Scottish Romani and Traveller groups

Scottish Romani are the Romani people of Scotland. This includes Romanichal (locally also known as Border Gypsies) and Lowland Romani (Lowland Gypsies).
Scottish Travellers are non-Romani groups indigenous to Scotland who live or traditionally lived a nomadic lifestyle, including Scottish Highland Travellers, Scottish Lowland Travellers and Showmen (Funfair Travellers). These groups have distinct histories and traditions.
Scottish Romani and Traveller groups are considered part of the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller community.
The Romani people, also known as Roma or Gypsies, are an ethnic group of Indo-Aryan origin. The Romani people in Scotland are mainly Lowland Romani, Romanichal and Roma migrants from mainland Europe. Over the last few generations, the common generic term Gypsies (derived from an old folk belief that the Romani originated in Egypt) is sometimes seen as pejorative.
The most common overarching modern terms in English for non-Romani travelling groups in Scotland are Scottish Travellers or Travelling Folk, though various specific groups have more particular names in English and otherwise (see below). The Scots language equivalents are Traivellers or Traivellin Fowk. The Scottish Gaelic term is Luchd Siubhail or Luchd-siubhail ('Travelling Folk', literally 'People [of] Travel'), or more specifically Luchd-siubhail Albannach ('Scottish Traveling Folk').
The settled British (and Irish) population have often referred to all such populations in the British Isles as Tinkers (originally meaning an itinerant tinsmith), a name now often considered pejorative, with more contemptuous derivates such as Tinks and Tinkies. This English and Scots term has a cognate in Gaelic Tincearan (singular Tincear[d]), and equivalent terms have been used throughout Western Europe to refer locally to similar populations, owing to their historically frequent work in repairing household objects. Another generally dismissive term throughout Britain is Pikeys (also Pikies, Pykies; popularized widely even beyond the UK by the 2000 film Snatch). The also-pejorative Knackers (a reference to livestock rendering, a low-desire form of work often foisted on Travellers) has become uncommon.
Lowland Romani, or Lowland Gypsies, are a Romani subgroup in the Scottish Lowlands. They are not to be confused with Scottish Lowland Travellers, who are an indigenous people. Despite their distinct origins and cultures, Lowland Gypsies and Scottish Lowland Travellers are often grouped together as “Lowland Gypsy/Travellers”. It is believed that Lowland Gypsies share a common ancestry with the Romanichal, and, as with the Kalé of Wales, their language diverged from that of the Romanichal. Although they have mixed with indigenous Travelling groups in Scotland over centuries, Lowland Romani have retained their Romani culture and dialect
They are closely related to the Romani groups of England, Wales, Norway, Sweden, and Finland. They speak Scottish Cant (also known as Scots Romani) a para-Romani language-mix of Scots and Romani, similar to Angloromani and Scandoromani.
There is written evidence for the presence of Roma in the Scottish Lowlands as early as 1505, when – during the reign of James IV – an entry in a book kept by the Lord High Treasurer records a payment of four shillings to a Peter Ker to take a letter from the king at Hunthall, to the "King of Rowmais". Two days later, the King authorised a payment of £20 to a messenger from the "King of Rowmais". In 1530, a group of Romanies danced before the Scottish king at the Holyrood Palace and a Romani herbalist called Baptista cured the king of an ailment. However, James V sent letters to his regional officials and clergy to expel the "Egiptianes" in July 1541
Romani migration to Scotland continued during the 16th century and several groups of Romanies were accepted there after being expelled from England. The Privy Council of Scotland made a proclamation in April 1573 ordering the "Egiptianis", who had been permitted to wander up and down the country, either to leave Scotland, or to settle in one place and take up a trade.
Records in Dundee from 1651 documented the migrations of small groups of people called "Egyptians" in the Highlands, noted to be of the same nature as the Gypsies in England. By 1612, Romani communities were recorded to exist as far north as Scalloway in the Shetland Islands.
The Kàlo, a Romani group in Finland, maintain that their ancestors were originally a Romani group who travelled to Finland from Scotland; this is because the Kàlo and the Romanisæl of Norway and Sweden are distantly related to present-day Romanichal, Kalé and Lowland Romani, with all of these groups having common ancestry, being descended from the Romani who arrived in Britain in the sixteenth century.
Romani people in the south of Scotland enjoyed the protection of the Roslyn family and made an encampment within the Roslyn castle grounds. However, as with its neighbour England, the Scottish parliament passed an act in 1609 against Romani groups known as the “Act against the Egyptians”; which made it lawful to condemn, detain and execute Gypsies if they were known or reputed to be ethnically Romani.
Scotland has had a Romani population for at least 500 years; they are a distinct group from the Highland Travellers. Lowland Romani Gypsies share a common heritage with Romanichal and Kalé. They enjoyed a privileged place in Scottish society until the Reformation, when their wandering lifestyle and exotic culture brought severe persecution upon them.
Romanichal Gypsies from the north of England, mainly in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne and Cumbria, commonly travel into the Scottish Borders. The annual gathering at Appleby Horse Fair could be considered part of the common culture that Lowland Romani living in the Lowlands and Border Romanichal living in the Scottish Borders share with the UK's other Romani groups.
Romanichal communities known as Border Gypsies exist in the Scottish borders. Speaking Northern Angloromani and following Romanichal traditions and customs, they are linguistically and historically culturally identical to the Romanichal communities in northern England. Romanichal from the north of England, mainly in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne and Cumbria, also commonly travel into the Scottish Borders. They live in separate and distinct communities from Lowland Gypsies.Gypsies, Roma and Travellers: A Contemporary Analysis
Romanichal traders in Scotland were upwardly mobile. By 1830, they travelled to the potteries in Staffordshire, buying china and other goods and selling the items chiefly in Northumberland while based in Kirk Yetholm in Roxburghshire.
By 1874, these Gypsies were commented on as "Having physical markers in their dusky complexion that is characteristically Gypsy...and...a language that is clearly Romani".
Some Romanichal from Scotland are members of Romani organisations based in England. Scottish Romanichal are known locally as Border Gypsies.
The Lowland Romani speak a mixed language of Scots and Romani called Scottish Cant (also known as Scots-Romani or Scotch-Romani) which includes up to 50% words of Romani origin, mostly Angloromani origin words.
Scottish Lowland Travellers are a traditionally nomadic group indigenous to the Scottish Lowlands.
Scottish Highland Travellers an ethno-cultural group in Scotland. They are culturally and linguistically distinct from the Roma people of Scotland. Unlike the Roma in Scotland, Scottish Highland Travellers are of indigenous origin. A poetic English name for them is the Summer Travellers. In Scottish Gaelic, they may be called the Ceàrdannan ('Craftsmen'), related to the Tinkers usage. Any of the overarching terms for Scottish Travelling Folk in English, Gaelic, or Scots are sometimes also applied to them, along with the rather pejorative term Black Tinkers.
Adam Smith, the economist and philosopher, was reportedly kidnapped by Highland Travellers at a young age before quickly being freed.
The Highland Travellers' speech includes a dialect called Beurla Reagaird or Beurla-reagaird. It is related to the Irish Traveller Shelta as a creole of the Gaelic language group. It has been used as a cultural identifier, just as Romani groups used the Romani language. Like the Highland Travellers themselves, the language is not related to Romani.
The Highland Traveller community has a long history in Scotland going back, at least in record, to the 12th century as a form of employment and one of the first records of that name states a "James the Tinker" held land in the town of Perth from 1165 to 1214. Highland Travellers share a similar heritage, although are distinct from, the Irish Travellers. As with their Irish counterparts, there are several theories regarding the origin of Scottish Highland Travellers; some that have been claimed at different times are that they are descended from the Picts, originated as excommunicated clergy, were families fleeing the Highland potato famine, or represent a population displaced by the Norman Invasion or prior socio-political disruptions. Highland Travellers are distinct both culturally and linguistically from other Gypsy groups like the Romani (including the British and Scandinavia Romanichal, Lowland Scottish Gypsies, Eastern European Roma, and Welsh Kale groups). Several other European groups are also non-Romani, namely the Yeniches, Woonwagenbewoners in the Netherlands (who may be related to the Yeniche), indigenous Norwegian Travellers, and Landfahrer in Germany. As with indigenous Norwegian Travellers, Highland Travellers' origins may be more complex and difficult to ascertain, as they left no early written records of their own.
As an indigenous group, Highland Travellers have played an essential role in the preservation of traditional Gaelic culture. It is estimated that as few as 2,000 Highland Travellers continue to lead their traditional lifestyle on the roads.
Travelling Showmen, also known as Funfair Travellers or Fairground Travellers and sometimes as carnies are a community of occupational travellers, who do not form an ethnic group but an occupational and organisational subculture, which can be categorised broadly as a business community of travelling shows, circus and carnival communities, and fairground families. Occupational travellers travel for work across Scotland, the rest of the UK, and into continental Europe. The show/fairground community is close knit, with ties often existing between them and the older Romanichal families, although showmen families are a distinct, multi-ethnic group and have a vibrant social scene organised around both the summer fairs and the various sites and yards used as winter quarters. Many Scottish show and fairground families live in winter communities based mainly in the east end of Glasgow. Housing an estimated 80% of all British show families, Glasgow is believed to have the largest concentration of showmen quarters in Europe, mostly in Shettleston, Whiteinch, and Carntyne.
Showmen families have a strong cultural identity as British showmen, dating back to 1889 and the formation of the Showmen's Guild of Great Britain and Ireland. Those in Scotland are known within the broader showmen tradition in the UK as the "Scottish section". As with other showmen communities, they call non-travellers (but not other distinct travelling groups including Romanichal, Roma, Scottish Lowland Travellers, Highland Travellers, or Irish Travellers) as flatties in their own Polari language. The label of flattie-traveller can include showmen who have left the community to settle down and lead a sedentary lifestyle.
Fairs in Scotland have been held from the early Middle Ages, and traditionally brought together the important elements of medieval trade and a festival. Many of the common markets and fairs are rooted in ancient times, from the medieval period or earlier, and are said to be "prescriptive fairs". Other fairs will have been granted a royal charter to cement their importance and secure their future, and these are known as charter fairs. In the middle ages, the royal charters gave the fairs legal status and developed their economic importance. The majority of fairs held in Scotland and the rest of the British Isles can trace their origins to charters granted in the medieval period. Traders would travel long distances to sell their goods, as did travelling musicians and entertainers who kept both the traders and customers entertained. In the thirteenth century, the creation of fairs by royal charter was widespread. Between 1199 and 1350, charters were issued granting the rights to hold markets or fairs. Kirkcaldy links market remains the longest-running funfair in Scotland, from a charter granted by Edward I in 1304. By the early 18th century, the livestock-market aspect of these Scottish charter fairs had diminished, with the focus shifting to amusement, and they evolved into the modern-day travelling fairs.
The modern travelling showmen have as strong a family history and heritage as do their counterparts in Wales, England and Ireland. Fairs in Scotland are presented around the same time as they are in the rest of Great Britain and Ireland with a similar mixture of Charter, Prescriptive and private business fairs. The run of fairs include Buckie fair, Inverness, Kirkcaldy links market and the historic fairs held at Dundee and Arbroath. Annually a team of young showmen from both Scotland and England play an “international football match” known as the international, where trophies and caps are held in high esteem. A Showman newspaper; World's Fair is in circulation and available to showmen and non showmen alike.
The use of slang used by Showmen or Parlyaree, is based on a cant slang spoken throughout the UK by Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish showfamilies. It is a mixture of Mediterranean Lingua Franca, Romani, Yiddish, Cant London slang and backslang. The language has been spoken in fairgrounds and theatrical entertainment since at least the seventeenth century. As theatrical booths, circus acts and menageries were once a common part of European fairs it is likely that the roots of Polari/Parlyaree lie in the period before both theatre and circus became independent of the fairgrounds. The Parlyaree spoken on fairgrounds tends to borrow much more from Romany, as well as other languages and argots spoken by other travelling groups, such as cant and backslang.
Supported by local authorities and the wider United Kingdom Government, from the 1940s to 1980s a series of policies known as the "Tinker Experiment" were pursued. The goal of these policies was to assimilate Travellers into the wider population by acclimatising them to "normal housing", preventing them from traditional nomadic practices. This process involved the relocation of Scottish Traveller families into designated campsites across Scotland, including Aberdeenshire, Argyll, Highlands, Perthshire, Fife and the Scottish Borders.
Families who resisted the move were reported to have been threatened with the removal of their children into social care. The conditions on many of these sites were described as poor: the Bobbin Mill site in Pitlochry originally featured prefabricated military Nissen Huts with no electricity and coal-fired heating, with one family reporting "one bedroom for nine of us".
The policies have been described by critics and former residents as a form of cultural genocide, compared to similar policies carried out against other indigenous groups, such the Canadian Indian residential school system. In 2022, the Scottish SNP Government announced an independent report would be commissioned into the experiment.