Nomadic peoples of Europe
Encyclopedia
In Europe the settled lifestyle has long been the norm, but some small nomad
Nomad
Nomadic people , commonly known as itinerants in modern-day contexts, are communities of people who move from one place to another, rather than settling permanently in one location. There are an estimated 30-40 million nomads in the world. Many cultures have traditionally been nomadic, but...

ic
communities exist or have existed recently.

Romani

By far the most important and best known of these communities are the Romani people, traditionally known in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

 as Gypsies. This is a community of India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

n origin, which entered Europe in the 14th century.

However there are also some smaller communities which have sometimes been labelled Gypsies for convenience or by accident. The Romanies used in the U.K. as an example refer to some of these groups as didicoy
Didicoy
Didicoy is a term of the Romanichal for travellers with mixed Romani blood. There was often fierce competition between the groups, and the Romanichal tended to blame their own reputation for criminality on the didicoys and other nomadic groups masquerading as "Gypsies".Some families of mixed...

.

Yeniche

In Germany, Switzerland, France and Austria there exist so-called white Gypsies who are known under the names of Jenische (German), [Yéniche] :fr:Yéniche (French), and Yenish or Yeniche (English). Their language seems to be grammatically identical with other (Swiss) German dialects; the origin of the lexicon, however, incorporates German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....

, Romani
Romani language
Romani or Romany, Gypsy or Gipsy is any of several languages of the Romani people. They are Indic, sometimes classified in the "Central" or "Northwestern" zone, and sometimes treated as a branch of their own....

, Yiddish
Yiddish language
Yiddish is a High German language of Ashkenazi Jewish origin, spoken throughout the world. It developed as a fusion of German dialects with Hebrew, Aramaic, Slavic languages and traces of Romance languages...

 and other words.

Indigenous Norwegian Travellers

In Norway there is a small group of people who call themselves Reisende; i.e. indigenous Norwegian Travellers. Confusingly, this term is also used by the so-called Tater people (the biggest population of Romani people in Norway and Sweden). Unlike the Tater people, however, the indigenous Norwegian Travellers are non-Roma by culture and origins, and they do not speak any form of Romani language
Romani language
Romani or Romany, Gypsy or Gipsy is any of several languages of the Romani people. They are Indic, sometimes classified in the "Central" or "Northwestern" zone, and sometimes treated as a branch of their own....

.

Scottish Travellers (Indigenous Highland Travellers)

In the Highlands of Scotland there resides an ethnic group indigenous Highland Travellers also known as ceardannan (Scottish Gaelic the craftsmen, or 'Black Tinkers'), or poetically as the "Summer Walkers". The community is also referred to in English as tinkers this term became a pejorative among the settled community, in Scotland as Travellers emerged as a more neutral name. The English term 'Travelling People' has been adopted into contemporary Gaelic as luchd siubhail (people of travel) but this is a wider term covering other groups of Traveller/Gypsy communities within Scotland.

They are indigenous to Scottish society and are not a branch of the Romani people (opposed to Lowland Scottish Travellers/Gypsies who are). Highland Travellers have their own now nearly extinct creole based on Scottish Gaelic called Beurla Reagaird or (English Backwards). Highland Travellers are closely tied to their native Highlands and follow a nomadic or settled lifestyle; passing from village to village and are more strongly identified with the native Gaelic speaking population. As an indigenous group Highland Travellers have played an essential role in the preservation of traditional Gaelic culture. Travellers' outstanding contribution to Highland life has been as custodians of an ancient and vital Gaelic singing, storytelling and folklore tradition of great importance. It is estimated that only 2,000 Scottish travellers continue to lead their traditional lifestyle on the roads.

Irish Travellers (Pavee)

An ethnic nomadic people of Irish
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...

 origin, who maintain a separate language and set of traditions. They live predominantly in Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

, the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. Travellers refer to themselves as Minceir or Pavees in their own language or in Irish as an Lucht Siúil, meaning literally "the walking people". The term Pikey a pejorative
Pejorative
Pejoratives , including name slurs, are words or grammatical forms that connote negativity and express contempt or distaste. A term can be regarded as pejorative in some social groups but not in others, e.g., hacker is a term used for computer criminals as well as quick and clever computer experts...

 slang
Slang
Slang is the use of informal words and expressions that are not considered standard in the speaker's language or dialect but are considered more acceptable when used socially. Slang is often to be found in areas of the lexicon that refer to things considered taboo...

 term used mainly in the United Kingdom to refer to Irish Traveller
Irish Traveller
Irish Travellers are a traditionally nomadic people of ethnic Irish origin, who maintain a separate language and set of traditions. They live predominantly in the Republic of Ireland, the United Kingdom and the United States.-Etymology:...

s. The language of the Irish Travellers, Shelta, is mainly based on an Irish Gaelic
Irish language
Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...

 lexicon and an English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

 grammar, there are two dialects of this language, Gammon (or Gamin) and Cant. It has been dated back to the eighteenth century but may be older. The vast majority of Irish Travellers are Roman Catholics who maintain their traditions and culture in a close knit community of families.

Quinqui

The quinqui
Quinqui
Quinqui jargon is associated with quinquilleros , a reduced and possibly vanishing semi-nomadic group who live mainly in the northern half of Spain. They prefer to be called mercheros....

or mercheros of Spain are a minority group, formerly nomadic, who share a lot of the way of life of Spanish Roma. There are a few theories about their origin: they may be peasants who lost their land in the 16th century, descendants of Muslims who took to nomadism to avoid persecution, or marginalised people who have mixed with Roma. Most likely they are a mixture of all of the above. In spite of sharing persecution and mores with the Roma, the quinqui have often set themselves apart from them.

Travelling Showpeople/Show Travellers

Finally, there are the Occupational Travellers - Travelling Showpeople/Show Travellers (known in France as Forains Industriel), Circus
Circus
A circus is commonly a travelling company of performers that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, unicyclists and other stunt-oriented artists...

 and Bargees. These groups formed around particular crafts and professions that required frequent mobility. Groups such as Travelling Showpeople usually follow a set pattern of nomadism year after year. Membership of these groups have, over the years been drawn from other communities (including, in the case of Fairgrounds and circuses, Roma people).

As a result Occupational Travellers are not defined as an ethnic group, even though they display certain common features; they tend to be insular favouring intermarriage resulting in long lineages and a strong sense of cultural homogeneity (The Showman's Guild of Great Britain and Ireland requires that applicants for membership have a parent from the Show Traveller community).

Further examples include the use of Parlyaree/Polari
Polari
Polari is a form of cant slang used in Britain by actors, circus and fairground showmen, criminals, prostitutes, and by the gay subculture. It was popularised in the 1960s by camp characters Julian and Sandy in the popular BBC radio show Round the Horne...

 among Fairground Travellers in the UK and the development of unique jargons, customs and traditions Linguistically, many Occupational Travellers in the fairground and circus worlds have cultural affinities with Romani groups, such as significant traces of the Romani
Romani language
Romani or Romany, Gypsy or Gipsy is any of several languages of the Romani people. They are Indic, sometimes classified in the "Central" or "Northwestern" zone, and sometimes treated as a branch of their own....

 language and matriarchial forms of social organisation.
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