THE GYPSY IN AFRICA
§ 1. _The Egyptian Ghajar or Ghagar_
If there is anything persistent in Gypsy tradition, it is the assertion
that the Gypsies originally came from the banks of the Nile--that
Egypt, in fact, gave them a local habitation and a name. Yet, curious
to say, this is the country, and the only country, where a tribe of the
Romá, preserving the physiognomy and the pursuits of its ancestors,
has apparently lost its old Aryan tongue, or rather has exchanged it
for a bastard _argot_, mostly derived from Arabic.[167] Nor does this
phenomenon seem to be of modern date. A very rare Italian comedy of the
middle sixteenth century, _La Cingana_, pronounced “Tchingana,” was
expected to yield treasures of philological lore; but on investigation
it proved that the Gypsies spoke only a corrupt Arabic.
The following pages are mostly taken from the well-known work
_Aegypten_, etc. (Leipzig: Brockhaus, 1860), by the famous Orientalist,
Alfred von Kremer. As will be seen, he made a careful study of the
“Zigeuner” or “Aegypten,” the “Ghagar”; whereas these interesting
families of the Gypsy race, a people of wanderers, who have nowhere a
house, and who have everywhere a home, are most perfunctorily treated
of by Lane.
“On the banks of the Nile,” says Von Kremer, whose words I shall
now quote, as in other places, “the Ghagar men, like the Polloi of
Herodotus, are tinkers, ape-leaders, rope-dancers, and snake-charmers;
whilst the women are Áhnahs, prostitutes, and fortune-tellers. They are
very numerous; they trade in asses, horses, and camels, and, as pedlars
(Baddaah), they manage almost all the _petit commerce_ of the country.
The Ghagar buy goods wholesale in Cairo, and frequent the two annual
fairs of Tantá; that of May was instituted about 1853, and entitled
the Maulid El Shilkáni (birth-festival of the Shaykh El Shilkáni),
who is buried some three hours’ march from Beni Suef. Thus they not
unfrequently become rich.
“The Háwi[168] (snake-charmers) and the snake-eaters (Rifaijjeh)
live at Cairo; and many travellers have seen the disgusting spectacle
without suspecting that the Dervish’s frock covered the ‘tinkler.’
These classes are useful to the naturalist, as they have always a
supply of live or dead serpents, with and without poison-fangs,
lizards, uromastix, jerboas, jackals, wolves, ferrets (_Stinkthiere_),
and so forth. They find and catch serpents with surprising dexterity:
armed with a bit of palm frond to tap the walls and ceilings, and
with a pipe whose tones draw the reptiles from their hiding-places,
they rarely fail to make captures, as the older houses of Cairo are
mostly haunted by harmless snakes. This proceeding of course awes the
ignorant, and none dare to engage a room when the Háwi has declared it
to be snake-possessed.
“The term ‘Ghagar’ or ‘Ghajar’ is general; the people, according
to their own account, are divided into tribes, who all, however,
represent themselves to be pure Arabs and wandering immigrants from the
West.[169] The date of this movement is apparently unknown; but its
reality is confirmed by the fact that all, without exception, belong
to the Maliki school, prevailing in Morocco and in North-West Africa.
They are vagrants by profession, and obtain written permission to
travel, either from the police or from the Guild Shaykh of the Rifai
Dervishes.
“The most numerous tribe everywhere in Egypt is the Ghawázi;[170]
in every city, town, and village there are representatives of these
arch-seductresses, whose personal beauty makes them dangerous. They
call themselves Baramaki,[171] and derive themselves from the Persian
Barmekides, the historical house ruined and annihilated by the Khalif
Harun-er-Raschid. Yet they are very proud of their Bedawin descent;
and they lead the lives of the sons of the desert, dwelling in tents,
which they carry from fair to fair. The maidens are dancers, the
old women spae-wives;[172] the girls rarely marry before securing a
competency, and they often take their slaves to husband. The Gháziyah’s
goodman is generally nothing more than a servant, who brings her new
acquaintances, and who pipes or drums when she dances. There are cases
of these girls marrying village chiefs; and their after-lives are as
correct as their youth was dissolute (compare p. 145, Burckhardt’s
_Arabic Proverbs_: London, 1830). The Ghawázi speak the Gypsy jargon
which is in use amongst all the other tribes.
“The Gypsies of the Sa'íd (Upper Egypt), who call themselves ‘Saáideh,’
have purely Asiatic, not African, features, with dark brown skins,
piercing black eyes, and lank hair, also black. The women tattoo
their lips, hands, and bosoms generally in blue, wear heavy brass
ear-rings, and hang round their necks strings of blue and red beads.
They divine by muscle-shells, broken bits of glass, coloured stones as
agates and jaspers, pieces of stained wax, and so forth, carried upon
the shoulders in a kirbah, or bag, generally of gazelle-skin. After
taking her seat on the mat or carpet, the woman empties her sack, and,
choosing one article which shall represent the person who pays, draws
her revelations from the grouping. Money is required at various stages
of the process; and at the end the Gypsy presents some bits of stone
or coloured wax by way of charms to her employer.[173]
“These people may be seen in the streets of Cairo, dressed like the
Felláhah (peasant woman), in taubs, or long shirts of home-made
indigo-dyed cotton, but lacking the shintiyán (drawers) and the burka'
(nose-bag). Their features at once distinguish them from the Muslims
and the Copts; and they are noted, moreover, by the sheep-skin or
gazelle-skin thrown, besides the bag, over their shoulders. They
frequent the bazars, and stroll about the principal thoroughfares of
the great towns, especially in summer-time, as the Nile begins to rise;
and their favourite cries are ‘Nibejjin-ez-zein!’ (We show the good,
_i.e._ luck), ‘Ta'ál! shuf el Bakht’ (Come and see your fortunes), and
‘Nidmor el Ghaib!’ (We find the lost).
“The capital contains a large company of Ghagar women, who speculate
upon public credulity; and their quarter is the Hosh Bardak, once a
fine quarter, now a squalid hole behind that noble pile the Sultan
Hasan Mosque. I visited it in November, 1877, and found the courts
still occupied. The people, tinkers and blacksmiths, who sell
ear-rings, bracelets, amulets, and other metal articles, exactly
resembled Fellahs to a superficial glance. Apparently they had
forgotten their favourite craft, fortune-telling. Moreover, they did
not like the term Ghagar. There is, or rather was, another colony
at Masr el 'Atíkah (Babylon or Old Cairo). A third used to camp
chiefly during winter and spring near a village on the right of the
Cairo-Shubrá road, and I believe they are still there. Their rivals,
the Maghribí (North-West African) magicians, and those from the central
regions, of which Darfur[174] supplies the greatest number, are known
by their sitting in the streets and performing upon cards or sand.[175]
Predicting by marks drawn on the sand (Ilm el Raml) is old in the East,
and plays a great part in the _Arabian Nights_.
“Other tribal names are H'aleb or Helebi (Aleppine), Schah'āini, and
_T_a_t_ar (T'at'ar). The men of the last class, almost all farriers or
tinkers, are also termed A'wwādāt or Mua'merrātijjeh.[176] Amongst the
other Ghagar there are many smiths, who make the brass rings worn on
the fingers and arm-joints, in the ears and nose, and around the neck.
“The monkey-leaders so numerous in Cairo, especially about the
Ezbekijjeh quarter,[177] the Kuraydati,[178] so called from Kird,
an ape, also belong to the Gypsy tribes; and these mostly supply
the Bahlawán,[179] gymnasts or strong-men, athletes, and especially
wrestlers, who frequent fairs and festivals. During the 'Id ed
Dahijjeh[180] they swarm in the capital.[181]
“All these subdivisions speak the same Rothwelsch, or ‘Thieves’ Latin,’
which they call El Sím. It explains the idea prevailing in the middle
of the last century; namely, that the Gypsy language was an invented
tongue; a ‘Germania,’ as the Spaniards say; a conventional jargon; a
jail-bird’s speech, varying with every horde.[182] The origin and full
import of the term Sím are undetermined; but it is understood to mean
something hidden or secret;[183] and it is applied to the impure and
gilt ‘gold-wires’ imported from Austria. It is said, however, that
the Bahlawán above use another speech; of this I have been unable to
collect proofs, nor do I hold the information wholly credible.”
The following vocabulary was compiled by Von Eremer at Cairo, where
he persuaded many of the Ghagar to frequent the Consulate, especially
Muhammad Merwán, who pompously styled himself “Shaykh of all the
Snake-charmers of Egypt.” He also consulted many Gypsy women from Upper
Egypt; these appeared to speak a somewhat different dialect, and the
words taken from them are distinguished by an S. The numerals, all save
one corrupted Arabic, are as follows:
NUMERALS.
1, Mach[184] (Etruscan, Max): according to Newbold (_loc. cit._),
Helebi, Ek; Náwer, Yek.
2, Machayu (evidently a dual form purely Arabic): Hel. Dúi; Naw. Dú.
3, Tulit (S), or Telát (Salás) Máchát (three ones): Hel. Dúi-ek
(_i.e._ 2 + 1), or Sih (Pers.); Naw. Súso (Sih).
4, Rúbi' (S), or Arba'ah Máchát (four ones), and so forth: Hel. and
Naw. Chár, or Dúi fi dúi (the fi being pure Arabic “in”).
5, Khúmis (S), or Shammáleh (_i.e._ the hand): Hel. Penk, Peng; Naw.
Fowi.
6, Sutet (S): Hel. and Naw. Penk-ek (5 + 1).
7, Súbi': Hel. and Naw. Penk-i-dúi (5 + 2).
8, Túmin (S): Hel. and Naw. Ister or Heshter (Nasht, Pers.).
9, Tiwa' (S): Hel. and Naw. Enna, Nau, or Peng-i-dui-fi dúi (5 + 2
in 2).
10, Ushir (S): Hel. Das, Des, Desh; Naw. Halaheh.
Evidently Von Kremer’s numerals are altered just enough to be hardly
intelligible in a sentence hurriedly spoken; whilst Newbold’s are
Persian and Hindi.[185]
VOCABULARY.[186]
Water, _Móge_ (evidently Máych, Moyyeh), _Himbe_ (S). Newbold: H.
Hembi, Sheribni (Pers.), or Pani (Hindi); G. Páni; and N. Óah.
*Bread, _Shenúb, Bishleh_ (S).
Father, _Ab_ (Arab.) or _A'rub_;[187] my father, _Abamru_ or _A'rubi_.
*Mother, _Kodde_, plur. _Kadáid_; my mother, _Koddéti_; it also means
generically woman: H. Ammámri; G. Kuddi.
*Brother, _Sem'a_ or _Khawíj_ (from Akkawí, adj. brotherly?); my
brother, _Sem'ai_; thy brother, _Sema'ak_ or _Khawijak_;[188]
also generically a boy, lad, youth: H. Huwiji; G. Búrdi.
Sister, _Sema'ah_[189] or _Ukht_ (pure Arabic); thy sister,
_Sem'atak_: H. Khawishti; G. Marash; N. Maras: also generically
a girl, lass, e.g. _Sema'ah bahíleh_, a pretty girl.
*Night,[190] _Ghalmúz'a_: H. Dámúd; G. Rátse.
*Horse, _Soh'lí_ (Sohl, neighing), _Husánáish_ (S) (from Husán, a
stallion): H. Sohli; G. Ghera (Hind.).
*Ass, _Zuwell_: H. Zowilli; G. Kharís (Pers. Khar).
*Camel, _Hantif_: H. Huntif; G. Hunt (Hind.), Ashtr (Pers.).
Buffalo, _En Naffákheh_ (from the Arab Nafkh, blowing, the blower?).
*Lamb, _Mizghál, Minga'esh_ (from classical Arabic Naja'ah) (S),
_Khurraf_ (Arab. Kharúf) (S).[191]
Tree, _Khudrumán_ (Akhdar, green?), _Shagaráish_ (Arab. Shajar) (S).
Flesh, _A'dwaneh Mahzuzah_ (S).
Fowl, _En-Nebbásheh_ (Nabsh, scratching the ground): H. Churīya
(Hind.); G. Kagmiyeh; N. Burah.
*Fat (subst.), Barúah.
Ghost, angel, devil, _Astrúm_ (Shúm, Arab, ill-omened?).
Hell, _Ma-anwára_, ma, the thing which is light, _i.e._ fire, from
núr, anwár, light, lights (e.g. _add el-ma-anwara_, light the
fire); not the Sa'idi, El-Mugánwara (S).
Date, _Ma'ahli, Mahalli_ (S) (the thing sweet).
Gold, _El-ma-asfar_ (the thing yellow for El-má-asfar, a
transposition), _Midhabesh_ (S) (corrupted from Dahab).
*Silver, Bítúg.
Iron, _Hadidaish_ (Arab. Hadid): H. Megan; G. Sista; N. Shir.
*Corn, _Duhúbi, Duhúba_ (S): H. Dahuba; G. Ghiú; N. Ghiudem (Pers.
Gaudum).
Hunter, _Dabaibi_ (from Díb, a wolf-hunter?).
*Magician, Tur'ai.
Stone, _Hogger_ (Arab. Hajar, Hagar; dimin. Hujayr): H. Hajar; G.
Path.
*Land, region, _Anta_, plur. _Anáti_.[192]
*Uncle, _A'rúb_; and Aunt, _A'rubeh_.
Milk,[193] _Raghwán, Hirwán_ (S) (Arab. Raghwah, foam of milk).
Onion, _Musanúm, Mubsalcheh_ (S) (Arab. Basal): H. Musmunum; G. Piyaz
(Pers.).
Cheese, _El-Mehartemeh, Mahárteme_ (S).[194]
*Soured milk, _Atreshent, Mishsh_ (the Arabic Laban).
Millet, Handawil, Mugaddiriyyeh (S) (the dish Mujadderah, rice and
lentils mixed, from Judrá, the small-pox).
*Beans, _Buhus_.[195]
*Dog, _Sanno_: H. and G. Sunno.
Wolf, _Dibaish_ (Arab. Dib).
Knife, _El-Khúsah_: H. Tillúmeh; G. Matwa, Churi (Hind.); N. Chiri.
Foot, _Darrágeh_ (Arab. Daraj, a step), _er-raghaleh_ (Arab. rijl,
rigl) (S), _Mumeshayát_ (S) (Mashi, walking).
Head, _Kamúkhah, Dumákheh_ (S) (Pers. Damágh, brain): H. Ras; G. Sir
(Hind.), Sherit, Kamokhti.
Eye, _Bassáseh_ (Bassáseh, she that sees?), _Huzzárah_ (S): H.
Hazára; G. Ankhi (Hind.).
*Thief, _Damáni_: H. Gowáti; G. Dumáni, Kálo; N. Showústi.
Hand,[196] _Shammáleh_ (Arab. Shamala, he collected; Shimál, the
left-hand?), also two number five: H. Kumáshteh; G. Gadno, Kustúr
(Augushti?), Chang (Pers.); N. Fowítak.
North, _Baharaish_ (from Bahar, the sea, _i.e._ towards the
Mediterranean).
South, _Kiblaish_ (Kibleh, Arab, the fronting-place, _i.e._ Mecca).
East, _Sharkaish_ (Arab. Shark; hence probably Saracen).
West, _Gharbaish_ (Gharb, whence probably Maurus, a Moor).
Coffee, _Magáswade_ (Má aswad, that which is black).
*Clothes,[197] _Sarme_ (S).
Shoe, _Merkubáish_ (Arab. Merkáb).
Nose, _Zenúnáish_.
Ear, _Widu_ (Arab. Uzu); thy ear, _Widuamrak_[198] (S) or _Mudáusheh_
(S): H. Wudu; G. Kirkawiyeh.
Cow, _Mubgársheh_ (S) (Arab. Bakar): H. Mubgursha; G. Góm (Goa,
Pers.?).
Bull, _Mutwáresh_ (S) (Arab. Taur): H. Mutwarish; G. Maia, Góno (male
cow?).
River, _Mistabhar_ (S) (from Bahr, sea or river).
Palm (tree), _Minkhalesh_ (S) (Arab. Nakhl).
Tent, _El-Mikkwáshesh_ (S) (Arab. Khaysheh).
Wood, _Makhshabesh_ (S) (Arab. Khashab).
Straw, _Tibuáish_ (Arab. Tibu).
Christ, _El-Annawi_ (el-Nabbí, _The_ Prophet?).
*Egg, _Mugahrada_ (S): H. Mejáhaled; G. Wáin.
Fire,[199] _El-Mugáuwara_, (S): light the fire, _Walláish
el-Mugáuwara_.
*Food, _esh-Shimleh_.
Sack, _Migrábesh_ (Arab. Kirbeh, Girbeh).
Arm, _El-Kemmásheh_; my hand hurts, _Kemmashtu waga'ani_ (Arab.
Kamasha, he collected, picked up; the last word pure Arab.).
Hair, _Sha'aráish_ (S) (Arab. Sha'ar): H. Hára; G. Bál or Vál (Hind.).
*Tobacco, _Tiftaf_ (S) (possibly formed like the Turk. Tutun).
Mountain, _Migbalish_ (S) (Arab. Jebel, Egypt. Gebel, whence
Monte-Gibello): H. Gebel (Arab.); G. Melúsh, Durum; N. Koh
(Pers.).
*Nasty (adj.), Shalaf.[200]
VERBS.
*Go, _Fell_; I went, _Felleit_ (Arab, termination--ayter, ayt). To
go: H. Fil; G. Já (Hind.).
Come, _E'utib_ (S); he came, _Gádat_. To come: H. Ig; G. Utelo or á
(Hind.).
*Say, _Agmu_; I said, _Agemtu_.
Strike, _Il'big_; he struck, _H'abash, Habash_ (S) (Himyaritic?); he
still strikes, _Hay yihbig_ (Ha fa háza el wakt; vulgar Egyptian).
*We ate, _Rakkhayná_ or _Shamalna_ (Arab. we gathered). To eat: H.
Eshna, Shemb; G. Khaba, Jála; N. Arkus.
Sit, _Watib_.
We drank, _Mawwajná_ (from Manj, a wave?); I drank, _Mawwagt_,
_Hamball_ (S). To drink: H. Hunnib; G. Mowwak.
He cut, _Shafar_.
He called, cried, _Nabbat'a_.
*He died, _Entena_.
He killed, slew, _Tena_; he kills, _Yitni_.
*He sleeps, _Yidmukh_; I slept, _Dammacht_. To sleep: H. Dumak; G.
Sobelar; N. Suk.
*He rides, _Yita'alwan_.
*He gives, _Yikif_; he gave, _Kaf_.
*He steals, _Yiknisk_; he stole, _Kanash_. To rob: H. Gunwani; G.
Churabi (Hind.); N. Lahis.
*He cooks, _Yittabig_; he cooked, _Tabag_ (Arab. Tabaxa).
He saw, _Haseb_.
*He laughs, _Biarr'a_.
*Sit, _Ukriz_.
Stand up, _Utib_.
*He married, _Etkaddad_.
“From these philological facts,” says Von Kremer, in conclusion, “I
draw no inference, the material being perhaps too scanty to warrant
deductions. It is very regrettable that the old original words are
dropping out of use, being replaced by a cant or jargon from Arabic
according to a purely conventional plan, a changing of the ending,
like Kiblas for Kibla. It is also evident that the Ghagar have sunk in
favour of the vernacular their own peculiar names for colours, for the
sun and moon, for earth and fire, and for other terms of universal use.”
In Newbold’s vocabulary, on the other hand, we have distinct signs of
an Eastern, not a Western provincialism, as the author says: “There
is a marked difference in the three dialects, or jargons; that of
the Ghagar most resembles the language of the Kurbat, or Gypsies of
Syria. The Gypsy dialect in Borrow’s work contains more words of Indian
origin than the Helebi and Nawar jargon. The Helebi comprises a large
number of words of Arabic root, indicating a long sojourn in Yemen, or
other parts of Arabia. Its numerals, which are also used by the Ghagar
when secrecy is required, bear strong marks of Eastern, or Persian,
origin. Usually the Helebis adopt the vulgar Arabic numerals in use
throughout Egypt.[201] ... The numerals of the Nawars are evidently of
Persian origin.... All the tribes disclaim having any written character
peculiar to themselves,[202] and it is rare to find one among them
who can write the common Arabic of the country. I have been informed,
however, by a respectable Copt that they have secret symbols which they
sedulously conceal. It seems to me probable that the whole of these
tribes had one common origin in India and the adjacent countries on its
western frontier, and that the difference in the jargons they now speak
is owing to their sojourn in the various countries through which they
have passed. It is certain that the Gypsies are strangers and outcasts
in the land which has given them a name, and which has long been
supposed to have given them birth.”
In Sindh I met Captain Newbold, and, assisted by my late friend James
Macleod, then Collector of Customs at Karachi, supplied him with a
short vocabulary. His studies gained breadth by noting the manners and
habits of a singular wandering tribe called the Jats, whose remarkable
physical appearance reminded him strongly of the Gypsies of Egypt and
Syria. He saw a tribe living in tents and rude movable huts in the wood
of Balut, near Jujah, between Karachi and the Indus. Hence he drew the
following conclusions:
“Since my visit to the banks of the Indus, I am more than ever
convinced that from the borders of this classic river originally
migrated the horde of Gypsies that are scattered over Europe, Asia, and
the northern confines of Africa. The dialects spoken by the numerous
tribes which swarm upon the territories adjacent to the Indus, from
the sea to the snowy mountains of Himalaya and Tatary, have, with those
spoken by the Gypsies, a certain family resemblance, which, like their
physical features, cannot be mistaken. I find it impossible at present
to place my hand on any particular tribe, and say, ‘This is the parent
stock of the Gypsies’; but as far as my researches have gone, I am
rather inclined to think that this singular race derives its origin,
not from one alone, but from several tribes that constitute the family
of mankind dwelling on, or adjacent to, the banks of the Indus.”
Captain Newbold’s studies in Egypt, where he was assisted by the
Shaykhs of the Romá, complete those of Von Kremer, and prove that
the latter had chiefly noticed the Ghawázi and Ghagar families. The
former would divide the vagrants into two--the Helebis and their wives,
the Fehemis (wise women), who practise palmistry and divination,
and look down with supreme contempt upon their distant kinsmen the
Ghagar or Ghajar, whose better halves are musicians and rope-dancers.
The Helebis, who evidently derive their name from H'abel (Aleppo),
claim to be derived from El Yemen, and declare that in the early
history of their race a great king persecuted and expelled them.
The tribe then wandered over Syria, Egypt, Persia, and Europe under
some brother-chiefs, whose tombs are still held holy to this day.
The Helebis confined their wandering to the Rif or Nile Valley and
the Delta. They rarely go deep into the desert, except when they
sally forth to sell cattle medicines, or to buy jaded beasts from the
returning pilgrim caravans, and a few perform the pilgrimage in order
to win the title of Hagi.
The Shaykhs speak of four tribes scattered about Egypt, and each
comprising fifty families, a number of which Newbold had reason to
believe is much and designedly underrated. According to the Helebis,
the sworn chiefs obtained from the sovereign of Egypt the right of
wandering unmolested about the country, and the privilege of exemption
from taxes. Muhammad Ali Pasha compelled them, however, to pay a poll
tax, which accounts for their numbering only two hundred instead of
perhaps five thousand families. In 1847 the pasha had ordered the
people not residing in their native villages to return to them, causing
great distress and scenes of violence and misery. The Gypsies took
the hint, struck their tents by night, decamped bag and baggage, and
disappeared altogether. They are expert in disguises, and do not yield
the palm to European brethren in cunning and deception. Remarkably
intelligent and quick in gaining information, they would make capital
spies in an enemy’s camp. The women during their halts on the outskirts
of towns and villages, and in running about the streets, bazars, and
coffeehouses, pick up with wonderful tact and accuracy all requisite
information concerning the private history of those on whom they may be
expected to exercise their vocation of fortune-telling. In this secret
intelligence department they are aided by the men, who, it is said, are
numerous in official employment, although unknown to be Gypsies. At all
events they mingle with residents on the spot, and with strangers in
the caravanserais and other public places.
The Helebis, leading a vagabond, wandering life, usually pitch tents or
portable huts on the outskirts of towns and large villages. The former
resemble in all points those of the pauper Bedawin, and contained
little beyond wretched horse and ass furniture, mats, cooking-pots, and
similar necessaries. Everything denotes externally the most squalid
poverty, except only the enormous mass of fowl, mutton, and savoury
vegetables seething in the large caldron suspended from the familiar
crossed sticks over the embers of a large fire, thus proving to more
senses than one that the care of the flesh-pots of ancient Egypt has
not devolved upon a race insensible to their charms. All deny the
common charge of eating dogs, cats, and other meat held impure by
Muslims.
The male Helebis are ostensibly dealers in horses and asses, camels and
black cattle. They pretend to great skill in the veterinary art; but
their character for honesty does not stand high with those who know
them best. Without known religion, priests, or houses of prayer, this
tribe, like the Ghagar and all others, conform to El Islam, or to the
predominant religion whenever policy or convenience demands. They bury
their dead, but have no fixed places of interment. The men will marry
Ghagar damsels, but will not give their daughters to Ghagar. The zone
of chastity is even made, they say, of plaited things like that of the
Nubian, and is cut off on the wedding night. The women, though chaste
themselves, will act as Mercuries to the Gentile male and female; and
they have been charged with sundry indecencies for money. The Muslims
and Copts declare that they kidnap children, and they of course swear
they do not. The women never intermarry with strangers, and in this
respect they are as rigid as the Hindus. They are not remarkable for
cleanliness either of person or apparel. In this respect, and in their
passion for trinkets of brass, silver, and ivory, they remind one of
certain native women of India. Their special privilege is the practice
of palmistry and divination. The Fehemi takes the inquirer’s right hand
by the finger tips, and bends them gently backward so as to render the
lines more visible. She mutters a spell while with all gravity she
reads the book of destiny, and then reads the result; of course her
hand must be crossed with silver. Palmistry, I must add, is one of the
many superstitions to which India gave birth, and all the world over
the lines and mounts and spaces and other distributions of the hands
are the same.
Newbold says comparatively little of the Ghagar, who claim to be of
the same stock as the Helebis, and who speak of brethren in Hungary,
while the original tongue is preserved. Comparatively poor in physical
appearance and in vagabond habits, they bear a family resemblance
to the Helebis and to the Syrian Kurbat. During the summer months
they wander about the cultivated land, and pitch tents and Kaysh. A
favourite way of gaining a livelihood is by carrying water-jars, and
by singing at the birthday fêtes of saints, etc., during the fine
season. In wandering they prefer the towns. In ancient Arabia they have
Ghettos, as at Old Cairo and elsewhere.
Being subject to the poll tax, they have an interest in understating
their numbers, which can scarcely be less than sixteen thousand.
When the publican is abroad, they quietly abscond across the Nile,
and take refuge in some village on the skirts of the desert. After
paying a first visit to them, which aroused their suspicion, Newbold
returned the following day, and to his surprise found the quarter quite
deserted. Subsequently, however, a better acquaintance was established.
With few exceptions the Ghagar are all thieves. Ostensibly the men are
athletes, monkey-leaders, and mountebanks attending several fairs.
They are also metal-workers and horse-dealers. The women are not
allowed to practise palmistry and divination, consequently they are
despised by the Fehemis. Many of them are excellent rope-dancers;
others are musicians, playing chiefly on the talla, a kind of castanet.
They also practise female circumcision upon Muslim girls, bore ears and
nostrils, and tattoo lips and chins.
The Nawar of Egypt were hereditary robbers, like certain tribes in
India. They were protected and even employed by the Billi tribe of
Arabs, and the relations of patron and client were those of the
Highland chiefs and the crofters upon their properties. Muhammad Ali
Pasha succeeded in taming this lawless tribe, which for generations
had given immense trouble to his predecessors, upon the principle
of setting a thief to catch a thief. He employed them as police and
watchmen upon his country estates, and he allowed them 50 per cent. on
property recovered from plunderers brought to justice. Since that time
they have seldom broken the law, except at Cairo, where there is less
chance of detection. They intermarry with the Fellahin, or Egyptians
of the soil, from whom in physique and raiment they can hardly be
distinguished. Outwardly they profess Muhammadanism, and they have
little intercourse with the Helebis and Ghagar. In 1847 their chief was
a certain Shaykh Yusuf, one of the most notorious thieves in Egypt.
§ 2. _The Gzane of Algeria and Morocco._
This race is interesting because it shows the origin of the Darb
el-mendel, the Magic Mirror of Egypt, known to the Hindus as Aujan. It
was first noticed in India by the learned Dr. Herklots, who in 1832
published a most valuable volume on the manners and customs of the
Hindi Muslims. Unfortunately the British public misjudged its title,
and held it to be a cookery-book. The next to notice it was Mr. Lane
(_Modern Egyptians_, Vol. II., chap, xii.) in 1835. He tells us that
two Europeans, an Englishman and a Frenchman, learned to induce the
phenomenon; and he concludes with the normal deprecatory formula of his
age: “Neither I nor others have been able to discover any clue by which
to penetrate the mystery; and if the reader be alike unable to give the
solution, I hope that he will not allow the above account to induce in
his mind any degree of scepticism with respect to other portions of
this work.” Since that time the _Zoist_, the _Journal de Magnétisme_,
and similar publications took up the subject, and traced it from
Cornelius Agrippa and Dr. Dee to the most degraded of existing savages,
the Australians:
The following is Dr. de Pietra Santa’s account of the two modes
of fascination employed by the “magicians” of French Africa
(Algiers)[203]:
“The first forms part of the baggage of all Arab _Gzanes_, Gypsies,
sorceresses, and fortune-tellers. When one wishes to strike the
imagination of the multitude, it is absolutely necessary to find
phenomena which are both intelligible to all and which each one can
instantly verify for himself. Amongst such there is not one more
evident than sleep. It is therefore important for the _Gzane_, in order
to prove in an undeniable manner her moral power and supernatural
influence, that she should be able to send to sleep at a given moment
the person who has recourse to her occult science. She employs the
following means:
“Upon the palm of the hand she describes, with some blackish colouring
matter, a circle, in whose centre is marked a spot equally black. After
looking fixedly at the latter for a few minutes, the eyes grow heavy,
they blink, and the sight is confused; the heaviness is presently
succeeded by sleep, and sleep by a sort of insensibility,[204] of which
the Gypsy profits to exercise her manœuvres more securely. I give you
the simple fact without commentaries; and abjuring any pretensions to
determine its importance.
“Let us now pass on to the second mode of fascination. Upon a table
covered with a white cloth is placed a bottle, usually filled with
water and backed by a small lamp lighted. The subject is comfortably
seated on a chair, and told to look at the bright point placed before
him at the distance of a few steps. After a few minutes the eyelids
grow heavy, then they gradually smile, and sleep is induced. With
nervous temperaments palpitation of the heart and headache also
manifest themselves.
“In order to give an odour of the supernatural to these phenomena, the
Moroccan, Gypsy or Marabout, has a certain quantity of benzoin burnt
behind the table; and while the vapour spreads itself through the
room, the person undergoing the process falls into a complete state of
anæsthesia.”
Borrow mentions in Barbary sundry “sects of wanderers,” which he
shrewdly suspects to be Gypsies, and whom he provides with the worst
of characters. The first are the “Beni Aros” (?), who wander about
Fez, and have their homes in the high mountains near Tetuan. A comely,
well-made race, they are beggars by profession, notorious drunkards,
addicted to robbery, murder, and effeminate crimes. They claim to be
Moors, and their language is Arabic. The second are the “Sidi Hamed au
Muza,” so called from their patron saint. In many respects they not a
little resemble the Gypsies; but they speak the Shilhah, or a dialect
of that tongue. They earn their livelihood by vaulting, tumbling, and
tricks with sword and dagger, to the sound of wild music, which the
women, seated on the ground, produce from their uncouth instruments.
§ 3. _The Gypsies in Inner Africa._
It is generally believed that the Romá have extended far southwards
from Morocco and Barbary. Borrow remarks of the Dar-bushi-fal
(fortune-tellers), that if they are not Gypsies, the latter people
cannot be found in the country. Numerous in Barbary, they wander
during the greater part of the year, pilfering, fortune-telling, and
dealing in mules and donkeys. Their fixed villages are known as “Char
Seharra,” witch hamlets. They can change the colour of an animal, and
transform a white man into a negro black as a coal, after which they
sell him as a slave. They are said to possess a peculiar language,
which, being neither Arabic nor Shilhah, is intelligible only to their
own caste. Borrow often conversed with them; but he neglected to apply
his favourite Shibboleth, Pani (water). Their faces are described as
exceedingly lean, their skins swarthy, and their legs are reeds; “when
they run, the devil himself cannot overtake them.” Their vehicles of
divination are oil, a plate full of flour, or a shoe placed in the
mouth. They are evil people, and powerful enchanters, feared by the
emperor himself.
M. Paul Bataillard (_Notes et Questions_) refers, for information
concerning the Gypsies, to the _Voyage dans le Nord et dans les
Parties Centrales de l’Afrique_, the journey of Denham and Clapperton,
translated by Eyries and another (Paris, 1826, 3 vols. 8vo). These
authors, he says, pretend to assimilate the “Chouâa” Arabs of Bornou
with the Gypsies. Indeed, they expressly declare that their Arabic is
almost pure Gypsy. This is, however, incompatible with another passage,
which declares that these “Chouâas” have imported into Bornou the
Arabic, which they speak purely.
I can only find[205] that the women of the Chouâa Arabs are described
as “a very extraordinary race, with scarcely any resemblance to the
Arabs of the north: they have fine open countenances, with aquiline
noses and large eyes; their complexion is a light copper colour; they
possess great cunning with their courage, and resemble in appearance
some of our best-formed Gypsies in England, particularly the women; and
their Arabic is nearly pure Egyptian.” Major Denman afterwards found
the “Shouaas of the tribe of Waled Salamat, extending eastward quite as
far as the Tchad.” He notes their difference from the Fellalahs, and
their practice of sending plundering parties to Mandara. We also hear
of their skill in the chase and their use of the spear on horseback.
FOOTNOTES:
[167] In Spain this is called “Germania,” which, however, refers not to
the true Gypsy, but to the cant slang, or “Thieves’ Latin”; the French
_argot_ and the Italian _gorgo_, a mere farrago, which contained only a
few words of Romani.
[168] Lane (chap. xx.), generally so correct, falls, according to
Kremer, into an error when he explains Hawi simply by “performer of
sleight of hand tricks” (_Taschenspieler_); the origin of the word,
Hayyeh, “a snake,” shows its signification. Amongst the Sinaitic
Bedawin almost every tribe has an official called the Hawi, who is
supposed to be poison-proof, and to have the power of stanching wounds
and curing hurts by his breath. The necessary qualification for this
office is that the mother should make her babe swallow, before he
has tasted other food, a cake composed of seven barleycorns, seven
grains of wheat, a small scorpion, and a hornet, all pounded and mixed
together (_The Desert of the Exodus_).
[169] Algeria as well as Morocco is full of Gypsies, including the
'Aysawí Dervishes.
[170] Gházi (plural Ghawázi) would mean in Arab “one who fights for
the Faith,” or “a conqueror of infidels.” Europe has learned this
much during the Russo-Turkish war (1877); but our papers ridiculously
misused the term “Ghazi Mukhtar,” for Mukhtar Páshá Gházi is worse
than any amount of “Sir Smith.” According to some authorities, the
Egyptian Gypsies took this title to gratify their Oriental crave for
grandiloquence. But, I would remark, in Persian it is synonymous with
rope-dancer or courtisan; and perhaps both are derived from the Ghagar
“Ghaziyah,” meaning a woman (?).
[171] The origin of the term is a Persian _jeu de mots_. “Bermek'am”
would mean _I am a Barmak_; Bar-maken, _I sup it up_. These were
the words spoken by Ja'afar the “Barmekide” when his poisoned ring
caused the stones upon the arm of the Ommiade Caliph (Abd el Malik) to
rattle--a general and popular superstition. It is quite possible that
this memorable family belonged to the Gypsy tribe so common in Persia.
According to Ibn Khálikán, the first great ancestor was the principal,
or the grand prior, of the convent in Balkh called Nan-buhar (young
spring), a palpable corruption of Nava bihára, in Sanskrit the “new
monastery.”
[172] Hence an Englishman defined the Gypsy religion as “faith in
fortune-telling.”
[173] Captain Newbold (p. 288) tells a curious tale of a Fehemi (wise
woman), who threw a cowrie into a basin of clear water, and muttered
an invocation over it; when the pot began to boil, the shell was shot
out--doubtless by some chemical substance--to the distance of several
feet. Some of the water accompanied it, with a slight explosion like
that of a percussion cap thrown into the fire.
[174] The word should be written Dár-For, the abode or region of the
For tribe.
[175] The latter material is that originally used in the Arab Darb el
Raml (throwing of the sand), briefly called El Raml (the sand), that
is, geomancy.
[176] In conversation Von Kremer quoted the name Sabáijeh, a “broken
plural,” of which no singular is known, as alternating with Zutt in old
Arab historians. Newbold enumerates among the “distinct classes” of
Ghagar the Meddáhín, Gharrádín, Barmekí (Barmekides), Walad Abú Tenná,
Bayt el Rífá'í (?), Hemmeli, and Románi (p. 292).
[177] This was written before 1863; in 1877 the old camping-ground of
the Uzbeg Tatars had become a kind of Parisian quarter.
[178] Kremer gives “Kurudāti”; the word is generally in the diminutive
form Kurayd, a little Kird (baboon).
[179] From the Persian Pahlewán, a brave, a wrestler, an athlete.
[180] Generally written 'Id el Zuhá, the great Meccan festival when the
victims are offered.
[181] Their active habits make them a fine race. Newbold says that
“one of the most magnificent women he had ever seen in the East” was
a Ghagar rope-dancer at the palace of one of the Cairene Beys; he
complains only that she had disfigured herself by tattooing her under
lip and chin--a practice very common among the Arab women of Syria and
Egypt.
[182] At the end of 1763 the _Gazette_ of Vienna printed a letter
from the Hungarian captain, Szekely de Doba. The latter related how
a Protestant pastor, when studying at Leyden, made the acquaintance
of some Malabar youths, who spoke of a province Zingania (of course
Zigeuner), and whose language was that of the Gypsies. He made a
vocabulary of about a thousand words, and returning home to Almasch
or Almas, near Komorn, he found, to his surprise, that the “tinklers”
understood them. The Hindustani grammars published in England (1773)
and in Portugal (1778) enabled Grellman, Richardson, Marsden,
Ludolf, and others to trace the resemblance with a firm hand. See
Mayo and Quindalé, who in p. 45 fall into the vulgar error that the
“Mongol-Hindustani jargon” began to be used in India only after the
Moghol Conquests. These authors declare that when the celebrated
Mezzofanti, of Bologna, became deranged in 1832, he never confused
Gypsy with his other thirty-two tongues. Borrow’s _Translation of St.
Luke_ is also said to have retained several Spanish words from Padre
Scio. As regards the “Germania” _argot_ of Spain, a vocabulary was
published about the middle of the last century by Juan Hidalgo; and
though mostly obsolete, the useless farrago was textually reproduced in
the _Diccionario de la Academia_.
[183] It is usually explained as an abbreviation of Símiyá, a word
formed in imitation of Kímiyá (alchemy).
[184] Curious to say, this word is pure Etruscan, and appears in no
other language known to me.
[185] Newbold adds:
20, Yuksi or Yeksi; 21, Yirksi wa, etc.
30, Yuksi wa dés (30 and 10); 31, Yuksi wa des wa, etc.
40, Kamáki or Kumáki.
50, Kamáki wa des, etc.
60, Kamáki wa yuksi.
70, Kamáki wa yuksi wa des.
80, Du Kamáki (2 forties).
90, Du Kamáki wa dés.
100, Hel. Bank, Sad (Pers.), or Dúi Kamáki wa yuksi (2 forties + 20);
Naw. Beni.
1000, Des Bank (10 hundred); das Sad.
[186] I have marked with a star the words which appear original, or
rather unconnected with Arabic. The list is compared with Newbold’s
vocabularies, H. (Helebi), G. (Ghagar), N. (Náwer).
[187] They are not likely to have two words for “father,” so A'rub is
probably dialectic. Newbold gives the Helebi word Gárúbi; Ghagar, Bálo,
Mánsh; Náwer, Báyábí.
[188] The two affixed pronouns--í (my) and ak (thy)--are also pure
Arabic.
[189] This form of feminine (opposed to Maia, masculine), Sem'ah, from
Sem', is also Arabic. Newbold adds:
Wife: H. Kúdah; G. Gaziyeh; N. Gad.
Husband: H. El-baráneh; G. Marash; N. Maras. Of these the latter two
are evidently corrupted from the Sansk. Manushya; Prak. Mánus.
Boy: H. Lambún, Sumgun; G. Chabo; N. Sowaiti.
Girl: H. Lambúnih, Samgunih; G. Somah, Chabo, or Chai; N. Bubúr.
[190]
Day: H. Merrakrish; G. Chebish.
Rain: H. Matr (Arab.); G. Bursunden (Pers.), Moga; N. Aug.
The two latter may be Sansk. Megha, a cloud.
Snow: H. Telj (Arab.); G. Gharábi.
Cloud: H. Reim (Arab. Ghaym); G. Bárúd.
Light: H. and G. Núr.
[191]
Sheep: H. Hahaiya; G. Bakra (Hind.).
Hare: H. Emeb (Arab.); G. Kundu.
Cat: H. Ghutta (Arab.); G. Berkuka.
Mare: H. Schliyeh; G. Aghorai. The first is the Arabic form of
feminine from Sohli, a stallion; the second is Hind.
Hog: H. Khangír (Arab.); G. Hallúf (Arab.); N. Segel harmin (?).
Crow: H. Grab (Arab.); G. Mentuf, Kil.
Snake: H. Tábun (Arab. Thu'ubán?); G. Samp (Hind.).
Fish: H. Semek (Arab.); G. Machchiyeh (Hind.).
[192]
Sea: H. Buhr (Arab.); G. Pani (Sansk.).
A Spring (fount): H. Ain (Arab.); G. Moga (Mayet, corr. Arab?).
A Well: H. Bir (Arab.); G. Ghibini.
[193] Milk: H. Millanish, Helwah (Arab. Halwá, the sweet?); G. Rágún,
Rághebi, Chúti; N. Rawán.
[194] In this, as in other cases, the Sa'idi dialect appears to throw
back the accent.
[195]
Barley: H. Muharish; G. Jan (Sansk. Pers.).
Dhurra-grain: H. Meghidhurra; G. Darineh.
Rice: H. Ruz (Arab. Pers.); G. Barnu, Fukiyeh, Udbukh (_i.e._
tetbukh, cook thou!?).
Bread: H. Shemun, Mushmul; G. Márey; N. Nan (Pers.).
[196]
Finger: H. Sabua (Arab.); G. Augushti (Hind.).
Neck: H. Rekl (Arab.); G. Sheriti.
Knee: H. Ruggal or Kumayhtu; G. Shang.
Teeth: H. Sinnan (Arab.), Suvan; G. Dándi (Hind.), Sinnam.
Flesh: H. Udwan; G. Maas (Hind.).
Perd, mas.: H. Lib; G. Kiab.
" neut.: H. Budi; G. Minchiá; N. Bud.
Belly: H. Batu (Arab.); G. Burri; N. Bosah.
[197] Ring: H. Khatim (Arab.); G. Augústir (Hind.).
[198] The terminal, amrak, may be they work, business, property; in
fact, synonymous with the vulgar bitá'k.
[199] Every Arabic dialect has some euphonistic form of expressing
fire; the simple word Nar would be inauspicious, suggesting the idea of
hell-fire.
[200] Newbold adds:
NOUNS.
God: H. Allah; G. Allah; N. Allah.
Devil: H. Shaytan (Arab.); G. Iblis (Arab.); N. Harmir (Harami?).
Christian: H. Ghiraie; G. Balámu.
Gentile, _i.e._ non-Gypsy: H. Hushno; G. Chaju; N. Kegháneh.
Luck (fortune): H. Bakht (Pers.); G. Búji; N. Sohri.
Poison: H. Sun (Arab. Sum?); G. Zúngali; N. Mubahah (Arab. the
permitted?).
Love: all use Hebb (Habb, Arab.).
Harlot: H. Beskanan; G. Besignan, Gabu; N. Gad el-haram.
Zone of chastity: H. Hug; G. Dilk; N. Fowi (Fútah, a napkin).
Name: H. Ism (Arab.); G. Rubon (_i.e._ your name); N. Minas.
Year: H. Shahr (Arab.); G. Yuk Sadísh.
King: H. Dazi, Zilk; G. El-reibo, el-burro (Hind. Bará, gnat?).
City or village: H. Gavuti (Hind.); G. Gáv (Hind.); N. Desi (Hind.).
Bridge: all Juntava (error or corruption of Kantaral?).
House: H. Nizb; G. Kír (Ghar, Hind?).
Door: H. Bál (Arab.); G. Kápú (Turk.).
Rope: H. Hebl (Arab.); G. Dori (Hind.).
Paper: all use Warkeh (Arab).
Book: all use Kitáb (Arab.).
ADJECTIVES.
Sick, tired: H. Tabau (Arab.).
Bad: H. Battál (Arab.); G. Bilbey.
Good: H. Tayyib (Arab.); G. Sasho (pure Gypsy).
Great: H. Kabir (Arab.); G. Bara (Hind.); N. Bari.
Small: H. Sughayyar (Arab.); G. Thoranki (Hind.).
Black: H. Aswadish (corr. Arab.); G. Kálo (Hind.).
White: all use Alyar (Arab.).
Cold: H. Melladish (corr. Arab.); G. Memudrih.
Hot: H. Mahrarish (corr. Arab.); G. Garu (Pers.).
ADVERBS.
Much: H. Ketír (Arab.); G. Bhút (Hind.).
A little: H. Meframrush; G. Theráki, Thukrání (corr. Hind.).
Enough: H. Keffi (Arab.); G. Bas (Pers.), Nunniya.
Here: H. Hene (Arab.); G. Syde.
There: H. Hunáh (Arab.); G. Aurileh.
[201] This proves one of two things: first, that the Gypsies left India
before the Hindus had borrowed a Western character from the Phœnicians;
or two, the Gypsies were a low caste, which, like the Pariahs and
others, ignore writing.
[202] When travelling, for instance, they place on prominent rocks and
remarkable trees pebbles, bits of thread, and similar articles, showing
the road they have taken.
[203] Letter written from Algiers, and published in the _Union
Médicale_ of January 2, 1860.
[204] This is evidently the hypnotism so called by Dr. John Braid, of
Manchester, the Braidism of Continental writers. The discovery was
made in 1841. See _Neurypnology, or the Rationale of Nervous Sleep,
Considered in Relation with Animal Magnetism_. About 1849, profiting
by the studies of Doctors J. B. Dods and Philips, a certain Mr. Stone
introduced into England a modification of hypnotism, which he absurdly
called _Electro-biology_; his zinc and copper discs were the civilized
succedanea of the ink-blot.
[205] _Narrative of Travels in_ 1822-24. The folio edition shows two
women with the crisp African hair.