour.
32 REPORT ON THE GYPSY TRIBES OF NORTH-EAST BULGARIA
similar to that eaten by the peasantry. They generally possess a
lamp of rock salt for their animals to lick, portions of which are
broken off and pounded when required at meals.
They observe with great solemnity the Feast of the Assumption,
loth August. Every tent, that is every family, slaughters a sheep
on that occasion, and it frequently happens that several dozen
tents are assembled in order to celebrate the festival together.
On 14th August of the year 1913 a member of this tribe
fetched me in order to take me to his camp for the Feast of the
Bogoroditsa, which they themselves call the Feast of Sinta Maria.
We left Varna at sunrise, and arrived at the encampment at sunset,
travelling slowly, owing to one of the horses being lame. The
camp was at Yasi Tepe, a village in the district of Provadia. I
thus had good occasion to watch their ways and customs during
the three days' carouse. I also got an idea of what Gypsy life is
like out in the open when the sun is not shining, for during the
three nights, and most of the daytime as well, it rained in great
downpours, and at night little ditches had to be dug around the
tents to prevent our being swamped by the inrushing water. On
the morning following my arrival, when the rain stopped for a
moment, the sheep were slaughtered by the men, after thin wax
tapers had been wound round the horns of such as had any, and
lighted, and incense burnt about them in little metal trays, and
afterwards in the tents, making them smell like the inside of
churches. The poor beasts had been baaing piteously in the rain
all night, pending the sacritice. iHiring the death struggle short
prayers were said for the prosperity of the family and relatives,
improvisations such as: ' T ahitll amen i Sinta Maria (;^av Idki
kind), kadale viihiske, hai te del amen bu' aastimds hai ha-)(t hai
maygin i ameyjge i tumajge, hai te traiftards saurr bute IterUijge,
hai sastimds ! ' That is to say : ' May Holy Mary help us
( ) for the coming summer, and grant us much health and
luck and wealth, botli to us and to you, and may we all live for
many years, and health.' The actual words given are those I
heard used at the Feast of St. George, to whom, as seen from the
above, they do not pray ; but the words used on the occasion I am
describing were almost the same. The flaying of the animals was
also done by the men, but the women did all the rest. While the
usual stew, with rice and vegetables, was preparing, the girls
quickly roasted little chips of pn'no buko and kald buko, i.e. of
lungs and liver, and served them to us sprinkled with salt and
REPORT ON THE GVPSY TRIBES OF NORTH-EAST BULGARIA 33
paprika, with small glasses of rakia and slices of bread. This by
way of hors-d'ceuvre, the Turkish -and Bulgarian meze, Russian
zakuski. Before drinking each man made a little speech, wishing
the assembly health and prosperity, and destruction to the Gentiles,
' and may we each of us steal thirty horses before the year is out.'
Then came more rakia and private toasts, and resounding kisses
on cheek and lip, and sworn friendships, and out came scraps of
news which prudence had withheld before the advent of the
liquor, and strange promises are made, and proposals for the loan
of fabulous sums, until the women carry in the table, which, when
placed amidst us, stands half a foot from the ground and upon
which is a steaming dish of savoury zumi. We squat around the
table and each man takes a morsel according to his fancy, or
drinks of the broth with a wooden spoon. Now hiVditsas full of
red wine are handed round, and the gentle comU-niakers become
almost as noisy as the Ziigundjis when they are sober.
On the following days the remaining portions of the sheep
were roasted or rather grilled. But not a drop of alcohol was
drunk, and after lunch we repaired to the village and drank good
cortee and bad lemonade.
On the Feast of St. George, the Moslem Hederlez, much the
same ceremonies are observed, only the meat is not cooked at
home, but sent to a public oven, of which there are at least one
or two in every village, and hundreds in the towns. This is in
accordance with the Bulgarian custom, for the 23rd April (Gth
May new style) is a great feast day for all alike in Bulgaria,
whether Christians or Moslems, Gypsy or Gentile. In fact, the
feast is the celebration of the advent of spring. The tents of the
Gypsies, the houses of the Gentiles, and the engines at the railway
station are all alike decorated with green branches. The festival
corresponds to the Kakava mentioned by Paspati, the Khadv Elias
of the Arabs, and the Cember Siiri of the Persians.
I noticed the following difterence in the manner of celebrating
the two feasts. On loth August, when we had finished eating in
one tent we were invited to the next, and as there were seven of
them we had all of us more than enough by the time we had
finished. On that occasion, too, the women did not eat with us.
On 23rd April all famihes brought their food out and spread it on a
long series of carpets forming a huge banquet table. The women
also sat down with the men on this occasion. The above prayer
was said over the meat when spread on these carpets, and
VOL. IX. — NO. I. C
34 REPORT ON THE GYPSY TRIBES OF NORTH-EAST BULGARIA
the incense was passed round the table. After partaking of the
food some very good acting was performed by the men, purport-
ing to be the scene at a horse fair. The heads of the sheep re-
presented the horses. Pieces of two francs were stuck into their
mouths, and long stalks of garlic, at which we had been nibbling
during the repast, were affixed to the back of their heads, and were
meant to represent the reins. The haggling and bargaining was
done in Gypsy, but Rumanian, Turkish, and Bulgarian was also
used. In the latter language one man imitated the accent of a
Bulgarian peasant from the villages high up in the Balkans. The
Gentile was always made to be the loser in the l)argain.
The tribe of comb-makers, as I have already mentioned, is not
confined to Bulgaria. Numbers of them still inhabit Rumania,
mostly in the district around Costantsa and Tulcea in the
Uobrudja, right.up to l^iessarabia. They appear to have developed
a degree of criminality in that district verging upon madness.
Gypsies in Rumania have only lately been accused of the nmtila-
tion of stolen children used for bogging purposes. This may be
untrue or may bo chargeable to others than the comb-makers,
but they confess to housebreaking and murder. There is no
death penalty in Rumania, but the authorities are determined
to prevent the continuance of violent crime by the comb-makers.
They have accordingly taken the following mea.sures with regard
to this tribe, according to the declarations of the Bulgarian
branch of it, which is in touch with the Rumanian lot. Every
Gypsy must live in a tent or hut, probably, as a matter of fact,
a hurdei (see below) provided for him outside the town or
village. More than two heads of families may not live together,
and these two may not be relatives. If any one wishes to go
to town or to travel to any other spot he must get a written
leave of absence from the police. Leave is never granted for ,
more than two days, and if the Gypsy is absent longer than
the time allowed he is liable to arrest and imprisonment.
Police stations are established near all Gypsy dwellings, and 1
the police knock at his door at all hours of day and night to ,{
ascertain his presence. This constitutes veritable slavery, and has (
been the cause of so many leaving the country and invading ,
Bulgaria, where the laws are milder, and where they tend to \
become less criminal. Housebreaking is, however, not unknown i
among them. When I arrived once in their camp with a tin box
full of sweets for the children, and asked a woman if she could
REPORT OX THE GYPSY TRIBES OF XORTH-EAST BULGARIA 35
open it for me, the men replied for her : ' She opens houses, how
should she not be able to open a box.' And Totana, already
mentioned on page 28, who was present at Yasi Tepe when
we were celebrating the Feast of Sinta Maria, ran away from her
ij husband and returned calmly a few days later with a bag of
money which she had procured by breaking into a farmhouse.
Many members of the tribe who have remained in Rumania
have bought houses and settled down. These are not molested
by the police. The drastic measures above described are designed
to break the spirit (criminal) of the comb-makers, and this can
"uly be done by making them sedentary.
Thus far my informant, a comb-maker himself, and I see no
reason for doubting his word. He says there are Moslem Nomads
in the Rumanian Dobrudja who are not criminal. There are
"Christian bear-leaders, according to him, of the same tribe as
those hailing from Karnobad, near Burgas, in South-East Bulgaria,
and beyond the contines of the district surveyed in this article. He
says there are also the ' Pletosi' or Long-Haired Gypsies, described
as coming from Austria and Russia, coppersmiths with enormous
tents, and Christians, not crinnnal and very rich, who camp out
nil through the winter as well as in summer-time. But all this is
>ubject-matter for future investigation.
The tribe I met at Ilanlik, to the north-east of Dobritch, in 1913
{v. B. 2 (/>)), was a Rumanian branch of this comb-making clan.
I have classitied them apart merely owing to certain characteristics
which they possessed and which the Bulgarian branch has pro-
bably lost. They were good musicians, all of them playing the
'oncertina with great effect, which not one of the Bulgarian lot
an do. The Bulgarian variations of the national horo dance,
pretty as they sometimes are, are clumsy when compared to the
Rumanian variety.
At Ilanlik I found a colony of this trilte consisting of about a
hundred and fifty men, women, and children, living partly in tents,
i>artly in underground dwellings, called by them hurdeis, which
they had dug out for themselves in the sides of a gentle slope.
They were hired at 1.40 francs per day to work in the fields of a
Hungarian landowner, on whose property their camping ground
ay. They worked exceedingly badly, quarrelling with each other,
T stopping to tell some tale when half way up a furrow, and thus
wasting so much time that the Bulgarian, Rumanian and other
vorkmen employed by the Cokoi would be half way down the
36 REPORT ON THE GYPSY TRIBES OF NORTH-EAST BULGARIA
next parallel line before the Gypsies had again resumed their
work. They had lived throughout the winter on the charity of the
Cokoi, and were then rerleeming their debts in work. Any savings
they were able to make they spent at the kri6ina leased by the
Cokoi to a Bulgarian innkeeper. They referred to the Cokoi as
the Rai, which word is not lost to the tribe as to so many others
in the Balkan Peninsula. Their hatred of him was great, for he
used to beat them to make them work. So, too, was their fear and
hatred of the Rumanian authorities from whom they had fled in
order, they said, to escape military service, and for a host of other
reasons already apparent to the reader. Among this branch of the
tribe I found not only pride of race but even of colour, which is so
rare among the tribes of Bulgaria, Their fear and dislike of me.
too, was peculiar. l^pon my arrival among them with my guide
Vlacano they became exceedingly suspicious, and after the pre-
liminary greetings whicli custom required they lapsed into long
and sullen silence. It was soon apparent that they took me for a
spy sent among them by the Rumanian CJovernmcnt, and Vlarano
for a traitor to his people. It was only after the Rai, to whom
they appealed in their fear, had assured them that he knew me by
sight, and that it was impossible for mo to serve the Rumanian
Government, and invited me up to lunch with him, that they
became more calm. But they wished to have read to them tho
contents of my notebook.s, wherein I had lists of names of
individuals and of tribes whom I had lately met. They could n ^r
understand the motives which had brought mo among thcui.
The matter ended in the evening by Vlarano's treating a large
number of them to drink at the krUma and himself getting
drunk, on purpose, he afterwards explained, in order to create a
favourable impression, the whole jollification being at my expeii.>o,
during which my guide was as profuse in curses for those who
had suspected us (always al)sent ones), as he was in kisses for such
as had bravely maintained that it was a shame to treat guests sc
inhospitably. After this we were admitted to the horo. which ha(
been progressing furiously the whole afternoon on tlie hillside
in front of the underground dwellings. To their dancing they
imparted a grace and agility quite un-Balkan, in fact one recog-
nized the Rumanian influence. The concertina was handed from
one to another when a player wished to dance in his turn. As '
the night came on the girls became less shy, throwing their legs
about in wilder capers, as the men do. Two boys danced together
REPORT OX THE CiYRSY TRIBES OF NORTH-EAST BULGARIA 37
the cmrdds ^ or Hungarian heath dance, facing each other. Not
a muscle of the body was at rest. The head and shoulders were
thrown from side to side in gentle rhythm, while the lower part
of the body executed the wildest capers. 1 am not sure whether
this Gypsy variety is altogether in the approved style, but the
effect was marvellous.
During my stay at Ilanlik parties kept arriving and leaving at
a furious speed, seemingly bent on the most urgent business, and
the one theme of conversation wasfuj'tde cai, or horse-stealing,
past and future.
These Gypsies dress in every conceivable shade of compromise
between some form of Rumanian peasant costume unknown to
me and European clothes, and no two men were dressed alike.
Some men wore high-crowned Rumanian Jcalj^ahs, others wide-
brinmied straw hats. Their Bulgarian Gypsy brethren of the horse-
stealing persuasion, on the other hand, dress in a sort of cross
between Turkish and Bulgarian peasant dress.
As in Rumania, so too in Bulgaria, some of the comb-makers
have settled, to a certain extent, without giving up their criminal
ways. And this brings us to the Christian Sedentaries of Rust-
chuk, who were lately nomad comb-makers, and we must now con-
sider their iniquitous mode of gaining a livelihood.
Christian Sedentaries of Ru.stchuk (v. A. 2 (c))
I have met but few members of this tribe, if indeed it may be
ailed a separate tribe at all. They were all related to one another,
aid their dialect was that of the comb-makers, with the same
leasing peculiarity of voice and accent. Their favourite pursuit
is the practising on a huge scale and for huge stakes the well-
known ' Great Deceit,' immortalized by Borrow as the Hokano
Baro. The following facts would appear almost incredible. I can,
However, vouch for their accuracy, as having occurred in my
presence. Some time after our Honorary Secretary had left
Rustchuk and his friends the comb-makers, with whom he had
travelled to that Danubian city from Varna, I received a visit
from a most villanous-looking creature with only one eye, and
horribly marked with smallpox. His skin was dark, and he was
dressed in black clothes, like an undertaker. But they were all
shiny with over- wear, and his trousers were tucked into his high
^ Pronounce curdd'.
38 REPORT OX THE GVPSV TRIBES OF N'ORTH-EAST BULGARIA
boots. He wore a broad-briuiiued soft felt hat, and he had a
red handkerchief round his neck. He was accompanied by
three other individuals who were somewhat less striking in
appearance than himself, and whom he introduced as a brother
and cousins. Havinir handed me Mr. Mactie's card, and also a
letter of introduction, he immediately broached the subject of his
visit, and gave me to understand that all I had heard from the
comb-makers concerning his power to convert one pound into two,
or, for that matter, tive hundred into a thousand, was true, and
that if I was agreeable he would conduct a little seance in my
house on the following day. All that would bo required of me
would be a half-sovereign and a tray of glowing charcoal. It may
be well to mention here that a month before this encounter Mr.
Mactie and my.self had been spoken to by the comb-makers con-
cerning the wonderful powers possessed by an American inhabiting
the town of Sistov on the Danube, whereby he was able to make
two out of one, four out of two, and so on, 'and would I care to
make his acquaintance ? ' And so when the one-eyed man, self-
styled Emperor of tlie Gypsies, and his confederates, proposed
their little entertainment for the morrow I at once agreed, beiii<4
unwilling to miss such an ojiportunity of verifying some new
instance of the famous Great Trick.
Having thus obtained my consent, the one-eyed one at once
became much more confidential, and before long he made known
to me the real object of his visit. Would I not produce five ,
hundred napoleons, in order that he might C(»nvert them, there, '.
before my eyes, into a thousaml ^ I tried to beat liim down, ;
flabbergasted at the audacity of the man. At last he came down \
to two hundred and fifty napoleons in gold. Xothing woidd
make him acrree to work a lesser sum. Whv ? The reader may ^
guess at the end of the story. The reason he gave, however, was a
cock-and-bull tale about the indivisibility of the linoleum in
which he nmst wrap the money, preparatory to putting it into the
melting-pot. So much linoleum was required for such and suck
a sum, the exact amount being known to experts who provided
him with the requisite sheets of linoleum. He possessed sheets
for the doubling of five himdred, seven hundred, and larger sums,
but none for dealing with sums under two hundred and fifty
napoleons. ' It is just like in the making of bread,' he added, ' so '
much yeast is required for such and such a quantity of flour.'
True it was he had a limited numl>er of small bits of linolcuju.
REPORT ON THE GYPSY TRIBES OF NORTH-EAST BULGARIA 39
for experimental purposes, for the conversion of sovereigns and
half-sovereigns. Anyhow, would I not go down to his hotel, and
further discuss the matter with him in the evening. I accordingly-
paid him a visit the same evening at six o'clock. In the hotel
garden, overlooking the principal street of the town, I was intro-
duced casually by him and his confederates to two well-to-do-
looking Bulgarian peasants, who, however, did not speak to me,
but sat watching me intently while I conversed with the one-eyed
one in Gypsy. I was surprised at the worried look upon their
faces, which, however, brightened when they observed me in high
spirits. After drinking a glass of beer, I left them, on the under-
standing, between myself and the Gypsies, that the burning
charcoal and tho half-sovereign should bo ready punctually at
halt- past ten on tho following day.
At nine o'clock tho next day I went to a money changer, and
got tho required gold piece. Punctually at the appointed time the
ex-comb-maker and his brother and cousins arrived at my house.
We repaired to tho dining-room. The Gypsies numbered four, and
we were three : myself, wife, and mother-in-law. We served them
with brandy. The villain was in his most insinuating mood. I
was to understand that this was merely a proha. But if I were
willing to fetch tho required sum from the bank, we would repeat
the experiment on a large scale, and I should be rich, very rich.
No one would suspect us. No one would intrude. ' And, brother,'
producing as ho spoke tho necessary ingredients from his pocket,
' this piece of linoleum, of which I receive a supply periodically
from Constantinople (it is, of course, contraband), and this /ttr/ia-
lamentu (you see it looks like a bit of caked earth) will enable me
to convert your half-sovereign into a whole one of such apparent
genuineness that it will deceive tho cleverest experts. If you
iake it to the money changer, he will accept it. If you take it to
the police, accusing me of coining false money, they will arrest you
for defamation of character. As for the furkalamentu, it is tho
most expensive of the ingredients. A man brings me a supply twice
a year from Italy, down the Danube, smuggling it into the country
at Rustchuk. I am a great artist, brother. My wife being from
Rumania, and I having often visited her people, I have learnt
from our brethren over the water (the river Danube) the art of
successfully forging Rumanian bank-notes. But I prefer to work
in Bulgaria among a few trusted friends. I do no harm to any one.
I merely help in a modest way to increase the supply of gold in
40 REPORT OX THE GYPSY TRIBES OF NORTH-EAST BULGARIA
the country, which, as you know, is scarce. But you will do as you
like, brother. You have a family and an establishment to keep
up. What is your fortune ? ' I mentioned haphazardly a sum
about twice my actual income. ' That is indeed little, brother.
Perhaps you cannot produce the money at present without
difficulty. Ka-uzarel tut, it will pinch you. If so, have you no
friends from whom you could take the money on loan ? Could
you not telegraph to Mr. Scott Mactie ? You will do what you
wish, brother; if you agree, well and good, if not. . . sastimos,
your health, brother, no harm is done.'
We listened with admiration to this flow of eloquence, punc-
tuated by gentle, mesmeric gestures, the voice rising and falling
in well-tempered persuasiveness. I have spoken before of the
strangely gentle quality of voice possessed by the comb-makers.
The swindler spoke in the same way, with the same gentle queru-
lous note dominating his discourse. ' Why should I be unreason-
able. But if I were unreasonable, sastimos, your health.'
Then we produced a tray of glowing charcoal, and at his request
a franc. This he put into a little iron bowl, together with a bit
of charcoal, upon which he commenced blowing. ' Observe,' he
said, ' it will not melt. Now give me the half-sovereign, which I
wrap up in the bit of linoleum, thus.' He then wrapped up the franc
in a similar piece of linoleum. Then he suddenly became exceed-
ingly worried, and said that he had lost the small piece of
farkalamentii which he had brought with him. He searched in
all his pockets, asked his accomplices whether they had got it,
looked on the floor, and under the charcoal tray, we helping
him all the time. At last it was found in his own waistcoat pocket.
We were completely taken in by the Gypsy's tirst-rate acting. The
two pieces, or what we thought were the two pieces, were now
wrapped up in one single bit of linoleum, and the li ttle packet placed
upon the red-hot coals. Almost immediately it melted into a white
liquid metal. By this time beads of perspiration covered the
forehead of the Gypsy, produced, doubtless, by the strain of having
to act his part in the presence of an audience presumably some-
what more wide-awake than his usual Bulgarian victim. His
hands, too, were trembling violently. Then all four Gypsies made
the sign of the cross in the Orthodox fashion, from right to left,
and hastily muttered a prayer that God and the Sinta Maria
might help them, and carefully poured the contents of the iron cup
into a small pocket mould. This consisted of an iron frame
REPORT ON THE GYPSY TRIBES OF NORTH-EAST BULGARIA 41
shaped like a brandy flask, with an iron neck to it, the body of the
flask being solid, and made of sand baked black and damped into
consistency with water. This mould was divided lengthwise into two
portions exactly similar, save that on the inside of one of them was
the hollowed-out impression of a sovereign joined by a narrow canal
to the impression of a smaller coin. The two portions were, of course,
tightly clapped together when the metal was poured in. After a
minute the Gypsy opened the mould, and we beheld two white
coin-shaped pieces of metal, without, however, a trace of the
necessary efligy and design, ' It is nevertheless there,' said the
Gypsy, 'and only requires the heat of Are to bring it out into
relief.' The fire would also produce, he said, the right hue. We
watched breathless, while with great swiftness the Gyp.sy wrapped
up the coin in a fresh piece of linoleum, and held it over the
hot coals by means of some small pincers. After some time
the linoleum was consumed and there appeared a dirty smoky
sovereign, which he again held over the flame, to give it, he said,
the right ring. He then polished it with some sand, and handed
it over to us.
He soon left us, after drinking some more brandy, and assuring
me that if I required his services I had merely to telegraph to
Rustchuk, whiiher he was returning that afternoon, and he
would immediately come to me. He said, however, that he had
but a limited supply of linoleum, and that if he did not hear from
me within a month he would no longer keep it for me, as he had
applicants who desired to double their fortunes in this easy and
withal safe manner. In the hall he met my baby daughter, and
insisted upon giving her a two-franc piece for luck, which he said
he had that morning coined at the hotel. He must now return to
the hotel, he said, in order to occupy his time advantageously until
the hour at which the train for Rustchuk was timed to leave.
When about to leave, and already in the garden, he knocked the
pocket mould against his heel, as one might a pipe, and there fell
to the ground a lot of fine black sand. ' You see,' he said, ' no
one can know what we have been doing. All traces have dis-
appeared.'
It mieht have been about two months later that one of the
peasants whom I had seen in the company of the Gypsy at the
hotel at Varna paid me a visit. His appearance had sadly
changed. He was worn and haggard, and badly clothed. Upon
my inquiring the reason for this visit he told me that he was
42 REPORT 0\ THE fiYPSY TRIBES OF NORTH-EAST BULGARIA
getting very anxious about his money. The one-eyed one had
been in possession of five hundred napoleons belonging to him.
the peasant, since the previous month of March, and it was now
October. I was well known to the Gypsies, and it was for thi>
reason that he had dared approach me on a matter which h»-
knew was exceedingly shady. I might call in the police and have
him arrested as a would-be coiner of false money, for he knew that
I worked among the Gypsies for scientitic reasons, as he had been
told in the town. Still I would perhaps take into consideration
that he was the father of a large family, and (beginning to cry)
would I not use any influence I might have with the one-eyed one
in order to induce him to finish the business satisfactorily, and
without further delay ? For he had borrowed money from five
different villages, and he dare not return to his own village with
his creditors unsatisfied. Did I not know all about these matters i
Was it possible that the Gyp.sy would endeavour to keep the doubled
five hundred, the thousand napoleons, for himself? Was he only
trying to temporize in insisting that another two hundred must
be produced before he could work the whole satisfactorily, owing
to the indivisible piece of linoleum reijuiring a larger sum than
ho had anticipated ?
With the deepest misgivings as to the result of my words upon
the poor peasant, I set about the unpleasant duty of explaining t<>
him the truth that he was not only himself a rogue, but the dupe
of a rogue greater than himself, that the talk of a thousand napo-
leons was a myth, and that there had never been more than five
hundred, which he was not likely ever to see again. I might have
spared myself my uneasiness. Such was the ascendancy gained
over him by the wily one, that the Bulgar simply would not believe
me. Had he not seen one piece converted into two ? Had not the
Gypsy loft a great mass of metal, in a molten lump, in his posses-
sion, which only required working \ And then again, this time
cringingly, could I not do something for him ?
He came to me again a week later, and the whole story was
repeated once more. Since then I have not seen the miserable
man.
I can add very little to the above narrative. The reader must
himself try to fill in the gaps. Since the occurrence of the events
above described, I have naturally lost no opportunity of picking
up here and there information of a supplementary nature. I find
that the Gypsy was well known to the police authorities and had
REPORT ON THE GYPSY TRIBES OF NORTH-EAST BULGARIA 43
frequently been to prison, but succeeded in bailing himself out by
means of huge deposits. In theory his numerous cases are due
to come on some day. What this means is best inferred from the
opening chapters of Bleak House. It is not a discussion within
the strict province of this report. Let me confine myself strictly
to what the Gypsies themselves have told me, and what I have
myself seen. The one-eyed one employs agents for finding victims
all over the country. Such agents are chiefly recruited among the
tribe of comb-makers, but the nomad Moslem sieve-makers (r. B.
1 (a)), who are recent converts to Islam, are often pretty useful in
this connexion. It will be, of course, understood that the victims
cannot themselves appeal to the police, for they are themselves
criminals, would-be coiners of bad money. According to the
Gypsies, the trick is most successful in the district of Kustchuk,
where it has become, again according to my informants, so to
speak an established custom, bound to occur from time to time,
like, for example, occasional disastrous hailstorms. In that dis-
trict, according to my Gypsy informants, a rough and ready remedy
is always applicable, for in the event of the proceedings being
brought to a sudden close, in a manner j:><'r//ajJ8(?) unforeseen, the
sum at stake is so huge as to satisfy all parties who, by mutual
consent, divide judiciously among each other rather than see the
money eaten, say the Gypsies, by lawyers.
For the rest, to the questions : What was the nature of the
metal left in the hands of the peasant?^ where does the
Gypsy generally go through his wizard-like performance, whether
outside some village or in some lonely dell ? and does he often
prolong the agony of his victim in the hope of getting more out
of him at some future date, as in the case of my peasant, or
do he and his fellow-conspirators sometimes undeceive him in the
above-mentioned lonely dell, knowing that he dare not appeal
against them ? at what stage of the performance does the Gypsy usu-
ally put oft' the final touch to a later date (I am told he at times
feigns a fainting fit when the metal is a molten heap) ? how many
victims he makes per annum ? whether he really thought me a
likely victim ? To these and similar questions I can only answer at
present: ' I don't know.' I have merely set forth all available details
in the above narrative as a true genuine 1913 instance of the feat
known to Gypsyologists as the ' Great Deceit,' the Hokano Baro. In
the linguistic section of this report, by way of a specimen of the dia-
^ I have since been told that it is arcic, i.e. lead, not tin.
44 REPORT ON THE GYPSY TRIBES OF NORTH-EAST BUUiARIA
lect, will be found the letter which the Gypsy dictated to Mr. Scott
Macfie at Rustchuk, to be taken by the Gypsy to me, by way of
introduction, and in which he recommends himself to me as a most
excellent fellow.
The Nomad Sieve-Makers {v. B. 1 (a))
These Gypsies are merely the Nomad branch of the sieve-
maker tribe. Like their sedentary brethren, they, though
Moslems, are but recently converts to Islam, some indeed so
recently as to remember the fact. In appearance they much re-
semble the sedentary portion of the tribe. Among all nomads
it is their women who dress in the brightest colours. They
are pretty and neat, a great contrast to the Zsigundjis. They
are not beggars. The men are now more horse-dealers than sieve-
makers, and they have intimate trade relations with the comb-
makers (horse-thieves), for whom they procure spurious horse
certificates, selling them to their Christian cousins of the road for
a good price. I was once able to frustrate the plans of one of
these brokers who was endeavouring to palm off on a comb-maker
a ticket so old as to be quite useless for the purpose for which it was
required. ' Dog of a Horahai ' ' remarked the comb- maker, as the
turbaued Moslem left our tent in discomfiture.
The one-eyed one, he of the Hokano Baro, uses many of these
nomads to find him victims for his 'conjuring trick.' But they
can scarcely be called a criminal tribe. They do not themselves
practise the Great Deceit, nor are they horse-thieves, nor house-
breakers.
Strange to say, their tents are often poorer and more ragged
even than those of the Zjigundjis ; of the same shape as the latter's
tents, they are not made of goats'-hair cloth, but of sacking. They
rarely come to Varna, preferring the vicinity of the smaller towns
and villages of the interior. They wander a lot in the basin of the
winding river Kamtchia, but they say they hailed originally from
the district of Silistria, now in Rumania. They do not appear to
be numerous. Their dialect, being identical with that of the
sedentary Moslem sieve-makers, has not been discussed separately
in the linguistic section.
The Parpulia or Gimlet-makers
Towards the end of the month of June of the year 1914 I saw
in the streets of Varna a number of Gypsies, men and women,
REPORT ON THE GYPSY TRIBES OF NORTH-EAST BULGARIA 45
gazing about them with big eyes and open mouths, as if they had
never seen a town before. They were spread about the street in
knots of two and three, and members of one batch continually
loafed back to join the others, so that it was not quite certain in
which direction the lot of them were proceeding. At first sight
it was clear to mo that these were members of a tribe hitherto
unmet. There was none of the self-assurance and freeness and
adaptability to their surroundings shown by the horse-thieves. By
their dress it was plain that they were Christians. The men were
rather ragged, and wore their hair somewhat long in front, and did
not press down the crown of their kalpaks. The women wore fewer
and tighter-fitting petticoats than do the Christian peasant women
of Varna and neighbourhood. They also behaved as naively as the
men, hero again contrasting with the quick-witted women of tho
horse-thieves' tribe. Several men carried a roughly turned gimlet
in their hand, but they were not hawking. I discovered a few
days later, from casual conversation with a sedentary Gypsy, that
they were ' Burgudjis' or gimlet-makers, known to other tribes as
Parpulia, and that they camped every year during the harvest
which had just then begun, at the village of Pasha Kioi, some
seven kilometres from Varna.
I accordingly repaired to the village, upon the outskirts of
which I found five tents of the Rudaris (r. B. 2 (d)), of whom I
took but little heed, for they were Romans without Romani, men
who had, moreover, renounced the ways and crafts of Little Egypt.
Just beyond them I found, pitched upon the sandy rising ground,
six tents of the nomad Moslem sieve-makers ('■. B. 1 (a)), bright
colour within and without, many-coloured shalvars and sashes, a
feast of red and white, the light brown sackcloth of the tents still
further dispelling the sombre impression produced by the black
goats'-hair tents and tawny clothing of the Rudaris.
Beyond these there suddenly appeared before me, hidden
hitherto by the nature of the ground, twenty dark and gaping
tents, looking like large Gothic arches, and of a shape unknown to
me. These were the homes of the Parpulia.
The tent-cloth is made of the same strong black goats'-hair
used by the comb-makers and the Zaguudjis. When wet it
shrinks and becomes practically rainproof. It expands when dry
so much that it is possible to discern through it the movements
of persons outside the tent.
The cdkala of other nomad tents are here replaced by what
46 REPORT ON THE GYPSY TRI13ES OF NORTH-EAST BULGARIA
the Parpulia call cakmcikja, which are bent or curved Mkala, two
iu front and two behind. The entrance to the tent is thus i^'iven
the shape of a Gothic archway, very dirterent from the triangular-
looking entrance to the tents of the comb-makers. All the way
up the cakmdkja pegs are stuck pointing outwards, and on these
are laid horizontal poles running the length of the tent, and
sometimes slightly protruding in front. The topmost one is
thicker and stronger than the rest, and is called a hei'aml as in the
tents of other tribes. The protruding parts are used as wall pegs
on which to hang various household goods. Against the sides of
the walls formed by these horizontal polos perpendicular sticks,
known to the tribe as vr^zdes, are leant, and over this cage-
like structure the tent-cloth is stretched. The back of the tent
is closed by stretching a cloth over the entire archlikc aperture.
No cart is ever built into the back, as in the case of the comb-
raakers. Indeed the gimlet-makers possess neither carts nor
horses, and, like the Zdgundzis, move from village to village
on foot, their goods and chattels being packed on the backs of
donkeys.
The interior of the tents is strikingly bare. During the day-
time no carpet or cloth covers the Hoor, which soon loses any
grass it m;\y have possessed and becomes hard, beaten earth. Near
the entrance are to be found the hearth, large bellows, and all the
instruments required for their trade. They make, besides gimlets,
shepherds' crooks.
Like so many other tribes they have not the remotest connexion
with music, and on festivals have to call in other Gypsies to play
for them.
It is interesting to observe how certain characteristics of
Gypsies in Central and Western Europe are found in the Balkans
among one set of Gypsies, whilst they are totally unknown to other
tribes. The ' mitlo mas' propensity is not unknown in England :
we have seen that here the Ziigundjis are alone addicted to this
loathsome habit. The Gypsy taste for the hedgehofj, the hotrhi-
witchi in England, or the Sta)(^elengro, as it is called in the Rhine
Province, is well known all over Western Europe. Here the
gimlet-makers alone hunt and eat the kanzaiirka, as they call the
animal. The ending -ka is the Bulgarian diminutive. Other tribes
call the hedgehog kanzaiiri.^ The word means literally the prickly
pig, and is an instance of the preservation from old times of Greek
* aKavOoxoipo, ofteD pronounced kauOdiro.
REPORT OX THE GVPSY TRIBES OF NORTH-EAST BULGARIA 47
words among Balkan Gypsies who cannot speak Greek. For hunt-
ing out the hedgehog the Piirpulia keep a multitude of dogs.
They are even known occasionally to other tribes as the hedgehog
waters. I have unfortunately not had an opportunity of observing
how the food is prepared.
The Parpulia are very much nomads. During more than half
the year they wander over the whole of North-East Bulgaria, and
frequently go as far south as Karnobad, in the latitude of Burgas,
the town famed of yore for a tribe of bear-leaders, who may be
identical with the Ursari of Constantinescu.
There appears to be no Moslem branch of th'> tribe. They are
honest, and enjoy a good reputation among the peasantry who
know them. Townsfolk naturally see no difference between them
.ind any other tribe. They are, however, rarely seen in towns. The
products of their trade are best disposed of in remote villages miles
away from any centre, where gimlets and suchlike small tools
cannot be procured every day. They are rarely met with even on
the highroads. Having no carts, and having no reason to flee,
for they never steal, they have little use for metalled roads, which
hurt the feet of their unshod animals, preferring the soft byways,
<»r black roads,' whore their donkeys can proceed more comfortably
from village to village.
They rarely beg. Probably for these reasons they are, among
all the tribes I have met, the one that feeds the least well. As
frugal as the Bulgarian peasant, or more so, they live for days on
blackish bread alone, which they buy in the villages. I have
known them go to bed without a meal. 1 have not seen them
bake their own bread as do the horse-thieves (comb-makers).
They refer to the last-mentioned tribe as the Bare-Katunierj-
gere, or they call them the ZavraSkles. Zavra6i is said by them
to mean thief, swindler. It is a Rumanian word, and is applied to
coppersmith Gypsies. The comb-makers say they were at one
time coppersmiths.
In winter the Pdrpulia may be found, so they themselves say,
in the village of Kjokludza, which has been quite meaninglessly
re-named by the Bulgarians Zvezditsa, some eight miles from
Varna to the south of Lake Devna. I had hoped to gather more
information concerning this tribe during the winter of 1915, had
not events necessitated my sudden departure from Bulgaria. For
further notes I must refer to the lingfuistic section.
48 report oy the gvpsv tribes of north-east bulgaria
The Rudaris
Let us suppose a Romany Rai, newly arrived in the Balkans,
and longing to meet for the first time some nomad branch of the
race known to him only from his Vade Mecum, the Great Paspati.
Chance might luring him to Varna or to Rustchuk without
having seen any Gypsies except the sedentaries of one tribe or
other who abound in all Bulgarian towns. Wandering disap-
pointedly in the commonplace, dusty streets of those ports, he
might suddenly hit upon a couple of dark girls, clad in some local
peasant dress, with large silver clasps strapping their waists, and
long poles carried loosely in one hand, whilst a bundle of wooden
spoons, spindles, and other wooden articles occupied the other,
with as often as not a large wooden trough tucked inuler the arm.
Glad to have come across nomads at last ho would follow them
about for some time until, their hawking over, they would thread
their way out of the town. The indefatigable Rai would follow
them at a distance, bent on beholding a Balkan Gypsy eueanip-
mont. After a tramp of two hours, the latter half of it on ' black
roads,' he would suddenly see a largo and irregular camp on a
rising heath outside a village in a ravine. Largo tents of the
triangular sort, but so UU as to remind him forcibly of Punch and
Judy booths, would meet iiis gaze, with here and there a toy
wooden windmill attached to the protruding herand and turning
merrily in the evening breeze. Numerous carts, with their hoop-
like skeleton roofing, over which a strong straw matting is
stretched, would be standing here and there, cocks and hens
pecking and scratching about the wheels. No horses would be
visible, but at one end of the encampment a herd of some twenty
black buffaloes woul'd be grazing or chewing the cud, many of
them with blue- white eyes, and also blue beads on their horns t-
keep off the evil eye.
All around the tents the ground would be white with wood chop-
pings, whilst tiny fires, steaming pots, busy women squatting over
the simmering kakavja, ragged packs of hungry children buzzing
around, would denote that the pleasantest hour of the day, that
of the sunset meal, which for them is breakfast, dinner, and supper
combined, had once more arrived.
Then would come the disappointment. The Rai would
approach the most inviting tent with chosen greetings selected
from Paspati upon his lips and rehearsed again and again during
REPORT ON THE GYPSY TRIBES OF NORTH-EAST BULGARIA 49
the long tramp from the town. The eldest man of the tent, with
a long white beard and enormous brown kalpaJc, would remain
squatted and reply : ' Nil in^eleg, Domnule.' And seeing the Rai's
astonished disappointment — nay, rather, incredulity — he would
quickly add : ' Bar vino incodccfnite, bine hai venit, sd se^l pu{in
cu noi, aid pe dlbie ! '^ And the Rai, if he-were something of a
Lavengro, would not be disappointed after all, for had he not been
hailed in Latin, still alive and unforgotten throughout the ages,
and handed down from a vanguard of Latinity amongst the Slavic
hordes ?
The Rai would have been right not to have left them, for they
are the Rudaris, tho darkest skinned, and the most numerous
nomad tribe in North-East Bulgaria. They are the descendants
of the ancient Rumanian Rudari or Auniri Gypsies, who in summer
sifted gold from tho rivers for their Rumanian overlords, and in
winter made small wooden instruments. For generations they
have spoken no Rumani. Those who are now in Bulgaria speak
fluently Bulgarian and Turkish besides their native Rumanian.
(See Colocci, pp. 197-200.) As in Hungary in the time of Maria
Teresa, so too in Bulgaria their descendants think themselves
insulted if called Gypsies. But if asked to state what they are they
will answer, ' Wo are Koritiiris' (trough-makers). You cannot get
from them a racial name. Only among themselves do they, in
Bulgaria, call themselves Rudari. The Rumanian Standard
^Etymological Dictionary says the word is Gypsy, and means gold
workers. It is scarcely of Gypsy origin, though it may now be felt
to be a Gypsy word.
The Rudaris never beg nor steal, and are well treated by the
Bulgarian peasants who call them 'Vlasi,' i.e. the Wallachians.
Their women are so modest that they refuse to enter the court-
yard or front garden of houses, selling their wares from the street.
Nor do they tell fortunes, or, as is the habit of many others, enter
mto light conversation with grocers' boys. They appear to have
the nickname of 'Maria' among the shop-assistants and lower
townsfolk, who thus address them when wishing to buy their wares.
The poles they are said to carry to keep off dogs. But other
Gypsies don't carry them. The pole, and also the large silver clasps
known as jxifti or caprdzi, not generally worn by other tribes
^ Translation : ' I do not understand, Sir.'
* But come here, brother, welcome, sit down a bit vnth us here upon the trough.'
Alhie (the Romani hcdai, Bulgarian korito) is derived from Latin alveus, and
denotes a wooden trough.
VOL. IX. — NO. I. D
50 REPORT ON THE GYPSY TRIBES OF NORTH-EAST BULGARIA
except on very grand occasions, are instances, parallel ■with the
different shaped tents, of the conservativeness of all these tribes.
The poles are quite unnecessary, and must be irksome, as the
Rudari girl has so much else to carry. Perhaps they are a badge,
or indeed a weapon, of respectability.
In the summer, towards har\est time, the Kudaris congregate
for the purpose of cutting the corn. This is still done to a large
extent by hand, though machines are rapidly being introduced.
In 1913 I met a procession of Rudaris forming a caravan two
miles long, a couple of slow, awkward buffiiloes dragging each
creaking cart at a slow walking pace, the whole family in almost
every case asleep inside with the exception of one man or youth
who sauntered beside the animals. Like other nomad tribes they
repair to the various harvest centres at different dates, the corn
being cut earlier in the plains than on the ])lateaux.
Towards the last days of June they arrive every year at the
village of Ruslar, where two large cam})S may bo seen at either
end of the village. Lesser contingents are found at Adzender.
Pasha Kioi is the village patronized by the Parpulia at harvest
time, but small detachments of Rudaris, without their carts and
buffaloes, may bo seen alongside the other tents, at a little distance.
Pasha Kioi can also boast a small camp of nomad Moslem sieve-
makers.
The horse-thieves prefer the village of Indze Kioi, on Lake
Devna.
When the Rudari encamp quite near Varna, in order to sell
their wares in the town, they do so likewise without bringing their
whole families, their carts and buffaloes, chietiy owing to the
difficulty of finding suitable pasture-ground for the animals. On
such occasions they put up small tents, as shown in Mr. Macfie's
article on p. 54 of the Journal, vol. vii. In the said article will be
found mentioned their implements and the nature of their work.
As soon as their wares are sold, and their supply of raw material
exhausted, they rejoin the mother camp. This takes at the most
four days, during which time the Bulgarian authorities allow them
to camp on the plain to the north of Varna, near the State
Hospital, where no mere Gypsies would dream of pitching their
tents. Indeed, such is the love of the go-ahead Bulgarians for the.
best approved sanitary methods at present in vogue, that were
they to read these lines they would probably indignantly deny that
Gj'psies of any kind were ever allowed to camp on the plain near
I
REPORT ON THE GYPSY TRIBES OF NORTH-EAST BULGARIA 51
the Hospital. We have, however, the photograph referred to
above. The Rudari men serve in the Bulgarian arm}-. In the
photograph just mentioned is seen one of them just returned from
the front and still in his uniform.
The Kudtiris must not be confused with another tribe which,
though exceedingly thievish, nevertheless moves about in lumber-
ing carts likewise drawn by the slow buftaloes, and covered with
rush matting.
The DiNiKovLAR Gypsies {v. B. 1 (d))
These are the Dinikovlars. The origin of the name is uncer-
tain, and I have found as yet no satisfactory explanation of the
word. They are Moslems. The men are horse-dealers, and the
women do most of the thieving. I know very little about them.
Their haunts are chiefly the vicinity of the Danube, from Nicopolis
to Rustchuk. They are reported as having no tents, but they
spread their mats from the shady or sheltered side of the cart
slantwise to the ground by way of an awning, and under this they
stjuat. The men wear white turbans, and the women the feredza,
or Moslem black female cloak.
At Eski-Djumaya. during the fair in the summer of 1915, I
watched the extraordinary conduct of a party of Gypsies — two
men and two women — whom I have reason to believe were of the
Dinikovlar tribe. It was on a Sunday, and a special train had
brought the Varna townsfolk in thousands to the fair. Peasants
thronged in from far and near. The narrow streets formed by the
specially erected booths were packed. The heat and dust were
stifling. One booth formed the comer of two streets. In it were
displayed temptingly packets of Sunlight soap, cheeses, scrubbing
brushes, and rolls of cheap and brightly coloured cloth, and daggers
in embroidered leather sheaths. The goods were there to tempt
the public, and to stand and gaze at them, Avhilst waiting for the
crowd to move on, did not excite the suspicions of the two youths
who were serving customers with a great show of bustling. One
might even pick up a packet of soap to examine the mark. And
it was just this that the four Dinikovlars were doing when I arrived
upon the scene. I stood among the crowd at some distance. The
coolness with which one of the Gypsies took up one packet, then
another and yet another, and instead of putting it down upon the
counter, transferred it to the expectant hands of his wife, to be
52 REPORT ON THE GYPSY TRIBES OF NORTH-EAST BULGARIA
hidden in the folds of her clothing, was astounding. ' After all, of
what use can all this soap be to them,' I mused. ' Now if they
were to take some yards of cloth . . .' Scarcely had the thought
struck me than I saw one of them approach the rolls of cloth, and
taking one when no one was looking, hold it lengthwise behind his
back, so that it reached from his neck to the back of his knees.
Immediately the second man sandwiched himself up against his
companion, the two standing back to back, and holding the roll
between them by pressure only. The first man was already rolling
a cigarette, while the second chatted with one of the women, who
placed herself casually between the upright piece of cloth and the
gaze of the shopkeeper, should he perchance look in that direction.
The second woman, who carried an infant in her arms, now drew
near the only unprotected side, and I was ol)liged to shift my posi-
tion in order to see the roll of cloth fall into the folds of her ferctlza,
the end of which she picked up with a show of wrapping the child
in it. All this was done perfectly calmly, without any haste.
What more natural than to see a woman endeavouring to readjust,
with her only free hand, her clothing, in order to wrap up a squeal-
ing infant 1 Gradually the little group broke up, only to try their
luck at another booth. 1 followed, fascinated at the cool daring
displayed, and each time astonished at the complete success.
At length the party repaired to the outskirts of the fair, where
the woman with the child squatted on the ground to rewrap the
baby and to hide more thoroughly the stolen goods about her
person.
I then approached the men and congratulated them in Romani.
They looked somewhat alarmed, but a few words reassured thorn,
and they asked me what success I had had. They took me, I
suppose, for a shop thief. It is not uncommon to find Bulgarians,
dressed cl la Frawja, skilled in horseflesh, and knowing a little
Romani. With a knowing look I pointed to the handle of a large
dagger which I had that day bought, and which I made protrude
slightly from an inner pocket. They smiled, but as I withdrew I
noticed their eyes following me suspiciously, and three minutes
later they had left the fair.
I was not able in a three minutes' conversation successfully to
place the dialect of these Dinikovlar thieves, if indeed the four
above described wore of that tribe. They spoke a non-Vlacb
dialect, of great phonetic purity. They also had the j*.
REPORT OX THE GYPSY TRIBES OF NORTK-EAST BULGARIA 53
The AiDfA
About the Aidia, or nomad Moslem ironworkers, I know
next to nothing (v. B. 1 (c) and Section 2, p. 103). I once tnet a
great number of them travelling in Indian file along the crest of
some mountains in the Eastern Balkan range, not far from Kotel.
I was not even able to discover the shape of their tents, as they
halted without pitching them, while their leaders endeavoured in
vain to obtain permission to camp on the heights above the village
of Gradets. Though the chiefs were absent but half an hour, the
whole camp set to work to batter and beat into various shapes old
bits of iron in rapidly lighted charcoal fires, and to make their
rough iron implements ready for sale in the next village. With
regard to their name, I got it, not from them, but from the Zagun-
djis, who occasionally meet them at Burgas, and buy wives from
among their women.
I know so little of the horse-shoo makers that I am not even
sure if they are correctly classified {>:. A. 2 (</)). I believe that
they live between Kazgrad and Rustchuk, on the outskirts of
various villages, notably Pisanets, in artificially dug-out caves, and
that they are Christians, and speak a dialect roughly described by
the horse-thieves as being Zagundji !
I have little data whereon to build a description of the
Demirdjis found at Varna, the Sepetdji's, and Hasirdji's, the
Kazanlik ironworkers, and the Dawuldjis or Mehteris (v. A. 1 (c),
(.7), (/). and ((/)).
The Varna Demirdjis, the Se[^etdjis, and the Hasirdji's, are
t closely allied. They are of the old Moslem stock, and their
language is of the family of the tinners' speech. They do not all
speak Romani, and those who have forgotten their language have,
generally speaking, adopted the ways of the Turk, on whom they
model their mode of living. Their women veil, and parents have
their children circumcised.
All I know of the Kazanlik ironworkers will be found in the
second or linguistic section of this report.
The Dawuldjis cannot speak a Avord of Gypsy, at least this is
the case with regard to those inhabiting this district.
They are a ragged, plebeian lot, with little of the Gypsy about
them, and are often hard to distinguish from the lowest class of
the Turkish population.
54 REVIEW I
Instead of the shrill, piercing pipe, they sometimes pLay the
native bagpipe or gaita. They are in great demand at Gypsy
marriages and festivals, notably at those of the Zagundjls. They
also play from house to house in the towns at the Xew Year. t
(To be continued)
REVIEW
Report of the Departmental Committee on Tinkers in Scotland,
His Majesty's Stationery Office, Edinburgh, 1918 (4s. net)
CONSCRIPTION and the various restrictions under which we
are living in war-time have made the position of Gypsies
difficult in every case, in some cases impossible. We have met
with a family of Gypsies, driven liy fear of air-raids from the
eastern counties, now living in Cheshire, and one hears complaints
of the abandonment of many fairs at which these people used
to congregate. The life of a parasite becomes wollnigh impos-
sible to members of a comnmnity engaged in a war that taxes
every energy, and extends its influence to all grades of society.
Though, normally, the Gypsy mode of life is that of a parasite, let
it never be forgotten that the Gypsies in the United Kingdom are
members of the community; that, while their mode of life does
not commend itself to the purblind view of modern civilized man,
they follow a natural and a healthy instinct in pursuing a nomadic
life, and it is rather the clash of two kinds of civilization than any
innate depravity that forces them so often to make a living in the
less generally reputable walks of life, and out of the foibles and
follies of their more sophisticated brethren. The difficulties under
which Gypsies are labouring in England at present are enhanced
tenfold in so poor and scantily populated a country as many of
the remoter parts of Scotland. To the honour of the race be it
said that not all male Gypsies of military age waited to be con-
scripted; numbers, especially from the New Forest, volunteered in
the early days of the war. The same is true of Welsli Gypsies : in
particular, the Roberts family. In the New Forest a relaxation has
been made in the forest laws by which Gypsy families are no
longer compelled to strike camp frequently and migrate to a fresh
camping-place. The late vicar of Bransgore and others were
instrumental in securing this temporary concession. In Scotland
REVIEW 55
the necessities of the time make it undesirable that there should
be migrants camping out and lighting fires promiscuously, and the
tinkers have been driven into the towns. Members of the Gypsy
Lore Society are well aware of the almost inevitable results of
herding such people in towns. It has sometimes been said that
they sink speedily to a position moral, sanitary, and social, that is
lower than the lowest of our slum-dwellers. This is often due to
prejudice against letting decent houses to Gypsies.
On 19th September 1917 His Majesty's Secretary of State for
Scotland, acting on representations made to him by various
interested bodies, appointed a Committee to inquire into the
conditions under which tinkers live, and, ' keeping in view the
reconmiendations relating to such persons made by recent Com-
missions and Committees, to report as to any steps which might
be advisable in order to secure or confirm an improvement in
these conditions.'
This Comjnittee, composed of the Rev. R. Menzies Fer-
gusson, D.D., Her Grace the Duchess of Atholl, Miss Agnes
Campbell, the Rev. G. A. Jetlrey, Donald Mackay, Esq., and
G. A. Mackay, Esq., have issued their report.
The problem is attacked in a comprehensive manner, beginning
with an excellent sketch of the past history of the tinkers and
Gypsies in Scotland. Part ii. contains a description of their
present conditions, and in Part in. the Committee's recommenda-
tions are detailed. There are thirteen appendices, giving in some
cases most interesting statistics. We have no hesitation in saying
that every member of the Gypsy Lore Society should obtain this
Report, and we take this opportunity of thanking those concerned
for the valuable information they have collected and here exhibit.
In summing up the evidence bearing upon the question of
tinker origins the Report says : ' The varying elements in the
ethnography of the Scottish tinker can probably best be summarized
through his speech. Romani words, though universal, are chiefly
found in the south ; Shelta is hardly spoken save in the west ; Old
English " cant " appears to have left its traces everywhere except
in Tiree. It should be added that the Highland tinker also knows
Gaelic — possible evidence of his descent from "broken men" of
the clans' (19).i
' The tinker therefore must be regarded as of mixed blood '
(20).
' The numbers refer to paragraphs in the Report.
56 REVIEW
The fact that Highland tinkers speak Gaelic is not enough to
support the suggestion that any considerable tincture of Scottish
Gaelic blood is to be found among them. No doubt there is some.
The English Gypsies are described by Borrow as having recently
abandoned their former strict ideas with regard to intermarriage
with ' gorgios.' The same thing is said by Gypsies to-day, nearly
forty years after Borrows death. Perhaps they have always said
the same, looking to a Golden Age of race purity, not in the remote
past, but ever in the near past. Gypsies marry outside the blood
fairly frequently ; they have done so for centuries. There is
no reason to suppose that Scottish Gypsies have been any more
exclusive of alien blood. Further, as regards a knowledge of
Gaelic, no one would suggest that Welsh blood is an original
element in the family of Abraham Wood on the grounds that
most of the descendants of that enigmatic person speak Welsh
with considerable fluency. They are bi-liugual, or rather tri-lingual,
by circumstance rather than by origin. The Scottish Gypsy
speaks Gaelic probably because he travels in a Gaelic country in
like manner. That there were wandering tinkers in Scotland, as in
England, before ever a Gypsy set foot in that land is, however,
certain. The tinker of the present day is descended from both
stocks; the original tinkers may or may not have been recruited
from among the ' broken men ' of the clans. The possession of the
Gaelic tongue proves nothing either way. Much firmer ground for
the suggestion is to be found in the physical appearance of these
people. Ethnological arguments based on language are seldom
anything but fallacious.
An interesting point is mentioned in the course of the histori-
cal survey. The anti-Gypsy legislation of Scotland 'gradually fell
into disuse, though not actually repealed until the twentieth
century.' A footnote adds (page 8), ' By the Statute Law Revisiun
(Scotland) Act of 1906.'
In dealing with the public interest manifested in the Gypsies
early in the nineteenth century the Committee seems to have
overlooked a series of letters that appeared in the Northampton
Mercury in 1814-15, which preceded the articles in Blackwood'
{J. G. L. S., New Series, i. 333). The Report gives the date of
Baird's efforts to educate Gypsies as 1839. Mr. Winstedt (loc. cit.
334) makes it a year earlier. Baird's eflbrts were more successful
than Mr. Winstedt seems to imply if their fruit is to be seen
to-day in the more settled habits of the Kirk Yetholm colony (33).
REVIEW 57
Mention might have been made of the statement that 'so far back
as the beginning of the last century, Bailie Smith found that the
Gypsies of Scotland gave their children as good an education as
the lower classes of natives.' — {J. G. L. S., i. 340.)
The Report takes for granted the truth of the common story
of Gypsies kidnapping children (34(a)). It would have been
better to have given definite evidence on the point, or to have
mentioned the scepticism about the charge which is prevalent
among most students of Gypsy problems.
Hitherto legislation ha.s aimed at dispersing vagrant bands
without much concern as to what became of those so dispersed.
It is true that the vagrancy problem has been reduced within
narrower limits (34), but at the expense of producing other and
more serious problems. We welcome the evidences shown in this
Report of a deeper study of the question, and a more far-sighted
view in the Scottish Otiice at Whitehall.
Part II. of the Report, dealing with the present condition of the
tinkers, is of extraordinary interest. The special census of tinkers
made on the evening of Sunda}-, 21st October 1917, was carefully
jtlanned, and is probably as reliable as any such census can be.
It is of interest beyond the borders of Scotland, for it affords a
basis upon which one may estimate the number of Gypsies in
England, as to which widely dissimilar guesses have been made.
In this census settled and well-to do Gypsies were excluded.
Including 309 men in the Army and 171 children in industrial
schools, the gross total for Scotland is 2728. Ross-shire has the
greatest number among the counties; Dundee among the burghs.
'Among tinkers large families may be said to be the rule' (42).
The Rev. A. B. Scott, of Kildonan, Sutherland, in giving
evidence before the Committee, divided the Sutherland tinkers
into three classes. ' The tirst have money, reside in villages in
winter, wander in summer, attend markets, and deal in horses.
The second come from southern counties in summer (I have met
them from Forfar and Perth) ; camp out, sell German wares, wash
gold, tish for pearls, poach, steal, beg, and generally have a good
time. They are the sort who love " the wind on the heath." The
third live in caves, rock-shelters, and tents. They look degraded,
although they have many good qualities. Physically they are
weak ; much given to liquor. They beg, steal, and poach. The
only articles I have seen them selling are heather-brooms, and
rinsers. The MacPhees and others of the class are said to be
58 REVIEW
remnants of broken clans' (43). This last is interesting. We
should like to know by whom this is said of the MacPhees — by
themselves, or by others ? The probability is that those belonging
to this third class are mainly non-Gypsy. Only 122 tinkers reside
in the Islands. Family names go by localities to some extent.
' The tinker in Caithness or Orkney is a Newlands, a Williamson,
or a MacPhee. In the heart of the countrv, about Perthshire and
Forfarshire, are to be found Whites, Townsleys, Reids, Stewarts,
and Camerons. Among the Border "muggers" the names
Douglas, Watson, Blyth, Norris, and Young are common; while
Gallowav is the home of the Marshalls. Macmillans, Watsons, and
Wilsons. This list does not by any means exhaust the tinker
names in Scotland ' (53).
It is of interest to note that one witness described the women
as being greater wanderers than the men. Among the copper-
smith Gypsies, Tinka it was, and not her husband, who urged the
tribe from countr}- to country (/. G. L. S., viii. 252).
It is surprising to learn that the tinkers of the north look upon
the police as their best friends (03). All honour to the Scottish
police !
The points that seem to be of greatest interest are (1) the
health conditions of the nomadic life; (2) the treatment of
children by their tinker parents; (3) the eftect of town life on
the morals of tinkers ; and (4) the etVect of strong drink on the
tinkers.
With regard to the etiect of a nomadic life under the strenuous
conditions of climate in Scotland, and the general poverty of the
class of people with which the Report deals, we are given a number
of statements which go to show that great suttering is entailed,
and that there is some possibility of this affecting the general
health of the tinkers, while witnesses are agreed as to itsefl'ect on
their children. Their mode of life ' exposes the children, in
winter more especially, to very severe physical suffering and hard-
ship' (64). ' The majority of the witnesses spoke of the health of
the tinker as being good. Nevertheless, there are tinkers who are
poor physically and below the normal' (78). 'As to the effect of
the camping life on the health of the young children. There
seems to be a consensus of opinion that the exposure of such
children in tents and caves in the winter time is causing them
unnecessary suffering, and even injury to health' (80). 'These
tents could not be regarded as sanitary. While he (Dr. Roger
REVIEW 59
M'Neill) was not prepared to say they were dangerous to health in
summer, he would be disposed to condemn them from the public
health point of view as unsuitable for habitation ' (82). Statistical
tables prepared by the Committee show that among children under
five years of age the proportion of deaths is abnormally high.
With regard to the former of these two statements, we think
it would have been better if the Committee had more clearly
specitied the circumstances in which the deaths tabulated took
place. The large majority were in towns, so that no real evidence
is to be obtained in this way for the alleged unhealthiness of vans
and tents. English Gypsies complain of sutiermg from colds and
chest complaints during the winter when they are in houses in
towns. Something similar has been the experience of soldiers
who have gone into billets out of the trenches. As to the abnor-
mally high death-rate among children under live, the suggestion
has been made that this may run parallel to the abnormally high
birth-rate among these people. A study of a normal English
pedigree seems to support the notion that where there are a large
number of children in a family there is likely to be a large infan-
tile death-rate. On the other hand, such statistics as the present
writer can obtain for the population of an agricultural district
in Yorkshire, where there are also a few cotton factories, and
where large families mean increased income, show that the larger
families are most free from deaths of infants under five years
old. The point ought to be investigated more thoroughly.
In the case of Caithness, births as well as deaths are taken
into account, so far as possible, from which it appears that the
infantile mortality rate is 216 per 1000 tinker children born, as
against the normal rate for that county, 99 per 1000 (87). These
figures undoubtedly disclose a serious state of things. We should
sufjtTest that efforts should be made to instruct the mothers in
proper methods of feeding and caring for infants, a work that is
being done with considerable success among the cottagers in
England, where, in a district that is well known to the present
writer, an amount of prejudice has to be overcome that can scarcely
be exceeded among the migrant peoples in Scotland. Further
we would suggest that steps should be taken to provide the
tenters with more commodious and weather-proof tents. Pneu-
monia seems to be the most frequent cause of death. The
proposals of the Committee will be dealt with later in this paper,
when we shall take the liberty of suggesting what seems to us a
60 REVIEW
wiser course than that which they recommend. For the moment
we note that the conditions as to the health of young children
constitute a serious menace, and must needs be dealt with. In
any case there does not seem to be any very positive evidence
pointing to unhealthiness in the tenting life for those who
practise it.
Tinker parents are fond of their children. A Report i.ssued in
1895 says, ' In their domestic relations they are depicted as faith-
ful to their own marriage ties, and fond of their children ' (60).
One of the witnesses in the present inquiry says, 'Fond of their
children, to whom they seem greatly attached ' (63). The former
General Secretary of the Scottish National Society for the Preven-
tion of Cruelty to Children says, ' The attention of the Society was
not directed to the tinkers as a cla.ss by any allegation or suspicion
of cruelty to children, as the term is popularly understood. On
the contrary, there was ample testimony that tinkers are specially
fond of their children, who were usually found to be healthy, well
nourished, amply clad, and less verminous than generally supposed.
Their condition, on the whole, compared favourably with the
children of city slums' (64). Mention is made of ' the sociability
and strong family affection which characterize the tinker tribes'
(135). Again, 'almost every witness we examined testified to the
deep affection existing between tinkers and their children. Man}'
facts have been brought to our notice which afford confirmation of
this view' (162).
The Eeport is equally emphatic on the dangers which attend
the transfer from tenting life to life in a city. ' In Perth city the
circumstances and conditions of the tinkers were described to u.s
as low, "almost animal"' (io). 'There can be no doubt that the
conditions under which tinkers are at present living in " D " are
fraught with danger, physically and morally. Women and
children accustomed to an open-air life, totally ignorant of
hygiene, and necessarily brought up with little regard for personal
cleanliness, are living herded together in single-room slum tene-
ments, and children accustomed to country surroundings are being
given every opportunity of rubbing shoulders with the lowest of
a town population' (123). 'The desire for the country is very
generally expressed for the sake of the children's health ' (125).
' Our visits could not but leave on our minds a marked impres-
sion of the disabilities entailed by illiteracy and ignorance among
a primitive people forced into contact with civilization' (135).
REVIEW 61
' Certain evidence placed before us points to the danger of definite
moral declension on the part of tinkers as a consequence of town
life ' (150).
Intemperance in the use of strong liquors is spoken of as ' the
bane of the tinker's life.' ' Some witnesses stated that any scheme
for the reformation of the tinker would fail unless buttressed by
drink prohibition' (72). 'Though strongly favouring prohibition,
certain witnesses doubted whether it would be practicable to
enforce such a measure for a limited class '(75). The witnesses
quoted in the Report seem all to find the worst evils of the
tinker's way of life due to over-indulgence in strong drink.
The Committee were of opinion that the disturbance in the
habits of tinkers brought about by the war, and the necessity of
taking some steps to ameliorate the condition of these people at
the present time, afford an e^fcellent opportunity for dealing with
the problem comprehensively, and once and for all extinguishing
the anomaly of a class of people living among us who are not of
the orthodox fashion. The members of the Committee have done
their work with the utmost fairness : we have no criticism to offer
as to their genuine wish to find the best way out of a difficult
position both for the nation at large and for the tinkers. But
they have not been able to free themselves entirely from the arti-
ficial view of life which masquerades as modern civilization. "We
ask in amazement, why should it be thought desirable to bring
the tinker's way of life to an end ? The Report itself gives reasons
why it should still be allowed to exist. In paragraph 143 we are
told that ' tinkerdom is a verv real social disease.' This is no
doubt the case viewed from the standpoint of modern industrial
towns, Local Government Boards, the Poor Law, and the like.
May we not, however, with just as much reason, look at it from
the tinker's point of view, and see in modern civilization, with its
working class spending their days in factories from five in the
morning till nearly five at night, with black smoke poisoning the
air and blighting the sweet natural growths of the countryside,
with cut-throat competition, with education of children who are
driven at the age of fourteen from the study of literature and
painting to the back-breaking task of potato-picking in the fields,
with rows of sanitary houses each the exact replica of its neigh-
bour, with its cinema shows provided to keep the victims of system
amused, with all the paraphernalia of these modern days, a real
social disease that cries aloud to be extinguished by the energies
62 REVIEW
of all riofht-thinkinof men. We have no scheme of so-called
Socialism to propound, but we are convinced that for the vast
majority of our fellow-countrymen there is, under modern condi-
tions, existence only, but no real life. Why should the tinkers,
who are a people that have for generations revolted from this sort
of thing, be compelled or cajoled into submitting to the chains
that are becoming ever more and more galling to ourselves ?
Says the Report, ' In all communities there are born men and
women who do not take kindly to settled industrial conditions '
(143). Thank God for that! ' The blood of the primitive hunter
or of the pastoral nomad has bridged a gap of centuries and
found a modern setting. The machinery of industry has scant
tolerance for this type. . . . The lot of such persons, if isolated,
would be pitiable. But they find easy admittance to a class which
has developed a social economy of its own' (143). If the recom-
mendations of the Committee are carried out and meet with full
success, obviously a new situation will arise, and persons of atavis-
tic type will have to endure the lot which the Committee rightly
stigmatize as pitiable. Surely the better course would be to
acknowledge the inevitability of some such class of people as the
tinkers within the bounds of more settled, stolid humanity, and
scheme to ameliorate their condition, while at the same time
respecting the inherent right to freedom and self-determination
which we so loudly uphold yet so seldom practise. It is a pity
that more weight was not allowed to the very just remarks of
Provost M'Cormick in his statement (Appendix No. iv. to this
Report). As he says, ' Why drive them into slums, when social
reformers are trying to do away with slums ? ' Again, ' Tinklers and
Gypsies are the only people who never seem to have forgotten the
advantages of open-air life.' Here lies our main criticism of this
Report.
The Committee, hoping to extinguish in due time every rem-
nant of nomadic life, make a number of recommendations with a
view to settlement and employment of tinkers, their proper hou.s-
ing, financial assistance, supervision of families, education and
industrial training, drink prohibition, and the like. On one point,
that of drink prohibition, a reservation is made by the Duchess of
Atholl and Miss Campbell, who deprecate such action as should
mark tinkers off as a class by themselves under special disabilities.
We agree with these two ladies. The drink problem must be
attacked in a comprehensive way, and can be made to apply to
KEVIEW 63
every member of the community to their great benefit. Surely
the experiences of war-tinie have taught us this much. With the
details of the Committee's scheme we have no quarrel. There
are among the tinkers individual persons who do not like tenting,
who do like industrial employment, who can benefit by education.
Let all this be provided. There is always a need for town dwell-
ings for such people during the winter months. Let these be
provided. But do not attempt to convert to a settled life a
whole class whose wandering ' is more than an inclination : it is
an instinct. That instinct is inbred and ingrained ' (Rev. A. B.
Scott, 54). There is no serious charge against these people of
being unusually criminal. ' The tinker does not take what
is not his own until he is driven by necessity ' {66). ' Any
departure on their part from strict truthfulness may, we think,
not unfairly be attributed, not so much to a deliberate desire
to deceive as to a habitual concern to agree with their ques-
tioner'(111). 'The Vagrancy Committee indeed point out that
the gypsy, though a source of annoyance in certain districts,
usually exercises some handicraft or industry, and "though
he may be at times addicted to petty pilfering, poaching, and
other like offences, he is often of a respectable character'" (139).
' The tinker is a member of a community with definite ideas of
right and wrong ' (144).
It would have been well had the Committee examined wit-
nesses as to the tents used in various parts of England by Gypsies.
There are several types of these. As a rule they are warm, airy,
comfortable, and sanitary, far removed from the miserable dwell-
ings we have seen in photographs of Scottish tinkers. The
Government would be well advised to try, by providing better
tents and by careful financial assistance, to carry out a genuine
' reformation ' of the tinker. In our reading, to ' re-form ' does not,
and cannot, mean ' to do away with.' We are sorry for the tinkers
who love the wandering life, if they are to be forced into a
manner of life that appeals to the few among them who do not
love a wandering life. We are sorry for the community that, by
blindly trying to extingui-sh conditions that could as easily be
ameliorated, is surely about to entail on people, whether ' cairds,'
Gypsies, ' broken men of the clans,' or merely revolters from the
constraints and the dullness of life in factories and slum dwellings,
a lot that the Committee allow to be pitiable.
Nevertheless we would heartily commend many of their
64 REVIEW
recommendations, while we hope that our forebodings will not be
fulfilled.
The Report is carefully printed, but the short Bibliography on
pages 50 and 51 contains two deplorable slips. Dr. Black's book
is A Gypsy Bibliography, and is a Monograph of the Gypsy Lorr
Society: in both cases Gypsy, not Gipsy.
NOTES AND QUERIES
1. — Spanish Romaxi
The following 'couplets' were given to M. Tiithes at Majorca in 1836 or 1837
by an Anilalusian artillery officer. Bataillard thought they were a specinu-n ni
Catalonian Romani, but they are almost certainly Spanish Roniaui, and pr<'bal>ly
have only a fortuitous connexion with the Catalonian district.
' Sarasen de la Canl1>ea
A villila pucharda,
Socarrien de variven
Canielilr 6 anasiohir.
' Arrinmte & esa bangri
No sea <|ue venga el cbin^
Y por inalo te jonjiive,
Y te lleve al estariv<^r.
' Si me dinas un chupendo
De esa fila tan sere,
Yo te dinare unos cales
Para tus pulidos pinrr^s.
' La Ruiiii ijue yo canielo
Si utro me la canu-lara,
Tiniva de mi chuli,
Y la fila le coruira.
' Al pan le Uaman Manro,
Al tociuo Valeviile,
A la yglesia la Cangri,
Y Es-sarivi'-r a I:i c.ircel.
' Anoche esture en tugue
Rumi, i>ara piravarte,
Y me chumillastes en calci,
Que estabas con el arate
Te no podia ser.
'Estando yo piravando
En el palomar de Andares
Me afanavon los estroD«iues
Que abelava en los alares.'
SEP 13 1967 ;
J 0 U R X A L OT THE
GYPSY LORE
S 0 C I E T Y
NEW SERIES
Vol. IX YEAR 1915-lG No. 2
I— REPORT ON THE GYPSY TRIBES OF NORTH-EAST
BULGARIA
By ' Petulexgro '
(Continued)
2. — Dialects
I\ making a comprehensive survey of the Gypsy dialects of
the whole Balkan Peninsula one would probably begin by dis-
tinguishing two great divisions — ( 1 ) the non-Ylach Dialects ;
(2) the Vlach Dialects. It is not possible to find a suitable name
applicable to the first division. The Gypsies themselves call them
the Moslem dialects, on account of their being largely spoken by
the original Gypsy converts to Islam centuries ago, the memory of
such conversion having been entirely lost. But the term must
not be taken to mean that there are not Christians who must be
linguistically included in the tirst division, nor that there are
not Moslem tribes speaking Ylach dialects. Such tribes, as we
have seen, do exist. They are, however, all recent converts to
Islam, some as recent as a generation ago. One might call the
first division the Greek dialects. Not that those who speak them
have necessarily a knowledge of Greek, but that the elements of
that language, which from ancient times have been permanently
VOL. IX. — NO. n. E
C6 REPORT ON THE GYPSV TRIBES OF NORTH-EAST BULGARIA
incorporated into their speech, are found in greater abundance
therein than in the VLach dialects, where Rumanian loan words
have ousted the Greek loan words, and, not infrequently, the
original Koniani. Beyond this, each of the two groups of dialects
also possesses, to a certain extent, a genuine original Romani
vocabulary of its own, unused by the other.
It seems to me that these must be regarded as the two
important primal groups, to one or the other of which all dialects
can be attached. Future investigations in difterent parts of the
Balkan Peninsula will show how far I am right. I am even of
opinion that it will be possible to classify to a certain extent the
European Gypsy dialects as having sprung from one or other of
these two groupings. For instance, the 'Lalere Sinto,' and the
Nomad Coppersmiths recently in England do belong, on the whole,
to the second division, Avhereas the Gypsies of the Rhine Province
may possibly be relegated to the first group. These considera-
tions, however, would lead us lieyond the scope of this report.
With regard to the dialects spoken by the tribes here sur-
veyed, the two groupings undoubtedly hold good. Within the
second group are found the following chief subdivisions, arranged
according to their relationship one to another: —
(1) The Sieve-maker dialects, Mo.slem and Christian Seden-
tary and Nomad, which may be taken as typical, at
the same time, of all Christian Sedentary tribes within
the district, such as tlie Coflee-pot makers of Shumla,
and many Christian Sedcntaries scattered throughout
the villages around Varna and Dobritch, who practise no
distinctive trade, and call themselves Yerlia or local
Gypsies.
(2) The dialect of the Ziigundjis. It appears to stand by itself,
and I have not met any Sedentaries or Christians, or
other Nomad tribes speaking it.
(3) The dialect of the Comb-makers. It is found also beyond
the frontiers of Bulgaria. (See account of this tribe.)
Within the first group, which embraces all the more primitive
dialects, are found the following subdivisions, arranged according
to their degree of kinship one to another : —
(1) The dialects of the Aidia and of the Parpulia.
(2) The dialect of the Sedentary Iron- workers of Kazanlik. I
have not at present sufficient material in order to be sure
which of the dialects just mentioned is the purest, but
REPOar ON THE GYPSY TRIBES OF NORTH-EAST BULGARIA 67
they are all very near to each other, and are all very
primitive.
<3) The dialects of the Tinners and Basket-makers, and of the
Mat-makers, and of some of the Iron-workers found in
Varna (v. A. 1 (c)), all of which are almost identical one
with another, and may be looked upon as a sort of half-
way house towards Dri'ndari.
(•i) Drindari, comprising all the varieties, differing slightly
among each other, of the dialect spoken by the Gypsy
musicians who hail from the district of Kotel, and a
vocabulary of whose dialect is embodied in Colocci's
appendix to his work Gli Ziivjari, entitled ' Lessico
Italiano-Tchinghiane.'
I may mention, in passing, that the dialect of the Sofia
.Sedentary Moslems who call themselves Yerlides, i.e. locals,
belongs to the group of non-Vlach dialects, as will be apparent
from a comparison of the Sofia Gypsy fairy tales with examples
published below.
Miklosich, in Book vi. of his Mandarten, gives a vocabulary of
the Gypsies of Galicia which, in many instances, resembles the
dialects of our non-VIach group. Balania, dilino, 6e6ipo, gelom,
melinel, darinel, ka\ni, rukono, pipirus, phus, atavos, avetoa,
rosolos, vaJcer, are all words and forms typical of one or other of
the non-Vlach dialects. However, the above-mentioned vocabu-
lary, and still more the ones following it in the same Book vi.
contain many forms peculiar to both groups. This is to a certain
extent true of one of our dialects, that of the Comb-makers, in
fact just of that one which most nearly resembles the dialect
spoken in Rumania. It is also true of the Bukovina fairy tales.
It may be therefore objected that the expression Vlach dialects is
misleading, since many dialects spoken in Rumania, and influenced
by Rumanian, are not of the group. As an alternative one might
talk of the ^ group and the R group. But here again one would
meet with exceptions, although not in this district. Or one might
•call them A and B.
Before going further I should like to emphasize a point, the
importance of which is not always realized. Students of Romani,
admiring the purity and splendid preservation of the Balkan
Gypsy dialects, are inclined to consider quaint and highly expres-
sive phrases and idioms found in South-East European Romani as
the undisputed property of the Gypsies, brought by them from
68 REPORT OX THE GYPSY TRIBES OF NORTH-EAST BULGARIA
other lands. This is not the case. It is not the case in any Euro-
pean dialect, and those of the Balkans are no exception to the
general rule. It would be interesting to collect the real Roniani
phraseology found in these pure dialects. Genuine instances
would be found to be very rare. Among such is probably the
expression, common to nearly all dialects, kiv tat jmlal, meaning
to drive or send away some one. But the majority of much
admired forms and expressions are directly due to the existence of
the same in Turkish, Bulgarian, or Modern Greek. Compare the
expression dikldjar<his pes e doftoroste, ' he caused himself to be
examined by the doctor,' with the Turkish kendisini doktora
bakdlrdi, of which the Romani is a literal translation. Such are
also: pdle kanarakhihljovas, Turkish, jinr hidu-iddzaijiz, 'we shall
meet again,' where tribes not usually speaking Turkish would sav,
kadikhns amen. DikhddJQrii'^ is the Turkish gjuriiJmek, to meet
and hold discourse together. Te aj'aklnidjovav leske tsira love,
' Let me come to his assistance with some money,' is the Turkish
bidunnjivi ona biraz para. There are hundreds of such examples
in the language of the Sedentary Moslem Sieve-makers, the whole
dialect being deeply influenced by Turki.sh idiom. The same may
be said of Dn'ndari expressions. They are the literal translation
of the Bulgarian spoken by the people with whom the Drindari
come most into contact. For instance, the expression lotaUii tit,ke ?
meaning literally 'has it become lighter, easier for you?' i.e.
' do you feel relieved ? ' said after a person has wept or given way
to a fit of rage, is simply the literal translation of the Bulgarian
lUeknn ti ?
For the rest a host of expressions must be regarded as neither
exclusively Turkish, Bulgarian, Rumanian, nor Greek, but as being
common to them all, and to the four can be added Romani and
Albanian, and, it is to me a foregone conclusion, also Armenian,
as spoken in the Balkan Peninsula, although I have not yet been
able to test it. All this forms a Balkan Sprachschatz, a striking
evidence of influence and counter-influence exercised for centuries
among races in spite of their mutual hostility to one another.
Papahagi, in his ' Parallele Ausdrilcke und Redensarten im
Rumanischen, Albanesischen, Neugriechischen und Bulgarischen,'
published in Professor Gustav Weigand's 14^^.«j Jahreshericht des
Jnstituts filr Rumdnische Sprache (Leipzig. 1008), shows by
means of some four hundred and fifty examples how deep this
influence has been. In perusing his article I was struck by the
UEl'ORT ON THE GYPSY TRIBES OF NORTH-EAST BULGARIA 69
■numerous instances in which I could supply a Romani parallel to
his examples. Here are only a few of them : —
The formula for greeting, Mist' avildn, to which is answered
miSf araJduidUain by the Zsigundjis, otherwise mi&t'araJddm, is
Rumanian: bine ai venit, bine am ijasit ; Bulgarian: dobre doSsl,
dohre nameril ; Modern Greek : kalos irthes, Jcalos evrika. And
all these expressions are probably copied from the Turkish, of
which they are faithful translations: xos (jeldin, xos bulduk.
Compare, too, Romani: gelo kai gelo, with Rumanian: merde ce
merse ; Bulgarian : rsrve sto vsrce ; Greek : pi ye ti piye. Romani :
sa rovel, meaning ' he does nothing but cry,' is Rumanian : tot
pldiuje ; Greek : ulo klei ; Bulgarian : vse plaice ; Turkish : Jiep
agluyor. Also arakhadilo lake chavorro, i.e. ' a little boy was found
(born) to her ' is literally, passive form and all, the Modern Greek :
Us rrethike ena mikru ; Bulgarian : nameri i se mnlko, and
Rumanian (Kutso-Vlach): I'i se ajia un nic. This will suffice to
show the reader what is already a recognized fact among students
-of Balkan philology.
It is the Greek language, either directly or through the
ujedium of Rumanian or Bulgarian, that has had the greatest
influence in moulding the syntax and idioms of the Romani
dialects of the Balkans.^ In point of actual vocabulary, if we
except Moslem Romani dialects directly affected by Turkish, and
borrowing freely from that language in order to supplement the
deficiencies of their own, and in many cases, when an equally
good Romani word, known to them, already exists, Turkish has
had wonderfully little influence upon Romani, and none at all out-
side the Balkan Peninsula, for we can suppose such so-called
Turkish words as do exist to have been taken from the language
of some Christian Balkan race. Greek, and a long way after it
Rumanian, are the two languages which have most deeply affected
Romani as a whole, in and outside of the Balkan Peninsula. The
case of Armenian is somewhat different. Apart from the Armenian
words adopted by the Drindaris, which are consciously borrowed
for purposes of secrecy, the well-known Armenian elements in
European Gypsy dialects were probably adopted in Armenia, or
any how before Armeno-Gypsy contact in Europe.^
* See Ch. Sandfeldt Jensen, Riimanslce Studitr (Danish text), who, I think, con-
clusively proves that it is Greek, and not, as sometimes believed, Albanian, which
has left its original cachet upon all the languages of the Balkans.
- It has been admitted that Miklosichs list of Armenian words found in Romani
required overhauling. Dr. Sampson did this perhaps a little too thoroughly in his'
70 REPORT ON THE GYPSY TRIBES OF NORTH-EAST BULGARIA
The influence of Greek and Rumanian upon Gypsy is so well
known that I need not insist upon it here. A lot of words may
yet be found to be Greek that have been considered dnnkel
hitherto. Since I have been in Bulgaria I have noted the
following, of which some have been hit upon independently by Dr.
Sampson : —
tromar, I dare, dunbl according to Miklosich, and wrongly
explained by Pott. Modern Greek, tromdzo, tromeo.
prepel (Sofia Dialect), to fit. Greek, jyrepi, to bo suitable.
note on page 10 of tho first nuniUer of the new series of tho JovrvnJ of tin' dypnf
Lore Society. The list certainly reijuireil revisinj;. Miklosich himself left out ;
words which he elsewhere admits are of Armenian origin: dior6 and dioml, ikj
mule ; vah, on account of ; and t<> tliese must he adiliMl xi'"'""^'. * relative by
marriage, and cihit, n. forehead. To this I must add the following word found itt
Bome of the dialects under consideration in this report : xunk (fern.), incense. Also]
a verb, x"n9»«o'""'i'- Kg- Xungimrd e muUn xunyuim, he incenses the dead witlv
incense. The word is found in the dialect of the Sedentary Moslem Sieve-makers.
Xiiratas, Hpeeih, is found in several of the non-Vlach dialects, and x'"''''"""V
found in Sofia. The word is of doubtful origin. Bulgarian has, in certain dialects,
Xdrtuvmn, x'''^"'^> I speak. The wonl, however, exists as a noun in vulgar
Armenian, and in Modern (Jreek as x"»*n'n*, » j"kf. (The West Kun.pean Uoiiianii
word for a joke, namolj', ptrjan, is found in nearly all the dialects of Eastern Bul-
garia in the form of pherdt, and it also often simply means speech, words. This i»
not Armenian.)
With regard to the words concerning which there is believed to be some doubt
as to their origin, arcic, tin, was defiiietl as mercury by an Armenian whom I
questioned, and bov was saitl to mean tho pipes of an oven through which the heat
runs. For tiie rest, the Uomani word for crumbs, purfukd (see Dr. Samp.son'i note
above quoted), known to the Z.igundjis and to the .Moslem Sedentary Sieve maker*
is, in my opinion, undoubtedly an Armenian word. Miklosich quoted the Armenian
equivalent in tho Armenian plural, purnuk'. But in the Armenian singular the
word is piiiork, and puinrka, purfuka, i.e. tho singular of the Armenian with the
Romaiii plural, are similar enough to convince any one of the derivation of the
Romaiii word, especially as exactly similar transpositions occur in the .Sieve makers'
dialect, both in native and loan words : cf. na/sa/o for noj^folii, and koittdko for
koni'iko, French brandy. Here I might record the rare word, found in the Sieve-
makers' dialect as well as in Colocci's Dnmlari an<l somewhere in Miklosich, i/>af(
(not Armenian) also meaning brandy, beside the original word tharl.
Koi'<ik is pure Armenian, pronounced as in Romani. The so called Slavic word
is kopca, probably from the Turkish ko]>ce. Balkan Gypsies use the .\rmeniai>
t-og/, 07/ in the sense of the soul, the principle of life, the seat of the affections,
the heart, also courage, character, power of resistance. It translates the I'ersian
word dzan, aclopted by the Turks.
Goif/ always means the mind, the reasoning faculty, and translates the Bulgarian-
Turkish akil (from the Arabic). The Gypsies never confu<.e this word with jo;//.
Ooiil is also a feminine noun, whereas vofjl is generally masculine. The words muFt
be of different origin. I am told tliat godi in Armenian means a girdle. The word,
I suppose, must remain dtmkel for the present.
As for m»«-Jo»i<ii. which Miklosich refers to Armenian mrrjt/n, it is pure Rumanian.
The Sedentary Moslem Sieve-makers have muionii, ard it means a mole and a mole
heap, not an ant and an ant heap as it does in some Rumanian dialects. There is
another well-known word ending in ox used by the same tribe, namely, knnd"i, a
mouse. I have not found any more jirobable origin for the word than Modern
Greek poiidiki, of which it is possibly a corruption.
REPORT ON THE GYPSY TRIBES OF NORTH-EAST BULGARIA 71
liperdv, to remember, mourn, regret (cf. Bohemian Gypsy
leperav and Welsh Gypsy reperdva), Modern Greek root lip
(vide Paspati, liixi).
rumiisardv, I destroy, Miklosich has musarav. (Cf. Puch-
mayer, quoted and unexphiined by Pott, Worterbuch, 275.)
ruminav, I destroy. It is probaby Greek kremnizo, Avhich
would give first of all kremisardv, or with an -in stem,
kreminav.
Jcanzaiiri, a hedgehog. Greek, skanzdiro, skantsoxiro, for
akanth6\oiro8, i.e. a prickly pig.
thrimn (Drindari), a little. Greek, thryma, a bit, fragment.
kandoi, a mouse. Perhaps a perversion of poiidikos, pondiki
the Modern Greek word for a mouse.
furuvli, a lime tree. Greek jilyra. Also used for the wood.
Heard from the Sedentary Moslem Sieve-makers.
The Greek, or non-Vlaeh, or I^ group, call it what we may,
contains by far the most primitive dialects, the richest mine for
the philological explorer, whether he examine the rapidly disap-
pearing dialect of the Tinners or Kalaidjis, the linguistic monstro-
sity of the Drfndari dialect, or the ancient and classical speech of
the Aidia and Parpulia. All dialects of this group possess the old
f sound. ^ The Vlach dialects, on the other hand, have either lost
the I' entirely, as in the case of the Sieve- makers, or converted it
into another sound, as in the case of the Zagundjis, which, how-
ever, they do not use with perfect regularity, and which one might
have easily overlooked, had one not been acquainted with the r of
the non- Vlach dialects. I refer to an r grassaye, which I repre-
sent as r. It is pronounced by trilling the epiglottis. It is used
by the Zagundjis in rapid speech in words where there was
originally, and is still in the other group of dialects, the r. But if
one asks them to repeat such a word they will probably use an
ordinary r. They will say in talking /)/(amr<;7, but will repeat the
word as pharavel. In the dialects which have preserved the r, the
pronouncing of the sound is never optional.
' My article on the j- sound was written in Beirut, from memory', without it
being possible for me to check the words by reference to Balkan Gypsies. Three
words must undoubtedly be struck off the list set forth in that article : parriO,
Xarn6, and nri- the root of the verb to fly. The word koro, blind, should have been
on the list. Bu^, bui^d, dry grass, twigs, brushwood, heath, must be added. It is
Paspati's o ve.^ o bur, forests and heaths ; Borrow's o haval po bur, the wind on the
heath, the bor, bush, of the Gypsies of the Rhine, and the bur, mountain, of the
Spanish Gypsies. Also almost certainly the word akho^, a walnut. But I am,
with regard to the last, again writing from memory, far away from any Balkan
Gypsies.
72 REPORT ON THE GYPSY TRIBES OF NORTH-EAST BULGARIA
The Comb-makers also have a very strongly trilled rr, trilled,
however, with the front part of the tongue. It may or may not
correspond to the original f of the older dialects. The difficulty
here again is, that if asked to repeat the word, the r will in all
probability be an ordinary one. The noh-Vlach tribes, having
preserved the j*, of course use it in the formation of the diminu-
tives in -ofo, -ofi. The corresponding Vlach form is oro, oro, or
orro. Strange to say, there is in this group no feminine to such
diminutives. Non- Vlach chaioyi, a little girl, becomes in the
Vlach group Oieioro, Shioro, or (Comb-makers) kiorro, Horrd.
Likewise horiord, a little bride, in the dialect of the Sieve-makers,
applied to a weazel after the Turkish (jelindzik. Even the words
laloro, kdrkoi'o, savoro (in non-Vlach dialects laloj'6, korkcifv.
8av(y^6), diminutives in form though not in meaning, have no
feminine. Example: i c^hei nasti dial kurkoro avrl. So strictly
is this rule adhered to, that the word rvro, j)Oor, has no feminine
in this class of dialects, probably owing to its having been origin-
ally coj'6, which syllable j'o came to l)e felt as a diminutive. Kurd,
which was originally A-o/'o, has likewise no feminine. Example:
Kadajd i^ojnni ai hut i!or6. Oi ai koi'6 e fheldtar. 'That woman
is very poor. She is blind from smallpox.' The rule as to the in-
variability of the ro diminutive, whether it be a diminutive in
fact or in form only, is so strictly adhered to by the Sieve-makers,
that there is, in their dialect, no j)lural to the words discussed
above.
Loan verbs arc conjugated in the non-Vlach dialects generally
from a stem in -iz. The -ear stem is found at times in the past
tenses. The Yerlfdes of Sofia, however, replace this -iz by -in.
Parpulia irlzava is in Sofia erinav, I turn. The Vlach dialects
use the -sar stem for all tenses, with the alternative, in the case
of the Corab-makors, of adding to the loan verb, in the present
tenses, the Romani personal endings minus their vowels, thus
(a)v, («)s, (e)l, to the root, borrowed from the Rumanian, and
ending in 't' : trais, trail, for traisares, traisare'l (Rumanian
root trai). There is a small class of verbs of Greek origin, already
mentioned above, which add the Romani personal endings ivith
their vowels, but minus a stem in either -sar, -in or -iz : liperdv,
I remember with yearning (perhaps only Vlach) ; prepel, it is fit,
or it fits; and tromav, I dare, both of the non-Vlach group.
The -sar stem is sometimes used incorrectly in both groups, in
the passive voice, present or past tenses, of genuine Romani verbs.
1
REPORT OX THE GYPSY TRIBES OF NORTH-EAST BULGARIA 73
instead of the regular Romani formation. Sofi»: losasajlo for
lomnilo; Sieve-makers: kanhikindisdjol ioi kanhildndjol, it will
be sold ; and ahindimjol, it is heard, i.e., the sound of cannons.
Kazanlik Iron- workers : ustisdilo for ustino, and dikhisdilo for
dikhilo, it was seen.
List I
The following alphabetical list of words will give a general idea
of the difference, as regards vocabulary alone, between the two
main groups. The list is nut exhaustive. There are cases in
which one group possesses both words, while the other has
retained only one. There are also instances in which individual
dialects possess words not otherwise known to the group to which
they belong. All such cases are mentioned in footnotes.
Meaning
Non-Vlach
Vlach
understand
axdljovav
hakjardv
Hnger
amjdU
nai^
destroy
aravdv
i-umusardv
trough
halani
baldi
marriage feast
h'ldv
abidv
spit, skewer
bust
mi
mother
dai
del
fooUsh
denilo
dil6
sea
derjdv
denizi, mdre
day
dies
gives
town
dis
foro
wake
dzaiKjavdv
pocket
dzeba
poski
alive
dzivdd
traime
mule
dzoro, dzomi
katiro
chew
(dmkerav
Sambdv
call
M ndav
akhardv
empty
6iU6
hoH
girl
Hhai
chei, Sei
raisins
ckamikd
moskini
dust, ashes
char
prd^os
chick
(havri
puju
boots
tsiraxd
kherd
to-morrow
javine, tasjd
tehdra, thedehdra
chicken
kaxni
khaini
tent
katdna
sdra, tsihra
74 REPORT ON THE GYPSY TRIBES OF NORTH-EAST BULGARIA
Meaning
Non-Vlach
Vlacu
bitter
kerko, fern, kerki
kerkin, kerki (be
masc. or fern.)
>th
mouse
kermuso
kandoi
curse
kuSdv
akusdv
flay, peel
ku.^dv
uzardv, kuSdv
fat, dripping
khani
khoi
plum
khiljdva
jyruna
load
laddv
ladavdv
■word, name
lav
aldv
camp
loddv
inzardv
rejoice
loSdiiav
hukuriftdjovav
can
khoro
akhoro
month, moon
mdsek
fhon
necklace, rosary
mifikli
kUja
shave (transitive)
vxui'avdv
raiigljardv
arm
must
vast
name
nav
andv
lose
naSiddv
^asardv
summer
iiild i
viildi
bury
parondv
prnxosardv
exchange, change
paruvdv
open, free (adj.)
jnrd
jihufardd
open (verb)
phiyavdv
phuterdv
bridge
phnrt
j)6do
reach
re SUV
areadv
bear
rWiini, nnei'ka
vuSka
dog
rikond, dzukel
dzukel
tree
ruk
kaSt
brother-in-law
aaU
kumiuito
basket
sevli
sepeto
hammer
aivrl
(okdno
gold
somnakdi
gdlbeno
wet
sxislo
kiiigo
rope
M6
Sold
head
Ser6
Sord
hear
Snndv
ahtndv
clean
Suz6
temizi, uzd
cup (of metal) •
taxtdi
nastrdpa
burn, shine
thdhjovav
2)hdhjovav
wait
(ti)dzakerdv
aSukjardv
report on the gypsv tribes of north-east bulgaria <5
Ylach
Meaning
speak
forest
flax
sword
a little
clothes
mushroom
Non-Ylach
vrjdv
vaJcerdv
veS
Xaro
"Xiirmut, dre-^es
orbisardv
X^ntsi, tsira
riiba
(uperka
Notes to the List
Amji'iSt. Even in the Sofia Sed. Moslem dialect nai is frequently used as a
synonym ioran<iuit, anguMu. The use of vaM for miw/ reminds one of the Buljjarian
rSlcd, which means both hand and arm.
araiuii^ is found also among the Vlach dialects, hut the Vlach Romani equivalent
r^tmuiariiv is not found among the non Vlachs. Amidv is mentioned in the
vocabulary to the Hukovina fairy tales (Mik., Mmidarlen, Bk. v.).
lierjdv. The equivalent word dettizi is from the Turkish, and used by the Sieve-
makers. The nomad Comb-makers use the Rumanian word nidre, but they also
have a form dorjiii; applied to the Danube.
dzan(f<tvdi\ The Vlach tribes have no common word corresponding to diaiiffavdv.
They borrow from Turkish, Bulgarian, or Rumanian.
rfit*'"!. The word is Turkisli. The corresponding word pOiiki, used by the
Vlachs, may be akin to potisi.
dzoni. The Comb-makers use this word also, although they are of the Vlach
group.
kuHiiv, to flay. The corresponding word xiiardv of the Vlachs is probably akiu
to the adjective «f«). See under hiiii, clean.
loiiinax'. The Vlach word hnkitri/<ojovav is only used by the Comb-makers.
Otherwise tribes borrow from the Turkish.
imi^ek: The word chomut, also known in Sofia, has not yet been recorded in
North-East Bulgaria.
naJialdv. The word is also used by the Vlachs in the sense of to make rur>
away, to elope with.
nav. The Vlach form andv is only known to the Comb-makers. Other VlacK
tribes use the word aid v.
paruvdv. The Vlachs use arUa kerdv. The word arlla is very usual, meaning
barter. For ' to change clothes "they would use a Turkish loan word.
piyd. Phntardd is also known to the non-Vlachs, hat piro is not known to the
Vlachs.
resdv. The Sieve-makers have also this word, without the prefix ' a.'
rikond. The non-Vlachs have also dzukil.
ruk. This word is exceedingly rare, even among the non-Vlachs. I have so
far recorded it only among the Gimlet-makers and the Drindaris of Zeravna. It is
on a par with rai, so far recorded only in the dialect of the Comb-makers.
said. All tribes in this district tell me that the feminine sali does not exist.
somnakdi. The word is known to the Comb-makers. A form ^omndl in the
expression o ''omndl phurd Devel, the old golden God, is also much used among the
Sieve-makers.
iuzd. The Vlach word ufd is only used of food in the sense of unadulterated,
clean, not spoilt. The verb uzardv is probably from this adjective. (See
kuSdv. )
76 REPORT ON THE GYPSY TRIBES OF NORTH-EAST BULGARIA
thdhjovav. The transitive thabjardv la used by the Comb-makers in the sense of
to shoot.
vu^. The Vlach group of dialects, which has lost vuS, has no common word,
each dialect borrowing from Turkish, Bulgarian or Rumanian.
xaj*d. The same remark as for iii.i holds good here.
Xuxwp Cupirka is used by the Sieve-makers and Zaguiidjis. The Comb-makers
know it, but prefer the Rumanian buredtxa.
The words dorelerdv, to tell fortunes, and mtfiil bad, and naia thanks, appear to
belong only to the Vlach Group. Por, a featlier, unknown to most Vlachs, is yet
well known to the Comb-makers. Duruli a tlute, in the non-Vlach dialecta, means
a barrel among the Vlachs.
Besides the words contained ii> the above list, there are many test worils in
Romaiii, the knowledge ot which enables one to locate a dialect. No single word
exists, perhaps, which cannot be found in the same form in more than one dialect.
Taking, for instance, the seven following dialects found within the district here
examined : the dialects of the Parpulia, of the Kazanlik Irun-workers, of the
Drindaria, Kalaidjis, Kalburdjis, ZAgundjis and Grebemiris, it is not possible to
find a word which possesses seven variations corresponding to the seven dialects.
Some, however, vary five times, such as the verb ' to extract,' which has the following
forms: — niknJdva, ikandv, inkaid, ihildv, inkaidv, aud inkalatdv, the latter form
being a barbarous invention of the Comb-makeni. Such test word.s are the words
for bread, water, something, a little, how much, so much, such, more, yet, the
words expressing negation, prohibition, iK>8sibility and impossibility, ailirmation,
those translating to come and to become, the preterite first and third |>ersoD
singular and third jicrson plural, the endings of abstract nouns, the form of the
so-called adjectival genitive, and finally the following verbs : — to ascend, descend,
arise, go out, extract, dig, scratch and comb, wrestle, sift, knead, and carry, lead.
The following giving the Romani translations of the above test words and forms,
and of a few others, in the above-mentioned seven dialects, plus the .Sofia dialect
for the sake of comparison, will show to what extent both the vocabulary and the
grammar of one tribe differs from that of another.
REPORT ON THE GYPSY TRIBES OF NORTH-EAST BULGARIA 77
a
o
M
>
I i
k
'05
r
O
2
Grebeniiri
Comb-
makers.
•<*
-J
N5
1
?> lo S "»
1
? a, ?^ -£
^^— ^"^
„^
-ii S
e
C* ^ O
-^ si
S
si
(^
.o
Zdgund
Carrioi
eaters,
2 g
2 § ^l^b
^2 ^
-:3
5
-^ e ts
•5 ?i ?
S
p- Ai ?^ CO
,.^
-<
•^ :*
^
^ Si
?>
e
vo
.- 2
J.
— . 0;
1 ?
-is
O
11
^ 1
-* «-> ^ ~ ^
1
s
a
■i
*>^
c.
ii g :S e s tJ
S
^
,„.^
1
^
Ho
?
d S
5 S,-^^
:!
■ nail ■ 'O
Q s e
?i si ?i
5C
^-^ , ^
^
e -r*
1 u S
*-«.
_^^^
s^
^ 3
•r.
^
?
s s S
Ho
v^
;3 :--t^
^
" ^"^
2v»c ^ ^
• —>
z
• -^
^
^
■^ '§
'S
' ^ i
v»*
~ ^
*«
^
Kazan
ra. Ironwoi
fi
^
-5
9:
-5 -5
■1
s e 1
e si g
si
i
4>
^-,^
ea^
^«M^
ess
g
— <a
^
si ?i
■V/-S
5
\= v^ ^ ^
ST S 5 ~
"5
-5
fr- Si ■>
Si
■to
^o :2 r? ^s
-«
00
^*- *v
,^
y^^
3
^^
rO
-C!
OS
5i ?i
. ^ ,-a
! 1
? ^ ■« vs>
•i «> iC ««-•
*^
^c^
o
V4
-ii
t
-o
«»
§ § §
si S ?
e si
»i
^
"s
O -t^
tc
'o
_
(D
o
S3 ^
O
S O
t3
^ o
2
O
w
>^
O
B
o ^^
O
1
1 o^3
b: t o ^
o
w 2
o o o
a
CO
c3
O
CD
1
T. -^
3
a cxi
o o
>^^
^ l-H 1— 1 to
78 REPORT ON THE GYPSY TRIBES OF XORTH-EAST BULGARIA
^2 ==
— - u
- i. «
.- < =«
=c :
.sg;J
09
^-<
>D
^ *^ "s
as
so
I
— . _^
- 2
■r.
^« 'w *
.2
» -e
"^ ~ ^ -; ^
•M -cs •<:» '*-«,'*^
t: ^ **
s - e
^
a c
US
■C •«» •<:- S ?i
IS-.? -2
3 S^
X
t
§'^
•X.
o
■<
>
z
c
55
»-:> *^ .^
'S
^
v^
e
•^'<t -5 ,2 1
|13
00
1
X
v" * 5 '^
1.
K5
go
1
r
r* •^ •"•^ **«- ^^
-S ^2 -1
*o: -v; "-C
S S ?:
2
1>^
•A
X
4
1
u
"■ s
3
'"» -~ -i: -^
ac
'- • — m^
XX
pa
^s
XX
t
X
e e -, s>
e s s ^
■J.
^^ ^ - 4 \2
i "2 "^ 1^?^
■^ S ?3 52 J3
= » ?^
> j; ^ ^ H
b. S ** '"^ ^ "2
XZ^ e e s 3
-3
-3
C « O
o O O I
a M M «
X cs © -o y
0) X
M
c3
o
to
4^
9
o
t:
C
o
S5
^ 5
<-3
—~z to
E
o
o
^HH^N^J3 P-H^-< ^ — ^_.-( _ ^H-(>^-H
REPORT ON THE GYPSY TRIBES OF NORTH-EAST BULGARIA 79
Appendix to List II
To fly : Urjdv is one of the rare words in Balkan Gypsy dialects.
It is found only in the dialect of the Sofia Erlides and in thixt
of the Piirpulia. Other dialects have a loan verb, as Drindari :
frknizaa, or express the idea by means of such verbs as
rt'izdel-pes (Kazanlik), or lUiela (Kalaidji), from u^tida.
Rai, a lord, gentleman, is still rarer. It is only found in the
Comb-makers' dialect.
Kak, Riikh, a tree, is found only in the dialect of the Parpulia and
of the Drindaris.
To-morrow, in Sofia (Erlides dialect) tasld, is usually expressed by
javine (Parpulia, Kazanlik); avinlard (Drindari); aTnildra,
or amindra (Kalaidji); tehdra, thedehdra (Kalhurdyi, Zaguu-
dji, and Comb-maker); also teiskdke (Kalburdji).
To camp, lodav, has only been recorded with any certainty in the
dialect of the Parpulia, though it is probably known to the
Aidia also. I have not recorded Paspati's radd r anywhere.
The Drindari feminine of the adjective gudlu, sweet, is gudi,
according to Drindari phonetics. The Kalaidjis also say
(judi., but they have taken this to be a regular feminine from
an adjective (ixido, which form they actually use for the
masculine. In the Vlach dialects the word is guglo, gugli,
and the Comb-makers generally pronounce the words without
the g: guld, gidi.
ingjerdv forms ga in the Drindari dialect and ingeldv is an
alternative form in Sofia, and the only one used by the Par-
pulia, whilst the Sieve-makers have ingandv.
Notes to List II
Bread. Wherever variations of the word cam, bread, exist, they are considered
to be ' (juradi cliib.'
In the same way as rmmrd the Comb-makers form jnuuro, munri ; hanr6, a thorn,
jiunrii, a foot ; a))ri>, an egg. x«"'"i * sword, is not recorded in their dialect. In
the same w.iy as viariw the Sieve-makers form karnO, j>im6, ani6.
■••omtthiiKj. Ek I'hijxi^ is quite peculiar to Drindari. I cannot suggest a satis-
factory etymology. Ek idn-i may be Greek, eioos, a little, thrima and tsimn are
the (ireek thryma. x^*"^*' ™^y ^ ^ variation of the word x^T^ formed when it was
still xci'iti/.
fO much. Note that the word kiisi means, in Kazanlik, so much. Elsewhere it
means, how much.
■^uch. With the form kikit-^i and kikfou (from a kikesavo), compare the other
Drindari word kikida, I collect, elsewhere kidav.
can and cannot. Drindari ii is probably nd-^i minus the na, and has nothing to
do with Sax, iti, found in the Comb-makers' dialect. The Comb-makers always
conjugate the words daiii and 7iai(i thus : dakiv or daitisardv.
80 REPORT ON THE GYPSY TRIBES OF NORTH-EAST BULGARIA
gave. The Zagundji iorm,'dild, he gave (dilim, dildn, etc.), is peculiar to their
dialect.
heat. The form of the abstract noun in -pen has, so far, not been recorded in
the Balkan Peninsula elsewhere than in the dialect of the Ka/anlik Iron-workerg.
This, too, applies to the participles in Greek -menoji, e.g. x'^'"'""", angry.
Abstract nouns in -po, the characteristic of our Tinners, are also found in Sieben-
burgen, according to Miklosieh's collections (v. Book .xi., Cardinal Mezzofanti'e
collection). The Comb-makers use also pe, but prefer -mo-i.
ascend, and go out. These two verbs have been confused by most Gypsies. Only
the Sofia Erlides dialect distinguishes regularly l)etween ' to ascend ' and ' to go, or
come out.' The highly irregular Tinner form for the present tense, iki'xira, is worth
noting. Like its fellow, uxwdvn, to descend, it ia probably formed from the
participle, dropping, however, the t, uxvs(t)dfa.
to romb. The Sofia form, uxlj-ivdv, literally, to loosen, to comb out, has its
counterpart in the Sieve-makers'/Wniy/c, used like uxljnidv, as meaning to comb,
but also to take anything down, e.g. from a cupboard. See Miklosicb, Book vii.,
rhxddv. The verb is also found in Welsh Romani.
to fti/t Olid hiend. The two words have got confused by the Gypsies. The
Gimlet-makers alone have Paspati's form, uianuv, I sift. Elsewhere we find
nrhnndv. Usandr, meaning to knead, is used by the Sieve-makers. Elsewhere,
uiljerdv, wHjardv.
carry. I once thought and wrote (v. J. O. L.S., v. 288) that itjgjardv came
from unljftrdv. However, I find aiidjnri'iv used by the Sieve-makers, and moaning
to have brought, to cause to be brought, and it is not confused with iijgjnrni-.
List III
Sentences Compared
Kl. = Kalaidji. Dr, = Drfndari. Kz. = Kazanlik Iron-workers.
1. Kl. Kdnva ahrdn ane ziz na ahkpfon.
Dr. Knkald amh'61 u ziznte lui abipina.
Kz. Kddnld amhrol dndo foro na ardklon.
These pears are not found in the town.
2. Kl. Line o 6hejd,nasiarde o dadtske khereatar.
Dr. Lin'i u rha, na^ikerdi u dsiska kharistar.
Kz. Line e rhijd, naSaldi e dadeskere kher^star.
They took the girl, made her run away from her father's
house,
3. Kl. 0 cikono cirikld xi/iela.
Dr. U tsikofo ciriklu frkizela.
Kz. 0 tsikno 6irikl6 upy^e vddel-pes.
The little bird is flying.
4. Kl. Kavd tnaa na kerids, ddha tHma mo-arhel opre, kaod.
Dr. Kokd mas na kerzild, panda thrima ko-mu-keril, mo-oi(l).
Kz. Kadavd mas na kdrdilo. ddha x<^r^ me-kirdl, kaovel.
This meat is not cooked, let it cook a little more and it
will be done.
REPORT ON THE GVl'SV TRIBES OF NORTH-EAST BULGARIA 81
5. Kl. Kid id idos hie na dikizias kalle bresende.
Dr. Kikessi butsi hie na di4ii-tar e aveatoste.
Kz. Kidid ek kovd hie dikisdilo dndo ihem.
Such a thing was never seen in the world.
6. Kl. Yeter kidehih\
Dr. Renlla keitsi.
Kz. Kit si resela.
It is sufficient. Turkish yder okader. Bulgarian stiga
tolkos.
7. Kl. Ayijdl o Jugate }>ekds.
Dr. Tiirje e jagnti hestd.
Kz. Ayjgldl e jugate heM6.
He was seated before the tire.
8. Kl. Me phaleste mo manziti didadom.
Dr. Ma phralista mo manzin di^ijim, dUlm, di^arlm.
Kz. Me bai^ste mo maygin sikaddm.
I showed my wealth to my brother.
9. Kl. Rodidm, nai alakhdm, tarmzio)ii.
Dr. Rozim, nd.H alakhim, trakiziim.
Kz. Rodindm, iiasti arakhldm, trakiiiilom.
I searched, but could not tind and got frightened.
10. Kl. Tiisdra (or amindra) kokhd kamaldpros.
Dr. Avinlard kotkd vm-aldpisa.
Kz. Jarine othe ka-ardklos.
To-morrow you will be there, lit. will be found there.
11. Kl. Utidm katdr, nastoin.
Dr. USim koitdr, luihcim.
Kz. UStisdilom okoidr, nasldm.
I arose from there and fled.
12. Kl. 0 pai penziol. Kavd ma.s na x'^mziol, khaino.
Dr. 0 psi piizila. K^kd mas na x^izH'^^, khsinu.
Kz. 0 pani pindol. Kidavd mas na -xdndol, sugutno nandi.
The water is drinkable. This meat cannot be eaten, it
stinks, is not fresh.
13. Kl. Arre-'^te te rodizarel lex.
Dr. Avrista te rozikei'^l les.
Kz. a west e te rodindavel les.
Let him make some one else look for it.
14. Kl. Ek kiijes rdndav me love ande thojdva, garajdva,
uchardva.
Dr. Ek trdpus x^nd, endri thod 1113 pares, garaci, iLchard.
VOL. IX.— NO. II. F
82 IlEPORT OX THE GYPSV TUIIJES OF XOHTll-EAST HULGARIA
Kz. Bk x^'' x"'*^^'^^'^' cf'*^^'*^ "'^ ^^^-'* thodra, (jaravdva,
udhardva.
I dig a hole and put my money into it, hide, cover it up.
15. Kl. KoU hxStendar 0 jiatrjA inini.
Dii. Knkffle kastinchtr o patrd lyeli.
Kz. Kadale ka^ttndar o patrjd peU.
The leaves have fallen from those trees.
16. Kl. Ka^'d hasmds pajd^is (fHtjdajas), pirSindeste.
Dr. Kidt cevfja psjeii ^ hrUindlsta,
Kz. Kadavd ba^mds e bri.^imtste sdfililo.
This cloth got wet in the rain.
{cf. Sieve-makers : — Kadajd Uismdva (fem.) e hr'iSindeste
khingdl.)
17. Kl. Du'i sa-^dfi icinde (Turk.) hai mo kher nai ajdva.
Dr. Done .s•a;;^a^s•^7K/a ndma mo-reM ht kli^sr,
Kz. Ane do sa-x^itende naMi readva me tltniutfte.
In two hours I shall not (be able to) reach my homo.
18. Kl., I'kerida o mui pai.
Dr. Phrrild {ithrrzilu) o mui UhLh pSi.
Kz. Leskitro imii phtrdilo paniesa.
His mouth became tilled with water.
19. Kl. Akniid kapiinijoht.
Dr. Akund-to mo jiiltseihi.
Kz. Akand kaprandizelo.
Now he will marry.
Having given the reader some idea of the broad lines along
which the two chief groups of dialects have developed, and further
illustrated by means of a coniparative list of test words (List II.),
and of sentences (List 111.), the differences existing between indi-
vidual dialects of either group, I now propo.se to give texts in
some of these dialects, preceded by remarks concerning the pecu-
liarities of each, in so far as they have. not yet been mentioned.
The Dialect of the Kalrurdjls or Sieve-makers
Embracing that of the Moslem and Christian Sedentaries, and
Moslem Nomads ( r. A. 1 («) and 2 (a) and B. 1 (a ).and in general
all Christian Sedentaries in North-East Bulcraria. such as
A. 2 (6), and perhaps {d), other than those specified in A. 2 (c)).
The language spoken by these Gypsies may perhaps be regarded
as the purest of the great family of Vlach dialects. As .-spoken in
' From *patilni/o {*panlnjorara).
REPORT OX THE GVl'SV TRIBES OF NORTH-EAST BULGARIA 83
this district, whether by Moslems or Christians, its phonetics are
deepl}' influenced by the local Turkish language. The influence,
however, is naturally most apparent among the Moslem branch of
the tribe, both Sedentary and Nomad. It is from an old Moslem
Sedentary Gypsy, mentioned on page 8, that I have obtained
the sentences printed below, which are excellent samples of the
dialect. The pronunciation is slow and very distinct, as in local
Turivish. The y has disappeared entirely and is replaced by a
simple trilled r. The rit is everywhere preserved. The other
aspirated consonants are likewise very pronounced— AA, ph, th,
giving the well-known Romani cacJiet to the language. There is
no Midi ill Iran;/ in the past tense: they .^ay 2)/a'7i(i(i.s, never
pliendjn.i, phfrff/hjdif. The vocabulary betrays the Rumanian
ori«'in of the tribe, but Turkish loan words often exist alonjjside
of the Rumanian loan word, and they have a tendency even to
oust the latter. For spider,' it is, for instance, more usual to
hear the word )'irumdzdr((, from the Turkish oriimdid, than the
word yuii'' no from the Rumanian /xii^njan. So, too, saleygo is
often used fur a snail, from the Greek, through the Turkish, s(d-
janh's, instead of the word iskdire from the Rumanian scoicea.
k'ivtnm'na (froin the Turkish /.rftnn<J), a species of rolled cake,
called al-^o at times Ity the Romani word holdhii, lias almost
ousted tho Rumanian word [thirenla, still occasionally used.
It will be noticed from the above examples that this dialect
uses the ending -»vt, tacked on to loan words ending in a vowel e
or a. This is done to a certain extent by all Vlach tril)es, and is
not unknown among the Sofia Erh'des. P^xamples : khidva, henna
(Turk, khid): t/ir/imva, the world (Turk, du.njd); aiiterdva, &. shirt,
in other dialects, antevla (from the Turkish anteri) ; luljdva, a pipe
(Turk. InU) : dzezdva, punishment (Turk, dzezd) ; Ixujcdva, a garden
(Turk, luiijie) : ^as»uira, cloth (Turk. Ijo-^ind) ; Jcasdva, a safe, a case ;
PrmhAv'i , Ho7iifjdva (Turk. Pembe and Hanife), both girls' names.
The ending is not altogether unknown in pAiropean dialects.
It is not mentioned, however, by Miklosich in Rook x. of his
Mundarteii. Its origin is as follows.
Rumanian fern, nouns ending in accented o, ea, and i, add an
a to express the definite article, inserting a u or o between the
termination and the said a, in order to avoid the hiatus. E.g.,
basmd, cloth, from the Turkish hasma, ba.smdua, the cloth. This
ending has been adopted by the Gypsies of the Vlach group, or of
Vlach influence, and tacked on as above described, having lost its
meaninir as definite article. Hence Romani : basmdva.
84 REPORT ON THE OY'l'SY THIHES OF NORTH-EAST RULGARIA
The grammar otters few peculiarities not already mentioned as
belonging to the whole group. The future is formed by pretixing
the syllable /ttt7i-, not ka- or ham-, to the present. Prefixed to the
imperfect, it produces a conditional present, and also a present
over which some doubt hangs. The future is negatived by pre-
tixing nai to the future. Otherwise, in the present and past tenses,
this is expressed by in or inci. (See note to sentence 44' below.)
In the past tense, tirst person plural, an unaccented foreign
syllable, presumably Turkish, namely ' /;,' is tacked on to the usual
ending: kerddiniz, we did. ' He or she said ' is translated by the
enclitic ire, placed immediately after the quotation, and much
used in narration. Is this related in any way to the Welsh
Romani hoH ?
The syntax is the result of years of Turkish influence. The
speaker seems to think in Turkish, while speaking in Romani. The
following sentences arc very different from those given elsewhere
in this report in order to illustrate ditl'cront dialects. All the
others were aske<l either in Turkish or in Hulgarian, according to
the dialect in (juestion, in order to entrap the Ciyp.sy into betraying
certain peculiarities of speech, and with a view to comparison
with other dialects. They are. therefore, at the best, grammatical
examples, although, of course, not invented, in Romani, by my-
self Those published below are not translations, but spontaneous
utterances heard and taken down by mo during a space of two
years from an old woman who worked in my house and gossiped
between her work. They are, therefore, in their way, as valuable,
from a linguistic and literary point of view, as the fairy talcs which
I collected at Sofia. The Turkish influence is so pronounced, and
the way the Turk expresses his thoughts is often so different froni
that familiar to European languages, that I have thought it
necessary in some cases to give the literal translation into English
coupled with a freer translation illustrative of the meaning.
Occasionally I have given the Turkish equivalent and a reference
to the context which gave rise to the sentence.
1. Sukdr (UJchddjol, sukdr dikkaihe.
There is a beautiful view (i.e. from the terrace on the top
of my house at Varna).
2. tnci pidv i luljdva ko dromd te na pherUn si Dcmd ko i
astardv man barikani.
I do not smoke my pipe in the streets, that the Bulgars may
not say that I give myself airs (lit. seize myself biggi.sh).
REPORT OX THE GYPSY TRIBES OF XORTH-EAST BULGARIA 85
3. Xoxaiinndste in6i inJdistern mor Efendiske.
My master has not caught me telling a lie (lit. to a lie, I
have not come out to my master.)
4. C/iindordjavas hohhatar.
We are dying of hunger (lit. are being caused to be cut up
from hunger).
5. Sif/o phurjarei peshi roba.
He wears out his clothes quickly.
(). L(tpatensa kiden i Hk Andn foro.
With spades they collect the mud in the town.
7. Xadjardv-lf'sh- mcrt'borjdhoratje n'cu-el mdnde, ov liihno si.
May I cause him to eat my daughter-in-law's blood, let him
not come to me, he is a whoremonger.
H. Kdna fulel o pizuino tele, Laiuoel milsafiri.
When the spider comes down (from the ceiling on its thread
it is a sign that) a guest will come.
0. Kandzdv, kanphnradjardv si love.
I will f'o and change some monev.
Phdradjardv, to cause a thing to be made to burst, is the
Sieve-makers' translation of the Turkish Itozdnrmak, to
spoil (transitive), to change.
10. Buruven,Jani dara^imren i po^om.
They comb the wool. (Vide Paspati fji'irdva, and Rumanian
darari to comb, from the Turkish dardk, a comb. Jani,
' videlicet,' Turk, from Arabic. )
11. KiDiplidhjitn te pdres.'
Your money will be squandered (lit. burnt.)
\'l. /{nnhanadjavdc i rez.
I am uoinij to difr in the vineyard (lit. cause the vine to be
dug, from hanavdv, I dig).
18. }for6 bard o Kdntolosi kanorbimrel man e themeste, ' cinn '
kankerel mo kan. Kanlipearel man.
^[y master the Consul will talk of me in his country, my ear
will tingle (lit. will do chinn, imitation of sound). He
will miss me.
14. Te dzav khere, te kiravdv me gadd.
1 will go home and do my washing (cause my shirts to cook).
15. E uchaldte bes, nd-be.s e khameste, kannafsdilos.
Sit in the shade, not in the sun, you will fall ill.
16. Banges pdMiUm, dukhdl-man mor kor.
I slept crooked, my neck aches.
86 REPORT (>X THE UVl'SV TRIBES OF NORTH-EAST BULGARIA
17. Ldko rat hirjdl, in dzantl, so h-anherel.
Her blood is boiling (said of a person with an abundance of
animal spirits), she does not know what she will do next
18. Nevo kankerdjol o hilimi, te ih<iv ando denlzi.londo kai si.
The carpet will be made as though it were new if" I wash it
in the sea, as it is salt.
19. Akand d hi Frdnga Jcerdilaa : o baru savl ruha urjavel,<>
6or6-da urjavel, amd ndi-Uske mariio te x'^l- i^*'^' p^ste
hut ruba, te na arhH e bnrvalestar tele. Ando sokdhi
phukjard-pes.
Now (everything) has become in the Frenchy way : the
great dress as the poor (lit. the great what clothes bo
wears the poor too wears), but he has not got bread i<*
eat. On him (are) much clothes, that he may not remain
beneath (i.r. appear interior to) the rich man. He causes
himself to swell (with pride and ostentation) in the street.
20. Xevjdrdili i sit a.
The sieve has become torn.
21. NakJi^l tut o kham, /./<<nn I id v.
You have got a sunstroke. (The sun j)asses you, yon lia\e
taken the sun.)
22. Plierdi love i sasiU. Bare (Turk.) e x^irdeyffe faiddra
(Turk. /(I idd) te kerel,^ uui luii kerel, iioi urjavel e ^(urden,
6-zaman sira jardimi (Turk.) av^l.
The mother-in-law is full of money. At least let her do
something for the children, but she doesn't do, she doesn't
clothe the little ones, and thus little help is forthcoming.
23. Te na ;^wr</j.s'(/jo^ o tfltiino.
Let liot the tobacco be chopped fine.
24. E Stamboldske ri(/>(tar kanakel dzi Varndte.
He will pass by way of Constantinople to Varna.
25. Sar kaljardi fjuifld te kdrdjos !
May you become sweet as coftee. (Said out of politeness
while sipping coffee. The passive of kerdv is often used
to replace ordra, which is lost to this dialect.)
26. 0 podo inH nnkhen gemidsa, ini^i den e romnjd bnljiisa.
They don't pass across a bridge in a ship, nor give a girl in
marriage for nothing. (Lit. with her podex. This is a
Turkish rhymed proverb: KopiniyH ffrt'hnezler potldn.
kariyi vermezler gOtldn. It is as impossible to get a
wife for nothing as it is to pass over a bridge in a boat.)
REPORT ON THE GVI'SY TRIBES OF NORTH-EAST BULGARIA 87
27. De sikndra si gadjd.
She has been like that since her babyhood.
Instead of ' de' they often use the Turkish particle -heri,
placed after the word, thus: sikndra-heri' The Turkish
ablative particle is even added to the word, as siknara-
ddn-beri, on the analo<:fy of the Turkish Kii/ilL'-ddn-beri
(not kilciik-den-heri in the local dialect). The particle
de is Rumanian. It is sometimes prefixed when the
Turkish particle is used : de idzdra-heri, since yester-
day, from /(T, idze, yesterday. Thus, too, in the dialect of
the Tinners, who have no Rumanian influence, 7'a(^"arc?«ii-
heri, since the night began. What is the origin of
the element -dm in these words ? Conjpare amildra
(Tinners) to-morrow, (also tasdra), Drindari arhdard, and
the well-known Romani word tasdrla, and tehdra, de-
fhehdra. The form with the I is also found in the
ivazanlik dialect ( Iron- workers) : edzdrlaberl since
yesterday. Miklosich, Book x., SutHx -r« (adverbs), has
little to say about it.
28. Risarde lesko aldv.
I'hey have changed his name, its name, i.e. the town of
Dobritch.
29. Chord He ol bald, kai but phdbiUin mar flidke.
My hair fell out (was poured out) as I was in great grief over
the death of my daughter (lit. as I was burnt for my girl).
30. Thoimdsa suvimdsa jaidjnrel pc rhaven.
With washing and sewing she feeds (procures food for) her
sons.
31. E-pd^kerdjol.
It is broken in two (lit. has been made half).
32. L' nai, acgutno gives. Tehdra 7iai, over tehdra. Izitno,
avgiesitnd.
Not yesterday, the day before yesterday. Not to-morrow,
the day after to-morrow. Yesterday's, to-day's.
33. Sdniol i diinjdva akand, sdnile savoi^d.
The world is thinning out (becoming less populous owing to
the war), all have thinned out. Note that savc/ro not
only has no feminine in this dialect (i*. p. 72), but also
no plural form.
34. Sai'e mosa kandzds dndi kali phuv !
With what a face {i.e. in what state of mind), shall we go
88 REPORT OX THE GYTSV TRIBES OF NORTH-EAST BULGARIA
down into the black earth! (Kara Hati was always
talkinij of death and fearing it very much.)
35. 0 Somndl Fhuro Level das e rosoftke o kahiri (Turk. »,
phdgilo. E hareske das, phanidilo. ' A6 te d[kh&i-'-u>\
' te dav If'S e manits^rige.' K'nnisi (Turk.), asdias, kimisi
rovelas. * E, odolA dajdniorlar'-iSe, ' l/nde te aOiel <>
kahirl '-ire.
The Old Golden God (the Divinity is nearly always thus
referred to by this tribe, not by others) gave to the forest
sorrow, it broke. He gave it to the stone and the stone
burst. ' Wait," He said, ' that I may see, let Me give it to
men.' Some laughed, others cried. ' Ha ! ' said He, ' they
will stand it, let them have sorrow,' He .said.
36. Ldki god( hike caijgende. Oi dzatjgll mdnde.
Her brain is in her knees (i.e. she has no sense in her). She
is known to me.
37. Sode hakrd nas i piUkn ! Khere \adjnren la dndo tsikiut
rfion. Nai jMirea, dar Indje o Intrljte !
The turkey was as big as a sheep! They fed it at home in
the little month (the month of February). We have no
money, what matters! {Mi. futwtviajestatem).
38. Ir makljardhn o kher c chejende.
Yesterday I got the girls to whiiewjish my house (lit.
caused it to bo smeared by the girls, expressed
by dat.).
39. U6hdrdj(>l o masti'dfi.
The expenses have been met (lit. are being covered).
40. El romnieijg*! gives si akaiid. E puran^ zamani^nde
ananas el iWibaJlidni'Ja e rfiejen. Aknrid inH keren
agadjd. Odnld hreA muU, thai odold manuS. E purane
hreSende ai^henas el rhejd, jm.^d pe dades he^Snas dzi hiSe-
breSende ; kai denas h'li, othe dzdnas.
Now the day of women has come. In the olden times the
gypsy chiefs brought the girls {i.e. .so to speak, to the
marriage market ). Xow they don't do so. Those years
are dead, and those folk. In the olden years the girls
remained, sat by their father until they were twenty
years old; whither they gave them (i.e. in marriage)
thither they went.
41. Kasave mamiMndc bnt pares ka navel, zn^r !
To suchlike people there will be plenty of money, forsooth '.
REPORT OX THE OVPSY TRIBES OF NORTH-EAST BULGARIA 89
42. Te si bnki kanaclidv, te iianai IcancUdv.
If there is work I 11 stay, if there is not I '11 go.
We have seen that the usual negative, in the present and
past tenses, is in, inci, and in the future vai. Nai
is also used to translate the negative in conjunction with
the verb ' to be,' e.g. nai buki, there is no work ; nai sem
fjorniU, I am not rich. Nandi is only used, in Vlach
dialects, in dependent clauses, as in the above sentence
42, or in the following: te nandi i^havo, pdle Jcankeres
niatjge kdvdri, if it is not a boy, you will nevertheless
make me a pair of bloomers.^ In non-Vlach dialects
nandi can stand in a principal clause. Finally na, as
meaning not, is only used in dependent clauses, where it
is the only form admissible, in Vlach dialects, e.g. te
na desus kadavd so kankerdvds ? If you did not give it,
what should I do ;* In non-Vlach dialects na can stand
in a principal clause.
43. Savnro adathe sdmiz.
Wo are all here. Note the plur. Snvord and the ending iz.
44. Pe jxf yiresd, si. Ake Idko luxicsosko than kai kankerdjol
luxi'isa, otke kanjxiMjttl pe \urdesa.
She is upon her days {i.e. about to give birth to a child).
Beliold her lying-in place, where she will become a
mother, there she will lie with her child.
45. Cheimdstf gelileste.
In her maidenhood she went to him. (He was her first
husband).
46. Kdsave vudareste nianiU uasti piel pai, kai si nekeska.
Kathdr sihtjor, kathdr-da jallajdr te xal. Mulo IdJco
rom. Pliivli arhili. Lah-la mor 6hav6, o Sdli. Akand
ov da mulo. 0 Kadiridn phenil : ' Astardem me phrales
6ari(jdtar, amd nai man kon t'astarel man me caygdtar,
t'ljjgjarel man dndo limori.' Oi, i nekeska, pe dadeske
vudareste cord sas, varend, pe rcmeske vudareste dikhlds.
Gannemi^ vtidarestar evladi avudz achen. Pe phejdsa
beselas, e rahmetlikdsa.
Literal translation : At such a door a man cannot drink
water, for she is a miser. From here she squeezes, and
from here she licks, in order to eat. Her husband died,
' I had promised Kara Hati a new pair of bloomers if my second child proved to
be a boy.
90 REPORT ON THE GYPSY TRIBES OF NORTH-EAST BULGARIA
and she remained a widow. },[y son Sali married her.
Now he too is dead. And Kadir says : ' I seized my
brother by the leg, but there is no one to seize me by
the leg. to carry me to the grave.' She, the miser, was
poor at her father's door, don't you see, at her husband'.s
door she saw. The children of a door which has
not seen remain hungry. She sat with her sister, the
deceased.
Free translation of the ditlicult portions : ' In such a house a
man cannot even get a glass of water, for she is a miser.
From this side (pointing to her closed H.st, which she
supposes is holding a piece of bread dipped in broth)
she squeezes, and from this side she licks (j.6'. the broth
which would ooze out, by a figure of speech much
used to describe miserliness) when she wishes to eat.'
The other pjussages, not immediately obvious to a stranger,
are the expression to see, meaning to see wealth, to
experience well-being. To see at one's fathers door is
therefore to have a comforuible home, while the children
of the poor go hungry, a platitude, this, which is quite
de rujuenr in chatting Turkish. The reference to .seizing
the man's leg refers to the fact that the poorer Moslems
carry their dead to the cemetery without a cortin. Alto-
gether the sentence, which was taken down from Kara
Hati in exactly the form given, may be considered typical
of the dialect in every way. The order of the words, the
way of expressing herself, the Turkish verbs conjugated
in Turkish fashion in the middle of an otherwi.so irre-
proachable Homani sentence, the interspersion of loan
words, all go to make this a very good example of the
way in which the Moslem Sieve-maker uses his language
in everyday conversation.
47. Ando mxLro cafipe \av sovei.
I swear upon my honour.
48. Philtres jck viiddr, kerea jek sebdpi.
You feed and clothe the inmates of a poor house, and
thereby win grace (lit. you open a door and do a seMjn).
(Turkish-Arabic thevab, divine grace, also the act
whereby you gain it.)
49. Pai-anipe, pos-anij>e, opre-vazdipemayqd mo kher.
My house requires the carrying of water, of earth {i.r.
REPORT OX THE GVPSV TRIBES OF NORTH-EAST BULGARIA 91
mortar), and the lifting of it (her house required re-
building, and she wanted me to hire men to do this for
her as she was too feeble to carry water and mortar herself).
50. InH dikhes les ha\ige jalhdna, ama sar 2yhralor6.
Vou don't look at him askance (lit. with a crooked eye), but
as a brother.
51. But Mehterja gelt Varndtar Stamholdsfe kdna o Dasipe
ke'rdilo. Bikinde jio than,gele-tar.
Many of the Drum and Fife Tribe of Gypsies went from
Varna to Constantinople when Bulgaria was created
independent (lit. when Bulgardom was made). They
sold their ground and departed.
52. El Ustadiirjeijge romnjd lncit<ilidj<m, na.^en.
The wives of the Tribe of Craftsmen do not unveil before
men, but they conceal themselves (lit. do not show them-
selves, but run. The stricter Moslem women run when
they see a man coming).
53. Jiirui'tnlco gar inci avtl.
There is no village without its wolf. {Avel is here used, not
in the sense of to come, but to replace the orel which is
lost to this tribe. Inri arel translates the Turkish
oluviz. The sentence is the tran.slation of the Turkish
proverb Kurtsii: kivi olvid:.) The meaning here was
that even in a small village one finds at least one woman
of evil repute.
54. Lei [to trii.su I.
He crosses him.self, makes the sign of the cross (lit. takes
his cross). Although herself a Moslem, Kara Hati knew
a good deal of the ways of Christians. Kivrd she only
used in the sense of a Christian godfather.
55. Rakjdi<a, nai gircoe risartl i buki.
He does (lit. turns) the work by night, not by day.
56. Kd-hadjdv amare mahcdid-dte.
Do not come to our mahala. (The verb hadjavdv, to come,
is of unknown origin and unrecorded elsewhere, to my
knowledge. It cannot be the interjection hdide coupled
with avdi\ or it would scarcely be used with the negative,
as above.)
57. Cumiden-pes, kernaren-pes.
They kiss and fondle each other (lit. to make rotten, kerno.
The expression is Turkish).
92 REPORT ON THE GYPSY TRIHES OF NoRTH-EAST BULGARIA
58. Kdslce avel dusljarel-j)e8 i Niska. Thudali but. ' Mnnde
nd-dUchen,' phenel, ' ])anse grosoneyge kdna kandav, kon
avil kanavel.' Marel la. ol Hmorja ko Soi^o, kai si Kiska,
gurumni! Te na nikjol mdnde t'avel. Sa kid€l-j>e8 2>e
amalinentaa. Ldke orba 16 te, dzanen jek avreske el doki.
Luhi masks orba keren. Ameijge jartlmdz. Kovli tti
Idki 6rba. Kovljarel manvMii. DeS maniU te orbimre'v,
viruS, odol inani'iJ iiuH a^unen : jek romiti te orbisarel,
korljol o mnniiS.
(This virtuous tirade n^'aiust her nei<,'hbo«rs is anotlier
splendid example of Sieve-maker Honiani.)
B}' whomsoever comes Xiska causes herself to be
milked. She is full of milk. ' I)o not look at me.' she
says, ' if I \sill give myself for Hve groats, he who will
come will come.' May the gravestones strike lier on the
head, for she is Xiska, the cow! (Xiska was a Tinner
woman, and in the Tinners' Dialect ni^ka means cow.
I cannot trace the origin of the word.) Let it not be
seen (lit shown) that she should come to me. She
contimially assembles with her companions. Her word
is to her (her speech is fit for her, not for others),
they know each other's sins. Their speecli savours of
harlotry. It is not fit for us. Her words are soft. She
softens men. If ten men talk, and they be males,
men hear them not: but if one woman speaks, man
softens.
For Kdske one would e.xpect the usual dative in -te, kdsfe,
after the causative verb. .1 malin is a female companion,
fem. o( (imdl.
59. E tovereijge mdste tlion o a»phi, 6-zaman (Turk.) chinel. E
vhurjeijge-da thov^n, k(\skhii kerdjol kdna nstaren ki
jasiin.
On the edge of the axe they put steel, then it cuts. They
put it (use it) also for knives, it (the knife) becomes
sharp when they whet it at the whetstone {astardv is to
sharpen, as in Paspati).
60. Akhdr les te dikhdv savi doS si leste, te phirel thanMe.
Call him that I may see what is his guilt, that he may go
about his business (lit, to his place). If one wanted a
typical sentence to illustrate the sound of Romani, one
could not do better than pronounce this one, with its
REPORT OX THE GVPSV TUIUES OF NORTH-EAST hULGAUIA 93
aspirated consonants. It was given me without any
other context, by Kara Hati when I first arrived at
Varna and asked her if she knew the word akhardv.
61. Bolen les e zumjdte.
They dip it into the broth or stew.
(32. Balden len, ta s&ra leygo aldv thoven, el kivre,ja!
They baptize them, and then they give them their names
(lit. place the names), the godparents, to be sure !
63. Inci dzandv 80 \aUin ic. Bulandi mor ogi,6haglem. Ker-
niarjge jek kerici kajdva tepidv, nd-ifuv Sekeri andre.
I don't know wliat I ate yesterday. My inside (stomach,
heart, etc., they are very vague about what is inside
them) is upset, I was sick. Make me a bitter cup of
colVee to drink, don't put sugar into it.
64. IiUi avilern tumare inarneske,avdein hcmar<^ gugle iJdhdke.
I did not come for your bread, I came for your sweet con-
versation. (This was the usual preamble to begging.)
6"). Te dav \ins mor borktute.
Let me give a thrust into my bosom.
Xins is the khendj of Paspati (>•. Paspati, p. 312). See also
Sofia dialect (Cordilmdzis, J. G. L. 5^., New Series, iii. 182).
QQ. Xmnureatar kere'n i holdini, i kivirindva (Turk.), makeii
i sinjd khojdsa, te na phdbol i holdini.
Out of dougk they make the cake, they smear the tray with
dripping that the cake may not burn.
67. Iklidi, phirdds hut, rakjdke kan\ds.
She is tired, she has walked much, at nightfall we shall eat.
This is the klundi of other dialects. The Sieve-makers
appear to have entirely lost the adjective khino, having
preserved only the verb.
65. Arakhddjovavas lake hukjdke.
I was busy looking after her affairs. (A literal translation
of the local Turkish, inind huluniirdum, I was found at
her business. But note that the Romani translation has,
/ icas caused to he found, also that the Turkish dative is
translated in Romani by the dative in -ke, in this
case.)
69. Kanarakhddjoias.
We shall get on well together, shall meet and converse.
70. Arakhdddo lake xurdo.
A child was born to her.
94 llEFOHT OX THE (iVPSY TUIBES OF XORTII-EAsT lULGARIA
I
71. Avercdndes kankineii do-ffro-<oue')jge je/c oki'o'n fhwl.
Otherwise you will buy one oka of milk for two j^'roats
(piastres),
72. Jek hrss avgos mulS lesko dad.
His father died a year ago.
73. Mdndar bareder jthen si oi.
She is my elder sister. The comparative in -der is only used
in comparing age.
74. l)nd)(iikjaril o rak'ii.
The priest reads, i.e. prays. The Turks use i>kuinak, 'to
read,' also in the sense of ' to pray,' hence the double
meaning in many Romani dialects, and also the meaning
' to exorcise ' and ' to tell fortunes.'
75. E barralexko heiji dii hai. <ivel c roroxko ogi inld^l.
A literal translation of the Tnrki.sh : zengin in h'ifi g>lind:i ,
fiLkaranin dzani cikar. Literally : Until the wellbeing of
the rich man comes (is reached), the poor man's heart is
eaten out That is: The rich man's comfort is onlv
jiossible at the expense of the poor man's suft'ering.
7(!. Xiu'dimata murdimdtn.
Odds and ends, all sorts of small rubbish.
All through the Xear East in all languages words may bo
thus reduplicated, changing the first letter into //*.
E.g. in Turkish comb mor<ib, stockings, and similar bits
of clothing. Levantines even do this when speaking
French: Toutcx sor(<'8 df rlinpeaux-mappinx, hats and
such like.
The Kalaidji Dialects (Tinners), (»•. A. 1 (!>))
Since beginning this report I have ama.s8ed a consideral)le
amount of information concerning the Tinners which would have
been better included in the rirst section.
The dialect of the Tinners comprises several subdivi.sions.
All tribes speaking it are Moslems. If the Drindaris are the
musicians ^>ar c.rcellcnce, combining to form orchestras, the ballad
singers, who accompany themselves on a rude form of mandoline,
are recruited almost exclusively from the Tinner caste. This is
so much the case that if one attempts to take down a song from
the Ziigundjis or from the Sieve-makers, one will find that it is
generally not given in pure Zagundji or Sieve-maker dialect, but
REPORT ON' THE GYPSY TRIBES OF NORTH-EAST BULGARIA 95
is, as it were, a parody of the Tinners' language, the speaker having
heard the songs only in that dialect, which he, of course, knows
but imperfectly. Hence the strange versions so frequently
offered.
It is difficult to get a text of any length in pure Tinner dialect.
Evervwhere Turkish is creeping in, ousting the old Romani. Some
of the tribe cannot count at all in Romani, others only up to four.
Some subdivisions of this tribe have lost the aspirated /./<, 2^/*,
and vk, rarely however the tli. (J and dz, as in a subdivision of
Dri'ndari, are pronounced by curving the tongue round, and making
it touch the beginning of the hard palate. Ihis is most often
heard in the continually repeated expression : P^'k larho, very
good or very well ; Turkish itek-exji, peki. As a general rule
J)rindari ^'* becomes cm Kalaidji, hence the following forms : cinia,
a little, raci, by night, huci, work, fikono, little, small, tadipo, heat.
Some subdivisions have however the tfi.
As in hri'ndari, the dj of phonetically purer dialects becomes
:. As in Dri'ndari an i susceptible of MouUlh'umj causes a
preceding / to drop out: kanyi, a comb, (jiid'i mol, sweet wine.
But they have forgotten that there ever was an / in gndln and
say f/u.d6 pai.
Other forms, reminding one of Driudari, may be seen from the
following: loi gar i, a VQd cow. (However, there is no nasalisation); di
jua;i,give me ; o'rmdi sanzi, a worm-eaten plank {kermall sanidi) ;
pi'iti't, married (Drind. p\ltu)\ piiMa, piiniva, I take in marriage,
become married, 3rd pers. sing, pncdjol: piicardva, 1 give in
marriage; disiirzias, it appeared (cf. Drind. diiilii); dumvdv and
di<iivzardv, I show (cf. Vr'md. discird); piom, I fell and I drank
(Drind. pihn and peim).
Piddi, a street, and idvs, a thing, are both peculiar to this
dialect.
A'(t is the simple negative used everywhere, with no discrimina-
tion such as we have seen among the Sieve-makers: e.g. na
dzandva, I don't know. It is also the prohibitive. iVai is
• cannot,' the nciMi of other dialects.
To •'■o out and descend have been already referred to in the
List of Test Words.
The shortened gerundive is found : phiri phiri, by dint of
walking, (phiri phiri joruldd. He walked a lot and grew tired).
In the 3rd pers. sing, past tense the participial form, i.e. geld, avilo,
etc.. is never used. They say gijds, ajds, rodids, dids. This is
96 REPORT ON THE GYPSY TRIBES OF NORTH-EAST BULGARIA
also the case with the passive verbs : tarsdz'uis, he was frightened,
gardzias, he hid, harvdjas, nafsdjas, deijas, he went mad. Note
pheinds, he she or it became full, where the <I has gone, as in
Drindari.
The I in such forms as vude, they died, geU, they went, tivih'.
they came, is replaced by ii, as with Patkanoft's Russian Gypsies.
Examples: mune, they died, aine, they came. Sometimes the
singular is used for the plural : mujiis, they died.
As in other dialects -it stems are often tacked on to genuine
Romani verbs: na j)uc'izola vidndar, no one is asking for mo (lit.
it is not being questioned concerning me), c?i/.<'ci««, he was seen.
Note too: rodiziol, It in being looked for. Note the form ardp-
Siara, from ampjovara, I am being found.
The enclitic pronouns -lo, li (cf. Geruj. Komani rijafi-lu gar,
he came not) are apparently found here. Forms recorded are :
bestds-li, she sat down ; maciiis-li, she became dnmk ; pioN-le,
they drank or fell. I am not aware that these forms have yet been
recorded so far East as in the Ralkan Peninsula.
There is no tendency, as among the Greek Gypsies to pro-
nounce .s as 8. The more remarkable therefore are the following
forms : pa^'iidm, I lay down, ^Kisiarddui, I put him to bed. In
these words most dialects have .-T, but if I am not mistaken I'at-
kanotV strangely enough again agrees with the Tinners in having
s in just these words.
Bre.^, a year, is continually being used in the sense of country :
Jade bre.^nde, in these countries, places, hereabouLs. ' Here ' is b'ikd,
and 'there' is kokd. These are looked upon as test words by the
Gvpsies themselves, as the Tinners' die kaka, or 'come here,' is
in Sieve-makers' language w khuthe, and in Drindari ela kitkd.
The article o is used in the oblique cases, even when the
feminine is meant: di les o {ei^ijge. (Nominative is rhui, not Hai
or at.)
And here nmst end this jumble of notes, from which it will be
seen that the dialect, though in places dying out, has still pre-
served its grammar intact.
For examples of the dialect I must refer the reader for the
present to the List of Compared Sentences. Later I hope to pub-
lish, in Kalaidji speech, a good version of the famous 'Ballad of
the Bridge' (see Paspati's Conip du Pont), together with other
ballads in the same dialect, taken down from an old blind singer
from Rustchuk.
REPORT ON THE GYPSY TRI15ES OF NORTH-EAST BULGARIA 97
The Dialect of the Comh-Makers (v. B. 2 (a))
Of all the dialects mentioned in this Report, that of the Conib-
uiakers is tlie nearest to those of the ' Lai ere Sinte,' of the Nomad
Coppersmiths, recently in Liverpool, or of the ' Zidaris ' or Builders
of Bucharest, and, in fact, to all dialects represented in Constan-
tinescu's Probe de limba §i literatura tigcmilor din Romdnia,
excepting that of the ' Ursari,' or Bear-leaders. These latter,
by the by, may be related to the Gypsy monkey-trainers, and
formerly boar-leaders, of Karnobad, west of the Bulgarian port
of Burgas, who speak a dialect which is decidedly ' non-Vlach '
in the sense of that expression used in this Report.
I have already said enough concerning the soft accent and
pleasing voice of the Comb-makers. The dialect is not far
removed from that of the Sieve-makers, with whom, and with all
those speaking at all like them, the Comb-makers can converse
in Romani with perfect ease, save perhaps with the Zagundjis,
owing to the hitter's uncouth accent.
Liku all Romani dialects this one has, as it were, constantly at
its elbow, a gadzo language on which it models its syntax, and
from which it borrows words and particles with the greatest pre-
dilection. It is, in this case, the Rumanian language that is at the
back of the Comb-maker's mind when ho is speaking, and a know-
ledge of Rumanian phonetics, word formation, and syntax is to be
recommended to any one who would speak fluently the language
of this criminal tribe. Particles thus borrowed are, amongst
others, iiiai (untranslatable), in such phrases as 'so mai Jeeves?'
how are you ? (Rumanian ce mai fad?), nuniai, only, de mult, long
since, a long time already, de dimine'rltsa, early, etc., decdt, since,
and many more which are all replaced by corresponding Turkish
or Bulgarian words in other dialects.
Amongst dialectical peculiarities may be mentioned the
following : —
c and ch are replaced by s. They have the word Rai, so unex-
pectedly absent from all the other dialects dealt with in this Report.
They alone have also the well-known verb bus6l-pe, he is called,
named. They use the Rumanian names of the week, to translate
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, just as do the 'Lalere Sinte' and other
kindred tribes, and where the Sieve-maker dialects use either
Turkish or translations from the Turkish, such as Paid o kurko,
Monday, salija, Tuesday, carsambdva, Wednesday, j^^'^^^i'^bdva,
VOL. IX. — no. II. G
98 REPORT ON THE GYPSY TRIBES OF \ORTll-EAST BULGARIA
Thursday. They have a special liking for the passive foruiation
where the Sieve-makers use the reHexive : H kdna kaiinirdjon?
how long are they going to continue fighting? Note also nji\
mngljol, it is not ascertainable, the nandi p^ndldr of the Sofia
Erli'des.
Ei grastd asddile means the horses are tired out. I have not]
been able to place the verb. The reperdva of some western;
dialects finds its counterpart in liperimos, remembrance, keep-'
sake, souvenir, almost always heard in the dative, as: de inan\
kadavd lijMrimdske, give rae that as a keepsake.
The Comb-makers use the abstract noun RaimSs in talking!
to superiors, thus: Ko Raiinos, Your Lordship, thereby translat-!
ing literally the Rumanian Dumnia-td or Dinnma-Vodstra.
They also rarely give a positive or negative answer without adding]
Xfiv ki khnl, literally may I eat your excrement, but which is
apparently not any stronger than the English ' yes indeed ' or ' no
indeed.'
Te dildva'-, literally, may I go mad, is also constantly used in
simple asseveration, seemingly having no mure meaning than the
English ' Yes, by Jove,' and u.sed much more frequently.
The following two letters will serve as examples of the dialect,
which is not unfamiliar to students of Uoinani : —
1. Letter, dated at Hustchuk, May 27, 1!»13
Me gslem dndo liiiscuko. Xalt^m jyilem, nakadem but mi^to.
Rikddv Uih' but sastimos, but .^tar vagdna saatijye po Mddno e
Nikoldsko. 0 mui-lesko ihipime. I jdk-leski, i stnjgo, rirrKmie.
Thagdr Romand si, hai but lasd manii.i Hai bikddv-tuke
shriipd but te primis kadale manusSs, le Mikinoa sar kai £an^8
tnan kadd i lea. Vo kaacel-tuke jyeske-zuvlidsa. Rngi-nia,
prirtiisdr le munvMs munr4 rigdtar. But rugi-ma tdk/i. Me
kdna avela tnte te skris mdijgs Lisa jek HI dndi munrd them, i
tnc kaskriv i tunie'rfgs. But sastipe mdndar.
Translat ion
I have gone to Rustchuk. I have eaten and drunk and pas.sed
(the time) very well. I send you much health, many four wagon
(-loads) of health from Milan, the son of Nicolas. His face is marked
with smallpox. H is eye, the left one, is jammed in. He is a Gypsy
IIEPOIIT OX THE GYPSY TRIBES OF NORTH-EAST BULGARIA 99
King, and an excellent man. And I send you written {i.e. recom-
mendations) to receive much(i.f.'. well) this man, Milan, as you
knojv me even so him. He will come to you with his wife. I beg
yon receive the man from my part I beseech you much. 1 (sic)
when he comes to you, you write me with him a letter to my
country, and I will write to you (plur.). Much health from
me.
Note
nikailem : a ciusative verlj, where possible, or in any case a transitive one, is
lused in all Halkan languagL-s, not followeil b}- any accusative, in this well known
phrase, which may be heard daily in Levantine and Halkan French, thus : ' 0
Madame I nous avons i»as8o admirablement en vilKgiatur?,' or * Comment avez
vous passt'-, bien ?
2. Lottcr written at Shumla to Roman Ilia at Gelendzik, near
Dobritch.
lint sastimos r Anlaiisdtar. Te dea kadavd HI kai Vriatdki.
J(i i'avei* mdndc Samnoste.ja te b'u'liaUs lord, xdske iiaSti hekiv
kathe e -^{t/'o^e/t^sa, bi-lov^r/go. Te na gindls kai tl romni
'irreste <jeJ[. Te naMl t'aesa tu, te hi^ales el lov4 kai ko sokro dndo
/>/t«H/i/nn-v. Ltsko aldv Serbdn Ispdso. But sastimos le
Nikalaestav ke kuninatdstar. Kai sanas uziU anddr grast,
line el roiii, aHle e salentsa pe 2>ojdn. Romdne, viaygdv te
mothds-inaijge anddr niunrd dad, o Rddulo, hai but sastimds e
Duddtar. Ami sain ando Sumen. Hai bu' sastimos le Kos-
tandindstar, Icai arakhddjol rinagi dndi Sumen.
mJ'ranslation
Much health from Ankutsa. Give this letter to Vristaki.
Either come to me at Shumla, or send money, because I cannot
sit here with the children without money. Do not imagine that
your wife [the author of the letter] has gone to another man. If
you cannot come yourself, send the money to your father-in-law
in prison. His name is Sherban Ispasu. Much health from
Nicolai, your brother-in-law. The men have taken that which
was owing to them for horses, {and thus) they have remained with
the children upon the field. 0 Roman : (well-known Rumanian
proper name) I want you to tell me about my father Radul, and
much health from Duda. We are in Shumla. And much
health from Constantine, who is always to be found in
Shumla
100 report ox the gypsy tribes of north-east uulcjaria
The Dialect of the Zagundjis
Nearest allied to the dialect of the Sieve-makers is that of the
Zagundjis (Carrion- eaters), concerning whom I have given a
somewhat lengthy notice. Although I have frequented this tribe
perhaps more than any other, I am not in possession of any very
vahiable texts wherewith to illustrate their speech. The story of
'CAmpara Biijukltl (Jelebi Mustafa,' which is in their dialect, and
has already been pubHshed {J. G. L. S., vol. vi. p. 141), and other
frafrments which I have at times taken down, have lost half their
value owing to the fact that the Zjigundjis' everyday speech is
very ditlerent from that of the songs and fairy tales. The
Ziigundji shouts and mutters, and jabbers and whines, but he is
very incoherent, being unaccustomed to fi.x his mind on any one
subject for more than a few minutes at a time. The more care-
fully ho speaks, the nearer ho approaches to the dialect of the
Sieve-makers.
Among the few peculiarities of his speech, apart from his
rough accent and general uncouthncss, which at once mark him
out as of the Carrion-eating caste. I may mention the r, which is
apparently a further development of ]' (see p. 71), and which
seems to be produced by vibrating the epiglottis. The sound is a
voiced one. Note too, as characteristic of the dialect, within the
area covered in this Re|)ort, the past ten.se of the verb to give,
dilem, dildn, dihi, etc., and that of to go, dJelem, dieldn, dzeld,
etc., also d6=he gave.
Specimen of the Bialect
(Like Paspati 's Cmiie dtt, Pont this tale, or rather fragment of
one, is rather rambling. It was dictated to me on the heights of
Giinduz Cesme in the summer of 1913, and the Gypsy was
impatient to finish in order to join in a drinking carou.se which had
already started on the gra.ss some yards distant.)
Si kai si jek phurl i^kivli, si kai si jek phuro phivlo. E
phurjdko kher momdstar, e phurjesko kher loiiestar. Ake o phur6
phenela: ' De Delia jek Irt'i^in te hildl e j)hurdsko kher, te nal^l
mdnde.' I phuri-da phendds e Devleske : ' De Devla jek kham,
te nasel o phiiro mdnde.'
Ake, Efendimize, do o briSin, nasld ki pthuri. 0 phuro phcnel :
' ^[uk, phurije, kai ko vtiddr te pasljovav kairdf, khiijijiiem .' '
Pale i phiiri : ' XinH pirci, ndSov e vudarestar, in-kaimi-tut.'
REPORT OX THE GYPSY TRIBES OF NORTH-EAST BULGARIA 101
Ek drom, pdle dui drom, thai tsirdd le pai o umblald. Brts-
taldl i phurl dndi lindri, nakel o jjhuro paid late. Rom romni-
jdsa achilo.
IhaUl i pliuri peske trdnda miskojd, \urdeijge thaneste. Lttjgi
del kerel niamo thedardsa. Coren o xumel te kerdn-peske bokoljd.
' Phureja, le adalen, uff/jarde dndo vo.^ te \asdon.' (A sentence is
missing here.) ' ^for dad kaMd (^hiygjarel.' Leygi 2^hen phenel:
' Bokhdilem.' Pdle e guruv kai ■)(indd ker^l lerjge bokoli. Thol
leyge jak, pekeUi. Fidel o phuro Del: 'So 's kathe, kizim?'' Oi
phenel : ' Go^ni si, mor phral^n xo\avdva.'
Translation
There is where there is an old widow, there is where
there is an old widower. The widow's house is of wax, the
widower's house is of salt.
Behold the old man says : • Give, 0 God, a (shower of) rain, to
melt the old man's house (sic) that he may come to me.' And
the old woman said to the God: ' Give. 0 God, a sun (sunshine),
tiiat the old man may run to me.'
Behold, My Masters, the rain fell, and he fled to the old
woman. The old man savs : ' Let me, old woman, lie at vour door
to-nit,dit, I am wet through. Then the old woman: ' Heigho,
begone from the door, I don't want you.'
Once twice and she drew him up to the embers. The old
woman forgot herself in sleep. The old man passed over to her
side. They remained husband and wife.
The old woman takes out thirty mice instead of children,
rheir mother is making bread early in the morning. They steal
the dough to makes cakes for themselves. ' (Jld man, take them,
lead them out into the forest, that they may be lost.' ' M}' father is
cutting wood.' Their sister says: 'I am hungry.' Then she
makes them cakes from the dung of cows. She puts fire to them
(puts them on the tire), it bakes. The Old God descends:
• What's here, my girl ? ' She says: ' It is dung, I am deceiving
my brothers.'
Notes
The tale is a hopeless jumble of many well-known fairy tales, good versions of
which I have already published in this Journal (see the ' Sofia Gypsy Fairy
Tales ').
do: generally iu conversation clild.
briataldi : probably for hriitdldili.
mamo. The r is not usually heard in the grouping m, marn6, larnd.
102 REPORT ON THE GYPSY TRIBES OF NORTH-EAST BULGARIA
The Dialect of the Parpl'lia (Gimlet-makers)
The dialect is one of the purest of the primitive non-Vhich
type. I have no texts, but have noted, in conversations with these
Gypsies, various peculiarities, the most important among which
may be set forth as follows.
The verb is of the type of Paspati's Nomads. The long endings
to the present are preferred : -dva, -esa, -ela, etc. The loan verbs,
of which there are many, mostly from the Bulgarian, as these
Gypsies are Christians, are conjugated from an -iz stem. Baki-
vdva, which in most other dialects here discussed becomes huAa-
Idva, is here pronounced hasdriini. The primitive verb laddva, to
pack up, is found. As in all dialects considered in this Report, the
verb dzivdva^ is missing, save in its participial and gerundial
forms: dzivdo and dzivindd (hence also (/itrm</i/)^', life, health).
The nearest form to Paspati's nikdva, namely niJddvd, is here
found. Also nlkijovava and niJaddvn (see Test Word List). Tliey
have such primitive forms as khin'dde, for the more usual khinih.
Blandva is used for to lay eggs. Ttrjuvnva is their nearest form
to Paspati's terdva, nowhere found in this district.
They know the word riik, so rare in East Bulgaria, and they
do not aspirate the /.-. (A sub-dialect of the Drindari language
has rnkhd.) The Drindari sivamli, betrothed, is here siame, a
participle in -rnenos. It may be the Modern Greek simiomenoa,
signalled out, signed, the more so as this would be a literal trans-
lation of the Turkish niiauli, used in the sense of betrothed.
They have Paspati's word viiA, tlax, unknown even to most
other non-Vlach dialects. Also the rare word zam, desire, men-
tioned by Paspati. It is here found in the combination: Dzam-
Ba\t te del u Del, recorded nowhere else hitherto, and used as a
toast meaning: May God grant every one's wishes and luck to all.
They often use davdri for a horse, a word not used in local
Turkish in that sense. Turkish has no direct influence upon this
dialect, which in most of its forms may perhaps date back to
before the Turks' entry into Europe. (See Paspati for the origin
of davdri.)
For Thursday they use the Greek pefti. For Monday and
Tuesday they have the Bulgarian words, with endings according
to the genius of their dialect, fwnddnikns, ftdrnikos. For the
' It is doubtful whetlier '/iir/:</a (sentence 5 below) should bi- confiidered as a
Roniani verb wrongly conjugate*! from an -i; stem, dt whether it is a loan-word
from Bulgarian iiv, the initial being pronounced df by analogy with rffi'ixio.
REPORT ON THE GYPSY TRIBES OF NORTH-EAST BULGARIA 103
Other days of the week they use the usual Romani words of Greek
origin.
The rare words dster and 'pasterni are found : both, however, in
the sense of apron.
Ijike Paspati, they have the prepositional combination: andre
ko, andre ki, an ho, an hi, Icatdr ko, anddr ko, etc.
I liave heard the following pronominal forms: adavd^ kadavd,
kakd, akab.l, all meaning this, the feminine adaikd, and the
.oblique singular adalke.
The Test Word List may also be consulted with profit. The
following are a few selected sentences taken down, using Bulgarian
as the language in which to ask the questions : —
1. Akakd neve jyostale kerdds-peske. He had new shoes made.
2. Kihur kerla ndaikd katuna f What is the price of this tent-
cloth ?
3. 0 katdnes katkd, attui nandi pani adalke yavesie. The tents
are here, but there is no water in this village.
4. KufnHindhela pdle jekh4 hcHtste. He will marry in a year.
.5. Dzivizelu katkd. He lives here.
6. Kiborkd khind aindm naStl phirdra. lam so tired I cannot
walk.
7. Cholila, kuJeUi kartoji. He is peeling potatoes.
8. Clii)jfjjarela mas. He is chopping up meat.
9. Thdbilo o sastokher. The whole house burnt down.
10. / kaxni vaye hianehi. The hen lays eggs.
1 1. Ackona pdla ko kher, o<loth4 terjoim. They are waiting behind
the house, there they are staying.
12. Sazdrla i 6ik anddr ko drom. He is cleaning away the mud
from the road.
13. Sdr'i rat gildhindoni, IjaSarddm, khelddm xoroskoro.^ The
whole night I sang, played, danced the horo.
The Xomad Iron-workers (AmfA)
I have no notes on this dialect, but as far as I could judge
from one short interview with the tribe, when I met them up in
the Eastern Balkans whilst they were on the move in long Indian
tile, each man behind his donkey, and each family behind its chief,
their language can best be learnt by studying Paspati. It is pro-
^ Scil., x^'d-'ikoro Lhelipe.
lO-i REPORT ON THE GYPSY TRIBES OF NORTH-EAST BULGARIA
bably nearest to that of the Parpulia, thoup^h with Turkish
influence, as they are Moslems.
Of the lanjjuaije of the Dinikovlars and of the Horse-shoe-
makers I know nothing. The former is probably akin to other
Moslem non-Vlach dialects; is certainly so, and phonetically pure,
{i.e. unlike the Kalaidjis' and Drindari languages), if the thieves I
met at the fair of Eski-Djumaya in 1915 were of this tribe. (See
account above.) The Horse-shoe-makers, if they are Christians,
and Sedentaries, probably speak a Sieve-maker dialect like the
Christian Sedentary Cott'ee-pot-makers.
The Dialect of the DEMiun.jfs (Iron-workers of Kazanlik)
The Cerihaii, or chief of the Moslem Sedentary Gypsies at
Varna, hailed from Kazanlik, a town lying south of the Shipka
Pass, and the centre of the Attar of Roses district. He was of
the tribe of Kazanlik Iron-workers. Unlike Varna, Kazanlik
harbours, according to him, but one otlier Moslem Sedentary tribe,
the Ba.sket-makers, brethren of the Basket-makers of Shumla
(?'. A. 1 id)). From the CitHhi.H Osman. and from his brother, I
learnt something of the Kazanlik dialect. It is of the non-Vlach
group, and is extremely pure. It Is remarkable as being the only
dialect hitherto recorded in the Balkan Peninsula possessing the
full ending -pen, -ben for abstract nouns, as well as -mt'n fttr
the Chrek participles in -menos, instead of -pe, -be, -me. It also
has the emphatic forms vieja, tiija, corresponding in meaning to
the French moi, Un. The genitive is fonned from the -karn stem.
The past tense has no Mouillirung. The syntax is modelled on
the Turkish as far as this is possible in the case of an Aryan
language like llomani. The word Ao'v/, thing, so common in most
European Romani dialects, and so rare in the Balkans, is here
used. Here I have also found a preposition hitherto unknown,
which exists also in Drindari, namely, astir or ast<ir-re, which,
like the asdl of the Sotia Erlides, to which it may just possibly be
akin, governs the dative in -/.v. and means for the sake of, or for,
on behalf of.
For the rest, details concerning this dialect can best be studied
in the List of Compared Sentences.
There is, however, one more peculiarity of this dialect to which I
should like to give special prominence. It is that the usual Romani
word pArai oc p)hal, a brother, is not generally used, and the word
REPOKT ON THE GYPSY TRIBES OF NORTH-EAST BULGARIA 105
which replaces it is the Urdu word hhdi '. How this comes to be
so I cannot explain. This Bai might be the Bulgarian Bai which
is used as a sort of familiar title much as Oom in Transvaal Dutch,
but which never means brother.
Specimen of Dialect
The following is a copy of the letter received by me from
Osman Osmanoff, Ceriba^i, when he had been deposed from his
throne with all other Bulgarian officials, high and low, upon the
fall of the Nationalist {Xarodniak) Party in 191o. He had retired
to Provadia, whence after some time he sent me this petition,
asking me to intercede with the new Prefect, in order that he
might be reinstated as chief at least in that small provincial
town : —
PhrAla ! — Me nnUi aviloin pcL^iil ti'ite. Tu mdyyr ma-xoljdze,
me (jelum Pravadidte. Me tut isl te vakerdm ek urha : molizava
tut te dzas kai UpraHtelo, te vakeres astdr mdijge te kerel vii
buti t'ovdv Pravadidte aav tu dzanes aijgli sindmas othe, athe-da ;
te keres mej'i buti. Tu-da te dzandv kai aan mo j^firal kai nandi
80 te vakerdv.
But sastipen e borjdke ve te t^Jddke, pdle e aasdke, saovefiyge
saatipen-restijten. Te del o Del bu' saMipen mdndar, e Osmand-
><tfn: Ac e Devle'sa. Me (jelom me khereste. — Sss Pocitanie,
0. OSMANOFF
2 Oktombri 1913 godina
grad Provadia
Notes
6>ha and phral. In his own dialect he would say pherds and bai, but through
having been chief of a mixed crowd of Tinners and Sieve-makers in Vaina for
tweutj years on and off, his dialect has become somewhat contaminated.
re. This is apparently an attempt at being literary. Ve, 'and,' is used in
written Turkish, never in the local dialect.
Translation
Brother ! — I have been unable to come to you. Do not be
angry with me, I have gone to Provadia. I much wanted to say a
word to you : I beg you to go to the Prefect and speak to him on
my behalf, that he may arrange the matter for me that I may
become at Provadia as you know I was before there (in Varna) so
too here ; please arrange this matter. As I know that you are my
brother there is nothing (further) that I need say.
106 REPORT ON' THE OYPSV TRIBES OF NORTH-EAST BULGARIA
Much health to your wife and daughter, also to your mother-
in-law, and to every one health and good luck. May God grant
you much health from me, Osman. Remain with God. I have
gone to my home. — With respects, -
0. OSMANOFF
2 October 1913,
Provadia
While in Varna I used to bo constantly receiving begging
letters and others from ditierent tribes. Unfortunately most of
them had been dictated to non-Gypsies, who did not understand
what they were writing, and they were consequently often quite
undecipherable. In one letter I was only able to make out that
a certain horse-thief, who was dictating it, made his amanuensis
write that he, the amanuensis, was a fool.
Occasionally, however, a CJypsy was found who could write, as
in the case of the following specinien, sent me by a horse-thief,
but dictated to a Sedentary Christian, according to a postscript
not here published, it will be seen that the writer wrote in
his own dialect, which was the Sieve-makers' speech, only now
and again putting down faithfully what ho was told, as when ho
writes ' saatimoit.'
Grad R<mjtul, 28 A' //1 3 godina.
Phrdhx ! — But seldmo vuindar, e ^^^iknlindtar, e htrjdtar
savorosendar-da, hem e Turesdir. Vov si akand but barvalo.
Addl gesd Ins j^inda gdlbea, anddr ek-dui. But addmo mdndnr,
€ Vlannwstar. But molisardv tut, bujakindd iiai man xc-rsliki,
te bicfiales mdijge trin gdlhea, ciinkim si man gras, amd nai
man .so tr ■x^iindjardv lestc. Take dikhdv dndo drom te bi^ales
mdyge trin gdlbea, soske nai avei-tstar, kdste te diav ta te ma)jgdv
pares tutar-ba.skd. Cilnki dzands e Tiirisko phral bichaldd' feske
kl lefurja Anglidtnr, i tu-da bichdl mdijge trin gdlbea, ta ine
kdna kazanirtm, kanrisardi^ len iiike.
Akayui but sastimos bichaldv e borjdke ke romnjdke, e sokrdke.
But molisardv tut sar kabul edersln o mektvpo te bi^haJes mdijge
karSiliki. — Sss Pozdrav,
VLACANO
Notes
E boridtar. From the /*o/v'. The word is in appoaition to e ,Vii-«/i»wf^ar. Hia
sister was, by courtesy, bori to me. See below, where he semis ecl<im.% to my wife,
who is bori to him. This is the universal use of the word, and is found also iu
REPORT ON THE GYPSV TRIBES OF NORTH-EAST BULGARIA 107
Sofia. liiji-i is a 3<«ung bride, and also means daughter-in-law, the Turkish geUv,
Bulgarian snax. You address any married woman as horije. To an unmarried
girl you saj* generally ' ph^ne !' i.e. sister fmore rarely j,fte?i/;e).
aiiddr ek-iui. Literally from one-two, i.e. from the Hokano Bare, the doubling
money, making two coins out of one.
Tithe dikhdv dndo droin. Literally, I look for you upon the road, i.e. I rely upon
you. One would like to see in this a beautiful Nomad figure of speech, and, as a
matter of fact, I know of no Bulgarian or Turkish efjuivalent. The Turkish found
in the letter is as follows : —
«f/(/m = salaams : /cm -also ; hu-jnkindd = %\iO\i\y, at present ; xo'c7fi = earnings ;
f«ni/m = because ; 6a*X"<i = other ; c«Mi"i = because ; kazamrim = l earn, gain; knbid-
€ti«*rsiu = receive ; mtktitb = \eiiev; kai-iUlk = hy retwrn.
Translation
Brother, — Many salaams from iiie. from Nikulina, the bride,
and Croui all, al.so from Turi. He is now very rich. These days
ho took fifty pounds by means of 'one-two' (the Great Deceit).
Many salaams from me, Vlacano. I earnestly pray you, at present
I am earning nothing, send me three pounds, for I have a horse,
but I have not wherewith to feed it. I rely upon you to send me
three pounds, for there is no other (lit. there is not from another)
to wlioiii I may go to ask for money, other than you. For you
know Turi's brother sent him a hundred leva from England, and
you too send me tliree pounds, and when I earn them I will
return them to vou.
Now I send much health to the bride, your wife, and to your
mother-in-law. I beseech you, when you receive this letter to
answer by return. — With greetings,
VLACANO
It will be noticed that this Report is in many instances incom-
plete. This is partly owing to the meagreness of available data
concerning some of the tribes which are fast disappearing, but it is
also due to ray hurried departure from Bulgaria in the autumn
of 1915.
In the absence of reliable historical references to the Gypsies of
Bulgaria I have been obliged to confine myself to setting down a
personal record of my dealings with the tribes, many of which I
know but slightly. I thought it better to include all the tribes,
however sketchy the description of some may be, for the sake of
completeness, and in order to help future students of the Gypsies
of the Balkans.
The best way of procuring good examples of the dialects is to
discover a good story-teller, His tales, however uninteresting they
108 REPORT ON THE OYRSY TRIBES OF NORTH-EAST BULGARIA
may appear, will be of value if only for the sake of the priceless
sentences and words which are sure to be found interspersed here
and there in the narrative. Such tales in the dialects of the Aidia,
the Parpulia, the Kazanlik Iron-workers, the Dinikovlars, would
certainly supply us with new and interesting;^ linguistic material.
In the summer of 1914 I was able to procure several fairy tales in
the dialect of the Dri'ndaris, from the village of Zeravna on the
heights around Kotel (Kazan). The dialect in which they are
told is not so typically Drindari as that of the specimens I have
already published in this Journal, hut it is sufficiently near to the
prototype Drindari to be worth while printing.
It is (litHcult to predict the fate of Roman ipen in the Near
East as the result of great upheavals. The race cannot be merged
in the surrounding population. For that the Gypsies are both too
numerous and too despised. Tiicre were few signs, before I left,
of an awakening sense of nationality, and yet the wave of
nationalism is not likel}' to leave them altogether untouched. If
we are spared the sight of a Gypsy Imj)erialism,and a Gypsy Yellow
I'ress, I cannot but delight in the thought thai a poet may arise
who will know how to express in song and in prose the simple
soul of his nation, in his own language, which in Soulh-Kastcrn
Europe is as capable of cultivation without the help of foreign
elements as are the Bulgarian, Modern Greek, or Serbian
languages. What matter if this last statement rai.se a howl of
indignant protest on the part of the ' d«'>bri patrioti ' and ' vat-
andzis ' of the Balkans. The language is there, in all its archaic
purity. Foreign elements have crept in, as they have in Bulgarian
and Rumanian, but this fact has not prevented Botjev in liulgaria
or Eminescu in Rumania from being great poets. And why should
not the Romani nmse sing of the forest and heath, o ve.s o buy, and
the wind that blows across them ?
And now, to close this Report, I have an etymological discovery
which I hit upon, as it were, by inspiration, at three o'clock in the
morning of the 18th January 1918. It is no less than an elucida-
tion of the word nais, which baffled Miklosich, and has, I believe,
puzzled most students of Romani. The root of the word is the
same as that to be found in the English word ' hygiene.' I can see
with my mind's eye the looks of incredulity on the faces of some
of my readers. And yet it is quite simple: the Ancient Greek
adjective vyn]<; and the substantive iryLaa (both of which I believe
lam right in stating are used in the modern Romaic), produced
EDITORIAL 109
a late Byzantine verb vyuLO). All such forms have for centuries
past been contracted in the spoken language and are conjugated
as follows: vyio), vyieU, vyiel, etc., send these are pronounced iyo,
iyis, iyl, etc. Nais is therefore va v'yiel<; {na iyis), and means
' may you be healthy, may you prosper.' It has its exact counter-
part in all Balkan languages, including Gypsy, e.g. Turkish, sctg-
olswn : Rumanian, sa Jil sdnatus; Bulgarian, da si zdrav;
Drindari, te snktsis-tu ; Romani, te sdstjos. It will be remembered
that sids, or sid, used in proposing a toast, has the same root
origin : et? vyceuii', pronounced isidn, and of daily use among
modern Greeks. I have heard Gypsies use both words in the
same toast. The proposer says sid, the person toasted answering
niais.
The word nai.s is used in the ' Vlach "■ dialects of this Report,
and is known elsewhere as far west as in the dialect of the ' Lalere
Sinte.' Tuke is often appended, as an ethical dative, I suppose
similar to diau-matjge.
And now nais, phrdia, may you be hygienic, and dza
DevUsa !
KDITOHIAL
IN presenting the second portion of the Report on Gypsy Tribes
of Xorth-East Bulgaria, which forms the sole article in this
part of our Jounud, wo wish to explain that delays, directly or
indirectly due to the war now happily over, have prevented the
regular issue of the quarterly parts of the Journal of the Gypsy
Lore Society.
Owing to the enhanced cost of printing and of paper, we have
been compelled. to reduce the size of the separate issues. It
is hoped that the excellent quality of the work published will
atone for the loss of a certain number of pages of printed matter.
The further issue of the Journal will now follow in as rapid
succession as possible. Consideration is being given to a sugges-
tion that three years' issues should be published together in one
vohnne, so that we may resume the preparation of our quarterly
parts from the beginning of our financial year in July 1920.
The Society holds a goodly stock of manuscripts and first
proofs, and we look forward to much valuable and interesting
material coming in for the future. The great disturbance of the
110 EDITORIAL
habits of the Gypsies all over Europe And the Near East may well
brinof stransre visitors to our shores in greater numbers, and more
frequently than in former years. However that may be, there is
sure to be a good opportunity anywhere on the Continent for the
study of tribes that have not hitherto been classed among the
wide- wanderers. It is conceivable that the reconstruction of
Europe may adversely affect the Gypsies, and lead to their
extinction, or absorption, at a more rapid rate than in former
times. At any rate, much remains to be gathered, and the oppor-
tunity to gather more may soon have passed away. ^Ve urge on
all who have the chance to collect what they can of Gyp.sy Lore.
While the immediate need is to save what may be saved from
the wreck of the old world that has gone from us, old records are
not to be despised, and there is a wealth of information, and
doubtless the solution of many problems, locked up in Parish
Registers, Municipal Records, and the tiles of old newspapers. We
want to publi.sh everything of this kind that is of value, and appeal
to the public to help in this work.
The financial position is by no means secure. .V vastly ex-
tended membership would remove this anxiety. Former members
have died, others cannot bo traced ; .some libraries that used to
subscribe may, for all we know yet, have been destroyed. Our
field of inquiry may seem but a limited one, yet it is world-wide.
It has been said that the study of Gypsies is interesting becau.se it
is of no earthly use to any one. Surely the Report of the Scottish
Commission which we reviewed in our la.st issue demonstrates the
fact that our work has really considerable value, not only to the
politician, but to all who are engaged in what may be called
humanitarian work. The study of Homani, furthermore, is of
great use to the philologist, and has already helped to stimulate
research into some of the lesser known dialects»of India. What
Pott and Miklosich found no unworthy subject for their genius,
cannot be thought of as beneath the notice of the student of
to-day, now that our knowledge of the language is so much more
extensive and exact than it was when these two giants of Romani
philology devoted time and thought to it.
NOTES AND QUERIES 111
XOTES AND QUERIES
2. — SHELTA
MhUmi. I have been thinking that this is probably not mo bheul sa, but mo
thuil-sa, 'in my eyes.' The pronunciiition would be exactly )nuilAa since in the
Gaelic aspiratetl — or, as James Munro quaintly writes, 'asperated'— s practically
dis;ippears from the pronunciation. D. F. de l'Hoste Ra.nkisg.
3.— The Roimant Chai or Gipsies
Can anv one tell me who wrote an article with the above title which appeared
III the llhtsfrot'il Lomlon Ncwii for September 20th, 1S56 ?
Tom Taylor's ' Gyjtsey Experiences ' were piiblLshed in the supplement of the
same iiaper on November 29th, December 13th, and December 27th, 1851.
Thoii^'h Imth Tom Taylor and the author of this article agree in the spelling
Hiiiiiiiitinj they differ in the spelling of Gyfxnj.
Were it not for the peculiar use of the word chai I should have been inclined
to ascribe the authorship to my old friend the Reverend R. N. Sanderson, after-
wards sub-ma>ter of I]>swiih Grammar School, and a jiast-master of Romani : it
wa.s he who tirst >et Fnink (Jroome, a pupil of his, on the ijuest. Sanderson must
have been about twenty-six or twenty-seven years of age at the date of the article.
The author was evidently a serious student as well as a lover of the Gypsy
rate. He mentions the labours of Vulcanius, Grelhnan, Riidiger, Barmcister,
Marsden, Bryant, Richardson, Harriott (whose vocabulary the author had coni])ared
with one made by himself), Kraus, Zippel and Pott.
He could also put his true value on Borrow, of whose works he says : 'they are
more interesting as records of personal adventure than valuable as contributions to
t)hilology. The " man of words " is not to be trusted as a theorizer about language.'
The author was, as I gather, also a student of thieves' slang ; he mentions the
Katiiphi'Dii of Turkey, the Huiifiirka of Bohemia, the Gennania of Spain, the
G'jnio of Italy, the Rothw'l.<ch of Germany, the Lanyue Blesquiu or Jifjot of
Fntnce : and points out that none of these has anything to do with Romani. He
also mentions the vocabularies of slang in the 'English Rogue,' and in the life of
Bampfylde Moore Carew.
In the course of the article the following words and phrases occur: hotchy-
litchy; botim'-zimininsj ha»h; bashingroy parrakavo-t nt ; Tcamchava ta chuma
tut, rinkui rahli or, sjiys the author, 'as spoken by the English Roumani koinma ta
ihmitn y, yinkni rukli.'
Till some other authorship is proved I shall be inclined to look upon the article
s the work of my dear old friend. , D. F. de l'Hoste Ranking.
4. — The Sevex Jaugoxs
In J.G.L.S., Old Series, iii. 128, Mr. MacRitchie asks whether the phrase 'he
understands the seven Gypsy jargons' {Bible in Spain, chapter xxxix), has any
connexion with ' the seven languages' of Mr. Groomes Gypsy {ibicl i. 375).
Now Borrow was fond of reading the Welsh bards, and may very well have
come across the couplet
£f a gar avxU ac araith,
Ef a icyr synnm/r y soAth.
112 NOTES AND QUERIES
This is quoted by J. Morris Jones (A U'el-^h Grammar, Oxford, 1913, p. 34), who
transhites 'He loves song and speech, he knows the nieaninrr of the seven
[sciences].' It is sufficiently easy Welsh to have been readily intelligible to
Lavengro, who may have filled in the hiatus wrongly. It would be quite in
Sorrow's vein to put a Welsh phrase into the mouth of a Spanisk Gypsy.
Frki). G. Ackeri.ey.
. — Gypsies and Bears
'I have heard of a case of alcohol being administered also to beai-s in a vtiy
cruel, indeed a revolting, manner. This occurred some time ago when I had >,>>l[
several large European bears to a menagerie owner of the name of MalforteiiKr.
This man used to wander about the country with an itinerant .-xhibition, and his
cages were of a somewhat light make, scarcely strong enough to keep securely the
exceptionally fine animals which I had soM him. There seemed considorable
danger that, ))y gnawing, scratching, or breaking, they would soon succeed in
gaining their liberty. He was therefore rather pleased when, soon afterwards, he
fell in with a tribe of Gypsies, who were much interested in the b«trs and offered
■to purchase them. As they had some ready money he completed the transaction,
and waited witii curiosity to see how the Gypsies were going to take ovtr the
captures, for they had no luggage an<l no cages in which they could keep the Itears.
When Malferteiner asked them how they were going to manage it, they replied
that he need not worry about that, they would look afttr it. He could not see,
however, how they were going to avoid running into considerable danger, for no
attempt had ever been made to tame the bears or break them in in any way. The
first thing that the Gypsies <lid was to leave the creatures for a couple of days
without food. They then brought a cask of salted herrings, which ihey jiiit in the
cages. The bears did not like this food at all, but their dislike availed them
nothing, for no other was offered them ; and on the third day their hunger became
so acute that they devoured the herrings. Forthwith they liecame, of course,
exceedingly thirsty, but no water was given them. Instead of water, bowls of
sweetened spirit were placed before them, and this they greedily lapped up. They
were then thoroughly intoxicated and sank into a very deep sleep. The Gypsies
were now in a i>osition to carry out their evil i)urpo.<.e without fear. They walked
into the cages where the formidable animals lay as harndess and motionless aa
sacks of flour ; they extracted their large canine teeth with pliers, and cut away
the claws from their paws. Even the deep wounds in the flesh which they made
in this operation did not arouse the bears, and the Gypsies knew no pity. Kings
were drawn through their noses, and to each animal two chains wire attached,
one round the neck and another to the ring on the nose. Tlie creatures had now
been altogether deprived of their weapons of offence and defence. They were i
placed upon a cart, and the Gypsies drove off with thom. After many hours the
unfortunate animals awoke and fell out of the cart ; but, held as they were by the
chains, they were compelled to run behind. The Gypsies had taken the additional
precaution of nuizzling them, but this was entirely unnecessary, for the poor brutes, I
stupefied and weakened by pain, had no spirit left for attacking their persecutors. '
Let us hope that in these civilized days such barbarotis and cruel treatment would
be impossible. Under enlightened laws the punishment would indeed be swift
and severe for offenders of this detestable description.'
The above is an extract from Biasts ami Mm, by Pari Hagenl>eck ; an abridged
translation by Hugh S. R. Elliot .and A. G. Thacker, A.RC.S. (London. Reissue.
London, 1911, pp. 22G-228. J. R. Moriarty.
]~tl, Juhi 1916.
I
^ SEP 13 195/
JOURNAL oi^'J^HE''''
GYPSY LORE
SOCIETY
NEW SERIES
V.)L. IX YEAR 1915-lG Nos. 3-4.
I.— VALE ET AVE!
By John Sampson
OKRALIS SI mulo : me jivel o kralis .' — In recording the
passing of the Second Series of the Gypsy Lore Journal it
is a pleasure to be able to announce in the same breath its third
Avatar under the presidency of Mr. William Ferguson. That at
least is the name by which this Scholar-Gypsy is known to house-
dwellers ; the Gypsies of England and Wales, who have so often
hailed the arrival of his caravan and enjoyed the hospitality of his
tent, are more familiar with the Romani obverse of his name-
plate. The new Editor will be Mr. E. O. Winstedt of the Bodleian
Library, the Honorary Secretary Mr. T. W. Thompson, and the
Honorary Treasurer Mr. Fred Shaw — three names which our
members will associate with devotion to the aims and interests of
the Society.
It is now thirty years since Charles Godfrey Leland, in
reviewing the work accomplished by the original Gypsy Lore
Society during the four years July 1888 to April 1892, showed how
entirely it had justified its existence. With a limited member-
ship, which never I believe exceeded a hundred, it had attracted
VOL. IX. — NOS. III. -IV. H
114 VALE ET AVE !
to its ranks most of the English and Continental authorities on
Gypsy lore and language, and greatly advanced our knowledge of
Romani in almost every province.
For the Second Series on still weightier grounds of achieve-
ment the same claim may be made. The interest in Gypsy
studies fostered by the earlier Society had grown quietly but
steadily. New workers had sprung up wherever Gypsies were to
be found, and it was felt that the time was ripe for the revival of
our confraternity. At a friendly meeting in an Edinburgh
kir^ima this long-cherished project was discussed with the
present writer by Mr. David MacRitchie, who with the collabora-
tion of Mr. Francis Hindes Groome had acted as p]ditor of the
old Journal. After a survey of the held, it was decided to invite
Mr. Robert Andrew Scott Macfie to undertake the duties of Editor
and Honorary Secretary, and the otier was accepted. To tlie
ability, scholarly ideals, and tireless energy of this gentleman, the
Society owes the wonderful success which attended our adventure.
The membership increased from an original 91 to over 200.
The Gypsy Lore Journal, enlarged in size, became the medium
through which eminent scholars from every part of the globe
communicated their collections, discoveries, and theories to the
learned world ; and the high standard maintained soon met with
universal recognition. For this ii may bo said in a word the
members of the Society are beholden chieHy to the personality of
Mr. Mactie. His genius for friendship which endeared him to
all our number, from the learned expert to the youngest tyro ;
his ingenuity in suggesting to each lines of study which might
profitably bo pursued : his determination that every important
article, whether anthropological, philological or historical, should
be written by scholars for scholars made the Journal what it is —
or what it was until the outbreak of the War, when our Secretary
at once joined the British Expeditionary Force in the ranks of the
Liverpool Scottish. Ilora novissinia, tempora pessimo, ! In
spite of the endeavours of the Rev. T'anon Ackerley to keep the
members together, the Society languished and collapsed, and on
Mr. Mactie's return from his four years' service in France, it was
decided to wind up its ati'airs.
In a short survey like the present it is impossible to deal
adequately or in detail with all ihe important contributions to
Gypsy Lore which appeared in this our Second Series. To do so
would be to reprint the admirable indexes, which we owe to the
VALE ET AVE! 115
industry of the late Sidney W. Perkins and Alexander Russell.
Some of the ground covered may however be briefly indicated.
Among vital additions to our knowledge of the Gypsy
language we should place in the foreground Professor R. A. S.
Macalister's Grammar and Vocabulary of the Nawar of
Palestine, a collection which enables us for the first time to
compare with confidence and certainty this long separated Syrian
dialect with the better known varieties of European Romani.
Reside this, though in a different category, are Professor Finck's
analysis and specimens of Armenian Gypsy brought together from
various sources. Patkanoff's specimens of the speech of the
Transcaucasian Bosa and Karaci have also been made available
for the general reader in the translation of Dr. Fearon de I'Hoste
Hanking. Another notable dialect has been added to European
Romani by the copious collections of Bulgarian Gypsy recorded
by Bernard Gilliat-Smith, with special notice of the interesting
Drindari tribe, first mentioned by the Marquis Colocci. The
dialect (essentially Rumanian) of the Nomad Coppersmiths, who
visited Great Britain eleven years ago, has been studied by several
members, and their collections have been analy.sed by the Rev.
Canon Ackerley. Among other Romani dialects investigated and
illustrated in our pages by Dr. Henri Bi)urgeois, Johan Miskow,
and others, are the Gypsy vernaculars of Russia, Rumania,
Hungary, Catalonia, and Germany. From the contributions of
several writers our knowledge of English and Welsh Gypsy has
also been advanced.
A great number of folk-tales and songs, the simple staple of
Romani literature, have been added to the common stock in the
Bulgarian tales of Gilliat-Smith, and the German examples of the
same collector; the Russian, French, and Spanish specimens of
Augustus John ; the French of Bataillard, edited by E. O.
Winstedt ; the English Gypsy tales of T. W. Thompson ; the Scotch
of Provost Andrew MCormick, and the Welsh Gypsy tales and
riddles of the present writer.
From past gleaners of Romani we have also learned much.
New collections have come to light, and old and valuable published
material has been made accessible in reprints edited with know-
ledge and scholarship. Among the former are the vocabularies
of Whiter and Norwood edited by Lady Arthur Grosvenor, and
an early glossary of Flemish Gypsy (before 1570) edited by
Dr. Kluyver; among the latter, the earliest specimen of the "
116 VALE ET AVE!
Gypsy language, the Anglo-Romani of Andrew Borde (1542),
edited by H. T. Crofton ; the later vocabularies of Bryant, Harriott,
Bright, Samuel Roberts, and Tom Taylor, as well as the dialect
of the Scottish Tinklers. Lastly, in his learned article on ' The
Secret Languages of Ireland,' Professor Kuno Meyer has repro-
duced in facsimile the two pages of Ddil Laithne containing early
Irish references to Shelta.
In Romani philology, apart from the informing notes which
accompany so many of the papers, we have had special articles
of great importance. Professor Finck has dealt very thoroughly
with the phonology and etymology of Armenian Gypsy. Professor
Wackernagel in his paper on ' (J and J' supplements and corrects
the phonetic equations of Ascoli and Miklosich. Gilliat*-Smith by
his discovery of the f in Bulgarian Gypsy has lit upon a new and
surprising Indian survival, since this sound would seem to be
identical with the rhotacized cerebral r (from d) of the modern
Indian languages. In his comparison of the Gypsy personal
pronouns with those of the Indian dialects, Professor Woolner
prosecutes a fruitful line of research, which should lead to more
definite conclusions as to the original ' beat ' of the Gypsies than
have hitherto been reached. The reviews of Professor Kuhn,
Professor Finck, and Monsieur de Goeje and the notes of many
of our members are also of great value.
From the historical side, in his articles on 'Gypsy Nobles,'
'Gypsy Privileges,' and other papers, David MacKitchie has con-
tinued the illuminating studies associated with his name. H. T
Crofton has greatly supplemented his useful ' Annals of English
Gypsies,' and continued his chronicle of the 'Aftairs of Egypt.'
To Signor Spinelli we owe the early annals of the Gypsies of
Modena ; and to Professor Leo Wiener articles on the ' Gypsies as
Fortune-tellers' and ' Ishmaelites'; to E. O. Winstedt a helpful
paper on the Gypsies of Modon, and to Harald Ehrenbore
Frederick Wellstood, F. W. Brepohl, and Mon.seigneur J. de
Carsalade du Pont noteworthy studies. Early tracts, proclama-
tions, and ordinances dealing with the Gypsies have been re-
printed and translated, while Pischel's suggestive Heimat der
Zigeuner has been presented to English readers in the version of
Miss D. E. Yates.
In the fascinating field of anthropology we have had many
notable contributions. Dr. Eugene Pittard supplies an authori-
tative monograph on the physical features of the Gypsies. From
VALE ET AVE! 117
Messrs. Winstedt, Thompson, and Atkinson, Dr. W. Crooke, the
Rovs. D. Bartlett and H. H. Malleson, and Miss M. E. Lyster we
have interesting accounts of Gypsy customs, forms, and cere-
monies. To Dr. Crooke and H. L. Williams we owe recondite
articles on the pseudo-Gypsy criminal nomads of India, and to
John Myers some curious information on Gypsy Drab. We have
had papers on the ' Gypsy Lathe ' by Julius Teutsch, and on the
Tarot or Gypsy Cards ' by Dr. Ranking. Gypsy costume has
been interestingly dealt with by H. T. Crofton and Sir J. H.
Yoxall. By the labours of the Rev. George Hall, our Secretary,
and others, we have been able to print elaborate genealogies of
English and Welsh Gypsy families.
Regional, statistical, and descriptive accounts of various Gypsy
tribes and bands have been given in our pages. Arthur Thesletf
has treated exhaustively of the Finnish Gypsies, Gilliat-Smith of
the Gypsies of the Rhine and the Lalere Sinte, and Macfie of the
JJalkan Gypsies, with some of whom he travelled across Bulgaria.
Andalusian Gypsies have been described by Gallichan, Bosnian by
Gjorgjevi('', Danish by Miskow, Oriental Gypsies by Sinclair, and
the Nawar by Pere Anastas.
In the remlm of art, we have had literary articles by Arthur
Symons and ( 'harlcs Bonnier, Romani poems by Sir Donald
MacAlister, delightful presentations of Gypsies by Augustus John,
sketches by Joseph Pennell, and photographs by Fred Shaw,
Lastly, published as special monographs of the Gypsy Lore Society,
we should mention the invaluable Gypsy Bibliography, a work
initiated by >Lactie and compiled with scholarly care by Dr.
G. F. Black; the Index of the Old Series by Alexander Russell;
and R. A. S. Macalister's Grammar and Vocabulary of the
Language of the Nawar already mentioned.
Since 1914. 0 Meriben, that merciless Ceribasi, has taken
grievous toll of our members.
' For some we loved, the loveliest and the best
That from his Vintage roUint; Time has prest,
Have drunk their Cup a Round or two before,
And one by one crept silently to rest.'
Reading the roll in order of membership, we have lost in
Archibald Constable a ' verray parfit gentil knight,' and a staunch
upholder of the Society ; and in Justin Huntly M'Carthy a gifted
dramatist, novelist and translator of Omar Khayyam and Hafiz.
Professor John Ferguson of Glasgow, in addition to his reputation
118 VALE ET AVE!
as a chemist (and alchemist), was a distinguished archt<3ologist and
bibliographer, and a member of the Royal Company of Archers,
the King's Bodyguard for Scotland. Dr. Ernst Kuhn's world-wide
renown in the field of comparative philology is familiar to all : the
Society remembers with gratitude his courteous and helpful
response to every appeal. From the roll of original members the
names of Colonel W. F. Prideaux and ('aptain Frederick Huth
are also missing. Our members will regret the loss of Sidney
Perkins, a genial personality and ardent linguist, who has
repeatedly placed his knowledge of little-known languages at
the service of the Society. The Rev. Herbert Harry Malleson
will be remembered for his inimitable sketches of English
Gypsy Life in his Napoleon Boswell. So, too, will his, and our,
old friend the Rev. George Hall, raciest of raconteurs and author
of The Gypsif'a Parson. The genealogies of English Gypsies col-
lected by the latter gentleman, as illustrated by his comprehensive
pedigree of the Herons, are a model of their kind. Our esteemed
member Captain Charles Dennis Fisher fell at the Battle of
Jutland, and with his name may be remembered that of Captain
L. G. Baker. In Monsieur L«'on (.'lugnet and Senor I'rofessor Don
Samuel Quevedo we have lost two scholars, whose Gypsy studies
extended to almost every dialect. Arthur Thesletl", in virtue of
his Worterhuch des Dialekts dcr Jinnldndischen Zir/cuner, takes
rank as one of the greatest of Gypsy collectors. Tiie dialect, which
he records in so faithful and scholarly a fashion, is of the utmost
interest, especially to English tsiganologues, who will recognise in
Finnish Gyp.sy a close kinship with older British Romani. The
roll of dead members would not be complete without adding the
names of Lord Moreton and the Honourable Robert Phillimore.
Two other names of scholars, contributors to our Journal though
not members of our Society, should not be forgotten, that of
Reinhold Urban, Zigcunerfreiind and editor of the Hcfte fur
Zigeunerkunde, and that of my one-time near and dear friend
Kuno Meyer, to whom, as in the Transylvanian folk-tale, Death
came indeed as a lover and a friend.
Te soven mUtv !
STCDIES IN ROMANI PHILOLOGY 119
IL— STUDIES IN ROMANI PHILOLOGY
By Alfred C. Woolner
I
Personal Pronouns
/NTRODUCTORY XOTE.—ln so far as the solution of the
problem of the origin of the Gypsies can ever be determined
by philology, that solution, I am convinced, will be largely bound
up with the progress made in working out the history of the Indo-
Aryan vernaculars. Since the days of Miklosich a great advance has
been made in Indian philology. There is still a great deal to be
done; but, thanks especially to the labours of Sir George Grierson,
the editor of the Linguistic Survey of India, a new field of
research has been opened up, and the story of the Indian
languages has become at once more complex and more coherent.
The publication of certain volumes of the Survey has been
unfortunately delayed. The minute phonetic study of Indian
dialects is only in its infancy. We may yet expect more informa-
tion about the dialects in the Apabhramsa stage that followed
(linguistically) the stage known to us from the literary Prakrits.
There are many MSS. in the more archaic forms of the modern
vernaculars yet to be critically examined.
Hence it may seem premature to attempt any revision of
Romani philology.
Nevertheless there is already material available that seems to
warrant a modification of views widely prevalent.
Romani as it left the Indian area was not necessarily an
unmixed dialect, hence it is desirable that any general conclusion
should be based on an open-minded examination of particular
features and groups of words.
In the case of certain such particulars, the evidence seems to
me to point to two conclusions with regard to at least the main
part of the structure of the Indian stratum. Those conclusions
would be (a) that this Indian stratum is in essentials later than
Apabhrarnsa ; (6) that it belonged rather to the Central area than
to the extreme North- West or the Hindu Kush. One of the
features that seems to point to these results is supplied by the
personal pronouns.
120 studies in romani philology
Personal Pronouns ^
1st Person
Nom. Singular. me = ' I.'
As in many Indian and Iranian languages, Romani has replaced
the original Nominative by an Oblique form.
The Nominative was in Sanskrit aham, in Prakrits aham,}ia'>ji,
in Apabhrain^a haii (through *ahakain, Pischel, Prakrit Grammar,
p. 293). From this came the archaic Hindi forms liaH, hfl, and
old Panjabi had. It has survived in Sindhi da,d, Gujarati ho,
and Rajasthanl ha ; also in several Himalayan dialects, e.g. Kulul,
Camea]i (and SsTsi) JiaO, Kangri, Gujurl hn, Bhagati an, and others
h<%, d, de. In other languages this Nominative has been replaced
by the Agent form derived from the Old Indian Instrumental.
Sanskrit, mayCi ' by me' ; Prakrit, mae (Magadhi, ma'i, me).
Apabhrainsa, mai.
Hindi, Panjabi,- mai: Rajasthani. mai and mn; Bihari, m*'.
Himalayan dialects, ma!, mr, and mfi.
Marathi, ??ii; Or'iy h, m>i : Bengali, 7nut; Nepali, ?/Kf.
Apart from the nasalisation, the Romani form coincides with
Bihari and Himfdayan dialects — Punchi, l)hundi, Tinaull.
We may compare also the Agent forms distinct from the
Nominative of Kashmiri and allied dialects, m?, mPh, also used for
Accusative and Dative. The Agent forms have in fact tended to
fuse with the Accusative-Dative ; Ardhamagadhi me (coincides
with Sanskrit enclitic Dative-Genitive), Apabhraipi^a mai. Hence
if Romani me is Indian we have a wide area whence it could have
come ; but the general indication is against Sindhi and Gujarati,
where the old Nominative survives, and the Oriya and Bengali,
where the characteristic forms have the vowel u. The form could
be Iranian. Persian and Baloti replace the old Nominative
(represented by Pashtu za, Kurd <iz) with what was originally an
Oblique form.
Persian, man; dialects, me, mun, men, mu, mi.
Baloci, man, ma.
The pronominal system as a whole, however, seems to be
Indian rather than Iranian.
^ Miklosich, Alundarten, xi. '22-24.
2 The pronunciation of the Panjabi word differs from the Hindi, but this
difference is unimportant here.
STUDIES IN ROMANI PHILOLOGY 121
Of the Dardic forms, Kashmiri mS has been mentioned, but
this is still distinct from the Nominative hdh. Sina has tnd,
Maiya rnd. Other forms are still more distant, e.g. on6, awa,
ya, unzu.
Oblique Singular, man = ' me.'
Ace. man.
Dat. mande for *man+te.
mange for *man-\-k€.
In India the Oblique form is generally derived from a Prakrit
Genitive ( Beames, Comparative Grammar, ii. 305).
Prakrit, majjha\ Hindi, mxLJh ; Gujaratl-Marathi, maj.
Apabhr., mahft ; Bengali, Oriya, Old Hindi, mo; Maithili, mold ;
Nepali, mo\ Sindhi, mft, ma.
Beames proposed to bring in Rom. man here by writing it ttkI ;
but (a) Roraani has mo for the Genitive ;
(6) the vowel of man appears to be short ;
(c) Romani is generally letii< nasalised than Sindhi.
Roinani man may have been borrowed from, or influenced by,
the Persian man, which was originally Oblique, is still so used in
the Genitive construction dost-i-man 'friend of me = my friend,'
and is used as an Accusative in some dialects instead of mard
(for *man-rCi).
It is, however, probably unnecessary to go out of India to
account for the n of man. Whatever be the correct derivation, in
each case n or corresponding nasal appears in the following
Indian forms.
Dative-Acc. Gujurl, rnana; MandealT, mun-jo (also mri-jo);
Kangri, Cameall, minjo.
Ablative. Baghati, man de ; Chotil Banghall, mange.
Genitive. Curahi, mindd ; Pangwali, mxin.
Gujuri is the dialect of the nomad race of Gujurs closely allied
to the Mewari dialect of Rajasthani ; the others are Himalayan
dialects {vide Grahame Bailey, Languages of the Northern
Himalayas).
The parallels mande and mange, though used for a different
case, are striking. We must, however, not conclude that the
Romani forms are necessarily derived from the Northern
Himalayas, for many of these hill dialects are derived from
Rajputana. (See however Grierson's Pahari volume.)
122 STUDIES IN ROMANI PHILOLOGY
Genitive Singular. Possessive adjective =' my.'
Romani mo ; also niinro and mro, all declined.
Pott., i. 229, quotes also miro, Anglo-Rom. meero.
Miklosich (xii. 9) for the Greek dialect munro.
Von Sowa (Mundart d. slov. Zig., p. 68) also gr. mindo, mg.
mundo.
Of these forms we may distinguish mo from the rest.
(1) mo is an old Oblique form used for the Genitive and also
other cases (see under man above). It was so used in Old Hindi,
as in Chand Bardai about the fourteenth century a.d. Romani
declines it by analogy with minro, amaro, etc.
This Oblique mo appears in Bengali, Oriya ='me'; combined
with Genitive suffix r, mor ='my' in Bihari, Bengali, Oriya,
Assamese. Dat.-Accusatives are formed from it by Curahl mdni,
Pang wall modi.
The Sindhi mOhnjo and Bihuri. Braj, molii show more archaic
forms nearer the Apabhrainsa maJin.
(2) minro was regarded by Miklosich as having developed in
Romani from *man-ro (x. 15). Von Sowa considers it to be
Indian.
The suffix ro, rd, etc., is widely used in India to form the
Genitive adjective of the 1st and 2nd person pronouns. (In
Rajasthani it is used with nouns.) Thus we have merau, Braj,
Kotguru; mero, Rajasthani, Gujuri, Nepali; mdro, Gujarat!, Mar-
wail ; merd, Hindi, Panjabi; meru, Bhadrawahl. The Eastern
languages have the short form mor.
For the element miii we may compare Curahi mindd and the
Dat.-Acc. minjo in Cameali and Kangri.
Granting that min is in each case derived from man, this
change, a becomes i, is common in Hindi and Panjabi, still more
so in Sindhi and Rajasthani.
Apabhr. ganSi 'he counts,' Hindi ^/gin, Rom. gen.
Apabhr, khanani 'a moment,' Sindhi khin, Hindi, Panjabi, etc.
chin.
By way of contrast may be added Marathi mdjhd (Apabhr.
majjhu, Pkt. majjha) ; Kashmiri mion" and similar forms in related
dialects in the Northern Himalayas ; Sirajl mi no.
For the Dardic languages other than Kashmiri Sir George
Grierson gives I, ima, um, endei, mind, mai, md, mei, rne, and in
one dialect mo. None of these apparently is declined.
STUDIES IN ROMANI PHILOLOGY 123
In the Iranian languages there is no such possessive adjective^
In Persian one can say dost-i-man or dostam for 'my friend.'
In some dialects min and mun occur instead of man. A suffix
-ro, -rd occurs and is added to Oblique forms to form Dative-
Accusatives corresponding to mai^d. The forms in other Iranian
languages are of no assistance. None of the Iranian forms are
declined.
Hence we may conclude the Romani forms are of Indian
origin. mo is evidence against Sindhi or Kashmiri, minro,
mindo (like mande above) suggests relationship with the Hima-
layan dialects, the history of which has yet to be worked out.
miro may be a later derivative of minro (for dropping of n cf.
ydro = egg, with anlu, Apabhr. andu) or a weakened form oi mero.
mro obviously from miro. mun for min or man could have
originated anywhere along the line.
Nom. Plural, amen = ' we.'
Russian Gypsy, according to Patkanov, has ame.
As in the case of the singular, the Old Indian Nom. plural (Skt.
vayam and some Pkts. vaain) has disappeared in Romani and
nearly all the modern Indo-Aryan vernaculars. It survives in
Kothai r and Co', and in Eastern Kiiithali de (Himalayan).
Most Prakrits had amhe, Apabhramsa amhe or amhai,\n origin
an Oblique form ( = Vedic asmd, Dative and Locative).
Derived from this we have amhe in Oriya ; dmhi, Marathi ;
mlie, me, Rajasthani ; ame, Gujarati; ame, Bhili; dmi, Bengali;
hdmi, Nepali ; hdme, Outer Siraji ; hame, Baghati, etc. ; ham, Hindi ;
and others.
From the same or another form such as the Apabhr. Genitive
amhahd, hamd in Rajasthani, and amd in Bhili.
A distinct family is foilnd in the North-West.
Sindhi, Panjilbi, asi ; Lahnda, assd; Kashmiri, as^ ; Himalayan
dialects dsse, asl, asd, as, as, dh.
This group is derived from the Old Indian Genitive asmdkam
or from asme, by assimilation -sm- becomes -ss-. Grierson has
suggested that it is due to Dardic influence. Besides Kashmiri
other dialects of the Hindu Kush group have the forms ase, ispd ;
also asei = ' our,' as = 'our,' zd = ' our.' Others again show ema,
yema, ama, hamd, dbi, heh, he, ma.
Here again the evidence favours the Central languages as
against the N.W., the extreme East, and the South.
124 STUDIES IN ROMAN! PHILOLOGY
Some of these amhe languages develop a secondary Oblique
form by analogy with nouns, e.g. Hindi, Nom. ham, Oblique hamS.
Yery possibly Romani has done the same. If so, am^, as in
Russian Gypsy, is the original Nominative and amen is a secondary
Oblique corresponding to the Oblique plural of nouns.
Of Iranian languages Kurdish has am, dme ; the others can be
safely ruled out in this case.
Persian Tnd (dialects Jiamd, amd, omitting irrelevant varia-
tions), BalocI md, and so on.
Oblique Plural, amen = ' us.'
Identical with the Nom., as in several Indian languages.
Hindi hamu has been quoted above. It is a secondary Oblique
by analogy with the noun. Cf. Nom. plural (jhore ' horses,'
Oblique plural (jJun-u. Other Oblique forms of the amhe group
difter only slightly from the Nominative (frequently ending in a,
while the Nom. has c) and add nothing to the elucidation of amen.
Similarly with the as group.
Apart from the addition of rd for Dative-Accusative, as in
Persian and Balori. the Iranian forms are mainly identical with
the Nominative. In the Caspian dialects of Persian there is a
variety of forms, including amd = ' we,' ami=' us.'
Genitive Plural. Pos.sessive adjective, amaro = ' our.'
The Old Indian asmdham (Gen. pi.) is represented in Apa-
bhrainsa by amhaJtd : to a derivative of this was added a Genitive
(adjectival) suftix. Thus with suthx -ro, -rd, or -r we have Braj,
hamdran: Hindi, /ia?n<7m ; Gujarati, »77n«ro; Bhili,a77<dro; Nepali,
hdm.ro; Rajasthani, mhdro, nidro; Kangii, Sasi, mhdrd ; Hima-
layan dialects, mdhrd , mdhro ; Bhojpuri, /m77iar; Bengali, d7n<xr;
Oriya, amhar ; with suftix -no, Rajasthani mhcino ; with -ko,
Rajasthani mhdko: and with -tsa, Marathi dmatsa.
Other forms are derived from the as form of the pronoim.
So Panjabi cTsd-rfil ; Lahnda asst7f/rt ; Sindhi asd-ji'o; Himalayan
dialects assdrd, sard, asrd, etc.
Kashmiri has sdn^' ; Kishtawari, asun ; other Himalayan dialects
hieun, h^n, hin.
Other Dardic languages have forms identical with the Nomina-
tive, and amo, homa, mo. None of them are declined.
There is nothing in the Iranian languages that could have
produced amdro.
STUDIES IN ROMANI PHILOLOGY 125
Again the indication is to the Centre, not to N.W., East, or
South.
2nd Feraon
Nom. Singular, tu = ' thou.'
This form is found in Indian, Dardic, and Iranian languages.
. In India tu, tUy ta, tu are derived from Apabhramsa tuhil.
Oblique Singular, tu- (Ace. ^uO = 'thee.'
From Apabhramsa tail (Genitive) came Old Hindi to, a form
which is still widely spread. Tu or tu appear in Marathi, Rajast-
haiif, and in the Halabi Dat. tuke. Apabhr. tujjhu accounts for
\V. Hindi tujh, for tvj in Braj, Gujarat!, and Rajasthani, and for
'>idz in Marathi.
Apabhr. tai for Panjilbi tai, Rajasthani tal, Bhili te, Nepali fa.
Sindhi toho, Braj toJii (also Bhojpurl) are more archaic.
None of these elucidate tut. Kalina said this was short for
tn-tal
Conceivably it could be a shortened form of tiite.
There is a possible Indian derivation. Bhatefdi has the Agent
and Prepositional form tuddh, Mandeali (another Hill dialect) has
Ablative tuddh-ge and tut-the. This base tuddh should become
inth in Romani.
It is evidently related to the Apabhramsa (Genitive) tudh-ra
given by Hemacandra, who lived in N. Gujarat in the twelfth
century. Pischel described the form tudhra as remarkable
{Prnkrit Grammar, p. 297).
Dardic and Iranian dialects throw no light on the question.
Genitive Singidar. to, tinro = ' thy.'
These rhyme with mo, minro. Similarly in India we find mera
terd, mdro tare, mar tor, in Old Hindi mo to, in Sindhi muliv^ jo,
tuhn jo, and so on. Similarly Curahi mindd tindd.
Two Dardic dialects have fo, the rest and the Iranian languages
have nothing that can be compared with the Romani or Indian
forms.
Nominative Plural, tumen = ' ye.'
Russian Gypsy tume.
Probably tumen, like amen, is a secondary Oblique, and tume
is the orisrinal Nominative in Romani ; while tume itself, like the
126 STUDIES IN ROMANI PHILOLOGY
-parallel Indian forms, is by origin Oblique. The Old Indian
Nominative yuyam has completely disappeared. Even in the
Prakrits it was replaced by tumhe, tuhhhe, or similar forms.
Apabhram^a tumhe (Oblique tumhahd). In the modern vernaculars
Ave find tiunhi in Marathi ; tumhd in Oriya ; tumJi in Eastern
Hindi ; turn in AV. Hindi, etc. ; and in some of the Hill dialects
tuine, tunie, tumme, tomme. Due apparently to rhyming with the
1st person plural are Gujaratl tain, tame; Bhili tamd; RajasthanT
tarn: Gujurl tam ; and other variants with the vowel a.
Another method of treatment is shown in Sindhi tahvJ, tahl,
etc. ; and Rajasthfini the, the.
A separate group (corresponding to the as group in the 1st
person) is represented by Panjabl f ?<-«!; Lahnda tutisd; and Hima-
layan forms tus, tftsse, tusse, tusl, etc.
Of the Dardic languages Kashmiri has toh\ one thft, another
tus. The rest are entirely different. Persian .hvynd and other
Iranian forms are irrelevant.
OhUque Plural, tiimni = ' you.'
Some Indian dialects distinguish an Oblique form, e.(j. Marathi
tumhd or tumhd (Nom. tumhi), derived from Apabhrain.sa
tumhahd ; but in the majority Nom. and Ace. are identical.
The two forms are often used indifferently for either case, e.g.
Bhili tamd or tamr.
Genitive Plural. Possessive adjective, tumaro = ' your.'
Apabhramsa tumhahd -{-su^ix -ro, cf ainaro.
Clearly shown in Braj, tuvihdran : W. Hindi, tuinhdrd ; Old
Awadnu77i/uTrd, modern tumdr: Oriyfi, tumhar ; Eastern Hindi,
tamhdr; KiSthall, tumdhro; and Bundeli, tumdro.
With a for u, Old Gujaratl tamhdran, modern tahmdro;
Rajasthani, Bhili, tamdro.
Shorter forms are Marathi thdro, Rajasthani thdro (also in
the Hills). Other Genitive suffixes are shown by Panjabl, tumddd,
tuhddd; Sindhi, tahvd jo\ Marathi, iumtsa; Kiishmiri, tuhund.
Then there is a tus group, e.g. Kulul, tussdrd; Tinauli, tu^dd',
Kishtawari, tusun.
The Dardic, besides Kashmiri, have one thd. The others are
strikingly different, e.g. §d, vima, asen, hem>d, mCy mimi, j>lsa,
4ei.
STUDIES IN ROMANI PHILOLOGY 127
3rd Person
Singular Plural
Nom. Masc. ov (yov). Fern, (oi yoi). ol (yon, yol).
Oblique Us. la. len.
The Indian languages have, strictly speaking, no 3rd person
pronouns, but have always used one or other of the demonstrative
pronouns.
So in Sanskrit tarn meant ' him,' ' that one ' (masc), or could be
added to a noun ' tarn rdjCinatn ' = ' that king ' or ' him the king.'
sah, 50 = he, sr(= she, tad = it, that; all oth'>r forms being
derived from base ta-, rarer syah, syd, tyad (the rest from tya), still
rarer and defective the base ena.
Prakrit used the bases sa-, ta-, ena-, and also Ha.
Apabhramsa also asa- (Skt. asau, ' that,' masc. noxn.),aha (s^h)
and apparently awt- (a pronominal base also found in Iranian), e.^.
oi nom. plural.
Forms from sa- still survive, e.g. Hindi so (generally a cor-
relative).
From fa- Old Hindi had taun, Oblique tas. Modern Hindi
has Oblique tis; several Hill dialects tSs; Sindhi tCihi, and so on.
From aha- or ava- Hindi n,d, luh (Chand uh): Urdii wuh,
Braj u'o ; Panjabi uh ; Sindhi a, hu, ho ; Bengali 0 ; Bihari 6 or u =
he, she, it. Oblique ut^, uh. Plural ve, wai, un, etc.
The derivation of some of the forms is made the more obscure
by the development of a formal principle by which the vowel u
indicates the far-demonstrative ' that ' and the vowel i the near
' this.' This was not the case in the older stages of the language.
Turning now to the Romani forms, we find 0^ = ' he ' corresponds
to the widely spread o (cf. *y/sov to sleep, Hindi ^so ; ^thov to
wash, Hindi dho).
lj^inii has o, the other Dardic dialect forms with s-, t-, or of a
diftereut type. Middle Persian had 6, Modern Persian 0 or u,
Kurdish dii.
oi 'she.' This is possibly a Romani formation, as the Indian
languages rarely distinguish 'she,' but Apabhramsa M = 'they'
shows the possibility of a derivation from *av%.
The plural ol is for *on (I for n is a common change in India
and in Romani), and the form yon is nearer the original. Cf.
Hindi un, Awadhi on, Bhadrawahi on, etc.
Kashmiri timan is from a different base; nor do any of the
128 STUDIES IN ROMANI PHILOLOGY
Dardic dialects show any form resembling on or ol. Among the
Iranian forms the nearest are Persian ilnd (Central dialect) =
literary e§dn ; yun (Caspian dialect) and Kurdish avdn.
The forms in 1-, les-, la-, len- are generally referred to the Indian
base ta-, so that les corresponds to Himalayan Us, Old Hindi tas,
Prakrit tassa. There seems, however, to be no other instance of an
initial Indian t becoming I in Romani; whereas in Armenian
Gypsy, where initial d->l, this happens every time, lui = diLi, leval
= deval, etc. Hence it seems more probable that the I- forms are
derived from the Prakritic base na-.
At the same time it is true that t- forms are very common,
and nam, etc., was never common in literature, and does not seem
to have survived in India.
les-, la-, len- follow the nominal declension.
The forms discussed above are all used as separate words.
The Iranian languages use also pronominal suffixes, e.g. Persian
da.^t-ash ' his hand,' didam-at ' I saw thee.'
The same phenomenon is apparent in nearly all the Dardic
languages. It is also found in India in the North- West, as in
Sindhi and Lahnda, and in the East as in Bihari. In these the
pronominal alHx is commoner with verbs, but instances with
nouns occur, e.g. Sindhi piu-jne ' my father,' ^?ia-g ' thy father,'
piu-se 'his father,' piu-va 'your father.'
The question of pronominal affixes in Romani verbal forms
maybe reserved for consideration in connection with the conjuga-
tion of verbs. In the meantime I believe it is true that Romani
does not add pronominal suffixes to nouns.
[Nofc. — Since the above was written more volumes of the Linguittic Survey
of India have appeared : in particular, Vol. viii. Pt. i., Sindhi and Lahnda; '
Pt. II., Dardic or Pisacha Languape.s ; and Vol. ix. Pt. iv., Pahari and GujurL
Some of the dialects quoted above have been more accurately classified, and some
modifications made in the names used.
Kotkhfii is a small stiite about 20 miles E. of Simla, lying in the Kiuthali area,
and divided between the Simla Siraji ami Baran dialects.
Kotguru (Kotgarh), about 20 miles N.E. of Simla, lies in the area of Grierson'»
SodOchi.
Chotfi Baughali is a dialect of Mandeali spoken in the extreme X. of the
Mandi State.
Dhuiidi is a dialect of Lahnda spoken in the hills of the Uazara district near
Muree.
Tinauli is a dialect of Lahnda spoken in the Tinawal hills on the West of
Hazara district.]
THE NORWOOD GYPSIES AND THEIR VOCABULARY 129
III.— THE NORWOOD GYPSIES AND THEIR
VOCABULARY .
By Eric Otto Winstedt
OF the several places in England which have been famous as
the haunts of Gypsy fortune-tellers, none has been quite so
well known or so long patronized as Norwood. Indeed, though it
may be true that Margaret Finch was, as she is generally said to
have been, the first of the actual Norwood Queens, one may almost
claim that our knowledge of English Gypsies begins there. For
Norwood is in the parish of Lambeth : and the earliest detinite
reference to a Gypsy in England — as distinct from Scotland — is
one in a work of Sir Thomas More ^ to an ' Egypcian ' woman who
was lodged ' at Lambeth and told fortunes in 1514. She was
said — though perhaps only on her own authority — to have left
England. But it would seem that she had successors : at any rate,
when Pepys says that his ' wife and Mercer and Deb. went with
Pelling to see the gypsies at Lambeth, and have their fortune
told,'- he speaks as though Lambeth were a well-known resort of
< iypsies, as Norwood was later. And it is probably this Lambeth
colony which, soon after Mrs. Pepys' visit, shifted further from the
town into the woodland district that stretched on either side of
Norwood from Dulwich to Penge and Anerley. Possibly Dulwich
was the next step, as on June 2, 1687, 'Robert Hern and
Elizabeth Bozwell, king and queen of the gipsies,' were married at
Camberwell,^ which then served as the parish church for Dulwich.
Norwood, however, may have been their centre even then, since
the chapel of Norwood does not seem to have contented the Gypsy
potentates when they wished for a church ceremony. Bridget,
a later queen, was buried at Dulwich in days when the College
was not too exclusive to include ordinary parishioners, as it had
been till the end of the seventeenth century : * and her aunt,
* A dyaloge of syr Thomas More (London, 1529), bk. iii. ch. 15, fol. xci. recto;
and J. G. L. S., Old Series, i. 7.
- Pepys' Diary under the date Aug. 11, 1668. The connection of this colony
with that at Norwood has been suggested by several persons, e.g. T. Allen, The
History and Antiquities of the Parish of Lambeth (London, 1827), pp. 425-9 ; J.
Larwood and J. C. Hotten, History of Signboards, 3rd ed. (London, 1866),
p. 503 ; J. Timbs, English Eccentrics (London, 1866), vol. i. pp. 192-3.
^ Lysons, The Environs of London, vol. i. (London, 1792), p. 83, and Groome, In
Gipsy Tents, p. 109, to which I am indebted for several other references.
* Lysons, op. cit., vol. i. p. 107.
VOL, IX. — NOS. III.-IV. I
130 THE NORWOOD GYPSIES AND THEIR VOCABULARY
Margaret Finch, was buried at Beckeiiham, though both died at
Norwood. It is, therefore, perhaps wortli pointing out that the
Beckeuham parish registers contain a ' curious entry in November
1711, the meaning of which we have not been able to ascertain,
" old Goody Musgrave (vulgo dicta ye Queene's mother)." Whether
the old lady was so called from her resemblance to, or whether
she claimed to have been foster-mother of, some Royal Personage,
or possibly the mother of the Queen of the Gipsies, is uncertain.' ^
As the Queen of England at that time was Caroline of Anspach, it
seems improbable that the inhabitants of Beckenham would have
been familiar with the features of her mother, who presumably
lived in Germany : nor is it very likely that her foster-mother
would be living at Beckenham : and why the old lady should
have been called the ' mother of the Queen,' if she had been the
foster-mother of any other royal personage, is incomprehensible to
me. There remains the possibility of her being mother to a Queen
of the Gypsies, though one must admit that it is odd to say
.simply 'Queen' when one means ' Queen of the Gypsies,' even in
a district where Gypsy Queens were familiar. Also the name
Mu.sgrave is not a known Gypsy name: indeed, I can only quote
three instances of vagrants with a similar name — Anthony Mus-
grove, who was sentenced at 'High holborne' to be whipped and
burned on the right ear for his vagrancy in 1573 ;-^ 'William
child of William Musgrave, beggar, wandering in the cuntre; his
wyffe being delivered of her child-birth at Hibsapittes,' baptized
November 23, 1578, at Leeds :^ and Cbristofer Mu.sgrave a
poore travellinge boy,' buried at Whitburn, Noveniber 22, 1624.*
Still comparatively little is known of Gypsy names of this
earlier period, and the name of the only known Gypsy King con-
temporary with Goody Musgrave and in the same locality, George
Powell, who was buried at Newington, aged forty-six, in 1704 or
1705,* will probably strike most people as equally improbable. Yet
' R. Borrowman, Beckenham Past and Present (Beckenham, 19J0), p. 24.
^ Mid(lkst.r Covril;/ lifcordx . . . ed. by J. C. Jeaffroson, vol. i. p. 81, iimler the
date 17 March, 15 Elizabeth. It is, however, a name in ii.se among the iMJtters of
the north of England.
' Leeds Parish Church Registers (Publications of the Thorcsbj' Socict}'), vol. i.
( Fr&iinccs \
part i. (Leeds, 1889), p. 22. The entry reads : - ti; ,,• .but Fraunces is partly
erased and seems to be repeated from the previous line.
* H. M. Wood, The Jit'jislers of Whitburn . . . Durham (Sunderland, 19Ui),
p. 142.
^ Aubrey, Xalural History and Antiquities of the County of Surrey, Tol. v.
p. 136, and J. <!. L. S., iv. ;il9. Mr. G. Waine of Newington kindly informs me
THE NORWOOD GYPSIES AND THEIR VOCABULARY 131
it was a Gypsy name in the seventeenth century ; for ' on the 21
December [1658] Robert Poole and Mary his wife, of " Rumnell,"
Kent, and WiUiam Finch and Madlyn his wife, of Church Tantun,
Devon, were sent in [to the house of correction at Marlborough]
for travelling up and down the country "in the tire of Egiptians."
They all had "sharp correction," and were sent home with
passes.' ^ Nor is that the only evidence for the clan, as the follow-
ing most unusual notice, which appeared in Mist's Weekly Journal
for March 12, 1726, shows: 'This is to give Notice, that there are
several idle vagabond People called Gypsies, and distinguish'd by
the Name of Powell's Gang, about fifty in Number; and are lodg'd
and entertain'd at a House in Kent-street, and in Bird-Cage-
Alley opjjosite to the King's-Bench, that go about the City and
>Suburl)s pretending to tell Fortunes, and and [sic !] thereby cheat
and impose upon young People, and the Ignorant and Unwary. —
Now any Person tliat has been defrauded or cajoled out of Money
or Goods by them, are [sic!] desired to apply to William Jones
at the Raven and Bottle in the Old Mint, who will help you to
them, and also to a Person that will be at the Charge of prosecut-
ing them.' No prosecution appears to have followed ; so perhaps
the gang got wind of that vindictive person's threats and dis-
persed. One of them was in Oxfordshire a few months later, as
^William a Son of one Powell a travelling tinker' was buried at
Watlington on December 20, 1726 : and that is the last occurrence
of the name, as a Gypsy surname, known to me, except for ' Mary
Powel, a Traveller,' who was buried at West Wycombe, Bucks., on
July 12, 1766.-
The tirst of these references is of special interest, as it suggests
A connection between the Powells and the next royal dynasty —
the Finches — in the childhood not only of George Powell but
Also of Margaret Finch, the best known of the Norwood Gypsy
Queens, and the one from whom the inn called the Gipsy House,
or the Old Gipsy House, took its name. Of her and her eccen-
tricities manv accounts have been cjiven : ^ but none of them adds
that the register gives the date of Powell's burial as 3rd January 1705/6, a year
later than the tombstone copied by Aubrey.
^ Report on MSS. in Varioiiii Collection.i (Historical MSS. Commission), vol. i.
Records of Quarter Sessions in the County of Wilts., p. 136.
- Both these references are taken from the bishop's transcripts of the registers,
now in the Bodleian Library.
* E.'j. D. Lysons, The Environs of London, vol. iv. (London, 1796), pp. 301-2,
where the entry in the Beckenhani parish register is quoted — 'Margaret Finch,
buiied Oct. 24, 1740' — aud an account of her niece and granddaughter is given ;
132 THE NORWOOD GYPSIES AND THEIR VOCABULARY
anything, except the exact date of her death, to the excellent,
though rather incoherent, account given at the foot of the
engraving executed in 1742 by H. Roberts from a painting by
J. Sraeho in 1739, and printed and sold by W. Richardson. Antient
and Modern Print Warehouse, 174 Strand. The print represents
her squatting in the opening of what is generally referred to as
her tent, though the catalogue of portraits in the British Museum ^
elects to call it a cave.- In reality the print leaves no doubt that
it was a tent-shaped wattled hut made of boughs of trees and
shrubs, and perhaps covered with turf. Such huts erected over
a shallow hole in the earth were in use by Gypsies on Finchlc}
Common as late as 18 IS.* The lettering beneath the print reads: —
' Margaret Finch, Queen of the Gypsies at Norwood.
This remarkable person was Born at Sutton in Kent, lived t<)
y* Age of 108^ Years, after a Course of Traveling y*^^ Kingdom, as
Queen of y'^ Gypsie Trii»e, her Place of residence was at Norwood
J. Caulfield, Portrailo, Mimoirtt, and Chnracttrs of IttmnrkaUe Pertons, from . . .
168S to t/ir mil of the litxin of tltonjt II., vol. iii. (London, 1820), pp. 247-9. witli a
copy of .Sraeho s portrait, engraved by Cook ; R. Malcolm. Curiunifim of Bioijyaiihy ;
T. Allen, op. cit., p. 429; A. M. Galer, Xorirootl and Dnlwirh (London, KS90), pp.
10-11 ; R. Borr.iwman, oji. ril., p. .SI ; Grmjme, op. ril., pp. 115-16.
' F. O'Donoghue, Catalmjio of F.wnnvid /irilish I'orlraiis . . . in tin British
Muatum, vol ii. (1910), p. 21 J
- Actual caves are atteste.i as iJypsy dwellings at (Jranada {J. <•'. L. S., Old
Series, i. 2H7, ii. 15t2), at Cromarty (ibid., iii. 59), and for Austrian and possibly
German Gyp.sies (Gnllmann, H i»torii>cher Vtrnuch, 2'« Aufl. G<>ttingen, 1787, p. 71.
and Heister, EthnoijrajihxHcht nnd ge/icliirhtliche Xotiztn, K-'nigsberg, 1842, p. 2,'>).
The two latter refer also to constructed caves, made either by digging up the
ground or hollowing the side of a hill. In the first case a roof, and in the second
an extension, made of boards and sticks and covered with straw and turf, is atlded.
These constructions are saiil to be thick and to resemble Kalmuk 'tents,' which are
described by Grellniann as having the appearance of ' hoopeil " petticoats. Margaret
Finch's hut looks rather like a section of such a 'beehive 'shaped construction of
boughs, thickened wiili straw and turf. Compare also A. F. Crosse's description of
a colony of Gypsies near Klupotiva: 'The huts are formed of plaited sticks, with
mud plastered in the interstices ; this earth in time becomes overgrown with grass,
and as the erection is only some seven feet high, it has very much the appearance of
an exaggerated mound <«r anthill' (Hound about tht (arpatfiiatui, ls7S, p. 143).
Cf. also H. Smith, Ttnt Life with the Gypsies (London, 1873), p. 518.
- H. Smith, I.e.
* Her age is given as lO'J in most contemporary accounts, e.g. the Gentltman'a
Magazine, vol. x. (Nov. 1740), p. 571, among deaths in October, 'Margaret Finch,
called the Queen of the Gypsies, at Norwood, aged 109"; the Champion, No. 151
(Oct. 30, 1740), 'Last Friilay Night, after a Funeral Sermon, was buried at
Beckenham in Kent, Margaret Fy tch, for many Years called the Queen of the (iipsies :
Her great Age, which was 109, excited the Curiosity of several to see her at her
Palace, which was no farther off tlian Norwood, by which Means she had collected
together a considerable Sum of Money, which enabled her Comitanions to hire a
Hearse and Coaches, when they proceeded to the Place of her Interment with no
inconsiderable Solemnitv.'
THE NORWOOD GYPSIES AND THEIR VOCABULARY 133
about eleven Years before her decease ; & by her constant Custom
of Sitting on y« Ground with her Chin restino: on her Knees (as
above drawn) her Sinews became so Contracted, that she cou'd
not extend herself or change her Position, so that when she died
her Corps was forc'd to be cram'd into a Box sizeable to her usual
Posture, and therein convey 'd in a Hearse accompany'd by two
Coaches to Becknam in Kent, where she was decently inter'd with
a Funeral Sermon Preach'd on y* Occation in y*^ Year 1740: y®
Expence of w'^'' was defray 'd by y® Neighbouring Publicans.^ Tlie
OJdness of her Figure & y® Fame of her Fortune telling, drew a
vast Concourse of Spectators from y^ highest Rank of Quality,
even to those of y® lower Class of Life ; these with many other
Circumstances (too tedious to Mention) render her an Object of
Admiration to this & all future Ages.'
If the account of her age is correct, Margaret may be the person
mentioned in the following entry in the Cranford parish registers:
* Finch, wife of Finch, being delivered of three children,
two of whom were baptized ; one called Faith, and the other Hope ;
and the third was intended to be called Charity, but died unbap-
tized. The two were baptized the 22d day of Feb. 1666, but
they died and were buried together the next day, being the 23d
day of February, 1666-7.'- Nothing is said of the parents being
travellers ; but the omission of their Christian names points that
way, as the parish clerk would have known those of his fellow-
villairers. Finch itself is an exceedingly unusual name amoncf
Gypsies, and I cannot quote any other earlier parallel for it,
unless ' Johannes Finch, peregrinus,' who was buried at Birch-
ington, Kent, on September 23, 1615,^ was a Gypsy. But
' peregrinus ' is a very vague term. Nor is the name at all fre-
quent later, though there are still a few travellers who bear it.
One might infer from Pococke's statement in his travels,
written in 175-i, that Norwood used to be a famous resort for
Gypsies,* that it was deserted for a time after Margaret's death ;
but in 1750 the Gypsies were there and received a visit from the
' From this one infers that the information was obtained at Norwood at the
time of, or soon after, the funeral— and from a publican.
2 Lysous, Historical Account of those Parithes in the County of Middlesex tvhich
are not Described in the Environs of London (London, 1800), p. 30.
^ The Parish Regi)<ters of Birchington, Kent. Printed at the private press of
F. A. Crisp (1899), p. 127.
* The Travels . . . of Br. Richard Pococke . . . ed. by J. J. Cartwright, Clarendoa
fioc, 1S89, voL ii. p. 17'2.
134 . THE NORWOOD GYPSIES AND THEIR VOCABULARY
Prince and Princess of Wales,^ during the reign of Margaret's
niece and successor. Of that successor nothing seems to be
known save that she died in her hut at Norwood on August 4,
1768,^ and was buried at Dulwich, Even her proper name is
not mentioned, the newspapers of the time merely referring to
her as ' Bridget, Queen of the Gipsies,' and the entry in the
Dulwich College register, quoted by Lysons,^ being ' Old Bridget
the Queen of the Gypsies, buried August 6th.' She is stated to
have left behind her a fortune varying in different accounts from
£200 to £1000.^ This estimate did not include all she left, as
a year later one finds a notice in the papers that ' A few Days ag<>
a Gypsey Woman, known by the Name of Lady Lincoln, found in
a Hole of a Wall, at her Lodgings in Kent-street, Seven Dials, the
Foot of an old Stocking, in which was carefully tied up Twenty
Pounds seven Shillings and Sixpence, all in Silver. The lodgings
were inhabited, during the Winter Se;ison, for nearly thirty Year.*^
last past, by Old Bridget, the Norwood Gypsey, who died about
three years ago in the same Lodgings.* Wednesday Lady Lincoln,
the Gypsey, gave an Entertainment at a House called Allen's in
the Wood, near Dulwich, to about twenty People, in Memory of
Old Bridget, imagining her late good Fctrtune was owing to her.
Lady Lincoln graced the Head of the Table, and a Per.son who
lately kept a Public-House on Norwood-Hill, and goes by the
Name of the Secretary to the Gypsies, sat at the Lower End.
Music of all Sorts was played till Seven in the Evening, by Gypsies,
and then the Company adjourned to Kent-street, Seven Dials'" —
the street in which Powell's gang was lodged forty years earlier.
^ Cf. Tht Diary of thf late Gtorge Bubh Dodington, Dnron of Melcomht Regis . . .
publ. , . . b}' Henry PonrmMocke Wyiidliain (.Salishiii v, 17X4), p. 80, under the
date June 2.S, 1750: 'Lady Middlesex, Lord Batliurst, Mr. Breton, and I waited on
their Rojal Highnesses to .SpitalBelda, to see the manufactory of silk, and to Mr.
Carr's shop in the morning. In the afternoon, the same company with Lady Tor-
rington in waiting, went in private coaches to Norwood Forest to see a .settlement
of gypsies ' ; and Groome, op. cit., p. 116.
"" So the London Cfnonirle, vol. xxiv. No. 1S16, Aug. 4-6, 170S, and Lysons, and
all subsequent accounts. But oddly Dodsley's Aunnaf Rfgixirr records the death
nearly two years later in vol. xiii. (1770), oth cd.,p. 102, A]>ril. ' I)ied lately, at her
hut at Norwood, Bridget, the Queeu of the (iipseys, who died worth above 100*11. "
Is this the same person? If so, it is difficult to account for the change of date.
Possibly tlie name Bridget was assumed a.* a trade name by a successor.
^ The Environs of London, vol. i. p. 107.
■• According to the London Chronicle, I.e., 'upwards of '2001.': 'above 10001."
Dodsley's Anmial Regii^fer, I.e.
' Presumably incorrect, as all other accounts say she died at Norwood ; and she
died in the summer.
* Jackson's O.ifonl Joitrna/. June .3, 1769.
THE NORWOOD GYPSIES AND THEIR VOCABULARY 135
It would appear that a brother or sister of Bridget married
a daughter or son of Margaret Finch, and their child, Elizabeth —
niece of Bridget and granddaughter of Margaret — was the reigning
' queen ' when Lysons wrote, though he says ' Her rank seems
to be merely titular ; I do not tind that the gipsies pay her any
particular respect ; or that she diifers in any other respect, than
being a householder, from tlie rest of the tribe.' ^ She was in-
habiting a cottage near the inn called the Gipsy House, which
bore as its sign a portrait of her grandmother.- Lysons was
probably referring to some date between 1790— when, according to
the Dictionary of Xational Biogra'phij , he Avas appointed curate
of Putney and began his survey of the environs of London — and
17}»2, when the tirst volume of his work was published, as in that
volume he gives details of Bridget in his account of the parish of
Camberwell, and say.s that he will treat later of Margaret Finch,
when ho deals with Beckenham. The actual account in which he
includes the mention of her granddaughter did not appear till
179().
There were, however, lesser luminaries at Norwood during the
last -mentioned Queen's reign, since ' an aged sybil of some authority
among them, named Sarah Skemp, died there in 1790';^ and it is
hardly stepping out.side the prescribed area to quote the descrip-
tion of the odd funeral at Newington Butts in October 1773
of one who may have played the ' queen ' at Norwood between
Bridget and her niece : ' Wednesday evening were interred in the
parish church of Newington Butts the remains of an antient
Gipsey Woman. The whim of the funeral procession was extremely
remarkable; on the hearse, instead of black plumes were placed a
number of chinmey-sweepers' boys ; the procession consisted of a
numerous train of coaches tilled with persons of both sexes of the
Deceased's relations, acquaintance, and complexion, which, together
with an immense crowd of the same, who attended, not only in-
tirely tilled the church, but atibrded to the spectators a sight as
extraordinary as it was odd.' * Indeed, she is called the ' Queen
of the Gypsies ' in the account of the burning of her clothes in the
middle of the Mint, Southwark, which appears in the Annual
Register} There her name is given as Dinah Boswell ; and,
^ Lysons, op. cif., iv. p. 302.
- Larwood and Hotten, History of Signboards, 3rd ed. p. 508.
» Cf. F. W. Hackwood, The Good Old Times (Loudon, 1910), p. 215.
* Jackson's Oxford Journal, Oct. 30, 1773.
» Vol. xliii. p. 521, Oct. 21 ; cf. Groome, In Gipsy Tents, pp. 116-17-
136 THE NORWOOD GYPSIES AND THEIR VOCABULARY
though they seldom occur in records which mention Norwood
itself, the Boswells are known as claiming royalty among the
Gypsies in the neighbourhood at that date. The Dianah Boswell,
who married a Joseph Lovell at Isleworth on Auguat 9, 1771, was
probably a near relative of the old lady buried at Newington ; and
in the following account of the marriage, which I take from the
London Chronicle} she is called the ' King of the Gypsies'
daughter': — 'A few days since was married at Isleworth, the
King of the Gypsies' daughter to a second husband : She is about
22 years of age, and the man 17. About twenty couple walked
from the Bell to the Church, and returned in the like manner to
the same place, after the ceremony was performed ; only as they
went, the women leant on the men; but on their return back, the
men leant on the women. The dinner was served under the four
elms on Hounslow-heath. and forty Gipsies sat down together.
There was great plenty of all kinds of provision, fowls not excepted,
and liquor in the same measure. When they had dined, the
standers-by regaled themselves with what they had left, whose
number amounted to some hundreds. The bridegroom's pockets
were well lined with gold, and the father declared he could give
him a thousand pounds.' This Joseph Lovell may be identical
with one of the two persons of that name mentioned by Hoyland,
and with the Joseph Lovell from whom Copsey derived his
vocabulary. But he can hardly be the Joseph Lovell who was
condemned to death for damaging houses in South wark in the
Gordon riots in 17(S0, but reprieved; as this Joseph had a son,
Robert, aged 26, who was executed for the same offence along with
his paramour. Elizabeth Collins.- It was during this period, too,
that the presence of a band of Gypsies, who spoke very bad English,
and were ' blacker than those who formerly used to be there,' was
noted at Norwood.-' Presumably they were foreign Gypsies, and it
is interesting to know that the English Gypsies were already
noticeably lighter in hue than their foreign kinsfolk. Unfortun-
ately the meagre notice does not enable one to be certain whether
they mixed with the English Gypsies or held aloof froni them like
the recent bands of foreign Gypsies. The mere fact of their
' Aug. 20-22, 1771. The namcB I owe to tlie Vicar of Isleworth. w ho lias kindly
sent me a copy of the entry in the register, whicli runs : — 'On August 9, 1771, were
married in Isleworth Church, Joseph Lovell. Bachelor, and Dianali Boswell,
Spinster.'
2 London Chronicle, July 8, 11, 1.3, 15, 29 and Aug. 8, 1780.
' Cf. London Chronicle, Jan. 24, 1761 and J. (/. L. S., iv. 307.
THE NORWOOD GYPSIES AND THEIE VOCABULARY 137
presence at a well-known resort of English Gypsies is not sufficient
evidence of intercourse with them, since the coppersmiths who
visited England in 1911, almost as soon as they landed in Liverpool,
pitched their tents on a spot much frequented by English Gypsies,
though they were incapable of conversing with each other. But,
as inriected Romani was in use among English Gypsies 150 years
ago, there would not have been the same difficulty ; and, though
it is improbable that the entire band stayed in England, it is possible
that intercourse with, or perhaps even intermarriage between, them
and the English Gypsies accounts for the tradition among the
Smiths and Lees of East An<'lia, that their ancestors came from
abroad 150 years ago.
Those were the peaceful days of the Norwood Gypsies : but
with the advance of civilization they soon fell on troublous times,
and what further news one gets of them is mainly gleaned from
police court record.s. In October 1795 Stephen Lee, John, Robert,
Thomas, and Adam, his sons, and Ambrose BoswelH were arrested
there on suspicion of having committed ' divers footpad robberies
in the neighbourhood of Norwood. . . . The prisoners are all tall
stout men, and under the denomination of Norwood Gypsies. On
the magistrate asking them how they got their living, they replied,
by fortune-tolling and horse-dealing. It appeared that the prisoners
were the terror of the neighbourhood of Norwood ; and not one
of them has any visible means of getting an honest livelihood.' ^
From which it would appear (perhaps with justice) that horse-
dealing is not an honest means of livelihood : also that a fortune-
teller should carry an outward and visible sign about with him.
It was wiser, however, for him not to carry a watch at this
■date, as it was specially noted as a suspicious thing that between
the six of them they had two silver watches and had recently
tried to sell a gold one.^ L'nfortunately I have not been able to
find out what their fate was; but, as Adam appears again in 1812
' The London Chronicle, vol. Ixxviii. No. 5672 (Oct. 13-15, 1795), p. 363, gives
the names as above. I was. therefore, probably wrong in calling Adam Lee the
father of the rest of tlie party in the J. G. L. S., vi. 19-20. When I did so, 1
had not seen the account in the London Chronicle, and was combining the statement
of Frost (Reniini-^ctnces of a Country Journalist, 1886, pp. 4 seqq. )tha.t Adam Lee was
the father of Thomas, who was executed with him in 1812, and the account of this
band as ' John, Stephen, Robert, Adam, and Thomas Lee (father and sons) ' given
in Jackson"s Oxford Journal (not The Times, as there stated) for Oct. 17, 1795.
Apparently the Thomas of 1812 was dififerent from the Thomas of 1795, and was a
grandson of Stephen.
^ London Chronicle, I.e.
' Jackson's Cv/ord Journal, Oct. 17, 1795.
138 THE NORWOOD GYPSIES AND THEIR VOCABULARY
as an elderly man, charged with a similar crime, I infer that they
escaped execution, the surest means of getting one's name
mentioned in a newspaper at that date. Indeed, they may have
been falsely accused and maligned, as, though Adam was con-
demned on the next occasion, we shall see that the neighbourhood,
of which the family are said to be the terror, regarded him as an
inoffensive old fiddler,^ unjustly condemned.
If, however, as is probable, the John Lee of 1795 was identical
with a Gypsy of the same name who was arrested in London only a
few months later, in January 179G,- the family, if altogether innocent,
had a faculty for getting into trouble. He was arrested in a
public-house in Butcher Row, the police having traced him thither
by following a messenger, whom he had sent to Bow Street to
make inquiries after his wife and brother, who liad been committed
to prison the day before. All were suspected of being concerned
in the burglary of a farm-house at Mencedon in Essex. A day
or two earlier a Gypsy named Richard Lee had been arrested
on the same charge in another pulilic-house in the parish of St.
Giles : ^ and probably he was John's brother, though one cannot
be sure of that, as two others were already in custody.* His
arrest was due to the energy of a parson, ' the Rev. Bate Dudley,
one of the Magistrates of the county of E.ssex,' who, knowing him
by sight and hearing of his habit of visiting the house in question,
obtained a search warrant, which resulted in the arrest of thirty-two
men, mostly chimney-sweeps, dustmen, and such like, who, ' with
a number of women, had assembled at what is termed a Cock and
Hen Club.'* Richard was found in a cellar, and taken to the
watch-house, ' but in the cour.se of the night got rid of a coat he
had on, every button of which was made out of a dollar, and had
been particularly described by the persons robbed.' Evidently
' Cf. T. Frost, I.e.
- London Chrouiclt, vol. Ixxix. No. 5715 (Jan. '_M-2.S, 1790).
* Ibid., No. 5714 (Jan. 19-21, 1796). The Minut:." of Evuhnct on Mindicity,
1814-15, vol. iii. p. 66, mention an inn in St. Giles kept first by a man named
Hughe^5, which is known as a traveller's name, then by one Eiukley, who mafif
£loUO to £'25(10 there. A Sheen kept another (p. 65), and a Mary Hearn and a
Jones are mentioned as living in St. Giles, as well as a Gypsy girl be^ginjj then .
* Their names are not given in the Loudon Chronicle ; but in the ludfx to the
Times, 1796, .<. r. Police Court, the names of Richard Chilcott, \Vm. Smith, and
Lee are quoted for Jan. 21, from which it seems probable that Smith and John Lee's
wife were the other two, as Chilcott will be seen to be an alias of Richard Lee.
* A strange place to find a Gypsy : but probably he was a fiddler and was there
to 'e.xcite the unholy dance, teclinically called the two-penny hop." like the three
Gypsy fiddlers of Crabb's acquaintance, who succeeded each other in a house of ill-
fame in Southampton (The Gipsies' Advocate, 3rd ed., London, 1832, p. 37).
THE NORWOOD GYPSIES AND THEIR VOCABULARY 139
John had worn a similar coat, as a pawn-ticket for a watch was
found on him, and on going to the pawn-broker the police learned
that he had pledged thirteen buttons made of dollars on the 2nd
of January, suspiciously near the date of the robbery. However,
at the Assizes at Chelmsford in March John's name does not
appear, though Richard Chilcott, alias Lee, and George Smith,
both belonging 'to the fraternity of Gipsies,' were condemned
to death for the robbery at Mencedon, and were informed that
they must not entertain the least hope of mercy on this side the
grave, as the robbery had been 'accompanied with several acts
of cruelty.'^ John presumably had been discharged; and it
seems probable that he is the John Lee who appears twenty years
later on the list of metropolitan Gypsies procured for Hoyland-
by William Corder of St. Giles and his son.
As charges of highway robbery and burglary may come as
a surprise to some of our members, it may be as well to add that
many instances of the former, and more than one would have
supposed of the latter, may be found in old newspapers; also that
there is at least one old Gypsy, a nephew of Kyley Boswell's wife
Yoki Shuri, still living in London, who makes no secret of having
been a burglar in his younger days.
It is noticeable that Stephen Lee and his sons openly professed
to fortune-telling as though it were permissible, but two years
later that alone brought on the Norwood Gypsies a raid by the
police: 'On Sunday morning, about five o'clock, ten Police
officers came to Norwood in three hackney-coaches, threw down
all the gypsey tents, and exposed about 30 men, women, and
children, in the primitive state of man. They carried them tO'
prison, to be dealt with according to the Vagrant Act.
' It appears that they have made good harvest, this summer, of
female credulity, and have often gained a guinea on a Sunday. Not
only young girls, panting for matrimony, have been their dupes, but
the well-experienced dames, curious to trace the steps of their dear
spouses, have paid liberally for discovery, as the following story
will prove : On Thursday, as two Gentlemen, who dined at
Norwood, were looking out of a window, they observed a respect-
able, well-dressed woman in deep consultation, for a sum paid
to the old gypsey. They observed the good(?)' woman greatly
^ London Chronicle, vol. Ixxix. , No. 5737 (March 12-15, 1796).
- Historical Survey . . . of the Gt/psies {York, 1816), p. j.8o.
^ The query is my own. — E. O.W.
140 THE NORWOOD GYPSIES AND THEIR VOCABULARY
agitated, and heard her ask " If she was sure it was true ? " On
being answered, " As sure as God was in heaven," she gave the
gypsey a further sum, and made further enquiry, and at last gave
her a good pocket-handkerchief, and departed seemingly full of
vengeance. The gentlemen, curious to learn the nature of the
good woman's consultation, sent for the old gypsey, who candidly
told them that she enquired of her if her husband was continent,
and that she answered he was not, and thereby obtained three
presents instead of one.'^
In spite of danger attaching to the practice of their most pay-
ing profession Gypsies still clung to the neighbourhood. Mary
Howi.., when a child at school at Croydon in 1809, in walks to
Norwood sometimes ' came upon an encampment of gipsies, with
their tents and tethered horses, looking to us more oriental than
any similar encampment in our more northern lane.s,"- and Byron,
when a lad at school at Dulwich, used to visit them there and
picked up some cant from them, but so far as one knows, no
Romani. That is natural enough, if the Gypsies with whom he
consorted were like those who came into prominent notice in
1802, when arrested on suspicion of the murder of the Dulwich
Hermit.'* This eccentric personage was a man named Samuel
Matthews, who had lived for some twenty-eight or twenty-three
3'eais in a cave with a hut over it, which he had obtained the
permission of the authorities of Dulwich College to make on
Sydenham Common at the back of the College wood. Of his
previous life little is known. All authorities agree that he had
lived in London with a tradesman for some time, and he is
generally credited with a wife and daughter, the former of whom
died, while the latter either obtained a situation or married a
respectable tradesman in London, before he started life as a hermit.
He was seventy at the time of his death, and had come to Dulwich
some thirty years earlier, according to the newspapers, as a
gardener to some gentleman, though later he only did odd jobs
as a gardener and subsisted on gifts from visitors who came
to see the ' wild man of the woods.' Kirby, however, denies that
* An extract from The Times, Aug. 22, 1797, in J. Ashton's Old Times (London,
1885), p. .'?32.
- Mary Howitt, an AxUohio'jraphy, ed. by Margaret Howitt (London, 1891). p.
50. Her home was at Uttoxeter.
^ The details of his life and deatli are gleaned from R. S. Kirby, The H'ondfr/iJ
and Scientific Museum, vol. i. (London, 1803), pp. .'53-67 ; the Gtntleman'$ Mmjazine,
vol. 73 (1803), pt. i. pp. 84 and 280; and the other papers mentioned in the next
note.
I THE NORWOOD GYPSIES AND THEIR VOCABULARY 141
he was ever a proper gardener, and says that he came to Dulwich
as a vagrant, and was frequently sent away as such before he built
his hut. Visitors to the cave were sufficiently plentiful, for people
to suppose that Matthews had a hoard of money, and it is
commonly stated that he was attacked by Gypsies some live years
before he was murdered; that they broke his urm and robbed
him of 12s., all that he had on him, and that he vas absent from
his cave for a year and a half, and had to make another on his
return. But this again is denied by Kirby, who says he went
away for three months to Pembrokeshire or to Shropshire, of
which he was a native. At any rate, on the 28th of December
1802 he was found murdered near the mouth of his cave with an
oak stick under him ; and a Gypsy chimney-sweep, named Joseph
(or Benjamin) Sprague, Spragg, Cragg, or Craggs,^ with his wife's
8on-in-law,2 Arthur Bowers, and the hitter's son Robert, who were
camping within two hundred yards of the cave, were arrested on
suspicion. Sprague, whose movements were suspicious, as he had
got up at one o'clock to go chiumey-sweeping, and one of the
Bowers,^ were tried at the Surrey Assizes in March, but acquitted
— and rightly so apparently, as one Isaac Evans, known as Wry-
necked Isaac, is said to have confessed to the murder when dying
in Lewisham workhouse in February 1809.*
To what extent there was any Gypsy blood in these people it
is impossible to say ; but they travelled after the manner of Gypsies
of those days before the invention of caravans. Arthur Bowers in
his evidence said that ' they, when they could not get permission
to sleep in the barnes and outhouses of the farmers, generally
pitched their tent as near a farm-house as they could.' They had
come from Dorking, stopped near the Half Moon on the 26th,
on Sydenham Common on the 27th, and were moving on to Green-
' This person's names are given in a different form in almost every account. In
the i7t}itleman'3 Ma<jfizinn he appears as Spra^'iie : in the London Chronicle, vol.
xciii., Dec. 30- Jan. 1, li»03, as Spraggs ; Jan. 1-4 as J. fipragge ; Jan. 4-6 as Joseph
Spragge : in Kirby's book he is Joseph Spragg : in the index to The Times of 1803,
on Jan. 3, he is J. Sprague; on Jan. 6 Sprague; on Jan. 13 Scraggs ; on Jan.
20-25 Cragg : in the Bending Mercury, Mar. 28, 1803, and the Leicester Journal,
Apr. 1, 1803, Benjamin Craggs.
- As all other accounts agree that Bowers was Spragg's son-in-law, it is presum-
ably a mistake on Kirbys part when he makes Bowers say that ' his only relation-
ship to Spragg was, that the latter lived with his wife'e daughter by a former
husband ' (p. 65).
^ In the Lticestfr Journal Ephraim Bowers appears as a witness, being ap-
parently identical with the Arthur Bowers of the other accounts ; while Arthur is-
here spoken of as the lad and at the same time as Craggs' son-in-law.
■* Blanch, Y' parish of Carrier well (London, 1875), p. 385.
142 THE NORWOOD GYPSIES AND THEIR VOCABULARY
wich when arrested, having been warned to quit. Still Sprague
or Craggs does not sound at all like a Gypsy name, though the
variety of form may be due to it being an indefinite alias : but his
trade is against him. Bowers, who sold trifles, did odd jobs and
befTr'ed, stransrelv claimed to be a native of South Carolina ; but
his claim can hardly be taken seriously, unless he was the son of
transported parents. At any rate, it seems probable that he wa-
connected with the Bill Bowers whom Leland ^ knew, and another
Bowers who was transported some seventy years ago with Hector
Buckland, the eldest brother of Nili Buckland or Fenner, for
horse-stealing. The grandson of this latter Bowers assures me that
his ancestors were ' Barks,' thereby proving that they were both
Irish and speakers of cant; and by other travellers all the family
are regarded rather as Irish travellers than as Gypsies. On the
whole, it seems not improbable that they have long been on the
roads, since Henry Bowcr,^ with John Allen and others, was
arrested at ' Harrowhill ' and .sentenced to be flogged and burned in
the right ear for vagrancy on March 29, IG Elizabeth.^
Oddly the name Allen too occurs among a band of Norwood
Gypsies who appeared at the Surrey Quarter Sessions in October
LSO.S, when 'Charlotte Allen, Jane Hern. Mary Ann Hern. Harriott
Lee, Pentevinny Lovell. and John Lovell, all of the Gipsy
tribe, were put to the bar to answer the matters of complaint
exhibited against them.'* The prosecution was brought by the
Society for the Suppre.ssion of Vice to prevent the Gypsies from
' bringing idle persons about them at Norwood, to have their
fortunes told on a Sunday.' It was a common practice, the i)ro-
secutors stated, for 'abandoned libertines' to take young and
1 The Gtjpsies, p. 141.
- The omission of the rinal s is of no importance, as the name seems to be spelled
indifferently in either way ; cf. the prosecution of 'James Bower, dealer," for letting
horses stray at Tiddington (Oxford Times, Nov. 12, 1910), and of 'James Bowers,
gipsy" — doubtless the same person — for the same oETence at Hartlebury Common
two years later ( \Vorce.'*ter Herald, Dec. 7, 1912).
» Middlesex County Record*, vol. i. p. 87. Compare also ' James Bower of
Mottram, Cheshire, paup. viator,' M-hu was buried at Fanidon. Notts., on .Sept. 18,
1703 {Tiie Parish Register of Farndon. . . . Ed. by Thos. M. Blagg (Worksop, 1899),
p. 10).
* London Chronicle, vol. xciv.. No. 6948, Oct. 13-15, 1S03. On Allen as a
' Gypsy ' name see J. O. L. S., iv. 311-12, and to the referenceB there collected add
* Isabell daughter of One Thomas Allen a Tr.ivailer out of the Orene Lane, buried
the 3 of ffeb. 1.593' at Dagenhain, Kssex i J. 1'. Shawcross, Ilislorii of ])a<jcnham,
London, 1904, p. 147) : ' William Allen, a vagrant,' buried at Wolstanton, Stafln. ,
June 2, 1706 ( Wolstanton Parish Re<ji<ter, pt. i. p. 21U) ; and ' Hannah, ye daughter
of Eliz. Allen, Traveller,' baptized Feb. 10, 1735/6 at Little Biickhill.
THE NORWOOD GYPSIES AND THEIR VOCABULARY 143
inexperienced females to Norwood ; and there, after a dinner,
' the poor girls, tiushed with wine, sally forth to get their fortunes
told ; the Gentleman has his fortune told first. The plan is then
laid what is to be said to work upon this feelings of the poor
victim, who thus, by a combination of circumstances, is plunged
into inevitable ruin. This fact, melancholy as it is, has been
established beyond contradiction.' At least so said the Society
for the Suppression of Vice, which, like man}' people, seems to
have believed that vice is peculiar to the male sex.
The Society asked for the acquittal of the prisoners, if there
were any hope of amendment, and ' the whole were examined, and
the charge of fortune telling proved against them, but on expressing
their contrition for the past, and promising never to offend again
in like manner, they were liberated.' Clear as that statement
seems, it is not to be taken to mean what it says, since the writer
of the paragraph adds that Charlotte Allen, who ajipeared to be
the ' mother and leader' of the party, was discharged on finding
bail for her future good behaviour, mainly because she had six
young children, and that Pentevinny Lovell, who had offered to
' so work upon ' a girl, brought to her by a young gentleman, that
she would be 'subservient to all his desires,' was sentenced to six
months' imprisonment in tlie house of correction at Newington.
Five years later, according to Sir Walter Besant,^ the common
at Norwood was enclosed ; and Caulfield,^ writing in 1820, asserts
that about thirty years earlier the Gypsies began to desert
Norwood, and that since the murder of the Dulwich hermit 'it is a
rarity to meet with a single straggler of that description.' Yet,
when Cox the artist first went to live at Dulwich in 1808, 'it was
much frequented by gipsies, who hovered about the extensive
woods belonging to Dulwich College ' ; and he is said to have made
many studies of their donkeys and encampments on the common.^
On the other side of Norwood Gypsies were plentiful in the woods
at Penge and Anerley, among them the Adam and Thomas Lee,
who have already come under notice at Norwood, until they were
hanged in 1812 for a highway robbery, of which they were
commonly believed to be innocent. At the time of the robbery
they were living in a hut at Rixton causeway, and produced an
^ London South oftht T/iames (London, 1912), p. 271 ; T. Manning and W. Bray,
The History . . . of the County of Sumy, vol. iii. (1814), p. 4.34, refer to this common
as ' now enclosed,' and say that Dulwich Common was enclosed in 1805 (p. 435).
- Portraits, Memoirs, etc.. I.e.
^ X. N. Solly, Memoirs of the Life of David Cox (London, 1873), p. 21.
144 THE NORWOOD GYPSIES AND THEIR VOCABULARY
alibi to that effect. The proceedings in the case were a little
extraordinary, as Adam was not arrested, but merely promised to
come up for examination, and did so ; and even after the pre-
liminary examination he was released on a promise to come up for
trial, which ao^ain he carried out. One would have thousrht that
his readiness to appear, in days when he could quite easily have
disappeared with little chance of being found, was sufficient
evidence of his innocence. However, he and his son were hanged
and buried at Streatham, close to Norwood ; and a few days after
their burial both graves were rifled.-
Again, it is stated that a celebrated King of the Gypsies. ' after
lying in state on Penge Common, was followed to the grave by a
number of his tribe, clad in velveteen coats, the buttons of which
were made of half-crowns, those on their waistcoats being made
of sixpenny pieces,'- and was buried at Beckenham. Norwood
itself was not deserted, and still retained its fame ; and it was to
Norwood that those in search of knowledge about Gypsies or their
language naturally made a pilgrimage. Bright, the discoverer of
the disease named after him, wishing to compare English Komani
with specimens he had collected from Gypsies during his travels
in Hungary, went straight to Norwood in 1815^ and collected
there the words and sentences printed in the Appendix to his book
of travels. He had better luck than Hoyland, who paid the place
a visit later in the same year, and heard from the deputy constable
that about two months before the Gypsies in the neighbourhood
had been apprehended as vagrants. He also states that ' having
been considerably inclosed of late years, it [Norwood] is not now
much frequented by the Gypsies,' * so that probably at tliis date,
and perhaps at any time, one must take the name Norwood, as I ^
have taken it, to embrace the neighbouring commons and woods
for several miles on either side.
The raid mentioned by Hoyland took place in July 1815, as the
following extract from the London Traveller^ of Julv24 shows: —
1 T. Frost, I.e. ; Tht Times, ISl'J, Apr. S, 7, and 'JO; J. G. L.S., vi. 19, 20;
and Groome, In Oipay TeJils, pp. 245-6.
^ R. Borrowman, op. cit., p. 31.
^ R. Bright, Travels from Vienna throwjh Lower Hungary (Edinburgli, 1818),
p. 528, and Preface, pp. i.\. -x. His vocabulary, though far better than Hoyland's
or Copseys, is not included in this article, as the editing of it had already been
undertaken by Mr. Russell.
* J. Hoyland, A Historical Survey of the Customs, Hahi s, and Present State of the^i
Gypsies (York, 181(3), p. ISO.
* Quoted in Niles' iVeckly Register, vol. ix. p. 41 (Sept, 16, 1815).
THE NORWOOD GYPSIES AND THEIR VOCABULARY 145
' On Sunday the police officers attacked the Gipsey encamp-
ment at Norwood, from which they made a precipitate retreat ;
they, however, captured three coach loads, together with their
queen and princes Thomas and John ! The officers were attacked
by a rallying party of about 40, in an attempt at rescue, in which
they failed. They were committed as vagrants.'
It is probable that this party consisted largely of Lovells, and
that their sentence was light, since Hoyland, following the direc-
tions of the deputy constable and the landlord of the Gipsy House,
visited the winter quarters of the tribe in London, and on the list
of Gypsies living there he obtained from James Corder^ are
two Thomas Lovells and one John. Charlotte Allen, the ' mother
and leader' of the party arrested in 1803, is on the list too, and
probably Harriet and Pentevinny Lovell were wives of some of the
Lovells mentioned by Corder. Nor is there much doubt that the
Joseph Lovell, tinker, aged about sixty, from whom Copsey^
obtained his vocabulary at Braintree, in Essex, was also one of the
two persons of that name who appear on the same list, especially
as he told Copsoy he spent the winter months in London. So
Copsey's vocabulary may be counted as that of a Norwood Gypsy.
So, it seems, may the list collected by Marsden and Sir J. Banks
in 17tS3 or 1784, though one can hardly assert it definitely. Cer-
tainly some of the words collected by Banks were obtained from a
gorgio, married to a Gypsy, who was also interviewed by Sir J.
Phillips in 181G somewhere between Mortlake and Kew.^ On the
latter occasion this gorgio stated that he was a tinker and lived in
Shoreditch in the winter ; and in his company were his wife's
mother, his brotber-in-law, and a young couple recently married
at Shoreditch. Now, on Hoyland's list there are three persons
mentioned who lived in Shoreditch, among them Mansfield Lee,
married but childless. If, as is probable, this means that he was
recently married in the autumn of 1815, he may well be identical
with the youth mentioned by Phillips, and possibly the Diana Lee,
widow with one child, of Hoyland's list may be the mother-in-law
of the ororijio traveller. Next to Mansfield comes Zachariah Lee, a
1 Hoyland, pp. 184-5.
' Cop-iev's Article appeared in t\\e Monthly Magazine, vol. xlvi. (London, 1818),
pt. ii. pp. .39.S-5. It has been reprinted— without commentary on the words — by
W. E. A. Axon in the Antiquary, New Series, voL iiL (1907), pp. 181-4; and the
reprint was reviewed in the ./. G. L. S., New Series, i. 183-5.
^ Cf. the M iiiihly M I'jcLzint, vol. xlii. (1816;, pt. ii. pp. 218 and 506; and
J. G. L. S., New Series, i. 184, and ii. 162.
VOL. IX. — NOS. III. -IV. K
146 THE NORWOOD GYPSIES AND THEIR VOCABULARY
fiddler, unmarried, and he is identical with the Zachariah Lee who
travelled about Morwood and Epping Forest with his second wife,
Charlotta Boswell or Boss, and was son of Samuel and grandson of
another Zachariah Lee.^ Mansfield himself was arrested a few
years later in company with Ezechiel, Arthur and John Lovell for
theft somewhere in the neighbourhood of London.-
Again, it seems likely that Corder's Lusha Cooper is identical
with Elisha Cooper, who with Ann his wife, Eve Cooper, Anne
Cooper, Anne Maria Cooper, Sabraina Cooper, Jane Cooper, junior,
and Mary Ann and Sophia Lee appeared at Union Hall police
court in August 1823 on a charge of vagrancy at Norwood.
In the same year a Gypsy woman, ' whose appearance is far
superior to that of those who generally go about in gangs,' ^ was
arrested at Southwark for stealing lace, and refused to give a
name or address. She was, therefore, locked up with a ' female
nose,' who extracted the information from her that she was living
near Norwood ' in one of those buildings which a donkey can
remove in a short time.' Her name turned out to be Sarah Lamb,
still a name of travellers, though judging by specimens of the
family whom I have seen at Maidenhead and in Norfolk, the
Lambs have no claim and lay no claim to Gypsy blood. Still her
husband seems to have professed the Gypsy trade of tinkering, if,
as is probable, it was a child of theirs who was baptized at Putney,
May 22, IcSOS, as ' Henry s. B. Lamb, travelling tink^ by Sarah,
b. May 6,' * and travellers of that name occur fairly frequently in
registers from the seventeenth century to recent times. Proceed-
ing on the information obtained by the ' nose,' officers went to
Norwood and found in a lane between there and Peckham a
'gipsy's hut,' guarded by two fierce dogs. In the hut were two ^
donkeys, and thirty pounds' worth of lace was found in the donkeys'
hampers. The children were questioned, but naturally nothing
was got out of them. Sarah herself, within a week of her arrest,
^ Cf. Notes and Qutries, 6th Series, vol. i. (1880), p. 258, where details of the
family of Zachariah and Charlotta are given. Presumably he is identical with the
Zachariah Lee, fatlier of Blind David Lee, who gave the copper and brass tobacco
box to George Smith of Coalville (./. G. L. S., Old Series, i. 170), though David's
name does not occur in the genealogy given in Xotes and Qiierie". Was his father
Samuel the Samuel Lee, ' gipse},' who was condemned to death for horse-stealing at^
Gloucester in 1813? (Jackson's Oxford Journal, April 17, 1813).
- The Tiynes, October 12, 1821.
' John Bull, Aug. 4 aud 11, 1823; and Jackson's Oxford Journal, Aug. 16,
1823.
■* A. G. Hare and W. B. Bannerman, The Parish Register of Putney, vol. ii,
(Croydon, 1915), p. 492.
THE NORWOOD GYPSIES AND THEIR VOCABULARY 147
' made her way through the Borough Compter, by forcing the roof
of the cell she was confined in, and effecting her escape by letting
herself down the outer wall by a water spout ' ; and what became
of her, her silent children, and her two donkeys is not recorded.
There is one mystery in this account, the portable hut. It can
hardly have been a caravan of any sort, since the donkeys were in
it : nor can this mean that they were harnessed in it, as they were
obviously intended to carry the hampers mentioned pannier-wise.
That the donkeys were in it at all seems odd ; for no traveller,
least of all a ' superior ' one, would put a donkey in a hut inhabited
by herself; of course they may only have strayed in ; or one may
assume that the hut was erected solely for their benefit, and the
family lived in a tent which escaped observation. But the assump-
tion seems to be unwarrantable : and, in any case, it still leaves the
portable hut to be accounted for. Nor is this the only case in
which huts have been mentioned. That in which Bridget died in
1762 may well have been a fixed hut, as she possibly stayed
permanently at Norwood like her aunt ; but Thomas Lee, who
certainly travelled, was arrested in ' his hut,' and caravans were
unknown till nearly twenty years after the date of his arrest.'
When a marriage took place between the daughter of one of
the kings of the Boswell gang to Pho-nix Boswell at Leicester
in 1785, the party is described as 'hutted in Humberstone-field.' ^
Presumably the same kind of structure is referred to by
Peter Pindar as a 'humble shed';^ and if so the huts cannot
' Cf. J. O. L. S., New Series, ii. 96. ^ Kcadimj Mtrciiry, Aug. 1, 1785.
* In a poem called 'A Gipsy Ballad,' of which an English and a Latin version
appeared in the Keiitixh RegiMtr and MonUdy Mtsctllany, vol. i. (Canterbury,
1793), p. 194. Tlie poem, which does not seem to be reproduced in the collected
works of ISIG, runs : —
A Wandering Gipsey, Sir, am I,
From Norwood, where we oft complain.
With many a tear — and many a sigh,
Of blustering winds and rushing rain.
No rooms so fine, nor gay attire,
Amid our humble sheds appear,
Nor beds of down, nor blazing fire,
At night our shiv'riug limbs to cheer.
Alas I no friends come near our cot —
The red-breasts only find the way,
Who give their all — a simple note,
At peep of morn or parting day.
But Fortunes here I come to tell,
Then yield me, gentle Sir, your hand :
148 THE NORWOOD GYPSIES AND THEIR VOCABULARY
have been merely vwattled huts like that in Sraeho's picture of
Mareraret Finch. On the other hand, it seems hardlv conceivable
that Gypsies would burden themselves with planks and construct
huts at every stopping-place ; nor is any other evidence of such a
habit forthcoming, so far as I am aware. Still it is difficult to
avoid the conclusion that these Norwood Gypsies did use and move
about some kind of structure, either of planks or of boughs, that
could be called a hut. The point is of some interest for the history
of Gypsy tents. For as Groome ^ has pointed out, there is no direct
evidence for the use of tents in England until towards the end of the
eighteenth century ; and the English Gypsy tent difters entirely in
shape and construction from that used by their foreign kinsfolk.
It is possible that the more or less beehive-shaped tents, used by
some Gypsies in the East and North of England, may be develo])-
ments of a kraal like that in which Margaret Finch is depicted ;
but the ordinary low long tent of the South of England would seem
to be modelled rather on the tilt of a covered cart, or, in its frequent
form of a double tent, of two such tilts facing each other a few feet
apart and joined by sacking or blankets in the centre — indeed, of
precisely such a camp as that in which Borrow first saw Ambrose
Smith's parents.- If so, the latter type of tent, at any rate, cannot
have Ijeen in use till the days when panniered donkeys were
replaced by covered carts; and for the use of such carts 1 caimot
recollect any evidence earlier than the Jiorrovian pa.ssage just
mentioned. Before their introduction, and indeed up to about one
hundred years ago, Gypsies were far less afrai<l of living within four
Amid tlinse lines wliat thousands dwell !
And lile.is me, what a heap of Ian<l !
This, .surely. Sir, must plea.sinK \>e.
To hold sucli wealth in every line !
Try* pray now try, if you can see
A little treasure lodg'd in mine.
' In Gipsy Tents, pp. 54-9.
* Lavenyro, ch. 5. The resemblance of such tents to waggon-tilts is frecjucntly
noticed. Cf. the description of a tent in an article in the Ghrislian G'uitrdiaii for
1812 (p. 100): — 'These tents are formed by fastening wooden hoop.'; into the
ground, and then covering them with blankets, so that they resemble the tilt of a
waggon ; they are open at one end from the wind, and which can be closed by a
kind of curtain' ; or that in An Arlint's /'nnini^anceo by W. Crane (London, 1907,
pp. 11-12) of encampments at Newton Abbott, ci/ra IS.'iO: — 'Low-pitched, semi-
circular, arched tents, canvas over hooped sticks, somewhat like the tilts of
waggons.' The 'beehive' tent is less frequently described; cf, however, the
following description of two kinds of tents at Hogdiggen-corner between St. Mary
Bourne and Whitchurch, Hants, circa 1840, 'one circular with a semi-elliptical
entrance-hole,' the other long enough to lie down in (J. Stevens, A Parochial
History of St. Mary Bourne, London, 1888, p, 32).
t
THE NORWOOD GYPSIES AND THEIR VOCABULARY 149
walls and beneath a roof than their descendants would have one
believe. Barns, outhouses, and hovels sheltered them during their
travels in the summer and sometimes in the Avinter. For early
days Groome quotes a reference to their meeting in Somersetshire in
' a great hay house ' ; to which may be added Decker's testimony
in 1G09 to their lodging in the ' Out-barnes of Farmers.'^ The Gypsies
in the Canning case move from one lodging in house or hovel to
another; so apparently did a much earlier band, who passed
through Norwich in 1544.- On Jan. 14, 1G99, 'James Young
the Son of James Young and Elizabeth his wife, travellers (shee
lay** in at Honor- Inn barne in her necessity),' was baptized at Great
Hampden, Bucks.^ On May 23, 1693, 'a Travelling man, y' dyed
in Mr. Norden's barn' at Ongar, Essex> and on Feb. 8, 1748,
'John Smith, a traveller, who died in Mr. Martin's barn' at
Lewisham,^ were buried. These may, of course, have been gorgio
travellers; but no such doubt attaches to 'Sophia Boswell,
Boswell [sic!]\ d. of Abraham Boswell and Sarah his wife (travel-
ling Gipseys), born in a barn in North Lane, the parish of Westgate
Without,' and baptized at St. Peter's, Canterbury, Oct. 5, 1788;^
n»»r to Sarah Aycrs, ' otherwise Shooler, a Gipsey found dead in
Priler barn in Crafton Field 21 Feb.,' and buried Feb. 24, 1806
at Wing.^
1 1 is noticeable that all these cases except one apply to the
winter months. Against them I can only quote from registers one
in.stance of a traveller — an undoubted Gypsy on this occasion —
who disdained such a refuge : — ' Plato son of Peter Ov: Dorothy
Buckley, a gipsy. Born under the Hedge in Crafton Field in the
great Snow,' and christened at Wing, Bucks., on Feb. 9, 1772.^ If
^ Lanthomtand Candle Light (London, 1608), sig. G5 [ = G3] verso ; /. G. L. S.,
Old Series, iii. '248-50.
- J. G. L. S., iv. 159.
3 The. Parish Refjii,teri of Great Hampden. ... Ed. by E. A. Ebblewhite
^ Loudon, 188S), p. 34.
•» The Pai-ish Re'ji-'ler-: of Owjar, Essex. Privately printed for F. A. Crisp
(1886), p. 116.
^ The Rnjister . . . of Saint Mary, Lewisham. Ed. by L. L. Duncan (London,
1S91), p. 135.
« J. M. Cowper, The Booke of Regester of . . . St. Peter in Canterbury (Canter-
bury, 1SS8), p. G-2.
■ The Register of the Parish of Wing. . . . Transcribed by A. V. Woodman, pt. ii.
p. 279.
* Ibid., pt. ii. p. 210. A Peter Buckland, King of the Gypsies, is said to have
been buried in the chancel of Steeple Barton church in Oxfordshire in 1794, though
unfortunately I have not been able to verify the fact. He would probably be
identical -with the Peter Buckley here mentioned, though another Peter Buckland,
' a Gipsie,' was buried at Shipton-under-Wychwood, June 10, 1809.
150 THE NORWOOD GYPSIES AND THEIR VOCABULARY
tents were used in early days, registers join in the universal con-
spiracy to ignore them. The earliest instance known to me in
which one is mentioned in a register is in 1828: — John, son of
Edward and Jane Chariot. They were in a tent on the Hill.
Traveller,' baptized March 23, at Cowley, near Oxford. Compare
an entry among the baptisms in the Launton parish registers :
'1852, June 1st. Jane (daughter of) Susannah Wood, traveller,
Child born in parish in a camp on roadside. Single woman.' ^ The
Sprague-Bowers party, whose habits seem to have been more Gypsy-
like than their names or occupations, only erected a tent when they
could not get a lodging in a barn. The Wood family in their early
days in Wales used to beg lodgings in barns and other buildings.^
Some of Hoyland's friends, the Corders, had for three generations
allowed Gypsies to occupy such places on their farm ;^ and Crabb
speaks of Gypsies fifty years before the date of his work as often
staying for a month or two in farmers' l)arns.* In a play written
about that date one of the characters, on being asked if there were
not a good many Gypsies about, answers : ' I have a whole gang
of them here in our barn ; I have kept tliem about the place these
three months.' It must be admitted that he speaks of it as an
exceptional thing to do, and adds, ' Father is as mad with me
about it, as Old Scratch.' * During the winter months Lysons says
the Norwood colony mostly took to houses in London,*' like Bridget
and Lady Lincoln ; and the arrest of William and John Lee there
in 1796 supports the statement. Hoyland found them doing the
same thing. Three Gypsies were killed in the fall of a liovel in
which they were stopping at Hammersmith in October 1780.'
Nor did they live in this way only near London. A few words
recorded from a family living in Birmingham during the winter of
1811-12 will be mentioned later. That family used tents in the
^ For these two references I am indebted to the incumbents of Cowley and Laun-
ton, who kindly allowed me to search their registers for (iypsy baptisms and burials,
and to Mr. Atltinson, who as.sisted nie in searching them.
- Groome, p. 58. ^ Hoyland, p. 155.
•• J. Crabb, Theflipsieh' Advocate (London, 1831), p. 22.
^ The Maid of' the Mill, by Isaac Bickerstaffe, otii ed. (London, 1765), p. 21.
Elsewhere in the play they are described as ' skulking about from barn to barn, and
lying upon wet straw, on commons, and in green-lanes' (p. 59) ; and in a song by
one of the Gypsy characters occur the lines —
' Clean straw shall be our beds of down,
And our withdrawing room a barn ' (p. 64).
^ Lysons, op. cit. , vol. i. p. .302. Others, he adds, ' take up their abode in barns
in some of the more distant counties.'
' Jackson's Oxford Journal, October 21, 1780.
»
THE NORWOOD GYPSIES AND THEIR VOCABULARY 151
summer time ; but, when asked whether the women were
deHvered in their tents, they replied that they Avere not, but at
public-houses.^ Norwood's friend, Ned Buckland, had been a
house-dweller for many years in his youth;- and some of another
Ned Buckland's family had settled in Chipping Norton before
1822.^ Hoyland quotes statements applying to Cambridge and to
Northamptonshire, and William Bos, speaking for the Gypsies of
Norfolk and Sutlblk — which would probably include the Hearns,
Boswells or Bosses and Smiths of Borrovian fame — in 1822, said
that ' most of us " house" in winter.'*
That being the case, it is just possible that John and Matthew
iiock, who were arrested in a cottage at Norwood in January 1817,
on a charge of robbing a man on the highway between Sydenham
and Dulwich, were Gypsies.^ At any rate, Matthew^ was the
name of the grandfather of Esmeralda Lock, the wife of Hubert
iSraith and Groome; and though at the time of Matthew's birth
the family still passed under their original name of Boswell, not
under the alias of Lock by which they have generally been known
for the last century, that alias had already been adopted before
1817, as on October 24, 1815, ' Unity, second daughter of Henry
Locke, a gypsey,' was married at Chedworth, Gloucestershire, to a
' Mr. George Payne, late of Terrington.' Henry was father of
Matthew, and so little averse was he to house-dwellers that, though
the marriage took place in a ' Gypsey encampment,' he offered to
give a dowry of ' 500 guineas with each of his two unmarried
daughters, provided they marry men of good character, and
householders.''
It may seem improbable that the Locks, who now travel
mainly in and on the borders of Wales, especially North Wales,
should be found so far south as Norwood ; but within the memory
of the older living members of the family Gloucestershire, still the
habitat of Mairik Lock's descendants, was the home of all the
1 Christian Guardian, vol. v. (1813) pp. 412-14. Contrast the refusal of a Gypsy
woman, who had a son born in a tent under Leckhampton Hill in severe weather
in January 1S.30, to accept accommodation offered her in a room at Charlton Kings
on the ground that 'if she or any of her tribe were to be confined in a room, they
were sure to be unlucky ' (Jackson's Oxford Journal, February 6, 1830, from the
Chdtenham Chronicle). Does this indicate a difference in the characters of the two
bands of Gypsies, or a change of custom due to the development of better tents ?
- J. G. L. S., New Series, iii. 216. * /. O. L. S., Old Series, ii. 252.
* J. G. L. S., New Series, ii. 279. * The Times, Jan. 8, 1817.
^ S. B. James, ' English Gipsies ' (Cliurch of England Magazine, vol. 79, pp.
97-100).
' Jackson's Oxford Journal, Nov. 11, 1815.
152 THE NORWOOD GYPSIES AND THEIR VOCABULARY
family ; and it was not till after the middle of the last century
that Matthew and his descendants migrated, first to Shropshire,
where some may still be found, and then to North Wales as a
centre. One is more surprised to hear that one who may have been
akin to the Welsh Gypsy Woods was landlady of the Fountains
Inn at Southwark. But Mr. Thompson was assured by Saiki
Heron that it was kept, probably about 1790, by Wester Boswell's
grandmother, Cinderella Wood.
In 1827 the guests at the wedding of another house-dwelling
Gypsy, ' Miss Nancy Cooper, the celebrated beautiful Gipsy of
Hoop-cottage,' with Mr. William Sharpe, of Willow-cottage,
were sumptuously entertained at the Gipsy House after the wed-
ding ceremony at St. Luke's. Norwood. ' If the entertainment,
the liberal gratuities to the officiating parties, the splendid habili-
ments of the nut-brown lass (white satin, lace, etc.), and the
bridal favours displayed by the numerous group in the shape
of white gloves and ribands, may be taken as earnest of the
dower the bride is said to have received, it must pertain to some-
thing considerable.' ^
It would seem that in spite of enclosures and of prosecutions
Norwood was still sufficiently well known to make it a profitable
residence for Gypsies up to about 1830 ; but thereafter one hears
little of it. About that date an attempt was made to turn Nor-
wood into a health resort: and building began there. The Beulah
Spa Gardens were opened in 1831 and a Guide to the Beulah Spa,
published seven years later, refers to them as ' the sole remaining
vestige of the former haunts of the gypsies.' = This they were in
more senses than one, since ' an old Avoman, the mother, I believe,
of Gipsy Cooper, of pugilistic renown, was for many years allowed
to pretend to reveal the fortune of all inquirers who crossed her
palm with a piece of silver in the Beulah Spa Gardens.' ^ And even
as late as 1876 some Gypsies still ren)ained in the neighbourhood,
as the inhabitants of Dulwich were annoyed by the presence of
one or two hundred of them on a field purchased by a 'gipsy
capitalist' ; * and in 1878 there was a quarrel at Christmas between
a large party of Gypsies occupying a piece of land called The
Freehold at Penge.'
1 The Times, Sept. 1, 1827. ^ Galer. op. cit., p. 14.
3 Frost, op. cit., p. 4. Jack Cooper's mother was Truffeni Lovell : cf. Borrow,
LaTO-Li7 (London, 1907). p. 6.3.
* The Builder, Nov. 11, 1876. ' Tht Times. Dec. 30, 1878.
the norwood gypsies and their vocabulary 153
Hoyland's Vocabulary
Hoyland's contribution to the knowledge of English Romaiii
consisted of two short lists obtained for him by others: for though,
when he visited Uriah Lovell's family, they were ' greatly delighted
at meeting with a person, acquainted, as they thought, with their
language, and were remarkably free in speaking it,' Hoyland
himself does not seem to have made any attempt at recording
what they said. Indeed, his only personal contribution consists of
two words, sonnaka and roop (p. 179), obtained from some Stafford-
shire Gypsies camping near Dagenham in Essex, who, though
they promised to tell him anything he wished to know, did not
explain their well-known pseudonym, Corrie,^ to him.
Though he was too bashful to take advantage of his oppor-
tunities of collecting words, and, in spite of knowing of Marsden's
and Bryant's vocabularies, still wished to do something to com-
pare Knglish Komani with that of Grellmann, he sent a list of
words to James Corder, the son of the obliging grocer who had
introduced him to Uriah Lovell. The list presumably consisted
solely of English words, as he adds that the recorder did not know
of Grellmann's work. One form however, sonnekar instead of the
usual soiidkai, suggests that he may have mentioned to Corder
this — one of the only two words he had recorded himself in what
amounts to the same form, sonnaka.
Corder obtained his words from some of the Gypsies living in
London — presumably from some of the Lovells mentioned on pp.
184-0 of Hoyland's work; and it seems probable that Hoyland's
other co-operator, Robert Forster of Tottenham, recorded the few
words he contributed from some of the same family, especially as
they both have the remarkable form tal for tatto, hot. Not that that
is strong evidence, as one can hardly attribute such an absurd form
to any Gypsy, and it is more likely to have arisen from co-
operation between the two workers. Hoyland's associates were
not expert at hearing or recording words. For example s is
represented by sh (shil), by rh {charro), and by che (dyche), the two
latter presumably being due to a delusion on Corder's part that
all tongues except English used French spelling, i as usual is
* Harman's ' Core the cuckold ' maj- perhaps be worth mentioning in this con-
nection. Corry, Corrie, or Currie, is however an Irish name, and therefore might
possibly be the actual name of travellers. But — so far as I am aware — there is no
evidence that it is or ever has been.
154 THE NORWOOD GYPSIES AND THEIR VOCABULARY
represented by ee, i% in a monosyllable by a redundant e at the
end of the word {rupe), elsewhere by ou and ew (joukal.jewcal)
and by simple u (duee); a by au, or, and in one case by o {hdlo=
halo) ; while conversely o is represented by an {maurau, parnau).
This last o would seem to have been of the low-back-narrow-
round variety, which was used occasionally by the Coppersmiths ^
— sometimes, unless my memory misleads me, in final syllables as
here, e.g. in the name WorSo.
I have combined the two short lists in one, leaving unmarked
the words which occur only in Corder's longer list ; and marking
Corder's form with (C.) and Forster's with (F.) when the same
word occurs in both vocabularies : and in Forster's case I have
marked similarly the few words that he alone records : —
bdlo, hair. This extraordinary form must represent the plural
bald. But the turning of a short (t into d is most unusual,
especially as it would cause a confusion of this word with
the next but one. < f Marsden's bokni.
holko, sheep. A strange form due to substitution of I for r and
metathesis of the two consonants.
borlo [ = bdlo\ hog.
charro, head. Presumably pronounced ^aro, or perhaps §,yro.
Cf. dyche [ = dU\ jewcal [ =j ukal].
dewes (C), deues {¥.), day, in shill-deuea, cold day; du (¥.), in
taldu, hot day. See under tal. ( "f Marsden's dewas.
duee [ = d'di], two.
dyche, ten. Presumal)ly pronounced dU. Cf. charro.
grarre (C), gur (F.), horse. Both these forms of grai seem to l>e
caused by the pronunciation of a real — and in the first case
a very forcibly pronounced — r, which so surprised its
hearers that they heard nothing else except the initial g.
jewcal (F.), [=jld•^l], juhou (C), [=jiiku\ dog. I cannot find
the form jukiX recorded elsewhere, though a shorter form
juk is to be found in S. and C, and is heard occasionally,
especially from po^-raU. Final i\ for ordinary o is heard
sporadically in England, but most frequently among Eng-
lish Gypsies who travel or have travelled in Wales, and
among these most of the Lovells who remain in England
may be counted.
kare [ = kair\ house.
kau, ear. A misprint for kan.
1 J. G. L. S., vii. 123.
THE NORWOOD GYPSIES AND THEIR VOCABULARY 155
kit, butter, in Jdl-mor (C), kil-maurau (¥.),[ = kil-indro],hTesid
and butter.
livenar {¥.), limhar (C), beer. The latter form is probably due
to a mixture of indistinct pronunciation and mishearing.
mauraiL (F.), Tnor (C), \^ = 7ndro], bread. See kil.
niarcho, fish. Apparently pronounced mOxo, though the a is
usually, if not always, short.
moila, ass (F.).
nack, nose. Nearer the Continental Gypsy ndk than the ordinary
English Gypsy form nok.
pan, tive. A mistake for jMnj.
I'iLrnee [=pdni], water.
paniau, white. Again more correct than the normal English
form porno,
raut, night. Normally rati in English Romani, and surprising
here, since in parnau, nack the usual change of a io d
does not occur. Cf. Marsden's rautee.
rupe [ = rdp], silver.
Sei'o, see charro.
shil, cold. Substantive misused as an Adjective in shil-dewes
(C.) and sli ill-deue.s (F.), cold day.
>iinekar, gold. Normally sonekai; but cf Hoyland's sonnaka
(p. 179).
stor, four.
tal, hot, in tal-dewea (C.) and taldu, (F.), hot day ; unless in the
latter case taldu is a mishearing for tato, the proper form
of the word. The form tal is senseless and unexampled.
It suggests co-operation between Forster and Corder, one of
them, who wrote t like I, passing his list to the other.
trin, three.
yake, one. Apparently xjik instead of the ordinary yek.
At the end of Forster 's list Hoyland adds four words, or rather
five (as one is a compound word), printed ' in the conversa-
tion a clergyman had with the Bosswell gang, as published in the
Christian Guardian for 1812 and 1813.' The words are : —
chum, sun [ = kam, confused with the next word].
chilli, moon [misprint for chun\
kcd-mdro, bread and butter. [Really ' cheese and bread,' unless
kal is a mishearing of kil. Note nidro with the correct
foreign a, not (^, as is usual.]
livina, drink.
156 THE NORWOOD GYPSIES AND THEIR VOCABULARY
Unfortunately I have not been able to verify this list, as 1
cannot find it in the Christian Guardian for 1812, and have not
seen the volume for 1813.1 But in the volume for 1812 (pp. 98-101)
there is an interview by a curate, v/ho signs himself ' A Clown,'
with some Gypsies who settled in Birmingham in the winter; and
that interview contains also four Romani words, though they were
referred to as ' cant ' by the Gypsies : —
kal, cheese.
mauro, bread.
llvtnd, drink.
rashe, parson.
The name of the Gypsies is not stated, but, as Birmingham
has for many years been a centre for Smiths, it would at tirst sight
seem probable that they belonged to that clan rather than to ' the
Bosswell gang,' by which Hoyland probably meant the Derbyshire
Boswells, who are mentioned under the same name on pp. 181-2 of
his book, especially as the two parties ditt'ered in their trades.
The 'Clown's' Gypsies were tinkers, fiddlers, and tambourine-
players, and they also harvested and gathered hops ; whereas
' Bosvile's gang,' a few years later, professed to be knife-grinders,
chair-bottomers, and china-menders.- However, the Boswells
were not unknown in Birmingham and its neighbourhood, as
Riley Boswell wintered there on at least one occasion,^ and some
of the Boswells married into a Warwickshire Burkland family.
And when one finds that the ' Captain ' Bosvile mentioned in Tlte
Gypsies, like the grandson of the i)arty met some ten years before
by 'A Clown,' had a wife who could read, and that her stock of
literature consisted of a ' frairment of an old Testament and an old
Spelling Book,' which were precisely the two things that were '
given by the 'Clown' to the woman who could read, it seems
likely that the two parties were identical. That woman had been
in service in a farmer's family, and was probably a gorgio, as the
family admitted that they intermarried with gorgios as well as
with Gypsies.* Though this party certainly cannot be counted as
' Vide note 4 below.
"^ Cf. The Gypsies by 'a clergyman of the Church of Knglaixl " (York, 1S22),
p. 21 ; or, as the tract is, I believe, rare, the quotations from it iii Crabb's Gipsies'
Advocate (1831), p. 134, or in S. Roberts' C.»//w»€« (1836), p. 90.
' Roberts, p. 63.
* Since writing the above I have seen a copj- of the ChriMian Guardian for 1813,
and find that it contains a supplementary article by the same writer (vol. v.
pp. 412-14). The only Romani worde in it are chvm, sun : chun, moon ; hal mard,
bread and butter ; so Hoyland's list combines the words given in the two articles,
THE NORWOOD GYPSIES AND THEIR VOCABULARY 157
Norwood Gypsies, it may be noticed that the ' Clown ' asked
whether they had been there, and they answered, ' We were there
once. There is an inn there called the Gyptian Inn. The qual'ty
visited us on a Sunday in their carriages ' (p. 99).
Intermarriage with gorgios at this date, or at any other, as I
have argued elsewhere,^ need not surprise any one ; but one is a
little surprised to hear Gypsies of a hundred years ago — the days
of open commons and free camping-grounds, of which the older
living Gypsies talk wistfully — answermg a question as to whether
there were many Gypsies in Birmingham, with the modern
complaint, " Formerly there were. At present there are but
few, owing to so many inclosures.' It would seem, however, from
the dates of the enclosure of the commons at Norwood and Dul-
wich, that such enclosures had already begun.
Copsey's Vocabul.\ry
As has already been mentioned, Copsey obtained his list of words
from a Gypsy named Joseph Lovell, presumably at or near Brain-
tree, as his letter to the Montldt/ Magazine is addressed from that
place. Joseph ho describes as a man of about 60, and the family
onsistcd of him, his wife, a daughter aged 18, and a boy belong-
ing to another family. They were encamped in a tent ' which
would not have protected them from a smart shower of rain,' which
may be evidence of the flimsy character of the summer shelters of
Gypsies at that date, who were accustomed, as this party was, to
spending the winter months from the beginning of November to
the end of March in houses in London. On the other hand, as
Gypsy tents are often deceptive in their appearance, it may only
show Copsey's inexperience of their quality. The family had
spent the whole summer of 1818 in Essex, meeting, they said,
only three or four travelling companies of other Gypsies during
the season ; and the previous summer they had travelled in the
, West of England.
' They denied practising fortune telling ; but the old woman
had too much the appearance of a sibyl to countenance such an
misprinting chun and omitting mshe. In this second article the Gypsies are
described as 'the Bosswel Gang ' ; and the sister-in-law of the woman who could
read had a child baptized by the Clown with the name Sportcella, which they
declared was a "Scripture name.' The women said they disliked Gypsy life, and
one of them had married a small tradesman in London about a year earlier, and
-till lived there. Mr. Thompson suggests that Sportcella may be Spoti, daughter
of Peter and Waiui Boss.
1 J. G. L. S., vi. 335.
158 THE NORWOOD GYPSIES AND THEIR VOCABULARY
assertion.' They also denied eating mulo mas, and asserted that
they married in church and buried in consecrated ground ; which
last assertion was no doubt true, though one may have more
doubt about the others. The girl had been to school in London,
and had been taught to write ; but the old people were (naturally)
illiterate. They readily communicated all the information Copsey
requested, and he put them through a catechism consisting of
Hoyland's words, and found they knew nearly all of them. But
he seems to have aimed at adding to the list rather than revising
it. Only six of Hoyland's words occur in Copsey, and though two
of these — gri and rattee — may have been corrections of Hoyland's
forms, they were more probably volunteered by the Gypsies after-
wards, as no alternative for the absurd fal (hot) is given.
Of his own spelling Copsey says : ' I am aware that my mode
of spelling the words is open to much dispute and objection ; I
have endeavoured to choose such combinations of letters as servo
to express, as nearly as possible, the sounds pronounced by the
gipsies. In the phrases, I could not exactly discover the separate
words of which they were composed, as these persons uttered
them with great rapidity, and were unable to give me any infor-
mation on this point.' One inay doubt the inability of the Gypsies
to separate one word from another, if they had wished to; but I
fear there is no doubt at all that Copsey 's method of spelling, like
that employed by most, if not all, the pioneers of Gypsy lore, is
open to much objection. Of course he employs the usual double
vowels, e.g. aa (=d), ee ( = f), and oo\ but the latter seems to
represent two sounds, the long o in dooster ( = d6sta) and 4 in mooi
and probably in all other cases, while a is possibly represented by
ah in the first syllable of ahicah as well as by aa : il is also repre-
sented by 6e in doe. There may be a subtle distinction between
00, 00, and o6, all of which are used : but it is improbable.
d is represented by aiv {jaw) and or (jortookee). The kh in
chaokhor may represent x^ ^^'^ so apparently must the rh in
chorhor (cf the Northumbrian r). /«,when it occurs after final a,
even when the a is not long, and the e in naave, are obviously
redundant.
Besides Copsey's oddities in spelling, it may be well to note
one peculiarity of pronunciation used by his Gypsies. They
confused r and /, especially in the termination of the third person
singular of the present tense. With the correct forms dellah
( = dela) and kannella ( = kanela), one finds jara for jala, and the
THE NORWOOD GYPSIES AND THEIR VOCABULARY 159
Stranger forms poorah, ' it blows/ and hilarrah, ' kettle ' (a mistake
for ' it boils '). In the two latter cases there has been a shifting
of the accent which has caused further corruption. The steps
seem to hQ pudela> pi%dera> pudra> pura \ bilarela>hilarera>
bildrera > hildrra.
From these instances it will be seen that the third person
singular of the present tense was in frequent use among these
Gypsies. The first person occurs in an abbreviated form in savdh
(^ = suvd) and in jau\ the second in jasha. Of the auxiliary
verb the first person occurs four times as shum. the second once
as shin, and once by mishearing as sutyi for san. The second
person plural of the past tense is also represented by veean.
Considering how few sentences Copsey obtained, it would seem
that verbal intlexions were used fairly regularly and correctly by
this family.
Of nominal infiexions the only examples worth noting are the
use of a vocative singular, ^ja/ia {=pala) and peniiah {=pena), and
the instrumental plural, deverusa { = develesa). The two vocatives
occur in the list of words as though they were nominatives; but
this is probably due to a mistake on Copsej'^s part. In the
sentence sarsum judlah the first is used correctly, and it is quite
possible that he obtained the second by asking how they would
address a woman. Here again the paucity of material makes it
uncertain how ' deep ' the Gypsies were ; but they seem to have
been quite up to the average as regards inflexions when compared
with other early lists.
The list consists of forty-three words and seventeen phrases or
sentences. The latter I propose to print first in their original
form ; and then a list of words in alphabetical order, including
both the words in Copsey's list and those in the phrases, with
remarks when necessary.
Sentences
1. nah falee shum — I am sick. [ = ndfcdi i'wm.]
2. jortookee — I walk, or am going away. [ =jd tuki,'go' (imp.),]
3. kdzo hobben ^ — good food.
4. sdrsuvi pdllah ? — How do you do, brother?
5. very dooster shum — very well.
^ This occurs in the list of words, not in the phrases. But, as the single word
praastr occurs among the phrases, I have replaced the one by the other.
160 THE XORWOOD GYPSIES AND THEIR VOCABULARY
6. pen your naavel — What is your name? [Tell your name.]
7. how doevee dnkee deviis 1 — How far have you travelled
to-day ? [ = how ditr vidn ke-diviis ?]
8. gri jaramlshts — The horse trots well. [=gr<:iijala miSto.]
9. kyshinJca jdsha kdta devus ? — Whither are you going to-
day ? [kai San kaJdSa kdta diviis.]
10. I go kdta kongrie — I go to church.
11. hdval poorah shil — The wind blows cold.
12. bokolo shum — I am hungr}'.
13. Jina deviis — Fine weather.
14. shillaUe devus — Bad weather,
15. hlshenoo delldh — It rains.
16. sootee shum, iniissa jaw savdh — I am sleepy, and must go
to bed.
17. ah deveriisa — Farewell. [The word ' ah ' is omitted in
Axon's reprint of the Vocabulary.]
Vocabulary
ah, in ah deveriisa, farewell. Sent. 17. Probably a mishearing
of jCi deveresa {^=jd develesa], go with God, a farewell greeting
to a departing person, rather than a^ dcvelesa, the departing
person's farewell to those who remain. Cf, J. G. L. S., Old
Series, iii. 75, where both expressions are recorded from
Philip Murray, who, however, did not understand them ;
Bright, Travels in Hungary, Appendix, p. Ixxix., AcJie mai
deviel, 'May God bless you'; and Crabb, Gipsies' Advocate
(1831), p. 127, Artmee Devillesty [ = ast^ mi develesti, a mis-
take for develesa] from William Stanley, who regarded it as .
an obsolete expression.
ahivah [ = diva\ yes.
ankee, see av- and ke.
[av-], come, veedn [ = vidn], have you come. Sent. 7.
bdngaree, waistcoat.
bdval, wind. Sent. 11.
bildrrah, kettle, = bilarela, ' it boils,' as explained above. Groome
{In Gipsy Tents, p. 83) takes this word as English 'biler' =
' boiler.' But this would leave the last syllable unaccounted
for ; and the parallel corruptions cited above leave no doubt
^ art seems more easily explained as a misprint for nsf, which is still in use in
Welsh Romani (cf. J. G. L. S., viii. 94), than as a mistake for ar.
THE NORWOOD GYPSIES AND THEIR VOCABULARY 161
that it is the third person singular present indicative of the
verb bil-,^ 'melt' (which is used by Greek, Rumanian, and
Hungarian Gypsies ; of. Miklosich, vii. 22), with the suffix -yar
or -tfr added, as in most English Romani verbs, even when
they have not a causative sense.
A more corrupt form is found in Lcland's Englisli Gipsy
Songs, p. 253, buller, to boil, bullerin, boiling, and in Way's
No. 747 (p. GH), bullerin.
Probably the mistake as to the meaning^ was due to
Copsey, both in this case and in the similar mistake,
kannella, ' bad food.' But it is perhaps worth pomting out
that exact parallels for the misuse of the same verbal form
for a substantive do occur among Gypsies and travellers
nowadays, e.g. rokerela, 'conversation,' heard from Mrs.
Cosby, a daughter of Spencer Draper ; brUinela, ' rain,' from
Esmeralda and Joe Lock. An even closer parallel, since the
meaning is the same as that assigned to billarrah by Copsey,
is a word I heard tirst from some of Dosi Gaskin's wild
brood in the form singwela, which can hardly be anything
but s'lngavela (from English 'sing'), and afterwards in a
curious back-slang form, traUingd, from Tom Porter, a gorgio
traveller's boy, who said he had picked up the word from
Hampshire travellers.
binhenoo, rain. Sent. 15.
bdkolo, hungry. Sent. 12.
hoolingorcf, breeches.
bdshtn, saddle.
chdavo, boy. The long a is unusual.
^ chaokhor, coat. Presumably 6>x<J^.
chug, girl. Presumably pronounced cai, not ^e, in spite of the
spelling, as ce is unexampled in England.
chokenee, whip. Usually cdkni.
chooree, knife.
chorhor, shoes. Presumably an attempt at writing cO')((l.
chorrov, plate or dish.
\da-\ give, delldh, Sent. 15, in bishenoo delldh (bisenu deld),
'it gives rain,' the usual phrase for 'it is raining' among
foreign Gypsies, but only recorded from English Gypsies by
Bright (p. Ixxxix., dalo breschen), whose vocabulary was also
obtained from Norwood Gypsies at much the same date as
' A shortened form of hHav-, for wyii(;h see ./. G. L. S., viii. 87.
VOL. IX. — XO.S. IlL-IV. L
162 THE NORWOOD GYPSIES AND THEIR VOCABULARY
Copsey's. Cf., however, a modern form, 'it's delin' binsin,
which I have heard from Geors^e (alias Tiiriits) Green, whose
' old people ' on his mother's side said they were Lovells,
though their name for some generations has been Smith.
[devel, God], devenisa (instrumental case). Sent. 17.
deviis, day.
doe { = dur), far. Sent. 7.
dooster ( = ddsta), well. Sent. 5, 'very dooster sJium' an answer
to the preceding question sarsiim, pallah {=sar san, pala).
It is hardly conceivable that the Lovells can have used
dooster in the sense of 'well,' especially as mUto occurs in
another sentence. Probably they gave Copsey the answer
oniSto dosta — usually given even now by elderly (iypsies;
and Copsey in recording it omitted mi.Uo and inserted in its
place ' very,' given as the meaning of dosta.
falde. See nah falee.
Jina, fine. Sent. 13. An English loan-word found in many of the
older vocabularies, but very seldom used now.
fjdodloo, sugar.
gri (=grni), horse.
hobhen, food.
hoovelah, stockings. The normal English Romani form is olivas.
For the metathesis of the two consonants cf. Leland, English
Gypsies,-^. 1^5, hovcdos; and for the incipient h, which is
probably a relic of the original ^, cf. also Bright, p. Ixxxii..
hoJowai, breeches ; holove, hole/, stockings ; Harriott.
./. G. L. S., iv. 10, holarea and the form honlavers jjiven
in S. and C, s.v. olavas.
hormiiigoree {=hdmengri), iork. The word does not seem to be
recorded in this sense elsewhere.
[is-], to be. shum, I am, Sent. 1, 5, 12, 13; shin, are you. Sent. 9 ;
suvi ( = san), are you, Sent. 4.
[ja-], go. mussa jaw, I must go. Sent. 16; jdsha, are 3'ou going,
Sent. 9 ; jara ( =Jala), it goes, Sent. 2 ; jortookee ( =jd tuki), •
go (imperative), mistranslated 'walk.'
ka, that (?). Sent. 9, Kysh'inka jasha =kai san kajaslia, 'where
are you that you are going' — a strange expression for
' where is it that you are going,' unless the Gypsies altered
Kai sanjaslng into the more correct kaijasa, and Copsey
recorded a mixture of the two alternatives. Cf., however,
J^orrow Lavo-Lil, p. 5. 'Necessity is expressed by the
THE NORWOOD GYPSIES AND THEIR VOCABULARY 163
impersonal verb and the conjunction "that" . . . shan te
jdllan, they are that they go.'
kair ( =ker), house.
kdt'i, to (prep.). I go kata kongree, Sent. 10. Also strangely used
in Sent. 9 to render the ' to ' in ' to-day ' — kata devus, unless
in this case it is the pronoun, which is found in the Eastern
European group of dialects as kadava, kado, ' this,' which
seems unlikely.
For the preposition cf. ./. G. L. S., New Series, iii, 222 :
i.\. 179 ; and Way, No. 7^7, p. 42.
kannella, bad food =kanela, ' it stinks,' as pointed out by Groome
{In Gipsy Ttnts, p. 83) and Sampson (,/. G. L. S., New
Series, i. 185).
kee {=ke) in kee devus, to-day, Sent. 7. Usually explained as a
shortened form of a^-a, this; cf. Bright, p. Ixxviii., Chericloi,
givella, ako dives. But the use of kafa devus above suggests
that ke- in ke-dicus. like te in te-diuus, may be simply a
preposition translating the English ' to.' Bright, it may be
I, observed, gives an alternative form of the phrase quoted
I above — Chericlo give to dives.
kit, butter.
kongree, church.
koshdw, wood. Plural for singular (kos), with the final t omitted,
as is not infrequently the case.
kozo, good. Sent. 3. An unparalleled form of the English Komani
^ kuMo, kosto, ko.sko. Possibly the z should be pronounced ts
as in German, in which case this form would be nearer to
the foreign Romani kutS than the ordinary form, in which
the t and ^• have been transposed.
ky (=zkai), where, whither. Sent. 9.
inooi, face.
niislds, well. Sent. 4. A misprint for mishto.
moomler, candle.
moamlingoree, candlestick. Dr. Sampson has pointed out that
this is unrecorded otherwise in England, and quotes
Liebich for momelinengero {J. G. L. S., New Series, i. 185).
moosh, man.
mootamongree, tea. Generally mutamongri, not mutamongri as
here.
ononishce, woman. A corrupt form of monishni, which, though
not recorded in S. and C, still exists.
164 THE NORWOOD GYPSIES AND THEIU V(3CABULARV
rmissa, it is necessary. Sent. 16, imissa jaw savah = mu88a [te]jd
[te] suvd. I cannot find any printed instance of this use in
English Roraani : hut viiis te lei has been recorded from
Kadilia Brown. It is not the English ' must,' but a Slavonic
loan-word (cf. Mik., v. p. 40).
naave {=n(lu), name. Sent. 6. Usually pronounced nav.
nah, no.
nah falee ( = ndfali), ill.
pdilah (=pala), brother. On the list as though nominative, but
correctly used as vocative in Sent. 4, from which it may
have been transferred to the list.
Ijdwnee ( =pdni), water. This pronunciation of the word, though
found in most vocabularies, is seldom, if ever, used now.
pen, tell (imperative). Sent. 6, mistranslated ' what is.'
pennah (=pena), sister (vocative). Possibly given correctly as an
alternative for pallali in Sent. 4, though recorded in the
list as though nominative.
pero, foot. An unusual pronunciation of piro, unless e stands
for I, not merely for accented e as in Icannella.
[poodr^], blow. Sent. 11, poorah = pi%ddn, v. supra.
praaser, I run, =prdster, to run. The omission of the t is
unusual.
rdttce, night. Usually rati, not rati, which is presumably implied
by the double t.
rotsch, spoon. Tills interesting form of roi should probably be
regarded as a misprint either for roitsch or for roisch. In
any case the ending is the diminutive suthx -iSa, foun<l in
English Romani also in the word hokoco, hokaSa, and
possibly in a form recorded by Miss Gillington in the New
Forest, kussnitch for kusni. Cf Philij) Murray's form ruix
(J. G. L. S., Old Series, iii. 78), which is found also in
(ierman Romani (Liebich, Die Zigcuner, p. 156 (roich);
and Pott, ii. 268).
sar, how. Sent. 4, sar surti ( =8ar san).
savdh, see suv.
shil, cold, in ' the wind blows cold.' Sent. 1 1.
shillalee, cold (adj.). Sent. 14.
shin, see is.
shuTTi, see is.
sootee, sleepy. Sent. 16.
stddee, hat.
bricht's anglo-komani vocahulaky 165
autn, see is.
[suv-], sleep. Sent. 16, suvah =suvd, a shortened lorin of suvdva.
siueglah, pipe.
[<ft], you. taki {dii.ti\e) in jortookee.
(ooroloo, tobacco.
vast, hand,
tire.
^ yog.
I
IV.— BRIGHT'S ANGLO-ROMANI VOCABULARY
By Alexander Russkll
IN these days of book-makin^j^ it is surprising that no one has
reprinted chapter xi. of Richard Bright's Travels from Vienna
through Lower Hunjary (1818), for these pages 519-544 and the
Appendix,' written by a friend' on the 'State of the Gypsies in Spain,
1817,' contain more valuable inforn)ation than any other English
books on the subject, till we come to the time of Borrow. Grell-
mann's work first gave Bright an interest in Gypsies, and ' when he
found himself surrounded by these people in Hungary, he was
naturally led to inquire into their habits and condition.' It is to be
regretted that his modesty made him abandon, on the appearance
of Hoyland's book, his project of investigating the subject, for he
had more understanding of the Gypsy character than had the
Yorkshire Quaker, and he was singularly I'ree from that attitude
of mind, common to Hoyland, Crabb, Baird, and Roberts, which
would lose a friend to save a soul, forgetting, as a great living
essayist has said, ' that souls are many and friends are few.'
Bright's sympathy with the race is shown in that noble
passage quoted by Groome,^ the echo of which we hear again in
Smart and Crofton's introduction to their Dialect of the English
Gypsies. His remarks on the dithculty of collecting the language
and on its value for light on the origin and history of the race
show equal wisdom and clear-sightedness. 'No one who has not
had experience can well conceive the difficulty of gaining intel-
ligible information from people so rude, upon the subject of their
language. We all know how difficult it is to translate literally
from one language into another ; but with these people, who have
never weighed the import of a single Avord, and scarcely know
1 In Gipsy Tenia, p. 226.
166 BRIGHT's ANGLO-ROM ANI VOCABULARY
how to divide their phrases into words, it is laborious, and
almost impossible. If you ask for a word, they give you a whole
sentence ; and on asking a second time, they give the sentence a
totally different turn, or introduce some figure altogether new.
Thus it was with our gypsey, who at length, tired of our questions,
prayed most piteously to be released, which we granted him, only
on condition of his returning in the evening ; and it will be seen,
by the shortness of the vocabulary which is preserved in the
Appendix, how little, by our exertions, in five hours, we were
enabled to extract from him.'
His remarks on the language as a proof of the common origin
of speakers of Romani are also worth quoting : — ' The identity of
this people in the difterent countries of Europe is so obvious, from
a comparison of their manners, that on this alone we might rest
our conviction of their common origin. Tlieir peculiar cast of
countenance, their complexion, their gay and cheerful turn of
mind, their bodily agility, are all distinctly marked, and specifi-
cally mentioned by difterent travellers who have met with them
in distant regions. But the great confirmation and completion
of the argument lies in the similarity of their language. That a
race of beings, in the lowest degree of civilisation, who, for four
centuries, have been wandering about in every part of Europe,
acquiring the language of every country which they have fre-
quented, and claiming no country of their own, should have lost
their original language altogether, would not be a matter of
astonishment. That they should have retained their peculiar
language would have been little less than miraculous; if, there-
fore, we can trace but a few words, common to the whole race in
every country, and which have no aflfinity to the language of any
nation inhabited by them at present, we are led irresistibly to the
conclusion, that they are derived from a common source. This
fact has been established by former writers, and the result of my
inquiries can only be considered as an additional evidence in its
favour. Having collected a few words from the Cyganis, in the
south of Hungary, I lost no time, on my return to England, in
seeking out a family of gypsies at Norwood. I commenced my
inquiries, without much expectation of success; but my doubts
were immediately dispelled, and almost every word which I could
recall, was at once recognised by the first gypsies I accosted.
To find, crouched beneath a hedge at Norwood, a family who
expressed their ideas in the same words as those with whom I
rright's anglo-romaxi vocabulary 167
liad conversed but a few weeks before, in the most distant corner
of Europe, and having no relation whatsoever to the languages of
the countries in which they were respectively settled, gave rise to
ii singular train of feelings, and to a confirmed conviction in the
fact, that they had been derived from one common stock. The
specimens of the language which I have obtained from Spain are
not so satisfactory upon this point ; yet the perfect accordance
which will be seen in a few cases, such as dog, bread, wine, an
old man, water, child, the nostrils, the mouth, and some others,
appear to nie so convincing, that the circumstance scarcely
admits of any other solution ; and it must always be remembered,
that the situation of the Gitano of Spain is infinitely more
exposed to that intercourse with the people of the country, which
must be instrumental in contaminating their language, as well
as their character, than either the Gypsey of England, or the
Hungarian Cygani.'
He anticipates the theory worked out by Miklosich : ' Vocabu-
laries formed of the gypsey languages, used among their different
tribes, might probably throw much light upon the era in which
these people quitted the east, and even on the route by which
they entered Europe ' ; though he does not avoid the error, very
disastrous in this connection, of suggesting to his Enghsh Gypsies
words which he had learned in Hungary, and of taking for granted
that they were Anglo-Romani also, if his hearers said they knew
them.
Bright's list is important also because it contains sentences as
well as single words, and so preserves grammatical forms and
infiexions all too rarely recorded for Anglo-Romani. To save
space and for convenience of reference, these sentences are here
gathered together and given numbers, by which they will be
referred to in the Vocabulary.
1. me oium, boot, mauro ' I eat much bread.'
[me hawom ^ hiU mawro I ate much bread.]
2. du, chi, oias, boot Jcal ' thou, wife, eatest much cheese.'
[t^ii, — tshai hau'as but leal thou — the girl ate much cheese.]
3. jov ne oila, kek, kill ' he eats no butter.'
[yov ne haivla kek kil he eats no butter.]
4. soimende, oaim, jan^oi ' we all of us eat eggs.'
[saw mende haivam yaraw we all ate eggs.]
' See footnote to ha- in Vocabulary.
168 bright's anglo-uomani vocabulary
5. jov soimende oias macho (or) machai (pi.) ' ye all of you eat fish.'
[yov (saw inende) hawas mafsho {matshe) he (we all) ate fish
(fishes).]
6. kek, da oitnas, bitta, haben, salco, devis 'I shall eat no food
to-day, lit. not, shall eat, little, food, all this day.'
[kek na hawvias bita haben sa'ko dives I had not eaten a
bit of food all day.] ^
7. oisa du, kosliko haben, akai, rat ' thou wilt eat a good supper
to-niffht, lit. thou wiltst eat a »ood food this nijrht.'
[hawsa du koshko haben ake rat wilt thou eat good food this
night ?]
8. jov oila, Cidlako, haben ' 1 will eat breakfast to-morrow, lit.
you will eat, to-morrow, food.'
[yov haivla ladako haben he will eat food to-morrow.]
9. soimende, oissa, schach ' we will eat cabbage, lit. all of us. we
will eat, cabbage.'
[saw mende hawsa sha^ we all shall eat cabbage.]
10. jov emenga, keti, varingera ' I go to the fair, lit. I go, to, the
fair.'
[dzhova vienga keti varingera I go me to tlio lair.] ^
11. chericlo give to dives (or) cheridoi, givella, ako dives ' tho
birds sing to-day, lit. the birds sing this day.'
[tsheriklo giv to-dives (or) tsheriklaw givela [givena] ako dives
the bird sings to-day (or) the birds sing this day.]
12. sesso dove, kere, jekos 'was that once a house, lit. was that,
a house once.'
[ses odova ki'r yekos was that a house once ?]
13. bisto dikclo temn akonan ' the country looks well now, lit.
well, looks, country, now.'
[bisto diked o tent akonaw the country looks well now.]
14. ee rukoi, rudai, kennessij ' the trees will be dressed bye and
bye.'
[i rukaw rude kene-sig the trees (will be) dressed by and by.]
15. rudoman me kukero ' I dress myself.'
[rudom man me kukero I dressed myself.]
16. sair sortisi ? ' what sort ? '
[savi sorti si what sort is it ?] ^
' Dr. Sampson prefers hoiom mas, taking l>itfi hahrn as an explanation of nias.
" Possibly a confusion of two alternatives, dzhora nirtrit/i and dtham tiirpyi (let
ns go).
' Or possiblj- an answer to the question 'what sort?' t-nir sorti ni 'it is all
sorts ' : but mi- appears as so* {=x(i) on all other occasions.
bright's anglo-romani vocabulary 169
17. savo teTnn ? ' what country ? '
[savo tern what sort of country ?]
18. mochto, panda, touvelo ' a box full of tobacco.'
[mo^to paivdo tuvelo a box full of tobacco.]
19. o tascho ivast, es kee ivangesto ' the fingers of the right hand.'
[o tatsho icasteski wangestaw the fingers of the right hand.]
20. 7)iiro romni an rai chi ' my wife and daughter.'
[viiri romni and mi tshai ray wife and my daughter.]
21. Iro gri houdic ' catch the horse.'
\le o grai bondik take hold of the horse.]
22. chidom, ho gri, dre, puv ' I have taken the horse into the
field."
[tshidom le[8\ — o gnii — 'dre puv I put it — the horse — into the
field.]!
23. soi, chor, oias, ogrl ' the horse has eaten all the grass, lit. all,
grass, eaten, the horse.'
[saw tahor hawns o grai the horse ate all the grass.]
24. dictani, egreski, hoshtoi ' have you seen the saddle of that
horse ? lit. have you seen, that horse, the saddle ? '
[diktan e grenki hoslito saw you the horse's saddle ?]
25. jah dicfove ' I go to see.'
[dzhd t' dikov I go that I may see.]
26. deh, acove, a gresti giv chi (or) ri ' give this corn to the horse,
wife (or) sir, lit. give this to the horse, corn, wife, or sir.'
[de akova gresti — giv, tshai (rai) give this to the horse, corn,
girl (sir).]
27. h'o giv, away, gredi, chi " take the oats from the horse wife,
lit. the oats away from the horse, wife.'
[le o giv away gresti, tshai take the corn away from the horse,
girl]
28. dictom, chov, gri edou, drum ' 1 saw six horses in the road,
lit. I saw six horses in the road.'
[diktom shov grai adre o drum I saw six horses in the road.]
29. dictom, mai chov, gri, cheroi ' I saw the heads of six horses,
lit. I saw six horses heads.'
[diktom ine shov grai sheraiv I saw six horses' heads.]
30. dalo breschin ' it rains.'
[dalo hreshin it rains, lit. it gives rain.]'
' More probably perhaps leo has been introduced from the preceding sentence.
- These sentences are suspicious, having evidently been suggested from Bright
own ' Hungarian Gypsey.'
\
170 bright's anglo-romaxi vocabulary
31. dalo ogive ' it snows.'
[dalo o giv it snows, lit. it gives suow.]^
32. mai is na falo ' I am ill.'
[Tne is nafalo I am ill.] -
33. pre si okani ' the sun is up.'
['pre si o kann the sun is up.]
34. kam pes ' the sun shines.'
[kavi 'pre si the sun is up.]
35. sodiekaba ' what do I see.'
[so dikaba what do I see ?] ^
36. cana and sego ' now, and make quick.'
[kana and sigo now and quick.]
37. ma pehn pokopen 'don't tell any stories.'
[ina pen hokopen don't tell a lie.] *
38. mai mang tut del mando wai ' I pray you, give me that
Avhich I have deserved.'
[me mang tut del man lowe I beg you to give me money.]
39. me prautanui waffro manush 'avoid, at all times, wicked
men.'
[me prast' away; wafro manush I run away; had man.]
40. ashto leshto j)re skainin ' I heave up this chair.'
[ashta lest' opre, akamin I lift it up — a chair.]
41. j>aulae skamin ' I push back the chair.'
[j^awle skamin, back the chair.]
42. manga tut muk mon keres, ' I beg you, humbly, let me go
home.'
[manga tut muk man kcre I beg you let me home.] *
43. me romni a eke kere mavgi ' my wife awaits me at home.'
[mi romni atshe[l] kere mangi my wife stays at home
forme.]
44. aclie mai deviel ' may God bless you.'
[atsli me develesa stay with God.]
' These sentences are suspicious, having eviileutly l>een euggesteil from Bright's
own ' Hungarian Gypsey."
- Dr. Sanipsoti suggests mai naisfalo, for which strange transposition cf. sen-
tence '2."), dirton .
^ The ' long ' i is an echo of Bright's Hungarian record.
^ The spelling ;)€/(7i appears to be copied from the Hung. j9aram»^i'7'e/ine< three
sentences above. Bright misprints p also in Hung. Gyp. opto ' eight,' and in apak
and depenemengro, q.v.
^ This sentence can hardly be accepted as English Roman!, every word of it
having been suggested from Bright's Hungarian record. A similar influence can
be traced in sentence 43.
bright's anglo-romani vocabulary 171
The inflexions recorded by Bright may be classified as
follows : —
Noun
(1) voc. sing, dievla [from Hung.].
(2) gen. sing, tvasteskee, of the hand, e greshi, of the horse.
(3) dat. sing, gresti, to the horse.
(4) abl. sing, grexti, from the horse.
(5) locat. sing, kere, at home.
(6) nomin. plur. (a) in aw : ca^saw, scissors ; cAeWcZo/, birds ;
cheroi, heads : clanoiv, teeth ; jan^oi, eggs ; koschtoi,
sticks; ranjoi, rods ; riikoi, trees ; wangesto, fingers.
(6) in e : holoivai, breeches; jackai, eyes; machai,
fish ; matschkai, cats.
(7) gen. plur. formations boschemengero, fiddler (mistr. 'to
fiddle'); depe^emengro, mirror; kumnangero, soldier;
nuisengero, butcher ; maffhumangri, violin ; porengri,
pen, feather.
Pronoun
1st Person
2nd Person
3rd Person
Nom. sing.
iiiai, me
du
jov
Ace. sing.
man, mon
tut
? le [les
Prep. sing.
mende
lesht
Dat. sing.
mangiy menga
Abl. plur.
mende (in sol mende).
Verb
Present and Future
1st pers. sing, ashto, I lift ; diekaha, I see; jovjah, I go; kamawa
[I owe] ; manga, I beg ; soxvaiva [I sleep].
2nd pers. sing, oisa, thou eatest.
3rd pers. sing, dalo, it gives ; dikel, it looks ; givella, he sings ;
oila, he will eat ; si, is.
1st pers. plur. oissa, we will eat.
Past
1st pers. sing, chidom, I put; dictum, I saw; oium, I ate; rudom,
I dressed.
2ad pers. sing, or plur. dictan, saw you ?
3rd pers. sing, oias, he ate ; sess, it was.
1st pers. plur. oaim, we ate.
172
bright's anglo-romani vocabulary
Pluperfect
1st pers. sing, oimas, I had eaten.
Imperative
2nd pers. sing, ache, stay; deh, del, give; le, take; muk, let ;pe/m,
tell; scAioitn^a, hearken.
Subjunctive
1st pers. sing, dictove [te dikov\ to see [that I may see].
Participle
rudai dressed.
We have uninflected verbal forms in del, give; (five, sings;
mancj, I beg ; praut, I run (?). Pes, translated " shines,' can hardly
be anything other than 'pre si, 'is up.'
Phonetics
Bright's knowledge of a Continental dialect has influenced his
spelling of the Anglo-llomani forms, but he has not used any
system consistently. The following table exhibits in the first
column phonetic symbols from MacHe's System of Anglo- Romani
Spelling using x ^or his ch, and in the others Bright's symbols, with
one example of each.
a
a (baro)
ah ijah)
a
a (hdl)
aw
an (mauro)
aw (catMiiD)
ow (danow)
oi (rukoi)
0 (xcaiigisto)
I
eh (deh)
r (rat/)
ai (machai)
a« (paidae)
e
e (rhero)
e..e (kere) ?
e
e {hev)
t
ie (tie)
ee (waitegkee)
i
i
e (manenche)
i ijxMi)
ee (kahngcree)
t . . « (give)
0
1) {lovo)
0 (gouro)
o..e, (Jtone)
oi (bosh tot)
0
0 (bock)
a
00 (boot)
ou (gouro)
ew (jew)
u
n (buko)
n
n (drum)
ai
i (chi)
at (dai)
ei (meila)
s
s (saro)
ts (tsap)
sh
sh {hoshtoi)
nrh (bre^chin)
ch (chero)
zh (trnzhilo)
schi(.ochioHnta)
tsh
tsrh (fKchani)
Ach (nch^imoben)
ch (macho)
tzh (pufzhum)
z
z {ziinin)
.V (klcnn)
dzh
dg igoidgi)
g (gatige)
j (jew)
eh (chvqiiii)
k
k {kehr)
c (cana)
ck (ncuk)
ch (richini)
qn (chuquil).
y
j ijov)
X
ch {mnchto)
Note also the interchange of b and m: histo for uiisto,
bosrhemengero and mashumangri, and perhaps mukso for burks.
f
I
I
bright s anglo-romani vocabulary 173
Misprints, Words wrongly Divided, Mistranslations
(1) Misprints : boudic for bondic, chacan for chacau, depese-
mengro for dikesimengro, goro for gono, goururiiin for
gourumni, keski for ke.shi, kosliko for koshkojcurhai for
kurkai, jyunim for purum, pokopen for hokopen, praut
for prast, spak for shak, tukel for jukel, vachi for raati,
and others.
(2) Words wrongly divided: See sentences 10, 12, 13, 15, 16,
19, 21, 22, 24, 26, 27, 31, 32, 33, 35, 38, 39, 40.
(3) Mistranslations : In addition to those corrected in the
sentences numbered 1, 2, 5, 6, 8, 34, 38, 39, we have
the following among the single words: —
hoschemmgero ' to fiddle ' [fiddler] ; bukelo ' hunger ' [hungry] ;
heretzi ' breeches ' [duck] : kamaiva ' debt ' [I owe] ; kdlepen
to dance' [dancing]; puro' age '[old]; rate' dark '[at night];
richini 'beauty' [beautiful]; t<ik 'diligence' [quickly];
soivaiva 'sleep' [I sleep]; swa 'fear' [a tear]; truzhilo
'thirst' [thirsty].
Foreign Influence
Of words absolutely foreign to Anglo-Romani Bright has intro-
duced chaori, gal, liprrai, kevivah, swa, tscharamedini, traster,
vachi, if it is anything other than a misreading of 7'aa^i, and perhaps
buck and others. On the other hand, the spelling and form of
many of his words have been influenced by his reading of Grell-
mann and his study of the Hungarian dialect. Since in the past
this fault has proved a dangerous trap for collectors who knew
Bright's work, parallel forms from Raper's translation of Grellniann
(marked 'Gr.') and from Bright's own Hungarian Romani columns
(marked ' Hung.') are given in the vocabulary.
Vocabulary ^
ache. See atsh-.
acove, akai, ahh See akova.
akonau, now. In sentence 13 ; also kene in kennessij (14) and
cana (36). [S. and C. kondiv p. 180, kendw, kdnna.]
r 1 Bright's order of arrangement is not an alpliabetical one either in the Englisli
or in the Romani, but a rough division into parts of the body, occupations, food,
dress, animals, weather, money, common objects, adjective;?, verbs. I have
arranged the words from the Sentences and the Vocabulary in alphabetical order
according to Bright's spelling, inconsistent though it is, adding cross references to
forms which would have been brouglit together, if he had used any regular phonetic
svsteni.
k
174 bright's anglo-romani vocabulary
akova, this. In sent. 26 acove a [ = a}cdva]; in sents. 6 and 11
ako and salco [sd 'ko] ' all this ' ; in sent. 7 fern, akai [ake].
[S. and C. akova.]
ashto, I lift. Sent. 40. [S. and C. azer. Mik. viii. 5.]
[atsh-], stay : ache[l] 3rd sing. pres. indie, in sent. 43 ; and sing.
imperative in sent. 44. [S. and C. atch.]
bal, hair. [S. and C. bal.]
halo, swine. [S. and C. bdulo. Gr. 6'^^'^]
balowas, bacon. [S. and C. bdlovds. Mik. vii. 15.]
bangeri, waistcoat. [S. and C. bdngaree.]
bango, crooked. [S. and C. bongo. Gr. bango.]
bar, stone. [S. and C. bar.]
baro, great. Also in barajil ' cold ' [baro ahil, great cold. j [S. and
C. bauro. Gr. baro.]
bascheno, cock. [S. and C. boshno. Mik. vii. 18.]
beng, the devil. [S. and C. heng. Mik. vii. 19.]
brrsch, year. [S. and C. besh. Gr. berscJu Hung, bcrsh. Mik. vii. 19.]
bis, twenty. [S. and C. bl<^h. Gr. bis. Mik. vii. 23.]
bisto, well (adv.): in sent. 13. [S. and C. misid, mlshto. Mik.
viii. 17.] For the form in b, cf. J. G. L. S., Old Series,
i. 46 ; New Series, iii. 208.
bitta. See bitfe.
bitte, little. Also bitta in bittnchericle 'small bird': bitta krhr
'small cottage'; })itta habni in sent. 6. [S. and C. p. 28.]
bock, a letter. [I can make nothing of this unless ' letter ' was
mistaken for ' let her ' and bock = mttk. Dr. J, Samp.son
suggests English ' book.' R. A. S. Macfie says, ' The Gypsy
may have been telling Bright's fortune — "You will have
luck {bok), you will receive a letter," and Bright took bok
and " letter " as synonymous.']
hondic, hold; in sent. 21 misprinted txriidic. [S. and C. bonnek.]
boot, a multitude. Also as adj. 'much' in sentences 1 and 2.
[S. and C. boot. Mik. vii. 26.]
boschemengero, tiddler. Mistranslated ' to fiddle.' [S. and C.
boshomengro. Mik. vii. 18.] See also onashrimangri.
boshtoi, saddle ; in sent. 24. [S. and C. bdshto. Mik. vii. 20.]
breschin. See brischin.
brischin, rain. Also in sent. 30 dalo breschin ' it rains.' [S. and
C. brishindo. Mik. vii. 24.]
bukelo, hungry. Mistr. 'hunger.' [S. and C. bokalo. Mik. vii.
22.]
}
brkjht's anglo-romani vocabulary 175
bu/co, liver. [S. and C. houko. Mik, vii. 25.]
burk. See rmikso.
I'litin, labour. [From Gr. butin. S. and C. booti. Mik.
vii. 26.]
' . See also k.
■Ilnko, to-morrow: in sent. S. [S. and C. kdliko.]
'■una. See akouiu.
catsaiv, scissors. [8. and C. kaisers. Mik. vii. 75.]
ch. See also sh, tsch.
' hacan. See choik.
cluiori, female children. [A diminutive from Hung, chaori. S. and
C. p. 18. Mik. vii. 30.]
chare. See ')(Cire.
chavais, male children. [S. and C. chavies. Mik. vii. 30.]
chericlo, bird. Mistr. 'birds.' Also in bittachericle 'small bird.'
Sing, and plur. chericloi in sent. 11. [S. and C. cheriklo,
cherikli. .Mik. vii. 34.]
chcro, head ; cheroi (plur.) in sent. 29. [S. and C. shero. Gr. cheru.
Mik. viii. 71.] French ch.
t, daughter: in sent. 20. Also in Romani chi 'a Gitana (or
female Gypsey).' Mistr. ' wife' in sents. 2, 26, 27. [S. and
(J. chei. Mik. vii. 30.]
chidom. See chiv-.
chilri, cold (adj.). The noun appears in barajil. [S. and C. shirilo.
Mik. viii. 72.] French ch. Cf. also Simson's form slteelra,
J. G. L. S., viii. 64.
chiv, tongue. [S. and C. chib, chiv. Mik. vii. 31.]
[chiv-, to put]: chidom, 1st sing, past indie, in sent. 22. [S. and
C. chiv. Mik. vii. 34.]
choik, shoe. Misprinted ' shoes.' The plur. appears as chacau,
misprinted chacan. [S. and C. chok.]
choko, coat. [S. and C. chokka, ehoxo. Mik. vii. 35.]
chor, grass. Also in sent. 23. [S. and C. chor. Mik. vii. 29.]
chov, six ; in sents. 28 and 29, and in schuchare ' sixpence.'
[S. and C. shov. Mik. viii. 73.] French ch.
chuquil. See jukel.
churl, a knife. [S. and C. choori. Mik. vii. 39.]
corodo, blind: corodo goidgi 'the blind' [lit. blind men]. [S.
and C. koredo, korodo. Mik. vii.. 86.]
coshko, Ejood, brave. See kosliko.
da. See na.
176 bright's anglo-romani vocabulary
[da-, to give, strike] : dalo, 8rd sing. pres. indie, agreeing with
Hung., in sents. 30 and .SI ; <leh [de],2ad sing, imperut. in
sent. 26 ; uninflected verbal stem dd in sent. 38.
dcvde, father. [S. and C. dad. Gr. and Hung. dade. ^ Mik. vii. 40.]
dai, mother. [S. and C. dei. Mik. vii. 40.]
danoiv, teeth. [S. and C. ddnyaw, damiic, phir. of dan. Mik.
vii. 41.]
deklo, pocket-handkercliief. [S. and C. dildo. Mik. vii. 43.]
depesemengro, mirror. [A misreading oi dikesimengro. S. and C.
dikomenrjro. Mik. vii. 43.] For the s in this form Dr.
Sampson compares the Welsh-Gypsy diK-Mben and
diKsino.
deveL God. Also dieiia [vocat., agreeing with Hung.], and apoco-
pated instrumental deviel [derelesa] in sent. 44. [S. and
C. diivel, doovel. Mik. vii. 42.]
devis. See dives,
dievla. See devel.
[dik-, to sec] : 1st sing. pres. indie. dieJcuba in sent. 35, cf. Hung.
dirlcab; 3rd sing. pres. indie, dihi in sent. 13; 1st sing.
past indie, dildom in sents. 28 and 29; 2nd sing, or phir.
past indie, diktan in sent. 24 ; 1st sing. subj. didove [t'dikor]
in sent. 25. [S. and C. dik. Mik. vii. 43.]
dives, dav : in sent. 11; devis in sent. 0. [ S. and C. divvus.
Mik. vii. 44.]
dori, string. [S. and C. dori, doori. Mik. vii. 45.]
dre, into : in sent. 22. Also edoii \adre o] in sent. 28. [S. and C.
'dre, adre?^
fZr«,7n., road : in sent. 28. [S. and C. '/ro7H. Qtx.drum. Mik. vii. 40.]
du. See in.
dugilla, lightning. [Cf. Hung, derguner ' it thunders,' p. Ixxxix.
S. and C. i). 159.]
dui, two. [S. and C. do(H. Mik. vii. 47.]
dummo, back. [S. and C. dixhno. Gr. dumiiv). Mik. vii. 47.]
edou. See dre.
ee. See o.
gad, shirt. Also gadaiv [plur.]. [S. and C. gad, plur. gddaiv.
Mik. vii. 53.]
gal, village. [S. and C. gav. Gr. gal : but this form has been
recorded in England. Mik. vii. 54.]
gauge, woman. Also the plur. masc. in corodo goidgi ' the blind,'
gero, man : jpurogero ' old man.' [S. and C. p. 22.]
bright's anolo-romani vocabulary 177
[giv; to sing]: give, the uninflected verb stem in sent. 11; also
givella, 3rd sing. pres. mistr. 3rd plnr. in sent. 11. [S. and
C. ghiv, ghil. Mik. vii. 56]
ylv. See give,
gire, wheat. [One syllable.] Also giv in sents. 2G and 27. [S.
and C. ghiv. Mik. vii. 56.]
give, snow. [One syllable.] In sent. 31. [S. and C. ghir, iv, etc.
Mik. vii. 66.]
goldgi. See gauge.
gojee, pudding. [S. and C. got. Gr. goji. Mik. vii. 57.]
goro, a knapsack. Misprint for guno. [S. and C. gono, gonno.
Mik. vii. .57.]
govA'o, ox. [S. and C. gooro ' bull,' p. 16S. Hung, gouro. Mik. vii. 58.)
gourumin, cow. [S. and C. groovni. Hung, gourumni. Mik. vii.
58.]
gra, greski, greati. See gri.
gri, gra, horse. Nom. sing, also in sent. 23 ; gri tor ace. sing, in
sent. 21; greski, gen. sing, in sent. 24: gresti, dat. sing, in
sent. 26, abl. sing, in sent. 27 ; gri for ace. plur. in sents.
28 and 29. [S. and C. grei. Gr. gra, etc. Mik. vii. 58.]
giidlo, sugar. [S. and C. goudlo, goodli ' sweet.' Mik. vii. 58.]
[//f(-. to eat] : 3rd sing. pres. oila [hawhi] in sents. 3 and 8 ; 2nd
sing. pres. oisa [liawsa] in sent. 7 ; oium [liawoiii] 1st sing.
past in sent. 1 : 3rd sing, past oias [luiwas] in sents. 2 and
5 ; 1st plur. past oaim [Jiawoiii] in sent. 4 ; 1st sing, pluperf.
oimus [Itaivuias] in sent. 6 ; 1st plur. fut. oissa [hawsa] in
sent. 9. [S. and 0. haw, hoi. Mik. vii. 59.] '
hahen, food: in sents. 6, 7, 8. [S. and C. hohen. Mik. vii. 59.]
hascht, wood. See koscht.
heretzi, duck. [Gr. hiretza. Cf. herrai. S. and C. retsi, retza.
Mik. i. 35; viii. 54.]
heretzi, breeches. [A misunderstanding. Bright was wearing
• ducks ' that day he strolled by the hedges of Norwood.]
herrai, gentleman. [A Spanish form, though Bright's Spanish
form is gerres.] See ri.
herree. See herroi.
het^oi, herree, leg. [S. and C. hero, herer. Gr. heroi. Mik. vii. 55.]
' The retention of Bright's oi, preferred by Dr. Sampson, suits the words where
01 is followed by a vowel, but not the inflexions of the present tense, nor plurals
like riikoi. Its use in soi (=!iaw, 'all) seems to show that it was Bright's strange
method of representing the vowel in Eug. ' law ' and that he noted no i-glide between
it and the terminations of the past tense.
VOL. IX. — NO.S. in. -IV. M
178 bright's anglo-romani vocabulary
hev, hole, window. [S. and C. lev. Mik. vii. 62.]
hokopen. See pokopen.
holove, holef, stockings. [S. and C. hoolnrers.] See holowai.
holowai, breeches. [Mik. i. 14.]
hard, sword. [S. and C. hadro. Mik. vii. 61.]
[X<^(re, pence]: in schuchare 'sixpence.' [S. and C. hdrri. Mik.
vii. 61.]
[is-, to be]: 3rd sing. pres. si in sents. 16, 33, and 34: 3rd sing.
past sess in sent. 1 2.
[jii- ( =zdzha), to go]: 1st sing. pres. [jow] in sent. 10; jah contr.
from Java (cf. manga) 1st sing. pres. in sent. 25,
jack ( — yak), ^\. jackai, eyes. [S. and C. yok. Mik. vii. 67.]
jarroi { = yaraw), eggs: ace. plur. in sent. 4. [S. and C. ydi^o. Mik.
viii. 93.]
jeg { = yeg), one. [Hung. j^f/. Mik. vii. 68.] Seejrkos.
j('9^ 3^0 ( = y^'O^ y^)> ^re. [jcij is from Hung. S. and C. yog. Mik.
vii. 67.]
jekos ( = yekos), once : in sent I "2. [S. and C. yekorus. Mik. vii. 68.]
See jcg.
jeiv ( = dzhil), louse. [S. and Cjodrxi. Mik vii. .52.]
jil, in harajil ' cold ' [baro shil. great cold]. See shil.
jog. See jeg.
jov. Seeja-.
jov { = yor), he: in .sents. 3, 5, 8.
jukel {=(lzlLukel), dog: naisprinted tukel. Also jakli [fem.J and
Spanish form chuquil. [S. and C j<inkcl,jo6kli. Gr. jukcL
Mik. vii. .51.]
k. See also c.
kahngeree, church. Cf. Hung, kahugeri. [S. and C. kdiigiri. Cir.
Jcangheri. Mik. vii. 73 ]
kal, butter. In sent. 2 transhited ' cheese.' [S. and C. kal ' cheese.'
Mik. vii. 76.] See kil.
kalo, black. [S. and C. kaiilo. Gr. kalo. Mik. vii. 71.]
kam, sun. Also in sents. 33 and 34. [S. and C. kam. (ir. cam.
Mik. vii. 77.]
Jcaniaiva, I owe. Mistr. 'debt.' [J. G. L. S., viii. 81-2. Gr. kam-
ma'wa, accusation, debt. S. and C. kam. Mik. vii. 71.J
kan, ear. [S. and C. kan. Mik. vii. 72.J
kani, hen. [S. and C. kdnni. Mik. vii. 70.]
kanivoro, hare. Perhaps a misreading of kaiiengro or an adjectival
form from kan.
bright's axglo-romani vocabulary 179
kassain, fork. [S. and C. kasoni ' billhook.' Hung, kastoni.]
kehr, house. Also in bitta kehr ' small cottage ' ; l:ere also as nom.
in sent. 12; locat. sing ./.rre in sents. 42 and 43. [S. and
C. kdir. Hung. kehr. Mik. vii. 79.]
kek, not or no. Also in sents. 3 and 6. [S. and C. kek. Mik. vii. 73.]
keleso, bone. [S. and C. koknlo, kokalon?. Mik vii. 85.]
kellepcn, dance, dancing. ^listr. ' to dance.' [S. and C. kelopen.
Mik. vii. 78.]
kemf'ah, book. From Hung. Cf, J. G. L. S., Old Series, iii. 7(5 ;
New Series, ii. 6 ; v. 31 ; vii. 176.]
kmneftsij, bye and bye : in sent. 14. [S. and C. kendiv-sii/,
kdnna-sig 'just now, immediately.'] See akoiiau.
kero, cherry. [./. G. L. S., Old Series, iii. 76, kera. Mik. vii. 76.]
keski, silk. Either a misprint of /•: for A, or a contraction of kesheski,
of silk, silken. [S. and C. kaish. Mik. vii. 77.]
keti, to : in sent. 10. [Leland, Eng. G. Songs, p. 202, keti ; J. G. L. S.,
New Series, iii. 222, kHty, kety; ix. 163. kat<i.]
kil, cheese. Translated ' butter ' in sent. 3 {kill). [S. and C. kil
' butter.'] See kal
kindo, wet. [S. and C. kindo. Pott, ii. 103.]
kirmo, worm. Al.so kirina,^. Ixxviii. [S. and C. kirmo, kermo.
Mik. vii. 76. J
klcsin, a key. [S. and C. kllnin. Mik. vii. 84]
'ko. See ako.
koscht, pi. koschtoi, stick. [S. and C. kosht. Mik. vii. 74.] See also
hascht.
kosliko, good: in sent. 7. A misreading of koshko. [S. and C.
p. 26.] See coMco.
kukero, self: in sent. 15. [S. and C. kokero. Mik. vii. 86.]
kuremangero, soldier. [S. and C. kooromdngro. Gr. kuromangri,
infantry. Mik. vii. 88.]
kurhai, Sunday. Probably a misprint of h for k. [S. and C.
ko6roko, kooroki. Mik. vii. 88.]
[la-, to take] : (e, 2nd sing, imperat. in .sents. 21, 22, 27. [S. and C.
lei. Mik. viii. 3.]
lav, an answer. [S. and C. kiv. Mik. viii. 5.]
Ifs. See lest.
hst, it: in sent. 40, leshto pre = lest vpre; le[s] in sent. 22.
l<me, salt. [One syllable.] [S. and C. Ion. Mik. viii. 8.]
lovo, loivo, money. Perhaps disguised in sent. S8, mando wai =
TTian lowe. [S. and C. loovo, l6vo,luva. Mik. viii. 9.]
180 RRIOHT's ANGLO-ROM an I VOCABULARY
ma, not: in sent. 37. [S. and C. maa. Mik. viii. 9.]
macho, fish; plur. machai : in sent. 5. [S. and C. mdtcho. Mik.
viii. 10.]
malo. See nnauro.
mandi, mangi. See me.
[ynang-, to beg]: 1st sing. pros, mnnc/a in sent. 42, agreeing with
Hung.; uninflected verb stem mang as 1st sing. pres. in
sent. 38. [S. and C. mong. Mik. viii. 11.]
manescJie, woman, in puromanescUe 'old woman.' [S. and C.
manooshni, monoshi. Mik viii. 12.]
mamish, man. Also in sent. 39. [S. and C. manush. Hung.
manusli. Mik. viii. 12.]
TTUis, tlesh. Perhaps also in sent. 6. [S. and C. mas. Mik. viii. 13.]
Tnasengero, butcher. [S. and C. mnsengro.]
'mcis]iU)ruingri, violin. See also hoscheinengcro.
matschbtl, cats. (S. and C. mdtchka. Mik. i. 23.]
mauro, malo, bread. Also in sent. 1. [malo is ' suggested ' from
Hung., cf. Gr. malum. S. and C. maiiro. Mik. viii. 12]
vie. See mi.
me, I : Nom. sing, mr in sents. 1 and 39; mai in sonts. 29, 32, and
38; ace. sing, man in sent. 15; mon, agreeing with Hung.,
in sent. 42 ; dat. sing, man in sent. 38, rnangi in sent. 43 ;
abl. plur. mende in sents. 4 and 5 ; menga [ethic dat.] in
sent. 10.
meila, mila, ass. [S. and C. p. 22. J
meja, mile. [S. and C. meea. Mik. viii. IG.j
men, neck. [S. and C. men. Mik. viii. 15.]
mevihen, death. [S. and C. meriUn. Mik. viii. 15.J
mi, my: in sent. 20; mai in sent. 44; me in .sents. 15 and 43.
See miro.
mila. See meila.
miro, ray: in sent. 20 (with false concord). [S. and C. meero,
meiro. Mik. viii. 17.]
mischeUi, table. [S. and C. misali. Mik. i. 24; viii. l(j.]
mochto. See mokto.
moi. See m,ui.
mohto, box. Also in sent. 18 mocfito [ = moxto]. [S. and C 'inokto,
moxto- Mik. viii. 18.] See also rmiLso.
mon. See me.
mor, wine. [From Hung., cf. also Bright's Spanish form. S. and
C. mul. Mik. viii. 18.J
BUIGHT's ANGLO-ROM ANI VOCABULARY 181
Tnotto, drunk. [S. and C. motto. Mik. viii. 14.]
Ttini, mui, moi, face, mouth. [S. and C. modi. Mik. viii. 19.]
[miih-, to let] : imperat. in sent. 42. [S. and C. mook, viuk. Mik.
viii. 19.]
iiiiikfio, breasts. Possibly a misprint for viuJdo, chest. Or m may
stand for h ; cf. mashwniangri and boschemengero, and 6
for m in bi'ito. [S. and C. burk. Mik. vii. 24.] See also
Tnoldo.
na, not : misheard as da in sent. 6.
7iack, nostrils or nose. [S. and C. nok. Gr. ndk. Mik. viii. 22.]
nafalo, ill: in sent. 32. [S. and C. ndfalo, ndsfalo. Mik. viii. 23.]
ymi, nail. [S. and C. nei. Gr. naj. Mik. viii. 21.]
Tiaivjo, naked. [S. and C. nongo. Gr. naiigo. Mik. viii. 22.]
ne, no, not: in sent. 3. [S. and C. ne, naiu. Mik. viii. 21.]
nf'vo, new. [S. and C. iievo. Mik. viii. 24.]
o, the: sing. masc. in sents. 13, 19, 21, 22, 23, 27, 31, and 33; sing,
fern, perhaps in heretzi; oblique sing, in sent. 24; nom.
plur. in sent. 14.
odore, that: in sent. 12. [H. and C adoora. Mik. vii. 4.]
oias, oila, oinias, oium, etc. See ha-,
opre, up : in sent. 40. [S. and C. tipre, 'pre. Mik. viii. 26.] See pre
and pes.
pa7u, water. [S. and C. phi/. Mik. viii. 31.]
ya/n, goose, agreeing with Hung, and Gr. For interchangeability
of -i and -in terminations see Pott, ii. 403 f.n. [S. and C.
pdpin. Mik. viii. 31.] Cf. skatni and tri.
patrin, leaf. [S. and C. pdtrin. Gr. patrin. Mik. viii. 35.J
paitdo, full: in sent. 18. [S. and C. pordo. Mik. viii. 41.]
patdae, back (behind) : in sent. 41. [S. and C. paule. Mik. viii. 30.]
paunch, five, agreeing with Hung. [S. and C. pandj, pansh.
Mik. viii. 31.]
[2)€n-, to toll]: 2nd sing, imperat. pe/ni in sent. 37. [S. and C.
pen. Mik. viii. 41.]
peneka, nut. [S. and C. p. 161. Mik. viii. 36.]
per, belly. [S. and C. per. Mik. viii. 37.]
pes ' shines ' in sent. 34 = >e si = 'pre .si ' is up.' Cf. ./. G. L. S., New
Series, iv. 183, no. 135.
pias, fun, frolic. [S. and C. peias. Mik. viii.' 37.]
piro, feet. Mistr. for ' foot.' [S. and C. piro, peero. Mik. viii. 47.]
plak, cup. ? Some confusion with Eng. ' plate.'
plasta, mantle. [S. and C. pldshta. Mik. i. 30 ; viii. 48.]
182 hright's anc;i-o-romani vocabulary
pokcypen, stories: in sent. 37. Misprint or misreading of p for h ;
cf. spak for shah. [S. and C. hookapni, hoyjihni. ]\Iik. vii.
63.]
par, 2^orenr/ri, feather or pen. [S. and C. por. Mile. i. 29: viii.
50.]
poshnechosh, neck-handkerchief. [IS. and C. posJinrckus, p. 175.]
[prast-, to run] : 1st sing. pres. in sent. 39 ; reading either prasia
'way, or prast away. [S. and C. praster. Mik. viii. 52.]
pre, up: in sent. 33. See opre and pes.
pull. See piiv.
pul, straw. From Cir. [S. and L. j^ooa. Mik. viii. 45.]
pnnim, onion. Misprint for piirnm. [S. and C. poorumi. Mik.
viii. 53.]
puro, old. Mistr. 'age.' Also in /'(/>'"7e?'o 'old man' and pur o-
vianesche 'old woman.' [S. and C. pooro. Mik. viii. 45.]
piUzhum^^ea. [S. and C. pr)oVut7»ui. Gr. pntzjum. Mik. viii. 54.]
piuv, field : in sent. 22. Also pnk ' the earth ' for ' earth.' [S. and
C. poor. Gr. pv , the earth. Mik. viii. 4G.]
rai. See hrrai and ri.
rakli, young woman. [S. and C. rakli. Mik. viii. 55.]
raklo, servant or boy. [S. and ( '. rdklo. Mik. viii. 55.]
ran, rod; pi. raiijoi. [S. and C. ran. .Mik. viii. 55.]
rasrliei, preacher. [S. and C. rdshei. Mik. viii. 56.]
rat, blood. [S. and C. ratf. Mik. viii. 56.]
ra^e, dark [at night]. Also rat in sent. 7. [S. and C. radti. Mik.
viii. 56.] See rachi.
ri, sir: in sent. 26. [S. and C. rri. Mik. viii. 54.]
ricliini, beautiful. Mistr. 'i)eauty.' [S. and C. rikcno, rlnkcno.
See also p. 27.]
[riv-, to dress]: 1st sing, past rwiom in sent. 15. Past partic. in
sent. 14, 7'nrZai [?'^tf7e]. [S. and C. rii*. Mik. viii. 8!».|
rohi, spoon, agreeing with Hung. [S. and C. roi, rdi. Mik. viii. 58.]
[Romano, Gypsy] : Romani cki ' a Gitana (or female Gyp.sey).'
[S. and C. roniano, romani. Mik. viii. 58.]
romni, wife, woman. Also in sents. 20 and 43. [S. and C. rdmni.
Mik. viii. 58.]
rudo. See riv.
ritk, tree. Plural rukoi in sent. 14. [S. and C. rook. Mik. viii. 59.]
mtj), silver. [S. and C. roojy. Mik. viii. 60.]
sair. See savo.
sako. See saiv and akova.
r
BRIGHT S ANGLO-ROMANI VOCABULARY 183
[i><a/>]. See tsap.
savo, what : in sent. 17 savo temn ' what country ' : in sent. 16 sair
[savi] sorti ' what sort.' [S. and C. sdv<K Mik. viii. 63.]
[saw, all] : soi in sents. 4-, 5, 9, 23 ; compounded with ako in sent.
6. [S. and C. sar. Mik. viii. 63.]
schich, cabbage : in sent. 9. Also with misprint oi p for li in spak.
[S. and C. shoh. Gr. schach. Mik. viii. 70.]
schik; mud. [S. and C. chik. Gr. schik. Mik. vii. 32.]
•ichioiinta. See shuit-.
schoschi, rabbit. [S. and C. slioshi. Gr. schoschi. Mik. viii. 73.]
schuckare, si. x pence. [S. and C. shookhaiiri, shaahaiiri.] See
chov and ;^a7'e.
.schud, vinegar, agreeing with Hung. [S. and C. shoot. Mik. viii. 75.]
schumohni, kiss. [S. and C choomahen 'kissing.' Gr. tchumohen.
Mik. vii. 38.]
sli. See also cJi.
sKjo, quick: in sent. 36; also sij in kennessij 'bye and bye 'and
sik 'diligence.' [S. and C. sig. Gr. sik, diligence. Mik.
viii. 64.]
sess. See is-,
shil, cough. Also jit in barajil ' cold.' [S. and C. shil. Mik,
viii. 72.] Cf. chilri.
[shun-, hear] : imperat. in schiounta ' harken,' with emphatic suffix
-ta. [S. and C. shoonta. Mik. viii. 75.]
s'i. See is-.
sie, heart. [S. and C. zee. Gr. siV.]
•sy, siA". See ^Cf/a
skami, seat or chair. [Apocopated form from Hung. Cf. j^api,
</•«.] skamin in sents. 40 and 41. [S. and C. skdmin.
Mik. viii. 66.J
skoni, boots. [S. and C. skdjii. Mik. i. 37 ; viii. 72.]
so, what ? in sent. 35.
sodiekaba. See dik- and so.
.-«n. See sa?c.
soiinende. See 7ne and saio.
sonokai, gold. [S. and C. soonakei. Mik. viii. 68.]
.so>'<<, sort: in sent. 16. Eng, word with Romani termination.
sowaiva, I sleep, from Gr. Mistr. ' sleep.' [S. and C. sov. Mik,
viii, 67.]
spak, cabbage. See schach.
sta, four. Cf. Hung. stah. [S. and C, stor. Mik. viii. 73,]
184 bright's axglo-romaxi vocabulary
.^fadi, hat. [S. and C. staddi. Mik. iii. 40: viii. 68.]
Mara'pen, prison. [S. and C. 'sUirihen. Mik. vii. 11.]
swa, tear. Mistr. 'fear.' From Gr. [S. and C. p. 162; J. G. L. S.,
iv. 177. Mik. vii. 12.]
swer/Ji, pipe: turinli swff/li 'tobacco pipe.' [S. and C. p. 22.
Mik. iii. 41.]
tascJio, T\^ht : ta.sclio icdtit ' right hand.' Al.so in sent. 19. [S. and
C. tdtrho. Mik. vii. 27.]
tato, hot. [S. and C. hitto. W\k. viii. 78.]
trmn, country. Also in sents. l.S and 17. [S. and C. tfm. Gr.
femn. Mik. viii. 82.]
thu,smoki\ [S. a.nd C. toov. Gr.thu. Mik. viii. 83.] Hee iuviali.
to. [? En«<.] in sent. 11.
toh'r, axe. [S. and C. tdhdr, tnber. Gr. tober. Mik. i. 42 : viii. 85.]
touvelo. See tuviali.
irast. Sec truster.
trasteVy trust, iron. Hung, trasi, cf. Gr. trasclit. [S. and. C. sdster.
Mik. viii. 70.J
tri, three. Bright, misled by Grelhiiann, has omitted the final n.
trupox, body. [S. and C. iroupus. Mik. i. 42 ; viii. 87.]
triiz}iilo,th.\YSty. Mistr. thirst.' [S. and C. trodshlo. Gr. iruz-
hilo. Mik. viii. 87.]
tsup, snake. From Gr.
tschavi, cheek. [S. and C. chain. Gr. tscham. Mik. vii. 28.]
tschamnu'dinl, a slap on the face. From Gr. [ThesletF, Worter-
huch des Dialekts der Jiniddndhschrn Zir/finier, p. 16,
^ammedlni. S. and C. p. 163.]
tschanga, knee. [S. and C. chong. Gr. tschanga. Mik. vii. 28.]
tu, thou : nom. sing, dti in sents. 2 and 7 : ace. sing, tut in sents.
38 and 42.
tad, milk. [S. and C. tood. Mik. viii. 83.]
tukd. Misprint for jukel.
tnlihen, fat. [S. and C. tiillipen. Mik. viii. 83.]
tut. See til.
tuviali, tobacco: tiiHali swegli, 'tobacco pipe.' Tuviali agrees
with Hung. Also touvelo in sent. 18. [S. and C. tuvlo,
tuvli. Mik. viii. 83.] See thu.
vachi, night. Can only be a misreading of a very badly written
raati, unless it represents rdtshi and has slipped into the
wrong column. See rate,
vadrosi, a bed. [S. and C. woddrus, wddrus. Mik. i. 27 ; viii. 90.]
AN AMERICAX-ROMANI VOCABULARY 185
raringera, fair. [S. and C. p. 149.]
iiiiffro, wicked : in sent. 30. [S. and C. p. 28.]
uxihliv, bottle. [S. and C. wdlin, vdlin. Gr. ivahlin. Mik. iii.
40 ; viii. 92.]
v-ai. [In sent. 38 may have crept in from j)'>^(iutaicai in sent. 39
below, or it may be a corruption of lowe. Leland, Enig.
G. Smigs, p. 275, adopted it as wye 'due.']
vnngar, coal. [S. and C. vdngar. Mik. vii. 8.]
wnngesto. See wangisto.
inmgisto, lingers. Also wangento in sent. 19. [S. and C. vongusti,
wovgusJii. Mik. vii. 9.]
vdngustri, ring. [S. and C. wongushi. Mik. vii. 9.]
i/v(.s'f, hand.s. Really 'hand.' Also in tascho u-ast 'right hand';
zezro vast 'left hand ' ; and in sent. 19 wasteskee, gen. sing.
[S. and C. vast, wast. Mik. viii. 94.]
?/• See j.
zezro, left: zfzro ir<ist 'left hand.' [S. and C. p. 163. Mik.
viii. 98.]
zimin, broth. [S. and C. zinien. Mik. iii. 39: viii. 99.]
v.— AN AMEKICAX-KOMANI VOCABULARY^
By George F. Black, Ph.D.
IN one of his manuscripts, apparently written in 1910, the late
Mr. A. T. Sinclair states that, when learning to speak the
American-Gypsy dialect, he prepared a list of words which he
carried about in his pocket when visiting the Gypsies. All the
words were collected by himself irom Romani vusta before he had
read any publications about Gypsies. The vocabulary, he added,
was the result of inquiries among hundreds of Gypsies in different
sections of the United States and Canada, and was confined
strictly to the English-speaking Gypsies born in Great Britain, or
their American descendants. He also says that no one Gypsy
was familiar with all the words he had noted, but many of them
knew nearly all. Most of the younger Gypsies born in the United
States, however, understood very few of them. The Gypsies also
^ A provisional issue of this vocabulary was published iu the Bulletin of the
New York Public Library, v. 19, pp. 727-738. New York, 1915.
186 AN AMERICAN-ROMA XI VOCAHDLARY
knew some slang and tinker words, but never used them in
conversation. The Continental Gypsies in America speak a
very different dialect.
The vocabulary above referred to, a small leather-bound note-
book, is now in the New York Public Librar}', It contains 481
words, and has been labelled by Mr. Sinclair ' American-Gypsy
JJictionary.' The words are not in alphabetical order, but are
grouped under their initial letters. In addition to this there is
also a larger list of words written out on quarto sheets in a roughly
alphabetical order. This list includes nearly all the words con-
tained in the ' Dictionary.' These two collections have been made
the basis of the vocabulary here published, with considerable
additions derived from other loose sheets of manuscript and from
a number of note-books the entries in which are written with
lead pencil.
A good deal of Mr. Sinclair's information in later years appears
to have been obtained from Cornelius Cooper and his sister-in-law
Lydia Cooper {lu'f Hicks), both American-born Gypsies. The
latter was described by Mr. Sinclair as an industrious, shrewd,
and very intelligent woman.
A large number of words in this vocabulary do not occur in
the Engli.sh-Ronunany list published by Professor Prince.' Where
Professor Prince gives a ditl'erent spelling or a ditVerent meaning,
it has been added here in brackets. For comparison I have also
added references to Enfdish-Romani sources as noted in the list
of abbreviations.
The words and sentences are given here exactly as recorded in
Sinclair's manuscripts. I have not ventured to take any liberties
with his system of spelling or with his definitions, as my inter-
course with American Gypsies has not been sufficiently extensive
to allow of ray attempting emendations. The sentences have been
gathered from a number of loose sheets of manuscript, and for
convenience of reference they are arranged here in alphabetical
order under the first word,
Arhreviations
C. Crofton (H. T.), ' Additions to Gypsy-English Vocabulary '
(Gypsy Lore Society Journal, v. 1, pp. 40-48. P^dinburgh,
1889),
* ' The English-Rommany Jargon of the American Roads.' By J. Dyneley Prince
(American Oriental Society Journal, v. 28, pp. 271-308. New Haven, 1907).
AN AMERICAN-ROMANl VOCABULARY 187
r. Prince (J. D,), ' The English- Rommaiiy Jargon of the American
Roads' (American Oriental Society Journal, v. 28, pp. 271-
'AOH. New Haven, 1907).
Si. Sampson (John), 'A Contribution to English-Gypsy' {G}/2)si/
Lore Society Jmirnal, v. 2, pp. 2-5. Edinburgh, 1891).
S2. Sampson (J.), ' Romani Flotsam ' {Gypsy Lore Society Jour-
nal, V. 3, pp. 73-81. Edinburgh, 1892).
SC. Smart (B. C.) and Crofton (H. T.), The Dialect of the English
Gypsicfi, 2 ed. London, 1875.
KeV TU the PUONUN'CIATIOX
a as in rm ia as in //ard r as in chin
d „ „ tWtlier le „ „ yd <j „ „ ^yate
a „ „ yau-n iu „ „ yim y^ „ „ Scottish loc/i
ai „ „ I o „ „ nr>t j „ „ jest
ftn„ „ cow 6 „ „ no n;f „ „ singer
f ., „ met ol ., „ hoy ngg „ „ finger
e „ „ h'^.v u „ „ cur n „ ,. .sin
' „ ., 't a „ „ miiifn i „ ,, .9/iin
7 „ „ hnrd ni „ ,. gl?<^?/ z ., „ zeal
/', (/, /, /(, Ic, I, m, n, 2>, r, t, r, w, are pronounced as in English.
Vocabulary
1. at-, to stay, stand, remain, pitch (camp). [P. hnch. SO. afch,
hatch.]
2. addrde. See under ddrdi.
3. adoi, there. [P. adoi. SC. adoi.]
4. adre, in, into. [P. adrie, ' in, within, into.' SC. adre.]
5. akai, here. [P. ahy. SC. akei.]
6. and, han, to bring, to fetch. [P. rXldar, 'bring, fetch, carry.'
SC. and, hand.]
7. dnj, hdnj, to scratch. [SC. honj, ' the itch, to itch.' C. honjer,
' to scratch.']
8. dnjahen, the itch ; vb. scratches.
9. dnjen, hdnjen, to itch, itching, .scratch.
10. anji, dnji, it itches.
10a. anker, dnko, life (?). Cf. sent. 66.
11. aj)opU. See under popli. [P. apopli 'back' (adv.). SC.
ap6p>li, ' again.']
188 AN AMERICAN-KOMANI VOCABULARY
12. aj)rB, upri, uprB, fijyro, iiprO, opri, pre, pro, up, upon. on. [P.
apree, 2)re. SC. apre, ojyre. ]
18. dra, cent (U.S. coin). [C. haure, a. pi., ' pennies/ lit. ' coppers. '
S2. x^''^''''^> ' penny.' SC. koi^^o, hoi'ro.]'
14. atras. See under tras.
15. <2i/U, come. [P. at, ' come' (only imperative). SC. ar.]
16. rfm, yes. [V. dro. SC. adm.]
17. avail, yes indeed, that is so. [P. dvali, longer form of dvo.
SC. advali.^
IS. arelen, cvelen, coming. [SC. are7in.]
19. arri, dvrl, ovri, out, away, oh'. [V. avree. SC. avree, avri]
20. hnidtigrro, haidi\gro, baiengero, baiengro, vaidiyger'i, vest,
waistcoat. [P. voiigrec, ivongrc^'. SC. bdngnrec SI.
bai-eiigri.]
21. hdkdro, Itdkaro, hdkcro, sheep, lamb. [P. Wcro, ' goat, sheep.'
SC. hokoro, bdkro.]
22. bakt, bnx, '"'x'- ^"^^' fortune. [P. bok. SC. bok, boxt.]
23 bal, hair. Cornelius Cooper, May 11)00, gave bdl. [P. bdl.
SC. bal.]
24. bdbivas,bdlc'vaK, vdlevas, bacon, ham, Y>ork. [F. bdllovas. S( .
bdb'no-iiian, bdlovda.]
25. 6a^o, pig. [P. trtuZo. SC. 6<nt/o.]
26. bar, stone ; a pound sterling. [P. bar. SC. bar.]
27. 6a?', fence, hedge. [P. bar, 'garden, hedge'; bur, 'hedge.'
SC. bor, ' hedge.']
28. bdri, enceinte. [SC. bauri, ' pregnant.']
29. bdro, b&t^o, pdro,^ big, heavy. [P. boro, ' big, large.' SC. bauro.]
30. bars, testicles. [P. pUe. SC. bdryaw.]
31. bd^dmengera , fiddle. See under bosamengrro.
32. bd.<av, to play. [SC. bosh.]
33. bd.snven, to play. [ ? Rather ' playing,' cf. sent. 21. See also boi*.]
34. bdvio, rich. [P. bdrvelo. SC. bdrvalo.]
35. 6dw>/, wind. [P. bavol, ' air, wind.' SC. bdval.]
'SC). beng, devil, temper. [? Is the definition ' temper ' due to con-
fusion with ' tempter ' ?] [P. btng. SC. bang, bnuj.
S2. bing.]
37. bengald, bad-tempered, peevish. [SC. bdiigaU, ' wicked, devilish '
C. bengales, ' wickedly.' Si. bongalo, ' blackguardly.']
^ Possibly a survival of p'aro, ' heavy " ; but, as that is not fouDcl in auy vocjibu-
lary of English Romani, it is probablj' only Mro mispronounced.
AN A^rERICAN-ROMANI VOCABULARY 189
38. bera, biro, boat, ship. [P. beero. SC. bairo, bero.]
89. bes, a year. [P. b^sL SC. besh.]
40. bes, to sit, stay, live. [P. b^sh, ' sit, lie.' SC. be.^h.]
41. bibi, blbJ, bivi, aunt. [P. beebee, 'aunt, any elderly female
relative.' SC. beebee or beebi.]
42. 61^1, 6/rar, to send. [P. bicher. SC. bitcher]
43. 6i7.v'w, to sell. [P. biJckin. SC. 6a-/».]
44. 61710, born. [P. beeno. SC. beeno.]
45 6i.'?e7i, rain. [SC. brishindo, bishno.]
45a. biseno, rainy.
46. bi^ens, bisevens, bi^uvis, it rains. [SCJ. brishinda.]
47. 6<7a, 6<7a, 6i^o, little, a little. [1\ hitti; as adj. 6i^to. SC.
bitto (masc), bltti (feni.).]
48. bivi. See under bibi.
49. bivlijnvol. Hee vxnder piviijif vol.
50. bdiKjfjo, vonrjga, lame. [P. bongo, ' crooked, left hand.' SC.
boiif/o, ' left, wrom.,', crooked, lame.']
50:i. bdro. See under 6f?rc».
51. bo.s, Hddle, music. [P. bilsh, 'violin.' SC. bosh, 'a fiddle, to
Hddlo.'J
52. boti, bdfinren, to play, playing.
53. bokimengct'o, bCiMdmeTujcra, bosemengero, Hddle, any musical
instrument. [P. bdnliomengro, ' violin player.' SC. boslio-
mengri {-gro), ' piper, tiddler, a riddle, music.']
54. bosfo, bosto, saddle. [P. boshto. S(J. bushto, boshta.]
55. br(')kla, cauliHower. [Eng. broccoH-l
56. badika, biitehi, store, shop. [SC. boodega, boodika.]
57. biigenis, biignis, smallpox. [P. bugnee. SC. booge iiyas.]
58. biijenggeros, bujengeros. See under buSengeros.
59. bnklo, hungry. [P. bokkalo. SC. bokalo.^
60. 6(T?, a7ius, buttocks. [?.bidl. SC. 6oo/, ' rump.']
61. ' hnX'-jnkol, bull-dog. This name is applied to a man, mean-
ing, ' a disagreeable fellow.'
62. busengeros, bicjenggeros, bujengeros, spurs. [P. biisaha, ' spur.'
SC. poosomengri, ' spur.']
63. biisnikost, Q. s}^\\.. [SC. sy^wgradrus, 'skewer, spit.']
64. bnsno, a spit.
65. busnol, a spit for meat.
66. bicso grai, a stallion. [P. iMengro. SC. barengro-, bareskro-
grf^i.]
67. but, much. [P. but, bufi, ' much, very.' SC. boot, booti.]
190 AX AMERICAN-ROMANI VOCABULARY
68. hutedSr, more, better. [See also under feterder.']
69. hnteka. See under hndika.
70. hvti , work, to work. [P. JiTit, bdti. S( '. booti, hootsi]
71. rd,cdr, gra^s. [[\ c/kiv. 'SCchor.]
72. cd, cok, boot, shoe; pi, ms. [P. rhokkcv^, 'shoes.' 8C cholc,
clioklccr, ' shoe, boot.']
73. rd, lid, to eat, to chew. [The form rd is probably due to the
influence of American dialectal 'chaw.' P. hmi'. S< '
Jtaw, hoi, kol. S2. ;^d.]
74-. aif'i, rdfo, rfifa, cufa, coat, skirt. [P. rhukko. SC chokk".
chu-)(o, chakka. See also under cnkn.^
75. ('dkenffcrd , cokengero, shoemaker. [S< '. chokengro, chokengri.]
76. ctil, rdlov, to take hold of, to strike. [SC chdlav, ' to touch,
meddle.' Paspati tchaUivdca, ' to beat.']
77. cdr. See under rd.
77a. cave, child.
78. cdvl, girl. [SC vhnrl, ' child,' fern.]
79. rdvo, boy. [P. chavo. SC. chdv<>, ' child,' masc]
80. cereno. See under 'V?***.
81. Mriklo, ririkln, bird. [P. '•/"'/•/V.-A*. S< ". elm riklu, muse. ; cfm-
rikli, fern.]
82. (•t'j'o, cdrfiio, vevino, ceritim, roro, v6r<>, cdreno, lean, jjoor, not
rich. [P. choro. S< ' rli<»',r<i. masc; c/iodri. fern., 'poor,
humble.']
83. ci/>, tongue, lanouage. [V. ch'di. S(\ chlh, rhiv,jib.]
84. cftT, vicf, very cheap, nothing [P. chichi. SC. chichi,
'nothing.']
85. cik, mud, dirt, ashes. [P. chU: SC. c/< //.-.]
86. c"(Ho, dirty, muddy. [P. chlklo. SC. chiklo (masc). chikli,
(fem.).]
87. cil. See under <?7.
88. ^in, to cut. [P. r/tln. SC. chin.]
89. Sinemdngpra, rineiningero, a letter. [S(v. chinomeskro, ehivo-
mengro, rhinomongri.]
90. cinemeskero, razor, axe, cutting instrument [in general]. [P
chlnameskro 'chisel.' SC. chinomenkro, chinomeiigr< ' .
chinomovgri.]
91. cinger, to tear, to quarrel. [P. chlnger 'to tear, rip.' SC.
chingar.]
92. cingeren, quarrelling.
AN AMERICAN-ROM AXI VOCABULARY 191
93. 6ir'iklo. See under ceriklo.
94-. cirus, Stria, time. [P. cherus. S(J. cheerus, cheer.]
95. cir, CUV, to put, to place, to bury. [P. chiv, 'put, set, place.'
SC. chiv, ' to put, place, pour.']
95a. civet, placed, buried.
96. coli. 8ee under cd.
97. cokeiKjero. See under mkingerd.
98. ktn, moon. So said Cornelius Cooper in 1909. [?.chOn. SC.
choumJ\ See also under kam.
99. (for, to steal. [P. c/iot-. S( '. chor.']
100. J(7r, a thief. [P. chdramtngro. SC. c//w', choromeiigro.]
101. (Tt/ro. See under ceVo.
102. <rrf/«. See under c<7/<'.
lO.S. <;<<A.vf, <'»/)«, sack, coat, a woinans jacket. [P. chukko. SC.
chuoko. See also under 6dfa.]
104. ^keni, Sfikni, a whip. [P. chukurc SC. chookni, choohi^e.]
105. crfwrt, a kiss. [P. c/m7Vier. SC. ch(f6ma.]
106. Mmlxi, Sdmho, a hill. [P. chumha. SC. choomha, choombo.]
107. 6ihnini, iumeni, something. [P. chnmanis, ' anything,
soiiiething ' ; chnmano, 'any oue, some one.' SC. choo-
vioui.]
108. <?iip(/. See under cnka.
109. {lireiKK See under ci?ro.
1 10. Sflri, knife. [P. churee. SC. chooi'i.]
111. <fitro. See under (TM^.
112. (Ttti', to bury. See under c^ir.
113. J'rfiuAon, a witch. [P. c/toi'iArfiic?. SC. choovikon, chovihdni.]
114. (^((d, (/tt(/, father. [P. dad, ddckis. SC. cZarZ, dddus.] See
115. cZdrff. See under ddrdi.
116. dfidengero, bastard. [SC. dndengro, dadomengro.]
117. ddduff, dddis, father. See dad.
118. dai, mother. [P. dy. SC. dei.]
119. c?«)i, tooth ; pi. dans. [P. ciaw^. SC. dan.]
120. ddnda, ddndar, dander, to bite. [P. fZan^. SC. dander,
dand, dun.]
121. (Zarrf?', do^^li, ddde, addrde, here, hither, look here. [P. gives
dordi as an exclamation, ' 0 my ! ' SC. as an interjection,
'lo, behold,' etc.]
192 AN A.MEUICAN-110MANI VOCABULARY
122. (Id, did, to give, to strike: dulen. apre, reading. [1*. dtl. SC.
del, ' to give, kick, hit, read.']
123. delaben, a present. [SC. dino, del-lo-mdndi]
124. delded, given.
125. de§, ten. [P. dish. SC. desk.]
126. dik, to see, look. [P. dik. SC. dik.]
127. dlkelo. See under dikld.
128. diken, looking.
129. dikio, bed-bugs [? a corruption of lik].
130. dikld, dikf'lo, a handkerchief, table-cloth, towel, napkin, shawl^
[P. dlklo, ' tiag, rag, dishclout.' SC. dlklu, ' handkerchief,
necktie, etc.']
131. dinlo, a fool, foolish. [P. dtninio. SC. dinilo, dlnh, dhd^e
(foTii.), ' fool ' ; dlnveri, ' silly, foolish."]
IS2. dives, divit<,diviis, day. [P.dlvvus. SCdivvu^i. S2. diress.]
133. divia ?ml*f, crazy man. [V. dtviiui,' m&d, crazy.' SC. div to,
divioo, ' mad, wild.]
134. diris. Hee under dives.
135. divus. See under dives.
136. dordi. See under ddrdi.
137. d'lvl, ribbon. [P. dori, ' rope.' SC. d4ri, ' string, twine, riband,
navel.']
138. ddrls, reins. [Colloquially ' ribbons.']
139. '/f'/sfa, enough, plenty, nuich, too much. [P.dosta. SC.ddsta.}
140. dovCi. See under duva.
141. dnd), medicine, poison. [P. drab. SC. di^ih.]
142. drahemjero, doctor. [P. drabemjro, ' physician, chemist.'
SC. drabei}(/ro, drubengri, ' druggist, doctor.']
143. dril, pedere. [SC. 7nl.]
144. drill. See under trin.
145. drum, road. [P. drain, ' way, road.' SC. dnwi.]
146. dild, a light. [P. dud, ' light, moon, lamp, month.' SC. doofl.]
147. dili, diir, two. [P. duee. SC. do6'i. S2. dwl]
148. fZu/uv/, diiker, to hurt, to ache, pain. [P. duk, 'pain, spirit';
dukker, 'hurt.' S(A dooker.]
149. dfiker, to ache. See under dvka.
150. diiker, diika, dnh'ren, to tell fortunes. [P. dukker. SC.
(/u/c/c67'.]
151. dukeren. See under diiker.
152. rftti. See under rfz-^
152a. diden, kicking.
I
AN AMERICAN-ROMAXI VOCABULARY 193
152b. ddly^r, to hit, to strike.
1 53. diimo, back. [P. dumo. SC. doomo.]
1 54. dur, diiro, far. [P. duro, ' far, distant.-" S( '. door, ' far, long.']
155. diiva, dovd, that (pronoun and conjunction, of. sent. 52). [P.
dovo. SC. dovn, ' that, it.']
156. diiva cirus, then. [Lit. 'that time.']
157. duvel, duvahel, God. [P. durel. SC. c/oo're/, ' God ' ; davel,
' God, sky, star." ]
158. evelen. See under 'f^Vert.
I 5f). /tx^'no, false, counterfeit. [V.fdshono. SC. foshono]
I tJO. fer, circus, fair. [ = Eni,dish ' fair.' SC. fdirus.]
1(51. feterder,fetrrder,hettGT. [P. f^dednr. SQ. fin^adair, fetta-
dnir, fetUiddiro.]
I(j2. fettrderus, best. [The only example of a superlative.]
1G3. tick, hog's fat. [English dialect ' Hick.']
I(j4. tiick, flick( n, flip, ipiick. [P. /f?c/t, 'clever.' Cf. Eng. dialect
' flick ' = a sudden jerk or movement, to move rapidly.]
I(i5. flip. See under ' flick.'
16G foki, folk, people. [i\ foki. SC. /u//a (pron. /o'/a).]
167. ior, before.
168. {orbimdo, forgotten. [P. bisner. SC. hisser, 'to forget.']
169. (jad, shirt. [P. gad, ' shirt, chemise.' SC. gad.']
170. gdjo. See under (/ch-jo.
171. gar jo. See under r/Jrjo.
172. gar, town, city, village. [P. gdv. SC. gar. S2. gov.]
173. gerl. See under giro.
174. gSro. See under gtru.
175. gil, glli, newspaper. [SC. ghilyaics,, ghUyengri.]
176. gil, gill, a song, to sing. [P. gillee, ' sing ; a song.' SC. ghU.]
.177. giliengro, gilier, singer.
178. <jfi7ier. See under giliSrtgro.
179. giro, girl, giro, boy, young man. [P. geero, ' person, fellovv-.'
SC. gdiro, ' man. Only applied to ^aitjios.' S2. gora, goro,
' man.']
180. giv, oats, wheat, grain, any horse-feed. [P. gtv. SC. yhiv.]
181. glim, sun. [A slang word.]
82. godld. See under gddlo.
VOL. IX. — Nos. in.-iv. N
194 AN AMERICAX-ROMAXT VOCABULARY
183. godli, trouble, noise. [P. godlee, ' thunder, noise ' ; f/udl<>,
'story, noise.' SC. godli.]
184. godlo. See under giidlo.
185. gdl, pie, sausage, pudding. [SC. g&i.]
186. gorjiken, non-Gyp.sy. [P. gdrjiko, ' Gentile.' SC. gorjikayia.]
187. gorjo, gdjo, gdrjo, a non-Gypsy. [P. govjo. SC. gaujo,
gaujer.]
188. grdfnl, krdfni, a nail, button. [P. Ivdfnee. SC. kradfni^
krdfni. See also krd/nes and knifni.]
189. ^rai, horse, [F. gry. SC. grei. S2. grast.]
190. grais M,i, horseshoe. [The only name Cornelius Cooper, one
of Sinclair's Gypsy informants, ever heard for ' horseshoe.'
He never heard oi petalo, the pure Gypsj^ name. Sinclair
adds: ' I have asked several recently [1900] who say the
same.' SC greiesto-chok.]
191. grdnza, grdnzo, a stable. [P. grdnya, ' barn.' SC. grdinsi,
grditza.] >
192. grdsni, mare. [P. grasnee. SC. grdsni. C. gresia.']
193. gruveni, griivni, gfirrtvnl, giiruv, grrtvili, ox, cow. [P.
grCtvnee, ' cow.* SC. groovni, grooven.]
194. grilvili. See under gruveni.
194a. grdvni. See under gruveni.
195. gffdlo, gvdln, gudiv, sugar. [P. gudlo, 'sweet, honey.' SC.
goddli,goddl().]
196. gdno, guna, a bag, sack. [P. gunno. SC. gdno, gnnno.]
197. gflrnv, giirrtvni. See under fl'rufe7ii.
198. hd, to eat. See under cd.
199. hdhen, victuals, food. [P. laibben. SC. hdben, koben.]
200. /((ten, eating.
201. Jian, bring. See under and.
202. hdnj, Jidrijen. See dnj, dnjen.
202a. hdnke teri, life (?), sents. 66, 121.
208. Jierd. See under huTiLv.
204. Iieruv. See under hiiruv.
205. hev, window, hole. [P. hPb. SC. Itev, Icev. S2. kev, -^^ev,
'hole.']
206. kevias, hdvyas, nits.
206a. hi, is, sents. 58, .208. [Possibly borrowed from German
Gypsies in America.] See also sL
207. hidzds. See under idzas.
AN AMEIUCAX-ROMANI VOCABULARY 195
208. horar, hocer, to burn. [P. hvcher. SC. hotelier, hotch. S2.
■X^otchfr.]
209. hocaren, burning.
210. ho6iwici, hedgehoor. [P. hdchewichee. SC. hofchi-witchi.]
211. hiika, to cheat. [P. /iitW, 'lie, boast, deceive.']
212. Inikdben, a. Vie. [P. hdkerhen. SC. hookapen, lioxaben.]
218. hnlevo, stocking; pi. Mlevas. [P. hdvalo. SC. hoolavers,
'stockings.' C. holara. S2. xolavd, 'stockings.']
2r3a. hdrrov. See under Atu^tr.
214. /nrr?t.v. See under /itirur.
2 1 '). h liruv, hih-rov, h4i\l, fieriiv, humis, leg. [F. hh-ree, ' leg, wheel
of a wagon.' S( '. hero, herer, ' leg, wheel.']
2IG. /(/ras, /tic^zas, clothes. [P. heezis. SC. eezaw. S2. id za.]
217. iijur. See under ingyer, vb.
218. I ngijer, fceces, dung, manure.
219. ingiff)', igur, cacare. [SC. hinder. S2. Jt wing,' cacare.']
220. ir, snow. [P. ylr. S(,'. hiv, iv.]
221. jd,jd,Jdl,jol, to go. [P.jaiv, • go, walk.' SC. jal,Jaiv, etc.]
222. jdl. See under ^d.
223. j in, to know. [P. yi>i, • know, understand.' SCJin. S2.jati.]
224. ji»', to live. [V.jlr. SC.jii-.]
225. jol. See under jdl.
22(i. Jab. See under J /Ir.
227. jiikal, jdko, jiikol, dog. [P. jukkal. SC. jookel, jook.]
228. jnko, jiikol. See wwdeT j nkal.
229. jHV./it6, louse. [P. ./<^. SC. joo'va. S2. /ua.] See also j)i^uw.
220. j Orel, jii vol, woi\\w[\. [P. jiva. SC. joovel.^
231. A-aj, where. [P. /.;'/. SC. A-^i. S2. kea.]
232. kaimengeros,, beau-catchers. [Flirts, coquettes.]
233. kdkd, uncle. Cornelius Cooper in 1909 gave kdko, ' grand-
father.' [P. kdko. SC. koko.']
234. kal, kel, cheese. [P. kil, ' butter, cheese.' SC. kal.']
235. kdla, kdlo, black. [P. kaulo, 'black, lazy.' SC. kaillo, masc. ;
kailli, fern.]
236. kdliko, yesterday. [P. kdliko. SC. Jcdliko.]
2:^7 kam, kan, moon. [P. chon. SC. choom, shoon, etc.] See also
under con.
238. kdm, kom, to love, like, desire, to want. [P. kaum. SC. kom.]
196 A\ AMERICAN-ROMANI VOCABULARY
239. kdmahen, love, a lover. [1*. kdmmoben, 'love' (abstract).
SC. komoben, ' love, friendship."]
240. kxin, moon. See under Inm.
241. lean, stink, to stink. [P. kaun. SC. kan, kdnder.']
242. kan, ear ; pi. kanid. [P. Jean. SC. kan.]
248. Jcana. See under kend.
244. kdna sig, right away ! now quick ! [P. kSnnd - sig. SC.
kdnna sig, ' immediately.']
245. kandngero, kandngerd, kanengcro, rabbit, hare. [P. kanen-
gro, 'rabbit.' SC. kanengro, kanengri, ' hare.']
246. kdni, Jcdno, Jcanhi, chicken, hen. [P. kdni. SC. kdnni,
Jcdxni.]
247. kdr. See under ker.
248. kardkalo, a servant. [C. kairikeni. ' housekeeper.' S2.
ket^iJcani.]
249. kdri. See under kori.
250. /ra.s, hay. [P. kns. SC. /ats.]
251. kastogis, hay-rick. [P. kas-stoggiui. SC. kasdngro, and
stug^i, ' stacks.']
252. ka.^t, kos, ko.U, stick, wood. [P. h'^sht. SC. koshf.]
253. katsis, scissors. [P. kdtsi. SC, katsers, kattiies.]
254. /i^ec^ed, did, made. [SC. ^rrfo, etc.]
255. kek, kekd, no, not. [P. kek, ' no more ; ' kekker, ' no, never.' SC.
kek."]
256. kel. See under /.«/.
257. kel, to dance. [P. /u?^, ' play any instrument, spori." SC. kel]
258. kelen, dancing. [SC. hil'ing.]
259. kend, kdna, now. [W kennd. SC keiidiv, knaw.]
260. ker, kdr, house. [P. kaii: SC. kair,]
261. A-er, /L-wr, to do, make, put, shut. [\\ kalr. ^C. kair.]
262. /re/" a;?r^, to write.
263. kerdo, done. [P. ko^o, ' made.' SC. M?o, kairdo.] See also
A:airfZo.
264. keren, putting.
265. keri, kere, kriri, to or at home. [P. ktrri. SO. kSH, kere.]
266. kester, kistCi, to ride. [P. klstur. SC. kester, klster. S2.
His^er.]
267. HJeiJia, saloon, tavern, inn. Cornelius Cooper in 1909 gave
kicemo. [P. ktchema. SC. kitcJiema.]
268. /a^, butter. [P. /ci^, ' butter, cheese.' SC. kil.]
269. kin, to buy. [P. kin. SC. /«'«.]
AX AMERICAN-ROMAN! VOCABULARY 197
270. hino, tired. [P. klnlo. SO. kino, kinno, etc.]
271. kisi, kisi, pocket-hook. [P. klssi. SO. kisi, ' puvse.']
272. kisfa. See under kesfer.
27-3. klisen, klissen, klissene, key, lock and key, handcuff. [P. klisin.
SO. klisin, 'lock' ; klerin, 'key.' S2. klizn, 'clasp, buckle.']
274. ko, wlio. [P. kun. SC. ko.]
275. koklo, kiikolo, kfikolo, a doll, [P. kfikalo, ' goblin.' SO. kookdo.]
27j6. /i:o?>i,. See under kdm..
277. komla, komlo, s^ood-natured, [SC. komdo, 'loving, kind,
dear.']
278. knna, when. [SC. kdnna, konna."]
279. kdiif/rr, kongd, to comb. [SC. konga, kongl.']
280. ki'mgeri, kongl i, konggo, a comb. [P. kongli. SC. kongali.']
2H1. kongeri, konggrl, kongri, church. [P. kongree. SC. kongeri,
kongri]
2S2. konggo. See under kongeri.
283, kongli. See under kongeri.
284. kopar, kdppo, blanket; pi. kopai'S. [SC. I'o/i/w.]
28.5, Awi, /i«?"?, penis ; domestic cock. [SC. /ravn'/.]
286. Aro"^, /lo.s7. See under /ta.^^
287. A-o'ra, that. [P. Av//'0, ' this.' SC. '/wr^vv.]
288. k'h'ti, kiiva, hivo (sent. 22), thing, something. [P. kovva.
SC. bivva.]
280. knifews. See under krdfnes.
290. krdfnes, krdfenes, buttons. See also krdfni and grdfni.
291. krdfni, button. See also under grdfni. [P. krdfnee. SC.
kradfni, krdfni, etc.]
291a. A->'/77cw.9, Sunday. [P. /Lm'?'//,-^,'?, ' week, Sunday.' SC. /crooVco,
* week ' ; kooroko, kooroki, ' Sunday.']
292. kCikdvl, kettle, tea-kettle. [P. kekdvi. SC. kekdvi.]
29*1 kfikavl-kc^t, kettle-stick, crane.
294. knkero, self, [P. kokkero. SC. kokero, kokero.]
295. kilk6li<t, bone, [P. kdkalos. SC, kokdlos, etc.]
296. kukolo. See under /i:o7t*^o.
297. Avl^ct, a shilling. [SC. /to7^/, M^i, ' things, shillings.']
298. kumiev, kumini, more. [P, ktimee. SC. A;o?7ii, komodair,
'more,' kdmeni, 'some.']
299. kur, to do. See under ker.
300. A-/7r, to tight, beat. [P. kilr. SC, koor.]
301. A-rt7V(, A-ilro, kiiro, cup, mug. [P. /cwrro, cup, glass. SC,
koori, koro, kiira.^
198 AN AMERICAN-ROMANI VOCABULARY
302. kfirdmengero, soldier. [P. kvromengro. SC. kooromengro.]
303. hiirdo, done. [SC. hairdo^ See also k^rdo.
304. kuredo, blind. See also under kilrono. [P. kordo. SC. kdi'o,
kuredo, korodo, kdrdi.]
305. kiiri,. See under ksri.
306. kiirlo, throat. [P. gidlo. SC. kdrlo, kur.]
307. kiiro, kiiro. See under kfira.
307a. /.;w?'o, spoiled. Sent. 84b. [? a mistake for ^)?iro, ' old ' or
kerdo, ' done for.']
308. kurono, kiirono, blind. See also under kiiredu.
309. kilrov, to cook, boil. [S( '. ke'rai:]
310. kfirren, war, to fight, lighting.
310a. M-^^«7, well.
311. kiisto, good. [P. kushto, good, happy. S( '. kooshto, koosjiko. \
312. /.•rf?;a. See under kova.
313. /.vfv?,, onion. [? = ' things.']
314. Icic, Idea, to find. [P. ^ac//, ' Hnd. meet.' S( -. ^a<c/t.]
315. Idrerdo, lo(\n'd, found. [SC, Idtchno.]
316. lade. See under /^'A-e.
317. /«j, shame. [I\ /a/', 'shame, shamed.' SC ladj.]
318. /ay'd, lar, ashamed. [( '. ladjado.]
319. bike, lade, she, her. [1*. Idki, Idtti. SC. WH, Idkro.]
320. /(/r, word. [P. ^7r. SC. ^«f.]
321. ^eZ, ^?t^, take, to take. [P. /?/, 'get, receive, acquire." S(\ lei.]
322. /e'lifZe, he, him, she, they, them. [P. Ihide, they, them. SC.
len, ' them ' ; Undi, ' to them, them,' etc.]
323. lendis, they.
324. les, Engl. ' let us.'
325. leste, Usti, he, him, she, her, you, your. [P. Hater, ' he, hini.'
SC. lesfi, ' his, her, it.']
326. likia, likyas, lice. [SC. lik, ' nit.']
327. lil, paper, letter, card, book, dollar ; pi. lilia or lilya. [P. Ill,
' letter, book.' SC. lil, ' book, paper.']
328. livena, liveno, livna, ale, beer. [P. IH'inor. SC. livena, etc.]
329. locardi. See under Idrerdo.
330. Iner. See under Inr.
331. lul. See under lei.
332. Zfl/o, red. [P. lollo. SC. /o7r>, etc.]
333. liin, salt. [P. /u7?. St.'. loii.]
334. /ar, Zifer, robber. [SC. loor, ' to rob, plunder.']
AN AMERICAN-ROMANI VOCABULARY 199
335. hlva, luvo, money. [P. lUvvo. SC. lava, loovo, lovo.]
336. Ifiveni, Itivnl, prostitute. [P. Inheni. SC. loobni, luvni.]
337. md, md, vidr, mor, do not. [P. man, nior. SC. maa,
maw.'l
338. mdci, fish. [P. macho. SC. mdtcho, mdtchi.]
339. rruicJcd, vuUka, cat. [P. machka. SC. matchka. S2.
tnaksti.']
340. md ilvl, mdiliju, doTikey. [P. myla. ^C. meila, Tnoila.]
341. mdkli. See under mdriJdi.
342. imiklls. See under mdriklis.
343. 9Ha7J, mdnde, mange, I, me. [P. mdndi. SC. wan, Tndndi,
mdnghi.]
344 mdnde. See under m<7n.
345. mdng, mong, to beg, to want. [P. mCmg. SC'. 7no7i,r/.]
346. mdnge. See under 9/m7i.
347. mdr, ?n<ir, to kill. [P. ?n'77', ' die, kill.' SC. waur, 7?io?'.]
34S. inari'i. See under mdro.
349. mdrikli, m4kli, murikli, a cake. [P. mdlliko, mdriklo. SC.
350. mdriklis, mdklis, mdriklis, beads. [SC. merikios, Tneriklies,
' beads, bracelets.']
351. /Hfiro, mdrd, bread. [P. mdro, mdnro. SC. mauro. S2.
7)UnJ7'0.]
352. mdrtikO, hammer. [Fr. marteau.]
353. 77105, meat, flesh. [P. mas. SC. 77ia.s.]
354. mdsov, a fat animal [? Engl. ' mass of fat'].
355. mdto, mdta, drunk. [P. mdtto. SC. motto, masc. ; motti, fem.]
356. men, neck. [SC. men.'\
357. menge, mengi, we, us. [P. niende. SC. mdiule, ' to us, we,
us ' ; menghi, ' me, we.']
358. mer, mur, to die. [P. nier, mor, muller. SC. mer, mel.]
359. mSriben, muriben life, to kill. [SC. meriben, meripen, ' death,
life.']
360. 7nf, me, my. [SC. me, ' I ' : mi-, ' my.']
361. 7Jifa, mir, mile. [P. »iee. SC. meea.]
362. 7ni7its 7)1 mj, female, woman. [Rede, jmdendum muliebre. P.
minch, ' pudendum feminse.' SC. mindj, minsh.]
363. 7n?r. See under 7)ifa.
363a. 77itVo, my. [P. meero, ' my, mine.' SC. meiro meiri, etc.]
364. misto, more.
200 AN AMERICAN-ROMANI VOCABULARY
365. misto, imUto, better. [P. mtshio, 'glad, good.' iiC. mishto,
misto, ' well, good, glad.']
366. maker, to dirty or spoil (a dish or cup). [SC. moker, ' to foul,
dirty.']
367. moh'rd, spoiled,
368. inoklo, dirty. [SC. ino^odo, mookedo.]
369. mpiig. !See under mdng.
369a. mor. See under ind.
370. mul, face, mouth. [P. tnnee. SC. mooi.']
371. 7>i<7/c, let, allow. [P. 7«w/i, ' let, leave.' SC. moo/.-.]
372. imiktd, vinkto, box. [P. mvkto. SC. iiiokto, 7Ho;^^>.]
373. mukyad, mukyerd, a trunk, [a variant oi imiktal]
374. ?H??7o, dead. [P. 7)ih//o, ' corpse, dead man, ghost.' SC. 7)ioo7o.]
375. mdhcrit, tin. [P. moUauvis, 'pewter.' SC. viulos, violov,
' lead.' S2. millavos, ' lead, solder.']
376. mdinli, vifimli, mdmeli, & candle. [V. vuhnrli fZ»(Z, ' candle,'
lit. ' wax-light.' SC. vidmbli, mihnli. C. moovii.]
377. nuhnli kos, a candlestick.
378. »iM?'. See under ?)«<??'.
379. mdi'av, to shave. [SC. morov.]
380. ?)i?tmi;en, shaving.
381. m/<?'en, to die, dying.
382. mdriben, to kill. See also meriben.
383. mdriben, life. See under meriben.
384. mdrikli. See under mdrikli.
385. nidriklis. See under »utri/i7<'s.
386. mzlsA"c?'o, iHtts/cro, policeman. [P. f/af'-»iii.s/<. SC. mooshkcro,
mooshero.]
387. mdskero-kost, policeman's club. [SC. mous/i kero-kosht.]
388. 7Hils, man ; pi. mfiSas. [P. mush. SC. 7)ioos/i.]
389. mdsto. See under wU<o.
390. muter, mfiter, urine: vb., to urinate. [P.miLfter. SCmdter.]
391. m li teram^nge ro, tesipot. [SC. ?/i<t<^'ri7nJ7i^e/'i, ' tea ' ; mi<<crr-
viongeri-koova, ' teapot.']
392. mtiteremenffOymatiUa. [P. mu/^e^'mengr/w", ' urinal,' also ' tea.'
SC. 7>i?<^ering-/.-o7«.]
393. ndfoll, ndfolJ, sick, ill. [P. 7jff/o. SC. ndfalo, ndfali.]
394. 7i«7<. See under nok.
395. 7ia/i-. See under nok.
396. ndkingero. See under nokengero.
A\ A.MEIUCAN-ROMANI VOCABULARY 201
o97. ndngo, naked, bare. [P. ndngo. SC. nongo.]
.Sns. mUav, ndsou, to lose, hang. [P. nasher, ' lose, forget, hang.'
SC. nd.^Jwr. S2. nashav.l
399. ndsovd, hanged. [SC. ndshedo, etc.] '
400. ndv, nav, name. [P. nav. SC. nar.'\
401. nevi, nivi, new. [P. nH^'o, SC. ndvo, nevo, nevi]
402. ndgi, nugi, ntigi, niki, own, my own. [P. Tidho. SC. ndgo,
nogo.^
403. nok, ndh, ndk, nose. [P. ndk. SC. no/.-.]
404. nokengero, ndkengero, a glandered horse. [SC. nokengro,
'snurt', glandered horse.']
I 405. nugi, nfigi. See under ndgl.
400. nff/ci. See under nogi.
I
407. o, the. [SC. o.]
40.S. odoi, there. [P. advi. SC. odoi, oddi.]
409. op*5. See under apre.
410. Jm, time, watch. [SC. ora.]
411. om. See under arrf.
■i\2. pdbe, p<Hm>1, i\\)Tp\e. [P. pabo. SC pdbo, pdbi.]
413. /jd<T(/. See under y^rtsa.
414. j)ddl,pdti, lace.
415. /»«rfo, jJtn'tZo, ji)»7'f/o, lull. \V. pordo. SC. pordo. C.jydrder,
• to till.']
416. pddol. See under prt>c?ai.
■^Xl . pdias, pdida, pCirids, iwn. [?. pgas. SC. peias.]
418. 2>«Z, brother. [P. paL SC. ^>rtl Si. pral]
419. paM, behind. [P. ^a//er, ' follow,' SC paldl,pdlla^
\2.0. pale, pdli, hack. [?. paidi. SC pcmli, paule.]
421. 2)dni, pdnl, y^&ter, sea. [?. pdnee. SC p>ttdni, pdni.]
■i'2'2. panj, spdnj,fixe. [?. panch. SC pandj , pansh.']
423. pdno. See under p(7>7io.
424. pdnum, j^dnnam, to tie. [P. jJdndei^ 'shut.' SC. pdnder,
p>and,pan, ' to shut, tie, bind, etc.'] See sent. 156.
425. pdpeu, pdpin, duck. [P. pappin, ' duck, goose.' SC. pidpin,
' goose.' S2. popni, ' goose.']
425a. 2)«r, wing. [P. jjor/, ' feather.' SC.|909', 'feather.'] Seepori.
426. pdrdal, pdrddl, pddol, over, across. [P. pdrdel, p)arl. SC.
pdrdal, pdrdel.'\
4:21. pdrdo. See under pacZo.
202 AN AMERICAN-ROMANI VOCABULARY
428. pdrids. See under pdias.
429. pdrno, pdrno, pdno, white. [P. pauno. SC. pm'uo.^
430. pdro. See under hdro.
431. pasa, pdsa, paser, pdda, to believe. [SC. pdtf*er. C. pdsaer,
' to trust, borrow.']
432. p)dsddo, believed.
433. paser. See under ^9a.«»nf.
434. paten, pater n, bunch of leaves to show which way to go at
cross-roads. [P. pf/^era??. SC. pi^7*t7j, pd/iw.]
435. pdti. See under pWi.
43(). pek, to roast. [P. pekker, ' bake, cook.' SC. p?/i. C. peker, ' to
cook.']
437. ^^en, sister. [P. ph\. SC. pen.]
438. pen, to say, tell, believe. \\\ phi. SC. p«?k]
439. peiu'kel, &n iron nail. [? ;)f?ic/ira, 'nut,' misused of an 'iron
nut ' or ' head of a nail.']
440. /)pr, stomach, belly, inside. See also rendri. [SC. per.
(.'. }>eer, por, 'stomach.' S2. par.]
441. per, pur, to fall. [SC. per, pel.]
442. perdni. See under pirdiu.
-i-iS. ])€8d, p^ser, to pa.y. [V. ])^8sur. iiC. pesser. ii2. plesser.]
444. />^/g7i(i?i7e?'(>, blacksmith. [P. p?/u^'7i(/?'o. SC. petalengro.]
44.5. 2^i, drink, to drink. [P. pec SC. pee.]
446. indmengero, pidmdngera, tea, teapot. \SC peemengro.]
447. pt?', to walk. [P. jjh^i. SC. ;>f<??', p/rar.]
448. pirdnl, piram, fem., lover. [P. pireni, 'sweetheart.' SC.
2)irini.]
449. ptrdno, masc, lover. [SC. pirino.]
450. pfmren, to court, make love to. [SC. pirtv.]
451. pirdo, one having a little Gypsy blood. [SC. peerdo, ' tramp,
vagrant.']
452. piren, walking.
453. pjvi, piro, pro, foot; pi. pirls. [P. ptrri. SC. peero, peeri.]
454. plVi, pot. [P. kilri. SC. pe^?'t, ' cauldron," etc.]
455. pisiim, a fit.
456. pi^um, pfi-suni, louse, Ilea; pi. 2^i.vit)«s. [P. ptshom, 'bee.'
SC. pisham, pooshunia, ' Hea, fly, honey. ]
457. piuk, pyuk, rat. [A cant word.]
458. pivli jilvol,hivli jnvoliVfidovf. [P. pivii,' widow. iiC.peevli-
gairi.]
4i5d. pivli mus, widower. [P. plvlo. SC. peevlo-gai7'o.]
AN AMERICAN-ROMANI VOCABULARY 20S
460. pldsta, pldda, chain, shawl. [P. plashta, ' cloak, towel, dish-
cloth.' SC. pldshta, etc.]
4(jl. po(/a, i>6ger, to break, broken. [P. pSgger, 'break, smash.'
SC. 2?o<7er, po^r.]
462. ponjnekis. See under posnehis.
463. popli, pdpoli, apopli, again. [SC. popli, apojdi.]
464. /)^iri, tail, feather. [P. pori, ' feather ' ; poris, ' tail.' SC. por,
' feather ' ; pirri, ' tail, end.'] See jiar.
465. pdrus, hill. [Evidently the same word as the following.]
466. pOruscz, stairs, [ez = Engl. pi. P. partus, ' st.».ir ' ; pi. p)ortuses.
S( '. poordas. ( ". pvdas.^
MJ7. pos, half. [P. pfish. SC. posh.]
46S. poUira, poslcera, a cent. [SC. posh-horri, • half-penny.' See
also under «ra.]
Mji). poskflna, half-crown. [SC. pos/i-/i;o(/ro7ia.]
470. pohtekis, ponjnekis, handkerchief". [P. pottg-dishler. SC.
p. Mb, poslnvckus. S2. ^o.smajfcas.]
47 1. prfls'/a, prdstCi, jtrdster, quick, go quick, hurry, run. [P.
prdsfcr, ' run.' SC. prdster, pixidster. S2. prost, ' to run.']
472. prasteramengero, high-sheriff, deserter, run-away-horse. [P.
prdstermingro, ' policeman, runner.' ii>C. prdstermengro,
' runner, policeman, deserter'; prdsterom^ngro, 'deserter.']
473. jyre. See under api'i.
474. 2^To. See under ajrrS.
475. ^jwr, p<<<r, to ask. [V. packer. '^^C pootch. C. pootcher.]
476. pAkenes, pdkenis, prix^nes, a lawyer, justice of the peace. [P.
poknees, ' magistrate.' S(J. pokenyus, pookinyus, 'justice
of the peace.']
477. piker, to tell. [P. pdker. SC. 2>ooA:er.]
478. pnkerew, lying, a liar.
479. piixenes. See under pvkenes.
480. pur. See under ^^^r.
481. jjjij'av. See under pH rot'.
482. pdrdo. See under pddo.
483. pfiro, para, old. [P. pHro. SC. pooro (masc. ), poori (fem.).]
484. /)fl7*o kdkd, grandfather. [Lit. ' old uncle.' SC. pooro-ddd.
See also under kdkd^
485. piirov, purav, puruv, to trade, exchange. [P. pur, ' change.'
SC. pura, pdra.~\
486. pfirum, onion. [P. purum, ' onion, leek.' SC. poorumi,
poruma..]
204 AN AMERICAN-ROM ANI VOCABULARY
487. piivwv. See under pitrov.
488. pus, straw. [P. pus. SC. poos^
489. piisengero, adj., straw. [SC. j)oosenrfro. 'straw-rick.']
490. pusuTn. See under^^i^'wm.
491. piitsi, pocket. [P. piitsi. SC. pootsi.]
492. piitsi ketio, pickpocket.
493. putso, duck. [S( '. retsi, retza, rdtsa.] See also rutso.
494. puv, earth, ground. [P. ^)i7v, SC. poor. S2. pov, ' field. ]
495. puvdkero, white turnip.
496. piivingero, potato. [P. puvengri, ' potatoes.' S( ". poovengvi,
poovylngri, ' potato.']
497. pyuk. See under ' piiik.'
498. rdfamyas. See under I'okdimas.
499. 7v/i, gentleman. [P- J\'/. SC. rei.]
500. rdker, rdkcr, n'lkrr, rdker, to talk. [P. rCihr. SC. rokrr.^
501. Wtkli, rdkli, girl. [P. rdkli. SC. rdkli. S2. roUl]
502. rdkld, boy. [P. rCiklo. SC. rdklo.]
503. ran, osier; pi. r<hi?/as or n'miaa. [P. >vnj, ' cane. rod. reed."
SC. ra?i.]
504. rant, girl, young woman, lady. [P. nlnre, ' lady.' SC.
rauni.]
505. rds^ii, clergyman, priest. [P. raslnj. SC. rdshel. S2.
?Yas/ia/.]
50G. ?*rt/, m/, blood. [P. 7*(J^ SC. ratt.^
507. rdti, rdti, rdtti, night. [P. rati. SC. vadtL]
50S. riga, riger, to bring, carry. | I'. vXkh'r. SC. righrr, etc.]
509. rinkna, rinkno, rinlcrno, pretty. [P. rinkeno (masc), rtn-
keni (fem.). SC. r'lnhno, etc.]
510. r'iv, to wear. [P. rir. SC. ?'U'.]
511. ro/, a spoon. [P. ro/. SC. ?'o/, ro?. S2. ro/;^.]
512. rokdimas, rokeugeros, rdfamyas, trousers. [P. rokdmyas.
SC. rokonyus, etc.] Cf. also trdiiyar.
513. rokeugeros,. See under rokaimas.
514. rdkrr. See under rdker.
515. 7*om, ?'um, husband, a Gypsy. [P. rc^?n. SC. ?'o?>i.]
51(3. rdmdni, romdnis, Gypsy. [SC. rdmano, rdmani, rdmanes.]
517. romdniial, a male Gypsy. [P. ruinnichol. SC. romani-
chaL]
518. romni, rihnni, wife, a Gypsy woman. [P. rdmni. SC.
rdmcni, etc.]
AX AMERICAN-ROMANI VOCABULARY 205
ol9. rov. See under ruv.
.')20. rovan. See under ruv&n.
520a. riidahen, clothing, dress. [P. rirrahpns, ' clothes.' SC.
roiklopen, ' dress, clothing.']
.521. ?'/7VZi6e>i, dressed.
522. rtijl, rriji, clean, to clean.. [P. yozho, " clean, pure'; ruzhno,
' bright, shining.' SC. yooso, yoozo, ' clean, pure.' S2.
jiizhu, ' clean.']
523. ruk, tree; pi. j^ff'A-i/as [a double pi.]. [P. ruk. ^C. rook]
524. rttkia, tree [? pi.].
525. rum. See under rom.
52<j. rumd, rumar, rdnier, to marry. [P. rummer. SC. romer.]
527. rHmatZ7(l, married. [S(A romado, romerQ^.]
52S. rdmaiii. See under ?vj?7Kt?ii.
529. I'd ma r. See under r<tmrt.
530. rfimer. See under ru?>ia.
531. rdmni. See under ro'm^ii.
532. riLp, nip, silver. [P. nip. S(J. roojj.]
533. rfl7)e7io, adj. silver. [P. ?'ilj?/)e?io, ' silvern.' SC. roopono, etc.]
534. /'ufsc*, duck. [SC nitiM.] See also/) af so.
535. ruv, rov, to cry. [P. rov, row, ' weep.' SC. rov.]
536. ruven, 7*oten, crying.
537. nlzi, flowers. [P. ruzlia, 'flower.' SC. rdzali, rdsheo.]
538. sd, 8iir, all, every. [P. sar, ' all, how.' SC. sor.]
539. sdln, come up [? A mistake, cf. sent. 6].
540. sdlil, morning. [P. saula. SC. 'sadla, 'saida.]
541. sa/«7ii, laughing, mocking. [?] See sent. 13a.
542. sdlordjes, solCwdges, bridle. [P. solivdris. SC. sdlivdrus,
sdlivdrdo.]
543. sap, snake. [P. sap. SC. sap.]
544. sdpen, soap. [SC. sdpin.]
545. sdr. See under sd.
54G. sdr, sdr, so, what, how, why. [SC. sar, so.]
547. sdrMn. See under s«srt>i.
548. sdsta, sdsta, sdster, sdsto, chain, iron. [P. saster. SC. sdrsta,
sdster.]
549. sdster. See under sdsta.
550. sdsto. See under sdsta.
551. srtsrt'w, sdrkin, Msdn, how are you ? [P. sdrishdn. SC. .s«r
's/<a».]
20G AN AMEHICAN-ROMANI VOCABULARY
552. sd§ta, sdsto, sdSter, kettle-stick, iron. [P. sdshta.]
553. Santas, sdsters, handcuffs, irons. [C. sastere.]
554. sdsto. See under sdsta.
555. sasters. See under sastas.
556. sav, to laugh. [P. savvi. SC. sav.]
557. 81, is, are. [P. se, ' it is.' SC. 'see, 'si] See also hi.
558. sig, quick. [P. stg. SC. «/«y. C. sid.]
559. st/c^r, show, to show. [P. slicker. SC. i^iJcer. S2. sZ/oau.]
560. sis, to have.
561. .slv, a needle. [P. si. SC. soov.]
562. siv, to sew. [P. slv. SC. .sv'v.]
563. siwen, sewing.
564. slcdme. See under skamin.
565. skdnien, skdmin, brush, to brush.
566. skdmin, skdme, skdmo, chair. [ P. skammin. SC. skdmin.]
567. skdmo. See under .skdmin.
568. skaut, a watch. [A Tinker word.]
569. skrika. See under .vrf/tvt.
570. skflnias, skdnyas, boots, [a double pi.]. [P. skunya, ' hoot.'
S(J. skrunya, skdnyaivs, ' boots.']
571. smeltum, cream. [P. fino-tad. SC. smetiting, smentini
C. smelt ini.]
572. so. See under sdr.
573. solovdges. See under stdovdjfs.
574. sovohdl, sdvdhdl, to swear. [P. sdcahaul, .suUahaivl,' curse,
swear.' SC. sdverhol, sdvlohol.]
575. spdnj. See under pa/ j_y.
576. s^dc/i, s^nZi, hat. [Wstaddi. SC. staddi, stddi, stdti]
577. sMfZo, arrested, imprisoned. [P. stardo, 'imprisoned.']
578. s^tima, s/dnya, barn, stable. [P. sfdnya. ^iiJ.atdnya.]
579. star, stdr. See under .^tdr.
580. stdramengero, prisoner. [SC. ' steromengro. C. staromeskries,
* prisoners.']
581. stdrihen, prison. [P. starihen. SC. 'steripen.]
582. s^g^o, s/g7/, proud. [? English ' state,' ' stately.] [P. biioino.
SC. booino.]
583. s^igfa, gate. [SC. stigher.]
584. silm, to smell. [P. sum. SC. soom.]
585. sdmin, sflmun, zdmun, soup, broth. [P. .slmmun. SC.
si^n€?i. S2. 3;n?nen.]
586. sdniJcai, sdniki, siinekc, gold. [P. sonnaky. SC. soJnaA-et.]
AN AMERICAN-ROMAN! VOCABULARY 207
587. stniko, adj. of gold, golden. [SC. soonahei.']
588. siiti, sati,s\QQ]i. [P. sTt^io, ' a dream, to dreaui.' SC. sod^i, 'to
sleep.' S2. sut, ' to sleep.']
589. siivdhdl. See under sovohdl.
590. sdven, coition; vb. to copulate. [SC. sov. S2. suv.]
591. suvohdlen, swearing. See also under sovohdl.
592. swdgla, sirdgld, swdgli, a pipe. [P. sivegler, ' tobacco-pipe.'
SC. mvdgler, sivegler.]
593. kido, a cup. [? Metathesis or back slang, cf. SC. dash : or as
Dr. Sampson suggests, English ' shard,' cf. ' shard of tea,'
= 'cup of tea." (Wright, EnglisJi Dialect Dictionary.)]
594. sdds, dishes. [Cf. Sddo.]
595. .Vile, cabbage. [P. shok. SC. shok. S2. shox-]
596. san, are. [SC. 'sJuin, ' art, are,' etc.]
597. Sdsdn. See under sdSdn.
598. Sel, one hundred. [SC. p. 162, shel]
599. Md, Selo, halter, rope. [SC. shelo, sholo.]
GOO. &'?-o, head. [P. sherro. SC. sUro.]
601. sil, slow.
602. .HI, a cold. [P. shill, ' ice.' SC. shil, ' cold, catarrh.']
603. siUno, adj. cold. [SC. shxlino.^
604. <Jo'&r,i. See under Miai.
605. i7ar, stdr, star, four. [P. 8Af(>7-. SC. star.]
606. .srf^a, ^rf6«, Stivd, dress. C. Cooper in April 1883 gave shuho.
[P. shuho, 'dress, gown.' SC. shooba, shoova, gown,
frock.']
607. silf, .suk, six. [P. shov. SC. shov.]
608. h'lk. See under silf.
609. .s-rt'Ara, ^rt'A^i, ^rt'A-ar, §f^ko, Skiika, soft, low, nice, easy, slow. [SC.
shookdr, ' nicely, quietly, slowly.']
610. Mkadilo, a plate. [SC. skooddlin.]
611. siikar. See under ^?fA;a.
612. sukdri, sixpence. [SC. shookhauri, shaiihauri, etc.]
613. .sfiko. See under siika.
614. sun, to hear. [P. s^ift?!. SC. shoon.]
615. 6^ri?i<a, listen, silence : [SC. shoonta.']
616. siikii, sdsai, rabbit, hare. [P. shoshoi. SC. s/iosAd, s/ios/ii.
S2. shushai.]
617. ^H^, vinegar. [P. shut. SC. s/ioot]
618. fc'ff'i-a. See under s?76rt.
619. Siivli, enceinte. [P. shnvali. SC. shoovli, shoohli.]
208 AX AMERICAN-ROMANI VOCABULARY
620. tdci, tdco^ right, true. [P. tacho, ' true, faithful' SC. tdtcho.]
621. tacipen, truth. [P. tdchoben. SC. tdtchipen. C. tdtchomus.']
622. tdco. See under ^rfc^i.
623. tad, tad, to pull, draw. [P. iader. SC. ^d?-rfpr.] ^
624. tai, also, too. [SC. tei.']
625. ^a^g, ^<?^g, down. [P. talh'y, ' below, under.' SC. tele, taU.]
626. tan, camp, tent, place. [P. tav. S( '. tau. tdno.]
627. tdno. See under tdrno.
628. tdrno, tdno, young. [P. /dno. SC. tdrno, tauno.]
629. ^dfo, hot. [P. tdtto. S( '. tdtto.]
630. ^(ifo cfriis, summer. [Lit. ' hot time.' SC. tdttoben.]
631. tdto 2^'^ni, whisky. [Lit. ' hot water.' P. tdtto /»in{. H(\
tdtto-]jdni.]
632. tar, tur, a smoke, to smoke. [P. Mv (vb. and noun). S( '.
toov, toof.'\
633. tav, thread. [P. fnr, SC tav, taf. S2. tav, '(lace) thread ';
turr.'^
634. te, to. [SC. /t'.]
635. tele. See under /a/t-.
636. tern, country. [P. tern. S( '. ton. S2. tlirju.]
637. iemeiifjero, an Irishman, Irish. [S(,'. liindi-temdngro, ' irish-
man.']
638. teri, terl, life, live. [?] ( "f. sents. 06, 121.
639. til, cil, hold, to hold, to have. [I*, till, ' hold, manage.' SC. til.
C. tiW'r. S2. /i7.]
640. tiro, tro, thy. [l\ teero. SC. <<'eVo.]
641. to-fZivfs, to-day. [V. to-dlrvus. SC. A'e-f/iiTus,]
642. trdnyar, trdnyur, trousers. See also rokaimas.
643. traS, SitraS, fear, afraid. [P. ti\ish. SC. /rasA, <r(i.s/te»\]
644. trin, drin, three. [P. A?'m. SC. trin, tring.]
645. tringiUi, trinisi, a shilling. [S( '. trin-gorislii.^
646. iro. See under tiro.
647. tripias, trApyas, corsets. C. Cooper in April 1883 gave
trapios. [P. truuppo, ' body.' SC. troopus, troopia, troope,
'stays.']
648. tiicni, tdiini, basket. [P. trdshnee. SC. tooshni, tdshni,
' fagot, basket.']
649. tad, milk. [P. tad. SC. ^ooJ.]
650. tag, tdgd, tdgo, trouble. [P. tugnun, ' grief, sorrow ' ; tuJdi,
' trouble, grief SC. toog, ' sorrow.']
651. tiildben, grease, fat. [P. tdllohen. SC. tdllopen.']
AN AMERICAN-ROMANI VOCABULARY 200
li52. hilo, adj., fat. [P. tullu. SC. tullo, tidli']
653. Msd, all about you, with you. [SC. tussa, ' with thee, thee.']
654. tnSini. See under tndini.
<)55. tut, tnte, thou, thy, you, your, us. [P. tiiU. SC. to6ti.'\
1)56. ^u»', smoke. See under /«r.
657. ^r(/-, to wash. [?.tOc. SC. ^or.]
(558. t liven, washinsf.
t)5y. tdcla,tdLio, tohnQco. [l\ tiivalo. ^C.todvlo,tiivlo.]
ii60. dlda, likto. twenty. [So explained in two of Sinclair's manu-
scripts. Lydia ( "ooper knew the word in 1902, but Avas
not sure of the meanin,l,^ The word really means ' eight.'
P. okdo. SC. p. 161, ochto, oitoo.]
(j61. a pre, dpri, npro, nprd. See under aprL
662. raidiKjcri. See under 6'«m7igr<??'o.
1)68. vdlno. See jmder vdino.
'^^iS^. t'(i/en, V(t//;i, bottle. [P. uu^^m, 'glass.' 'i^C vdlin, ivdlin.]
<i65. vdlevan. See under bdlavas.
()66. ?'<fn7i^,u't//t(7/.s,aring,abit,apiece. [SC. cdngusti, 'nng,iinger.']
667. vara, vara, flour, meal. [P. voro. SC. vdro, voro.]
ti68. vdsida, bad. [P. ivdfedo. SC. vdsavo, ivdfnlo, ivdsedo. Si.
iKtfedo. S2. Ixisavo.]
660. vaaival, rasirol, sick, ill.
670. va«tr<j/nes, vasirolnes, sickness.
671. vaxt, hand; pi. castas, vastes. [P. wast. S(J. vast, etc.]
<)72. velydriLs, weUjnro, a fair. [P. icSUgtira, 'fair, exposition.' SC.
itYi/fyrnnv^.s-.]
673. i'en, wen, winter. [P. win. SC. ren, icen.]
<)74. vendri, vendvo, belly, intestines. [P. vhidri. SC. f^nri?'^.]
675. fe*', a wood. [P. we><h, ' wood, forest, wild land.' SC. vesh, wesh.']
676. r^^e«^<?ro, keeper. [SC. veshengro, 'gamekeeper.']
677. rdngija. See under honggo.
678. vi'idar. See under it'/r/a.
679. vu^^ lip. [SC. ivisht.]
680. iiddres, ivadrua, bed. [P. ivadras. SC. voodrus, etc. S2.
it'ec?Aer?(s.]
681. tcdt'no, vdino, angry. [P. hdnnalo, shdnalo. SC. lioino.^
682. waip, handkerchief. [Slang, a ' wipe.']
683. ivdnga, ivdngar, wdnger, ludngo, coal, money. [P. wonyur.
SC. dngar, vdngar, etc.]
VOL. IX. — xos. III.-IV. o
210 AN AMEKICAN-ROMANI VOCABULARY
684. ivdnger. See under wdnga.
685. wdngis. See under vdngiS.
686. wdngo. See under ivdnga.
687. wdva, wdver, other, another. [P. ivavver. SC. ivdver, ' other.
others.']
688. ivdver divis, to-morrow. [SC. ovdvo-divvtis.]
689. ivelguro. See under celgorus.
690. wen. See under ren.
(591. irerdar, icdrder, iviirdo, ivurddr, wiirdur, wagon. [P. ivardo.
SC. vdrdo, wdrdo. S2. rtn'^on.]
692. wid, a horse with the heaves. [English colloquial ' weed.']
(i!)'5 widay ividu, viular, ivudar, door. [P. iinider. SC. wodder.
S2. wedher.]
694. nw'^a, wiser, to throw, toss. [P. wu,ss^?', ' throw, pitch.' S(.\
wodaer, wo6»}^er.^^
695. luddar. See under it'/(fa.
696. wdrdfir. See under werdar.
697. «'iu'c?<js, cards. [SC icdrdi, ' from the assonance of car/s and
care/.'*.']
698. iviirdo. See imdcr werdar.
699. wiirdur. See under werdar.
700. .V('5', 2/'?i7. fire, light. [I', i/.f^/. S( '. yof/, 'fire.']
701. ydgd, j/dger, to hunt, shoot. [C. yoger, ' to fire (a gun).']
702. yagdm^ngei'o, keeper. [S( ". ydgom^ngro, etc.]
703. ydgdmengero, ydgdmeyign'o, yngamSskero, a gun. \]\ ydgen-
geri. S( '. yogengro, etc.]
704. ydjdfo, apron. [1^ jelliko. SC. ydrdooka, etc. S2. jaroka,
J|'a?'jy^•a.]
705. 1/dA:, 2/«^> eye- [P- 2/'^^«"- '^C\ yo^*.]
706. ynkmn.^, policeman. [P. gdv-mush: prdstermengro, ' \)o]'\ce-
man, runner,' from the old English expression ' I50w-
Street runner.' S(.'. gavengro, mooshkero.]
707. j/dro, ydro, e^g. [P. yora. SC. j/dro, ydri.]
70S. »/ftA:, one. [P. yek. SC. i/^^-. S2. i/iU-.]
709. ydji, clean, to clean. [P. ymho, 'clean, pure.' SC. yooso,
yooser. i>2. juzhii, yuzhd.] Cf. also ?v?jif.
710. zi, soul, mind, heart. . [P. zee, SC. ce?.]
711. ziimun. See under .9rf»?m.
AN AMERICAN-ROM ANI VOCABULARY 211
SENTENCES. .
1. ac uprS, a^ apri, get uip.
2. a6 waino, to get angry.
8. ac'your tan, pitch your camp.
4'. apopli loeard, found again.
5. aprS the drum, on the road.
6. dvd aprS said, come up to-morrow morning.
7. dvd dordi, come here {or hither) !
8. dvd kai, come here !
!>. dvd pre, to-morrow. [ = 'come up': a misunderstanding of
sent. 0].
10. hdri (jitv, city.
I I . bdro (umbo, big hill.
12. hnro pdnT, ocean.
13. bdvloTna,^, rich man.
l.'Ja. beng salini, bad devil. Lydia Cooper's mother often used
the words in this sense. [? beng si lendi, ' the devil is in
them.']
14. bes tali, or bcs tele, sit down.
15. be^ tale npro piiv, sit down on the ground.
IG. bUenO dives, a rainy day.
17. bUuvis sd dives, it rains all day.
IS. can tiite did apre, can you read ?
19. ( 'elia boti6. dosta, Celia worked too much
20. Celia 's adre the wurddr k^ren idzas iqwe, Celia is in the
wagon putting clothes away.
21. caves bdsoven upre the drum, the children are playing up the
road.
22. cero krico mar dnker lende, poor thing, don't hurt him.
23. cin tfltes kiirlo, cut your throat.
24. civ duva adre tntes ptttsi, put that in your pocket.
25. civ in the pTiv, put in the earth. [Periphrasis for ' bury.']
26. civ liiva tale, to gamble. [Lit. ' put money down.']
27. ciimeni ddnderd mdnde, something bit me.
28. del apri, to read.
29. del mdnde a ciima, give me a kiss.
212 AN AMERICAN-ROM ANI VOCABULARY
30. del mdi\de bita ttivlo, give me a piece of tobacco.
31. del tndnde mdro and kuro liveno, give me bread and a mug ot
beer.
32. del mdnde ])dni, give me water.
33. del mdnde tiites ru.rr, mdnde koms fe rin fntn iiivlo, give me your
knife, I want to cut a little tobacco.
34. del mdnde ydg, give nie (a) light.
35. del me rfirl, give me (a) knife.
36. del me hnhen, give me food.
37. del me sd, give me all.
38. del the rai rdmeni te he,^ npre, give the gentleman something
to sit on.
39. did ifite and lakes Idlo poSnekis, did you luring her red hand-
kerchief ?
40. dUi (iddrdi, look here !
41. dik dvri, look out!
42. diklo (tdrS the wArd/ir, be(l-l)Ugs in the wagon.
43. does ddva r<i'i jiv ndri the same gav, does that gentleman
live in the same city ?
44. d/istft foki, enough people.
45. diisti'i to go, lots of troubles.
46. diil mii.^ds kffren, two men (are) Hghting.
47. ddro drum, a long road.
48. ddva nive is rdven, that child is crying.
49. ddva is kdlo, that is black.
50. ddva mas si horaren, that meat is burning.
51. ddva mUs is mdto, that man is drunk.
52. dv.va mu^ pukerd vumde ddva lende kom tiite, that man told
me that he loves you.
53. ddva mas si jolen to get na.^ov, that man is going to get
hung.
54. ddva si ddstd, that is enough.
55. ddva si tdci, that is true.
56. ddva mas is too vulto to ac upri, that man is too drunk to
stand up (get up).
57. ddva si kftkavl kost, that is a kettle-stick.
58. ddva so hi, what is that ?
59. ddva's a dulen grai ; kek tad adri the wiirdar, that is a kick-
ing horse; he doesn't pull in the wagon.
60. ddva's a kti§to grai tejol aprS the aimhds, that is a good horse
to go over the hills.
AX AMERICAN-R()M.\XT VOCABULARY 213
61. diiva SI fetercUrus tdvlo, that is (the) best tobacco.
62. diiva si a kiisto tan to ac, that is a good place to camp.
63. fdseno dans, false teeth.
64. (jorjiken lavs, non- Gypsy words.
65. gPno of giv, bag of grain.
66. hdnke tevl {anker teri, dnko terf), whole life.
66a. he is a diden apre a cinamdngero, he is reading a letter.
67. how are the nives kiri, how are the children at home ?
68. how jiiiro is tMe, how old are you ?
6J>. I'm jolen to the hr,ro gav, I am going to the big city.
70. jil pdle grai, go back, horse.
70a. jd a dttro drum, to go a long road.
71. jttl avrf, viong mdnde bitd tilvlo, go out, beg me a bit of
tobacco.
72. /ail's Culia, wliere is Celia i
73. kai si, where is it ?
74. kai's nidndes swdgli, where is uiy pipe ?
75. kdnd sig, now quick !
76. h'k kiimier, no more.
76a. kek rdmddid, not married.
77. ker upr^ bat, do up the hair.
78. kekpasalAste, IMe's pnkeren h a kdbens, don't believe him, he is
telling lies.
7 J), ker ddsta Idvo, make plenty of money.
80. ker a dud, make a light.
81. ker sig, do it quick, hurry up.
82. ker the wddar, ker the wi'do, shut the door.
83. ker iciirdas, play cards.
83a. kera (or kei^e) ydg [? ker a ydg], make a fire.
84. klissen the wudar, lock the door.
.S4a. klissens on tiites vdstds, handcutfs on your hands.
84b. kitro kdva, a spoiled thing.
85. kiU^oven kiisto, cooking good.
86. kongd bal avrf, to comb the hair out.
87. kiisto bak (or baxt), good luck, good-bye.
214 AN AMERICAX-ROMANI VOCABULARY
88. ktisto (liken ma§, good-looking man.
89. Msto jolen grai, a good-going horse.
90. hi§to said, how does leste ker to-divis, good morning, how are
you to-day ?
91. kiivd te lei for vdsivdlnes, something to take for sickness.
92. lac arrf, to learn. [Lit. ' find out.']
93. bJke'W be lajd to i^dker tiite, she will be ashamed to tell you.
94. lende is & jJdro jinen yck, she is an old knowing one.
95. lendes cived in the f/Ui, he is put in the newspaper.
96. lende si hind adrS kdva tern, he is born in this country.
07. lende sis komlo diken mtii, he has a pleasant-looking face.
98. \esjd lei a jn, let us go and take a drink.
99. \esjol arri, let us go out.
100. \es jd to wddres, will you [let us] go to bed ?
101. les tite lei a tav, let us take a smoke.
102. leste is a ilnQH, you are cutting.
103. Uste is niiro rom, he is my husband.
104. leste Idcerdo a cdri, he found a knife.
105. IMe SI steti adri Ustes rfiji idzas, he is proud in his new
clothes.
106. Mstes grai's jyrdsterd avri, his horse has run away.
107. leste' s a Iceren a Sinemdngero, you are writing a letter.
108. lul a siv and tav and siv aprS the hev adri the ifdfo, take a
needle and thread and sew up the hole in the coat.
109. lido mfii, red cheeks.
110. md dul it, don't give it.
111. md riv ydji'tfo adri kongerl, Hv it jtdle, don't wear the apron
to church, put it buck.
112. mdnde ajolen te ac <^runo, I am going to remain poor.
112a. mdnde hiiklo, I am hungry.
113. mdnde can kekd pen diiva, I cannot believe that.
114. mAnde forbisado tat, I forgot you.
114a. mdnde glli ki^Std, I sing well.
115. mdnde j ins kumier than diiva muS, I know more than that
man.
116. mdnde jivs akdi, I live here.
117. mdnde kams j^dids, I like fun. i
118. mdnde kekajins dova; I do not know that. J
119. mdnde keka pdsddo tfit, I do not believe you.
AX AMERICAN-ROM AXI VOCABULARY 215
120. mdnde hek sDndi dova, I did not hear that.
121. mdnde keJca sfind diiva in sd me hdnke tirrl, I never heard
that in all my whole life.
122. mdnde ktmis citmini to hd, I want somethinsr to eat.
123. mdnde mdrd the snake, I killed the snake.
124. mdndi' mdnr/ed duvd, I begged that.
125. mdnde puri'ovs grdis, I trade horses.
12(J. mdnde al diken for luvo, I am looking for money.
127. mdnde sis diil lit, I have two dollars.
128. mdnde was a htta cdvo when mdnde amd pdrdal the hard
jMnl dkal, I was a little boy when I came over the
ocean here.
129. mdnde will kek Ulie (or IdHe) no kumini, I will never have
you any more.
180. mdudeW del tnte hat tfivlo if tifte'W pen mdnde nev'i romdni
lars, I'll give you plenty of tobacco if you'll tell me
(some) new Gypsy words.
131. mdndes cdvi had a po.^kSrn delded, my child had a cent
given it.
132. mdnde's dostd tuga, I have lots of trouble.
1 33. mdnde's Jolen to the hdro gav ; kai is the drum, I am going
to the city ; where is the road ?
134. mdnde s jolen a klst>l, I am going to ride.
135. mdnde's jolen te tn>:en the miWs gad, I am going to wash the
man's shirt.
13G. mdnde's kerdo, I am done.
137. mdnde's a kiisto salavtirges and hoMo te riv apre grai te kider
apre [Uivri^ sig, I have a good bridle and saddle to put
on a horse and ride away quick.
138. mdnde's lac of tiite, dvd di'rrde and j^^n the rai so jyilros tfitr,
I am ashamed of you, come here and tell the gentleman
how old you are.
139. mdnde's kdlo hal and kdlo yaks, I have black hair and black
eyes.
140. nuindes sera ddkas man, my head aches.
141. mdnde's vdsido, I am sick.
142. mur cat cUi, don't take anything (nothing).
143. mar Hv trite's liivo tale, don't gamble (lit. do not put your
money down).
144. mar did teste, he'll ac icdino, don't do it [don't hit him], he
will get angry.
216 AN AMERICAN-ROMANI VOCABULARY
145. mar dul lende aprg the mill, don't hit him on the mouth.
146. mar lei diiva, or, mor lei dord, don't take that.
147. menrje are diken for luvo, we are looking for money.
147a. ml dad gcijo, my father was not a Gypsy.
147b. ml nfigi dans, my own teeth.
148. maker hnro, to spoil a cup.
14<Sa. mffT del it, don't give it.
149. inak lende ac kiire, let him stay at home.
150. mak tifte laS avrt tiisd lende and jiukcr mende, let you learn
all about them and tell us.
150a. mOk us jd keri, let us go home.
151. muk us ker va^fas, let us shake hands.
152. milk's Jd avrt, let's go out.
153. mdk'sjd lid a j)l, let 's go take a drink.
154. miirav kfikero, shave yourself
155. muS paldl ifite, dik avri, a man behind you, look out 1
155a. mus kek kdsfo, (the) man is not good.
155b. mus pireu up the dimm, a man (is) walking up the road.
155c. mas is a suvdhdlen, (the) man is swearing.
156. pdnnavi upri, to tie up [lj)an 'em, ' tie them '].
157. pen man tacipen, tell me (the) truth.
158. per dnkers man (or mande), my stomach aches.
159. poger bdvol'd, broken winded. (Said of a horse.)
160. prdsta, del man sdr, quick [lit. ' run '], give me all.
161. pnkeren liukdbens, telling lies.
162. 2^ur taU, fall down.
162a. piiro teni, (the) old countr}'.
162b. pnsengero atddi, straw hat.
163. rdker miUto, talk better.
164. rdker sil and sdkd, talk slow and soft.
165. rdker (or ruker) romdneii, talk Gypsy.
166. rdker romani, (can you) talk Gypsy ?
167. sdr divus, all da}'.
168. sdr does liste ker to-dives, how are you to-day ?
169. sdr dur si hdro gav, how far is the city ?
170. sdr 6rd si, Avhat time is it ?
171. stir SI leste's ndv, what is your name ?
172. sdrsdn, nugi ioki, how are you, my folks ?
¥■
I
.'
AN AMEUICAN-ROMANI VOCABULARY 217
173. she priJcerd mande dilvd, she told me that.
174-, St kova iriiis piren upri the drum yek gorjo, is that man
walking up the road a non-Gypsy ?
175. si tnte ndfoll, are you sick ?
175a. sis leste wdnga, have you (any) money ?
176. siker the rai the riipeno indmingero, show the gentleman
the silver teapot.
177. siker the rai tnte iievi swarjli, show the gentleman your new
pipe.
178. 80 bdro si tflte, how heavy are you ?
179. 80 hut will leste lei for the grai, how much will you take for
the horse ?
180. so but would leste iivmg, how much would you want ?
180a. 8o dCtr si bdro gar, how far is the city ?
181. so ptiro si tnte, how old are you ?
182. so si, what is it ? (i.e. what do you want ?)
183. 80 si Dick sorohdlen about, what is Dick swearing about ?
184. so 8i duva, what is that '.
185. 80 si leste a-AeVen, what are you doing ?
186. so si tnte sdvQw about, what are you laughing about ?
187. kUdn, how are you ?
187a. Mar Mr sfinekr, four pounds (twenty gold dollars).
188. .stT7i man, tiite ker dostu gddli, hear me 1 you make too nuich
noise.
189. tan te ker the ydg adre, place to make the fire in (periphrasis
for ' stove ' ).
190. tdnojnvol, young woman.
11)1. til kova grai, hold that horse.
192. til t file's rib, hold your tongue.
193. tat diks sdr yek rdmdnical, tnte's kdlo hCd, halo yaks, and
tfite rakers roman i,pen mdnde, you look like a Gypsy, you
have black hair, black eyes, and you speak Gypsy, tell me.
194. tut kistered a grai, bajengeros apre tiite cds, you rode a horse,
spurs on your boots.
195. tiite kiisto diken mas, you (are) a good-looking man.
195a. tiite pucldde how jyiiro lade is, you ask her how old she is.
196. tiite rinkna rant you (are) a pretty young woman.
197. tiite si kMo dans, you have good teeth.
198. tiite si misto adre the tern, you are better in the country.
218
AN AMERICAN-ROMAXT VOCARULARY
199. tiite tax, you also.
200. tntes dr>sta liivo ; dd mdndes Savi yek poSird, you have
plenty of money ; give my boy a cent.
201. tiites kongerl plird talS, your comb fell down.
202. ttit's jolen adrs jwro tern lipi'o biro pdrddl bdro pdni, you are
going to the old country in a ship over the ocean.
203. tiite wants a wdva jffvol, you want another woman.
204. nJdd yek bes, twenty -one years.
205. vdsido dinim, a bad road.
206. vdsido mus, a bad man.
207. wdrer jifvol, another woman.
208. where lestr hi jolen, where are you going ?
209. will tiite Icl livrui, will you take beer ?
"210. wlsa a bar, throw a stone.
211. wlsa mdndr mi stadi, throw me my hat.
212. yiikmrts arellen, a policeman (is) coming.
Ali'hahetical Index of Encli.sh Meanings
ache (to), 148, 149.
across, 4'Jt'».
afraid, 64.3.
again, 463.
ale, •^•2S.
all, 538.
all about you, 653.
allow, 371.
also, 626.
angry, 6S1.
animal (a fat), 354.
another, 687.
auKS, 60.
apple, 412.
apron, 704.
are, 557, 596.
arrested, 577.
ashamed, 318.
ashes, 85.
ask (to), 475.
aunt. 41.
away, 19.
axe, 90.
back, 420.
back, n., 153.
bacon, 24.
bad, 6GS.
bad-ti'mpc'rc<l, 37.
bag, 196.
bare, 397.
barn, .578.
basket, 648.
bastard, 1 16.
bead.*!, 3.'>il.
beat (to), 300.
beau catchers, 232.
Iie.l. (iSO.
betl-bugs, 129.
beer, 328.
before, 167.
beg (to), 345.
behind, 419.
believe (to), 431, 43S.
believed, 432.
belly, 440, 674.
best, 162.
better, 68, 161, 365.
big, 29.
bird, 81.
bit, 666.
bite (to), 120.
black, 2:^5.
blacksmith, 444.
blanket, 2.S4.
blind, 304, 30S.
blood, 506.
boat, 38.
iKjil (to), 309.
bone, 295.
book, 327.
boot, 72.
boots, 570.
born, 44.
bottle, 664.
box, 372.
boy, 79, 179, r>02.
I>read, 351.
break (to), 461.
bridle, 542.
bring (to), 6, 201, 508.
broken, 461.
broth, .1S5.
brother, 418.
brush, 565.
bulldog, 61.
buried, 95a.
burn (to), 208.
burning, 209.
AN AMEKICAN-IJOMANI VOCABULARY
•219
bury (to), 95, 112
Kutter, 268.
buttocks, 60.
button, 188, 291.
buttons, 290.
buy (to), 269.
cabbage, 595.
cacare, 219.
cake, :U9.
camp, 626.
candle, 376.
candlestick, 377.
card, 327.
card.'< (playing), 697.
carry (to), 5(»8.
cat, 339.
cauliflower, 55.
cent, 13, 46S.
cluiin, 460, .')48.
chair, 566.
cheap (very), 84.
cheat (to). 211.
cheese, 234.
chew (to), 73.
chicken, 246.
child, 77a.
church, 2S1.
circus, 160.
city, 172.
clean, to cK-an, 522, 709.
clergyman, 505.
clothes, 216.
clothing, 520a.
club (policeman's). 387.
coal, 6S3.
coat, 74, 103.
cock (domestic), 2.S5.
coition, 5;K).
cold, 602.
cold, .idj., 603.
comb, 2S0.
comb (to), 279.
come, 15.
come up, 539.
coming, 18.
cook (to), 309.
copulate (to), 590.
corsets, 647.
counterfeit, 159.
country, 636.
court (to), 45U.
ccw, 194.
crane, 293.
crazy man, 133.
cream, 571.
cry (to), 535.
crying, 536.
cup, 301, 593.
cut (to), 88.
cutting instrument, 90.
dance, 257.
dancing, 258.
day, 132.
dead, 374.
deserter, 472.
desire, 238.
devil, 36.
did, 254.
die (to), 358, 381.
dirt, 85.
dirty, 86, 368.
dirty (to), 366.
dishes, 594.
do (to), 261, 299.
do not, 337.
doctor, 142.
dog, 227.
doll, 275.
dollar, 327.
domestic cock, 285.
done, 263, 303.
donkey, 340.
door, 693.
down, 625.
draw, 623.
dress, 520a, 606.
dressed, 521.
drink, 445.
drunk, 355.
duck, 425, 493, 534.
dung. 21 S.
dying, 381.
ear. 242.
earth, 494.
easy, 609.
eat (to), 73, 198.
eating. 20<».
egg, 70S.
enceinte, 2S, 619.
enough, 139.
every, 5.38.
exchange, 485.
eye, 705.
face, 370.
fceces, 218.
fair (a), 160, 672.
fall (to), 441.
false, 159.
far, 154.
fat, 651 .
fat, adj., 652.
fat animal, 354.
fat (hog's), 163.
father, 114, 117.
fear, 643.
feather, 464.
feet, 453.
female, 362.
fence, 27.
fetch (to), 6.
fiddle, 31, 51, 53.
fight (to), 300, 310
fighting, 310.
find (to), 314.
fire, 700.
fish, 338.
fit (a), 455.
five, 422.
tien, 456.
flesh, 353.
flour, 667.
flowers, 537.
folk, lo6.
food, 199.
fool, 131.
foolish, 131.
foot, 453.
forgotten, 168.
fortune, 22.
fortunes (to tell), 150.
found, 315.
four, 605.
full, 415.
fun, 417.
gate, 583.
gentleman, 499.
girl, 78, 501, 504.
give (to), 122.
given, 124.
glandered horse, 404.
go (to), 221.
go (juick, 471.
God, 157.
gold, 586.
gold (of), 587.
golden, 587.
good, 311.
good-natured, 277.
grain, ISO.
grandfather, 233, 484.
grass, 71.
grease, 651.
ground, 494.
gun, 703.
<^ypsy (a), 515.
Gypsy, adj., 516.
Gypsy (half), 451.
Gypsy (male), 517.
Gypsy woman, 518.
hair, 23.
half, 467.
half-crown, 469.
half-Gypsy, 451.
halter, 599.
ham, 24.
hammer, 352.
hand, 671.
220
AN AMERICAN-ROMANI VOCABULARY
handcufifs, 273, 553.
handkerchief, 130, 470,C82.
hang, 398.
hanged, 399.
hare. 245, 616.
hat, 576.
have (to), 560, 639.
hay, 2.50.
hay-rick, 251.
he, 322, 325.
head. 60U.
hear (to), 614.
heart, 71U.
heaves (horse with the), 692.
lieavy, 29.
hedge, 27.
hedgehog, 210.
hen. 246.
her, 319, 325.
here, 5, 121.
high sheriff, 472.
hill, \m, 46a.
him, .32.5.
hit (to), 152b.
hither, 121.
hog's fat, 16.3.
hold (to), 639.
hole, 205.
home (to or at), 265.
horse, 189.
horse (glandcred), 404.
hi>r8e (run away), 472.
horse with the heaves, 692.
horse-feed, 180.
horseslioe, 190.
hut, (;29.
house, 26<j.
how, 546.
how are you ' 551.
hundred, 51)8.
hungry, 59.
hunt (to), 7Ul.
hurry, 471.
hurt (to), 148.
husband, 515.
I, .343.
ill, 393, 669.
imprisoned, 577.
in, 4.
inn, 267.
inside. 440.
intestines, 674.
into, 4.
Irish, 6.37-
Irishman, 6.37.
iron, 548, 552.
iron nail, 430.
irons, 553.
is, 206a, 557.
it rains, 46.
itch (the), 8.
itch (to), 9, 10.
itching, 9.
jacket (woman's), 10.3.
ju.stice of the peate. 476.
keeper, 676, 702.
kettle, 292.
kettle-stick, 293, 552.
key, 273.
kicking, 1.52a.
kill (to), 347, 359, 382.
kiss, 105.
knife, IK*.
know (to), 22.3.
lace, 414.
lady, 504.
lamb, 21.
lame, 5<).
language, 83.
laugh (to), 556.
laughing, 541.
lawyer, 476.
lean, 82.
leaves, 434.
leg, 215.
let, .371.
letter, 89, .327.
liar, 478.
lice, 3-26.
lie (»), 212.
life, 10a, 202a. 3.59. .3^3, 63'<.
light (a), 14(i, 700.
like (to), 238.
lip. 679.
listen, 615.
little, 47.
live (to), 40, -224, 638.
lock and key. 273.
look, 126.
look here, 121.
looking. 128.
lose (to), .398.
louse, 229. 456.
love, 239.
love (to), 238.
love (to make), 450.
lover, 2.39.
lover (fem.), 448.
lover (masc. ), 449.
low, 609.
luck, 22.
lying, 478.
made, 254.
make (to), 261.
make love to, 450.
man, 388.
man (crazy), 1.33.
man (young), 179.
manure, 218.
mare, 192.
married, 527.
many (to), 526.
mat Ilia, 392.
me, 343, 360.
meal, 667.
meat, 353.
medicine, 141.
mile, 361.
milk, 649.
niin<l. 710.
mocking, 541.
mone}', 335, 683.
moon, 98, 237, 240.
more, (\H, 298, 364.
morning, 540.
mother. 1 18.
mouth, 370.
much, 67, 139.
mud, 85.
muddy, 86.
mug, .301.
music, 51.
mu.sicul instrument, 53.
my, 360, 363a.
my own, 402.
nail, 188.
nail (iron), 439.
naked, 397.
name, 400.
napkin. 1.30.
neck, 356.
needle, 5(S1.
new, 401.
newspaper, 175.
nice, 609.
night, 507.
nits, 20«j.
no, 255.
noise, 183.
non-Gypsy (a), 187.
non-liypsy, adj., 186.
nose, 403.
not, 255.
nothing, 84.
now, 2.59.
now quick I 244.
oats, 180.
off. 19.
old, 483.
on, 12.
one, 707.
union, 313. 4S(J.
osier, 503.
other, 687.
out. 19.
over, 426.
own, 402.
AX AMERICAN-ROMANI VOCABULARY
221
ox, l'J3.
pain (to), J48,
paper, 327.
puhlii, 434.
pay (to), 443.
pedere, 143.
peevish, 37.
peni'i, 285.
people, 1H6.
pickpocket, 45>2.
pie, 18.">.
piece (a), 6Wj
pig, 2.1.
pipe, 592.
pitch (camp), 1.
place, t)2*).
place (to), 'Jo.
placed, 9.")a.
plate, ♦ilO.
pliiy (to), 32, 33, 52.
playing, .33, 52.
plenty, 139.
[locket, 491.
pocketbnuk, 271.
poison, 141.
policeman, 3S6, 706.
policeman's club, 3S7.
poor, 82.
pork, 24.
pot, 454.
jiotato, 49tj.
pound (sterling), 2ti.
present (a), 123.
pretty, .')09.
priest, 5C5.
prison, 581.
prisoner, 580.
prostitute, 336.
proud, .■)82.
pudding, 1S5.
pudendum viuUebre, 362.
pull (to), »!23.
put (to), 9.'i, 261.
putting, 204.
quarrel (toi, 91.
(juarrelling, 92.
quick, 164, 471, 5.j8.
rabbit, 245, 616.
rain, 45.
rains (it), 46.
rainy, 4.5a.
rat, 457.
razor, 90.
reading, 122.
red, 332.
reins, 138.
remain, 1.
ribbon, 137.
rich, 34.
rich (not), 82.
ride (to), 26G.
right, 620.
right away ! 244.
ring, 660.
road, 145.
roast (to), 436.
robber, 334.
rope, 599.
run, 471 .
run-away horse, 472
sack, 103, 196.
saddle, 54.
saloon, 267.
salt, 333.
sausage, 185.
say (to). 438.
scissors, 253.
scratch (to), 7, 9.
scratches, K.
sea, 421.
see (to), 126.
self, 294.
sell (to), 4.3.
send (to), 42.
servant, 248.
sew (till, 562.
sewing, 563.
shame, 317.
shave (to), 379.
shaving. 380.
shawl, 1.30, 40<».
she, 319, .322, 325.
sheep, 21.
siiilling. 297, 045.
ship, 3S.
shirt, 169.
shoe, 72.
shoemaker, 75.
shoot, 701.
shop, .j6.
show (to), 559.
shut, 261.
sick, 393, 669.
sickness, 670.
silence, 615.
silver, 5.32.
silver, adj., 533.
sing (toj, 176.
singer, 177.
sister, 437.
sit (to), 40.
six, 607.
sixpence, 612.
skirt, 74.
sleep, 588.
slow, 601, 609.
smallpox, 57.
smell (to), 584.
smoke, to smoke, 632, 656.
snake, 543.
suow, 220.
so (that is), 17.
soap, 544.
soft, 609.
soldier, 302.
something, 107, 288.
song, 176.
soul, 710.
soup, 585.
spit (a), 63, 64.
spit for meat, 65.
spoil vto), 366.
spoiled, 307a, 367.
spoon, 511.
spurs, 62.
stable, 191, 578.
stairs, 466.
stallion, 66.
stand (to), 1.
stay (to), 1, 40.
steal (to), 99.
stick, 252.
stink, 241.
stink (to), 241.
stocking, 213.
stomach, 440.
stone, 26.
store, 56.
straw, 488.
straw, adj., 489.
strike (to), 76, 122, 152b.
sugar, 195.
summer, 630.
sun, 181.
8unday, 291.
swear (to), 574.
swearing, 591.
tablecloth, 130.
tail, 464.
take (to), 321.
take hold of, 76.
talk (to), 500.
tavern, 267.
tea, 446.
tea-kettle, 292.
teapot, 391,446.
tear (to), 91.
tell (to), 438, 477.
tell fortunes (to), 150.
temper, 36.
tempered (bad), 37.
ten, 125.
tent, 626.
testicles, 30.
that, 155, 287.
that is so, 17.
the, 407.
222
VOTES AND QUERIES
them, 322.
then, 156.
there, 3, 408.
they, 322, 323.
thief, 100.
thing, 288.
thou, 655.
thread, 633.
three, 644
tiiroat, 306.
throw (to), 694.
tliy, 640, 655.
tie (to), 424.
time, 94, 410.
till, 375.
tired, 270.
to, 634.
to-day, 64 1.
to morrow, 688.
tol>acco, 65'.t.
tongue, 83.
too, 624.
too much, 139.
tooth, 119.
toas, 694.
towel, 130.
town, 172.
traile (toU 485.
tree, 523, 524.
trouMe, 1S3, 650.
trousers, 512, 642.
true, 620.
trunk. .373.
truth, 621.
turnip (white), 495.
twenty, 660.
two, 147.
uncle, 233.
up, 12.
upon, 12.
urinal, 392.
urinate (to), .390.
urine, 390.
us, 357, 655.
very cheap, 84.
vest, 20.
victuals. 199.
village, 172.
vinegar, 617.
wagon, 691.
waistcoat, 20.
walk, 447.
walking, 452.
want (to), 2,38, 345.
war, 310.
wash (to), 657.
washing, 658.
watoh, 410, 568.
water. 421.
we, 337.
wear (to), 510.
well, 310a.
what, 546.
wlieat, ISO.
when, 278.
where, 231.
wiiip, 104.
whisky, 631.
white. 429.
white turnip, 495.
who, 274.
why, 546.
widow. 4SS.
widower, 459.
wife, 518.
wind. .35.
window, 205.
wing, 425a.
winter, 673.
witch, 11.3.
with you, 653.
woman, 2.30, 362.
woman (Oypsy), 518.
woman (young), .504.
woman's jacket, 103.
wotnl, 2.)2.
wood (a), 675.
word, 320.
work, 70.
write (to), 262.
year, .39.
yes, lf».
308 indeed. 17.
yesterday, 2.36.
you, 6.")5.
you (all ahout), 653.
you (with), 653.
young, 628.
young man, 179.
young woman, .504.
your. 325, 655.
NOTES AND gUKKlES
6.— The Valenti.ves
In Macllitchie's SioUUh GypsicK under the SteicarU (p. 99), a large parly of
Gypsy women, who were sentenced to death hj drowning at Edinhurfrli on
.January 29, 1G24, liut reprieved and banished some si.\ weeks later, is mentioned :
and one of the names on that list is 'Margaret Vallantyne, relict of Johnne
Wilsoun.' I do not think that any other evidence of a family of Gypsies in Great
Hrituin 'oearing the name Valentine has ever been brought forward ; Jiut that such
a family did exist is proved by the following records : —
(1) '1577 Jul. 1 Jane y daughter of GJeorge Volantyne and Margeret his wife,
beinge rogues naming themselves Egiptians,' baptized at Horsiiam, Sussex. [The
Parish I\>iji^tir of Horahaiii, . . . ed. . . . by H. G. Kice, Sussex Record Society,
vol. 21, London, 1915, p. 138.)
(2) ' 1596, 4 Mail, Willielraus, filius Willielmi Volantyne Egyptii, baptiaitus
fuit' at St. Bees. (W. Jackson, P(i}Hr.< (ind Pidigrem mainly relating to Cumberland
and Wi:<tmorland, \o\. i. p. 71.. Publications of the Cumberland and Westmor-
land Antiquarian and Archa-ological Society, Extra Series 5, London, 1892.)
On this the author (piaintly remarks : — ' " Egyptus " certainly means gypsy,
and I am not sure whether "Volantyne" is a surname, or we ought to read "Volan-
XOTES AND QUERIES 223
tis Egyptii "— "rieeing Egyptian," as that peculiar people were deemed, and, indeed,
gave themselves out to he.' It hardly needs evidence for Volentine as a Gypsy
surname to refute this absurd suggestion, since ' Volantis Egyptii '—even if it were
found in the register— would not mean a ' Heeing Egyptian,' but a ' flying Egyp-
tian'; and, as there is no reason for supposing that Gypsies had solved the
problem of a-ronautics three hundred years ago, Plautus' dictum 'sine pennis
volare hand facile est' still held good in those days.
This record is cjuuted with a few others relating to Gypsies by B. F. Thiselton
i)yur in his Old i^nglish Social Lifi (London, 1898), pp. 75-77.
(3) ' Leticia fa. WiTlm. Voclentine Egiptian,' 3 Dec. 1602, among the baptisms
in 2% RigiMfi-f <ifthePar!.4i Church of Bhickburn in the County of Lancaster
transcribed by Henry Brierley, p. 6 (Lancashire PariOi Register Society, vol. 41
Cambridge, 1911).
Here one does feel inclined to suggest an emendation, as the insertion of a r in
the name is odd ; and, if the writing is not very clear, nc and a could easily be
confused.
Later evidence of the family in England I have not been able to find, unless
'John Penfold and Elizabeth Valentine,' who were married at Sunbury on Nov-
ember 3, 1771, were (iyjisies (Middhtix Pnrith Rrgistos: Marriag<.s, ed. by
\V. P. W. Philliiiiore, vol. 4, p. 89). No other Valentines and only one Penfold
occur in the Sunbury register, so far as it is printed there : but it is doubtful
whether Penfold was a Gypsy name at that date, though it is now, and still more
doubtful whether any i)f the Valentines survived in the land so late as the end of
the eigliteeiith century. Indeed, from two references in W. Dirks' Gcschudkun-
digr onderzofUngen aangnande het ceiblijf dt r Heidi na of Egiptiirs in de noordelijhe
yiderlitmUn, it would seem as though the family had migrated to Holland in the
seventeenth century.
The first of these, dated April 1(>, 1G24, relates to the banishment from
Friesland of a Gyi)sy named Margrietta Valentyn (ibid., p. 102), who may possibly
bi' identical with the Margaret Valentine who had been banished from Scotland
a month and a half earlier, though the interval seems rather short. In the second,
a larger band name, consisting of 'Abraham .lorisse, Emanuel Valentyn ende
Anthony Valentyn, alle drie geboren to Middelburch, mitsgaders Jan Valentyn
van Schiedam, Joris Valentyn vuyt Vrieslandt ende Abraham Farlant vuytWater-
landt,' were banished from Holland on December 18, 1635 [ihid., p. 123). There is
evidence of Gypsies travelling from the one country to the other in the case of
Catherine Mosroesse, born in Scotland and arrested in Holland in 1564 (ibid,
]i. 130 . On the other hand it is possible, and perhaps more probable, that the
English family were an otlshoot from this Dutch Gypsy family. From Avhich —
if from either— the Walentin family, which is in Finland {J.G.L.S., v. 220-1),
me, one cannot be sure.
It is very possible, since soothsaying is a profession to which Gypsies are
inclined, that the following records of the Old Tolbooth at Edinburgh refer to one
of the Gypsy Valentines : —
'Nove"- 18 day 1668
Sir bailie
Thes are only to transmitt to your prisone oure being unsufhcient the persone
of James Vallentyn, a man who takes vpon him to practice divina"une & sooth-
saying and ftbr money doeth ordenarly make a trade of discovering things lost &
how & ([" they may be found. And by qm they war taiken away or stollen : And
in particular of leate hathe aspersed a gentillwoman as being guilty of the lyke
notwithstanding she being known to the party who wants the guds to be a person
of integretie and vntainted honesty. Wee belive him to be a lousse fflagitious
tfellow and therfor Eecomend him to be strickly keepe in prisson till he be
presented by on james Dun serjant to the garison of the castell of Edr who hathe
224 NOTES AND (^>UERIES
received no small prejudice throw his debollicall lyeing discoverie or rather d[e]lu-
sion wh he trades in of purposse to gaine money . . . yo'' very humbill servants
the byillies of Leith.
Leith the 17th of nov"- 1668
Nov 23 1668
James Vallentyn soothsayer who is called so whom was sent from Leith to
Edr tolbiith ffor liis deabollicall tricks is aristed at the comand of Baylly Murray
and during my Lord Lyon his pleasor.' — (J. A. Fairley, 'The Old Tolbooth,' in
The Book o/th- Old Edinburi/k Club, vol. v., Edinburgh, 1912, p. 143.)
Though it has nothing whatever to do with the Valentines, I cannot forbear
mentioning that another of Dirks' Dutch records furnishes the first example of the
name Demeter, common among the bands of uom id Coppersmiths in rect-nt days
(ef J. G. L. S., vi. 246, 2."jU, etc.) : — ' Pieter Dumiter zoon van Dominico Backer,'
in a document dated August 2, 1536 (p. 120), E. 0. Winstedt.
1 have at last had the fortune to meet an educated Gypsy, formerly a school-
master, at present a postman in Varna. He is of the tribe of Christian Sedentary
Sieve Makers, a native of the district of Dobri<5. Talking to him some months
ago, I asked him what was the differeiicf in prnniuKMatiou Wtween the Romani
for 'a beard " and 'a thief.' He immediately spelled the words, the former 'i.xopi.,
the hitter Hopi, i.e. ^hor and ror. B. Gilliat-Smith.
8. — SlKlUUKKS
i am now able to answer my own query, printed in ./. (i. L. S., v. 239-40. The
word occurs, in the form Surujeti*, in the Introductory Epistle to Moriers
Hiijji Baha (Dent's edition, \i. 6\ and is obviously the Turkish ,_s:'. i»-j
xiirnju, 'a postilion or driver of post-horses.' See Redhouse, A Turkish and
Entjlish Lexicon, Constantinople, 1890, ]>. 1090. Ai.kx. Russell
\(Mh Oct. 1916.
9. BuRRoofiR Lavs from the Nkvi Vksh
In rejdy to Mr. Lockyer's most interesting, and, I may add, most encouraging
note in Vol. vii. Part 2, page 151 of the Gypsy Lore Journal, I hope to send in
from time to time more New Forest words of Romanes, a.s I happen to come across
them. So, in addition to the former ones, wliich were declared to have come from
'Old George Lee, who played the fiddle,' I subjoin others — among.st them a few
belonging to the Tshorihiin, who travels the Forest with a tent on her back.
bdmnm, green broom. mormiisti, midwife.
benyalo, furious. m'hnmdos, beads.
ilriz, lace. '"'ya, angry.
klizend, lock-up. yoyga, forest keeper.
mi Duvles kir, Heaven. yogyaineugri, match.
belzooz, cocoanuts (presumably 'hairy strong ones').
fuzxlinunt/ri, frying-pan. (Obviously a made-up word, like toijgri-kanshtas,
' clothes-pegs,' the first part presumably being the English word ' frizzle.')
So tenacious are they of their Romany rokra that they will, if interrogated,
quickly change the real word they have just uttered for a cant one with the same
meanintr. Alice E. Gillisqton
INDEX OF VOLUME IX
I3y Alexander Russell
G = Gypsy. Gs. = Gypsies.
'I'here are important sub-alphabets under ' Etymologies,' ' Names, G. Christian
'Names, G. Surnaiiies,' 'Names, G. Tribal or Race,' 'Names'of people who
may lie Gs.,' ' Xewspap. is." ' Noti-s and Ijueries,' ' Occupations, G.' ' Roniani
words worth noting.'.
■pen, remark on, 80,
Abstract noun in
104.
Accent of Bulgarian Gs. , '-2.
Accent-shifting, l.")!(.
AcKERLKY, licv. F. G., 114, 115; The
Seven Jargons, (note), 111-12.
Acting, G., at feast, .34.
Adoption by Gs. from other tribes, 2().
' Agents for hoknno baro, 4.'^.
Aidia, (J. tribal-name, 5, .13; dinleot of,
io:i 4.
nkhur, note on, 71 (/.«.).
An, K.N', T. : IVie HxMory anil Antirfuilifft
<•!' the P/trish of Lamlntth, (refs. ) 1*29
(/n.). 132 (/.n.).
American- Romani Vocahulary, An. By
Dr. (!. F. Black, lS.5-'222.
An.\8TA8, Pere, 1 17.
nnijt'iM, reiuark on, 75.
nravdv, remark on, 75.
'imV, remark on, 70 (/.n. ).
•irlia, remark on, 75.
Armenian inlluence on Romani, 69 and
AscoLi, G. I., lltj.
AsHTO.v, J. : Old Times, (ref.) 140
A.-^pi rated consonants in dialect of the
Kalburdjis, 83.
.\spiration lost in Ralaidji dialect, 95.
aatur ' for the sake of," 104.
aster 'apron,' 103.
Atkinson, F. S., 117.
ACHREY : Xatural History and Antiqui-
ties of the County of Sun-' y, (ref.) 130
(/.«.■).
Axon, \V. E. A., i4.-i (f.n.).
hai ' brother,' 105.
Bailey, Grahame : Languages of the
Xorthem Himalayas, (ref.) 121.
Baikd, Rev. J., 56.
Baker. Capt. L. G., 118.
Ballad-singers, G., 94.
Banks, Sir J., 145.
Bare-Katuni^gere, G. tribal-name, 47.
Bartlett, Rev. D., 117.
Basket-makers, G., 4, 104.
VOL. IX. — NO. V.
Bataillard, Paul : 64, 115 ; Lesdemiers
travaux relatifs aux Bohdmiens dans
r Europe Orientate, (ref. ) 3.
Beames, John : Comparative Grammar.
(ref.) 121.
Bear-leaders, G., 35, 47, 97.
Beggars, G., 14.
-'•en, pen, remarks on, 80, 104.
-heri, remark on, 87.
Besant, Sir Walter: London South of
the Thames, (ref.) 143 (/.n.).
biandva ' to lay eggs,' 102.
BicKEK-STAi-TE, Isaac : The Maid of the
Mill, (quot.), 150 (/.n.).
hildrrnh ' kettle,' deriv. of, 160.
Birmingham, Gs. in, 156, 157.
Black, Dr. G. F. : An American- Romani
Vocnhulary, 185-222; his G. Biblio-
graphy, 1 1 7.
BLA(;(i, T. M. : The Parish Register of
Famdon, (ref.) 142 (/.«.)
Blanch: Y- parish of Gamerwell, (ref.)
141 (/.n.).
bock 'a letter,' 174.
Bonnier, Charles, 1 17.
BoRDE, Andrew, 116.
bori, remark on, 106-7.
Borrow, George : 37, 56 ; The Bible in
Sftain, (ref.) Ill ; Lavengro, (ref.) 148
(/.n.) ; Lavo-Lil, (refs.) 152 (/.«.), 162.
BoRROWMAN, R. : Beckenham Past and
Present, (refs.) 130 (/.«.), 132 {fn.),
144 {fn.).
Bourgeois, Dr. Henri, 115.
bov, remark on, 70 {fn.).
Bread baked by G. comb-makers, 31.
Brepohl, F. W., 116.
breii, note on meaning of, 96.
Brierley : The Registers of the Parish
Church of Blackburn, (ref.) 223.
Bright, Richard: 116; Travels from
Vienna through Lower Hungary, (refs. )
144 and (fn.), 160, 161, 162, 163;
(quot.), 165, 166-7.
Bright's Anglo-Romani Vocabulary. By
Alex. Russell, 165-85.
Brophy. See St. Clair.
Bryant, 116, 153.
220
INDEX OF VOLUME IX
BuflFaloes owned by Gs., 2, 5, 48, 50.
l^utfalo-rearers, G., 6.
hukiirisdjovav, note on, 75.
hux, note on, 71 (/.«.).
burdeis, underground dwellings occupied
byGs., 35.
Burgudjis, G. tribal name, 5, 45.
Burial, G., 144.
Burroder Lavs from the Neri Vexh,
(note). By Alice E. Gillington, 224.
Buttons, dollar, 1.S8.
Byron, Lord, visits Norwootl Gs., 140.
Caravans, G., date of, 147.
Carrion-eaters, G., 5, 13, 15.
Carsalade do Pont, 116.
Carts, (J., 148.
Caulfikld, J. : Portraits, Memoirs, and
Charartirs of Remarknhle Persons,
(refs.) 132 (/n.), 143 (/.«.).
Caves as (i. dwellings, 35, 132 (f.n.).
Chair-bottomers, G. 156.
Charwomen, (j., 7.
Chicken-stealing, G., 24.
Child-birth, (i., 20.
Cluldren, Tinker fondness for, 60.
Cliiraney-sweep, G., 141.
China-menders, G., 156.
Christian (Js. in HidK'»riii, 5.
C and Cii, (nr)te). Hv H. (iilliat-Smith,
224.
rd 'to eat," 190.
Calgidjfs, (i. tribal-name, 4, 11.
'■am, remark on, IS),
iiiprdzi 'silver clasp," 49.
rhomiit, remark on, 75 (./".n.).
t'ikdt, remark on, 70 (/.«.).
Cluonet, Mons. L<!'on, US.
Coffee-pot makers, <!., 5, 9.
CoLorn, Marquis, 115; Oli Zingart,
(refs.) 10. 49, 67.
Comb-makers, G., 5, 22-37; dialect of,
97-99.
Constable, Archil>ald, 117.
CoNSTANTiNFacu, Barbu : Prohe de limJia
)ji literalura {iganilor din Romania,
(ref. ) 97.
Coppersmiths, G. noma<l, 35. 115.
CoPSEY, Daniel : 136, 145 ; his Anglo-
Romani vocabulary-, 157-65.
CoRDER, James, correspondent of Hoy-
land, 145. 153.
CoROKR, William, correspondent of Hoy-
land, 139.
CoRRiE, note on name, 153 and ( f.n.).
Costume, G., 13-14. 15, .37, 44, 45, 48,
51 ; of Drindaris, 10-11.
Cowi'ER, J. M. : The liooke of Hegeatfr
of St. Peter in Canterlmry, (ref.) 149
(f.n.).
Crabb, J. : The G.'s Advocate, (refs.)
138 if.n.), 150 if.n.), 156 {f.n.),
160.
Crane, W. : An Artist's Reminiscences,
(quot.) 148 {f.n.).
Crimes: of English Gs., 139; of Rum-
anian (is., 34.
Crisp, F. A. : The Parish Registers of
Ongar, Essex, (ref.) 149 {f.n.).
Crofton, H. T., 116, 117. ^"ee also
Smart.
Crooke, Dr. W., 117.
Crooks made by Gs., 46.
Crosse, A. F. .- Round about the Car-
pathians, (ref.) 132 (f.n.).
Cruelty to animals, (i., 112.
Csdrdds danced liy (is.. 37.
Cushions in Ci. houses, 7.
Cygani, G. tribal-name, 167.
Dancers, (i., 36.
Dawuldjis, G. tribal-name, 5, 53.
De Goeje, 116.
Dekker : Lanthonu ami Candle Li'/ht,
(ref.) 149 (/.n.).
Demirdjis, (J. tribal-name, 4, 5, 53;
dialect of, 104-7.
depesemmgro ' mirror,' 176.
derjiiv, note on, 75.
Dialects, Bulgarian-G., 6, 65-109.
dilem, diliin, dild, remark on, 80, HX).
Dinikovlirs, G. tribal-name, 5, 6, 51.
DiKKS, W. : Geschiedkundige onderzof
kiu'itn aangaande het rerhfij^f di r
J/eidens of Kgijitiira in dt noordelijk'
Xederlamlen,' (ibU.) 223, '2*24.
Dirty Gs., 11-12.
Divorce, G., 19.
Djaparis. See Zaparis.
Djezvedjis, (J. trilwl-name, 5.
I3owry, G., 151.
Dogs kept by Gs.. 47, 146.
Donkeys owned byGs.. 18. 46, 146.
Drindaris, (!. tribal-name. 4, 10, 115.
Drnnimcrs, (J., 5.
DiDi.KY, Rev. Hate, 1.38.
dugilla ' lightning,' 176.
Ddncan, L. L. ; The Register of Saint
^fary, Letcisham, (ref.) 149 (/".«.).
Dyer, H. F. T. : Old English Social
Life, (ref.) 223.
diangavdr, note on, 75.
di^ha, note on, 75.
diel/m, remark on, 100.
diord, note on, 70 (f.n.), 75.
Ebblewhite, E. a. : The Parish Regis-
ters of Great Hampden, (ref.) 149
(.f.n.).
Editorial, 109-10.
Pxlucated ('.., 1.58, 2*24.
Egiptians, d. race-name, 222.
Egypt, tradition of G. origin frfjm, 23.
Ehrknboro, Harald, 116.
Eiderdowns in G. houses, 7.
eJt chipds, remark on, 79.
Etymologies : —
hildrrah ' kettle,' 160 ; furuvK
'lime-tree,' 71; hormingoree
'fork,' 162; kandoi 'mouse,' 71;
kanzauri 'hedgehog,' 71 ; mdsov
'fat animal,' 199; mussa 'it is
necessarj-,' 164; nais 'thanks,'
108-9; rumusardv 'I destroy,'
71; sddo 'cup,' 207; singirtla
'kettle,' 161 ; thrima 'a little,'
71, 79; tri'imar 'I dare," 70. See
also Romani words worth noting.
INDEX OF VOLUME IX
227
Farm-labourers, G., 35.
Feast : of St. (^.eorge, 33 ; of the
Assumption observed by Gs., 32-3.
Feminine missing to forms in -oro in
Vlach group of G. dialects, 72.
feredza ' mantle,' worn by Gs., 5, 7, 10.
FERursoN, Prof. John, 117.
Feruuson, William, 113.
Fiddlers, G., 146, 156, 224.
Fi.NCK, Prof. F. N., 115, 116.
FisiiER, Capt. C. D., 118.
Folk-tales and songs, G., collections of,
115.
Foreign (!s. in England, 136.
Foreign phraseology translated into
Romani, 68.
FoRSTKR. Robert, friend of Hovland,
153.
Fortune-telling, G., 139, 142-3, 152.
FRt>9T, T. : lieminiscunrffi of u Country
Jouni'tlist, (refs.) 137 (/.n.), 138 (/"./i.),
144 (/.n.), 152 (/.n.).
Frugal (is., 47.
Funeral, G., 135.
J'uruvU, di-riv. of, 71.
Gal ' village,' 176.
(fALER, A. M. : Norwood atul Dulipich,
(refs.) 132 (/.n.). 152 (/.n.).
G.^LMciiA.N, Walter, 117.
Gerundive, shortened, 95.
(ilLLiAT-SMiTii, Bernartl, 115, 116,117.
C and dn, (note), 224. .S'ee also Petu-
lengro.
(JlLLiNOTON, Aliee K. : Burrod^r Lava
from tht' Xevi I'efh, (note), 224.
liimlet-makers. (i., 5, 45.
Gitano, G. race-name, lt»7.
GjORCJEVld, 117.
godi, remark on, 70 (/.n. ).
grain rdi 'horseshoe,' 194.
'iJreat Deceit,' 37-44.
Grebeniris, (J. tribiil-name. 5, 25, .30.
(Jreek : dialects of Romani, 65 ; influence
on Romani phraseology, 69 ; numerals
in sieve-makers' dialect, 7.
Grellmakn : HiMori^rher Ver^uch,
(refs.) 132 (/.n.), 153, 165, 173; his
influence on Bright, 173.
Grierson, Sir George : L%ngui»tic Survey
of India, 119, 122, 123, 128.
Groome, F. H., 114, 149; In G. Tents,
(refs.) 129 ( f.n.). 132 (/.n.), 134 (/.n.),
135 (f.n.), 144 (J.n.), 148 (f.n.), 160,
163, 165 (f.n.) ; a pupil of Sanderson,
111.
Grosvenor, Lady Arthur, 115.
gvdl6. remark on, 79.
Gs., The, (ref.) 156 (/.n.).
Ga. and Bears, (note). By J. R. Mori-
arty, 112.
Hackwoop. F. W. : The Good Old
Times, (ref.) 135 (f.n.).
hadjavdv, note on, 91.
Hagekbeck. Carl : Beasts and Men,
(quot.) 112.
Hall. Rev. G., 117; The G.'s Parson,
118.
Hardships of tinker life, 58-9.
Hare, A. G. and W. B. Bannerman :
The Parish Register of Putney, (ref.)
U&(f.n.).
Harriott, J. S., 116, 162.
Harvest-workers, G., 7, 13, 50, 156.
Hasirdjis, G. tribal-name, 4, 53.
Hawkers, tinkers, 57.
Hederlez, Feast of, 16.
Hedgehog, G. taste for, 46.
Heister : Ethnographische und geschicht-
liche Notizen, (ref.) 1.32 (f.n.).
Holland, Gs. banished from, 223.
Honest Gs., 6, 7, 47.
Honesty and chastity of Zigundjis, 22.
Hop-gatherers, G. , 1,56.
hormingoree 'fork,' i62.
Horse-dealers, G., 5, 6, 8, 19, 23, 44, 51,
137 ; tinker, 57.
Horse-shoe makers, G., 5, 53.
Horse-thieves, G., 3, 25-6.
Houses, Gs. in, 7, 149, 151, 152.
HowiTT, Mary, (quot.), 140.
HoYLAND, John, 136, 144; Historical
Survey, (refs.) 139 (f.n.), 145 (f.n.),
1,">0, 151 ; his Anglo-Romani vocabu-
lary, 153-6.
HuTii, Capt. Fred., 118.
Huts, G., 132 anrf (f.n.), 146-7.
xanamtk ' relative by marriage,' 70
(f.n.).
xantsl, remark on, 79
xanvj, note on, 71 (f.n.).
Xard, remark on, 76.
X^ratas 'speech,' 70 (f.n.).
Xux'ir, remark on, 76.
Xungisardv ' sprinkle with incense,' 70
(/.".).
Xunk, ' incense,' 70 (f.n.).
Idi'is ' thing,' 95.
ikisiiva, remark on, 80.
Indian stratum of Romani : later than
Apabhraiui^a, 119 ; from Central India,
119.
Inflexions in Bright's Romani, 171-2.
ingjardv, ingjerav, remarks on, 79, 80.
Innkeeper, G., 152.
Intemperance, tinker, 61.
Iron-workers, G., 4, 5, 53.
Irreligious Gs., 19.
isali 'brandy,' 70 (f.n.).
iskoi'-e ' snail,' 83.
-12, verb stems in, 102 ; loan verbs in, 72.
-12 suffix, 84.
Jacksox, W. : Papers awl Pedigrees
mainly relating to Cumberland and
Westmorland, (quot. ) 222.
Jevffreson, J. C. : Middlesex County
Records, (ref.) 130 (/.n.).
Jevsex, Ch. Sandfeldt: Rumcenske
Stwditr, (ref.) 69 (f.n.).
.John, Augustus, 115, 117.
Jones, J. Morris: A Welsh Grammar,
(quot.), 112.
kaim^ngeros 'beau-catchers,' 195.
228
INDEX OF VOLUME IX
kdbi ' liere,' 9R.
Kalaidji's, Kalaidjides, O. tribal-name,
4, 9 ; dialect of, 94-6.
Kalburdjia, Kalburdjis, (J. tribal-name,
4, 6 ; dialect of, 82-94 ; specimens of
dialect of, 84-94.
kan-, prefix for future, 84.
kandot, deriv. of, 71.
kanivoro 'hare,' 178.
kanzaiiri, deriv. of, 71.
Kashikdjla, G. tribal name, 0.
KtnlJKh ReifiMfr mul Monthly Misceliany,
(ref.) 147 {/.«.).
Kidnapping, (J., .'')7.
kikitai, remark on, 79.
King, <;., 99.
KiKity, R. S. : The Wonderful and Scini-
title Mutfum, (refs.) 140 (f.n.), 141
(f.n.).
kilnf, remark on, 79.
Kluyvkk, Dr., 115.
Knife-grinders, G., \')Ct.
korak, remark on, 70 i/.n.).
kokn 'tliert',' 90.
Kopandris, (J. tribal-name, (>, 30.
Koritiris, G. triluil-name, fi. J!l.
hi^o, note on, 71 (/.w.).
Kosa(5ia, G. tribal-name, 11.
Kiitlcnaki Tsigani, (i. tribal-name, 11.
kovd ' thini>;,' 104.
bizo ^ixxi," 163.
KunN, Prof. Ernst, 110, lis.
L mutatefl to ji, 90.
laddva 'to pack up," 102.
Lalero Sinte, <J. tribal-nanie. 97.
L AKW<><)i>, .1. and J. C. Hotten : History
of Si<jnhoardJt, (refs.) 12J» (f.n.), 135
i/.n.).
lav tut palnl 'to drive some one away,'
68.
Laws against (is., 34.
Leeiltt Pitrixh Church licgiMers, (ref. ) 130
(/.n.).
LEiaND, C. G., 113; The 0»., (ref.) 142
(f.n.); The. Kn;)li*h On. and their
Lfiufjua^je, (ref.) 162; Knrjlieh G.
Son<j.\ (refs.) 101, 179, 185.
Letters, Romani, 98, 99, 105, lOJ.
LiEiucii, R., Die Zirjpuner, (ref.) 104.
Linguistic Survey of India. See (irierson.
liperdv, deriv. of, 71.
List of : comparative sentences of Bul-
garian-O. dialects, 80-2 ; words to
illustrate difl'erence between non-
Vlach and Vlach groups of dialects,
73-5.
Iddav, remark on, 79.
Lysons : Th>' Envirom of London, (refs.)
129 (/.n.), 131 ( f.n.), 134 ( f.n.), (quot.)
135, (ref.) 150 (f.n.); Historical Ac-
count of Parishes not dexcrihetl in the
Environs of London, (ref.) 133 ( f.n.).
Lyster, Miss M. E., 117.
M.\cAli.stkr, Sir Donald, 117.
Macalister. Prof. R. A. S. : Grammar
and Vocahulary of the Nawar of Pales-
tine, 115, 117.
M'Cartiiy, Justin Huntly, 117.
M'CoRMicK, Andrew, 115, (quot.) 62.
Mackie, R. a. Scott. 25, .30, 37, 38, 40,
44, .50, 114, 117, 174.
M'Neill, Dr. Roger, (qjiot.) 59.
MacRitchie, David, 111, 114, 110;
Scottish Gs. iiiultr the Stewarts, (ref.)
222.
Mai^olm, R. : Curiosities of Jiioifrapht/,
(ref.) 1.32 (/.n.).
Malleson, Rev. H. H., 117; liis
Napoleon Boswell. 118.
Manning, T. and W. Bray : The History
. . . of the County of Surrey, (nf. 1 143
(/«.).
manrfi, remark on, 79.
Marriage, early, among (Js., 19.
Marsden, Williaiu, 14.">, 153.
uuisov 'a fat animal," 199.
Mat -makers, (J., 7.
Matthews, Samuel, the Dulwicli Hermit,
140-1.
Meht^'ris, G. trilial-name, 5, 53.
■men, suffix, 104.
Mevkr, Prof. Kunu. 11«», 118.
Middlesex County Htcorda, (ref.) 142
(f.n.).
MiKL<isicn, F. : Muiulnrten, (refs.) 07.
80, .S.3, S7, 116, 119, 120 (f.n.), 122,
101. 107. 174-H.->.
Minutes of Evidence on Mendicity, (re' I
138 (/.n.).
MiaKow, .lohan, 115, 117.
Monkey-trainers, (i., 97.
moomlinyoree 'candlestick,' 163.
Mt>RK : A dt/aloge of syr Thomas More,
(ref.) 129 (/.n.).
MoRiARTY, J. R. : Os. and Bears, (noteK
112.
Moslem (Js., 4, o ; dialects of, 65.
Mowers, G., 11.
Muggers, tinker, 58.
muilsa, not* on meaning of, 111.
mukso 'breasts,' 181.
mu/o mns, 5, 13, 15. l.'>8.
Musician.s G., 4, 11, 12, .35, 54, 94.
mwojuii ' mole,' 70 (f.n. ).
mussa 'it is necessary,' 164.
MYER.S, John, 117.
iVaw, deriv. of, 108-9.
vnkfidfin, note on, 99.
Nalbandjis, <}. tribal-name, 5.
Names, (i. Christian or fore —
Abraham, .h;, 149, 22.3.
Adam, 137, 138, 143, 144.
Ali, 20.
Ambrose, 137, 148.
Ankutsa, 99.
Ann, 142, 146.
Anne, 146.
Anne Maria. 140.
Anthony, 223.
Brii)i:et. 'Queen,' 129, 134, 13.5.
147, 150.
Catherine, 223.
Charity, 1.33.
Charlotta, \4(y and { f.n.).
Charlotte, 142, 143, 145.
INDEX OF VOLUME IX
229
Names, G. Christian or ioTe—corUintied.
Cinderella, 152.
constantine, 99.
Cornelius, 18»j, 191, 194, 196, 207,
208.
David, 146 (f.n.).
Diana, 145.
DiANAH, 136.
Dinah, 135.
DoMiNico, 224.
DOKOTHV, 149.
DHsi, u;i.
Dui.A, 99.
Edward, 150.
Klisiia (Liisha), 146.
Klizahkth, 129, 1.S6, 142 {/.«.).
Kmanuel, 223.
Ksmkkalda, 151, llil.
KvE, 146.
Faith, 133.
(Jeokce, 130, 131, 139, 162, 222,
•224.
Hannah, 142 (/.n.).
TI\KKIET, 145.
IIakkkitt, 142.
Hati (Karu), 8, 9, 88, 89 (f.n.), 91.
Hkitok, 142.
Henry, 151.
Ho IE, 133.
ISAJIELL, 142 (f.n.).
Ivan. 30.
Jack, 152 (/".n.).
Jan, -223.
Jank. 142, 146, 150.
Joe. 161.
John, 137, 138, 139, 142, 145, 150.
JoRi.s, 223.
Joseth, 136, 145, 157.
KadTlia, lt»4.
Kadir. 90.
LETiriA. 223.
Lydia, 18t;, 20i».
Madlyn, 131.
Mairik, 151.
Mansfield, 145.
Mar.;arkt, 1_>9. 130. 131. 132 and
(/.«.). 133. 135, US. •J22. 223.
Margeret, 222.
Margrietta, 223.
Maria, 49, 146.
Mary, 131.
Mary Ann. 142, 146.
Matthew, 151, 152.
Milan, 98.
Nancy, 152.
Ned, 151.
Nicola I, 99.
Nicolas, 98.
NiKCLiXA, 106, 107.
NiLi, 142.
NisKA, 92.
OSMAN, 104, 105.
PENTE^^NNY, 142, 143, 145.
Peter, 149 and (f.n.).
Philip, 160, 164.
Phcenix, 147.
PlETER, 224.
Plato, 149.
Radvl, 99.
Names, G. Christian or fore — continued.
Richard, 138 and {f.n.), 139.
Riley, 156.
RiSTEM, 28.
Robert, 129, 131, 136, 137.
Roman, 99.
Ryley, 139.
Sabraina, 146.
Saiki, 152.
Sali, 90.
Samuel, 146.
Sarah, 135, 149.
Sherban, 99.
Shooler, 149.
Shuri (Yoki), 139.
Sophia, 146, 1 '9.
Spencer, 161.
Sportcella, 157 (/.7t.).
Sp5ti, 157 (/.n.).
Stephen, 137, 139.
Thomas, 142 i/.n.), 143, 145, 147.
TiNKA, 58.
ToTANA, 28, 35.
Truffeni, 152 i/.n.).
Tori, 107.
'TcRUTs' (nickname), 162.
Unity, 151.
Uriah, 153.
Vlac'ano, 27, 36, 106.
Vristaki, 99.
William, 131, 138 (/.n.), 142 (/.n.),
150, 151, 160, 222, 223.
Zachariah, 145, im aiid (f.n.).
Names, Ci. Surnames —
Allen, Chariotte, 142, 143, 145.
Allen, Elizabeth, 142 (/.«.).
Allen, Hannah, 142 (/.?«.).
Allen, Isal>ell, 142 (f.n.).
Allen, Thomas, 142 (f.n.).
Allen, William, 142 {f.n.).
Ayers, Sarah (Shooler), 149.
Backer, Dominico, 224.
Blytii, tinkers, 58.
Bos, William, 151.
Boss, Peter, 157 (/.n. ).
Boss, Spoti, 157 (/.«.).
Boss, Waini, 157 i/.n.).
Bosses, 151.
BosswEL gang, 157 (/.".).
Bosvile, 'Captain,' 156.
Bosvile's gang, 156.
BoswELL, Abraham, 149.
Boswell, Ambrose, 137.
BoswELL (Boss), Chailotta, 146.
Boswell, 'Queen' Dinah, 135.
Boswell, Dianah, 136.
Boswell = Lock, 151.
Boswell gang, 147, 155, 156.
Boswell, Phcenix, 147.
Boswell, Ryley (Riley), 139, 156.
Boswell, Sarah, 149.
Boswell, Sophia, 149.
Bowers (Bower), James, 142.
BozwELL, Elizabeth, 129.
Brown, Kadilia, 164.
BucKLAND family, 156.
Buckland, Hector, 142.
BucKLAJTD, Ned, 151.
Buckland (Fenner), Nili, 142.
230
INDEX OF VOLUME IX
Names, G. Surnames — contimied^.
Auckland, ' King ' Peter, 149 (f.n. ).
Buckley, Dorothy, 149.
BucKLKY, Peter, 149.
Buckley, Plato, 149.
Camerons, tinkers, 58.
C HARLOT, Edward, 150.
Charlot, Jane, 150.
CiiARLUT, John, 150.
Chilcott (Lee), Richard, 138 {f.n.),
139.
Collins, Elizabeth, 136.
Cooi'EK, Ann, 146.
Cooper, Anne, 14<».
Cooper, Anne Maria, 146.
Cooper, Cornelius, 186, 191, 194.
196, 207, 208.
Cooper, Elisha (Lusha), 146.
Cooper, Eve, 146.
Cooper, G. Jack, 152 and {f.n.).
Cooper, Jane, 146.
Cooper (Hicks). Lydia, 186, 209.
Cooper, Nancy, 152.
Cooper, Sabraina, 146.
CositY, Mrs., 161.
DouuLAs, tinker-s, 58.
Draper, Spencer, 161.
Du. MITER, Piet«r, 224.
Farlant, Abraham, 22.S.
Fenner. Sec Bucklaml.
Finch, Matllyn, 131.
Finch (Fytch), 'Queen' Margaret,
129, 130. 131, 1.32 and (f.n.),
133, 135. 148.
Finch, William. 131.
Gaskin, Dot*!. KJl.
(iREEN. George (Turuts), 162.
Hearn family, 151.
Hern, Jane, 142.
Hern, Mary Ann. 142.
Hern, Rol>ert, 129.
Heron. Saiki, 1.52.
IspASiT, Sherban, 99.
Jorisse, Abraham, 223.
Lee, Adam, 1.37. 138, 143, 144.
Lee, Charlotta, 146 (f.n.).
Lee, Blind David, 146 (f.n.).
Lice, Diana, 145.
Lee family, 137.
Lee, old George, 224.
Lee, Harriott, 142.
Lee, John, 137, 138. 139, 1.^0.
Lee, Mansfield. 145.
Lee, Mary Ann, 146.
Lee, Richard, 138.
Lee, Robert, 137.
Lee, Samuel, 146.
Lee, Sophia, 146.
Lee, Stephen, 137, 139.
Lee, Thomas, 143, 147.
Lee, William, 1.50.
Lee, Zachariah. 145. 146 and (f.n.).
'Lincoln. Lady," 134, 150.
Lock, Esmeralda, 151, 161.
Lock = Boswell, 151.
Lock, Joe, 161.
Lock, Mairik, 151.
Lock, Matthew. 151, 152.
Locke, Henry, 151.
Names, G. Surnames — continued.
Locke, Unity, 151.
Lovell family, 153, 154, 162. Set
Smith family.
Lovell, Harriet, 145.
Lovell, John, 142, 145.
Lovell, Joseph, 136, 145, 157.
Lovell, Pentevinny, 142, 143, 145.
Lovell, Robert, 136.
Lovell, Thomas, 145.
Lovell, Truffeni, 152 (f.n.).
Lovell, Uriah, 153.
Macmillan, tinkers, 58.
MacI'hee, tinkers, 57, 58.
Marshall, tinkers, 58.
Mosroesse, Catherine, 223.
Murray, Philip, tinker, 160, 164.
Newlands, tinkers, 58.
NicuLOFF. Ivan, 30.
NoRRis. tinkers, 58.
0.sM.\NoFF, Osiuan, 105.
PooLK, Mary, 131.
Poole, Robert, 131.
PowEL. Mary, 131.
Powell's gang, 131.
Powell, (ieorge, 130. 131.
I'owELL, William, 131.
Reid, tinkers, 58.
Skemp, Sarah, lliS.
.Smith. Ambrose, 148.
Smith family, 137, 151, 1.56.
Smith, George, 139.
Smith, William, 138 (f.n.).
Stanley, William, 160.
Stewart, tinkers, 58.
ToWNSLEY, tinkers, 58.
Valentyn, Anthony, 22.3.
Valentyn, Emanuel, 223.
Valentyn, Jan, 223.
Valent\'N, .loris, 223.
Valentyn, Margrietta, 223.
Vallantyne, Margaret, 222, 223.
Voclentine, Leticia, 22.3.
VocLENTiNE, William, 223.
VoLANTYNE, (Jeorge. 222.
VoLANTYNE, Margaret, 222.
VoLANTYNE, Willjelmus, 222.
Walentin family, 223.
Watson, tinkers, 58.
White, tinkers, 58.
Williamson, tinkers, 58.
Wilson, tinkers, 58.
WiLsoiN, Johnne, 222.
Wood, Abraham. 56.
Wood, Cinderella. 152.
Wood familj-, 152.
Young, tinkers, 58.
Names, G. Tribal or Race —
Ai<lia. 5, 53. 10.3.
Bare-Katuni^nK*ire, 47.
Burgudjis, 5. 45.
( 'algidjis. 4. 1 1.
Cygani. 167.
Dawuldjis, 5, .53.
Demirdjis, 4, 5, .53, 104.
Dinikovlirs, 5, 6, 51.
Djaparis. ^ee Zaparis.
Djezvedjis, 5.
Drindaris, 4. 10, 115.
INDEX OF VOLUME IX
231
Names, G. Tribal or Race — continued.
Egiptians, 222.
(iitano, 167.
Grebeniris, 5, 25, 30.
Hasirdjis, 4, 53.
Kalaidjis, Kalaidjides, 4, 9, 94.
Kalburdjia, Kalburdjis, 4, 6, 82.
Kashikdjis, 6.
Kopan4ris, 6, 30.
Korit4ris, 6, 49.
Kosacis, 11.
Kdtlenski Tsi'gani, 11.
Lalere Sinte, 97.
Meht^ris, 5, 53.
Netots, 3.
Pirpulia, 6, 44.
Pletosi, 35.
Roma, 13.
RudAri.si, 6, 48.
Sepetdjis, 4, 53.
Suridgees, 224.
Tarakd^is, 25.
Turciti, H.
Ursari, 47.
I'stalar, 4.
Vliichs, H, 7.
Vla.si, 49.
Yerlis, 4.
ZAgundjis, 5, 13-22, 100.
Zaparis (Djaparis), 3.
Zavrakcia, Zavratides, Zavrakcis,
5, 25, 47.
Zidaris, 97.
Names of people who were possibly Gs. —
Allen, John, 142.
Bower, Heniy, 142.
HowERS, Arthur, 141, 142.
HowKRS, Bill. 142.
Bowers, Ephraim, 141.
Bowers, Robert, 141.
Bdcklev, 138 (/.n.).
Finch, Charity, 133.
Finch, Faith, 133.
Finch, Hope, 133.
FiKCH, Johannes, 133.
Hearn, Mary, 138 (f.n.).
\ HroHES, 138 (/.«.).
Jones, 138 (f.n.).
Lamb, B., 146.
Lamb, Henry, 146.
Lamb, Sarah, 146.
Lock, John, 151.
Lock, Matthew, 151.
Mc3GRAVE, Christofer, 130.
McsGRAVE, old Goody, 130.
McsGRAVE, William, 130.
MusGROVE, Anthony, 130.
Pentold, John, 223.
Sheen, 138 (f.n.).
Smith, John, 149.
Sprague (Spragg, Cragg, Craggs),
Joseph (Benjamin), 141, 142.
Valentine, Elizabeth, 223.
Vallentyn, James, 223, 224.
Wood, Jane, 150.
Wood, Susannah, 150.
Young, Elizabeth, 149.
Young, James (2), 149.
nandi, remark on, 89.
nasaldv, remark on, 75 (f.n.).
nav, note' on, 75.
Netots, G. race-name, 3.
Newspapers, Journals, Magazines, and
Periodicals quoted or referred to —
Annual Register, 134 (f.n.), 135
{f.n.).
Antiquary, 145 {f.n.).
Blackwood, 56.
Builder, 152 (f.n.).
Champion, 132 (f.n.).
Christian Guardian, 148 (f.n.), 151
(f.n.), 155, 156 and (f.n.).
Church of England Magazine, 151
{f.n.).
Gentleman's Magazine, 132 (f.n.),
140 (f.n.).
Illustrated London News, 111.
John Bull, 146 (f.n.).
J.G.L.S., N.S., 2, 3, 6, 13, 50, 56,
57, 58, 80, 93, 130 (f.n. ), 136 (f.n. ),
137 (f.n.), 142 (f.n.), 144 (f.n.),
145 (f.n.), 147 (/.n.), 149 (f.n.),
151 (f.n.), 154 (f.n.), 157 (f.n.),
161 (f.n.), 163, 179, 223.
J.G.L.S., O.S., 111, 129 (f.n.),
132 (/.n.), 149 (f.n.), 151 (f.n.),
160, 164.
Leicester Journal, 141 (f.n.).
London Chronicle, 134 (f.n.), 136,
137 (f.n.), 138 (/.«.), 141 (f.n.),
142(/.7i.).
Mist's Weekly Journal, 131.
Monthly Magazine, 145 (f.n.).
Northampton Mercury, 56.
Notes and Queries, 146 (f.n.).
Oxford Journal, 134 (f.n.), 135,
1.37 (f.n.), 146 (/.n.), 150 (f.n.),
151 (f.n.).
Oxford Times, 142 (f.n.).
Reading Mercury, 141 (f.n.), 147
{f.n.).
Times, 141 (f.n.), 144 (f.n.), 146
(f.n.), 151 (/.«.), 152 (/.n.).
Weekly Register, 144 (f.n.).
Worcester Herald, 142 (f.n.).
Noise made by Gs., 21.
Norwood, a G. haunt, 129-52.
Nonfood Gs. and their Vocabulary, The.
By E. 0. Winstedt, 129-65.
Norwood, Rev. T. W., 115, 151.
Notes and Queries : —
BurrodSr Lavs from the Nevi Vesh,
224.
d and dii, 224.
Gs. and Bear.?, 112.
Roumany Chai or Gs., The, 111.
Seven Jargons, The, 111-12.
Shelta, 111.
Spanish Romani, 64.
Suridgees, 224.
Valentines, The, 222-4.
Number of tinkers in Scotland, 57.
Occupations, G. —
Ballad-singers, 94.
Basket-makers, 4, 104.
Bear-leaders, 35, 47, 97.
Beggars, 14.
232
IVDEX OF VOLUME IX
Occupations, O. — continued.
Buffalo-rearers, G.
Chair-bottomers, 156.
Charwomen, 7.
Cliimney-sweep, 141.
Cliina-racnders, 1.56.
Coffee-pot maker.'!, 5, 9.
Comb-makers, 5, 22-37.
Coppersmiths, 35, 115.
Crook -makers, 46.
Dancers, 36.
Drummers. 5.
Farm-labourers, 3.1.
Fiddlers, 146, 156. 224.
Fortune-tellers, l.SU, 142-3, 152.
(limlet-niakers, 5, 45.
Harvest- workers, 7, 13, 50, 156.
Hop-f;athprer8, 156.
Horse-dealers, 5, 6, 8, 19, 23, 41,
51, 57, 137.
Iforse-shoe makers, 5, 53.
Horse-thieve.s, 3, 2.5-6.
Innkeeper, 1.52.
Iron-wtirkers, 4, 5, 53.
Knife-jjrinders, 156.
Mat-raakors, 7.
Mi)nkey-traiiiers, 97.
Miiwcrs, 1 1.
I'ipe-players, 5.
I'lirters, 7.
Postman, 224.
ru^'ilist, 1.52.
SchoulnMstcr, 224.
Sieve-makers, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11,
50.
Spoon-makers. 2, 6.
Tamlxiurineplayers, 156.
Thieves, 6. 23. .51.
Tinkers, (i. 145, 146.
Tinners. 4, 6, 7, 9, 10.
Trouvrh- makers, 6, 49.
Washerwomen, 7.
Wnol -cleaners. 4. 11.
O'DoNociiuK, F. : i^nialodiu of En(imi'*d
/iriti^h Portraits in 'hi lirxtv>h
AfuJieum, (ref. ) 132 (/.n. ).
Offf, remark on. 70 i/.n.).
Origin: of tinkers, 55; tradition of G.,
23.
iJriimdidiHi ' spider,' K3.
Pii/ti 'silver clasps.' 49.
P.^PA)l.\Gl : Pnrallde Auj>driicke und
Redensartdi itn liumiinitrhm, Alhunf-
sischi^n, Xeutjriechijirhen und Bulgar-
if>chen, (ref.) 68 -9.
Parish Jiegislera of Birchington, (ref.)
133 (/.n.).
parwi, not<> on, 71 (/.n. ).
PArpulia, G., tribal-name, 6, 44; dialect
of, 102-3.
Paspati, a., 3: Kliiden, {ref<.^ 7). !t2.
93, 100.
Passive voice in Romani. 98.
paMcrnf 'apron.' 103.
Patkasoff. K. p.. 115. 123.
Peasants" animosity against (Js. , 28.
Penxell, Joseph, 117.
Pepys, S. : Dinry, (quot.) 129.
Perkins, Sidney W., 115, 118.
Petcle.vgro : Report on the O. tribes of
X.E. liidgaria, 1-54, 65-109.
PiiiLLiMORE, W. P. \V., Middlesex
Parish Registers, (ref.) 223.
pHiLLiis, Sir J., 145.
Phonetics: Bright's, 172; Copsey's, 158;
Huyland's, 153-4 : Sinclair's, 187.
Phraseology, foreign, tulopted by
Romani, 68-70.
Pindar, Peter, (quot.) 147 (/.n.).
Pipe-players, G., 5. .
pif(J, note on, 75.
PiSTHEL, R., 116; Prakrit Grammar,
(ref.) 125.
PiTTARD, Dr. Eugene, 116.
Pleto^i, (;. tribal-name, 35.
Pneumonia among tinkers, 59.
PiKTtK-KE, *Dr. Richard: Travels, (ref.)
133 (/.n.).
Poles carried by RudAri, 49.
Police : friendly to tinkers, 58 ; mid
Gs., 145.
Porter, Tom, gorgio traveller, 161.
Port«r8, (J., 7.
pdski, note on, 75.
Postman, (}., 224.
P<.TT, A. F., (ref8.)70, 71, l(i4.
jtripel, dcriv. of, 70.
Present tense in P4rpulia dialect. 102.
Pride of colo\ir anu)tig (Js.. 36.
I»RinKArx. Col. W. K.. lis.
Prince, .J. 1). : English- Rommnny Jargon
of the American Roads, (refs. ) 18«i,
187 210.
Prisons U9e<l by Gs. as postes restantea,
21».
Pronouns, Romani personal, compare<l
with cognate forms in Indian tongues,
120-8.
PUCHMAYER, A. .1., (fef.) 71.
Pugilist, <;., 152.
piiJiii ' street.' 95.
pursukd 'crumbs,' 70 (/.n. ).
(Quarrels, Zigundji. 17, 18.
gueens. <;., 129. 130, 131. 132 aruf ( /".n.),
133, 134, 13.5, 147, 148. 150.
QuEVKDo, Sefior Prof. D. S.. 118.
R group of dialects, 67.
R group of dialects, 67.
r in Bulgarian Romani, 71, 100. 1 16.
r sound in Romani, 71. 100.
rai, remarks on, 36, 79.
Raid, police, on (Js. . 29. 139.
raimt'is ' lordship,' 98.
Rankino, Dr. Fearon de I'Hoste, 115,
117; Shelta, (note), 111; Roumany
Chaior Gs., The, 111.
REDiiorsK : A Turkish and English
Lfxiron, (ref.) '224.
Report nf the DepartmerUal Committee on
Tinkers in Scotland, (rev.), 54-64.
Re)Kirt on MSS. in various rolleciion>.
(ref.) 131 (/.n.).
Report on the G. tribes of X.E. Bulo'irii
By Petulengro, 1-54, 65-109.
resdv, remark on, 7».
INDEX OF VOLUME IX
233
Residence in Bulgaria, A. See St. Clair.
Review : Report of the Departmental
Committee on Tinkers in Scotland,
.54-64.
Rice : TTie Parish Register of Horsham,
(quot.) 222.
rikon6, remark on, 75.
Robbers, O., 137, 138, 139.
Roberts, Samuel, 116; The Gs., (ref.)
156 (/.n.).
Roriia, G. tribal-name, 13.
Romani not necessarily an unmixed
languat;e when leaving India, 119.
Romani word.s worth noting —
nkhor, 71 (./".n. ), angYt.it, 75 ; aravdv,
75; arr'ir, 70 {f.n.); arlla, 75;
astdr, 104; aslf'r, 103: hai, 105;
-h^M, 104 ; -herl, 87 ; hiandva, 102:
hildrrah, 160; hock, 174; hori,
106-7; hov, 70 (/.n.); hre.i, 96;
hnhirisdjovav, 75 ; /)?fr, 71 (./*•«•) ;
r(f, 190; ram, 79; raprdzi. 49;
rhomiil, 75 (/.n.) ; nW*, 70 (/.7i.) ;
deppsem'nqro, 176 ; derjdv, 75 ;
diW, rfiWn, r/tV^m, 80, 100 ; dwfir-
t//a, 176 ; dinngavdv, 75 ; dzeha,
75 ; dfe/«'m, lOO'; dioro, 70 (/.n.),
75 ; ek chipds, 79 ; furuvli, 71 ;
f7ai, 176; f/o«^//, 70 (f.n.); graia
rdi, 194 ; giidld, 79 ; hadjavdv, 91 ;
hormingoree, 162; x^namlk, 70
(/.n. ) ; "xin/^/, 79 ; xn^mi, 7 1 { /".n. ) ;
Xaro, 76; \nrata8, 70 (/.n.) ;
X«x«r, 76 ; x^tngisartiv, 70 ; X""^'.
70 {f.n.)\ iilos, 95; ikisdra, 80;
ingjariiv, ingjerdv, 79, 80 ; t'-'o//, 70
(/.n. ); iskdire, 83; kaim^ngeros,
195 ; jlv/X-a, 96 ; /tan-, 84 ; k'andoi,
71 ; l-dHtroro, 178 ; kanzai'iri, 71 ;
iti/ti7.«/. 79 ; /•iV*^ 79 ; korak, 70
(/.n.) ; kokd, 96 ; /rcmi, 71 ifn.) ;
kovd, 104 ; b'izo, 163 ; laddva,
102 ; /'iv ^<< palal, 68 ; liperdv,
71 ; li'idav, 79 ; manrd, 79 ; mdsov,
199; -m€7i, 104; moomlingoree,
163 ; miikso, 181 ; niM-s07J'»»', 70
(./'.n. ); wiJi-wa, 164; naia, 108-9;
nakadem, 99 ; nandi, 89 ; naJcUav,
75 ( /"./i.) ; nar, 75 ; Of//, 70 (/.n.) ;
oriimd'.dva, 83 ; p'//i'i, 49 ; pamo,
71 (/".n.); pastemi, 103; ptVo,
75 ; /xJa/ti, 75 ; prf^pel, 70 ; pw/'/i,
95; pursukd, 70 (/.n.) ; rai, 36,
79 ; rniWi.", 98 ; resdv, 75 ;
rikoni'i, 75 ; rot-tch, 164 : rwX', 75,
79, 102 ; rumusardv, 71 ; saleijgo,
83 ; Wrf, 75 ; savord, 89 ; si, 79 ;
singwela, 161 ; somnakdi, 75 ;
*ii£(5, 75 ; «<7a, 184 ; tueid, 79 ;
thdhjovav, 76 ; ^/iana, 16 ; thrlma,
71, 79; trdmar, 70; fschamme-
dini, 184 ; uy-hawiv, 80 ; uxljavdv,
80 ; M/y«/v, 79 ; 7t:ar«'f, 75 ; va«, 70
(/.n.); roy^, 70 (/.n.) ; tm^, 76,
102 ; ydjufo, 210.
rotsch 'spoon,' 164.
Roumany Chai or Gs., The, (note). By
D. F. de THoste Ranking, 111.
rr sound, 72.
Rud4ris, G. tribal-name, 6, 48.
ruk, remark on, 75, 79, 102.
Rumanian Gs. , 49 ; in Bulgaria, 5.
Rumanian : influence on Comb-makers'
dialect, 97 ; loan-words in Comfc-
makers' dialect, 22 ; in Bulgarian-G.
dialects, 66, 83 ; in Sieve-makers'
dialect, 6.
rumusardv, deriv. of, 71.
Rush -carpet makers, G., 4.
Russell, Alex., 115, 117; Bright' s
Anglo-Romani Vocabulary, 165-85 ;
Suridgees, (note), 224.
sddo 'a cup,' 207.
St. Clair, S. G. B. and Charles Brophy :
A Residence in E dgaria, (ref.) 2.
St. George's Day and Gs., 16.
saleygo 'snail,' 83.
sail'), remark on, 75.
Sampson, Dr. John, 69 (f.n.), 70, 163,
168 (f.n.), 170 (/.7j.), 174, 176, 177
f/.n.), 207 ; Vale et ave ! 113-18.
S «i NDERSON, Rev. R. N. , student of
Romani, 111.
-sar stem, remarks on, 72-3.
Saras^n de la Cardhea, G. song, 64.
savor6, note on, 89.
Schoolmaster, G., 224.
Scotland, G. Ijanished from, 222.
Scott, Rev. A. B. on tinkers, 57, 63.
Sepetdjis, G. tribal-name, 4, 53.
Seven Jargon^, The, (note). By F. G.
Ackerley, 111-12.
Shaw, Fred, 113, 117.
Shawcross, J. p. : History of Dagen-
ham, (ref.) U2(f.n.).
Shelta, (note). By D. F. de I'Hoste
Ranking, 111.
Shepherds' crooks, Gs. makers of, 6.
.si, remark on, 79.
Sieve-makers, G., 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 44,
50.
SiMSON, Walter, 175.
Sinclair, A. T., 117; collector of
American-Romani, 185, 186.
singwela ' kettle,' 161.
Soldiers, G., 51.
Solly, N. N. : Memoirs of the Life of
David Cox, (ref.) 143 (f.n.).
somnakdi, remark on, 75.
Smart, Bath and H. T. Crofton : Dia-
lect of the English Gs., (refs.) 173-85;
187-210.
Smith, George, of Coalville, 146 (f.n.).
Smith, Hubert, 151 ; Tent Life with
English Gs. in Nonoay, (ref.) 132
(f.n.).
Spanish Romani, (note), 64.
Spinelli, Signor, 116.
Spoon-makers, G., 2, 6.
Sr\eho, J. : his portrait of Margaret
Finch, 132, 148.
Stevens, J. : A Parochial History of
St. Mary Bourne, (ref.) 148 (,f.n.).
Studies in Romani Philology. By Alfred
C. Woolner, 119-28.
Suridgees, (note). By A. Russell, 224.
SM30, remark on, 75.
234
IXDFX OF VOLUME IX
Mwa 'tear,' 184.
Symons, a., 117.
Tambourine-players, G., 156.
Tarakfl;>.is, (J. tribal-narae, 23.
tasfi, remark on, 79.
Tathes, M.. pi Elector of Romani, 04.
Taylor, Tom, 111, llfi.
Tentless Gs., 5, 11, 'A.
Tents, elaborate G., 6 ; G., 44, 4,'), 4S ;
Comb-makers', 30; English-G., 148;
ZAgundji, 1.5, 16.
Test-woifls, list of, for seven Biilgarian-
G. dialects, 77-8.
Tedtsch, Julius, 117.
thdhjovav, remark on, 76.
thnnn 'encampment,' 16.
Tui-aLKKK, Arthur: Hi port oti the Q.
ProhUm, (refs.) .S, 117: WOrterhuch,
(ref.) 118, 184.
Thieves, G., 6, 23, ni ; expert, 51-2;
women, 5.
Th..mi'son. T. \V.. II.S, 11.-). 117, 152.
thrhii'i, deriv. of, 71, 79.
Tickets, horse, 26.
TiMHS, J. : Enrflif'h Eccentrics, (ref.)
120 (/.n.).
Tinkers, G., 6, 145, 156; of Scotland.
.'■)4-64.
Tinners, (i.. 4, 6. 7, 1», 10.
Tra<le-clas8ification of Gs. , 3.
Trial, V.., 142 3.
tniniav, deriv. of, 70.
Tniugh-makers. G., 6, 49.
t)>ch'immeilini 'a slap on the face,' 184.
Turciti, G. trilwl-name. 6.
Turkish : a lingua franca for Moslem <}.
tribes, 10 ; intluence on Romani
phraseologj', 68 ; on Hulgarian-CJ. syn-
tax, 84 ; loan-wortls, 83, 'J5.
Ui'haiuiv, remark on, 80.
uxlja^Hiv, remark on, 80.
ITrkaN. Reinhold, 118. *
uri-, note on, 71 (/•'••)•
urjiiv, remark on, 79.
Ursari, G. tribal-name, 47.
iistalar. G. tribal-narae. 4.
uiardv, note on, 75.
-vn, sutlix for loan-wonls, 83.
vachi 'night,' 184.
Vnlt et ave ! By Dr. .1. Sampson, 113-18.
ValriUine.8, The. (note). By E. O. VVin-
stedt. 222-4.
va.i 'on account of,' 70 (/.n.).
re ' and,' note on, 105.
Vlarhs, G. tribal-name, 6, 7.
^^asi, G. tribal -name, 49.
Vocabularies, Romani : American, 187-
210; Bright's, 167-85; Copsey's, 157-
65; Hoyland's. 153-7.
vorjl, remark on, 70 (y'.n. ).
VuN Sow A : Mnndnrt d. duv. Zig., (ref.)
122.
vwi ' Hax,' 76, 102.
WArKERNAOEI,. J.. 116.
Waine, <;.. l.SO-1 (/.n.).
Wanderitifj Gipi>et/, Sir, am I, A. poem,
. (quot.) 147-8 (/.n.).
War and the (Js., the, 54.
Washerwomen, G., 7.
Way. a. K. (J. : Xo. 747, (ref.) 161.
WEKiAND, Prof. (Justav: I4tei> Jahre«-
herieht de» Irvlituttt fiir liumiini*rhf
Sjfrarhf, {r€(.)*\H.
Wei.i.stooo, Fred. 116.
Whiter. Walter, 115.
Wiener, Trof. U-o, 116.
Wiu.iAMs, H. L., 117.
WiNSTEDT. E. O.. 56. 113. 116, 117;
Thf A'onroorf '7*. and thrir VocabiUnry.
l29-<'.5 ; Thf V'llmtinfn, (notv). 222 4.
IVfJttdnton rnrinh Rf<;ii>tfr, 142 (/.»i.).
Wood, H. M. : The' Registers of Whit-
'.Mm, (ref.) 130 (/.n.).
W(MKlen-tmugh makers. (J., 6.
Woodman, A. V. : The HcfjiMer of the
I'nrith of \Vin(], (ref.) 149 (f.n.).
\V(K)l-(leaner«, G., 4, 11.
W(M)LNER, Prof. A. C, 116; Stvulie$ in
Romnni PhUology, 119-'28.
Wriomt, Joseph : English Dialect Die-
ti(m'iry, (ref.) 207.
WvNDiiAM, H. p. : The Diary of thr
Intf Oeorge Buitb Dodington, (quot.)
134 (/.n.).
T/lj<ifo 'apron,' 210.
Yatks. Miss I). E., 116.
Yerlis, G. tribal-name, 4.
YoxALL, Sir J. TI., 117.
Z4gundji8, G. tribal-name, 5, 13-22;
dialect of, 100.
Zaparis (Djaparis), <i. race-name, 3.
Zavnikria, Zavrak<'is, Zavracides, G.
trilwl-name, 5, 25, 47.
Zidaris, G. tribal-name, 97.
2u»ii ' evening meal,' 15.
0
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