History and Way of Life of Gypsies

By Sara Constantakis

As their name suggests, Gypsies were initially believed to have come from Egypt. The Gypsies' true ancestors, however, were a group of people who left India between AD 800 and 950 (Gmelch 52). The best estimates have dated their earliest official appearance in Europe, in modern-day Turkey, to around AD 855. However, it is always possible that there were Gypsies in Europe before they received this official recognition (Clebert 54-55). By tracing the development of their dialect, a linguistic mix referred to as Anglo-Romany, scholars have been able to trace the movement of the Gypsies throughout the entire European continent. By the 1300's, their migration had entered southeastern Europe; by the 1400's, western Europe. Finally, in 1505, the Gypsies reached the British Isles (Gmelch 52). Here is where we pick up their story. Because of their itinerant lifestyle, the Gypsies of England played a unique role in both the economic sphere and the entertainment business of nineteenth-century society.

The Gypsies are a race of nomads. The Gypsies of nineteenth-century England travelled the countryside, carrying all their belongings in covered wagons and pitching tents wherever they stopped. For Gypsies, travelling is not a pastime or leisure activity, but a way of life. In fact, a common belief of the latter part of the nineteenth century suggested that the inclination to travel, called "wanderlust," was a product of genetic determinants. This view was the basis for the claim that "it was as natural for [the Gypsies] to move as it was for the majority of the population to stay in one place" (Mayall, "Gypsy-Travellers" 15). Another argument of this time period was that itinerancy resulted from socialization to a travelling way of life. Therefore, "being raised as a nomad and being accustomed to the rigors of travelling from an early age would undoubtedly have increased the likelihood of inter-generational itinerancy" (Mayall, "Gypsy-Travellers" 15-16). Whatever its source, the Gypsies' itinerant lifestyle naturally made it necessary that their occupations involve mobility (Mayall, "Gypsy-Travellers 16"). It was in the economic sphere, then, that Gypsies interacted with settled society.
Both in the nineteenth century and today, Gypsies have played an important economic role in society. In nineteenth-century England, they made their living primarily by hawking (selling small homemade goods) and tinkering (repairing pots and pans) (Mayall, "Gypsy-Travellers" 42). In this way, Gypsies filled the small-scale and irregular demands for goods and services in the non-Gypsy population (Gmelch 52). Gypsies also met the high demand for seasonal employment on farms. During the late summer and early fall, Gypsies harvested fruits and vegetables. This kind of employment was "plentiful, regular, and temporary" (Mayall, "Gypsy-Travellers" 32) and thus perfectly suited to the Gypsy lifestyle. They also followed a diverse number of other trades, such as chair-bottoming, basket-making, rat-catching, wire-working, grinding, fiddling, selling fruit, fish, and earthenware, and mending bellows (Mayall, "Gypsy-Travellers" 42). However, the Gypsy lifestyle was not all work and no play.
Aside from these labor-oriented functions, another activity in which the Gypsies have participated is entertaining. They danced, sang, and played musical instruments. However, the form of entertainment for which the Gypsies are perhaps the best known is fortune-telling. Taking advantage of the superstitious belief that they possessed magical powers which enabled them to see into the future (Mayall, "Gypsy-Travellers" 49), Gypsy women sold fortunes at fairs and made considerable profits. They read palms and tarot cards, and cast charms and spells. In nineteenth-century England, fortune-telling was the equivalent of the modern-day horoscope (Mayall, "Gypsy-Travellers" 50) and taken as seriously by many. Others who considered fortune-telling foolish and unrealistic dismissed it as an easy way for the Gypsies to make money. However, fortune-telling was an important part of Gypsy tradition. While there were undoubtedly many imposters, some Gypsy women firmly believed in their abilities to see into the future (Mayall, "Gypsy-Travellers" 50). And, as Brian Vesey-Fitzgerald notes, "it must be remembered that deceit and imposture alone would never have built up and supported a practice that has withstood the passage of centuries and the constant attacks of progress. There must also be some truth" (126).