1. Without being joined to an Adjective.
Singular Number.
Gadzo
Adami
A Man
Gadzeskero
Adamika
Of the Man
Gadzsko
Adamiko
To the Man
Gadzo
Adami; Adamiko
The Man
O Gadzo
O Adami
O Man
Gadzestar; Gadzese
Adamise
from, with the Man
Plural Number.
Gadze
Adamjon
Men
Gadzengero
Adamjonka
Of the Men
Gadzengo
Adamjonko
To the Men
Gadze
Adamjon; Adamjonko
The Men
O Gadze
O Adamjon
O Men
Gadzendar; Gadzense
Adamjonse
from, with the Men
Singular Number.
Kafidi
Mes
The Table
Kafidjakero
Meska
Of the Table
Kafidjake
Mesko
To the Table
Kafidi
Mes; Mesko
The Table
O Kafidi
O Mes
O Table
Kafidjater; Kafidjse
Messe
from, with the Table
Plural Number.
Kafidja
Mese
The Tables
Kafidjakero
Meseka
Of the Tables
Kafidjenge
Meseko
To the Tables
Kafidja
Mese
The Tables
O Kafidja
O Mese
O Tables
Kafidjendar; Kafidjase
Mesese
from, with the Tables
2. With an Adjective.
Singular Number.
Baru balo
Burra sur
The great Hog
Bari balis
Buna surka
Of the great Hog
Bari balis
Burra surko
To the great Hog
Baru balis
Buna sur
The great Hog
O Baru bails
O Burra sur
O great Hog
Bari balister; balisse
Burra surse
from, with the great Hog
Plural Number.
Baru balen
Burre sure
The great Hogs
Bari balen
Burre sureka
Of the great Hogs
Bari balen
Burre sureko
To the great Hogs
Baru balen
Burre sure
The great Hogs
O Baru balen
O Burre sure
O great Hogs
Bar balender; balense
Burre surese
from, with the great Hogs
RemarkI. Those syllables which, in the oblique cases, are printed in Italics, are the article. In the Gipsey, as well as in the Hindustan language, the article is not placed before the noun, but affixed behind it, and that is the sole indication of the case of a noun. In the Gipsey tongue, the article of the nominative case isoori; in the Hindostan,aori.
RemarkII. The Gipsey language, as well as the Hindostan, has only two genders, the masculine and feminine. Those nouns which end in i, are, in both languages, feminine, and all the rest masculine. Both languages change the masculine into the feminine gender, by putting ajor anifor the termination. For Example,
Gipsey,
Raja, the Prince,
Ranj, the Princess
Hindostan,
Raja,
Raji
Some Pronouns.
1. I: Me; Me, Mo.
Singular Number.
Me
Me; Mo
I
Mrohi; Man
Merra; Meika
Of me
Mange; Man
Mejko
To me
Mange; Man
Mejko
Me
Mander
Mejse
from Me
Plural Number.
Amen; Men
Humra
We
Amerohi
Hummarra; Huraka
Of us
Amenge; Men
Hummko
To us
Amen; Men
Hummare; Humko
Us
Amendar; Amense
Hummse
from, with Us
2. Thou: Tu; Tu.
Singular Number.
Tu
Tu
Thou
Trohi; Tute
Terra
Of Thee
Tuke; Tute
Tuko
To Thee
Tutte; Tut
Tusko
Thee
O Tu
O Tu
O Thou
Tutarhi; Tuter
Tuse
from Thee
Plural Number.
Tumen; Tume
Tum
You
Tumarohi; Tumende
Tumarra
Of You
Tumengole; Tamen
Tumko
To You
Tumen; Tume
Tumarre; Tumko
You
O Tume
O Tum
O You
Tumendar; Tumense
Tumse
from, with You
3. a. He: Job; Uweh.
Singular Number.
Uweh
He
Leste
Jssika
Of Him
Las
Jssiko
To Him
Les
Jssiko
Him
Lester; Leha
Jssise
from, with Him
3. b. She: Joi; Uwehi
Singular Number.
Joi
Uwehi
She
Lati
Uska
Of Her
La
Usko
To Her
La
Usko
Her
Later; Laha
Usise
from, with Her
Plural Number, common to both Genders.
Jole
Jnne
They
Lente
Jnneka
Of them
Len
Jnneko
To Them
Lea
Jnne
Them
Lender
Jnnese
from Them
4. My: Maro; MerraMari; Merri
Masculine,
Feminine.
Masculine.
Feminine.
Miro
Miri
Merra
Merri
My
Meri
Merraka
Merrika
Of My
Merige
Merrako
Merriko
To My
Merige
Merra
Merri
My
O Miro
O Miri
O Merra
O Merri
O My
Merider
Merrase
Merrse
from My
5. Our: Maro; HummarraMari; Hummarri
Singular Number.
Maro
Miri
Hummarra
Hummarri
Our
Mari
Hummarraka
Hummarrika
Of Our
Marige
Miro
Hummarrako
Hummarriko
To Our
Marige
Hummarra
Hummarri
Our
O Maro
O Mari
O Hummarra
O Hummarri
O Our
Marider
Hummarrase
Hummarrise
from Our
6. Thy: Tiro; TerraTiri; Terri
Singular Number.
Masculine.
Feminine.
Masculine.
Feminine.
Tiro
Tiri
Terra
Terri
Thy
Teri
Terraka
Terrika
Of Thy
Terige
Terrako
Terriko
To Thy
Terige
Terra
Terri
Thy
O Tiro
O Tiri
O Terra
O Terri
O Thy
Terider
Terrase
Terrise
from, with Thy
Terise
7. Your: Tumaro; TummarraTumari; Tummarri
Singular Number.
Tumaro
Tumari
Tummarra
Tummarri
Your
Tumari
Tummaraka
Tummarrika
Of Your
Tumarige
Tummarrako
Tummarriko
To Your
Tumarige
Tummarra
Tummarri
Your
O Tumaro
O Tumari
O Tummarra
O Tummarri
O Your
Tamarider; Tumarise
Tummarrase
Tummarrise
from, with You
8. Who? Kohn?Gipsey; Koun?Hindostan.
Examples of the conjugation of both Languages.
I am: Me Hom; Me Hej
Present.—Singular Number.
Gipsey.
Hindostan.
English.
Masculine.
Feminine.
Masculine.
Feminine.
Me Hom; Kom
Sinjom
He Hej; Mem Hu; Hota
Hoti
I am
Tu Hal
Sinjel
Ty Hej; Tem Hae; Hota
Hoti
Thou art
Job Hi
Si
Vweh Hej; Wo Hae; Hota
Hoti
He is
Plural Number.
Men Ham
Sinjam
Hum Hei; Ham Haem; Hote
Hotia
We are
Tume Ham
Sinjan
Tum Hej; Tom Ho; Hote
Hotia
Ye are
Jole Hi
Sinja
Jnne Hei; We Haem; Hote
Hotia
They are
Imperfect.—Singular Number.
Me Hames
Me Hua; Mem Tha
Thi
I was
Tu Hales
Tu Hua; Tem Tha
Thi
Thou wast
Job Has
Uweh Hua; Woh Tha
Thi
He was
Plural Number.
Men Hames
Hum Hue; Ham The
Thia
We were
Tume Hames
Tum Hue; Tom The
Thia
Ye were
Jole Has
Inne Hue; We The
Thia
They were
Perfect.—Singular Number.
Me Sinjomahi
Me Huatha
I have been
Tu Sinjalahi
Tu Huatha
Thou hast been
Job Sinja
Uweh Huatha
He hath been
Plural Number.
Men Sinjamahi
Hum Huathe
We have been
Tume Sinjanahi
Tum Huathe
Ye have been
Jole Sinje
Jnne Huathe
They have been
Future.—Singular Number.
Gipsey.
Hindostan.
English.
Me Owa
Me Huga
I shall be
Du Oweha
Tu Huga
Thou shalt be
Job Ula
Uweh Huga
He shall be
Plural Number.
Men Owaha
Hum Huge
We shall be
Tume Una
Tum Huge
Ye shall be
Jole Owena
Jnne Huge
They shall be
Infinitive.
Huna
To be
To make; do: Kerja; Kurrna.
Present.—Singular Number.
Me Kerel
Me Kurrta
I make
Tu Kerech
Tu Kurrta
Thou makest
Job Kerel
Uweh Kurrta
He maketh
Plural Number.
Scho Kerjem
Hum Kurrte
We make
Tumen Kerjen
Tum Kurrte
Ye make
Ou Kerde
Jnne Kurrte
They make
Imperfect.—Singular Number.
Me Kerjom
Me Kurrtatha
I did make
Tu Kerjel
Tu Kurrtatha
Thou didst make
O Kerje
Uweh Kurrtatha
He did make
Plural Number.
Scho Kerjom
Hum Kurrtathe
We did make
Tumen Kerjen
Tum Kurrtathe
Ye did make
On Kerde
Jnne Kurrtathe
They did make
The comparison thus far will, it is presumed, be sufficient to convince every person of the truthof the position, that the Gipsey language is really that of Hindostan. Let the reader look over the catalogue once more, and it will appear, on the average, that every third Gipsey word is likewise an Hindostan one; or still more, out of thirty Gipsey words, eleven or twelve are constantly of Hindostan. This agreement is uncommonly great: it must at the same time be remembered, that the words above communicated have been learned from the Gipseys within a few years; consequently, at a time when they had been nearly four complete centuries away from Hindostan, their native country (as we may now assert it to be), among people who spoke languages totally different, and in which the Gipseys themselves conversed. Under the constant, and so long continued, influx of these languages, their own must necessarily have suffered great alteration; more especially as they are a people entirely ignorant, without either writing or literature. One foreign word after another must have crept into their language; consequently, by the frequent use of such words, the Gipsey word of the same signification was more rarely used, and by degrees lost from their recollection: by which circumstance the original composition of their language became completely deranged;[190]which is the reason why, as any person may convincehimself by inspection, various languages and idioms—Turkish, Grecian, Latin, Wallachian, Hungarian, Sclavonian, German, and others—make part of the foregoing vocabulary. The wordrome,man, is Coptic; with, perhaps, a few more. It does not appear that there is so much Persian in the Gipsey language, as has been generally imagined; and even what there is of it they may have brought with them from their native country, as many Persian words are current in Hindostan.
After all these reflections, we ought rather to wonder that the number of Hindostan words in the Gipsey language is so considerable, than to require it should be greater, in order to furnish sufficient proof of the Hindostan language being the Gipseys’ mother tongue.
But we have a right, from the agreement which appears in the catalogue published, to conclude the affinity is much more intimate. The idea hitherto adopted has been that, among the Gipsey words quoted, all those of the Hindostan language, answering to the annexed meaning, appear, which are still extant in the Gipsey language. But this is certainly by no means the case. It will be recollected, from the first part, how great a secret the Gipseys make of their language, and how suspicious they appear when any person wishes to learn a few words of it. Even if the Gipsey is not perverse, he is veryinattentive; and is consequently likely to answer some other rather than the true Gipsey word. Under such circumstances, it is very possible, nay even probable, that in the foregoing catalogue there may many words be inserted, for which true Gipsey, of course Hindostan, words might be found; but that the Gipseys when enquired of, either from levity or by design, did not declare them.
Further, it is not all absurd to pronounce, that there remain more, or at least different, true Gipsey words among those residing in one country than another. And if, at a future period, some person should, as an experiment on the above catalogue, examine a second or third time parties of Gipseys in different countries, and compare the words obtained with those already delivered, the catalogue would certainly receive a considerable augmentation in favour of our hypothesis.
Finally, we must consider the Hindostan language itself. This, it is true, is fundamentally the same all over Hindostan; but, like every other language in the world, has different dialects in the various provinces. The eastern dialect, spoken about the Ganges, has different names for some things, and different inflexions of some words, from the western one spoken about the Indus. There is, besides, a third, varying from both these, viz. the Surat dialect, which has a number ofMalabar and other words mixed with it. To this must be added, that in the Hindostan, as well as in every other language, there are often several names for the same thing. The particular dialect bearing the closest affinity to the Gipsey language, as will appear hereafter, is the western, and perhaps more especially that of Surat. Had this therefore, or the western one in general, been the standard of the above comparison; and had we not, for want of words in these dialects, been obliged frequently to have recourse to the eastern one, spoken in Bengal; or had we, even in the latter, been able to obtain so many words, that where the Gipsey, from not knowing any more, could only give us a single expression, we might have produced, not one or two as at present, but all, or at least the greater part, of the synonymous appellations: we should infallibly in this manner recover, in the Hindostan language, many a Gipsey word, which even the learned are unable to derive from the European or any other language, and yet have as little appearance of being Hindostan. With respect to the construction and inflexions of the two languages, they are evidently the same. That of Hindostan has only two genders; the Gipsey the same. In the former every word ended injis feminine, all the rest masculine; in the latter the same rule is observed. That makes the inflections entirely by the article,adding it at the end of the word; the Gipsey language proceeds exactly in the same manner. Finally, likewise, bating a trifling variation, this identical similarity is evident in the pronouns.
So much for the language of the Gipseys. As this is indubitably Hindostan, it would be sufficient of itself to prove the descent of those people from Hindostan. But we shall now proceed to other grounds, which, united with the proofs from the language, will leave us less reason to doubt concerning this matter.
That the Gipseys, and natives of Hindostan, resemble each other in complexion and shape, and are equally timorous and cowardly, is undeniable. But we shall pass over these, together with some other circumstances; as, perhaps, neither the one nor the other are such distinguishing marks as not to be met with among other Oriental people.
The name of Polgar, likewise, carries some weight with it, which we find among the Gipseys in the earliest times, before they began to change the names they brought with them for those used in Europe. Polgar, as we may remember, was the name of the leader who, in the year 1496, obtained a safe-conduct from the Hungarian king Uladislaus II. by virtue of which he, with his horde, consisting of twenty-five tents or families, had the liberty of travelling about where he pleased.This name Polgar originates in India, where it is the appellation of a deity presiding over marriages and matrimonial concerns: the Indians are very fond of bearing this name, as well as the names of their other deities.
In reciting the employments of the Gipseys, their smith’s business was mentioned; when it was remarked, that their anvil is a stone, and what more implements they use consist in a pair of hand-bellows, a pair of tongs, a hammer, a vise, and a file. With such a portable apparatus, the travelling Gipsey wanders from place to place. We will compare this account with what Sonnerat relates of the Indian smiths: the following are his own words: “The smith carries his tools, his shop, and his forge, about with him, and works in any place where he can find employment: he erects his shop before the house of his employer, raising a low wall with beaten earth, before which he places his hearth; behind this wall he fixes two leathern bellows, which his apprentice blows alternately, to keep up the fire. He has a stone instead of an anvil, and his whole apparatus is a pair of tongs, a hammer, a beetle, and a file.” The most striking circumstance relating to this coincidence is, that both Gipsey and Indian should use the same kind of hand-bellows, and both have exactly two. As theapprentice works these for the Indian, so does the wife or one of the children for the Gipsey.
What is asserted of the young Gipsey girls, rambling about with their fathers who are musicians, dancing with all kinds of indecent and lascivious attitudes and gestures, to divert any person who is willing to give them a small gratuity for so acting, is likewise perfectly Indian. Sonnerat confirms this also.—“Surat is,” he says, “famous for its dancing girls. These young women devote themselves entirely to the worship of the Gods, whom they attend in the processions, dancing and singing before the representations of them. The handycraftsmen generally destine the youngest of their daughters to this service, and send them to the pagoda before they come to the age of puberty. There they have dancing and music masters, with persons to teach them to sing. The Bramins form their young minds, and deflower them; in the end, they become common prostitutes. They then join in companies, take musicians with them, to entertain any-body who chooses to engage them, with music and dancing.” Sonnerat speaks here likewise of the wanton gestures of these dancing girls, of which he has given a drawing; and ends his description thus: “The blinking of their eyes—half open, half shut—and the negligent sinkingof their bodies, to the most languishing music, shew that their whole frame breathes nothing but lasciviousness.”
Fortune-telling is practised all over the east; but the peculiar kind professed by the Gipseys, viz.chiromancy—constantly referring to whether the parties shall be rich or poor, fortunate or unhappy in marriage; whether they shall have many or few children, &c.—is no-where met with but in India. The following instance will evince, how perfectly Gipseyish it is: “It once happened,” says Baldæus, “that the Rajah Khans made his appearance before the inhabitants; when being given to understand that an experienced Bramin was arrived, he ordered him to be brought before him, and said—‘Narret (that was his name), look at my daughter’s hand, and inform me whether she will be happy or unfortunate, poor or rich; whether she will have many or few children; if her life will be long or short: speak out freely, and conceal nothing.’ The Bramin having looked at her hand, replied, ‘May it please your Majesty, according to the indication of these lines, I read thus—She shall bear seven children, viz. six sons and a daughter; the youngest of whom shall not only deprive you of your crown and empire, but likewise of your head and life, and afterwards place himself inyour seat.’” This method, Baldæus adds, of looking in the hands, is very common among the heathens.
The excessive loquacity of the Gipseys, as well as their very advantageous natural qualities, which have been before noticed, are likewise distinguishing characteristics of the Indian; besides, the very name Zigeuner, or, according to a broader way of pronunciation, Ciganen and Tchingenen, is the appellation of an Indian people, living at the mouth of the Indus, as mentioned by Thevenot.
Another striking intimation of the Indian descent of the Gipseys, is the partiality of the latter for red colours, or saffron: in like manner the Bramin performs all his religious duties in a white dress, without the least mixture of any other colour. On his return home from these functions, he changes his white turban for a red one. The common Indians also prefer this colour for their little round caps: and these last, especially on holidays, make a double deep yellow stripe on their foreheads with fat, saffron, and sacred cow-dung. The Bramins make the same stripe withred, as a mark of pre-eminence. Again, the Gipseys as Twiss assures us of those in Spain, never intermarry with any people who are not, like themselves, of Gipsey extraction; which puts us strongly in mind of the Indian castes.
The Gipseys are of the Caste called Suders.
Wecome now to the position we hoped to substantiate, viz. that the Gipseys are of the lowest class of Indians, namely,Parias; or, as they are called in Hindostan,Suders.
The whole great nation of Indians is known to be divided into four ranks or stocks, which are called by a Portuguese name, castes, each of which has its own particular subdivisions. Of these castes, theBraminis the first: the second contains theTschechteriesorSetreas: the third consists of theBeisorWasziers: the fourth is the caste of the just-mentionedSuders; who upon the Peninsula of Malabar, where their condition is the same as in Hindostan, are calledPariasorParier.
The relative situation of these four castes, and the grounds of their difference, rest on the Indian fable of the Creation. This relates, that the God who created Bruma, ordained that the Bramin should proceed out of Bruma’s mouth; the Tschechterie out of his arms; the Beis out of his legs; and the Suder from his feet. As Bruma afterwards allotted the employments of each of these stocks,he appointed the first to seek after knowledge, to give instruction, and to take care of religion; the second was to serve in war; the third was, as well as the Bramin, to cultivate science, but to attend particularly to the breeding of cattle and agriculture: the caste of Suders was destined to be subservient to the Bramins, the Tschechteries, and the Beis. These Suders are held in the greatest contempt: they are considered infamous and unclean, from their occupations; and they are abhorred because they eat flesh, the three other castes living entirely on vegetables.
Of this very caste, as will appear by the following comparison, our Gipseys are composed.
We have seen that the Gipseys are in the highest degree filthy, and disgusting; and with regard to character, of the most depraved hearts: that they are thievish, liars, and fraudulent to excess:—and these are exactly the qualities of the Suders. Baldæus says, “The Pareas are a filthy race, in a word, a contemptible stinking people; a wicked crew, who in winter steal much cattle, kill them, and sell the hides.” It is again related in the Danish Mission Intelligence, “Nobody can deny that the Bareier are the dregs and refuse of all the Indians: they have wicked dispositions, are thievish, arrant liars, are intractable with good usage, require to be kept in order by fear and blows, and held under continual restraint.”Moreover, Neuhof assures us, “The Parruas are full of every kind of dishonesty; they do not consider lying and cheating to be sinful, as they have no other maxim or custom among them.” The Gipsey’s solicitude to conceal his language, is likewise a striking Indian trait. “Custom,” says Pallas, of the Indians round Astrakan, “has rendered them to the greatest degree suspicious about their language, insomuch that I never was able to obtain a small vocabulary from them.”
In addition to the foregoing, the Gipseys love to intoxicate themselves; they are particularly fond of brandy, because it more speedily answers their purpose than any other liquor. Among the Suders we find this inclination is universal; though other Indians do not commit such excess, or very seldom, and then privately.
What has been further said with respect to the immoral life of the Gipseys, agrees perfectly with the Suders. “Their wives and daughters,” says Neuhof, “make no difficulty of yielding up their persons, for money, to any sort of people, be they of what country or religion soever; as the inclination of this tribe tends more to voluptuousness, than towards diligence or industry.”
With regard to Gipsey marriages, it has been asserted, that it is a matter of indifference to them whether the party be the nearest relation or anutter stranger, or, as Salmon expresses himself, the nearest relations cohabit like beasts with each other; and as to education, that their children grow up in the most shameful neglect, without either discipline or instruction. All this is precisely the case with the Pariars. In the Journals of the Missionaries already quoted, it is said, “With respect to matrimony, they act like the beasts; and their children are brought up without restraint or information.”
Gipseys are fond of being about horses; so are the Suders in India, for which reason they are commonly employed as horsekeepers by the Europeans resident in that country.
The Gipseys were formerly employed as flayers, hangmen, and executioners, all over Hungary and Transylvania; and they still readily perform those offices whenever called upon. In like manner, in India, no one who is not of the caste of Suders will on any account transact that kind of business.
We have seen that the Gipseys hunt after cattle which have died of distempers, in order to feed on them; and where they can provide more of the flesh than is sufficient for one day’s consumption, dry it in the sun: such is likewise a constant custom with the Pariars in India. It “is their office,” according to the accounts we have of them, “to remove carrion, which they cut up; part they boil fresh and eat, other partsthey dry in pieces, by the heat of the sun, for their future provision.”
Hitherto the accounts of the Gipseys and Suders perfectly coincide. Even the before-mentioned smiths and dancing girls are of this caste: and as they before shewed, in general, from the similarity of their make, that they were of Indian extraction, so in this instance they give particular evidence, that they are descendants from the lowest class.
But there are still some further traits relating to the Gipseys; we shall now examine whether they also are to be found among the Suders. Of these the first is, that the Gipseys always choose their place of residence near some village or city; very seldom within the village or city, even though there may be no order to prevent it: as is the case in Moldavia, Wallachia, and all parts of Turkey. Even the more improved Gipseys, as those in Transylvania, who have long since discontinued their wandering mode of life, and might, with permission from government, reside within the cities, yet rather choose to build their huts in some bye-place, without their limits. This custom seems to be a remnant of their original Suder education; it being usual, all over India, for the Suders to have their huts without the villages of the other castes, and in retired places near their cities.
Further, with regard to the Gipseys’ religion,we may recollect, from what has been said, that their sense of it is very confined, and that they have not the least degree of steadiness in it. To the Gipseys, every persuasion is the same; as often as he meets with a different one, he changes his opinions. To-day he receives the sacrament as a Lutheran; next Sunday, from a Roman-catholic; and perhaps before the end of the week partakes of the communion in a Reformed church. Yet the greater part of them do not even go so far as this, but live without any religion at all, and are, as Tollius says, worse than heathens. The more wonderful such an appearance is—of a whole people being so void of and indifferent about religion—the more weight it carries with it to confirm their Indian origin, when all this is found to be literally true of the Suders. “This race,” says Rogerius, of the Suders in the kingdom of Surat, “seems to be neither heathens nor Mahometans; they live on in their own way, without any religion, or worshipping of God. There are some, it is true, who imitate the other castes in an outward shew of religion, and appoint priests for themselves; but they neither frequent the pagodas of the higher castes, nor have any of their own: and as to the choice of their deities, every one conforms to the custom of the place where he lives, or happens to remain a short time, exactly the same as the Gipseys.”
If people, in reflecting on the emigration of the Gipseys, are not determined to imagine that they were actuated by a blind impulse, to break up at once, and quit their native country; no cause can be assigned for their retreat from thence so plausible as the war of Timur Beg in India. The date of their arrival marks it very plainly. It was in the years 1408 and 1409 that this conqueror ravaged India; and having persuaded himself, as well as his followers, that he had undertaken the expedition against India for the purpose of disseminating the Mahometan religion, his war was oppressive enough to occasion such an emigration. Not only every one who made any resistance was destroyed, and such as fell into the enemy’s hands, though quite defenceless, were made slaves, but in a short time these very slaves, to the number of a hundred thousand, were put to death. As in consequence an universal panic took place, nobody being secure that it might not be his own fate in a short time, what could be more natural than that a great number of terrified inhabitants should endeavour to save themselves by flight?
An objection naturally occurs, that when this supposed flight took place, had it been true, not Gipseys only, or the lowest class of people, but with them all sorts of Indians, of superior rank, would have come among us. But this argument will fall of itself, when we reflect on the prepossessionwhich the three higher castes of Indians entertain for their country. They ascribe an extraordinary degree of holiness to it, and believe it to be the only country thought, by the Creator of the universe, worthy for such sanctified people as the Bramins, Tschechteries, and Beis, to dwell in. They would rather suffer torture and death, than quit this land, chosen by the Almighty himself for their residence, to go and dwell any-where else. Moreover a Suder is, in their estimation, the most execrable being in the world; and the least intercourse with him would be defiling and degrading their high characters, which, to them, would be more dreadful than death. Wherefore it was a moral impossibility for those of a higher caste to have any thing in common with a Suder, or that they should have made an united retreat. Finally, by putting themselves into the power of the Suders, with whom they live constantly in a state of discord and inveteracy, they would have hazarded a greater danger, than by patiently risking their fate from the hands of their common enemy. If any of the higher ranks of Indians did withdraw themselves, on account of the troubles, it is probable they retired southwards, to people of their own sort, the Mahrattas.
As every part to the northward and eastward was beset by the enemy, and no passage left in those directions for escaping, it seems most probablethat the countries below Multan, to the mouth of the Indus, were the first asylum and rendezvous of the fugitive Suders. Here they were safe; and so remained, till Timur returned from his victories on the Ganges. Then it was that they first entirely quitted the country; and, probably, with them a considerable number of the proper inhabitants about the Indus, which will explain the meaning of their original name, Ciganen, or, according to the German mode of speaking, Zigeuner. For if it was in the country of the Zinganen that these terrified fugitives collected; and they afterwards drew a considerable number of the Zinganen themselves along with them, nothing could be more easy or natural than that the people who had assembled from the general wreck should take the name of the greater number.
By what route they came to us, cannot be ascertained: if they went straight through the southern Persian deserts of Sigistan, Makran, and Kirman, along the Persian Gulph to the mouth of the Euphrates, thence they might get, by Bassora, into the great deserts of Arabia, afterwards into Arabia Petræa, and so arrive in Egypt, by the isthmus of Suez. They must certainly have been in Egypt before they reached us; otherwise we cannot account for the report that they were Egyptians. In what manner theywere afterwards transported to Europe is also an obscure research: perhaps it was effected by means of the Turks, who, being at that time fully employed with the Grecian empire, might permit the Gipseys to travel about with the rabble of Serdenjesti and Nephers, who were appointed to go on ravaging parties. However, all that can be said upon that subject is mere surmise. The chief aim in this Dissertation was, to prove that the Gipseys came from Hindostan, and that they were Suders, which it is hoped has been accomplished. When every thing, even the most fortuitous concomitant circumstances, but particularly that most decisive one—the similarity of their language to that of Hindostan, uniformly point out that extraction, we cannot believe them to belong to a different country, and to be descended from another people.
To invalidate, if possible, the charge of cannibalism—apparently so well founded—brought against the Gipsey tribe, it is thought proper in this place to mention circumstances, relative to the proceedings in Hungary, which at least render the justice of the sentence pronounced against these devoted people doubtful.
In the year 1534, as recorded in the Hungarian history, the Gipseys were suspected of traitorously assisting John Zapolya; in consequence of which the governor of Leutschau,Tsernabo, sent some horsemen to arrest a company of them, near Iglo: the greatest part escaped by flight; only a few old men and boys were taken, who were brought into Leutschau. These confessed circumstantially (which certainly appears improbable, that men should lye to effect their own ruin), as well before, as upon the rack, the following falsities—That a hundred of them had been sent by Zapolya since the middle of Lent, and had agreed for a sum of money to set fire to the five chief cities, Kaschau, Leutschau, Bartfeld, Eperies, and Zeben: that the preceding Saturday several of them had privately entered Leutschau, disguised like Wallachians and shepherds, under the pretence of selling skins: that they laid fire in various places; and moreover, that they had murdered several people: and finally, that they had letters from Zapolya to thirteen different cities, with orders to afford them shelter and protection within their districts, as long as they chose to remain. In consequence of this confession they were impaled, “but whether justly or not,” adds the Chronicle, “that, let him answer for who condemned them:” for on being conducted about the town, to shew in what places they had laid the fire, they could not specify them; besides, they denied every thing when they came to execution.
Except the circumstance of retracting, of which nothing is mentioned in the sentence of death, the above case seems to be exactly similar to that of the men-eaters executed in Hungary in 1782. These were taken upon suspicion of theft; in the course of their examination something escaped them which gave occasion to thinkthey had committed murder, and the criminals being interrogated on this point, perhaps on account of the severity used, or probably from an idea of heroism (a very common trait in their character), they confessed the fact, and chattered away till they had filled the paper, without considering consequences. When desired to state where they had deposited the bodies, they promised to shew, but on being brought to the spot nothing was found, and they endeavoured to run off. Nevertheless, having once confessed, they were put on the rack. As the persons said to have been murdered could not be found, the judge imagined they must have eaten them, which, though denied by the poor miserable wretches, decided their fate.
How much the Gipsey language has altered by time, may be seen, in a striking manner, from the following translations of the Lord’s Prayer, obtained from Hungarian Gipseys at different periods.
1. Lord’s Prayer, according to the old translation.
Dade! gula dela dicha mengi, Czaoreng hogodoleden tavel, ogoledêl hogoladhem, te a felpesz, trogolo anao Czarchode, ta vela mengi sztre kedapu, maro mandro kata agjesz igiertiszara a more beszecha, male dsame, andro vo lyata, enkala megula, dela enchala zimata. Seszkesz kisztrio oothem banisztri, putyere feriszamarme, à kana andre vecsi, ale Va kosz. Piho.
2. The same, according to a more modern translation.
Muro Dad, kolim andro therosz; Ta weltro szentanao; Ta weltro t’him; Ta weltri olya, szarthin andro therosz kethjn t’he pre p’hu: sze kogyesz damande mandro agyesz a mingi; Ertitza amare bezecha, szar, t’hamin te ertingiszama rebezecha; Mali zsa men andre bezna, nicka men le dsungalin mansáár, Ke tirino t’hin, tiro hino baribo szekovari. Amen.
3. Another, with the Latin.
Amàro
Noster
del
Deus
Szavo
qui
hal
es
othé
ibi
opre
super
óndro
in
csérász
cœlo,
avel
veniat
szinton
sanctum
tro
tuum
nav,
nomen,
te
ut
avel
veniat
tri
tuum
lume
regnum
te
ut
khergyol
fiat
tri
tua
voje
voluntas
szàr
sicut
andro
in
csérósz
cœlo
chidé
sicque
te
ut
phé
in
phu.
terra.
ámáro
nostrum
mandro
panem
ogyéuszuno
quotidianum
dé
da
áméngé
nobis
ágyèsz
hodie,
értiné
remitte
amenge
nobis
ámáro
nostrum
vitsigosz
peccatum
te
ut
ámén
nos
kidé
ita
értináha
remittimus
ámáréngé,
nostris,
palidschá
ne inducas
ámén
nos
ándro
in
dschungalo
periculosam
tsaszosz,
horam,
támi
sed
unkáv
sume
ámen
nos
ávri
ex
ándral
e
ó
dschungalo
periculo
tiri
tuum
hin
est
é
lume
regnum
tiri
tua
hin
est
ezor
potentia,
te
ut
akana-szekcvar.
nunc-semper.
Amen.
FINIS.