Origins of the Spanish Gypsies
History
Spanish gypsies are also referred to as gitanos or by more general
term Roma. They played a major role in the development of flamenco.
Historians generally agree that they originated in the area of
Northern India and Pakistan and travelled a northern route towards
the Balkans. However, there are those who maintain that they reached
Andalucia from Egypt after sailing along the coast of Africa.
This is despite the lack of any real evidence. The Spanish Gypsies
had no Arabic words in their vocabulary. The implication of this
belief is that they may have accompanied the invading Muslims
in 711AD.
Regardless of which theory you believe in, they traveled far and
wide in their wanderings and made a home for themselves in many
countries including the Middle East. Since there were no real
records to prove or disprove their true origins, Egyptian Gypsies
themselves came to believe they were descended from the Pharaohs.
"This is a legend to which many of their songs still refer
- as a result of which they were called Egyptians, or "Gypcians"
in English; while, in old Spanish, gitano was simply a way of
saying 'Egyptian'." (1) Unlike the
Jews and Muslims, the Roma did not leave Spain after the Christian
reconquest of 1492.
European origin
This is what Werner Cohn has to say in his book "The Gypsies"
(1973), which you can download from his website "....there
would be little doubt that a very sizable portion of the Gypsies'
ancestors came from among Europeans....Indeed the Gypsies are
thouroughly European. Not only does a majority of their ancestors
probably come from old European stock, but the group as a whole
has also lived within the Euopean cultural area for many centuries."
(Pg 65)
He is in no doubt that the first gypsies came from India. Linguistic
evidence in all gypsy dialects shows Indic origin. However, the
Rom language also shows traces of of Persian, Kurdish and Armenian
and Greek. "Beyond this basic material in all the gypsy languages
and dialects, The Rom speak a language that European scholars
classify within the Vlax group of gypsy dialects, named after
the Romanian province of Wallachia....We must conclude from this
that the Rom are descendants of the people who lived in Romanian
language areas for considerable periods of time."
Another interesting observation on the lack of Indian ancestory
comes from the struggle for the control of identity - by Ian Hancock.
"The idea that Rroma are really local people who have intentionally
darkened their skin and who speak a deliberately concocted secret
jargon is not a new one; it goes back at least to Renaissance
times."
From India to Persia
In the early 11th century, there lived a Persian poet and chronicler
named Firdawsi 935-1020 (born; Abu Ol-Qasem Mansur in Tus, Persia).
He tells a tale which is often quoted as the earliest written
evidence of the gypsy origins. While I woudn't dare to question
the importance of Firdawsi's contribution to Islamic literature,
his best known work, 'Shah-nameh' (The Epic of Kings - Hero Tales
of Ancient Persia), reads like a mythological fantasy that would
make a great subject for the next Disney cartoon. Firdawsi is
also known as Ferdowsi, Firdausi or Firdusi. Keep in mind that
before the 10th Century, gypsies did not exist by that name. They
were known by various names including Zott, Jat, Luri, Nuri, Dom,
Sinti, Domarai and Athengani. It may help to get into the legendary
mood of this story if you prefix it with the traditional phrase,
"Once upon a time"
Download
the Epic of Kings (zip file).
The often repeated story goes something
like this:
The ruler in India at around 420 AD was one King Shangul. At
the request of a Sassanide prince, Bahram Gur V (Persian ruler
420-438), 12,000 Luri musicians were sent off to Persia to lighten
the life of his hard-working people and charm away their misery.
He provided them with grain and agriculture so they should support
themselves. This plan was doomed to failure from the start. The
Luri used the supplies and made no attempt at farming. Furious
at the waste, the prince sent them all away and condemned them
to roam and earn a living by smuggling and begging. (2)
Another version (3) refers to Zott rather
than Luri musicians and the storyteller was one Hamza of Isfahan.
In this version, Firdawsi repeated the story half a century later.
The story is to a large extent legendary, but it informs us
that there were many Gypsies from India in Persia; they were already
noted as musicians, allergic to agriculture, inclined to nomadism
and somewhat given to pilfering. (3)
Since these are the only ancient texts to speak of the wanderings
of the Gypsies across Asia; the rest of the story has been be
filled out by linguistic evidence with, I dare say, a generous
amount of speculation thrown in. The grammar and vocabulary
of the language of the Gypsies are close to those of Sanskrit
and to such living languages as Kashmiri, Hindi, Gujarati, Marathi
and Nepali.(3)
It seems to me that this Persian poet has a lot to answer for,
much like Plato being responsible for the legend of Atlantis.
I'd like to humbly point out that Firdawsi's epic story was never
meant to be an historical document, but rather a scholarly attempt
to compile and consolidate the inherited tales and folk legends
of his people. If I could send Firdawsi a short message by shooting
a projectile through a black hole, I would say to him, "Well
done, brother. May you have a happy life. God bless you and your
family." I'll admit I have only read selected sections of
the Epic of Kings, but I have done many word searches of the text.
I might be getting a little old and dim witted or something, but
I'll be damned if I can find any reference to words such as Bahram
Gur, King Shangul, Luri, Zott, musicians, India or anything else
remotely resembling elements of the gypsy origin story quoted
above.
(He hangs his head in despair)
Somebody please help me out here
Exactly where in the text is the reference to Roma origins that
so many scholars happily repeat to each other? The way I see it,
an educated researcher can construe and assume only so much from
an ancient text. Beyond reasonable qualified limits however, we
begin to suspect that researchers are engaging the rich resources
of their imagination to fill in the gaps. Firdawsi could be excused
for doing this. In fact, one could say he had a literary mandate
to imagine things, considering the heroic task he set himself.
Excuse me, I'm babbling. I need a strong cup of tea and a good
lie down.
The Hollow Earth theory
If you believe the Firdawsi story, perhaps you should try this one on for size.
"Certain black tribes of the east also entered Agharta [Capital city of Hollow Earth] and continued to live there for centuries. Later they were expulsed from the Subterranean World and returned to live on the surface of the earth [presumably to settle in Northwest India], bringing with them knowledge of the mystery of prophecy by means of cards and reading the lines of the hand. They were the ancestors of the gypsies." (4)
Yet another theory regarding gypsy origins is noted by Hollow Earth devotee Jerry Forster. He casually states without further qualification that; "The Andalusians carry much Berber or Moorish blood in their veins, whilst the Gypsies are, in fact, descended from the ancient inhabitants of Turkey." (5)
Makes you stop and think, doesn't it. Don't believe everything you read is all I'm saying..
Gypsy migrations
|
Gypsies in Spain
They were first recorded in Spain in Zaragoza, capital of Aragon
in 1425. The majority entered via Barcelona (in Catalonia) in
1447. Throughout their (recorded) history, Gypsies everywhere
were resented and persecuted for one reason or another. Most of
the time there was no good reason. Well, not from a politically
correct late 20th century perspective anyway. I feel sure there
were many reasons based on fear, suspicion, rumor and superstition
that would have been perfectly reasonable to the people of the
day.
Spanish
gypsies "The term gypsy refers to an ethnic group which calls itself the Rom and speaks a language known as Romany. It is unknown how many gypsies there are either in general or in Spain. The Spanish gypsy population might be as high as 500,000. An estimate of the world gypsy population ranges between three and six million. The calculation is made difficult by the nomadic life-style of some gypsies even today, as well as their cultural isolation and sense of mystery surrounding their origins. " (6) |
As an example of the way they were treated, in 1560 Spanish legislation
forbade Gitanos of travelling in groups of more than two. Gitano
dress and clothing was banned. Punishment for breaking this law
was up to eighteen years in the galleys for those over fourteen
years of age. As time passed it didn't get any easier for them.
Gypsies were despised in other countries as well.
"In 1721, (the German Emporer) Charles VI passed a law
which specified that any Rom found in the country are to be killed
instantly. Romani women and children would have their ears cut
off and whipped all the way to the border. (Meanwhile, back in
Spain) In 1726, Gitanos in Spain were forbidden to appeal against
the sentences of the courts. In 1783, Spanish legislation reiterated
previous orders. Gitano dress, way of life, and language was forbidden,
and settlement was compulsory within ninety days." (7)
Traditionally, they worked as blacksmiths, horse traders, musicians,
dancers and fortunetellers. Although they also worked at other
jobs such as bar tending or helping out in the bullrings, Andalucian
Gypsies in the old days generally lived a day at a time. Flamenco
songs reflect centuries of hardship. Perhaps this might explain
why some of the singing can sound more like a tortured primal
scream than a song.
Sources
(1) 'My friends the Gypsies' By Lawrence Bohme
- xmission.com/~dderhak/monte/gypsies.htm
(2) 'Origins of Oriental Dance' by Me'ira - bdancer.com/history
(3) 'The World Their Homeland' by Francois de Vaux de Foletier
- geocities.com/~patrin/homeland.htm
(4) 'The Hollow Earth' by Raymond Bernard - (Chapter 7 Part 7:4
'Subterranean Cities')
(5) "The Lost Continent Rediscovered" (page
39) by Jerry Forster
(6) flamencoshop.com
(7) Partin - geocities.com/~patrin
Leave Origins of the Spanish Gypsies - Return to Flamenco History
Return to Home Page