The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1882-05-21
SOME NEW HOOKS.
A New study Of tho eyp.ie..


published an interesting monograph on Eng
lish gypsies and their language, That essey
Is now supplemented with the results of n
moro exhaustive inquiry into the history Of the
faes which Is now offered us In q volume en-
titled The Gbpsies tHouRhton. Miflin Col Mr.
Leland here sets forth the evidence which has
led him and other ethnologists to ascribe tho
origin OF these remarkable nomads to India,
and he thinks he has succeeded In identifying
them with tribe still existing in that
country. His book abounds also In curious
details relating to the musical gypsies OF Rus
STA and Austria. and TO those offshoots OF this
vagrant people which may be encountered in
England. Wales. and the United States ehas.
moreover. chapter which will receive careful
Attention from ctymologists. on the shelta
Thar, or tinkers' speech. language spoken
by vagrant thinkers In England. but. according
TO Mr.. Leland never mentioned before by any
writer except Shakespeare. Tho reader in
uuistive as to the story and mode Of life OF q
strange people will find in Mr.. Lelands pages
moro complete and readable discussion Of the
subject than Is elsewhere accessible.
In adverting to the more striking observa-
tions and conclusions presented in this vol
ume 1t may be we'll to begin with glance at a
chapter which contains the substance OF papers
on the origin OF gypsies and their language.
Mr.. Leland concurs with Capt. Richard Burton
In believing that the Jats of northwestern India
furnished large proportion of the emigrants
who. from the tenth century. went out OF India
westward. He thinks the Jats supplied the
main stock OF the gypsies subsequently found
in western Asia and in Europe. but that the
Jat emiGrants were accompanied or followed
by other tribes. chief among which. apparently.
we're the Dom. the Luri the Mats. and people
called the Trablus. who it seems term them
selves and their language Rom. There seems
to be no doubt that the gypsy language is fun
damentally an Aryan tongue. agreeing in the
main with that OF the Jats. but which contains
words gathered from other Indian sources.
The Jats were an Aryan race. which at one
time had much power in northwestern India.
but they were broken and dispersed in the
eleventh century by Mahmoud Of Ghazni In
their subsequent wanderings in Persia and
Syria. they were described as men without
any definite religion. and as horse dealers and
thieves. In these points they agree with the
European gypsy but. as it does not APP
pear that the Jat was musician, a
dancer. a mat and basket maker. a bear
leader. and peddler-to all OF which vocations
European gypsies are addicted-our author in
fers that the Jat warriors were accompanied
by other tribes. and that in the mongrel race
Which, Tue inc JuI 0lp-
ment was gradually supplanted by lower type,
though the structure of the Jat language and
its vocabulary was retained.
Its certain that the Doms are n race OF gypsies
found Ia northern India. and believed to be
pre-Aryan. They are designated in the Shas-
tras as dog eaters. but In fact they eat all ami
mails which have died natural death. Mr.. Le-
land has specimen Of their language which
he tells us would be intelligible to any
English gypsy. and be pronounced by
them pure Romany. Thus a member OF
this Hindu gypsy tribe calls himself Il Dom,
his wife Domni and the collective gypsy
dom Domnipana. After reminding us that
q lis used by the Hindu gypsies where = is used
in English gypsy speech-doi, for example
meaning wooden spoon. being pronoun ced
roi in Europe-the author points out that in
the common jargon of English gypsies Rom
means gypsy. Romsi. gypsy wife. and
RO,nnipen. gypsydom. Tho Indian Dom has
certain distinctly marked and degrading traits
which are also characteristic OF the European
gypsy. but which are ont of keeping with the
habits Of the Jdt warriors. 1t Is suggested that
tmd the hardships OF their wandering exist
snoe the Dom communicated his habits. and
finally his name. to his fellow emigrants.
The decided musical talent observed in the
Slovenian and other European gypsies is
tnouBu 10 INK tnsin Wlth me bNfi OF Persia. a
race OF vagabond minstrcls the descendants Of
large colony sent from India to Persia
in tho fifth century. The latter are must
clans. dancers. bear leaders. and fortune
teers and they are notorious for kidnapping
and pilfering. 1t is thought that the Mats or
Nuts nOmad tribe Of India are ethnologically
Identical With the Luri. There is also in India
clan OF travelling merchants or peddlers
called the Banjeri. who are usually classified
by travellers as gypsies. Among all these
Hindu wanderers there Ia current slang Of
he roads which is understood even in Persia.
Zach Of the vagrant tribes mentioned has it's
own language or dialect. but the name for the
generally spoken lingaa Jrdnca is Rom. 1t
appears, however. according to the statement
OF Mohammedan Hindu whom Mr.. Leland
met in London. that there is in northern and
central India distinct tribe regarded even by
the Mats. and Doms and Jats themselves as pre-
eminently gypsy. These people. this man de-
clared. were the real gypsies Of India, and held
the same relation to other wanderers on the
roads that pure blooded English gypsies boar to
mongrel hawkers and tramps. These gypsies.
it seems. are called Trablus. which means
Syrians. by the other inhabitants of India but
they term themselves and their language Rom
As to the name Trablus Mr.. Leland would ex-
plain 1t by an hypothesis that bands OF gypsies,
who had roamed from India to Syria we're de-
ecribed on their return as Trablus. or syrlans.
lust as no has known Germans. after returning
from the fatherland to America to be called
Americans. 1t is certainly desirable that some
resident Of India should carefully investigate
the Trablus. whose existence Mr.. Leland has
made known to us.
The impression was current in the middle
ages that our European gypsies came from
Egypt. and 1t is probable enough that the Nile
land, like Syria, was way station on the route
from India. Mr.. Leland was told by the late
Khedive 1smail that there are in Egypt many
people known as Rhagarin, who are probably
the same as the gypsies OF Europe. They are
wanderers. who live in tents, and are regarded
with contempt eveh by the poorest Fellaheen.
Their women tell fortunes. tattoo, and sell
small wares: the men work in iron. and may
sometimes be seen going around the country
with monkeys. They are all adroit thieves"
Mr.. Leland spoke to Rhagarin woman in Ro-
many. but she could not understand him, and
declared that she could speak nothing but
Arabic. The Rhasarin Of Mount Sinai and of
Avria aha said could atilI Snaal, tho boz, 1o,,