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PKESKNTE
THE ZINCALI;
OR,
AN ACCOUNT OF
THE GYPSIES OF SPAIN.
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WITH AN <L ( <*
©riglnal doUettion of tljrir Songs anb JJaetrg.
BY
GEORGE BORROW,
LATE AGENT OF THE BRITISH AND FOREIGN BIBLE SOCIETY IN SPAIN
" For that which is unclean by nature thou canst entertain no hope; no washing will turn the Gypsey white." Ferdousi.
PHILADELPHIA : JAMES M. CAMPBELL & CO., 98 CHESTNUT STREET.
SAXTON & MILES, 205 BROADWAY, NEW YORK.
STEREOTYPED BY L. JOHNSON.
1843.
**
Qtft W. L. Siioemaiter T t '06
TO
THE RIGHT HONOURABLE
THE EARL OF CLARENDON, G.C.B.,
KEEPER OF HER MAJESTY'S PRIVY SEAL, ETC. ETC. ETC.
My Lord, I peel it not only a gratification but an honour to be permitted to dedicate these volumes to your Lordship, the more particularly as they are connected with Spain, a country in which it was so frequently my fortune to experience such prompt and salutary aid from your Lordship in the high capacity of representative of our Gracious British Sovereign.
The remembrance of the many obligations under which your Lord- ship has placed me, by your energetic and effectual interference in time of need, will ever in heartfelt gratitude cause me to remain, with unfeigned sentiments of respect,
My Lord, Your most devoted servant,
George Borrow.
PREFACE.
It is with some diffidence that the author ventures to offer the present work to the public.
The greatest part of it has been written under very peculiar circumstances, such as are not in general deemed at all favourable for literary composition; — at considerable intervals, during a period of nearly five years passed in Spain, — in moments snatched from more important pursuits — chiefly in ventas and po- sddas, whilst wandering through the country in the arduous and unthankful task of distributing the Gospel among its children.
Owing to the causes above stated, he is aware that his work must not unfre- quently appear somewhat disjointed and unconnected, and the style rude and unpolished: he has, nevertheless, permitted the tree to remain where he felled it, having, indeed, subsequently enjoyed too little leisure to make much effec- tual alteration.
At the same time he flatters himself that the work is not destitute of certain qualifications to entitle it to approbation. The author's acquaintance with the Gypsy race in general dates from a very early period of his life, which con- siderably facilitated his intercourse with the Peninsular portion, to the eluci- dation of whose history and character the present volumes are more particu- larly devoted. Whatever he has asserted, is less the result of reading than of close observation, he having long since come to the conclusion that the Gypsies are not a people to be studied in books, or at least in such books as he believes have hitherto been written concerning them.
Throughout he has dealt more in facts than in theories, of which he is in general no friend. True it is that no race in the world affords, in many points, a more extensive field for theory and conjecture than the Gypsies, who are certainly a very mysterious people come from some distant land, no mortal knows why, and who made their first appearance in Europe at a dark period when events were not so accurately recorded as at the present time.
But if he has avoided as much as possible touching upon subjects which must always, to a certain extent, remain shrouded in obscurity; for example, the original state and condition of the Gypsies, and the causes which first brought them into Europe, he has stated what they are at the present day, what he knows them to be from a close scrutiny of their ways and habits, for which, perhaps, no one ever enjoyed better opportunities; and he has more- over, given — not a few words culled expressly for the purpose of supporting a theory, but one entire dialect of their language, collected with much trouble and difficulty; and to this he humbly calls the attention of the learned, who, by comparing it with certain languages, may decide as to the countries in which the Gypsies have lived or travelled.
With respect to the Gypsy rhymes in the second volume he wishes to make one observation which cannot be too frequently repeated, and which he en- 2 B 5
VI
PREFACE.
treats the reader to bear in mind; they are Gypsy compositions , and have little merit save so far as they throw light on the manner of thinking and speaking of the Gypsy people, or rather a portion of them, and as to what they are ca- pable of effecting in the way of poetry. It will, doubtless, be said that the rhymes are trash — even were it so, they are original, and on that account, in a philosophic point of view, are more valuable than the most brilliant compo- sitions pretending to describe Gypsy life, but written by persons who are not of the Gypsy sect. Such compositions, however replete with fiery sentiments, and allusions to freedom and independence, are certain to be tainted with affec- tation. Now in the Gypsy rhymes there is no affectation, and on that very- account they are different in every respect from the poetry of those interesting personages who figure, under the names of Gypsies, Git&nos, Bohemians, &c, in novels and on the boards of the theatre.
It will, perhaps, be objected to the present work, that it contains little that is edifying in a moral or Christian point of view: to such an objection the author would reply, that the Gypsies are not a Christian people, and that their morality is of a peculiar kind, not calculated to afford much edification to what is generally termed the respectable portion of society. Should it be urged that certain individuals have found them very different from what they are repre- sented in these volumes, he would frankly say that he yields no credit to the presumed fact, and at the same time he would refer to the vocabulary con- tained in the second volume, whence it will appear that the words hoax and hocus have been immediately derived from the language of the Gypsies, who, there is good reason to believe, first introduced the system into Europe, to which those words belong.
The author entertains no ill-will towards the Gypsies; why should he, were he a mere carnal reasoner? He has known them for upwards of twenty years,, in various countries, and they never injured a hair of his head, or deprived him of a shred of his raiment; but he is not deceived as to the motive of their forbearance: They thought him a Rom, and on this supposition they hurt him not, their love of "the blood," being their most distinguishing characteristic. He derived considerable assistance from them in Spain, as in various instances they officiated as colporteurs in the distribution of the Gospel: but on that ac- count he is not prepared to say that they entertained any love for the Gospel, or that they circulated it for the honour of Tableque the Saviour. Whatever they did for the Gospel in Spain, was done in the hope that he whom they conceived to be their brother, had some purpose in view which was to con- tribute to the profit of the Cales, or Gypsies, and to terminate in the confusion and plunder of the Busne, or Gentiles. Convinced of this, he is too little of an enthusiast to rear, on such a foundation, any fantastic edifice of hope which would soon tumble to the ground.
The cause of truth can scarcely be forwarded by enthusiasm, which is almost invariably the child of ignorance and error. The author is anxious to direct the attention of the public towards the Gypsies, but he hopes to be able to do so without any romantic appeals in their behalf, by concealing the truth, or by- warping the truth until it becomes falsehood. In the following pages he has depicted the Gypsies as he has found them, neither aggravating their crimes nor gilding them with imaginary virtues. He has not expatiated on "their gratitude towards good people, who treat them kindly and take an interest in their welfare;" for he believes that of all beings in the world they are the least susceptible of such a feeling. Nor has he ever done them injustice by attributing to them licentious habits, from which they are, perhaps, more free than any race in the creation.
THE CrYPSIES.
ON THE GYPSIES IN GENERAL. — NAME AND LANGUAGE. — THE RUSSIAN GYPSIES. — GYPSIES AT MOSCOW. HUNGARIAN GYPSIES. ENGLISH GYPSIES, OR ROMMANY. — GYPSY FOR- TUNE-TELLERS.— GYPSY JOCKEYS. — GYPSY WILL. THURTELL. GYPSY CLANS. CUR-
t RAPLE. — GYPSIES OF THE EAST. ARTIFICE OF TIMOUR. BISHOP OF FORLI.
I should find some difficulty, if called upon, to assign a reason why the singular race of whom I am now about to speak, has, through- out my life, been that which has most inva- riably interested me; for I can remember no period when the mentioning of the name of Gypsy did not awaken feelings within my mind hard to be described, but in which a fitrange pleasure predominated.
The Gypsies themselves, to whom I have stated this circumstance, account for it on the supposition that the soul which at present animates my body, has at some former period tenanted that of one of their people; for many among them are believers in metempsychosis, and like the followers of Bouddha, imagine that their souls, by passing through an in- finite number of bodies, attain at length suf- ficient purity to be admitted to a state of per- fect rest and quietude, which is the only idea of heaven they can form.
Having in various-and distant countries lived in habits of intimacy with these people, I have come to the following conclusions re- specting them: that wherever they are found, their manners and customs are virtually the fiame, though somewhat modified by circum- stances, and that the language they speak amongst themselves, and of which they are particularly anxious to keep others in igno- rance, is in all countries one and the same, but has been subjected more or less to modi- fication; and lastly, that their countenances exhibit a decided family resemblance, but are darker or fairer according to the temperature of the climate, but invariably darker, at least in Europe, than the natives of the countries in which they dwell, for example, England and Russia, Germany and Spain.
The names by which they are known differ with the country, though, with one or two exceptions, not materially; for example, they are styled in Russia, Zigani; in Turkey and Persia, Zingarri; and in Germany, Zigeuner; all which words apparently spring from the same etymon, which there is no improba- bility in supposing to be " Zincali," a term
by which these people, especially those of Spain, sometimes designate themselves, and the meaning of which is believed to be, The black men of Zend or Ind. In England and Spain they are commonly known as Gypsies and Gitanos, from a general belief that they were originally Egyptians, to which the two words are tantamount ; and in France as Bo- hemians, from the circumstance that Bohe- mia was the first country in civilized Europe where they made their appearance ; though there is reason for supposing that they had been wandering in the remote regions of Sclavonia for a considerable time previous, as their language abounds with words of Sclavonic origin, which could not have been adopted in a hasty passage through a wild and half-populated country.
But they generally style themselves and the language which they speak, Rommany. This word, of which I shall ultimately have more to sav, is of Sanscrit origin, and signi- fies, The Husbands, or that which pertaineth unto them. From whatever motive this ap- pellation may have originated, it is perhaps more applicable than any other to a sect or caste like them, who have no love and no affection beyond their own race; who are capable of making great sacrifices for each other, and who gladly prey upon all the rest of the human species, whom they detest, and by whom they are hated and despised. It will perhaps not be out of place to observe here, that there is no reason for supposing that the word Roma or Rommany is derived from the Arabic word which signifies Greece or Grecians, as some people not much ac- quainted with the language of the race in question have imagined.
I have no intention at present to say any thing about their origin. Scholars have as- serted that the language which they speak proves them to be of Indian stock, and un- doubtedly a great number of their words are Sanscrit. My own opinion upon this subject will be found in a subsequent article, I shall here content myself with observing, that from
7
s
THE GYPSIES.
whatever country they come, whether from India or Egypt, there can be no doubt they are human beings, and have immortal souls; and it is in the humble hope of drawing the attention of the Christian philanthropists to- wards them, especially that degraded and un- happy portion of them, the Gitanos of Spain, that the present little work has been under- taken. But before proceeding to speak of the latter, it will perhaps not be amiss to afford some account of the Rommany, as I have seen them in other countries ; for there is scarcely a part of the habitable world where they are not to be found ; their tents are alike pitched on the heaths of Brazil and the ridges of the Himalayan hills, and their language is heard at Moscow and Madrid, in the streets of London and Stamboul.
THE ZIGANI, OR RUSSIAN GYPSIES.
They are found in all parts of Russia, with the exception of the government of St. Pe- tersburg!], from which they have been ba- nished. In most of the provincial towns they are to be found in a state of half-civilization, supporting themselves by trafficking in horses, or by curing the disorders incidental to those animals ; but the vast majority reject this manner of life, and traverse the country in bands, like the ancient Hamaxobioi ; the im- mense grassy plains of Russia affording pas- turage for their herds of cattle, on which, and the produce of the chase, they chiefly depend for subsistence. They are, however, not des- titute of money, which they obtain by various means, but principally by curing diseases amongst the cattle of the mujiks or peasantry, and by telling fortunes, and not unfrequently by theft and brigandage.
Their power of resisting cold is truly won- derful, as it is not uncommon to find them encamped in the midst of the snow, in slight canvass tents, when the temperature is twenty-five or thirty degrees below the freezing point according to Reaumur; but in the winter they generally seek the shelter of the forests, which afford fuel for their fires, and abound with game.
The race of the Rommany is by nature perhaps the most beautiful in the world ; and amongst the children of the Russian Zigani are frequently to be found countenances, to do justice to which would require the pencil of a second Murillo ; but exposure to the rays of the burning sun, the biting of the frost, and the pelting of the pitiless sleet and snow, destroys their beauty at a very early age ; and if in infancy their personal advantages are re- markable, their ugliness at an advanced age is no less so, for then it is loathsome, and even appalling; verifying the adage, that it requires an angel to make a demon.
A hundred years, could I live so long, would not efface from my mind the appearance of an aged Ziganskie Attaman, or Captain of Zi- gani, and his grandson, who approached me on the meadow before Novo Gorod, where 6tood the encampment of a numerous horde.
The boy was of a form and face which might have entitled him to represent Astyanax, and Hector of Troy might have pressed him to his bosom and called him his pride; but the old man was, perhaps, such a shape as Milton has alluded to, but could only describe as exe- crable— he wanted but the dark and kingly crown to have been mistaken for the monster who opposed the progress of Lucifer, whilst careering in burning arms and infernal glory to the outlet of his hellish prison.
But in speaking of Russian Gypsies, those of Moscow must not be passed over in silence. The station to which they have attained in society in that most remarkable of cities, is so far above the sphere in which the remainder of their race pass their lives, that it may be considered as a phenomenon in Gypsy his- tory, and on that account is entitled to parti- cular notice.
Those who have been accustomed to con- sider the Gypsy as a wandering outcast, in- capable of appreciating the blessings of a settled and civilized life, or, if abandoning his vagabond propensities and becoming sta- tionary, as one who never ascends higher than the condition of a low trafficker, will be surprised to learn, that amongst the Gypsies of Moscow, there are not a few who inhabit stately houses, go abroad in elegant equi- pages, and are behind the higher orders of the Russians neither in appearance nor mental acquirements. To the female part of the Gypsy colony of Moscow, is to be attributed the merit of this partial rise from degradation and abjectness, having from time immemorial so successfully cultivated the vocal art, that though in the midst of a nation by whom song is more cherished and cultivated, and its prin- ciples better understood than by any other of the civilized globe, the Gypsy choirs of Mos- cow are, by the general voice of the Russian public, admitted to be unrivalled in that most amiable of all accomplishments. It is a fact, notorious in Russia, that the celebrated Cata- lani was so enchanted with the voice of one of these Gypsy songsters, (who, after the former had displayed her noble Italian talent before a splendid audience at Moscow, stepped forward, and with an astonishing burst of almost angelic melody, so enraptured every ear that even applause forgot its duty,) that she tore from her own shoulders a shawl of Cashmire, which had been presented to her by the Faiher of Rome, and embracing the Gypsy, insisted on her acceptance of the splendid gift, saying, that it had been intended for the matchless "songster, which she now perceived she herself was not.
The sums obtained by these Gypsy females, by the exercise of their art, enable them to support their relatives in affluence and luxury; some are married to Russians, and no one who has visited Russia can but be aware that a lovely and accomplished countess, of the noble and numerous family of Tolstoy, is by birth a Zigana, and was originally one of the principal attractions of a Rommany choir at Moscow,
HUNGARIAN GYPSIES.
But it is not to be supposed that the whole of the Gypsy females at Moscow are of this high and talented description ; the majority of them, if not, entirely profligate, are cer- tainly not unimpeachable in their morals and character, and obtain their livelihood by sing- ing and dancing at taverns, whilst their hus- bands in general follow the occupation of horse-dealing.
Their favourite place of resort in the sum- mer time is Marina Rotze, a species of sylvan garden about two versts from Moscow, and thither, tempted by curiosity, I drove one fine evening. On my arrival, the Ziganas came flocking out from their little tents, and from the tractir or inn which has been erected for the accommodation of the public. Standing on the seat of the calash, I addressed them in a loud voice in the English dialect of the Rommany, of which I have some knowledge. A shrill scream of wonder was instantly raised, and welcomes and blessings were poured forth in floods of musical Rommany, though above all predominated the cry of Kak mitute kamama, — or, How we love you, — for at first they mistook me for one of their wandering brethren from the distant lands, come over the great panee or ocean to visit them.
After some conversation they commenced singing, and favoured me with many songs both in Russian and Rommany; the former were modern popular pieces, such as are ac- customed to be sung on the boards of the theatre ; but the latter were evidently of great antiquity, exhibiting the strongest marks of originality, the metaphors bold and sublime, and the metre differing from any thing of the kind which it has been my fortune to observe in Oriental or European prosody.
One of the most remarkable, and which commences thus : —
" Za mateia rosherroro odolata Bravintata,"
(or, Her head is aching with grief as if she had tasted wine,) describes the anguish of a maiden separated from her lover, and who calls for her steed —
" Tedjav manga gurraoro "—
that she may depart in quest of the lord of her bosom, and share his joys and pleasures.
A collection of these songs, with a transla- tion and vocabulary, would be no slight ac- cession to literature, and would probably throw more light on the history of this race, than any thing which has yet appeared, and as there is no want of zeal and talent in Russia amongst the cultivators of every branch of literature, and especially philology, it is only surprising that such a collection still remains a desideratum.
The religion which these singular females externally professed was the Greek, and they mostly wore crosses of copper or gold ; but when I questioned them on this subject in their native language, they laughed and said it was only to "please the Russians. Their names for God and his adversary, are Deval
and Bengel, which differ little from the Spanish Undebel and Bengi, which signify the same. I will now say something of
THE HUNGARIAN GYPSIES, OR CHINGANY.
Hungary, though a country not a tenth part so extensive as the huge colossus of the Russian empire, whose tzar reigns over a hundred lands, contains perhaps as many Gypsies, it not being uncommon to find whole villages inhabited by this race; they likewise abound in the suburbs of the towns. In Hun- gary the feudal system still exists in all its pristine barbarity; in no country does the hard hand of this oppression bear so heavy upon the lower classes, — not even in Russia. The peasants of Russia are serfs, it is true, but their condition is enviable compared with that of the same class in the other country ; they have certain rights and privileges, and are upon the whole happy and contented, whilst the Hungarians are ground to powder. Two classes are free in Hungary to do almost what they please — the nobility and — the Gypsies ; the former are above the law — the latter below it : a toll is wrung from the hands of the hard-working labourers, that most me- ritorious class, in passing over a bridge, for example, at Pesth, which is not demanded from a well dressed person — nor from the Chingany, who have frequently no dress at all — and whose insouciance stands in striking contrast with the trembling submission of the peasants. The Gypsy, wherever you find him, is an incomprehensible being, but no where more than in Hungary, where, in the midst of slavery, he is free, though apparently one step lower than the lowest slave. The habits of the Hungarian Gypsies are abominable ; their hovels appearsinks of the vilest poverty and filth, their dress is at best rags, their food frequently the vilest carrion, and occasionally, if report be true, still worse, — on which point, when speaking of the Spanish Gitanos, we shall have subsequently more to say: thus they live in filth, in rags, in nakedness, and in merrinessof heart, for no where is there more of song and dance than in an Hungarian Gypsy village. They are very fond of music, and some of the Chingany are heard to touch the violin in a manner wild, but of peculiar excellence. Parties of them have been known to exhibit even at Paris.
In Hungary, as in all parts, they are ad- dicted to horse-dealing; they are likewise tinkers, and smiths in a small way. The women are fortune-tellers, of course — both sexes thieves of the first water. They roam where they list — in a country where all other people are held under strict surveillance, no one seems to care about these Parias. The most remarkable feature, however, connected with the habits of the Chingany, consists in their foreign excursions, having plunder in view, which frequently endure for three or four years, when, if no mischance Ins be- fallen them, they return to tho;r native land — rich; where they squander .he proceeds of b2
10
THE GYPSIES,
their dexterity m mad festivals: they wander in bands of twelve or fourteen through France, even to Rome. Once, during my own wan- derings in Italy, I rested at nightfall by the &ide of a kiln, the air being piercingly cold; it was about four leagues from Genoa. Pre- sently arrived three individuals to take ad- vantage of the warmth, a man, a woman, and a lad. They soon began to discourse — and I found that they were Hungarian Gypsies; they spoke of what they had been doing, and what they had amassed; I think they men- tioned nine hundred crowns. They had com- panions in the neighbourhood, some of whom they were expecting: they took no notice of me, and conversed in their own dialect; I did not approve of their propinquity,, and rising, hastened away.
When Napoleon invaded Spain, there were not a few Hungarian Chingany in his armies: some strange encounters occurred on the field of battle between these people and the Spanish Gitanos, one of which is related in the second part of the present work. When quartered in the Spanish towns the Chingany invariably sought out their peninsular bre- thren, to whom they revealed themselves, kissing and embracing most affectionately: the Gitanos were astonished at the proficiency of the strangers in thievish arts, and looked upon them almost in the light of superior beings: "They knew the whole reckoning," is still a common expression amongst them. There was a Chinganian soldier for some time at Cordoba, of whom the Gitanos of the place still frequently discourse, whilst smoking their cigars during winter nights over their braseros.
The Hungarian Gypsies have a peculiar accent when speaking the language of the country, by which they can be instantly dis- tinguished; the same thing is applicable to the Gitanos of Spain, when speaking Spanish. In no part of the world is the Gypsy language preserved better than in Hungary.
To the above general remarks on the Hun- garian Gypsies, we shall add the following particulars, connected with them and their history, collected from various sources.
The first Gypsies, said to be about 3000 in number, made their appearance a. d., 1417, during the reign of Sigismond, emperor of the Romans and King of Hungaria, and set- tled in Moldavia, near Szuesava, with the permission of Alexander, vojvode of that country; a greater number of the adventurers J allowed during the next succeeding years, making incursions into Wallachia, Transyl- vania, and Hungary. One band in particular, guided by their vojvode Laszlo (Ladislaus,) settled in the Zips (Scepusium,) and obtained from king Sigismond, according to Katona, a. d. 1423, the writ of diploma or privilege of settling near the free and royal towns, (libera regiaque urbs, in Hungary, is consi- dered as the peculium regis, the king's own,) and on the crown estates; which privilege placed the adventurers under the king's pro- tection. At 'he same time the king invested
their vojvode with the power of settling their domestic quarrels. Pzay and Fridvaldszky quote a diploma of free migration of Wlad- islaus, which was granted to the vojvode Thomas Bolgaz and to his twenty-five Gyp- sies, living under the same tents, whom the king gave over to Sigismund, bishop of Funf- kirchen,for the particular object of preparing cannon balls and different kinds of weapons.
The Hungarian Gypsies were, for the most part, the king's own subjects, but at present they are subject to those nobles on whose estates they dwell. If they had a religion of their own at any period, they most cer- tainly have forgotten it; they generally com- ply with the religious ceremonies of the place, town, or village where they settle, without caring much about the doctrine, of which they know little or nothing.
In ancient times every tribe had in Hun- gary a particular captain and judge; in Tran- sylvania they had their vojvode, to whom they paid a tax. This tax was fixed in 1558 by law: " Vajvodae Ciganorum juxta veterem consuetudinem a singulis Ciganis nonnisi florenum unicum ultra annum exigant; ad Georgii festum denar. 50, ad Michaelis toti- dem." These vojvodes were freely chosen by them from the most distinguished families, and the new vojvode was lifted up by the people amidst deafening acclamations. They kept writs by which they had obtained privi- leges from several Transylvanian princes, and in particular from the Batorys. In 1568 and 1600 the dignity of a vojvode was abo- lished.
The empress Maria Theresa and Joseph II. made some ineffectual attempts to civilize them. In 1782 there were in Hungary 50>000 Gypsies, according to a census taken: since that time their number is said to have de- creased.
THE ENGLISH GYPSIES, OR ROMMANY.
No country appears less adapted for that wandering life, which seems so natural to these people, than England. Those wilder- nesses and forests, which they are so attached to, are not to be found there; every inch of land is cultivated, and its produce watched with a jealous eye; and as the laws against trampers, without the visible means of sup- porting themselves, are exceedingly severe, the possibility of the Gypsies existing as a distinct race, and retaining their original free and independent habits, might naturally be called in question by those who had not satis- factorily verified the fact. Yet it is a truth that, amidst all these seeming disadvantages, they not only exist there, but in no part of the world is their life more in accordance with the general idea that, the Gypsy is, like Cain, a wanderer of the earth; for in England the covered cart and the little tent are the houses of the Gypsy, and he seldom remains more than three days in the same place.
At present they are considered in some degree as a privileged people; for, though
ENGLISH GYPSIES, OR ROMMANY.
11
their way of life is unlawful, it is connived at; the law of England having discovered bjfr experience, that its utmost fury is ineffi- cient to reclaim them from their inveterate habits.
Shortly after their first arrival in England, which is upwards of three centuries since, a dreadful persecution was raised against them, the aim of which was their utter extermina- tion, for the being a Gypsy was esteemed a crime worthy of death, and the gibbets of England groaned and creaked beneath the weight of Gypsy carcasses, and the miserable survivors were literally obliged to creep into the earth in order to preserve their lives. But these days passed by; their persecutors became weary of pursuing them; they showed their heads from the holes and caves where they had hidden themselves, they ventured forth, increased in numbers, and each tribe or family choosing a particular circuit, they fairly divided the land amongst them.
In England, the male Gypsies are all deal- ers in horses, and sometimes employ their idle time in mending the tin and copper uten- sils of the peasantry; the females tell fortunes. They generally pitch their tents in the vici- nity of a village or small town by the road side, under the shelter of the hedges and trees. The climate of England is well known to be favourable to beauty, and in no part of the world is the appearance of the Gypsies so prepossessing as in that country; their complexion is dark, but not disagreeably so ; their faces are oval, their features regular, their foreheads rather low, and their hands and feet small. The men are taller than the English peasantry, and far more active. They all speak the English language with fluency, and in their gait and demeanor are easy and graceful ; in both points standing in striking contrast with the peasantry, who in speech are slow and uncouth, and in manner dogged and brutal.
The dialect of the Rommany, which they speak, though mixed with English words, may be considered as tolerably pure, from the fact that it is intelligible to the Gypsy race in the heart of Russia. Whatever crimes they may commit, their vices are few, for the men are not drunkards, nor are the women harlots ; there are no two characters which they hold in so much abhorrence, nor do any words when applied by them convey so much execration as these two.
The crimes of which these people were originally accused were various, but the prin- cipal were theft, sorcery, and causing disease among the cattle ; and there is every reason for supposing that in none of these points they were altogether guiltless.
With respect to sorcery, a thing in itself impossible, not only the English Gypsies, but the whole race have ever professed it; there- fore, whatever misery they may have suffered on that account, they may be considered as having called it down upon their own heads.
Dabbling in sorcery is in some degree the province of the female Gypsy. She affects
to tell the future, and to prepare philters by means of which love can be awakened in any individual towards any particular object ; and such is the credulity of the human race, even in the most enlightened countries, that the profits arising from these practices are great. The following is a case in point: two females, neighbours and friends, were tried some years since, in England, for the murder of their husbands. It appeared that they were in love with the same individual, and had conjointly, at various times, paid sums of money to a Gypsy woman to work charms to captivate his affections. What- ever little effect the charms might produce, they were successful in their principal object, for the person in question carried on for some time a criminal intercourse with both. The matter came to the knowledge of the husbands, who, taking means to break off this connexion, were respectively poisoned by their wives. Till the moment of convic- tion these wretched females betrayed neither emotion nor fear, but then their consternation was indescribable ; and they afterwards con- fessed that the Gypsy, who had visited them in prison, had promised to shield them from conviction by means of her art. It is there- fore not surprising that in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, when a belief in sorcery was supported by the laws of all Europe, these people were regarded as practisers of sorcery, and punished as such, when, even in the nineteenth, they still find people weak enough to place confidence in their claims to supernatural power.
The accusation of producing disease and death amongst the cattle was far from ground- less. Indeed, however strange and incredi- ble it may sound in the present day to those who are unacquainted with this caste, and the peculiar habits of the Rommanees, the practice is still occasionally pursued in Eng- land and many other countries where they are found. From this practice, when they are not detected, they derive considerable ad- vantage. Poisoning cattle is exercised by them in two ways ; by one, they merely cause disease in the animals, with the view of receiving money for curing them upon of- fering their services ; the poison is generally administered by powders cast at night into the mangers in which the animals feed: this way is entirely confined to the larger cattle, such as horses and cows. By the other, which they practise chiefly on swine, speedy death is almost invariably produced, the drug administered being of a highly intoxicating nature, and affecting the brain. They then apply at the house or farm where the disas- ter has occurred for the carcass of the animal, which is generally given them without suspi- cion, and then they feast on the flesh, which is not injured by the poison, which only af- fects the head.
The English Gypsies are constant attend- ants at the race-course ; what jockey is not? Perhaps jockeyism originated with them, and even racing, at least in England, Jockeyism
12
THE GTPS1ES.
properly implies the management of a whip, and the word jockey is neither more nor less than the term, slightly modified, by which they designate the formidable whips which they usually carry, and which are at present in general use amongst horse-traffickers, un- der the title of jockey whips. They are like- wise fond of resorting to the prize ring, and have occasionally even attained some emi- nence, as principals, in those disgraceful and brutalizing exhibitions, called pugilistic com- bats. I believe a great deal has been written on the subject of the English Gypsies, but the writers have dealt too much in generali- ties ; they have been afraid to take the Gypsy by the hand, lead him forth from the crowd, and exhibit him in the area ; he is well worth observing. When a boy of fourteen, I was present at a prize fight ; why should I hide the truth 1 It took place on a green meadow, beside a running stream, close by the old
church of E , and within a league of the
ancient town of N , the capital of one of
the eastern counties. The terrible Thurtell was present, lord of the concourse; for wherever he moved he was master, and whenever he spoke, even when in chains, every other voice was silent. He stood on the mead, grim and pale as usual, with his bruisers around. He it was, indeed, who got up the fight, as he had previously done with respect to twenty others ; it being his frequent boast that he had first introduced bruising and bloodshed amidst rural scenes, and transformed a quiet slumbering town into a den of Jews and metropolitan thieves. Some time before the commencement of the combat, three men, mounted on wild-looking horses, came dashing down the road in the direction of the meadow, in the midst of which they presently showed themselves, their horses clearing the deep ditches with wonderful alacrity. " That's Gypsy Will and his gang," lisped a Hebrew pickpocket ; " we shall have another fight." The word Gypsy was always sufficient to excite my curiosity, and I looked attentively at the new comers. I have seen Gypsies of various lands, Rus- sian, Hungarian and Turkish; and I have also seen the legitimate children of most countries of the world, but I never saw, upon the whole, three more remarkable individuals, as far as personal appearance was concerned, than the three English Gypsies who now pre- sented themselves to my eyes on that spot. Two of them had dismounted, and were hold- ing their horses by the reins. The tallest, and, at the first glance, the most interesting of the two, was almost a giant, for his height could not have been less than six feet three. It is impossible for the imagination to con- ceive any thing more perfectly beautiful than were the features of this man, and the most skilful sculptor of Greece might have taken them as his model for a hero and a god. The forehead was exceedingly lofty, — a rare thing in a Gypsy; — the nose less Roman than Gre- cian,— fine yet delicate ; the eyes large, over- hung with long drooping lashes, giving them
almost a melancholy expression ; it was only when they were highly elevated that the Gypsy glance peered out, if that can be called glance which is a strange stare, like nothing else in this world. His complexion — a beau- tiful olive; and his teeth of a brilliancy un- common even amongst these people, who have all fine teeth. He was dressed in a coarse wagoner's slop, which, however, was unable to conceal altogether the proportions of his noble and Herculean figure. He might be about twenty-eight. His companion and his captain, Gypsy Will, was, I think, fifty when he was hanged, ten years subsequently, (for I never afterwards lost sight of him,) in the front of the jail of Bury St. Edmonds. I have still present before me his bushy black hair, his black face, and his big black eyes, full and thoughtful, but fixed and staring. His dress consisted of a loose blue jockey coat, jockey boots and breeches ; in his hand a huge jockey whip, and on his head (it struck me at the time for its singularity) a broad- brimmed, high-peaked Andalusian hat, or at least one very much resembling those gene- rally worn in that province. In stature he was shorter than his more youthful compa- nion, yet he must have measured six feet at least, and was stronger built, if possible. What brawn ! — what bone ! — what legs ! — what thighs ! The third Gypsy, who re- mained on horseback, looked more like a phantom than any thing human. His com-" plexion was the colour of pale dust, and of that same colour was all that pertained to him, hat and clothes. His boots were dusty of course, for it was midsummer, and his very horse was of a dusty dun. His features were whimsically ugly, most of his teeth were gone, and as to his age, he might be thirty or sixty. He was somewhat lame and halt, but an unequalled rider when once upon his steed, which he was naturally not very soli- citous to quit. I subsequently discovered that he was considered the wizard of the gang.
I have been already prolix with respect to these Gypsies, but I will not leave them quite yet. The intended combatants at length ar- rived ; it was necessary to clear the ring, — always a troublesome and difficult task. Thur- tell went up to the two Gypsies, with whom he seemed to be acquainted, and, with his surly smile, said two or three words, which I, who was standing by, did not understand. The Gypsies smiled in return, and giving the reins of their animals to their mounted com- panion, immediately set about the task which the king of the flashmen had, as I conjecture, imposed upon them ; this they soon accom- plished. Who could stand against such fel- lows and such whips? The fight was soon over — then there was a pause. Once more Thurtell came up to the Gypsies and said something; the Gypsies looked at each other and conversed, but their words had then no meaning for my ears. The tall Gypsy shook his head — "Very well," said the other, in English, "I will— that's all."
GYPSY CLANS. CURRAPLE.
13
Then pushing the people aside, he strode to the ropes, over which he bounded into the ring, flinging his Spanish hat high into the air.
Gypsy Will.— "The best man in England for twenty pounds?"
Thurtell.— "I am backer."
Twenty pounds is a tempting sum,— and there were men that day upon the green meadow who would have shed the blood of their own fathers for the fifth of the price. But the Gypsy was not an unknown man, his prowess and strength were notorious, and no one cared to encounter him. Some of the Jews looked eager for a moment; but their sharp eyes quailed quickly before his savage glances, as he towered in the ring, his huge form dilating, and his black features con- vulsed with excitement. The Westminster bravos eyed the Gypsy askance; but the comparison, if they made any, seemed by no means favourable to themselves. "Gypsy! rurn chap.— Ugly customer,— always in train-
ing'>j Such Were the exc]anmtions which I heard, some of which at that period of my life I did not understand.
No man would fight the Gvpsy.— Yes ! a strong country fellow wished to win the stakes, and was about to fling up his hat in defiance, but he was prevented by his friends, •with— "Fool ! he'll kill you !"
As the Gypsies were mounting their horses, I heard the dusty phantom exclaim—
"Brother, you are an arrant ring-maker =and a horse-breaker ; you'll make a hempen ring to break your own neck of a horse one of these days."
They pressed their horses' flanks, again leaped over the ditches, and speedily va- nished, amidst the whirlwinds of dust which they raised upon the road.
The words of the phantom Gypsy were ominous. Gypsy Will was eventually exe- cuted for a murder committed in his early youth, in company with two English labour- ers, one of whom confessed the fact on his •death-bed. He was the head of the clan Young, which, with the clan Smith, or Cur- raple, still haunts two of the eastern coun- ties.
The name Curraple is a favourite one amongst the Gypsies. It excited the curi- osity of the amiable White, of Selbourne, who m one of his letters mentions it as per- taining to the clan Stanley. He conceived it to be partly Greek, from the termination aple, or ople, which put him in mind of jtoak. Curraple,* however, means a smith — a name very appropriate to a Gypsy.
THE GYPSIES OP THE EAST, OR ZINGARRI.
What has been said of the Gypsies of Eu- rope is, to a considerable extent, applicable to their brethren in the East, or as t'hev are called Zingarri ; they are either found wan-
* The root is •• curaw," to strike, hammer, &c. Curra- ple is likewise a legitimate Sanscrit word, signifying a jxoord.
.3
dering amongst the deserts or mountains, or settled in towns, supporting themselves by horse-dealing or jugglery, by music and song. In no part of the East are they more nume- rous than in Turkey, especially in Constan- tinople, where the females frequently enter the harems of the great, pretending to cure children of "the evil eye," and to interpret the dreams of the women. They are not un- frequently seen in the coffee-houses, exhibit- ing their figures in lascivious dances to the tune of various instruments; yet these fe- males are by no means unchaste, however their manners and appearance may denote the contrary, and either Turk or Christian who, stimulated by their songs and voluptu- ous movements, should address them with proposals of a dishonourable nature, would, in all probability, meet with a decided re- pulse.
Amongst the Zingarri are not a few who deal in precious stones, and some who vend poisons; and the most remarkable individual whom it has been my fortune to encounter amongst the Gypsies, whether of the Eastern or Western world, was a person who dealt in both these articles. He was fc native of Constantinople, and in the pursuit of his trade had visited the most remote and remarkable portions of the world. He had traversed alone and on foot the greatest part of India; he spoke several dialects of the Malay, and understood the original language of Java, that isle more fertile in poisons than even " far Iolchos and Spain." From what 1 could learn from him, it appeared that his jewels were in less request than his drugs, though, he assured me that there was scarcely a Bey or Satrap in Persia or Turkey whom he had not supplied with both. I have seen this in- dividual in more countries than one, for he flits over the world like the shadow of a cloud, the last time at Granada in Spain, whither he had come after paying a visit to his Gitano brethren in the presidio of Ceuta.
Few Eastern authors have spoken of the Zingarri, notwithstanding they have been known in the East for many centuries; amongst the few, none has made more curi- ous mention of them than Arabschah, in a chapter of his life of Timour or Tamerlane, which is deservedly considered as one of the three classic works of Arabian literature. This passage, which, while it serves to illus- trate the craft, if not the valour of the con- queror of half the world, offers some curious particulars as to Gypsy life in the East at a remote period, will scarcely be considered out of place if reproduced here, and the fol- lowing is as close a translation of it as the metaphorical style of the original will allow.
"There were in Samarcand numerous fa- milies of Zingarri of various descriptions; some were wrestlers, others gladiators, others pugilists. These peoplo were much at vari- ance, so that hostilities and battling were con- tinually arising amongst them. Each band had its chief and subordinate officers; and it came to pass that Timour and the power
14
THE GYPSIES.
which he possessed filled them with dread, for they knew that he was aware of their crimes and disorderly way of life. Now it was the custom of Timour, on departing upon his expeditions, to leave a viceroy in Samar- cand ; but no sooner had he left the city, than forth marched these bands, and giving battle to the viceroy, deposed him and took posses- sion of the government, so that on the return of Timour he found order broken, confusion reigning, and his throne overturned, and then he had much to do in restoring things to their former state, and in punishing or pardoning the guilty; but no sooner did he depart again to his wars, and to his various other con- cerns, than they broke out into the same ex- cesses, and this they repeated no less than three times, and he at length laid a plan for their utter extermination, and it was the fol- lowing. He commenced building a wall, and he summoned unto him the people small and great, and he allotted to every man his place, and to every workman his duty, and he sta- tioned the Zingarri and their chieftains apart; and in one particular spot he placed a band of soldiers, and he commanded them to kill whomsoever he should send to them ; and having done so, he called to him the heads of thelpeople, and he filled the cup for them, and placed upon them a splendid vest ; and when the turn came to the Zingarri, he like- wise pledged one of them, and bestowed a vest upon him, and sent him with a message to the soldiers, who, as soon as he arrived, tore from him his vest and stabbed him, pour- ing forth the gold of his heart into the pan of destruction,* and in this way they continued until the last of them was destroyed; and by that blow he exterminated their race, and their traces, and from that time forward there were no more rebellions in Samarcand."
It has of late years been one of the favour- ite theories of the learned, that Timour's in-
life.
An eastern image tantamount to the taking away of
vasion of Hindostan, and the cruelties com- mitted by his savage hordes in that part of the world, caused a vast number of Hindoos to abandon their native land, and that the Gypsies of the present day are the descend- ants of those exiles who wended their weary- way to the West. Now provided the above passage in the work of Arabschah be entitled to credence, the opinion that Timour was the cause of the expatriation and subsequent wan- dering life of these people, must be abandoned as untenable. At the time he is stated by the Arabian writer to have annihilated the Gypsy hordes of Samarcand, he had but just com- menced his career of conquest and devasta- tion, and had not even directed his thoughts to the invasion of India; yet at this early pe- riod of the history of his life we find families of Zingarri established at Samarcand, living much in the same manner as others of the race have subsequently done in various towns of Europe and the East; but supposing the event here narrated to be a fable, or at best a floating legend, it appears singular that, if they left their native land to escape from Ti- mour, they should never have mentioned in the Western world the name of that scourge of the human race, nor detailed the history of their flight and sufferings, which assuredly would have procured them sympathy; the ra- vages of Timour being already but too well known in Europe. That they came from In- dia is much easier to prove than that they fled before the fierce Mongol.
Such people as the Gypsies, whom the Bishop of Forli, in the year 1422, only six- teen years subsequent to the invasion of In- dia, describes as a " raging rabble, of brutal and animal propensities,"* are not such as generally abandon their country on foreign
*Gentes non multum morigeratjc,sed quasi bruta ann ma'ia et furentes. See Vol. xxii. of the Supplement to the works of Muratori, p. 890.
THE ZINCALI.
CHAPTER I.
OP THE SPANISH GYPSIES IN GENERAL. — NAMES.— ARRIVAL — EGYPTIAN PENITENTS. PECULIARITIES OF SPAIN. PROVINCES
. WHICH THE GYPSIES PRINCIPALLY FRE- QUENTED.
Gitanos, or Egyptians, is the name by which the Gypsies have been most generally known in Spain, in the ancient as well as in the modern period, but various other names have been and still are applied to them ; for example, New Castilians, Germans, and Fle- mings ; the first of which titles probably ori- ginated after the name of Gitano had begun to be considered a term of reproach and in- famy. They may have thus designated them- selves from an unwillingness to utter, when speaking of themselves, the detested expres- sion " Gitano," a word which seldom escapes their mouths ; or it may have been applied to them first by the Spaniards, in their mu- tual dealings and communication, as a term less calculated to wound their feelings and to beget a spirit of animosity than the other; but, however it might have originated, New Castilian, in course of time, became a term of little less infamy than Gitano; for, by the law of Philip the Fourth, both terms are for- bidden to be applied to them under severe penalties.
That they were called Germans may be accounted for either by the supposition that their generic name of Rommany was misun- derstood and mispronounced by the Spa- niards, amongst whom they came, or from the fact of their having passed through Ger- many in their way to the south, and their bearing passports and letters of safety from the various German states. The title of Fle- mings, by which at the present day they are known in various parts of Spain, would pro- bably never have been bestowed upon them but from the circumstance of their having been designated or believed to be Germans as German and Fleming are considered by the ignorant as synonymous terms.
Amongst themselves they have three words to distinguish them and their race in gene- ral : Zincalo, Romano, and Chai ; of the first two of which something has been already said.
They likewise call themselves "Cales," by which appellation indeed they are tolera-
bly well known by the Spaniards, and which is merely the plural termination of the com* pound word Zincalo, and signifies, The black men. Chai is a modification of the word Chal, which, by the Gitanos of Estremadurar is applied to Egypt, and in many parts of Spain is equivalent to " Heaven," and which is perhaps a modification of " Cheros," the word for heaven in other dialects of the Gyp- sy language. Thus Chai may denote, The men of Egypt, or, The sons of Heaven. It is, however, right to observe, that amongst the Gitanos, the word Chai has frequently no other signification than the simple one of " children."
It is impossible to state for certainty the exact year of their first appearance in Spam ; but it is reasonable to presume that it was early in the fifteenth century ; as in the year 1417 numerous bands entered France from the north-east of Europe, and speedily spread themselves over the greatest part of that country. Of these wanderers a French au- thor has left the following graphic descrip- tion :* — . .
"On the 17th of April, 1427, appeared in Paris twelve penitents of Egypt, driven from thence by the Saracens; they brought in their company one hundred and twenty per- sons ; they took up their quarters in La Cha- pelle, whither the people flocked in crowds to visit them. They had their ears pierced, from which depended a ring of silver; their hair was black and crispy, and their women were filthy to a degree, and were sorceresses who told fortunes."
Such were the people, who, after tra- versing France and scaling the sides of the Pyrenees, poured down in various bands upon the sun-burnt plains of Spain. Wherever they had appeared they had been looked upon as a curse and a pestilence, and with much reason. Either unwilling or unable to devote themselves to any laborious or useful occupation, they came like flights of wasps to prey upon the fruits which their more in- dustrious fellow beings amassed by the toil of their hands and the sweat of their fore- heads ; the natural result being, that wherever they arrived, their follow creatures banded themselves against them. Terrible laws were enacted soon after their appearance ID France, calculated to put a stop to their
* As quoted by Hcrvas vol. iii. p. 30G.
Catalogo dc las Lenguas,
15
16
THE ZINCALI.
frauds and dishonest propensities; wherever their hordes were found they were attacked by the incensed rustics or by the armed hand of justice, and those who were not massacred on the spot, or could not escape by flight, were, without a shadow of trial, either hanged on the next tree, or sent to serve for life in the galleys ; or if females or children, either scourged or mutilated.
The consequence of this severity, which, considering the manners and spirit of the time, is scarcely to be wondered at, was the speedy disappearance of the Gypsies from the soil of France.
Many returned by the way they came, to Germany, Hungary, and the woods and fo- rests of Bohemia, but there is little doubt that by far the greatest portion found a refuge in the Peninsula, a country which, though by no means so rich and fertile as the one they had quitted, nor offering so wide and ready a field for the exercise of those fraudulent arts for which their race had become so infa- mously notorious, was nevertheless, in many respects, suitable and congenial to them. If there were less gold and silver in the purses of the citizens to reward the dexterous han- dler of the knife and scissors amidst the crowd in the market place; if fewer sides of fatted swine graced the ample chimney of the labourer in Spain, than in the neighbour- ing country ; if fewer beeves bellowed in the plains, and fewer sheep bleated upon the hills, there were far better opportunities afforded of indulging in wild independence. Should the halberded bands of the city be ordered out to quell, seize, or exterminate them ; should the alcalde of the village cause the tocsin to be rung, gathering together the villanos for a similar purpose, the wild sierra was generally at hand, which, with its wind- ing paths, its caves, its frowning precipices, and ragged thickets, would offer to them a secure refuge where they might laugh to scorn the rage of their baffled pursuers, and from which they might emerge either to fresh districts or to those which they had left, to repeat their ravages when opportunity served.
After crossing the Pyrenees, a very short time elapsed before the Gypsy hordes had bivouacked in the principal provinces of Spain. There can, indeed, be little doubt that, shortly after their arrival, they made themselves perfectly acquainted with all the secrets of the land, and that there was scarce- ly a nook or retired corner within Spain, from which the smoke of their fires had not arisen, or where their cattle had not grazed. People, however, so acute as they have al- ways .proverbially been, would scarcely be slow in distinguishing the provinces most adapted to their manner of life, and most calculated to afford them opportunities of practising those arts to which they were mainly indebted for their subsistence ; the savage hills of Biscay, of Galicia, and the Asturias, whose inhabitants were almost as poor as themselves, which possessed no
superior breed of horses or mules, from amongst which they might pick and purloin many a gallant beast, and having transformed by their dexterous scissors, impose him again upon his rightful master for a high price, — such provinces, where, moreover, provisions were hard to be obtained, even by pilfering hands, could scarcely be supposed to offer strong temptations to these roving visiters to settle down in, or to vex and harass by a long sojourn.
Valencia and Murcia found far more favour in their eyes; a far more fertile soil, and wealthier inhabitants, were better calculated to entice them ; there was a prospect of plunder, and likewise a prospect of safety and refuge, should the dogs of justice be roused against them. If there were the popu- lous town and village in those lands, there was likewise the lone waste, and uncultivated spot, to which they could retire when danger threatened them. Still more suitable to them must have been La Mancha, a land of tillage, of horses, and of mules, skirted by its brown sierra, ever eager to afford its shelter to their dusky race. Equally suitable, Estremadura and New Castile; but far, far more, Andalu- sia, with its three kingdoms, Jaen, Granada, and Seville, one of which was still possessed by the swarthy Moor — Andalusia, the land of the proud steed and the stubborn mule, the land of the savage sierra and the fruitful and cultivated plain : to Andalusia they hied, in bands ot thirties and sixties; the hoofs of their asses might be heard clattering in the passes of the stony hills; the girls might be seen bounding in lascivious dance in the streets of many a town, and the beldames standing beneath the eaves telling the "bue- na ventura" to many a credulous female dupe ; the men the while chaffered in the fair and market-place with the labourers and cha- lanes, casting significant glances on each other, or exchanging a word or two in Rom- many, whilst they placed some uncouth ani- mal in a particular posture which served to conceal its ugliness from the eyes of the chapman. Yes, of all provinces of Spain, Andalusia was the most frequented by the Gitano race, and in Andalusia they most abound at the present day, though no longer as restless independent wanderers of the fields and hills, but as residents in villages and towns, — especially in Seville.
CHAPTER II.
MANNER OF LIFE. PREDATORY HABITS.
THE TRAVELLER. — JEWS AND GYPSIES.
THE FORGE. — THE SPARKS. — GYPSY
COUNTS. MARTIN DEL RIO. — FACILITY
IN SPEAKING LANGUAGES. PROVERBS-
Having already stated to the reader at what period and by what means these wan-
PREDATORY HABITS.
17
derers introduced themselves into Spain, we shall now say something concerning their manner of life.
It would appear that, for many years after their arrival in the Peninsula, their manners and habits underwent no change; they were wanderers, in the strictest sense of the word, and lived much in the same way as their brethren exist in the present day in England, Russia, and Bessarabia, with the exception perhaps of being more reckless, mischievous, and having less respect for the laws ; it is true that their superiority in wickedness in these points may have been more the effect of the moral state of the country in which they were, than of any other operating cause.
Arriving in Spain with a predisposition to every species of crime and villany, they were not likely to be improved or reclaimed by the example of the people with whom they were about to mix ; nor was it probable that they would entertain much respect for laws which, from time immemorial, have principally served, not to protect the honest and useful members of society, but to enrich those in- trusted with the administration of them. Thus, if they came thieves, it was not pro- bable that they would become ashamed of the title of thief in Spain, where the officers of justice were ever willing to shield an of- fender on receiving the iargest portion of the booty obtained. If on their arrival they held the lives of others in very low estima- tion, could it be expected that they would become gentle as lambs in a land where blood had its price, and the shedder of blood was seldom executed unless he was poor and friendless, and unable to cram with ounces of yellow gold the greedy hands of the pur- suers of blood, — the alguazil and escribano; therefore, if the Spanish Gypsies have been more bloody and more wolfishly eager in the pursuit of booty than those of their race in most other regions, the cause must be attri- buted to their residence in a country unsound in every branch of its civil polity, where right has ever been in less esteem, and wrong in less disrepute, than in any other part of the world.
However, if the moral state of Spain was not calculated to have a favourable effect on the habits and pursuits of the Gypsies, their manners were as little calculated to operate beneficially, in any point of view, on the country where they had lately arrived. Di- vided into numerous bodies, frequently for- midable in point of number, their presence was an evil and a curse in whatever quarter they directed their steps. As might be ex- pected, the labourers, who in all countries are the most honest, most useful and merito- rious class, were the principal sufferers ; their mules and horses were stolen, carried away to distant fairs, and there disposed of, per- haps, to individuals destined to be deprived of them in a similar manner; whilst their flocks of sheep and goats were laid under requisition to assuage the hungry cravings of these thievish cormorants.
C
It was not uncommon for a large band or tribe to encamp in the vicinity of a remote village scantily peopled, and to remain there until, like a flight of locusts, they had con- sumed every thing which the inhabitants possessed for their support; or until they were scared away by the approach of justice, or by an army of rustics assembled from the surrounding country. Then would ensue the hurried march; the women and children, mounted on lean but spirited asses, would scour along the plains fleeter than the wind; ragged and savage-looking men, wielding the scourge and goad, would scamper by their side or close behind, whilst perhaps a small party on strong horses, armed with rusty matchlocks or sabres, would bring up the rear, threatening the distant foe, and now and then saluting them with a hoarse blast from the Gypsy horn : —
" O, when I sit my courser bold,
My bantling in my rear, And in my hand my musket hold—
O how they quake with fear."
Let us for a moment suppose some unfor- tunate traveller, mounted on a handsome mule or beast of some value, meeting, un- armed and alone, such a rabble rout at the close of eve, in the wildest part, for example, of La Mancha; we will suppose that he is journeying from Seville to Madrid, and that he has left, at a considerable distance behind him, the gloomy and horrible passes of the Sierra Morena; his bosom, which, for some time past, has been contracted with dreadful forebodings, is beginning to expand ; his blood, which had been congealed in his veins, is beginning to circulate warmly and freely ; he is fondly anticipating the still distant Po- sada and savoury omelet. The sun is sink- ing rapidly behind the savage and uncouth hills in his rear; he has reached the bottom of a small valley, where runs a rivulet at which he allows his tired animal to drink ; he is about to ascend the side of the bill; his eyes are turned upwards; suddenly he be- holds strange and uncouth forms at the top of the ascent — the sun descending slants its rays upon red cloaks, with here and there a turbaned head, or long streaming hair. The traveller hesitates, but reflecting that he is no longer in the mountains, and that in the. open road there is no danger of banditti, he- advances. In a moment he is in the midst of the Gypsy group, in a moment there is a general halt ; fiery eyes are turned upon him replete with an expression which only the eyes of the Roma possess, then ensues a jabber in a language or jargon which is strange to the ears of the traveller, at last an ugly urchin springs from the crupper of a halting mule, and in a lisping accent entreats charity in the name of the Virgin and the Majoro. The traveller, with a faltering hand, produces his purse, and is proceeding to loosen its strings, but he accomplishes not his purpose, for struck violently by a huge knotted club in an unseen hand, he tumbles headlong from his mule. Next morning a naked corse, be-
18
THE ZINCALI.
smeared with brains and blood, is found by an arriero : and within a week a simple cross records the event, according to the custom of Spain.
" Below there in the dusky pass Was wrought a murder dread;
The murdered fell upon the grass, Away the murderer fled."
To many, such a scene as above described, will appear purely imaginary, or at least a mass of exaggeration, but many such anec- dotes are related by old Spanish writers of these people ; they traversed the country in gangs ; they were what the Spanish law has styled Abigeos and Salteadores de Camino, cattle-stealers and highwaymen ; though, in the latter character, they never rose to any considerable eminence. True it is that they would not hesitate to attack or even murder the unarmed and defenceless traveller, when they felt assured of obtaining booty with little or no risk to themselves; but they were not by constitution adapted to rival those bold and daring banditti of whom so many terrible anecdotes are related in Spain and Italy, and who have acquired their renown by the daunt- less daring which they have invariably dis- played in the pursuit of plunder.
The Gypsies, though not cowardly, and capable of meeting death, when inevitable, with as much resolution as any people in the world, have no abstract love for danger, and none of that chivalrous spirit which is as often found in the bandit chief as in the leader of mighty armies ; their leading pas- sion is gain, but only by fraudulent and in- significant means, for, in general, their minds are incapable of conceiving any great and extensive project. In some points they re- semble the Jews ; they have perhaps some of the same feeling which has ever prevented the latter from excelling as warriors, for though their history is the most ancient and most authentic of any, wre can find amongst them no character who has excelled in war- like qualities, and in whose life and death the poet would find food for his muse, if we ex- cept Saul and his son Jonathan, the latter of whom is the most brave and amiable, and the former the most singularly romantic charac- ter in the annals of the Jewish race. The Jew, again, is equally rapacious as the Gyp- sy; but oh, what a difference in the means which he adopts for satisfying his craving for gold ! How stupendous are his plans, and how vast are the mental resources which he displays in putting them into execution ! And our wonder increases when we reflect that some of the very individuals, whose whole life and energy seemed to be solely devoted to piling up gold and acquiring fortunes, which the haughtiest kings have envied, were men profoundly versed in learning the most mystical, singular, and bewildering, learning in comparison with which the lore of the Buddhists and Brahmins is simple and easy; 6uch is the Rabbinical with its dusky cabala. The most profound of the Rabbins was Abar- bcr.°l, the Spanish Jew, the confidant and
adviser of the most powerful monarchs of his time, and who acquired at different pe- riods of his life three fortunes, each so gi- gantic, as never to have been rivalled by the riches of any one of his brethren, however great, either before or since.
Besides trafficking in horses and mules, and now and then attacking and plundering travellers upon the highway, the Gypsies of Spain appear, from a very early period, to have plied occasionally the trade of the black- smith, and to have worked in iron, forming rude implements of domestic and agricultural use, which they disposed of, either for pro- visions or money, in the neighbourhood of those places where they had taken up their temporary residence. As their bands were composed of numerous individuals, there is no improbability in assuming that to every member was allotted that branch of labour in which he was most calculated to excel. The most important, and that which required the greatest share of cunning and address, was undoubtedly that of the chalan or jockey, who frequented the fairs with the beasts which he had obtained by various means, but generally by theft. Highway robbery, though occasionally committed by all jointly or seve- rally, was probably the peculiar department of the boldest spirits of the gang; whilst wield- ing the hammer and tongs was abandoned to those who, though possessed of athletic forms, were perhaps, like Vulcan, lame, or from some particular cause, moral or physical, unsuited for the other two very respectable avocations. The forge was generally placed in the heart of some mountain abounding in wood ; the gaunt smiths felled a tree, per- haps with the very axes which their own sturdy hands had hammered at a former pe- riod ; with the wood thus procured, they pre- pared the charcoal which their labour de- manded. Everything is in readiness; the bellows puff until the coal is excited to a furious glow; the metal hot, pliant, and duc- tile, is laid on the anvil, round which stands the Cyclop group, their hammers upraised; down they descend successively one, two, three, the sparks are scattered on every side. The sparks —
" More than a hundred lovely daughters I see produced at one time, fiery as roses, in one moment they expire gracefully circumvolving."*
The anvil rings beneath the thundering stroke, hour succeeds hour, and still endures the hard sullen toil.
One of the most remarkable features in the history of Gypsies is the striking similarity of their pursuits in every region of the globe to which they have penetrated ; they are not merely alike in limb and in feature, in the cast and expression of the eye, in the colour of the hair, in their walk and gait, but every
• We have found this beautiful metaphor both in Gyp- sy and Spanish; it runs thus in the former language;— " Las Muchis. (The Sparks.)
" Bus de eres chabalas orchiris man dique a yes chiro purelar sistilias sata rujins, y or sisli c&rjibal diuando trutas discandaa."
THE BOOKSELLER OF LOGRONO.
19
where they seem to exhibit the same ten- dencies, and to hunt for their bread by the same means as if they were not of the human but rather of the animal species, and in lieu of reason were endowed with a kind of in- stinct which assists them to a very limited extent and no farther.
In no part of the world are they found en- gaged in the cultivation of the earth, or in the service of a regular master; but in all lands they are jockeys, or thieves, or cheats, and if ever they devote themselves to any toil or trade, it is assuredly in every material point one and the same. We have found them above, in the heart of a wild mountain, ham- mering iron, and manufacturing from it in- struments either for their own use or that of the neighbouring towns and villages. They may be seen employed in a similar manner in the plains of Russia, or in the bosom of its eternal forests ; and whoever inspects the site where a horde of Gypsies has encamped, in the grassy lanes beneath the hazel bushes of merry England, is generally sure to find relics of tin and other metal, avouching that they have there been exercising the arts of the tinker or smith. Perhaps nothing speaks more forcibly for the antiquity of this sect or caste than the tenacity with which they have uniformly preserved their peculiar customs, since the period of their becoming generally known ; for, unless their habits had become a part of their nature, which could only have been effected by a strict devotion to them through a long succession of generations, it is not to be supposed that after their arrival in civilized Europe they would have retained and cherished them, precisely in the same manner, in the various countries where they found an asylum.
Each band or family of the Spanish Gypsies had its Captain, or, as he was generally de- signated, its Count. Don Juan de Quinones, who, in a small volume, published in 1632, has written some details respecting their way of life, says : " They roam about, divided into families and troops, each of which has its head or Count; and to fill this office they choose the most valiant and courageous in- dividual amongst them, and the one endowed with the greatest strength. He must at the same time be crafty and sagacious, and adapted in every respect to govern them. It is he who settles their differences and disputes, even when they are residing in a place where there is a regular justice. He heads them at night when they go out to plunder the flocks, or to rob travellers on the highway; and what- ever they steal or plunder they divide amongst them, always allowing the captain a third part of the whole."
These Counts being elected for such quali- ties as promised to be useful to their troop or family, were consequently liable to be deposed if at any time their conduct was not calculated to afford satisfaction to their subjects. The office was not hereditary, and though it carried along with it partial privileges, was both toil- some and dangerous. Should the plans for
plunder, which it was the duty of the Count to form, miscarry in the attempt to execute them ; should individuals of the gang fall into the hand of justice, and the Count be unable to devise a method to save their lives or ob- tain their liberty, the blame was cast at the Count's door, and he was in considerable danger of being deprived of his insignia of authority, which consisted not so much in ornaments or in dress, as in hawks and hounds with which the Senor Count took the diver- sion of hunting when he thought proper. As the ground which he hunted over was not his own, he incurred some danger of coming in contact with the lord of the soil, attended, perhaps, by his armed followers. There is a tradition, (rather apocryphal, it is true,) that a Gitano chief, once pursuing this amuse- ment, was encountered by a real Count, who is styled Count Pepe. An engagement en- sued between the two parties, which ended in the Gypsies being worsted, and their chief left dyingon the field. The slain chief leaves a son, who, at the instigation of his mother, steals the infant heir of his father's enemy, who, reared up amongst the Gypsies, becomes a chief, and, in process of time, hunting over the same ground, slays Count Pepe in the very spot where the blood of the Gypsy had been poured out. This tradition is alluded to in the following stanza: —
" I have a gallant mare in stall,
My mother gave that mare That I might seek Count Pepe's hall
And steal his son and heir."
Martin Del Rio, in his "Tractatus de Magia," speaks of the Gypsies and their Counts to the following effect: " When, in the year 1584, 1 was marching in Spain with the regiment, a multitude of these wretches were infesting the fields. It happened that the feast of Corpus Domini was being cele- brated, and they requested to be admitted into the town, that they might dance in honour of the sacrifice, as was customary; they did so, but about mid-day a great tumult arose, owing to the many thefts which the women com- mitted, whereupon they fled out of the su- burbs, and assembled about St. Mark's, the magnificent mansion and hospital of the knights of St. James, where the ministers of justice attempting to seize them were repulsed by force of arms ; nevertheless, all of a sud- den, and I know not how, every thing was hushed up. At this time they had a Count, a fellow who spoke the Castilian idiom with as much purity as if he had been a native of Toledo ; he was acquainted with all the ports of Spain, and all the difficult and broken ground of the provinces. He knew the exact strength of every city, and who were the principal people in each, and the exact amount of their property; there was nothing relating to the state, however secret, that he was not acquainted with ; nor did he make a mystery of his knowledge, but publicly boasted of it."
From the passage quoted above, we learn that the Gitanos in the ancient times were considered as foreigners who prowled about
20
THE ZINCALI.
the country; indeed, in many of the laws which at various times have been promulgated against them, they are spoken of as Egyptians, and as such commanded to leave Spain, and return to their native country; at one time they undoubtedly were foreigners in Spain, foreigners by birth, foreigners by language ; but at the time they are mentioned by the worthy Del Rio they were certainly not en- titled to the appellation. True it is that they spoke a language, amongst themselves, unin- telligible to the rest of the Spaniards, from whom they differed considerably in feature and complexion, as they still do; but if being born in a country, and being bred there, con- stitute a right to be considered a native of that country, they had as much claim to the ap- pellation of Spaniards as the worthy author himself. Del Rio mentions as a remarkable circumstance, the fact of the Gypsy Count speaking Castilian with as much purity as a native of Toledo, whereas it is by no means improbable that the individual in question was a native of that town ; but the truth is, at the time we are speaking of, they were in general believed to be not only foreigners, but by means of sorcery to have acquired the power of speaking all languages with equal facility; and Del Rio, who was a believer in magic, and wrote one of the most curious and erudite treatises on the subject ever penned, had perhaps adopted that idea, which possi- bly originated from their speaking most of the languages and dialects of the peninsula, which they picked up in their wanderings. That the Gypsy chief was so well ac- quainted with every town of Spain, and the broken and difficult ground, can cause but little surprise, when we reflect that the life which the Gypsies led, was one above all others calculated to afford them that know- ledge. They were continually at variance with justice, they were frequently obliged to seek shelter in the inmost recesses of the hills; and when their thievish pursuits led them to the cities, they naturally made them- selves acquainted with the names of the prin- cipal individuals, in hopes of plundering them. Doubtless the chief possessed all this species of knowledge in a superior degree, as it was his courage, acuteness, and experience alone which placed him at the head of his tribe, though Del Rio from this circumstance wishes to infer, that the Gitanos were spies sent by foreign foes, and with some simplicity inquires "Quo aut cui rei hsec curiosa exploratio? nonne compescenda vagamundorum hsBC cu- riositas, etiam si solum peregrini et inculpatse vitro."
With the Counts rested the management and direction of these remarkable societies ; it was they who determined their marches, counter-marches, advances, and retreats ; what was to be attempted or avoided; what individuals were to be admit.fpd into the fel- lowship and privileges of the Gitanos, or who were to be excluded from their society; they settled disputes and sat in judgment over offences. The greatest crimes, according to
the Gypsy code, were a quarrelsome disposi- tion, and revealing the secrets of the brother- hood. By this code the members were for- bidden to eat, drink, or sleep in the house of a Busno, which signifies any person who is not of the sect of the Gypsies, or to marry out of that sect; they were likewise not to teach the language of Roma to any but those who, by birth, or inauguration, belonged to that sect; they were enjoined to relieve their brethren in distress at any expense or peril ; they were to use a peculiar dress, which is frequently alluded to in the Spanish laws, but the particulars of which are not stated ; and they were to cultivate the gift of speech to the utmost possible extent, and never to lose any thing which might be obtained by a loose and deceiving tongue, to encourage which they had many excellent proverbs, for ex- ample—
"The poor fool who closes his mouth never winneth a dollar."
" The river which runneth with sound, bears along with it stones and water."
CHAPTER III.
EXCESSES OF THE GITANOS. — THE BOOKSELL- ER OF LOGRONO.
The Gitanos not unfrequently made their appearance in considerable numbers, so as to be able to bid defiance to any force which could be assembled against them on a sudden ; whole districts thus became a prey to them, and were plundered and devastated.
It is said that, in the year 1018, more than 800 of these wretches scoured the country between Castile and Aragon, committing the most enormous crimes. The royal council despatched regular troops against them, who experienced some difficulty in dispersing them.
But we now proceed to touch upon an event which forms an era in the history of the Gi- tanos of Spain, and which for wildness and singularity throws all other events connected with them and their race, wherever found, entirely into the shade.
THE BOOKSELLER OF LOGRONO.
About the middle of the sixteenth century, there resided one Francisco Alvarez in the city of Logrono, the chief town of Rioja, a province which borders on Aragon. He was a man above the middle age, sober, reserved, and in general absorbed in thought ; he lived near the great church, and obtained a liveli- hood by selling printed books and manuscripts in a small shop. He was a very learned man, and was continually reading in the books which he was in the habit of soiling, and some of these books were in foreign tongues and characters, so foreign indeed, that none but himself and some of his friends, the canons,
THE BOOKSELLER OF LOGRONO.
21
could understand them ; he was much visited by the clergy, who were his principal custo- mers, and took much pleasure in listening to his discourse.
He had been a considerable traveller in his youth, and had wandered through all Spain, visiting the various provinces and the most remarkable cities.
It was likewise said that he had visited Italy and Barbary. He was, however, inva- riably silent with respect to his travels, and whenever the subject was mentioned to him, the gloom and melancholy increased which usually clouded his features.
One day, in the commencement of autumn, he was visited by a priest, with whom he had long been intimate, and for whom he had always displayed a greater respect and liking than for any other acquaintance. The eccle- siastic found him even more sad than usual, and there was a haggard paleness upon his countenance which alarmed his visiter. The good priest made affectionate inquiries re- specting the health of his friend, and whether any thing had of late occurred to give him un- easiness; adding, at the same time, that he had long suspected that some secret Jay heavy upon his mind, which he now conjured him to reveal, as life was uncertain, and it was very possible that he might be quickly sum- moned from earth into the presence of his Maker.
The bookseller continued for some time in gloomy meditation, till at last he broke silence in these words: — "It is true I have a secret which weighs heavy upon my mind, and which I am still loath to reveal ; but I have a pre- sentiment that my end is approaching, and that a heavy misfortune is about to fall upon this city : I will therefore unburden myself, for it were now a sin to remain silent.
"I am, as you are aware, a native of this town, which I first left when I went to ac- quire an education at Salamanca ; ] continued there until I became a licentiate, when I quitted the university and strolled through Spain, supporting myself in general by touch- ing the guitar, according to the practice of penniless students; my adventures were nu- merous, and I frequently experienced great poverty. Once, whilst making my way from Toledo to Andalusia through the wild moun- tains, I fell in with and was made captive by a band of the people called Gitanos, or wan- dering Egyptians; they in general lived amongst these wilds, and plundered or mur- dered every person whom they met. I should probably have been assassinated by them, but my skill in music perhaps saved my life. I continued with them a considerable time, till at last they persuaded me to become one of them, whereupon I was inaugurated into their society with many strange and horrid cere- monies, and having thus become a Gitano, I went with them to plunder and assassinate upon the roads.
* " The Count or head man of these Gitanos
had an only daughter, about my own age ; she
was very beautiful, but, at the same time, ex-
4 C
ceedingly strong and robust; this Gitana was given to me as a wife or cadjee, and I lived with her several years, and she bore me chil- dren.
"My wife was an arrant Gitana, and in her all the wickedness of her race seemed to be concentrated. At last her father was killed in an affray with the troopers of the Hermandad, whereupon my wife and myself succeeded to the authority which he had formerly exercised in the tribe. We had at first loved each other, but at last the Gitano life, with its accompanying wickedness, be- coming hateful to my eyes, my wife, who was not slow in perceiving my altered dispo- sition, conceived for me the most deadly ha- tred; apprehending that I meditated with- drawing myself from the society, and perhaps betraying the secrets of the band, she formed a conspiracy against hip, and, at one time, be- ing opposite the Moorish coast, I was seized and bound by the other Gitanos, conveyed across the sea, and delivered as a slave into the hands of the Moors.
"I continued for a long time in slavery in various parts of Morocco and Fez, until I was at length redeemed from my state of bondage by a missionary friar who paid my ransom. With him I shortly after departed for Italy, of which he was a native. In that country I remained some years, until a longing to re- visit my native land seized me, when I re- turned to Spain and established myself here, where I have since lived by vending books, many of which I brought from the strange lands which I visited. I kept my history, however, a profound secret, being afraid of exposing myself to the laws in force against the Gitanos, to which I should instantly be- come amenable were it once known that I had at any time been a member of this de- testable sect.
" My present wretchedness, of which you have demanded the cause, dates from yester- day; I had been on a short journey to the Au- gustine convent, which stands on the plain in the direction of Saragossa, carrying with me an Arabian book, which a learned monk was desirous of seeing. Night overtook me ere I could return. I speedily lost my way, and wandered about until I came near a dilapi- dated edifice with which I was acquainted ; I was about to proceed in the direction of the town, when I heard voices within the ruined walls ; I listened, and recognised the lan- guage of the abhorred Gitanos ; I was about to fly, when a word arrested me. It was Drao, which in their tongue signifies the hor- rid poison, with which this race are in the habit of destroying the cattle : they now said that the men of Logrono should rue the Drao which they had been casting. I heard no more, but fled. What increased my fear was, that in the words spoken, I thought I recog- nised the peculiar jargon of my own tribe; I repeat, that 1 believe some horrible misfor- tune is overhanging this city, and that my own days are numbered."
The priest, having conversed with him for
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THE ZINCALI.
some time upon particular points of the his- tory that he had related, took his leave, ad- vising him to compose his spirits, as he saw no reason why he should indulge in such gloomy forebodings.
The very next day a sickness broke out in the town of Logrono. It was one of a pecu- liar kind ; unlike most others, it did not arise by slow and gradual degrees, but at once ap- peared in full violence, in the shape of a ter- rific epidemic. Dizziness in the head was the first symptom ; then convulsive retch- ings, followed by a dreadful struggle between life and death, which generally terminated in favour of the grim destroyer. The bodies, after the spirit which animated them had taken flight, were frightfully swollen, and ex- hibited a dark blue colour, chequered with crimson spots. Nothing was heard within the houses or the streets but groans of agony; no remedy was at hand, and the powers of medicine were exhausted in vain upon this terrible pest; so that within a few days the greatest part of the inhabitants of Logrono had perished. The bookseller had not been seen since the commencement of this fright- ful visitation.
Once, at the dead of night, a knock was heard at the door of the priest, of whom we have already spoken; the priest himself stag- gered to the door, and opened it, — he was the only one who remained alive in the house, and was himself slowly recovering from the malady which had destroyed all the other in- mates; a wild spectral-looking figure pre- sented itself to his eye — it was his friend, Alvarez. Both went into the house, when the bookseller, glancing gloomily on the wasted features of the priest, exclaimed, " You too, I see, amongst others, have cause to rue the Drao which the Gitanos have cast. Know," he continued, "that in order to ac- complish a detestable plan, the fountains of Logrono have been poisoned by emissaries of the roving bands, who are now assembled in the neighbourhood. On the first appear- ance of the disorder, from which I happily escaped by tasting the water of a private fountain, which I possess in my own house, I instantly recognised the effects of the poi- son of the Gitanos, brought by their ances- tors from the isles of the Indian sea, and in- stantly suspecting their intentions, I disguised myself as a Gitano, and went forth in the hope of being able to act as a spy upon their actions. I have been successful, and am at present tho- roughly acquainted with their designs. They intended, from the first, to sack the town, as soon as it should have been emptied of its defenders.
" Mid-day, to-morrow, is the hour in which they have determined to make the attempt. There is no time to be lost ; let us, there- fore, warn those of our townsmen who still survive, in order that they may make prepa- rations for their defence."
Whereupon the two friends proceeded to the chief magistrate, who had been but slight- ly affected by the disorder ; he heard the tale
of the bookseller with horror and astonish- ment, and instantly took the best measures possible for frustrating the designs of the Gi- tanos ; all the men capable of bearing arms in Logrono were assembled, and weapons of every description put in their hands. By the advice of the bookseller, all the gates of the town were shut, with the exception of the principal one; and the little band of defend- ers, which barely amounted to sixty men, was stationed in the great square, to which, he said, it was the intention of the Gitanos to penetrate in the first instance, and then dividing themselves into various parties, to sack the place. The bookseller was, by ge- neral desire, constituted leader of the guar- dians of the town.
It was considerably past noon ; the sky was overcast, and tempest clouds, fraught with lightning and thunder, were hanging black and horrid over the town of Logrono. The little troop, resting on their arms, stood awaiting the arrival of their unnatural ene- mies ; rage fired their minds as they thought of the deaths of their fathers, their sons, and their dearest relatives, who had perished, not by the hand of God, but, like infected cattle, by the hellish arts of Egyptian sorcerers. They longed for their appearance, determined to wreak upon them a bloody revenge ; not a word was uttered, and profound silence reigned around, only interrupted by the oc- casional muttering of the thunder clouds. Suddenly, Alvarez, who had been intently listening, raised his hand with a significant gesture ; presently, a sound was heard — a rustling like the waving of trees, or the rush- ing of distant water; it gradually increased, and seemed to proceed from the narrow street which led from the principal gate into the square. All eyes were turned in that di- rection
That night there was repique or ringing of bells in the towers of Logrono, and the few priests who had escaped from the pestilence sang litanies to God and the Virgin for the salvation of the town from the hands of the heathen. The attempt of the Gitanos had been most signally defeated, and the great square and the street were strewn with their corses. Oh! what frightful objects: there lay grim men more black than mulattos with fury and rage in their stiffened features ; wild women in extraordinary dresses, their hair, black and long as the tail of the horse, spread all dishevelled upon the ground ; and gaunt and naked children grasping knives and dag- gers in their tiny hands. Of the patriotic troop not one appeared to have fallen ; and when, after their enemies had retreated with howlings of fiendish despair, they told their numbers, only one man was missing, who was never seen again, and that man was Al- varez.
In the midst of the combat, the tempest, which had for a long time been gathering, burst over Logrono in lightning, thunder, darkness, and vehement hail.
A man of the town asserted that the last
GYPSY COLONIES.
£3
time he had seen Alvarez, the latter was far in advance of his companions, defending- him- self desperately against three powerful young heathen, who seemed to be acting under the direction of a tall woman who stood nigh, covered with barbaric ornaments, and wear- ing on her head a rude silver crown.*
Such is the tale of the Bookseller of Lo- grofio, and such is the narrative of the at- tempt of the Gitanos to sack the town in the time of pestilence, which is alluded to by many Spanish authors, but more particularly by the learned Francisco De Cordova, in his Didascalia, one of the most curious and in- structive books within the circle of universal literature.
CHAPTER IV.
| GYPSY COLONIES IN VARIOUS TOWNS OF SPAIN.
The Moors, after their subjugation, and previous to their expulsion from Spain, ge- nerally resided apart, principally in the su- burbs of the towns, where they kept each other in countenance, being hated and de- spised by the Spaniards, and persecuted on all occasions. By this means they preserved, to a certain extent, the Arabic language, though the use of it was strictly forbidden, and encouraged each other in the secret ex- ercise of the rites of the Mahometan religion, so that, until the moment of their final ex- pulsion, they continued Moors in almost every sense of the word. Such places were called Morerias, or quarters of the Moors.
In like manner there were Gitanerias, or quarters of the Gitanos, in many of the towns of Spain ; and in more than one instance par- ticular barrios or districts are still known by this name, though the Gitanos themselves have long since disappeared. Even in the town of Oviedo, in the heart of the Asturias, a province never famous for Gitanos, there is a place called the Gitaneria, though no Gitano has been known to reside in the town within the memory of man, nor indeed been seen, save, perhaps, as a chance visiter at a fair.
The exact period when the Gitanos first formed these colonies within the towns is not known ; the laws, however, which com- manded them to abandon their wandering life under penalty of banishment and death, and to become stationary in towns, may have induced them first to take such a step. By the first of these laws, which was made by
♦In the above little tale the writer confesses that there are many things purely imaginary ; the most material point, however, the attempt to sack the town during the pestilence, which was defeated by the courage and acti- vity of an individual, rests on historical evidence the most satisfactory. It is thus mentioned in the work of Francisco De Cordova, (he was surnamed Cordova from having been for many years canon in that city:}—
" Annis praUerilis luliobrigam urhem, vulgo Logrono, pestilenti iahorantem morbo.et hominibus vacunm inva- dere hi ac diripere tentarunt.perfecissentque ni DeusO. M. cuiusdam bibhopola opera, in eorum capita, quam urbi moliebantur perniciem avertisset." Didascalia, Lueduni. 1615. 1 vol. 8vo., p. 405, cap. 50.
Ferdinand and Isabella, as far back as the year 1499, they are commanded to seek out for themselves masters. This injunction they utterly disregarded. Some of them, for fear of the law, or from the hope of bettering their condition, may have settled down in the towns, cities, and villages for a time, but to expect that a people in whose bosoms was so deeply rooted the love of lawless inde- pendence, would subject themselves to the yoke of servitude, from any motive what- ever, was going too far: as well might it have been expected, according to the words of the great poet of Persia, that they would have washed their skins white.
In these Gitanerias, therefore, many Gypsy families resided, but ever in the Gypsy fa- shion, in filth and in misery, with little of the fear of man, and nothing of the fear of God before their eyes. Here the swarthy children basked naked in the sun before the doors; here the women prepared love draughts, or told the buena ventura; and here the men plied the trade of the blacksmith, a forbidden occupation, or prepared for sale, by disguising them, animals stolen by themselves or their accomplices. In these places were harboured the strange Gitanos on their arrival, and here were discussed in the Rommany language, which, like the Arabic, was forbidden under severe penalties, plans of fraud and plunder, which were perhaps intended to be carried into effect in a distant province and a distant city.
The great body, however, of the Gypsy race in Spain continued independent wan- derers of the plains and the mountains, and indeed the denizens of the Gitanerias were continually sallying forth, either for the pur- pose of re-uniting themselves with the wan- dering tribes, or of strolling about from town to town and from fair to fair. Hence the continual complaints in the Spanish laws against the Gitanos who have left their places of domicil, from doing which they were indicted, even as they were interdicted from speaking their language and following the occupations of the blacksmith and horse- dealer, to all which they still cling even to the present day.
The Gitanerias at evening fall were fre- quently resorted to by individuals widely differing in station from the inmates of these places, — we allude to the young and disso- lute nobility and hidalgos of Spain. This was generally the time of mirth and festival, and the Gitanos, male and female, danced and sang in the Gypsy fashion beneath the smile of the moon. The Gypsy women and girls were the principal attractions to these visiters; wild and singular as these females are in their appearance, there can be no doubt, for the fact has been frequently proved, that they are capable of exciting passion of the most ardent description, particularly in the bosoms of those who are not of their race, which passion of course becomes the more violent when the almost utter impossi- bility of gratifying it is known. No females
24
THE ZINCALI.
in the world can be more licentious in word and gesture, in dance and in song, than the Gitanos; but there they stop: and so of old, if their titled visiters presumed to seek for more, an unsheathed dagger or gleaming knife speedily repulsed those who expected that the gem most dear amongst the sect of the Roma was within the reach of a Busno.
Such visiters, however, were always en- couraged to a certain point, and by this and various other means, the Gitanos acquired connexions which frequently stood them in good stead in the hour of need. What availed it to the honest labourers of the neighbourhood, or the citizens of the town, to make complaints to the corregidor con- cerning the thefts and frauds committed by the Gitanos, when perhaps the sons of that very corregidor frequented the nightly dances at the Gitaneria, and were deeply enamoured with some of the dark-eyed singing girls? What availed making complaints, when per- haps a Gypsy sibyl, the mother of those very girls, had free admission to the house of the corregidor at all times and seasons, and spaed the good fortune to his daughters, pro- mising them counts and dukes, and Andalu- sian knights in marriage, or prepared phil- ters for his lady by which she was always to reign supreme in the affections of her hus- band? And, above all, what availed it to the plundered party to complain that his mule or horse had been, stolen, when the Gitano rob- ber, perhaps the husband of the sibyl and the father of the black-eyed Gitanillas, was at that moment actually in treaty with my lord the corregidor himself, for supplying him with some splendid thick-maned, long-tailed steed, at a small price, to be obtained, as the reader may well suppose, by an infraction of the laws? The favour and protection which the Gitanos experienced from people of high rank, is alluded to in the Spanish laws, and >can only be accounted for by the motives above detailed.
The Gitanerias were soon considered as public nuisances, on which account the Gi- tanos were forbidden to live together in par- ticular parts of the town, to hold meetings, and even to intermarry with each other; yet it does not appear that the Gitanerias were ever suppressed by the arm of the law, as many still exist where these singular beings M marry and are given in marriage," and meet together to discuss their affairs, which, in their opinion, never flourish unless those of their fellow creatures suffer. So much for the Gitanerias, or Gypsy colonies, in the towns of Spain.
CHAPTER V.
EXTRACTS FROM ANCIENT SPANISH WRITERS.
LA OITANILLA, A TALE OF CERVANTES. —
THE ALONSO OF OERONIMO DE ALCALA.
"It would appear that the Gitanos and Gitanas were only sent into this world to be
thieves; they are born thieves; they are brought up amongst thieves, they study to be thieves, and finally they turn out thieves, going about and making victims of all the world; the love of thievery and the practice of thievery are in them constitutional mala- dies, which cleave to them till the day of their death."
These words, or similar ones, serve as the exordium to the Gitanilla or Gypsy Girl of Cervantes, who immediately proceeds to in- troduce his heroine by saying, "An old hag of this nation who had certainly taken the degree of Doctoress in the science of Cacus, reared up a young girl whom she called her grand-daughter," &c.
The tale of " The Gypsy girl " was written by Cervantes in the year 1612, and stands the first in that collection of beautiful fictions, generally styled " Novelas Exemplares." At the present day the Gypsy is the most popu- lar perhaps of all the works of Cervantes amongst his countrymen; it being rare to find an individual who has not read it or heard it read. Whilst Cervantes lived, few people cared about him or his works ; it was not till some time subsequent to his death, that Spain began to take much interest in either; she then discovered that she had pro- duced and permitted to starve, a wonderful genius, quite equal in his peculiar style to Dante in his own. She has lately "given him a stone"* to whom she once refused bread, and for the last hundred years has occasionally occupied herself in endeavour- ing to investigate whatever she deems likely to elucidate his life and writings. We shall offer no opinion as to how far she has been successful in her object, though there are some Spanish literati, who flatter themselves that all the passages in the life of Cervantes are at present known, with the exception of those which occurred during a short period, when he disappeared for a time, and conjec- ture only is able to follow his steps.
Amongst other things said of this extraor- dinary man, it is asserted that he was in- duced to write the Gitanilla from the follow- ing circumstance. Shortly after the accession of Philip the Third to the throne, a Gypsy girl appeared in the streets of Madrid, like a wonderful cornet; she was surrounded by many females of the same race, in whose company she danced and sang; she was, however, distinguished from them all by her almost celestial beauty, the grace of her movements, and her surpassing powers of voice; crowds followed wherever she went, blessing and applauding her; gold and silver rained down upon her, and even the eye of royalty was turned towards her with appro- bation. The best poets of the day made verses which they entreated her to sing. Many of the young nobility became passion- ately enamoured of her, and an accomplished young courtier finally left the capital in her
* A statue of Cervantes (not a colossal one") has be«n placed before the entrance to the Cortes, at Madrid, in the square generally termed the Plaza de Cervantes.
LA GITANILLA.
25
company, and for love of her became a Gi- tano. She was subsequently discovered to be the daughter of a noble corregidor, having been stolen in her infancy by a Gypsy hag, who pretended to be her grandmother. She was of course honourably united to her faith- ful admirer.
This account, however, is neither more nor less than the outline of the tale of Cer- vantes, and there is more reason to suppose that it originated from the tale, than that the latter originated from the pretended fact. Child-stealing has occasionally been prac- tised by GyrjVsies, but never without some immediate prospect of gain; they do not steal children for the sake of bringing them up as Gypsies ; they have plenty of their own, and bread is scarce amongst them. If those of Spain ever stole children, they were mar- ketable children, not squalling infants, but boys and girls of handsome features and of a certain age, who were intended not to be carried about to betray them, but to be sold to the Moors of Barbary. Child-stealing is generally imputed to the Gypsies of England, but undeservedly; they can scarcely support their own offspring, and would smile at the idea of incumbering themselves with the children of others. But their ancestors were certainly guilty of this practice, which was once highly profitable, when the white slave trade was carried on in the streets of London itself, and hundreds of individuals, "kid- napped," were annually conveyed from the shores of England to be sold to the planters on the banks of the Delaware; but here again be it observed, that the English Gypsies did not steal infants, but children of sufficient size and strength to support the toils and hardships of the servitude to which they were destined.
The unfounded idea that Gypsies steal children to bring them up as Gypsies, has been the besetting sin of authors, who have attempted to found works of fiction* on the way oflife of this most singular people. The Preciosa of Cervantes, and the modern Es- meralda, eventually turn out to be "no Gyp- sies," but were stolen in their cradles and reared amongst the wild children of Roma. By pursuing this course, the writers only ex- hibit their incompetence to the subject which they pretend to handle, but which they avoid as much as possible; the Rommany of their romances are invariably subordinate charac- ters, the whole interest of the narratives being engrossed by the adventures of people of distinguished birth, who, by some strange concatenation of events, become associated for a period with the wanderers.
"The Gypsy Girl," notwithstanding its popularity in Spain, is far from being the
* In justice, we must except two works, the "Zig&ni " of the celebiated Puacktne, and a beautiful tale, pub- lished at St. I'elersburgh about six years ngo, entitled "Zijiiini B'Moskbai," (or the Gypsies at Moscow;) the heroines in both are veritable Gypsies. Russia is doomed eventually to effect a revolution in the political world, perhaps in the literary.
best of the minor pieces of Cervantes ; its chief merit consists in the few preliminary lines, in which the thievish character of the Thugs of Europe is drawn with wonderful vigour and terseness; but no sooner does he cause his Gypsies to speak, in the course of his narrative, than we perceive that, like the hero and heroine, they too are " no Gyp- sies," but Busne in disguise : what real Gypsy ever spoke in such a strain as that in which he causes the old Gypsy chief to ad- dress the young Hidalgo, on his first joining the society?
" We are lords of the plains and of the corn-fields, of the woods and the mountains, the rivers and the springs : the forests yield us wood for nothing; the trees fruits; the vines grapes; the gardens pulse ; the foun- tains water; the rivers fish, and the parks game; the rocks shade; the clefts in the hills fresh air, and the caves houses. For us the keen blasts of Heaven are gentle zephyrs, the snows refreshment; our baths are the rain; our music the thunders; our torches the lightning; the stony earth seems to us a bed of the softest down ; the tanned hide of our bodies serves as an impenetrable armour
to defend us The
fear of losing honour does not weary us, nor does the desire of increasing it keep us wakeful ; we neither sustain factions, nor rise betimes to present petitions, nor to at- tend magnates, nor to solicit favours. These sheds and moveable huts we esteem as gilded roofs and sumptuous palaces; and our Fle- mish pictures and landscapes are those which nature affords us in the stupendous hills and snowy precipices, wide-spread meadows, and tangled forests, which, at every step, meet our view. We are rustic astrologers, for as we always sleep beneath the naked sky, we have no difficulty in distinguishing the hours of the day from those of the night. We be- hold how Aurora sweeps away the stars from the heaven, and how accompanied by the dawn, she comes forth filling the air with gladness, cooling the water and bedew- ing the earth; and presently behind her the sun gilding summits, as the poet hath it, and curling f orests," &c.
The above description of Gypsy life may be essentially true, but it is not usual for Gypsies to talk of such things, and least of all in the worst style of Gongora, as the old Thug is made to do by the author of "the Gypsy Girl." Cervantes was more at home in posadas and ventas than in Gypsy encamp- ments amongst the sierras, and was belter acquainted with the ways of Picaros than the manners of the Gitanos, which he evi- dently only knew by report: there are some who are of opinion that, at one period of his life, that of his temporary disappearance, he officiated as alguazil in one or other of the second class cities of Spain. This sup- position appears by no means improbable, and if adopted, it affords a clue to the sur- prising knowledge of Picaresque life, which he developes in the extraordinary story of
26
THE ZINCALI.
Rinconete and Cortadillo. So much for Cer- vantes.
There exists in the Spanish language a book, entitled Alonso, servant of many mas- ters, composed by the Doctor Geronimo de Alcala, native of the city of Segovia, who flourished about the commencement of the seventeenth century; perhaps, with the single exception of the grand work of Cervantes, there is no novel in existence which can compete with it for grave quiet humour, while for knowledge of the human mind and acute observation, we do not believe that its equal is to be found. Gil Bias, which, by the by, is a piratical compilation from the works of the old Spanish novelists, executed, it is true, with great tact and discernment, sinks im- measurably below the Alonso of the Sego- vian Doctor, who is made to serve all kinds of masters, from the sacristan of the church in an obscure village in Old Castile, to the proud Fidalgo of Lisbon ; and by the gene- rality of whom he is discarded on account of his great talkativeness, and the disposition which he exhibits to criticise their failings.
At last he enters a convent as donado, or lay brother, where, for a long time, he enjoys the particular favour of the Father Vicar, whom, however, he eventually offends, like the rest, by the great freedom of discourse in which he indulges. He is formally read out of the society, and wanders about until he reaches one of those mountain-forests for- merly abounding in Spain, where he falls into the hands of Gitanos, whom he describes in a manner which almost induces the belief that the author had himself lived amongst these people, so true, so vivid is the colour- ing. Here follow extracts.
"I had wandered little more than a league through the thickets, when I saw a great quantity of smoke arising not far from the place where I was, and concluding, like a good philosopher, that where there was smoke there must be fire, and if fire there must be people to kindle it, I endeavoured to direct my steps towards it, for it was now near nightfall, and the wind blew bitterly keen. I had no occasion however, to walk very far, as I suddenly felt myself seized by the shoul- ders; whereupon turning my head, I found myself in the hands of two men, not quite so handsome as English or Flemings, but black as mulattos, badly dressed, and of particularly ill-favoured countenances. I bade them good evening with trepidation enough of heart, as the Lord knows, asking them what they had to command. Then one of them, lisping a little, after the Gitano fashion, told me that I must go with them to their encampment to speak to my lord the Conde. In fine hands have I fallen, said I to myself, in which no doubt 1 shall prosper; a pretty night is pre- pared for me ; however, making a virtue of necessity, I replied, ' Well, gentlemen wherever you please.' They then led me through the thickest of the wood, between them, in order not to lose sight of me, and asked where was the animal on which I had
come, and where I had left it. ' It always comes with me,' said I, * for, like a devout servant of San Francisco, I am a bad rider, and to save myself expense, always walk/ In such like discourse, we arrived at the en- campment of the brotherhood, who were al- ready expecting us, being advised, by the whistling of my guides, of the prey they were bringing, some time before we arrived. At the distance of more than a stone's throw, two Gypsy girls and three lads advanced to receive us with much rejoicing, inquiring whether other passengers were coming. ' He comes alone,' said my guards, 'and if he had delayed a little longer, we should have left our post, and returned empty handed.' Eager to know how my misfortune would end, I presently found myself amidst a rabble of near forty people, men and women, without reckoning boys of a reasonable age, who were running about amidst them as naked as they were born. They presented me to the Count, a person whom they all respected, and who was the judge and governor of this disorderly society. He received me with no little complaisance, and caused me to be stripped to the shirt, leaving me naked as when I left my mother's womb. My clothes were divided amongst the naked lads, and
the little money I had amongst all
So, without muttering one execration or proffering one excuse, I delivered up all my clothes, remaining en cuerpo ; only for de- cency's sake I kept a bit of a mantle, and even this they would not spare me, for a Gypsy woman coming up to me, cried, 'Show me, show me, for with this cloth we will warm the belly of little Antonio, who is almost dying with cold." 'It is good for nothing, I replied: 'for, although it is cloth, it is very old, torn, and threadbare, with no nap upon it.' ' Nap or none, it will do,' replied the evil hag, and without waiting for farther re- ply or excuse, tore it away from me. I wished at that moment to become a savage, that I might cover my nakedness and shame with my hair. But, without doubt, that piti- less woman had read the canon of Avicena, which says: Etiam in vilibus summa virtus inest. She wished her ailing bantling to be cured at my expense, caring nothing what
harm might befall me in consequence
"At the cries of the Conde forth stepped Isabel with half a goat, (the other half, as I afterwards learned having been eaten in the morning,) stolen according to custom from the flocks of some shepherds in the neighbourhood ; and asking no questions as to what death it died, or as to its tenderness, they put it on a stick as a spit, and all helping to bring wood, of which there was abundance, they made an enormous fire. The goat was presently roasted, and without asking for savoury sauces, those who officiated as car- vers began portioning out the meat in certain wooden platters. All squatted down around a sheet, which, spread on the ground, served as a table cloth. The night was very dark ; but there was no need of light, the blaze of
ALONSO.
27
the fire being sufficient to illumine three times more company than that present. See- ing that they were supping, I went on one side that I might not compel them to invite me, whereupon a Gitana, taking from the platter one or two ribs, called to me, saying, * Take this bit of meat and bread, that you may not say to us, little good may it do you.' I was grateful for the regale, for to tell the truth, as I became warm in the neighbourhood of the fire my appetite was beginning to sting, and hunger to incommode me ; so I fell to work on my ribs, but notwithstanding I had capital teeth, I could make no impression, nor indeed could the best Irish harrier have broken them, so hard they were. But my companions making no ceremony, ate of their she-goat or he-goat, just as if it were a fat and tender capon, and from time to time swallowed down a pitcher of water, for wine was not used in this fraternity, being con- sidered as too expensive. I looked on and praised the Lord, seeing that what I could not eat was so savoury and palatable to these poor wretches ; for notwithstanding their food was carrion swallowed at so late an hour, and their drink not wine, but brackish hard water, being enough to make the most robust animal burst; still the old men, wTomen, and children were strong, with hale colour on their countenances and vigour in all their ac- tions, as much so as if their health had been the subject of their particular solicitude. . . It was already past midnight when the frater- nity began to betake themselves to rest, some of them reclining their backs against the pine trees, and others stretching themselves on any few clothes which they chanced to have ; I, who was beset by imaginations many and various, served as a vigilant sentinel, tending the fire, and adding to it frequently new ma- terials that it might not go out, for without its warmth I should certainly have arrived at the portals of death. I was busied in this oc- cupation more than five hours, until morning came, as slow in giving its light as desired by me. I began to take comfort when 1 saw the darkness passing away, and the sky che- quered with different colours, and forthwith sought for something to cover my sodden flesh, and it pleased God to show me some sheep skins, which, turned with the wool in- side, I commenced fastening to my body with some pieces of cord.
"The sun was already illuming the lowest hills when these barbarians began to rouse themselves from their slumbers. Gracious providence ! though it had not left off rain- ing, more or less, for eleven hours, and though they had nothing to shelter and de- fend them from the inclemency of the cold, they had slept as calmly and quietly as if on beds of down. True it is that custom be- came to them nature, and to remove them from this species of life would have been death. Seeing that I had made of myself a portrait of the Baptist, with my arms and legs uncovered, all who saw me began to laugh, praising my industry, for by accommodating
myself to circumstances I had given a proof of my skill ; it however availed me but little, for one of the Gitanas, uttering many cries, and threatening me with many abusive words, bade me instantly take off my new dress, it being the rug on which she was wont to sleep. I saw that she was right, as I had made my- self master of another person's property, and instantly stripped myself of that disguise, remaining naked as before. Two days I con- tinued in this state, and might have continued for many more but for the death of a Gitano, who being very infirm and excessively old, paid the debt to which he was condemned from the moment of his birth.
"Two fellows made a deep hole or grave, where they left the body of the defunct un- covered, casting in with it some loaves and a little money, as if he needed it for the journey of the next world. Then the Gita- nas walked past, two by two, with hair dis- hevelled and scratching their visages, and she who made her nails most bloody performed her duty best, according to their idea. In the rear came the men calling on the saints, and principally on the divine Baptist, for whom they entertain an especial devotion, entreating him with loud cries, as if he were deaf, to help the dead, and to obtain pardon for his sins. When they were hoarse with shouting, they were proceeding to cast the earth over him ; but I prayed them to stay awhile whilst I said two words. They granted my request, and I with the greatest humility addressed them in the following manner
" What I said appeared reasonable to all, and it was certainly strange that amongst so many there was none to contradict me. They told me to strip him ; and I very obediently took from the dead man his dress, with which I covered my body, becoming in garb, if not in disposition and manners, like the other Gypsies. I returned the body to its grave; and covering it with earth, left it until the day of judgment, when it will come forth to its account, like all the rest of us."
CHAPTER VI.
THE COMUNEROS. — GUEVARA. THE TWO PA-
DILLAS. — MARY PADILLA AND HER HAG.
CANNIBALISM. — FAJARDO. — ANECDOTES.
CHILD-STEALING. — CONNEXION OF THE GI- TANOS WITH THE MOORS OF BARBARY.
Few foreigners have heard of the Comu- neros of Spain; yet the civil war between the Comuneros and Royalists, or the party of Carlos the First, generally known in Europe by the name of Charles the Fifth, is one of tlfe most remarkable events in Spanish his- tory.
Charles the Fifth, the Austrian, who as- cended the throne of Spain a mere stripling, brought with him a crowd of foreigners, by
28
THE ZINCALI.
whose advice and opinions his actions, for some years, were much influenced. The ra- pacity and insolence of these followers highly incensed the people, and especially the proud Castilian nobles. Resistance to the royal au- thority was determined upon ; a league was formed, and those who composed it were called Comuneros, or individuals united in a common cause. This league had its ramifi- cations throughout Spain, but its focus was in Old Castile, and there principally was the battle fought. The Royalists and foreigners j finally triumphed, but in a manner which did • them little honour. Their soldiers were fierce and savage enough to all purpose, but their . swords and lances proved of less service to the royal cause than the preaching and ha- ranguing of certain friars, who were sent| amongst the Comuneros for the purpose of breeding dissension, in which they to a con- siderable extent succeeded.
It is said that the Comuneros wished to have established a kind of republic, after the manner of the Italian states : the scheme was perhaps chimerical, yet some of the best and bravest spirits in Spain were engaged in it, the most celebrated of whom were Juan de Padilla, and the Bishop of Zamora. The Co- muneros, who still held together, were at last worsted in a decisive combat on the plains of Villalar, where their chiefs were taken pri- soners, after a desperate combat, and almost immediately executed.
On this latter occasion, two examples were offered, one of heroic and generous feeling, and the other of Christian resignation, which are perhaps without a parallel. Juan de Pa- dilla was led forth to suffer on the scaffold with one Juan Bravo ; whereupon the latter, who was a cavalier of Salamanca and an en- thusiastic Comunero, begged of the execu- tioner to decapitate him first : that I may not see the best gentleman in Castile put to death. On hearing which, Padilla exclaimed: " Heed not such a trifle, Juan Bravo; yes- terday it became us to fight like gentlemen; to-day it is our duty to die like Chris- tians."
But the most extraordinary of all the Co- muneros was a woman, and this woman was Donna Maria de Padilla, the wife of Juan de Padilla, of whom we have just been speaking. She was a native of Toledo, her maiden name was Pacheco, and she is said to have been a person of great beauty, and of masculine un- derstanding ; the worst enemy of her husband and herself, Friar Antonio Guevara,* bears
* This individual was originally a soldier, subsequent ly a friar, and finally Bishop of Mondonedo, to which dig- nity he was advanced by the Emperor, for services ren- dered during the rebellion. He preached anainst the as sembled junta of the Comuneros at Villabraxima, and it is much to the credit of those of the league that he was permitted to depart alive, if he really said only one half of iht: Impertinent things of which he himself boasts in his letters. The Bishop of Zamora, however, dismissed him with a cutting rebuke, which Guevara had not suf- ficient sense to suppress, but has related to his own im mortal shame. He was a i erson of loud voice, matchles- impudence, and of exceeding ignorance. It is believed that Cervantes intended to represent Guevara by the in solent ecclesiastic at the Duke's table, who abuses the Don, and scolds the Duke for tolerating him.
witness to her energy ; for, in his Familiar
Letters,* he says, that she was the stay of the cause, a title of which she proved herself well worthy, by holding out, when all was lost; and by defending Toledo, the capital of New Castile, after the husband whom she idolized had perished on the scaffold in the adjoining province. The latter part of the life of this wonderful woman is enveloped in a strange mystery; she is said to have incited her husband to take a principal part in the rebellion, (for rebellion it certainly was,) from motives of ambition, with which she was inspired by the discourse of a being — a female, who was continually about her, prat- tling and filling her brain with fantastic vi- sions of future grandeur. Let us see what her enemy Guevara says on this point, who, in a letter which he addressed to her, thus writes : —
"People likewise say of you, O madam, that you have about you a tawny and frantic slave, a female who is a great sorceress ; and they say that she has said and affirmed, that within a few days you shall be called high and mighty lady, and your husband high- ness."
It appears to us, that this mad, tawny fe- male, whom Guevara calls a slave, was a Gypsy, one of the sect of the Rommany, of the husbands and wives, such predictions having at all times formed part of the buena ventura, which they are so fond of telling.
It is singular enough that the Gitanos, who have so few traditions, speak of Mary Padil- la, in one of their magic rhymes : —
" One of these cheeses I will give to Mary Padilla and to her company."
It must be observed, however, that two personages of the name of Maria de Padilla have played a part in Spanish history. The first was the wife or concubine of the king Don Pedro, and the second the Maria Pa- checo, or Padilla, as she is always called, of whom we are now speaking. We entertain no doubt, however, and no individual who at all understands the subject can entertain a doubt, that Maria Pacheco, wife of Don Juan de Padilla, is alluded to in this witch-rhyme of the Gitanos, and not the wife of the king Don Pedro, who was also called Donna Ma- ria de Padilla.
Maria Padilla, the wife of Don Pedro, lived centuries before the arrival of the Gitanos in Spain. This alone is a very strong argu- ment for the correctness of the opinion ex- pressed ; if we consider what slight know- ledge people so illiterate as the Gitanos could have of the unfortunate wife of Don Pedro, and how little any thing relating to her was calculated to interest this jente de behetria, this disorderly rabble, who, during their whole sojourn in Spain, have thought of nothing hut deceit and robbery.
But with respect to the other Maria, the Pacheco Padilla, the case is widely different.
* Epistolas Familiares. Salamanca, 1578. Several of these letters are addressed to the principal Comuneros; amongst them is one to Maria de Padilla.
CANNIBALISM. FAJARDO.
29
She lived in Gypsy times; and we have little hesitation in believing that she was connected with this race — fatally for herself: her slave ! lora y loca, tawny and frantic — what epithets can be found more applicable to a Gypsy, more descriptive of her personal appearance and occasional demeanour than these two] And then again, the last scene in the life of Padilla, so mysterious, so unac- countable, unless the Gitanos were con- cerned, and they unquestionably were flit- ting about the eventful stage at that pe- riod.
The great majority of the Spanish towns, foreseeing perhaps the evil termination of the enterprise, abandoned the comunidad. The commercial city of Medina was burnt by the royal soldiery in their rage. The fate of Olmedo was little better. After the affair of Villalar, all the Comuneros who remained alive submitted, and all the cities of Spain presented their keys to the conquerors, with the exception of Toledo, where Maria Pa- dilla commanded, by the express desire of the Toledans themselves. Toledo resisted so long as the Padilla thought fit; and per- haps this city would have chosen and imi- tated the fate of Nuinancia, if the heroic matron had required such a sacrifice. But the Padilla loved Toledo as dearly as she loved the cause for which her husband had fallen ; and perceiving that it was necessary either to surrender or to see Toledo razed to the ground, she disguised herself in the dress of a female peasant, or perhaps in that of a Gypsy, and leading her son by the hand, escaped from Toledo one stormy night; and from that moment nothing more is known of her. The surrender of the town followed immediately after her disappearance.
We have said that perhaps she disguised herself as a Gypsy, and we certainly believe that the tawny and frantic slave, the mighty sorceress, who haunted her, was a genuine Gitana, and that the lying prophecy attri- buted to her was the baji or buena ventura. It was quite in character for this being to assist her mistress, or rather her victim, in making her escape, not from love, not from fidelity, O no! The Gitana had no sympa- thy, no pity, for the busnee, or her fair boy. She and her gang, concealed amongst the hills, only thought of the jewels which the Padilla might bring with her.
One word more on this point. The place where the most noisy meetings of the Co- muneros were held, was the village of Villa- braxima, which, as Martin del Rio proves, (an excellent authority on such a subject,) was one of the most constant haunts of the Gitanos. It is by no means improbable that during the events which we have related above, the Comuneros employed Gitanos for the purpose of conveying their correspon- dence, and perhaps the royalists themselves made use of these people — people exactly suited for every species of mysterious crime —so that the poor unfortunate Padilla, trust- ing to make her escape by means of them
and her frantic slave, perished with her young son by hokkano baro.
If the Gitanos had any hand in the disap- pearance and death of the Padilla, it is the worst of the many evil actions which they have committed in Spain.
"Los Gitanos son muy malos! — the Gyp- sies are very bad people," said the Spaniards of old times. They are cheats; they are highwaymen; they practise sorcery; and, lest the catalogue of their offences should be incomplete, a formal charge of cannibalism was brought against them. Cheats they have always been, and highwaymen, and if not sorcerers, they have always done their best to merit that appellation, by arrogating to themselves supernatural powers; but that they were addicted to cannibalism is a mat- ter not so easily proved.
Their principal accuser was Don Juan de Quinoues, who, in the work from which we have already had occasion to quote, gives several anecdotes illustrative of their canni- bal propensities. Most of these anecdotes, however, are so highly absurd, that none but the very credulous could ever have vouchsafed them the slightest credit. This author is very fond of speaking of a certain juez, or judge, called Don Martin Fajardo, who seems to have been an arrant Gypsy-hunter, and was probably a member of the ancient family of the Fajardos which still flourisnes in Estre- madura, and with individuals of which we are acquainted. So it came to pass that this personage was, in the year 1629, at Jarai- cejo, in Estremadura, or, as it is written in the little book in question, Zaraizejo, in the capacity of judge, a zealous one he undoubt- edly was.
A very strange place is this same Jarai- cejo, a small ruinous town or village, situated on a rising ground, with a very wild country all about it. The road from Badajoz to Ma- drid passes through it ; and about two leagues distant, in the direction of Madrid, is the famous mountain pass of Mirabete, from the top of which you enjoy a most picturesque view across the Tagus, which flows below, as far as the huge mountains of Plasencia, the tops of which are generally covered with snow.
So this Don Martin Fajardo, judge, being at Jaraicejo, laid his claw upon four Gita- nos, and having nothing, as it appears, to accuse them of, except being Gitanos, put them to the torture, and made them accuse themselves, which they did; for, on the first appeal which was made to the rack, they confessed that they had murdered a female Gypsy in the forest of Las Gamas, and had there eaten her
I am myself well acquainted with this same forest of Las Gamas, which lies be- tween Jaraicejo and Trujillo; it abounds with chestnut and cork trees, and is a place very well suited either for the purpose of murder or cannibalism. It will be as well to observe that I visited it in company with a band of Gitanos, who bivouacked there,
30
THE ZINCALI.
and cooked their supper, which however did not consist of human flesh, but of a puchera, the ingredients of which were beef, bacon, garbanzos, and berdolaga, or field-peas and purslain, — therefore I myself can bear testi- mony that there is such a forest as Las Gamas, and that it is frequented occasionally by Gypsies, by which two points are esta- blished by far the most important to the his- tory in question, or so at least it would be thought in Spain, for being sure of the forest and the Gypsies, few would be incredulous enough to doubt the facts of the murder and cannibalism
On being put to the rack a second time, the Gitanos confessed that they had like- wise murdered and eaten a female pilgrim in the forest aforesaid ; and on being tortured yet again, that they had served in the same manner, and in the same forest, a friar of the order of San Francisco, whereupon they were released from the rack and executed. This is one of the anecdotes of Quinones.
And it came to pass, moreover, that the said Fajardo, being in the town of Montijo, was told by the alcalde, that a certain inha- bitant of that place had some time previous lost a mare ; and wandering about the plains in quest of her, he arrived at a place called Arroyo el Puerco, where stood a ruined house, on entering which he found various Gitanos employed in preparing their dinner, which consisted of a quarter of a human body, which was being roasted before a huge fire: the result however we are not told: whether the Gypsies were angry at being dis- turbed in their cookery, or whether the man of the mare departed unobserved.
Quinones, in continuation, states in his book that he learned (he does not say from whom, but probably from Fajardo) that there was a shepherd of the city of Gaudix, who once lost his way in the wild sierra of Gadol : night came on, and the wind blew cold; he wandered about until he descried a light in the distance, towards which he bent his way, supposing it to be a fire kindled by shep- herds; on arriving at the spot, however, he found a whole tribe of Gypsies, who were roasting the half of a man, the other half being hung on a cork tree: the Gypsies wel- comed him very heartily, and requested him to be seated at the fire and to sup with them ; but he presently heard them whisper to each other, "this is a fine fat fellow," from which he suspected that they were me- ditating a design upon his body; whereupon, feigning himself sleepy, he made, as if he were seeking a spot where to lie, and sud- denly darted headlong down the mountain side, and escaped from their hands without breaking his neck.
These anecdotes scarcely deserve com- ment: first, we have the statements of Fa- jardo, the fool or knave, who tortures wretches, and then puts them to death for the crimes with which they have taxed themselves whilst undergoing the agonv of the rack, probably With the hope OI Obtaining 'pelled people far more civilized than wandering Gypsies
a moment's respite ; last comes the tale of the shepherd, who is invited by Gypsies on a mountain at night to partake of a supper of human flesh, and who runs away from them on hearing them talk of the fatness of his own body, as if cannibal robbers detected inr their orgies by a single interloper would have afforded him a chance of escaping. Such tales cannot be true.*
Cases of cannibalism are said to have oc- curred in Hungary amongst the Gypsies ; indeed, the whole race, in that country, has been accused of cannibalism, to which we have alluded whilst speaking of the Chin- gany : it is very probable, however, that they were quite innocent of this odious practice, and that the accusation had its origin in po- pular prejudice, or in the fact of their foul feeding, and their seldom rejecting carrion or offal of any description.
The Gazette of Frankfort for the year 1782, Nos. 157 and 207, states that one hun- dred and fifty Gypsies were imprisoned charged with this practice ; and that the Empress Teresa sent commissioners to in- quire into the facts of the accusation, who discovered that they were true ; whereupon the Empress published a law to oblige all the Gypsies in her dominions to become stationary, which, however, had no effect.
Upon this matter we can state nothing on our own knowledge.
"Los Gitanos son muy malos; llevart ninos hurtados a Berberia. The Gypsies are very bad people; they steal children and carry them to Barbary, where they sell them to the Moors" — so said the Spaniards in old times. There can be little doubt that even before the fall of the kingdom of Granada, which occurredjin the year 1492, the Gitanos had intercourse with the Moors of Spain. Andalusia, which has ever been the province where the Gitano race has most abounded since its arrival, was, until the edict of Philip the Third, which banished more than a mil- lion of Moriscos from Spain, principally peo- pled by Moors, who differed from the Spa- niards both in language and religion ; by living- even as wanderers amongst these people, the Gitanos naturally became acquainted with their tongue, and with many of their customs, which of course much facilitated any connexion which they might subse- quently form with the Barbaresques. Be- tween the Moors of Barbary and the Spa- niards a deadly and continued war raged for centuries, both before and after the expulsion of the Moriscos from Spain. The Gitanos, who cared probably as little for one nation as the other, and who have no sympathy and affection beyond the pale of their own sect, doubtless sided with either as their interest
* Yet notwithstanding : that wo refuse credit to these particular narrations of Qniiiones and Fajardo, acts of cannibalism may certainly have been perpetrated by the Gitanos of Spain in ancient times, when they were for the most part semi-savages, Itving amongst mountains and deserts, where food was hard to be pro- cured : famine may have occasionally compelled them to prey on human flesh, as it has in modern times com-
CHILD-STEALING.
31
dictated, officiating as spies for both parties and betraying both.
It is likely enough that they frequently passed over to Barbary with stolen children of both sexes, whom they sold to the Moors, who traffic in slaves, whether white or black, even at the present day; and perhaps this kidnapping trade gave occasion to other re- lations. As they were perfectly acquainted, from their wandering life, with the shores of the Spanish Mediterranean, they must have been of considerable assistance to the Bar- bary pirates in their marauding trips to the Spanish coast, both as guides and advisers; and as it was a far easier matter, and afford- ed a better prospect of gain, to plunder the Spaniards than* the Moors, a people almost as wild as themselves, they were, on that account, and that only, more Moors than Christians, and ever willing to assist the former in their forays on the latter.
Quinones observes: "The Moors with whom they hold correspondence let them go and come without any let or obstacle : an instance of this was seen in the year 1627, when two galleys from Spain were carrying assistance to Mamora, which was then be- sieged by the Moors. These galleys struck on a shoal, when the Moors seized all the people on board, making captives of the Christians and setting at liberty all the Moors, who were chained to the oar; as for the Gypsy galley-slaves whom they found amongst these last, they did not make them slaves, but received them as people friendly to them, and at their devotion ; which mat- ter was public and notorious."
Of the Moors and the Gitanos we shall have occasion to say something in the fol- lowing chapter.
CHAPTER VII.
BARBARY AND ITS TRIBES. — BENI AROS. —
SIDI HAMED AU MUZA. THE CHILDREN OF
THE DAR-BUSHI-FAL, A SECT OF THIEVES AND SORCERERS, PROBABLY OF GYPSY
j ORIGIN.
' There is no portion of the world so little known as Africa in general ; and perhaps of all Africa there is no corner with which Eu- ropeans are so little acquainted as Barbary, which nevertheless is only separated from the continent of Europe by a narrow strait of four leagues across.
China itself has, for upwards of a century, ceased to be a land of mystery to the civilized portion of the world ; the enterprising chil- dren of Loyola having wandered about it in every direction, making converts to their doctrine and discipline, whilst the Russians possess better maps of its vast regions than of their own country, and lately, owing to
the persevering labour and searching eye of my friend Hyacinth, Archimandrite of Saint John Nefsky, are acquainted with the num- ber of its military force to a man, and also with the names and residences of its civil servants. Yet who possesses a map of Fez and Morocco, or would venture to form a conjecture as to how many fiery horsemen Abderrahman, the mulatto emperor, could lead to the field, were his sandy dominions threatened by the Nazarene? Yet Fez is scarcely two hundred leagues distant from Madrid, whilst Maraks, the other great city of the Moors, and which also has given its name to an empire, is scarcely farther re- moved from Paris, the capital of civilization : in a word, we scarcely know any thing of Barbary, the scanty information which we possess being confined to a few tpwns on the sea coast; the zeal of the Jesuit himself be- ing insufficient to induce him to confront the perils of the interior, in the hopeless endea- vour of making one single proselyte from amongst the wildest fanatics of the creed of the Prophet Camel-driver.
Are wanderers of the Gypsy race to be found in Barbary 1 This is a question which I have frequently asked myself. Several re- spectable authors have, I believe, asserted the fact, amongst whom Adelung, who, speaking of the Gypsies, says, "Four hundred years have passed away since they departed from their native land. During this time, they have spread themselves through the whole of West- ern Asia, Europe, and Northern Africa."* But it is one thing to make an assertion, and another to produce the grounds for making it. I believe it would require a far greater stock of information than has hitherto been possessed by any one who has written on the subject of the Gypsies, to justify him in as- serting positively, that after traversing the west of Europe, they spread themselves over Northern Africa, though true it is that to those who take a superficial view of the mat- ter, nothing appears easier and more natural than to come to such a conclusion.
Tarifa, they will say, the most western part of Spain, is opposite to Tangier, in Africa, a narrow sea only running between, less wide than many rivers. Bands, therefore, of these wanderers, of course, on reaching Tarifa, passed over into Africa, even as thousands crossed the channel from France to England. They have at all times shown themselves ex- travagantly fond of a roving life. What land is better adapted for such a life than Africa and its wilds'? What land, therefore, more likely to entice them?
All this is very plausible. It was easy enough for the Gitanos to pass over to Tan- gier and Tetuan, from the Spanish towns of Tarifa and Algeziras. In the last chapter I have stated my belief of the fact, and that moreover they formed certain connexions with the Moors of the coast, to whom it is likely that they occasionally sold children
* Mithridates, erster theil. e. 241.
32
THE ZINCALI.
stolen in Spain ; yet such connexion would by no means have opened them a passage into the interior of Barbary, which is inhabited by wild and fierce people, in comparison with whom the Moors of the coast, bad as they always have been, are gentle and civilized.
To penetrate into Africa, the Gitanos would have been compelled to pass through the tribes who speak the Shilha language, and who are the descendants of the ancient Numidians. These tribes are the most untameable and warlike of mankind, and at the same time the most suspicious, and those who entertain the greatest aversion to foreigners. They are dreaded by the Moors themselves, and have always remained, to a certain degree, inde- pendent of the emperors of Morocco. They are the most terrible of robbers and murderers, and entertain far more reluctance to spill water, than the blood of their fellow-creatures: the Bedouins, also, of the Arabian race, are warlike, suspicious, and cruel ; and would not have failed instantly to have attacked bands of foreign wanderers, wherever they found them, and in all probability to have ex- terminated them. Now the Gitanos, such as they arrived in Barbary, could not have de- fended themselves against such enemies, had they even arrived in large divisions, instead of bands of twenties and thirties, as is their custom to travel. They are not by nature nor by habit a warlike race, and would have quailed before the Africans, who, unlike most other people, engage in wars, from what ap- pears to be an innate love of the cruel and bloody scenes attendant on war.
It may be said, that if the Gitanos were able to make their way from the north of India, from Multan, for example, the province which the learned consider to be the original dwelling-place of the race, to such an im- mense distance as the western part of Spain, passing necessarily through many wild lands and tribes, why might they not have pene- trated into the heart of Barbary, and where- fore may not their descendants be still there following the same kind of life as the Eu- ropean Gypsies, that is, wandering about from place to place, and maintaining them- selves by deceit and robbery 1
But those who are acquainted but slightly with the condition of Barbary, are aware that it would be less difficult and dangerous for a company of foreigners to proceed from Spain to Multan, than from the nearest sea-port in Barbary to Fez, an insignificant distance. True it is, that from their intercourse with the Moors of Spain, the Gypsies might have become acquainted with the Arabic language, and might even have adopted the Moorish dress ere entering Barbary ; and, moreover, might have professed belief in the religion of Mahomet; still they would have been known as foreigners, and, on that account, would have been assuredly attacked by the people of the interior, had they gone amongst them, who, according to the usual practice, would either have massacred them, or made them slaves, and as slaves they would have been
separated. The mulatto hue of their counte- nances would probably have insured them the latter fate, as all blacks and mulattos in the dominions of the Moor are properly slaves, and can be bought and sold, unless by some means or other they become free, in which event their colour is no obstacle to their ele- vation to the highest employments and dig- nities, to their becoming pashas of cities and provinces, or even to their ascending the throne. Several emperors of Morocco have been mulattos.
Above I have pointed out all the difficulties and dangers which must have attended the path of the Gitanos, had they passed from Spain into Barbary, and attempted to spread themselves over that region, as over Europe and many parts of Asia. To these observa- tions I have been led, by the assertion that they accomplished this; and no proof of the fact having, as I am aware, ever been adduced ; for who amongst those who have made such a statement, has seen or conversed with the Egyptians of Barbary, or had sufficient inter- course with them, to justify him in the as- sertion that they are one and the same people as those of Europe, from whom they differ about as much as the various tribes which in- habit various European countries differ from each other. At the same time, I wish it to be distinctly understood, that I am far from denying the existence of Gypsies in various parts of the interior of Barbary. Indeed, I almost believe the fact, though the informa- tion which I possess is by no means of a de- scription which would justify me in speaking with full certainty; I having myself never come in contact with any sect or caste of people amongst the Moors, who not only tallied in their pursuits with the Rommany, but who likewise spoke amongst themselves a dialect of the language of the Roma ; nor am I aware that any individual worthy of credit has ever presumed to say that he has been more fortu- nate in these respects.
Nevertheless, I repeat that I am inclined to believe that Gypsies virtually exist in Bar- bary, and my reasons I shall presently adduce; but I will here observe, that if these strange outcasts did indeed contrive to penetrate into the heart of that savage and inhospitable region, they could only have succeeded after having become well acquainted with the Moorish language, and when, after a conside- rable sojourn on the coast, they had raised for themselves a name, and were regarded with superstitious fear; in a word, if they walked this land of peril untouched and un- scathed, it was not that they were considered as harmless and inoffensive people, which, indeed, would not have protected them, and which assuredly they were not; it was not that they were mistaken for wandering Moors and Bedouins, from whom they differed in feature and complexion, but because, wherever they went, they were dreaded as the posses- sors of supernatural powers, and as mighty sorcerers.
There is in Barbary more than one sect of
CHILDREN OF THE DAR-BUSHI-FAL
33
wanderers, which, to the cursory observer, might easily appear, and perhaps have ap- peared, in the light of legitimate Gypsies. For example, there are the Beni Aros. The proper home of these people is in certain high mountains in the neighbourhood of Tetuan, but they are to be found roving about the whole kingdom of Fez. Perhaps it would be impossible to find, in the whole of Northern Africa, a more detestable caste. They are beggars by profession, but are exceedingly addicted to robbery and murder; they are no- torious drunkards, and are infamous, even in Barbary, for their unnatural lusts; gangs of them frequently forcing their way into vil- lages, whence they bear off all the good- iooking male children. They are, for the most part, well made and of comely features. I have occasionally spoken with them ; they are Moors, and speak no language but the Arabic.
Then there is the sect of Sidi Hamed au Muza, a very roving people, companies of whom are generally to be found in all the principal towns of Barbary. The men are expert vaulters and tumblers, and perform wonderful feats of address with swords and daggers, to the sound of wild music, which the women, seated on the ground, produce from uncouth instruments ; by these means they obtain a livelihood. Their dress is pic- turesque, scarlet vest and white drawers. In many respects they not a little resemble the Gypsies ; but they are not an evil people, and are looked upon with much respect by the Moors, who call them Santons. Their patron saint is Hamed au Muza, and from him they derive their name. Their country is on the confines of the Sahra, or great desert, and their language is the Shilhah, or a dialect thereof. They speak but little Arabic. When I saw them for the first time, I believed them to be of the Gypsy caste, but was soon unde- ceived. A more wandering race does not exist, than the children of Sidi Hamed au Muza. They have even visited France, and exhibited their dexterity and agility at Paris and Marseilles*
I will now say a few words concerning another sect which exists in Barbary, and will here premise, that if those who compose it are not Gypsies, such people are not to be found in North Africa, and the assertion hitherto believed, that they abound there, is devoid of foundation. I allude to certain men and women, generally termed by the Moors, "Those of the Dar-bushi-fal," which word is equivalent to prophesying or fortune- telling. They are great wanderers, but have also their fixed dwellings or villages, and such a place is called "Char Seharra," or witch-hamlet. Their manner of life, in every respect, resembles that of the Gypsies of other countries ; they are wanderers during the greatest part of the year, and subsist principally by pilfering and fortune-telling. They deal much in mules and donkeys, and it is believed, in Barbary, that they can change the colour of any animal by means of sorce-
ry, and so disguise him as to sell him to his very proprietor, without fear of his being recognised. This latter trait is quite charac- teristic of the Gypsy race, by whom the same thing is practised in most parts of the world. But the Moors assert, that the children of the Dar-bushi-fal can not only change the colour of a horse or a mule, but likewise of a human being, in one night, transforming a white into a black, after which they sell him for a slave; on which account the supersti- tious Moors regard them with the utmost dread, and in general prefer passing the night in the open fields, to sleeping in their ham- lets. They are said to possess a particular language, which is neither Shilhah nor Ara- bic, and which none but themselves under- stand; from all which circumstances I am led to believe, that the children of the Dar- bushi-fal are legitimate Gypsies, descendants of those who passed over to Barbary from Spain. Nevertheless, as it has never been my fortune to meet or to converse with any of this caste, although they are tolerably nu- merous in Barbary, I am far from asserting that they are of Gypsy race. More enter- prising individuals than myself may, perhaps, establish the fact. Any particular language or jargon which they speak amongst them- selves, will be the best criterion. The word which they employ for " water," would de- cide the point; for the Dar-bushi-fal are not Gypsies, if, in their peculiar speech, they designate that blessed element and article most necessary to human existence, by aught else than the Sanscrit term " Pani," a word brought by the race from sunny Ind, and es- teemed so holy that they have never pre- sumed to modify it.
The following is an account of the Dar- bushi-fal, given me by a Jew of Fez, who had travelled much in Barbary, and which [ insert almost literally as I heard it from his mouth. Various other individuals, Moors, have spoken of them in much ihe same manner.
" In one of my journeys I passed the night in a place called Mulai-Jacub Munsur.
" Not far from this place is a Char Seharra, or witch-hamlet, where dwell those of the Dar-bushi-fal. These are very evil people, and powerful enchanters ; for it is well known that if any traveller stop to sleep in their Char, they will with their sorceries, if he be a white man, turn him as black as a coal, and will afterwards sell him as a negro. Horses and mules they serve in the same manner, for if they are black, they will turn them red, or any other colour which best may please them; and although the owners demand jus- tice of the authorities, the sorcerers always come off best. They have a language which they use among themselves, very different from all other languages, so much so that it is impossible to understand them. They are very swarthy, quite as much so as mulattos, and their faces are exceedingly lean. As for their legs, they are like reeds; and when they run, the devil himself cannot overtake thenf.
34
THE ZINCALI.
They tell Dar-bushi-fal with flour ; they fill a plate, and then they are able to tell you any thing you ask them. They likewise tell it with a shoe; they put it in their mouth, and then they will recall to your memory every action of your life. They likewise tell Dar-bushi-fal with oil; and indeed are, in every respect, most powerful sorcerers.
"Two women, once on a time, came to Fez, bringing with them an exceedingly white donkey, which they placed in the middle of the square called Faz el Bali ; they then killed it, and cut it into upwards of thirty pieces. Upon the ground there was much of the donkey's filth and dung; some of this they took in their hands, when it straight as- sumed the appearance of fresh dates. There were some people who were greedy enough to put these dates into their mouths, and then they found that it was dung. These women deceived me, amongst the rest, with a date ; when I put it into my mouth, lo and behold it was the donkey's dung. After they had collected much money from the specta- tors, one of them took a needle, and ran it into the tail of the donkey, crying, 'Arrhe li dar,' (Get home,) whereupon the donkey instantly rose up, and set off running, kicking every now and then most furiously; and it was remarked, that not one single trace of blood remained upon the ground, just as if they had done nothing to it. Both these women were of the very same Char Seharra which I have already mentioned. They like- wise took paper, and cut it into the shape of a peseta, and a dollar, and a half dollar, until they had made many pesetas and dollars, and then they put them into an earthen pan over a fire, and when they took them out, they appeared just fresh from the stamp, and with such money these people buy all they want.
" There was a friend of my grandfather, who came frequently to our house, who was in the habit of making this money. One day he took me with him to buy white silk ; and when they had shown him some, he took the silk in his hand, and pressed it to his mouth, and then 1 saw that the silk, which was be- fore white, had become green, even as grass. The master of the shop said, * Pay me for my silk.' 'Of what colour was your silk?' he demanded. ' White,' said the man; where- upon, turning round, he cried, 'Good people, behold the white silk is green ;' and so he got a pound of silk for nothing; and he also was of the Char Seharra.
" They are very evil people indeed, and the Emperor himself is afraid of them. The poor wretch who falls into their hands has cause to rue; they always go badly dressed, and exhibit every appearance of misery, though they are far from being miserable. Such is the life they load."
There is, of course, some exaggeration in the above account of the Dar-bushi-fal; yet there Is little reason to doubt that there is a foundation of truth in all the facts stated. The belief that they are enabled, by sorcery, to change a white into a black man, had its
origin in the great skill which they possess in altering the appearance of a horse or a mule, and giving it another colour. Their changing white into green silk is a very simple trick, and is accomplished by dexterously substituting one thing for another. Had the man of the' Dar-bushi-fal been searched, the white silk would have been found upon him. The Gypsies, wherever they are found, are fond of this species of fraud. In Germany, for example, they go to the wine shop with two pitchers exactly similar, one in their hand empty, and the other beneath their cloaks, filled with water; when the empty pitcher is filled with wine they pretend to be dissatisfied with the quality, or to have no money, but contrive to substitute the pitcher of water in its stead, which the wine seller generally snatches up in anger, and pours the contents back, as he thinks, into the butt — but it is not wine but water which he pours. With respect to the donkey, which appeared to be cut in pieces, but which afterwards, being pricked in the tail, got up and ran home, I have little to say, but that I have myself 6een almost as strange things without believing in sorcery.
As for the dates of dung, and the paper money, they are mere feats of legerdemain.
1 repeat, that if legitimate Gypsies really exist in Barbary, they are the men and wo- men of the Dar-bushi-fal.
CHAPTER VIII.
CHIROMANCY. TORREBLANCA. — GITANAS.
THE GITANA OF SEVILLE. — LABUENA VEN- TURA. THE DANCE. THE SONG. TRICKS
OF THE GITANAS. — THE WIDOW. — OCCULT POWERS.
Chiromancy, orthe divination of the hand, is, according to the orthodox theory, the de- termining from certain lines upon the hand the quality of the physical and intellectual powers of the possessor.
The whole science is based upon the five principal lines in the hand, and the triangle which they form in the palm. These lines, which have all their particular and appropriate names, and the principal of which is called " the line of life," are, if we may believe those who have written on the subject, connected with the heart, with the genitals, with the brain, with the liver or stomach, and the head. Torreblanca,* in his curious and learned book on magic, observes, "In judging these lines you must pay attention to their substance, colour, and continuance, together with the disposition of the correspondent member; for, if the lino be well and clearly described, and is of a vivid colour, without being inter- mitted or puncturis infecta, it denotes the
» Torreblanca Jc Magin, 1C78.
GITANAS.
35
good complexion and virtue of its member, according to Aristotle.
" So that if the line of the heart be found sufficiently long and reasonably deep, and not crossed by other accidental lines, it is an in- fallible sign of the health of the heart and the great virtue of the heart, and the abundance of spirits and good blood in the heart, and ac- cordingly denotes boldness and liberal genius for every work.'
In like manner, by means of the hepatal line, it is easy to form an accurate judgment as to the state of a person's liver, and of his powers of digestion, and so on with respect to all the other organs of the body.
After having laid down all the rules of chi- romancy with the utmost possible clearness, the sage Torreblanca exclaims : " And with these terminate the canons of true and catholic chiromancy ; for as for the other species by which people pretend to divine concerning the affairs of life, either past or to come, dig- nities, fortunes, children, events, chances, dangers, &c, such chiromancy is not only reprobated by theologians, but by men of law and physic, as a foolish, false, vain, scan- dalous, futile, superstitious practice, smell- ing much of divinery and a pact with the devil."
Then, after mentioning a number of erudite and enlightened men of the three learned professions, who have written against such absurd superstitions, amongst whom he cites Martin Del Rio, he falls foul of the Gypsy wives in this manner: "A practice turned to profit by the wives of that rabble of abandoned miscreants whom the Italians call Cingari, the Latins Egyptians, and we Gitanos, who, notwithstanding that they are sent by the Turks into Spain for the purpose of acting as spies upon the Christian religion, pretend that they are wandering over the world in ful- filment of a penance enjoined upon them, part of which penance seems to be the living by fraud and imposition." And shortly after- wards he remarks : " Nor do they derive any authority for such a practice from those words in Exodus,* <et quasi signum in manutua,' as that passage does not treat of chiromancy, but of the festival of unleavened bread ; the observance of which, in order that it might be memorable to the Hebrews, the sacred his- torian said should be as a sign upon the hand; a metaphor derived from those who, when they wish to remember any thing, tie a thread round their finger, or put a ring upon it; and still less I ween does that chapter of Jobf speak in their favour, where is written, « Qui in manu hominis signat, ut norint omnes opera sua,' because the divine power is meant thereby which is preached to those here be- low: for the hand is intended for power and magnitude, Exod. chap. xiv.,| or stands for free will, which is placed in a man's hand,
* Exodus, chap. xiii. v. 9. " And it shall be for a sign unto thee upon thy hand." Enjr. Trans.
t No chapter in the book of Job contains any such verse. J i
X " And the children of Israel went out with a high .hand " Exodus, chap. xiv. v. 8. Eng. Trans. I
that is, in his power. Wisdom, chapter xxxvi. ' In manibus abscondit lucem,' "* &c. &c. &c.
No, no, good Torreblanca, we know per- fectly well that the witch-wives of Multan, who for the last four hundred years have been running about Spain and other countries, telling fortunes by the hand, and deriving good profit from the same, are not counte- nanced in such a practice by the sacred volume; we yield as little credit to their chi- romancy as we do to that which you call the true and catholic, and believe that the lines of the hand have as little connexion with the events of life as with the liver and stomach, notwithstanding Aristotle, who you forget was a heathen, and knew as little and cared as little for the scriptures as the Gitanos, whether male or female, who little reck what sanction any of their practices may receive from authority, whether divine or human, if the pursuit enable them to provide sufficient for the existence, however poor and miserable, of their families and themselves.
A very singular kind of women are the Gi- tanas, far more remarkable in most points than their husbands, in whose pursuits of low cheating and petty robbery there is little ca- pable of exciting much interest; but if there be one being in the world who, more than another, deserves the title of sorceress, (and where do you find a word of greater romance and more thrilling interest 1) it is the Gypsy female in the prime and vigour of her age and ripeness of her understanding — the Gypsy wife, the mother of two or three children. Mention to me a point of devilry with which that woman is not acquainted. She can at any time, when it suits her, show herself as expert a jockey as her husband, and he ap- pears to advantage in no other character, and is only eloquent when descanting on the merits of some particular animal ; but she can do much more; she is a prophetess, though she believes not in prophecy; she is a physi- cian, though she will not taste her own phil- ters ; she is a procuress, though she is not to be procured ; she is a singer of obscene songs, though she will suffer no obscene hand to touch her; and though no one is more tenacious of the little she possesses, she is a cut-purse and a shop-lifter whenever opportunity shall offer.
In all times, since we have known anything of these women, they have been addicted to and famous for fortune-telling ; indeed, it is their only ostensible means of livelihood, though they have various others which they pursue more secretly. Where and how they first learned the practice we know not ; they may have brought it with them from the East, or they may have adopted it, which is less likely, after their arrival in Europe. Chiro- mancy, from the most remote periods, has been practised in all countries. Neither do we know, whether in this practice they were ever guided by fixed and certain rules ; the probability, however, is, that they were not, and that they never followed it but as a means
* No such verse is to be found in the book mentioned.
36
THE ZINCAL1
of fraud and robbery; certainly, amongst all the professors of this art that ever existed, no people are more adapted by nature to turn it to account than these females, call them by whatever name you will, Gitanas, Ziganas, Gypsies, or Bohemians; their forms, their features, the expression of their countenances are ever wild and Sibylline, frequently beau- tiful, but never vulgar. Observe, for example, the Gitana, even her of Seville.
She is standing before the portal of a large house in one of the narrow Moorish streets of the capital of Andalusia: through the grated iron door, she looks in upon the court; it is paved with small marble slabs of almost snowy whiteness; in the middle is a fountain dis- tilling limpid water, and all around there is a profusion of macetas, in which flowery plants and aromatic shrubs are growing, and at each corner there is an orange tree, and the per- fume of the azahar may be distinguished ; you hear the melody of birds from a small aviary beneath the piazza which surrounds The court, which is surmounted by a toldo or linen awn- ing, for it is the commencement of May, and the glorious sun of Andalusia is burning with a splendour too intense for his rays to be borne with impunity. It is a fairy scene such as no where meets the eye but at Seville, or perhaps at Fez and Shiraz, in the palaces of the Sultan and the Shah. The Gypsy looks through the iron-grated door, and beholds, seated near the fountain, a richly dressed dame and two lovely delicate maidens; they are busied at their morning's occupation, in- tertwining with their sharp needles the gold and silk on the tambour ; several female at- tendants are seated behind. The Gypsy pulls the bell, when is heard the soft cry of " Quien es ;" the door, unlocked by means of a string, recedes upon its hinges, when in walks the Gitana, the witch-wife of Multan, with a look such as the tiger-cat casts when she stealeth from her jungle unto the plain.
Yes, well may you exclaim "Ave Maria purisima," ye dames and maidens of Seville, as she advances towards you ; she is not of yourselves, she is not of your blood, she or her fathers have walked to your clime from a distance of three thousand leagues. She has come from the far East, like the three en- chanted kings to Cologne; but unlike them she and her race have come with hate and not with love. She comes to flatter, and to deceive, and to rob, for she is a lying pro- phetess, and a she Thus1; she will greet you with blessings which will make your hearts rejoice, but your heart's blood would freeze, could you hear the curses which to herself she murmurs against you ; for she says, " that in her children's veins flows the dark blood of the 'husbands,' whilst in those of yours flows the pale tide of the savages," and there- fore she would. gladly set her foot on all your corses first poisoned by her hands. For all her love — and she can love — is for the Romas ; and all her hate — and who can hate like her'! — is for the Busnees; for she says that the world would be a fair world were there v.o
Busnees, and if the Romamiks could heat their kettles undisturbed at the foot of the olive trees ; and therefore she would kill them all if she could and if she dared. She never seeks the houses of the Busnees but for the purpose of prey; for the wild animals of the sierra do not more abhor the sight of man, than she abhors the countenances of the Bus- nees. She now comes to prey upon you and to scoff at you. Will you believe her words 1 Fools ! do you think that the being before ye has any sympathy for the like of you?
She is of the middle stature, neither strongly nor slightly built, and yet her every movement denotes agility and vigour. As she stands erect before you, she appears like a falcon about to soar, and you are almost tempted to believe that the power of volition is hers ; and were you to stretch forth your hand to seize her, she would spring above the house-tops like a bird. Her face is oval, and her features are regular but somewhat hard and coarse, for she was born amongst rocks in a thicket, and she has been wind-beaten and sun- scorched for many a year, even like her pa- rents before her; there is many a speck upon her cheek, and perhaps a scar, but no dimples of love ; and her brow is wrinkled over, though she is yet young. Her complexion is more than dark, for it is almost that of a mulatto; and her hair, which hangs in long locks on either side of her face, is black as a coal, and coarse as the tail of a horse, from which it seems to have been gathered.
There is no female eye in Seville can sup- port the glances of hers, so fierce and pene- trating, and yet so artful and sly, is the ex- pression of their dark orbs ; her mouth is fine and almost delicate, and there is not a queen on the proudest throne between Madrid and Moscow who might not, and would not, envy the white and even rows of teeth which adorn it, which seem not of pearl but of the purest elephant's bone of Multan. She comes not alone ; a swarthy two-year old bantling clasps her neck with one arm, its naked body half extant from the coarse blanket which, drawn round her shoulders, is secured at her bosom by a skewer. Though tender of age it looks wicked and sly, like a veritable imp of Roma. Huge rings of false gold dangle from wide slits in the lobes of her ears; hernether gar- ments are rags, and her feet are cased in hempen sandals. Such is the wandering Gi- tana, such is the witch-wife of Multan, who has come to spae the fortune of the Sevillian countess and her daughters.
" O may the blessing of Egypt light upon your head, you high-born lady! (May an evil end overtake your body, daughter of a Busnee harlot!) and may the same blessing await the two fair roses of the Nile here flowering by your side! (May evil Moors seize them and carry them across the water!) O listen to the words of the poor woman who is come from a distant country; she is of a wise people, though it has pleased the God of the sky to punish them for their sins by sending them to wander through the world.
TRICKS Or THE GITANAS.
37
They denied shelter to the Majari, whom you call the queen of heaven, and to the Son of God, when they flew to the .land of Egypt, before the wrath of the wicked king; it is said that they even refused them a draught of the sweet waters of the great river when the blessed two were athirst. O you will say that it was a heavy crime ; and truly so it was, and heavily has the Lord punished the Egyptians. He has sent us a-wandering, poor as you see, with scarcely a blanket to cover us. O, blessed lady, (accursed be thy dead as many as thou mayest have,) we have no money to purchase us bread ; we have only our wisdom with which to support our- selves and our poor hungry babes; when God took away their silks from the Egyptians., and their gold from the Egyptians, he left them their wisdom as a resource that they might not starve. O who can read the stars like the Egyptians'? and who can read the lines of the palm like the Egyptians'? The poor woman read in the stars that there was a rich ventura for all of this goodly house, so she followed the bidding of the stars and came to declare it. O, blessed lady, (I defile thy dead corse,) your husband is at Granada, fighting with king Ferdinand against the wild Corohai ! (May an evil ball smite him and split his head!) Within three months he shall return with twenty captive Moors, round the neck of oach a chain of gold. (God grant that when he enter the house a beam may fall upon hirn and crush him !) And within nine months after his return God shall bless you with a fair chabo, the pledge for which you have sighed so long ! (Accursed be the salt placed in its mouth in the church when it is baptized !) Your palm, blessed lady, your palm, and the palms of all I see here, that I may tell you all the rich ventura which is hanging over this good house ; (May evil lightning fall upon it and consume it !) but first let me sing you a song of Egypt, that the spirit of the Chowahanee may descend more plenteously upon the poor woman."
Her demeanour now instantly undergoes a change. Hitherto she has been pouring forth a lying and wild harangue, without much flurry or agitation of manner. Her speech, it is true, has been rapid, but her voice has never been raised to a very high key; but she now stamps on the ground, and placing her hands on her lips, she moves quickly to the right and left, advancing and retreating in a side-long direction. Her glances become more fierce and fiery, and her coarse hair stands erect on her head, stiff* as the prickles of the hedgehog; and now she commences clapping her hands, and uttering words of an unknown tongue, to a strange and uncouth tune. The tawny bantling seems inspired with the same fiend, and, foaming at the mouth, utters wild sounds, in imitation of j its dam. Still more rapid become the side- j long movements of theGitana. Movements! \ she springs, she bounds, and at every bound j she is a yard above the ground. She no ' longer bears the child in "her bosom; she 6
plucks it from thence, and fiercely brandishes it aloft, till at last, with a yell, she tosses it high into the air, like a ball, and then, with neck and head thrown back, receives it, as it falls, on her hands and breast, extracting a cry from the terrified beholders. Is it pos- sible she can be singing1? Yes, in the wildest style of her people ; and here is a snatch of the song, in the language of Roma, which she occasionally screams.
" En los sastos de yesque plai me diquelo, Doscusanas de sonacai teredo,— Corojai diquelo abillar, Y ne asislo chapescar, chapescar."
" On the top of a mountain I stand, With a crown of red gold in my hand, — Wild Moors come trooping o'er the lea, O how from their fury shall I flee, flee, flee? O how from their fury shall I flee .?"
Such was the Gitana in the days of Ferdi- nand and Isabella, and much the same is she now in the days of Isabel and Christina.
Of the Gitanas and their practices, I shall have much to say on a future occasion, when speaking of those of the present time, with many of whom I have had no little inter- course. All the ancient Spanish authors who mention these women, speak of them in un- measured terms of abhorrence, employing against them every abusive word contained in the language in which they wrote. Amongst other vile names, they have been called har- lots, though perhaps no females on earth are, and have ever been, more chaste in their own persons, though at all times willing to en- courage licentiousness in others, from a hope of gain. It is one thing to be a procuress, and another to be a harlot, though the former has assuredly no reason to complain, if she be confounded with the latter. "The Gita- nas," says Doctor Sancho de Moncado, in his discourse concerning the Gypsies, which I shall presently lay before the reader, "are public harlots, common, as it is said, to all the Gitanos, and with dances, demeanour, and filthy songs, are the cause of infinite harm to the souls of the vassals of your Majesty, (Philip III.,) as it is notorious what infinite harm they have caused in many ho- nourable houses. The married women whom they have separated from their husbands, and the maidens whom they have perverted ; and finally, in the best of these Gitanas, any one may recognise all the signs of a harlot given by the wise king: 'they are gadders about, whisperers, always unquiet in the places and corners.'"*
The author of Alonso, he who of all the old Spanish writers has written most graphi- cally concerning the Gitanos, and I believe with most correctness, puts the following account of the Gitanas, and their fortune- telling practices, into the entertaining mouth of his hero:
"O how many times did these Gitanas
* Prnv chnp. vii. vers. 11 12. " She i> loud and stub- born; her feet abide not in her house. Now i* she with- out, now in the streets, and Iielh in wait at ever} cor ner." EHg.'Trana.
38
THE Z1NCALI.
carry me along with them, for being, after all, women, even they have their fears, and were glad of me as a protector; and so they went through the neighbouring villages, and entered the houses a-begging, giving to un- derstand thereby their poverty and necessity, and then they would call aside the girls, in order to tell them the buena ventura, and the young fellows the good luck which they were to enjoy, never failing in the first place to ask for a cuarto, or a real, in order to make the sign of the cross ; and with these flatter- ing words they got as much as they could, although, it is true, not much in money, as their harvest in that article was generally slight ; but enough in bacon to afford subsist- ence to their husbands and bantlings. I looked on and laughed at the simplicity of those foolish people, who, especially such as wished to be married, were as satisfied and content with what the Gitana told them, as if an apostle had spoken it."
The above description of Gitanas telling fortunes amongst the villages of Navarre, and which was written by a Spanish author at the commencement of the seventeenth century, is, in every respect, applicable, as the reader will not fail to have observed, to the English Gypsy women of the present day engaged in the same occupation in the rura. districts of England, where the first demand of the sibyls is invariably a sixpence, in order that they may cross their hands with silver, and where the same promises are made and as easily believed ; all which, if it serves to confirm the opinion that in all times the prac- tices and habits of the Egyptian race have been, in almost all respeets, the same as at the present day, brings us also to the follow- ing mortifying conclusion, — that mental illu- mination, amongst the generality of mankind, has made no progress at all ; as we observe in the nineteenth century the same gross credulity manifested as in the seventeenth, and the inhabitants of one of the countries most celebrated for the arts of civilization, imposed upon by the same stale tricks which served to deceive two centuries before in Spain, a country whose name has long and justly been considered as synonymous with every species of ignorance and barbarism.
The same author, whilst speaking of these female Thugs, relates an anecdote very cha- racteristic of them ; a device at which they are adepts, which they love to employ, and which is generally attended with success. It is the more deserving attention, as an in- stance of the same description, attended with very similar circumstances, occurred within the sphere of my own knowledge in my own country. This species of deceit is styled, in the peculiar language of the Rommany, hok- kano baro, or the "great trick;" it" being considered by the women as their most fruit- ful source of plunder. The story, as related by Alonso, runs as follows:
"A band of Gitanos being in the neigh- bourhood of a village, one of the women went to a house where lived a lady alone.
This lady was a young \vidow, rich, without children, and of very handsome person. Af- ter having saluted her, the Gypsy repeated the harangue which she had already studied,, to the effect that there was neither bachelor, widower, nor married man, nobleman, nor gallant, endowed with a thousand graces, who was not dying for love of her; and then continued ; "Lady, I have contracted a great affection for you, and since I know that fou will merit the riches you possess, notwith- standing you live heedless of your good for- tune, I wish to reveal to you a secret. You must know then, that in your cellar you have a vast treasure; nevertheless you will expe- rience great difficulty in arriving at it, as it is enchanted, and to remove it is impossible, save and alone on the eve of St. John. We are now at the eighteenth of June, and it wants five days to the twenty-third ; there- fore, in the meanwhile, collect some jewels of gold and silver, and likewise some money, whatever you please, provided it be not cop- per, and provide six tapers of white or yellow wax, for at the time appointed I will come with a sister of mine, when we will extract from the cellar such abundance of riches, that you will be able to live in a style which will excite the envy of the whole country." The ignorant widow, hearing these words, put implicit confidence in the deceiver, and ima- gined that she already possessed all the gold of Arabia and the silver of Potosi.
"The appointed day arrived, and not more punctual were the two Gypsies, than anx- iously expected by the lady. Being asked whether she had prepared all as she had been desired, she replied in the affirmative, when he Gypsy thus addressed her: "You must know, good lady, that gold calls forth gold, and silver calls forth silver; let us light these tapers, and descend to the cellar before it grows late, in order that we may have time for our conjurations." Thereupon the trio', the widow and the two Gypsies, went down, and having lighted the "tapers and placed <hem in candlesticks in the shape of a circle, they deposited in the midst a silver tankard, with some pieces of eight, and some corals tipped with gold, and other jewels of small value. They then told the lady that it was necessary for them all to return to the stair- case by which they had descended to the cellar, and there they uplifted their hands, and remained for a short time as if engaged in prayer.
"The two Gypsies then bade the widow wait for them, and descended again, when they commenced holding a conversation, speaking and answering alternately, and al- tering their voices in such a manner that five or six people appeared to be in the cellar. "Blessed be little St. John," said one, "will it be possible to remove the treasure which you keep hidden here?" "O yes, and with little more trouble it shall be yours," replied tlit- Gypsy sister, altering her voice to a thin treble, as if it proceeded from a child four or five years old. In the mean time, the lady
THE EVIL EYE.
39
remained astonished, expecting the promised riches and the two Gitanas presently coming to her, said, "Come up, lady, for our desire is upon the point of being gratified. Bring now the best petticoat, gown, and mantle which you have in your chest, that I may dress myself, and appear in other guise to what I do now." The simple woman, not perceiving the trick they were playing upon her, ascended with them to the door-way, and leaving them alone went to fetch the things which they demanded. Thereupon the two Gypsies, seeing themselves at liberty, and having already pocketed the gold and silver which had been deposited for the con- juration, opened the street-door, and escaped with all the speed they could.
"The beguiled widow returned laden with the clothes, and not finding those whom she had left waiting, descended into the cellar, when perceiving the trick which they had played her, and the robbery which they had committed in stealing her jewels, she began to cry and weep, but all in vain. All the neighbours hastened to her, and to them she related her misfortune, which served more to raise laughter and jeers at her expense, than to excite pity; though the subtlety of the two she-thieves was universally praised. These latter, as soon as they had got out of the door, knew well how to conceal themselves, for having once reached the mountain, it was not possible to find them. So much for their divination, their foreseeing things to come, their power over the secrets of nature, and their knowledge of the stars."
The Gitanas in the olden time appear to have not un frequently been subjected to pu- nishment as sorceresses, and with great jus- tice, as the abominable trade which they have always driven in philters and decoctions, certainly entitled them to that appellation, and to the pains and penalties reserved for those who practised what is generally termed " witchcraft."
Amongst the crimes laid to their charge, connected with the exercise of occult pow- ers, there is one, however, of which they were certainly not capable, as it is a purely imaginary one, though if they were ever punished" for it, they had assuredly little right to complain, as the chastisement they met was fully merited by practices equally malefic as the crime imputed to them, provided that were possible. It was casting the evil eye.
CHAPTER IX.
THE EVIL EYE. — CREDULITY OF THE JEWS AND MOORS. — THE JEWESS OF FEZ. — THE BIBLE AND KEY. — REMEDIES FOR THE EVIL
EYE. THE TALMUD. — SUPERSTITIONS OF
THE NORTH.
In the Gitano language, casting the evil eye is called Querelar nasula, which simply
means making sick, and which, according to the common superstition, is accomplished by casting an evil look at people, especially children, who, from the tenderness of their constitution, are supposed to be more easily blighted than those of a more mature age. After receiving the evil glance, they fall sick, and die in a {"ew hours.
The Spaniards have very little to say re- specting the evil eye, though the belief in it is very prevalent, especially in Andalusia, amongst the lower orders, A stag's horn is considered a good safeguard, and on that ac- count, a small horn, tipped with silver, is frequently attached to the children's necks by means of a cord braided from the hair of a black mare's tail. Should the evil glance be cast, it is imagined that the horn receives it, and instantly snaps asunder. Such horns may be purchased in some of the silver- smiths' shops at Seville. '
The Gitanos have nothing more to say on this species of sorcery than the Spaniards, which can cause but little surprise, when we consider that they have no traditions, and can give no rational account of themselves, nor of the country from which they come.
Some of the women, however, pretend to have the power of casting it, though if ques- tioned how they accomplished it, they can re- turn no answer. They will likewise sell re- medies for the evil eye, which need not be particularized, as they consist of any drugs which they happen to possess or be acquainted with ; the prescribers being perfectly reckless as to the effect produced on the patient, pro- vided they receive their paltry reward.
I have known these beings offer to cure the glanders in a horse, (an incurable disorder,) with the very same powders which they offer as a specific for the evil eye.
Leaving, therefore, for a time, the Spa- niards and Gitanos, whose ideas on this sub- ject are very scanty and indistinct, let us turn to other nations amongst whom this super- stition exists, and endeavour to ascertain on what it is founded, and in what it consists. It is current amongst all oriental people, whether Turks, Arabs, or Hindoos; but per- haps there is no nation in the world amongst whom the belief is so firmly rooted, and from so ancient a period, as the Jews; it being a subject treated of, and in the gravest manner, by the old rabbinical writers themselves, which induces the conclusion that the super- stition of the evil eye is of an antiquity almost as remote as the origin of the Hebrew race; (and can we go farther back?) as the oral traditions of the Jews, contained and com- mented upon in what is called the Talmud, are certainly not less ancient than the in- spired writings of the Old Testament, and have unhappily been at all times regarded by them with equal, if not greater reverence.
The evil eye is mentioned in Scripture, but of course not in the false and superstitious sense ; evil in the eye, which occurs in Prov. xxiii. v. 6, merely denoting niggardliness and iilliberality. The Hebrew words arc ain ra,
40
THE ZINCALI,
and stand in contradistinction to ain toub, or ! the benignant in eye, which denotes an in- clination to bounty and liberality.
The Rabbins have said, " For one person who dies of sickness, there are ten who die by the evil eye." And as the Jews, espe- cially those of the East, and of Barbary, place implicit confidence in all that the Rabbins have written, we can scarcely wonder if, at the present day, they dread this visitation more than the cholera or the plague. " The leech," they say "can cure those disorders, but who is capable of curing the evil eye?"
It is imagined that this blight is most easily •inflicted when a person is enjoying himself, with little or no care for the future; when he is reclining in the sun before his door, or when he is full of health and spirits, but prin- cipally when he is eating and drinking, on which account the Jews and Moors are jea- lous of the appearance of strangers when they are taking their meals.
The evil eye may be cast by an ugly or ill- favoured person, either designedly or not, and the same effect may be produced by an inad- vertent word. It is deemed very unlucky to say to a person diverting himself, How merry you are ; or to one whilst eating, How fat you are; as such persons are said to receive a sudden blight, and perish. Never, amongst Jews or Mahometans, nor indeed amongst any eastern people, stop to gaze on a child, or to caress it, for it will be thought that you are about to give it the evil eye. I was acquainted with a very handsome Jewess of Fez ; she had but one eye, but that one was particularly brilliant. On asking her how she lost its fel- low, she informed me that she was once stand- ing in the street at night-fall, when she was a little girl ; a Moor that was passing by sud- denly stopped, and said, " Tswac Ullah, (blessed be God,) how beautiful are your eyes, my child !" whereupon she went into the house, but was presently seized with a dread- ful pain in the left eye, which continued during the night, and the next day the pupil came out of the socket. She added, that she did not believe the Moor had any intention of hurting her, as he gazed on her so kindly; but that it was very thoughtless in him to utter words which are sure to convey evil luck. It is said to be particularly dangerous to eat in the presence of a woman, for the evil eye, if cast by a woman, is far more fatal and difficult to cure than if cast by a man. There are said to be various ways of curing the evil eye. The following is much in vogue amongst the Jews of Barbary.
When any one falls sick of the evil eye, he must instantly call in to his assistance the man cunning in such cases. The man, on coming, takes either a girdle or a handker- chief from off his own person, and ties a knot at either end, then he measures three spans with his left hand, and at the end of these three he fastens a knot and folds it three times round his head, pronouncing this bcraka, or blessing: "Ben porat Josef, ben porat ali ain ;*' (Joseph is a fruitful bough, a fruitful
bough by a well ;) he then recommences mea. suring the girdle or handkerchief, and if he finds three spans and a half, instead of the three which he formerly measured, he is ena- bled to tell the name of the person who cast the evil eye, whether male or female.
It will be as well to observe, in this stage of the process, that it very much resembles the charm of the Bible and key, by which many persons in England still pretend to be able to discover the thief when an article is missed. A key is placed in the Bible, at that part which is called Solomon's Song; the Bible and key are then fastened strongly to- gether by means of a ribbon, which is wound round the Bible, and passed several times through the handle of the key, which projects from the top of the book. The diviner then causes the person robbed to name the names of any person or persons whom he may sus pect. The two parties, the robbed and the diviner, then standing up, support the book between them, the ends of the handle of the key resting on the tips of the fore-fingers of the right hand. The diviner then inquires of the Bible whether such a one committed the theft, and commences repeating the sixth and seventh verses of the eighth chapter of the Song; and if the Bible and key turn round in the mean time, the person named is consi- dered guilty. This charm has been, and still is, the source of infinite mischief, innocent individuals having frequently irretrievably lost their character amongst their neighbours, from recourse being had to the Bible and key. The slightest motion of the finger, or rather of the nail, will cause the key to revolve, so that the people named are quite at the mercy of the diviner, who is generally a cheat, or professed conjurer, and not ^infrequently a Gypsy. In like manner, the Barbary cunning man, by a slight contraction of his hand, measures three and a half spans, where he first measured three, and then pretends to know the person who has cast the evil eye, having, of course, first ascertained the names of those with whom his patient has been lately in company.
When the person who has cast the evil eye has been discovered by means of the magical process already described, the mo- ther, or wife, or sister of the sufferer walks forth, pronouncing the name of the latter with a loud voice, and making the best of her way to the house of the person guilty, takes a little of the earth from before the frontdoor of the house, and a little from before the door of his or her sleeping apartment. Some of the saliva of the culprit is then demanded, which must be given early in the morning be- fore breakfast ; then the mother, or the wife, or the sister, goes to the oven and takes from thence seven burning coals, which are slaked in water from the bath in which the women bathe. The four ingredients, earth, saliva, coals, and water, are then mixed together in a dish, and the patient is made to take three sips, and what remains is taken to a private place and buried, the person who buries it
SUPERSTITIONS OF THE NORTH. — EXODUS OF THE JEWS.
41
having to make three paces backwards, ex- claiming, "May the evil eye be buried be- neath the earth." Such are the magic for- mulae practised when the person who cast the evil eye is known. Should the cunning man be unable to ascertain who the person is, they take a glass, and going to the door, compel every person who passes to drop therein a small portion of his saliva, which is after- wards mixed with the water of the bath in which the burning coals have been slaked, and either drank, as above described, or ap- plied to the eye or body of the patient. The sick man sleeps that night on his left side, and, when he arises in the morning, feels himself cured, and will never more be afflicted by it. Many people carry papers about with them, scrawled with hieroglyphics, which are prepared by the hacumim, or sages, and sold. These papers, placed in a little bag and hung about the person, are deemed infallible pre- servatives from the " ain ara."
Let us now see what the Talmud itself says about the evil eye. The passage which we are about to quote is curious, not so much from the subject which it treats of, as in af- fording an example of the manner in which the Rabbins are wont to interpret the Scrip- ture, and the strange and wonderful deduc- tions which they draw from words and phrases apparently of the greatest simplicity.
" Whosoever when about to enter into a city is afraid of evil eyes, let him grasp the thumb of his right hand with his left hand, and his left hand thumb with his right hand, and let him cry in this manner: *I am such a one, son of such a one, sprung from the seed of Joseph;' and the evil eyes shall not prevail against him. Joseph is a fruitful bough, a fruitful bough by a well,* &c. Now you should not say by a well, but over an eye.j Rabbi Joseph Bar Henina makes the following deduction : and they shall be- come (the seed of Joseph) like fishes in mul- titude in the midst of the earth.\ Now the fishes of the sea are covered by the waters, and the evil eye has no power over them ; and so over those of the seed of Joseph the evil eye has no power."
I have been thus diffuse upon the evil eye, because of late years it has been a common practice of writers to speak of it without ap- parently possessing any farther knowledge of the subject than what may be gathered from the words themselves.
Like most other superstitions, it is, per- haps, founded on a physical reality.
I have observed, that only in hot countries, where the sun and moon are particularly dazzling, is the belief in the evil eye preva- lent. If we turn to Scripture, the wonderful book which is capable of resolving every
*Gen. xlix. 22.
f In the original there is a play on words — It i3 not necessary to enter into particulars farther than to oh- serve that in the Hebrew language " ain " means a well, and likewise an eye.
\ Gen. xlviii. 16. In the English version the exact sense of the inspired original is not conveyed. Tlie de- scendants of Joseph are to increase like fish.
mystery, I believe that we shall presently come to the solution of the evil eye. "The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night." Ps. cxxi. v. 6.
Those who wish to avoid the evil eye, in- stead of trusting in charms, scrawls, and Rab- binical antidotes, let them never loiter in the sunshine before the king of day has nearly reached his bourne in the west; for the sun has an evil eye, and his glance produces brain fevers ; and let them not sleep uncovered be- neath the smile of the moon, for her glance is poisonous, and produces insupportable itching in the eye, and not unfrequently blindness.
The northern nations have a superstition which bears some resemblance to the evil eye, when allowance is made for circum- stances. They have no brilliant sun and moon to addle the brain, and poison the eye, but the gray north has its marshes, and fenny ground, and fetid mists, which produce agues, low fevers, and moping madness, and are as fatal to cattle as to man. Such disorders are attributable to elves and fairies. This super- stition still lingers, in some parts of England, under the name of elf-shot, whilst, throughout the north, it is called elle-skiod, and elle-vild (fairy wild.) It is particularly prevalent amongst shepherds and cowherds, the people who, from their manner of life, are most ex- posed to the effects of the elf-shot. Those who wish to know more of this superstition, are referred to Thieles Danske Folkesagn, and to the notes of the Kcempe Viser, or popular Danish Ballads.
CHAPTER X.
EXODUS OF THE JEWS : THAT OF THE GYP- SIES.— INDIFFERENCE OF THE OITANOS WITH RESPECT TO RELIGION. — EZEKIEL. —
TALE OF EGYPTIAN DESCENT. QUINONES.
— MELCHIOR OF GUELAMA. RELIGIOUS
TOLERANCE. — THE INQUISITOR OF COR- DOVA.— GITANOS AND MORISCOS.
When the six hundred thousand men,* and the mixed multitude of women and children went forth from the land of Egypt, the God whom they worshipped, the only true God, went before them by day in a pillar of cloud, to lead them the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light; this God who res- cued them from slavery, who guided them through the wilderness, who was their cap- tain in battle, and who cast down before them the strong walls which encompassed the towns of their enemies, this God they still re- member, after the lapse of more than three thousand years, and still worship with ado- ration the most unbounded. If there be one event in the eventful history of the Hebrews
* Exodus, chap. xii. v. 37, 38.
E
42
THE ZINC ALL
which awakens in their minds deeper feelings of gratitude than another, it is the exodus, and that wonderful manifestation of olden mercy still serves them as an assurance that the Lord will yet one day redeem and gather together his scattered and oppressed people. "Art thou not the God who brought us out of the land of bondage ?" they exclaim in the days of their heaviest trouble and affliction. He who redeemed Israel from the hand of Pharaoh is yet capable of restoring the king- dom and sceptre to Israel.
If the Rommany trusted in any God at the period of their exodus, they must speedily have forgotten him. Coming from Ind, as they most assuredly did, it was impossible for them to have known the true, and they must have been followers (if they followed any) either of Buddh, or Brahmah, those tre- mendous phantoms which have led, and are likely still to lead, the souls of hundreds of millions to destruction ; yet they are now ignorant of such names, nor does it appear that such were ever current amongst them subsequent to their arrival in Europe, if in- deed they ever were. They brought with them no Indian idols, as far as we are able to judge at the present time, nor indeed Indian rites or observances, for no traces of such are to be discovered amongst them.
All, therefore, which relates to their ori- ginal religion is shrouded in mystery, and is likely so to remain. They may have been idolaters, or atheists, or what they now are, totally neglectful of worship of any kind; and though not exactly prepared to deny the ex- istence of a Supreme Being, as regardless of him as if he existed not, and never men- tioning his name save in oaths and blasphemy, or in moments of pain or sudden surprise, as they have heard other people do, but always* without any fixed belief, trust, or hope.
There are certainly some points of resem- blance between the children of Roma and those of Israel. Both have had an exodus, both are exiles and dispersed amongst the gentiles, by whom they are hated and de- spised, and whom they hate and despise, under the names of Busnees and Goyim ; both, though speaking the language of the Gentiles, possess a peculiar tongue, which the latter do not understand, and both possess a peculiar cast of countenance, by which they may, without difficulty, be distinguished from all other nations ; but with these points the similarity terminates. The Israelites have a peculiar religion, to which they are fanati- cally attached, the Romas have none, as they invariably adopt, though only in appearance, that of the people with whom they chance to sojourn ; the Israelites possess the most authentic history of any people in the world, and arc acquainted with and delight to re- capitulate all that has befallen their race, from ages the most remote; the Romas have no history, they do not even know the name of their original country, and the only tradi- tion which they possess, that of their Egyp-
tian origin, is a false one, whether invented by themselves or others ; the Israelites are of all people the most wealthy, the Romas the most poor; poor as a Gypsy being pro- verbial amongst some nations, though both are equally greedy of gain; and finally, though both are noted for peculiar craft and cunning, no people are more ignorant than the Romas, whilst the Jews have always been a learned people, being in possession of the oldest lite- rature in the world, and certainly the most important and interesting.
Sad and weary must have been the path of the mixed rabble of the Romas when they left India's sunny land and wended their way to the West, in comparison with the glorious exodus of the Israelites from Egypt, whose God went before them in cloud and in fire, working miracles and astonishing the hearts of their foes.
Even supposing that they worshipped Buddh or Brahmah, neither of these false deities could have accomplished for them what God effected for his chosen people, al- though it is true that the idea that a Supreme Being was watching over them, in return for the reverence paid to his image, might have cheered them 'midst storm and lightning, 'midst mountains and wildernesses, 'midst hunger, and drought, for it is assuredly better to trust even in an idol, in a tree, or a stone, than to be entirely godless ; and the most superstitious hind of the Himalayan hills who trusts in the Grand Foutsa in the hour of peril and danger, is more wise than the most enlightened atheist, who cherishes no -consoling delusion to relieve his mind, op- pressed by the terrible ideas of reality.
It is evident that the Romas arrived at the confines of Europe without any certain or rooted faith, for knowing, as we do, with what tenacity they retain their primitive habits and customs, their sect being, in all points, the same as it was four hundred years ago, it appears impossible that they should have forgotten their peculiar god, if in any peculiar god they trusted.
Though cloudy ideas of the Indian deities might be occasionally floating in their minds, these ideas, doubtless, quickly passed away when they ceased to behold the pagodas and temples of Indian worship, and were no longer in contact with the enthusiastic adorers of the idols of the East ; they passed away even as the dim and cloudy ideas which they subsequently adopted of the Eternal and His Son, Mary and the saints would pass away when they ceased to be nourished by the sight of churches and crosses; for should it please the Almighty to reconduct the Romas to Indian climes, who can doubt that within half a century they would entirely forget all con- nected with the religion of the West! Any poor shreds of that faith which they bore with them they would drop by degrees as they would relinquish their European garments when they became old, and as they relin- quished their Asiatic ones to adopt those of Europe ; no particular dress makes a part of
TALE OF EGYPTIAN DESCENT.
43
the things essential to the sect of Roma, so likewise no particular god and no particular religion.
Where these people first assumed the name of Egyptians, or where that title was first bestowed upon them, it is difficult to de- termine; perhaps, however, in the eastern parts of Europe, where it should seem the grand body of this nation of wanderers made a halt for a considerable time, and where they are still to be found in greater numbers than in any other part. One thing is certain, that when they first entered Germany, which they speedily overran, they appeared under the character of Egyptians, doing penance for the sin of having refused hospitality to the Virgin and her Son, and, of course, as be- lievers in the Christian ftiith, notwithstanding that they subsisted by the perpetration of every kind of robbery and imposition; Aven- tinus (Annalibus Boiorum, 826) speaking of them says: "Adeo tamen vana superstitio hominum mentes, velut lethargus invasit, ut eos violari nefas putet, atque grassari futari imponere passim sinant."
This singular story of banishment from Egypt, and wandering through the world for a periocUof seven years, for inhospitality dis- played to the Virgin, and which I find much difficulty in attributing to the invention of people so ignorant as the Romas, tallies strangely with the fate foretold to the ancient Egyptians in certain chapters of Ezekiel, so much so, indeed, that it seems to be derived from that source. The Lord is angry with Egypt because its inhabitants have been a staff of reed to the house of Israel, and thus he threatens them by the mouth of his pro- phet:
"I will make the land of Egypt desolate in the midst of the countries that are desolate, and her cities among the cities that are laid waste shall be desolate forty years : and I will scatter the Egyptians among the na- tions, and will disperse them through the countries." Ezek. chap. xxix. v. 12. "Yet thus saith the Lord God; at the end of forty years will I gather the Egyptians from the people whither they were scattered," v. 13.
"Thus saith the Lord; I will make the multitude of Egypt to cease, by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon." Chap. xxx. v. 10.
" And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and disperse them among the countries ; and they shall know that I am the Lord." Chap. xxx. v. 26.
The reader will at once observe that the apocryphal tale which the Romas brought into Germany, concerning their origin and wan- derings, agrees in every material point with the sacred prophecy. The ancient Egyptians were to be driven from their country and dispersed amongst the nations, for a period of forty years, for having been the cause of Israel's backsliding, and for not. having known the Lord, — the modern pseudo Egyptians are to be dispersed among the nations for seven years, for having denied hospitality to the
Virgin and her child. The prophecy seems only to have been remodelled for the purpose of suiting the taste of the time ; as no legend possessed much interest in which the Virgin did not figure, she and her child are here in- troduced instead of the Israelites, and the Lord of Heaven offended with the Egyp- tians ; and this legend appears to have been very well received in Germany, for a time at least; for, as Aventinus observes, it was es- teemed a crime of the first magnitude to offer any violence to the Egyptian pilgrims, who were permitted to rob on the highway, to commit larceny, and to practise every species of imposition with impunity.
The tale, however, of the Romas could hardly have been invented by themselves, as they were, and still are, utterly unacquainted with the Scripture; it probably originated amongst the priests and learned men of the east of Europe, who, startled by the sudden apparition of bands of people foreign in ap- pearance and language, skilled in divination, and the occult arts, endeavoured to find in Scripture a clue to such a phenomenon ; the result of which was that the Romas of Hin- dustan were suddenly transformed into Egyp- tian penitents, a title which they have ever since borne in various parts of Europe. There are no means of ascertaining whether they themselves believed from the first in this story; they most probably took it on credit, more especially as they could give no ac- count of themselves, there being every reason for supposing that from time immemorial they had existed in the East as a thievish wandering sect, as they at present do in Europe, without history or traditions, and unable to look back for a period of eighty years. The tale moreover answered their purpose, as beneath the garb of penitence they could rob and cheat with impunity, for a time at least. One thing is certain, that in whatever manner the tale of their Egyp- tian descent originated, many branches of the sect place implicit confidence in it at the present day, more especially those of Eng- land and Spain.
Even at the present time there are writers who contend that the Romas are the de- scendants of the ancient Egyptians, who were scattered amongst the nations by the Assyrians. This belief they principally found upon particular parts of the prophecy from which we have already quoted, and there is no lack of plausibility in the arguments which they deduce therefrom. The Egyptians, say they, were to fall upon the open fields, they were not to be brought together nor ga- thered ; they were to be dispersed through the countries, their idols were to be de- stroyed, and their images were to cease out of Noph ! In what people in the world do these denunciations appear to be verified save the Gypsies? — a people who pass their lives in the open fields, who are not gathered together, who arc dispersed through the countries, who have no idols, no images, nor any fixe-d or certain religion.
44
THE ZINCALI.
In Spain, the want of religion amongst the Gitanos was speedily observed, and be- came quite as notorious as their want of honesty; they have been styled atheists, hea- then idolaters and Moors. In the little book of Quiiiones, we find the subject noticed in the following manner:
"They do not understand what kind of thing the church is, and never enter it but for the purpose of committing sacrilege. They do not know the prayers; for I exa- mined them myself, males and females, and they knew them not, or if any, very imper- fectly. They never partake of the Holy Sacraments, and though they marry relations they procure no dispensations.* No one knows whether they are baptized. One of the five whom I caused to be hung a few days ago, was baptized in the prison, being at the time upwards of thirty years of age. Don Martin Fajardo says that two Gitanos and a Gitana, whom he hanged in the village of Torre Perojil, were baptized at the foot of the gallows, and declared themselves Moors.
"They invariably look out, when they marry, if we can call theirs marrying, for the woman, most dexterous in pilfering and de- ceiving, caring nothing whether she is akin to them or married already,! for it is only necessary to keep her company and to call her wife. Sometimes they purchase them from their husbands, or receive them as pledges : so says, at least, Doctor Salazar de Mendoza.
"Friar Melchior of Guelama states that he heard asserted of two Gitanos what was never yet heard of any barbarous nation, namely, that they exchanged their wives, and that as one was more comely-looking than the other, he who took the handsome woman gave a certain sum of money to him who took the ugly one. The licentiate Alonzo Duran has certified to me that, in the year 1623-4, one Simon Ramirez, cap- tain of a band of Gitanos, repudiated Teresa because she was old, and married one called Melchora, who was young and handsome, and that on the day when the repudiation took place and the bridal was celebrated he was journeying along the road, and perceived a company feasting and revelling beneath some trees in a plain within the jurisdiction of the village of Deleitosa, and that on de- manding the cause he was told that it was on account of Simon Ramirez marrying one Gitana and casting off another; and that the repudiated woman told him, with an agony of tears, that he abandoned her because she was old, and married another because she was young. Certain Gitanos and Gitanas confessed before Don Martin Fajardo that they did not really marry, but that in their banquets and festivals they selected the wo- man whom they liked, and that it was lawful for them to have as many as three mistresses, and on that account they begat so many
* Quiiiones, p. 11.
t The writer will hy no menus answer for the truth of these statements respecting Gypsy miurlnges.
children. They never keep fasts nor any ecclesiastical command. They always eat meat, Friday and Lent not excepted; the morning when I seized those whom I after- wards executed, which was in Lent, they had three lambs which they intended to eat for their dinner that day." — Quiiiones, page 13. Although what is stated in the above ex- tracts, respecting the marriages of the Gitanos and their licentious manner of living, is, for the most part, incorrect, there is no reason to conclude the same with respect to their want of religion in the olden time, and their slight regard for the forms and observances of the church, as their behaviour at the pre- sent day serves to confirm what is said on those points. From the whole, we may form a tolerably correct idea of the opinions of the time respecting the Gitanos in matters of morality and religion. A very natural ques- tion now seems to present itself, namely; what steps did the government of Spain, civil and ecclesiastical, which has so often trum- peted its zeal in the cause of what it calls the Christian religion, which has so often been the scourge of the Jew, of the Maho- metan, and of the professors of the reformed faith ; what steps did it take towards convert- ing, punishing, and rooting out from Spain, a sect of demi-atheists, who, besides being cheats and robbers, disr. layed the most marked indifference for the forms of the Catholic re- ligion, and presumed to eat flesh every day, and to intermarry with their relations, with- out paying the vicegerent of Christ here on earth for permission so to do"?
The Gitanos have at all times, since their first appearance in Spain, been notorious for their contempt of religious observances; yet there is no proof that they were subjected to persecution on that account. The men have been punished as robbers and murderers, with the gallows and the galleys ; the women, as thieves and sorceresses, with imprisonment, flagellation, and sometimes death; but as a rabble, living without fear of God, and, by so doing, affording an evil example to the nation at large, few people gave themselves much trouble about them, though they may have occasionally been designated as such in a royal edict, intended to check their robberies, or by some priest from the pulpit, from whose stable they had perhaps contrived to extract the mule which previously had the the honour of ambling beneath his portly person.
The Inquisition, which burnt so many Jews and Moors, and conscientious Christians, at Seville and Madrid, and in other parts of Spain, seems to have exhibited the oreatest clemency and forbearance to the Gitanos. Indeed, we cannot find one instance of its having interferred with them. The charge of restraining the excesses of the Gitanos, was abandoned entirely to the secular autho- rities, and more particularly to the Santa Hermandad, a kind of police instituted for the purpose of clearing the roads of robbers. Whilst 1 resided at Cordova, I was acquainted with an aged ecclesiastic, who was priest of d
THE EXPULSION OF THE GITANOS.
45
village called Puente, at about two leagues' distance from the city. He was detained in Cordova on account of his political opinions, though he was otherwise at liberty. We lived together at the same house; and he frequently visited me in my apartment.
This person, who was upwards of eighty years of age, had formerly been inquisitor at Cordova. One night, whilst we were seated together, three Gitanos. entered to pay me a visit, and on observing the old ecclesiastic, exhibited every mark of dissatisfaction, and, speaking in their own idiom, called him a balichow, and abused priests in general in most unmeasured terms. On their departing, I inquired of the old man whether he, who having been an inquisitor, was doubtless versed in the annals of the holy office, could inform me whether the Inquisition had ever taken any active measures for the suppres- sion and punishment of the sect of the Gita- nos : whereupon he replied, " that he was not aware of one case of a Gitano having been tried or punished by the Inquisition ;" adding these remarkable words: "The Inquisition always looked upon them with too much con- tempt to give itself the slightest trouble con- cerning them ; for as no danger either to the state, or the church of Rome, would proceed from the Gitanos, it was a matter of perfect indifference to the holy office, whether they lived without religion or not. The holy office has always reserved its anger for people very different; the Gitanos having at all times been Gente barrata y despreciable."
Indeed, most of the persecutions which have arisen in Spain against Jews, Moors, and Protestants, sprang from motives with which fanaticism and bigotry, of which it is true the Spaniards have their full share, had very little connexion. Religion was assumed as a mask to conceal the vilest and most de- testable motives which ever yet led to the commission of crying injustice; the Jews were doomed to persecution and destruction on two accounts, their great riches, and their high superiority over the Spaniards in learn- ing and intellect. Avarice has always been the dominant passion in Spanish minds, their rage for money being only to be compared to the wild hunger of wolves for horse-flesh in the time of winter; next to avarice, envy of superior talent and accomplishment, is the prevailing passion. These two detestable feelings united, proved the ruin of the Jews in Spain, who were, for a long time, an eye- sore, both to the clergy and laity, for their great riches and learning. Much the same causes insured the expulsion of the Moriscos, who were abhorred for their superior industry, which the Spaniards would not imitate ; whilst the Reformation was kept down by the gaunt arm of the Inquisition, lest the property of the church should pass into other and more deserving hands. The fagot piles in the squares of Seville and Madrid, which con- sumed the bodies of the Hebrew, the Morisco, and the Protestant, were lighted by avarice and envy, and those same piles would like- 7
wise have consumed the Mulatto carcass of the Gitano, had he been learned and wealthy enough to become obnoxious to the two mas- ter passions of the Spaniards.
Of all the Spanish writers who have written concerning the Gitanos, the one who appears to have been the most scandalized at the want of religion observable amongst them, and their contempt for things sacred, was a certain Dr. Sancho De Moncada.
This worthy, whom we have already had occasion to mention, was Professor of The- ology at the University of Toledo, and shortly after the expulsion of the Moriscos had been brought about by the intrigues of the monks and robbers who thronged the court of Philip the Third, he endeavoured to get up a cry against the Gitanos similar to that with which for the last half century Spain had resounded against the unfortunate and oppressed Afri- cans, and to effect this, he published a dis- course, entitled "The Expulsion of the Gita- nos," addressed to Philip the Third, in which he conjures that monarch, for the sake of morality and every thing sacred, to complete the good work he had commenced, and to send the Gitanos packing after the Moriscos
Whether this discourse produced any be- nefit to the author, we have no means of as- certaining. One thing is certain, that it did no harm to the Gitanos, who still continue in Spain.
If he had other expectations, he must have understood very little of the genius of his countrymen, or of King Philip and his court. It would have been easier to get up a crusade against the wild cats of the sierra, than against the Gitanos, as the former have skins to re- ward those who slay them. His discourse, however, is well worthy of perusal, as it ex- hibits some learning, and comprises many curious details respecting the Gitanos, their habits, and their practices. As it is not very lengthy, we here subjoin it, hoping that the reader will excuse its many absurdities, for the sake of its many valuable facts.
CHAPTER XI.
THE EXPULSION OF THE GITANOS ; A DIS- COURSE ADDRESSED BY DOCTOR SANCHO DE MONCADA TO PHILIP THE THIRD.
"SIRE,
"The people of God were always afflicted by the Egyptians, but the Supreme King delivered them from their hands by means of many miracles, which are related in the Holy Scriptures; and now, without having recourse to so many, but only by means of the miracu- lous talent which your Majesty possesses for expelling such reprobates, he will, doubtless, free this kingdom from them, which is what is supplicated in this discourse, and it be- hooves us, in the first place, to consider E2
46
THE ZINC4LI.
" WHO ARE THE GITANOS ]
" Writers generally agree that the first time the Gitanos were seen in Europe was the year 1417, which was in the time of Pope Martinus the Fifth and King Don John the Second ; others say that Tamerlane had them in his camp in 1401, and that their captain was Cingo, from whence it is said that, they call themselves Cingary. But the opinions concerning their origin are infinite.
" The first is that they are foreigners, though authors differ much with respect to the country from whence they came. The ma- jority say that they are from Africa, and that they came with the Moors when Spain was lost; others that they are Tartars, Persians, Cilicians, Nubians, from Lower Egypt, from Syria, or from other parts of Asia and Africa, and others consider them to be descendants of Chus, son of Cain; others say that they are of European origin, Bohemians, Ger- mans, or outcasts from other nations of this quarter of the world.
" The second and sure opinion is, that those who prowl about Spain are not Egyptians but swarms of wasps and atheistical wretches, without any kind of law or religion, Spaniards, who have introduced this Gypsy life or sect, and who admit into it every day all the idle and broken people of Spain. There are some foreigners who would make Spain the origin and fountain of all the Gypsies of Europe, as they say that they proceeded from a river in Spain called Cija, of which Lucan makes mention; an opinion, however, not much adopted amongst the learned. In the opinion of respectable authors, they are called Cin- gary or Cinli, because they in every respect resemble the bird cinclo, which we call in Spanish Motacilla, or aguzanieve, (wag-tail,) which is a vagrant bird and builds no nest,* but broods in those of other birds, a bird rest- less and poor of plumage, as Elian writes.
" THE GITANOS ARE VERY HURTFUL TO SPAIN.
"There is not a nation which does not consi- der them as a most pernicious rabble; even the Turks and Moors abominate them, amongst whom this sect is found under the names of Torlaquis,f Hugiemalars, and Dervislars, of whom some historians make mention, and all agree that they are most evil people, and highly detrimental to the country where they are found.
" In the first place, because in all parts they are considered as enemies of the states where they wander, and as spies and traitors to the crown ; which was proven by the emperors Maximilian and Albert, who declared them to be such in public edicts; a fact easy to be believed, when we consider that they enter with ease into the enemies' country, and know the languages of all nations.
* This statement is incorrect.
f The Torlnquis. (idle vagabonds,) TIadpies, (saints,) and Dervishes, i mendicant friars,) of the East, are Gyp- sies neither by origin nor habits, but are in general peo pie who support themselves in idleness bv practising upon the credulity and superstition of the Moslems.
"Secondly, because they are idle vagabond people, who are in no respect useful to the kingdom ; without commerce, occupation, or trade of any description ; and if they have any it is making pick-locks and pot-hooks for appearance sake, being wasps, who only live by sucking and impoverishing the country, sustaining themselves by the sweat of the miserable labourers, as a German poet has said of them:
' duos aliena juvant, propriis habitare molestum, Fastidit patrium non nisi nosse solum.'
They are much more useless than the Mo- riscos, as these last were of some service to the state and the royal revenues, but the Gi- tanos are neither labourers, gardeners, me- chanics, nor merchants, and only serve, like the wolves, to plunder and to flee.
" Thirdly, because the Gitanas are public harlots, common, as it is said, to all the Gi- tanos, and with dances, demeanour, and filthy songs, are the cause of continual detriment to the souls of the vassals of your majesty, it being notorious what infinite harm they have caused in many honourable houses, the mar- ried women whom they have separated from their husbands, and the maidens whom they have perverted; and finally, in the best of these Gitanas any one may recognise all the signs of a harlot given by the wise king, they are gadders about, whisperers, always unquiet in places and corners.
" Fourthly, because in all parts they are ac- counted famous thieves, about which authors write wonderful things; we ourselves have continual experience of this fact in Spain, where there is scarcely a corner where they have not committed some heavy offence.
"Father Martin Del Rio says they were notorious when he was in Leon in the year 1584; as they even attempted to sack the town of Logrofio in the time of the pest, as Don Francisco De Cordoba writes in his Di- dascalia. Enormous cases of their excesses we see in infinite processes in all the tri- bunals, and particularly in that of the Holy Brotherhood; their wickedness ascending to such a pitch, that they steal children, and carry them for sale to Barbary ; the reason why the Moors call them, in Arabic, Raso cherany,* which, as Andreas Tebetus writes, means master thieves. Although they are addicted to every species of robbery, they mostly practise horse and cattle stealing, on which account they are called in \&\v Abigcos, and in Spanish Quatreros, from which prac- tice great evils result to the poor labourers. When they cannot steal cattle, they endea- vour to deceive by means of them, acting as terceros in fairs and markets.
"Fifthly, because they are enchanters, di- viners, magicians, chiromancers, who tell the future by the lines of the hand, which is what they call liuena ventura, and are, in general, addicted to all kind of superstition.
* In the Moorish Arabic, reus al haramin, the literal meaning being, M heads or captains of thieves."
THE EXPULSION OF THE GITANOS.
47
"This is the opinion entertained of them universally, and which is confirmed every day by experience; and some think that they are called Cingary, from the great Magian Cineus, from whom it is said they learned their sor- ceries, and from which result in Spain (es- pecially amongst the vulgar) great errors, and superstitious credulity, mighty witchcrafts, and heavy evils, both spiritual and corporeal.
"Sixthly, because very devout men con- sider them as heretics, and many as Gentile idolaters, or atheists, without any religion, al- though they exteriorly accommodate them- selves to the religion of the country in which they wander, being Turks with the Turks, heretics with the heretics, and amongst the Christians, baptizing now and then a child for form's sake. Friar Jayme Bleda produces a hundred signs, from which he concludes that the Moriscos were not Christians, all which are visible in the Gitanos ; very few are known to baptize their children ; they are not married, but it is believed that they keep the women in common ; they do not use dis- pensations, nor receive the sacraments ; they pay no respect to images, rosaries, bulls, neither do they hear mass, nor divine ser- vices ; they never enter the churches, nor observe fasts, Lent, nor any ecclesiastical precept ; which enormities have been attested by long experience, as every person says.
"Finally, they practise every kind of wickedness in safety, by discoursing amongst themselves in a language with which they understand each other without being under- stood, which in Spain is called Gerigonza, which, as some think, ought to be called Cin- gerionza, or language of Cingary. The king our lord saw the evil of such a practice in the law which he enacted at Madrid, in the year 1566, in which he forbade the Arabic to the Moriscos, as the use of different languages amongst the natives of one kingdom opens a door to treason, and is a source of heavy in- convenience ; and this is exemplified more in the case of the Gitanos than of any other people.
"the gitanos ought to be seized wherever found.
"The civil law ordains that vagrants be seized wherever they are found, without any favour being shown to them; in conformity with which, the Gitanos in the Greek empire were given as slaves to those who should cap- ture them ; as respectable authors write. Moreover, the emperor, our lord, has decreed, by a law made in Toledo, in the year 1525, that the third time they be found wandering they shall serve as slaves during their whole life to those who capture them. Which can be easily justified, inasmuch as there is no shepherd who does not place barriers against the wolves, and does not endeavour to save his flock, and I have already exposed to your majesty the damage which the Gitanos per- petrate in Spain.
"THE GITANOS OUGHT TO BE CONDEMNED TO DEATH.
"The reasons are many. The first, for being spies, and traitors to the crown ; the second, as idlers and vagabonds.
" It ought always to be considered, that no sooner did the race of man begin, afier the creation of the world, than the important point of civil policy arose of condemning va- grants to death ; for Cain was certain that he should meet his destruction in wandering as a vagabond for the murder of Abel. Ero vagus et profugus in terra: omnis igitur qui inveuerit me, occidet me. Now, the igitur stands here as a natural consequence of vagus ero; as it is evident, that whoever shall see me must kill me, because he sees me a wanderer. And it must always be re- membered, that at that time there were no people in the world but the parents and bro- thers of Cain, as St. Ambrose has remarked. Moreover, God, by the mouth of Jeremias, menaced his people, that all should devour them whilst they went wandering amongst the mountains. And it is a doctrine enter- tained by theologians, that the mere act of wandering, without any thing else, carries with it a vehement suspicion of capital crime. Nature herself demonstrates it in the curious political system of the bees, in whose well governed republic the drones are killed in April, when they commence working.
"The third, because they are stealers of four-footed beasts, who are condemned to death by the laws of Spain, in the wise code of the famous King Don Alonso ; which enact- ment became a part of the common law.
" The fourth, for wizards, diviners, and for other arts which they practise, which are prohibited under pain of death by the divine law itself. And Saul is praised for having caused this law to be put in execution in the beginning of his reign ; and the Holy Scrip- ture attributes to the breach of it (namely, his consulting the witch) his disastrous death, and the transfer of the kingdom to David. The emperor Constantine the Great, and other emperors who founded the civil law, condemned to death those who should prac- tise such facinorousness, — as the President of Tolosa has written.
"The last and most urgent cause is, that they are heretics, if what is said be truth ; and it is the practice of the law in Spain to burn such.
"THE GITANOS ARE EXPELLED FROM THE COUNTRY BY THE LAWS OF SPAIN.
"Firstly, they are comprehended as hale beggars in the law of the wise king, Don Alonso, by which he expelled all sturdy beg- gars, as being idle and useless.
"Secondly, the law expels public harlots from the city; and of this matter I have al- ready said something in my second chapter.
" Thirdly, as people who cause scandal, and who, as is visible at the first glance, are prejudicial to morals and common decency.
4S
THE ZINCALI.
Now, it is established by the statute law of these kingdoms, that such people be expelled therefrom ; it is said so in the well pondered words of the edict for the expulsion of the Moors: — 'And forasmuch as the sense of good and Christian government makes it a matter of conscience to expel from the king- doms the things which cause scandal, injury to honest subjects, danger to the state, and above all, disloyalty to the Lord our God.' Therefore, considering the incorrigibility of the Gitanos, the Spanish kings made many holy laws in order to deliver their subjects from such pernicious people.
" Fourthly, the Catholic princes, Ferdinand and Isabella, by a law which they made in Medina del Campo, in the year 1494, and which the emperor our lord renewed in To- ledo in 1523, and in Madrid in 1528 and 1534, and the late king our lord, in 1560, banished them perpetually from Spain, and gave them as slaves to whomsoever should find them, after the expiration of the term specified in the edict — laws which are notorious even amongst strangers. The words are : — ' We declare to be vagabonds, and subject to the aforesaid penalty, the Egyptians and foreign tinkers, who by laws and statutes of these kingdoms are commanded to depart there- from ; and the poor sturdy beggars, who, con- trary to the order given in the new edict, beg for alms and wander about.'
"THE laws are very just which expel
THE GITANOS FROM THE STATES.
" All the doctors who are of opinion that the Gitanos may be condemned to death, would consider it as an act of mercy in your majesty to banish them perpetually from Spain, and at the same time as exceedingly just. Many learned men not only consider that it is just to expel them, but cannot suf- ficiently wonder that they are tolerated in Christian states, and even consider that such toleration is an insult to the kingdoms.
u Whilst engaged in writing this, 1 have ceen a very learned memorial, in which Dr. Salazar de Mendoza makes the same suppli- cation to your majesty, which is made in this discourse, holding it to be the imperious duty of every good government.
''It stands in reason that the prince is bound to watch for the Welfare of his subjects, and the wrongs which those of your majesty receive from the Gitanos I have already ex- posed in my second chapter; it being a point worthy of great consideration that the wrongs caused by the Moriscos moved your royal and merciful bosom to drive them out, although they were many, and their departure would be felt as a loss to the population, the com- merce, the royal revenues, and agriculture. Now, with respect to the Gitanos, as they are fjw, and perfectly useless for every thing, it ap- pears more necessary to drive them forth, the injuries which they cause being so numerous.
" Secondly, because the Gitanos, as I have already said, are Spaniards; and as others profess the sacred orders of religion, even so
do these fellows profess gypsying, which is robbery, and all the other vices enumerated in chapter the second. And whereas it is just to banish from the kingdom those who have committed any heavy delinquency, it is still more so to banish those who profess to be injurious to all.
"Thirdly, because all the kings and rulers have always endeavoured to eject from their kingdoms the idle and useless. And it is very remarkable, that the law invariably com- mands them to be expelled, and the republics of Athens and Corinth were accustomed to do so, — casting them forth like dung, even as Athenseus writes: — Nos genus hoc morta- lium ejicimus ex hac urbe velut purgamina. Now the profession of the Gypsy is idleness.
"Fourthly, because the Gitanos are di- viners, enchanters, and mischievous wretches, and the law commands us to expel such from the state.
11 In the fifth place, because your majesty, in the cortes at present assembled, has obliged your royal conscience to fulfil all the articles voted for the public service, and the forty- ninth says : — ' One of the things at present most necessary to be done in these kingdoms, is to afford a remedy for the robberies, plun- dering and murders committed by the Gitanos, who go wandering about the country, stealing the cattle of the poor, and committing a thou- sand outrages, living without any fear of God, and being Christians only in name. It is therefore deemed expedient, that your ma- jesty command them to quit these kingdoms within six months, to be reckoned from the day of the ratification of these presents, and that they do not return to the same under pain of death.'
11 Against this, two things may possibly be urged :
"The first, that the laws of Spain give unto the Gitanos the alternative of residing in large towns, which, it appears, would be better than expelling them. But experience, recognised by grave and respectable men, has shown that it is not well to harbour these people ; for their houses are dens of thieves, from whence they prowl abroad to rob the land.
"The second, that it appears a pity to banish the women and children. But to this can be opposed that holy act of your majesty which expelled the Moriscos, and the children of the Moriscos, for the reason given in the royal edict. Whenever any detestable crime is committed by any university, it is well to punish all. And the most detestable crimes of all are those which the Gitanos commit, since it is notorious that they subsist on what they steal ; and as to the children, there is no law which obliges us to bring up wolf- whelps, to cause hereafter certain damage to the tiock.
" IT HAS EVER BEEN THE PRACTICE OF PRINCES TO EXPEL THE GITANOS.
"Every one who considers the manner of your majesty's government as the truly Chris J
LAWS FOR THE SUPPRESSION OF THE GITANOS.
49
tian pattern, must entertain fervent hope that the advice proffered in this discourse will be attended to; more especially on reflecting that not only the good, but even the most barbarous kings have acted upon it in their respective dominions.
" Pharaoh was bad enough, nevertheless he judged that the children of Israel were dan- gerous to the state, because they appeared to him to be living without any certain occupa- tion ; and for this very reason the Chaldeans cast them out of Babylon. Amasis, King of Egypt, drove all the vagrants from his king- dom, forbidding them to return under pain of death. The Soldan of Egypt expelled the Torlaquis. The Moors did the same, and Bajazet cast them out of all the Ottoman em- pire, according to Leo Clavius.
44 In the second place, the Christian princes have deemed it an important measure of state.
"The emperor our lord, in the German Diets of the year 1548, expelled the Gitanos from all his empire, and these were the words of the decree: — 'Zigeuner quos compertum est proditores esse, et exploratores hostium nusquam in imperio locum inveniunto. In deprehensos vis et injuria sine fraude esto. Fides publica Zigeuners ne dator, nee data servator.'
" The King of France, Francis, expelled them from thence; and the Duke of Terranova, when Governor of Milan for our lord the king, obliged them to depart from that territory under pain of death.
" Thirdly, there is one grand reason which ought to be conclusive in moving him who so much values himself in being a faithful son of the church, — I mean the example which Pope Pius the Fifth gave to all the princes ; for he drove the Gitanos from all his domains, and in the year 1568, he expelled the Jews, as- signing as reasons for their expulsion those which are more closely applicable to the Gi- tanos;— namely, that they sucked the vitals of the state, without being of any utility whatever; that they were thieves themselves, and harbourers of others ; that they were wizards, diviners, and wretches, who induced people to believe that they knew the future, which is what the Gitanos at present do by telling fortunes.
" Your majesty has already freed us from greater and more dangerous enemies ; finish, therefore, the enterprise begun, whence will result universal joy and security, and by which your majesty will earn immortal honour. Amen.
" O Regum summe, horum plura ne temnas (absit) ne forte tempsisse Hispania; periculo- suni existat."
CHAPTER XII.
VARIOUS LAWS ISSUED AGAINST THE SPANISH GYPSIES, FROM THE TIME OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA, TO THE LATTER PART OF
THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY, EMBRACING A PERIOD OF NEARLY THREE HUNDRED YEARS.
Perhaps there is no country in which more laws have been framed, having in view the extinction and suppression of the Gypsy name, race, and manner of life, than Spain. Every monarch, during a period of three hundred years, appears at his accession to the throne to have considered that one of his first and most imperative duties consisted in suppress- ing or checking the robberies, frauds, and other enormities of the Gitanos, with which the whole country seems to have resounded since the time of their first appearance.
They have, by royal edicts, been repeatedly banished from Spain, under terrible penalties, unless they renounced their inveterate habits ; and for the purpose of eventually confounding them with the residue of the population, they have been forbidden, even when stationary, to reside together, every family being en- joined to live apart, and neither to seek, nor to hold communication with others of the race.
We shall say nothing at present, as to the wisdom which dictated these provisions, nor whether others might not have been devised, better calculated to produce the end desired. Certain it is, that the laws were never, or very imperfectly, put in force, and for reasons with which their expediency or equity (which no one at the time impugned) had no con- nexion whatever.
It is true, that in a country like Spain, abounding in wildernesses and almost inac- cessible mountains, the task of hunting down and exterminating, or banishing the roving bands, would have been found one of no slight difficulty, even if such had ever been at- tempted; but it must be remembered, that from an early period colonies of Gitanos have existed in the principal towns of Spain, where the men have plied the trades of joc- keys and blacksmiths, and the women sub- sisted by divination, and all kinds of fraud. These colonies were, of course, always within the reach of the hand of justice, yet it does not appear that they were more interfered with than the roving and independent bands, and that any serious attempts were made to break them up, though notorious as nurseries and refuges of crime.
It is a lamentable fact, that pure and uncor- rupt justice has never existed in Spain, as far at least as record will allow us to judge ; not that the principles of justice have been lest understood than in other countries, but be- cause the entire system of justiciary adminis- tration is shamelessly profligate and vile.
Spanish justice has invariably been a mockery, a thing to be bought and sold, ter- rible only to the feeble and innocent, and an instrument of cruelty and avarice.
The tremendous satires of Le Sage upon Spanish corregidors and alguazils, are true, even at the present day, and the most noto- jrious offenders can generally escape, if able
50
THE ZINCALI.
to administer sufficient bribes to the minis- ters* of what is misnamed justice.
The reader, whilst perusing the following extracts from the laws framed against the Gitanos, will be filled with wonder that the Gypsy sect still exists in Spain contrary to the declared will of the sovereign and the nation, so often repeated during a period of three hundred years ; yet such is the fact, and it can only be accounted for on the ground of corruption.
It was notorious that the Gitanos had pow- erful friends and favourers in every district, who sanctioned and encouraged them in their Gypsy practices. These their fautors were of all ranks and grades, from the corregidor of noble blood, to the low and obscure escri- bano ; and from the viceroy of the province, to the archer of the Hermandad.
To the high and noble, they were known as Chalanes, and to the plebeian functiona- ries, as people who notwithstanding their general poverty, could pay for protection.
A law was even enacted against these pro- tectors of the Gitanos, which of course failed, as the execution of the law was confided to the very delinquents against whom it was directed. Thus, the Gitano bought, sold, and exchanged animals openly, though he subjected himself to the penalty of death by so doing, or left his habitation when he thought fit, though such an act, by the law of the land, was punishable with the galleys.
In one of their songs they have comme- morated the impunity with which they wan- dered about : The escnbano, to whom the Gitanos of the neighbourhood pay contribu- tion, on a strange Gypsy being brought be- fore him, instantly orders him to be liberated, assigning as a reason, that he is no Gitano, but a legitimate Spaniard :
" I left my house, and walked about, They seized me fast, and bound: It is a Gypsy thief, they shout, The Spaniards here have found.
" From out the prison me they led, Before the scribe they brought: It is no Gypsy thief, he said. The Spaniards here have caught."
In a word, nothing was to be gained by in- terfering with the Gitanos, by those in whose hands the power was vested : but, on the contrary, something was to be lost. The chief sufferers were the labourers, and they had no power to right themselves, though their wrongs were universally admitted, and laws for their protection continually being made, which their enemies contrived to set at nought ; as will presently be seen.
The first law issued against the Gypsies appears to have been that of Ferdinand and j Isabella, at Medina Del Campo, in 1499. In this edict they were commanded, under cer- tain penalties, to become stationary in towns and villages, and to provide themselves with
*A favourite saying amongst this class of people, is the following: " Es preciso que cada uno coma de su tiiitiio."
masters whom they might serve for their maintenance, or in default thereof, to quit the kingdom at the end of sixty days. No mention is made of the country to which they were expected to betake themselves in the event of their qyitting Spain. Perhaps, as they are called Egyptians, it was concluded that they would forthwith return to Egypt ; but the framers of the law never seem to have considered what means these Egyptians pos- sessed of transporting their families and themselves across the sea to such a distance, or if they betook themselves to other coun- tries, what reception a host of people, con- fessedly thieves and vagabonds, wore likely to meet with, or whether it was fair in the two Christian princes to get rid of such a nuisance at the expense of their neighbours. Such matters were of course left for the Gyp- sies themselves to settle.
In this edict, a class of individuals is men- tioned in conjunction with the Gitanos, or Gypsies, but distinguished from them by the name of foreign tinkers, or Calderos estran- geros. By these, we presume, were meant the Calabrians, who are still to be seen upon the roads of Spain, wandering about from town to town, in much the same way as the itinerant tinkers of England at the present day. A man half a savage, a haggard wo- man, who is generally a Spaniard, a wretched child, and still more miserable donkey, com- pose the group; the gains are of course ex- ceedingly scanty, nevertheless this life, seem- ingly so wretched, has its charms for these outcasts, who live without care and anxiety, without a thought beyond the present hour, and who sleep as sound in ruined posadas and ventas, or in ravines amongst rocks and pines, as the proudest grandee in his palace at Seville or Madrid.
Don Carlos and Donna Juanna, at Toledo, 1539, confirmed the edict of Medina Del Campo against the Egyptians, with the addi- tion, that if any Egyptian, after the expira- tion of the sixty days, should be found wan- dering about, he should be sent to the galleys for six years, if above the age of twenty and under that of fifty, and if under or above those years, punished as the preceding law provides.
Philip the Second, at Madrid, 1596, after commanding that all the laws and edicts be observed, by which the Gypsies are forbidden to wander about and commanded to establish themselves, ordains, with the view of restrain- ing their thievish and cheating practices, that none of them be permitted to sell any thino-, either within or without fairs or markets, i. not provided with a testimony signed by the notary public, to prove that they have a settled residence, and where it may be ; which testimony must also specify and describe the horses, cattle, linen, and other things, which they carry forth for sale ; otherwise they are to be punished as thieves, and what they at- tempt to sell considered as stolen property.
Philip the Third, at Belem, in Portugal, 1619, commands all the Gyosies of the king-
LAWS FOR THE SUPPRESSION OF THE GITANOS.
51
dom to quit the same within the term of six months, and never to return, under pain of death ; those who should wish to remain, are to establish themselves in cities, towns, and villages, of one thousand families and up- wards, and are not to be allowed the use of the dress, name, and language of Gypsies, in order that, forasmuch as they are not such by nation, this name and manner of life may be for ever more confounded and forgotten. They are moreover forbidden, under the same penalty, to have any thing to do with the buying or selling of cattle, whether great or small.
The most curious portion of the above law, is the passage in which these people are de- clared not to be Gypsies by nation. If they are not Gypsies, who are they then? Spa- niards ? If so, what right had the King of Spain to send the refuse of his subjects abroad, to corrupt other lands, over which he had no jurisdiction'?
The Moors were sent back to Africa, under gome colour of justice, as they came origi- nally from that part of the world, but what would have been said to such a measure, if the edict which banished them had declared that they were not Moors, but Spaniards ?
The law, moreover, in stating that they are not Gypsies by nation, seems to have forgotten that in that case it would be impos- sible to -distinguish them from other Spaniards, so soon as they should have dropped the name, language, and dress of Gypsies. How, therefore, provided they were like other Spa- niards, and did not carry the mark of another nation on their countenances, could it be known whether or not they obeyed the law, which commanded them to live only in popu- lous towns or villages, or how could they be detected in the buying or selling of cattle, which the law forbids them under pain of death?
The attempt to abolish the Gypsy name and manner of life, might have been made without the assertion of a palpable absurdity.
Philip the Fourth, May 8, 1633, after re- ference to the evil lives and want of religion of the Gypsies, and the complaints made against them by prelates and others, declares, "that the laws hitherto adopted since the year 1499, have been inefficient to restrain their excesses ; that they are not Gypsies by origin or nature, but have adopted this form of life;" and then, after forbidding them, ac- cording to custom, the dress and language of Gypsies, under the usual severe penalties, he ordains:
" 1st. That under the same penalties, the aforesaid people shall, within two months, leave the quarters (barrios) where they now live with the denomination of Gitanos, and that they shall separate from each other, and mingle with the other inhabitants, and that they shall hold no more meetings, neither in public nor in secret; that the ministers of justice are to observe, with particular dili- gence, how they fulfil these commands, and whether they hold coflwnunication with each
other, or marry amongst themselves; and how they fulfil the obligations of Christiana by assisting at sacred worship in the churches; upon which latter point they are to procure information with all possible secrecy from the curates and clergy of the parishes where the Gitanos reside.
"2dly. And in order to extirpate, in every way, the name of Gitanos, we ordain that they be not called so, and that no one venture to call them so, and that such shall be es- teemed a very heavy injury, and shall be pun- ished as such, if proved, and that nought per- taining to the Gypsies, their name, dress, or actions, be represented, either in dances or in any other performance, under the penalty of two years' banishment, and a mulct of fifty thousand maravedis to whomsoever shall of- fend for the first time, and double punishment for the second."
The above two articles seem to have in view the suppression and breaking up of the Gypsy colonies established in the large towns, more especially the suburbs ; farther on, men- tion is made of the wandering bands.
"4thly. And forasmuch as we have under- stood that numerous Gitanos rove in bands through various parts of the kingdom, com- mitting robberies in uninhabited places, and even invading some small villages, to the great terror and danger of the inhabitants, we give by this our law a general commission to all ministers of justice, whether appertain- ing to royal domains, lordships, or abbatial territories, that everyone may, in his district, proceed to the imprisonment and chastise- ment of the delinquents, and may pass beyond his own jurisdiction in pursuit of them ; and we also command all the ministers of justice aforesaid, that on receiving information that Gitanos or highwaymen are prowling in their districts, they do assemble at an appointed day, and with the necessary preparation of men and arms they do hunt down, take, and deliver them under a good guard to the near- est officer holding the royal commission."
Carlos the Second followed in the foot- steps of his predecessors, with respect to the Gitanos. By a law of the 20th of November, 1692, he inhibits the Gitanos from living in towns of less than one thousand heads of fa- milies (vecinos,) and pursuing any trade or employment, save the cultivation of the ground ; from going in the dress of Gypsies, or speaking the language or gibberish which they use ; from living apart in any particular quarter of the town ; from visiting fairs with cattle, great or small, or even selling or ex- changing such at any time, unless with the testimonial of the public notary that they were bred within their own houses. By this law they are also forbidden to have fire-arms in their possession.
So far from being abashed by this law, or the preceding one, the Gitanos seem to have increased in excesses of every kind. Only three years after, (12th June, 1095,) the same monarch deemed it necessary to publish a ' new law for their persecution and chastise-
52
THE ZINCALI.
ment. This law, which is exceedingly se- vere, consists of twenty-nine articles. By the fourth they are forbidden any other ex- ercise or manner of life than that of the cultivation of the fields, in which their wives and children, if of competent age, are to assist them. /
Of every other office, employment, or com- merce, they are declared incapable, and espe- cially of being blacksmiths.
By the fifth, they are forbidden to keep horses or mares, either within or without their houses, or to make use of them in any way whatever, under the penalty of two months' imprisonment and the forfeiture of such animals; and any one lending them a horse or a mare, is to forfeit the same, if it be found in their possession. They are declared only capable of keeping a mule, or some lesser beast, to assist them in their labour, or for the use of their families.
By the twelfth, they are to be punished with six years in the galleys, if they leave the towns or villages in which they are located, and pass to others, or wander in the fields or roads ; and they are only to be permitted to go out, in order to exercise the pursuit of husbandry. In this edict, particular mention is made of the favour and protection shown to the Gitanos, by people of various descrip- tions, by means of which they had been ena- bled to follow their manner of life undisturbed, and to baffle the severity of the laws :
" Article 16. — And because we understand that the continuance in these kingdoms of those who are called Gitanos has depended on the favour, protection, and assistance which they have experienced from persons of different stations, we do ordain, that whoso- ever, against whom shall be proved the fact of having, since the day of the publication hereof, favoured, received, or assisted the said Gitanos, in any manner whatever, whe- ther within their houses or without, the said person, provided he is noble, shall be sub- jected to the fine of six thousand ducats, the half of which shall be applied to our treasury, and the other half to the expenses of the pro- secution ; and, if a plebeian, to a punishment often years in the galleys. And we declare, that in order to proceed to the infliction of such fine and punishment, the evidence of two respectable witnesses, without stain or suspicion, shall be esteemed legitimate and conclusive, although they depose to separate acts, or three depositions of the Gitanos themselves, made upon the rack, although they relate to separate and different acts of abetting and harbouring."
The following article is curious, as it bears evidence to Gypsy craft and cunning.
"Article 18. — And whereas it is very diffi- cult to prove against the Gitanos the robbe- ries and delinquencies which they commit, partly because they happen in uninhabited places, but more especially on account of the malice and cunning with which they execute them; we do ordain, in order that they may receive the merited chastisement, that to con-
vict, in these cases, those who are called Gi- tanos, the depositions of the persons whom they have robbed in uninhabited places shall be sufficient, provided there are at least two witnesses to one and the same fact, and these of good fame and reputation ; and we also declare that the corpus delicti may be proved in the same manner, in these cases, in order that the culprits may be proceeded against, and condemned to the corresponding pains and punishments."
The council of Madrid published a schedule, 18th of August, 1705, from which it appears that the villages and roads were so much in- fested by the Gitano race, that there was neither peace nor safety for labourers and travellers; the corregidors and justices are therefore exhorted to use their utmost en- deavour to apprehend these outlaws, and to execute upon them the punishments enjoined by the preceding law. The ministers of justice are empowered to fire upon them as public enemies, wherever they meet them, in case of resistance or refusal to deliver up the arms they carry about them.
Philip the Fifth, by schedule, October 1st, 1726, forbade any complaints which the Gi- tanos might have to make against the inferior justices being heard in the higher tribunals, and, on that account, banished all the Gypsy women from Madrid, and, indeed, from all towns where royal audiences were held, it being the custom of the women to flock up to the capital from the small towns and villages, under pretence of claiming satisfaction » for wrongs inflicted upon their husbands and re- lations, and when there to practise the art of divination, and to sing obscene songs through the streets ; by this law, also, the justices are particularly commanded not to permit the Gitanos to leave their places of domicile, except in cases of very urgent necessity.
This law was attended with the same suc- cess as the others ; the Gitanos left their places of domicile whenever they thought proper, frequented the various fairs, and played off their jockey tricks as usual, or tra- versed the country in armed gangs, plundering the small villages, and assaulting travellers. The same monarch, in October, published another law against them, from St. Lorenzo of the Escurial. From the words of this edict, and the measures resolved upon, the reader may fofm some idea of the excesses of the Gitanos at this period. They are to be hunted down with fire and sword, and even the sanctity of the temples is to be invaded in their pursuit, and the Gitanos dragged from the horns of the altar, should they flee thither for refuge. It was impossible, in Spain, to carry the severity of persecution farther, as the very parricide was in perfect safety, could he escape to the church. Here follows part of this law.
" I have resolved that all the lord-lieute- nants, intcndants, and corregidors shall pub- lish proclamations, and fix edicts, to the ef- fect that all the Gitanos who are domiciled in the cities and towns of their jurisdiction
CARLOS TERCERO.
shall return within the space of fifteen days to their places of domicile, under penalty of being declared, at the expiration of that term, as public banditti, subject to be fired at in the event of being found with arms, or without them, beyond the limits of their places of domicile ; and at the expiration of the term aforesaid, the lord-lieutenants, intendants, and corregidors are strictly commanded, that either they themselves, or suitable persons deputed by them, march out with armed soldiery, or if there be none at hand, with the militias and their officers, accompanied by the horse rangers destined for the protection of the revenue, for the purpose of scouring the whole district within their jurisdiction, making use of all possible diligence to ap- prehend such Gitanos as are to be found on the public roads and other places beyond their domiciliary bounds, and to inflict upon them the penalty of death, for the mere act of being found.
"And in the event of their taking refuge in sacred places, they are empowered to drag them forth, and conduct them to the neigh- bouring prisons and fortresses, and provided the ecclesiastical judges proceed against the secular, in order that they be restored to the church, they are at liberty to avail themselves. of the recourse to force, countenanced by laws declaring, even as I now declare, that all the Gitanos, who shall leave their allotted places of abode, are to be held as incorrigible rebels, and enemies of the public peace."
From this period, until the year 1780, va- rious other laws and schedules were directed against the Gitanos, which, as they contain nothing very new or remarkable, we may be well excused from particularizing. In 1783, a law was passed by the government, widely differing in character from any which had hitherto been enacted in connexion with the Gitano caste or religion in Spain.
CHAPTER XIII.
CARLOS TERCERO. — HIS LAW RESPECTING THE GITANOS.
Carlos Tercero, or Charles the Third, ascended the throne of Spain in the year 1759,' and died in 1788. No Spanish monarch has left behind a more favourable impression on the minds of the generality of his country- men ; indeed, lie is the only one who is re- membered at all by all ranks and conditions; — perhaps he took the surest means for prevent- ing his name being forgotten, by erecting a durable monument in every large town, — we do not mean a pillar surmounted by a statue, or a colossal figure on horseback, but some useful and stately public edifice. All the magnificent modern buildings which
attract the eye of the traveller in Spain, sprang up during the reign of Carlos Ter- cero,— for example, the museum at Madrid, the gigantic tobacco fabric at Seville, — half fortress, half manufactory, — and the Farol, at Corunna. We suspect that these erec- tions, which speak to the eye, have gained him far greater credit amongst Spaniards, than the support which he afforded to liberal opinions, which served to fan the flame of insurrection in the new world, and eventually lost for Spain her transatlantic empire.
We have said that he left behind him a fa- vourable impression amongst the generality of his countrymen ; by which we mean the great body found in every nation, who neither think nor reason, — for there are amongst the Spaniards not a few who deny that any of his actions entitle him to the gratitude of the nation. All his thoughts, say they, were directed to hunting — and hunting alone ; and all the days of the year he employed himself either in hunting or in preparation for the sport. In one expedition, in the parks cf the Pardo, he spent several millions of reals. The noble edifices which adorn Spain, thougli built by his orders, are less due to his reign than to the anterior one, — to the reign of Ferdinand the Sixth, who left immense trea- sures, a small portion of which Carlos Ter- cero devoted to these purposes, squandering away the remainder. It is said that Carlos Tercero was no friend to superstition ; yet how little did Spain during his time gain in religious liberty. The great part of the na- tion remained intolerant and theocratic as before, the other and smaller section turned philosophic, but after the insane manner of the French revolutionists, intolerant in its incredulity, and believing more in the "En- cyclopedie," than in the gospel of the Na- zarene.
We should not have said thus much ot Carlos Tercero, whose character has been extravagantly praised by the multitude, and severely criticised by the discerning few who look deeper than the surface of things, if a law passed during his reign did not connect him intimately with the history of the Gita- nos, whose condition to a certain extent it has already altered, and over whose future destinies there can be no doubt that it will exert considerable influence. Whether Car- los Tercero had any thing farther to do with its enactment than subscribing it with his own hand, is a point difficult to determine ; the chances are that he had not; there is damning evidence* to prove that in many re- spects he was a mere Nimrod, and it is not
+ Anionc the archives of Simancas there are preserved various volumes in 4to. of manuscript letters of Carlos Tercero; they are his correspondence with certain Nea- politan sentry, his friends. These letters (we have read many) contain nothing more than accounts transmitted hy the kin;; to these individuals, of the wild hoars, Stan, and smaller game, which he had slaughtered in h1-* batidaa y monteruus—gpndtj matters to engage the atten- tion of a monarch, whilst" his fleets— and such fleets!— were hein» burnt and sunk, and the most splendid em- pire in the world was slipping from his hands.
51
THE ZINCALL
probable that such a character would occupy his thoughts much with plans for the welfare of his people, especially such a class as the Gitanos, however willing to build public edi- fices, gratifying to his own vanity, with the money which a provident predecessor had amassed.
The law in question is dated 19th Sept. 1783. It is entitled, "Rules for repressing and chastising the vagrant mode of life, and other excesses, of those who are called Gita- nos." It is in many respects widely different from all the preceding laws, and on that ac- count we have separated it from them, deem- ing it worthy of particular notice. It is evi- dently the production of a comparatively enlightened spirit, for Spain had already be- gun to emerge from the dreary night of mo- nachism and bigotry, though the light which beamed upon her was not that of the gospel, but of modern philosophy. The spirit, how- ever of the writers of the Encyclopedie is to be preferred to that of Torquemada and Mon- cada, and however deeply we may lament the many grievous omissions in the law of Car- los Tercero, (for no provision was made for the spiritual instruction of the Gitanos,) we prefer it in all points to that of Philip the Third, and to the law passed during the reign of that unhappy victim of monkish fraud, perfidy, and poison, Charles the Second.
Whoever framed the law of Carlos Tercero with respect to the Gitanos, — and it is pos- sible that the famous Count de Aranda dic- tated its provisions, — had sense enough to see that it would be impossible to reclaim and bring them within the pale of civilized soci- ety, by pursuing the course invariably adopted on former occasions, — to see that all the me- nacing edicts for the last three hundred years, breathing a spirit of blood and persecution, had been unable to eradicate Gitanismo from Spain; but, on the contrary, had rather served to extend it. Whoever framed this law, was, moreover, well acquainted with the manner of administering justice in Spain, and saw the folly of making statutes which were never put into effect. Instead, there- fore, of relying on corregidors and alguazils for the extinction of the Gypsy sect, the statute addresses itself more particularly to the Gitanos themselves, and endeavours to convince them that it would be for their in- terest to renounce their much cherished Gi- tanismo. Those who framed the former laws had invariably done their best to brand this race with infamy, and had marked out for its members, in the event of abandoning their Gypsy habits, a life to which death it- self must have been preferable in every re- spect. They were not to speak to each other, nor to intermarry, though, as they were con- sidered of an impure cnste, it was scarcely to be expected that the other Spaniards would form with them relations of love or amity, and they were debarred the exercise of any trade or occupation but hard labour, for which neither by nature nor habit they were at all adapted* The Jaw of Carlos Tercero, on
the contrary, flung open to them the whote career of arts and sciences, and declared them capable of following any trade or pro- fession to which they might please to addict themselves. Here follow extracts from the above-mentioned law.
" Art. 1. I declare that those who go by the name of Gitanos are not so by origin or nature, nor do they proceed from any infected root.
11 2. I therefore command that neither they or any one of them, shall use the language, dress, or vagrant kind of life which they have followed unto the present time, under the penalties here below contained.
" '3. I forbid all my vassals, of whatever state, class, and condition they may be, to call or name the above-mentioned people by the names of Gitanos, or New Castilians, under the same penalties to which those are subject who injure others by word or writing.
" 5. It is my will that those who abandon the said mode of life, dress, language, or jargon, be admitted to whatever offices or employments to which they may apply them- selves, and likewise to any guilds or com- munities, without any obstacle or contradic- tion being offered to them, or admitted under this pretext within or without courts of law.
"6; Those who shall oppose and refuse the admission of this class of reclaimed peo- ple to their trades and guilds, shall be mulcted ten ducats for the first time, twenty for the second, and a double quantity for the third; and during the time they continue in their opposition they shall be prohibited from ex- ercising the same trade, for a certain period, to be determined by the judge, and propor- tioned to the opposition which they display.
" 7. I grant the term of ninety days, to be reckoned from the publication of this law in the principal town of every district, in order that all the vagabonds of this and any other class may retire to the towns and vil- lages where they may choose to locate them- selves, with the exception, for the present, of the capital and the royal residences, in order that, abandoning the dress, language, and behaviour of those who are called Gita- nos, they may devote themselves to some honest office, trade, or occupation, it being a matter of indifference whether the same be connected with labour or the arts.
"8. It will not be sufficient for those who have been formerly known to follow this manner of life to devote themselves solely to the occupation of shearing and clipping animals, nor to the traffic of markets and fairs, nor still less to the occupation of keepers of inns and ventas in uninhabited places, al- though they may be inn-keepers within towns, whieh employment shall be considered as sufficient, provided always there be no well founded indications of their being delin- quents themselves, or harbourers of such people.
"9. At the expiration of ninety days, the justices shall proceed against the disobedient
CARLOS TERCERO. HIS LAW
in the following manner : — Those who having abandoned the dress, name, language, or jar- gon, association, and manners of Gitanos, and shall have moreover chosen and estab- lished a domicile, but shall not have devoted themselves to any office or employment, though it be only that of day-labourers, shall be considered as vagrants, and be appre- hended and punished according to the laws in force against such people, without any dis- tinction being made between them and the other vassals.
" 10. Those who henceforth shall commit any crimes, having abandoned the language, dress, and manners of Gitanos, chosen a domicile, and applied themselves to any office, shall be prosecuted and chastised like others guilty of the same crimes, without any dif- ference being made between them.
" 11. But those who shall have abandoned the aforesaid dress, language, and behaviour, and those who pretending to speak and dress like the other vassals, and even to choose a domiciliary residence, shall continue to go forth, wandering about the roads and unin- habited places, although it be with the pre- text of visiting markets and fairs, such peo- ple shall be pursued and taken by the jus-
tices, and a list of them formed, with their names and appellations, age, description, with the places where they say they reside and were born.
"16. I, however, except from punishment the children and young people of both sexes who are not above sixteen years of age.
"17. Such, although they may belong to a family, shall be separated from their pa- rents who wander about and have no em- ployment, and shall be destined to learn some- thing, or shall be placed out in hospices or houses of instruction.
"20. When the register of the Gitanos who have proved disobedient shall have taken place, it shall be notified and made known to them, that in case of another relapse, the punishment of death shall be executed upon them without remission, on the examination of the register, and proof being adduced that they have returned to their former life."
What effect was produced by this law, and whether its results at all corresponded to the views of those who enacted it, will be ga- thered from the following chapters of this work, in which an attempt will be made to delineate briefly the oresent condition of tho Gypsies in Spain.
PART II.
CHAPTER I.
BADAJOZ. THE GYPSIES. — THE WITHERED
ARM. GYPSY LAW. TRIMMING & SHEAR-
ING. METEMPSYCHOSIS. PACO AND AN- TONIO.— ANTONIO &> THE MAGYAR. THE
CHAI. PHARAOH. THE STEEDS OF THE
EGYPTIANS.
About twelve in the afternoon of the 6th of January, 1836, I crossed the bridge of the Guadiana, a boundary river between Portugal and Spain, and entered Badajoz, a strong town in the latter kingdom, containing about eight thousand inhabitants, supposed to have been founded by the Romans. I instantly returned thanks to God for having preserved me in a journey of five days through the wilds of the Alemtejo, the province of Portugal the most infested by robbers and desperate characters, which I had traversed with no other human companion than a lad, almost an idiot, who was to convey back the mules which had brought me from Aldea Gallega. I intended to make but a short stay, and as a diligence would set out for Madrid the day next but one to my arrival, I purposed de- parting therein for the capital of Spain.
I was standing at the door of the inn where I had taken up my temporary abode; the weather was gloomy, and rain seemed to be at hand ; I was thinking on the state of the country I had just entered, which was involved in bloody anarchy and confusion, and where the ministers of a religion falsely styled Catholic and Christian were blowing the trump of war, instead of preaching the love-engendering words of the blessed Gos- pel.
Suddenly two men, wrapped in long cloaks, came down the narrow and almost deserted street; they were about to pass, and the face of the nearest was turned full towards me; I knew to whom the countenance which he displayed must belong, and I touched him on the arm. The man stopped and likewise his companion; I said a certain word, to which, after an exclamation of surprise, he responded in the manner I expected. The men were Gitanos or Gypsies, members of that singular family or race which has diffused itself over the face of the civilized globe, and which, in all lands, has preserved more or less its ori- ginal customs and its own peculiar language.
We instantly commenced discoursing in the Spanish dialect of this language, with which I was tolerably well acquainted. I asked my two newly made acquaintances
whether there were many of their race in Badajoz and the vicinity: they informed me that there were eight or ten families in the town, and that there were others at Merida, a town about six leagues distant. I inquired by what means they lived, and they replied that they and their brethren principally gained a livelihood by trafficking in mules and asses, but that all those in Badajoz were very poor, with the exception of one man, who was ex- ceedingly balbalo, or rich, as he was in pos- session of many mules and other cattle. They removed their cloaks for a moment, and I found that their under garments were rags.
They left me in haste, and went about the town informing the rest that a stranger had arrived who spoke Rommany as well as them- selves, who had the face of a Gitano, and seemed to be of the " errate," or blood. In less than half an hour the street before the inn was filled with the men, women, and children of Egypt ; I went out amongst them, and my heart sank within me as I surveyed them ; more vileness, dirt, and misery I had never before seen amongst a similar number of human beings ; but the worst of all was the evil expression of their countenances, which spoke plainly that they were conver- sant with every species of crime, and it was not long before I found that their counte- nances did not belie them. After they had asked me an infinity of questions, and felt my hands, face, and clothes, they retired to their own homes.
That same night the two men of whom I have already particularly spoken came to see me; they sat down by the brasero in the middle of the apartment, and began to smoke small paper cigars. We continued for a considerable time in silence surveying each other. Of the two Gitanos one was an el- derly man, tall and bony, with lean, skinny, and whimsical features, though perfectly those of a Gypsy; he spoke little, and his expres- sions were* generally singular and grotesque; his companion, who was the man whom I had first noticed in the street, differed from him in many respects ; he could be scarcely thirty, and his figure, which was about the middle height, was of Herculean proportions; shaggy black hair, like that of a wild beast, covered the greater part of his immense head; his face was frightfully seamed with the small pox, and his eyes, which glared like those of ferrets, peered from beneath bushy eyebrows; he wore immense moustaches, and his wide mouth was garnished with teeth exceedingly large and white; there was one peculiarity
BADAJOZ THE GVPSIES.
57
about him which must not be forgotten, his right arm was withered, and hung down from his shoulder a thin sapless stick, which con- trasted strangely with the huge brawn of the left. A figure so perfectly wild and uncouth I had scarcely ever before seen. He had now flung aside his cloak, and sat before me gaunt in his rags and nakedness : in spite of his appearance, however, he seemed to be much the more sensible of the two, and the conversation which ensued was carried on chiefly between him and myself: this man, whom I shalLcall the first Gypsy, was the first to break silence, and he thus addressed me, speaking in Spanish, broken with words of the Gypsy tongue.
First Gypsy. — "Aromali (In truth) I little thought when I saw the errano standing by the door of the posada that I was about to meet a brother, one too who, though well dressed, was not ashamed to speak to a poor Gita.no ; but tell me, I beg, you, brother, from whence you come; I have heard that you have just arrived from Laloro, but I am sure you are no Portuguese; 1 have been there myself, but they are very different from you ; I rather take you to be one of the Corahai, for I have heard say that there is much of our blood there. You are a Corahano, are you not]"
Myself. — "I am no Moor, though I have been in the country; I was born in an island in the West Sea, called England, which I suppose you have heard spoken of."
First Gypsy. — " Yes, yes, I have a right to know something of the English; I was born in this foros, and remember the day when the English hundunares clambered over the walls, and took the town from the Ga- bine; well do I remember that day, though 1 was but a child ! the streets ran red with blood and wine. — Are there Gitanos then amongst the English?"
Myself. — "There are numbers, and so there are amongst most nations of the world."
Second Gypsy. — "Vaya! And do the English Calore ga.in their bread in the same way as those of Spain] Do they shear and trim] Do they buy and change beasts, and (lowering his voice) do they now and then chore a gras]"
Myself. — "They do most of these things; the men frequent fairs and markets with horses, many of which they steal, and the women tell fortunes and perform all kinds of tricks, by which they gain more money than their husbands."
First Gypsy. — " They would not be callces if they did not; I have known a Gitana gain twenty ounces of gold, by means of the hok- kano baro, in a few hours, whilst the silly Gypsy, her husband, would be toiling with his shears for a fortnight, trimming the horses of the Busne, and, yet not to be a dollar richer at the end of the time."
Myself — "You seem wretchedly poor; are you married]"
First Gypsy. — "I am, and to the best- looking and cLeverest callee w Badajoz.
nevertheless we have never thriven since the day of our marriage, and a curse seems to rest upon us both. Perhaps I have only to thank myself; 1 was once rich, and had never less than six borricos to sell or exchange, but the day before my marrriage I sold all I pos- sessed, in order to have a grand fiesta; for three days we were merry enough ; I enter- tained every one who chose to come in, and flung away my money by handfuls, so that when the affair was over I had not a cuarto in the world, and the very people who had feasted at my expense refused me a dollar to begin again, so we were soon reduced to the greatest misery. True it is that 1 now and then shear a mule, and my wife tells the bahi (fortune) to the servant girls; but these things stand us in little stead ; the people are now very much on the alert, and my wife, with all her knowledge, has been unable to perform any grand trick, which would set us up at once ; she wished to come to see you, bro- ther, this night, but was ashamed, as she shas no more clothes than myself. Last summer our distress was so great that we crossed the frontier into Portugal ; my wife sang and I played the guitar, for though I have but one arm, and that a left one, I have never known the want of the other. At Estremoz I was cast into prison as a thief and vagabond, and there I might have remained till I starved with hunger; my wife, however, soon got me out; she went to the lady of the corregidor, to whom she told a most wonderful bahi, promising treasures and titles, and I wot not what ; so I was set at liberty, and returned to Spain as quick as I could."
Myself — "Is it not the custom of the Gypsies of Spain to relieve each other in distress] — it is the rule in other countries."
First Gypsy. — El krallis ha nicobado la liri de los Gales, — (The king has destroyed the law of the Gypsies;) we are no longer the people we were once, when we lived amongst the sierras and deserts, and kept aloof from the Busne ; we have lived amongst the Busne till we are become almost like them, and we are no longer brothers, ready to assist each other at all times and seasons, and very frequently the Gitano is the worst enemy of his brother."
Myself — "The Gitanos, then, no longer wander about, but have fixed residences in the towns and villages]"
First Gypsy. — "In the summer time n few of us assemble together, and live amongst the plains and hills, and by doing so we fre- quently contrive to pick up a horse or a mule for nothing, and sometimes we knock down a Busno and strip him, but it is seldom we venture so far. We are much looked after by the Busne, who hold us in great dread, and abhor us. Sometimes, when wandering about, we are attacked by the labourers, ami then we defend ourselves as well as uv can. There is no better weapon in the hands of a. Gitano than his "cachas," or shears, wit'i which he trims the mules. I once snipped off the nose of a Bucno, and op/cneJ tlie F2
5S
THE ZINCAI.I.
greatest part of his clteek in an affray at which I was present up the country near Trujillo."
Myself. — " Have you travelled much about Spain'!"
First Gypsy. — "Very little; I have never been out of this province of Estremadura, ex- cept last year, as I told you into Portugal. When we wander we do not go far, and it is very rare that we are visited by our brethren of other parts. I have never been in Anda- lusia, but I have heard say that the Gitanos are many in Andalusia, and are more wealthy than those here, and that they follow better the gypsy law."
Myself. — "What do you mean by the gypsy law 7"
First Gypsy. — " Wherefore do you ask, brother? You know what is meant by the law of the Cales better even than ourselves."
Myself. — "I know what it is in England and in Hungary, but I can only give a guess as to what it is in Spain."
Both Gypsies. — " What do you consider it to be in Spain?"
Myself. — "Cheating and choring the Busne on all occasions, and being true to the errate in life and death."
At these words both the Gitanos sprang si- multaneously from their seats, and exclaimed with a boisterous shout — " Chachipe."
This meeting with the Gitanos was the oc- casion of my remaining at Badajoz a much longer time than I originally intended. I wished to become better acquainted with their condition and manners, and above all to speak to them of Christ and his word ; for I was convinced, that should I travel to the end of the universe, I should meet with no people more in need of a little Christian exhortation, and I accordingly continued at Badajoz for nearly three weeks.
During this time I was almost constantly amongst thorn, and as I spoke their language, and was considered by them as one of them- selves, I had better opportunity of arriving at a fair conclusion respecting their character than any other person could have had, whether Spanish or foreigner, without such an ad- vantage. I found that their ways and pur- suite were in almost every respect similar to t!iose of their brethren in other countries. By cheating and swindling they gained their daily bread; the men principally by the arts of the jockey, — by buying, selling, and ex- changing animals, at which they are wonder- fully expert; and the women by telling for- tunes, selling goods smuggled from Portugal, hud by dealing in love draughts and diablerie. The most innocent occupation which I ob- served amongst them was trimming and .shearing horses and mules, which in their I mguage is called " monrahar," and in Spanish "csquilar;" and even whilst exercising this art, they not unfrequently have recourse to foul play, doing the animal some covert in- jury, in hope that the proprietor will dispose of it to themselves at an inconsiderable price, in which event they soon restore it to health;
for knowing how to inflict the harm, they know likewise how to remove it.
Religion they have none; they never attend mass, nor did I ever hear them employ the names of God, Christ, and the Virgin, but in execration a,nd blasphemy. From what I could learn, it appeared that their fathers had enter- tained some belief in metempsychosis ; but they themselves laughed at the idea, and were of opinion that the soul perished when the body ceased to breathe; and the argument which they used was rational enough, as far as it impugned metempsychosis: — " We have been wicked and miserable enough in this life," they said ; " why should we live again V
I translated certain portions of Scripture into their dialect, which I frequently read to them ; especially the parable of Lazarus and the Prodigal Son, and told them that the latter had been as wicked as themselves, and both had suffered as much or more ; but that the sufferings of the former, who always looked forward to a blessed resurrection, were recompensed by admission, in the life to come, to the society of Abraham and the Prophets, and that the latter, when he repented of his sins, was forgiven, and received into as much favour as the just son.
They listened with admiration ; but, alas ! not of the truths, the eternal truths, I was telling them, but to find that their broken jar- gon could be written and read. The only words of assent to the heavenly doctrine which t ever obtained, and that rather of the negative kind, were the following from the mouth of a woman: — "Brother, you tell us strange things, though perhaps you do not lie; a month since, 1 would sooner have be- lieved these tales, than that this day I should see one who could write Rommany."
Two or three days after my arrival, I was again visited by the Gypsy of the withered arm, who- I found was generally termed Paco, which is the diminutive of Francisco ; he was accompanied by his wife, a rather good- looking young woman with sharp intelligent features, and who appeared in every respect to be what her husband had represented her on the former visit. She was very poorly clad, and notwithstanding the extreme sharp- ness of the weather, carried no mantle to pro- tect herself from its inclemency, — her raven black hair depended behind as far down as her hips. Another Gypsy came with them, but not the old fellow whom I had before seen. This was a man about forty-five, dressed in a zamarra of sheep skin, with a high-crowned Andalusian hat; his complexion was dark as pepper, and his eyes were full of sullen fire. In his appearance he exhibited a goodly com- pound of Gypsy and bandit.
Paco. — " Laches chibescs te dinele Unde- bel; (May God grant you good days, bro- ther.) This is my wife, and this is my wife's father."
Myself. — " I am glad to see them. What are their names]"
Paco. — " Maria and Antonio; their other name is Lopez."
THE CHAI.
59
Myself. — "Have they no Gypsy names?' ,
Paco. — "They have no other names than these."
Myself. — "Then in this respect the Gi- tanos of Spain are unlike those of my coun- try. Every family there has two names ; one by which they are known to the Busne, and another which they use amongst themselves."
Antonio. — "Give me your hand, brother! I should have come to see you before, but I have been to Olivenzas in search of a horse. What I have heard of you has filled me with much desire to know you, and I now see that you can tell me many things which I am ig- norant of. I am Zincalo by the four sides, — I love our blood, and I hate that of the Busne. Had I my will J would wash my face every day in the blood of the Busne, for the Busne are made only to be robbed and to be slaughtered ; but I love the Calore, and I love to hear of things of the Calore, especially from those of foreign lands ; for the Calore of foreign lands know more than we of Spain, and more resemble our fathers of old."
Myself. — " Have you ever met before with Calore who were not Spaniards?"
Antonio. — " I will tell you, brother. I served as a soldier in the war of the independence against the French. War, it is true, is not, the proper occupation of a Gilano, but those were strange times, and all those who could bear arms were compelled to go forth to fight : so I went with the English armies, and we chased the Gabine unto the frontier of France; and it happened once that we joined in des- perate battle, and there was a confusion, and the two parties became intermingled and fought sword to sword and bayonet to bayonet, and a French soldier singled me out, and we fought for a long time, cutting, goring, and cursing each other, till at last we flung down our arms and grappled ; long we wrestled, body to body, but I found that I was the weaker, and I fell. The French soldier's knee was on my breast, and his grasp was on my throat, and he seized his bayonet, and he raised it to thrust me through the jaws ; and his cap had fallen off, and I lifted up my eyes wildly to his face, and our eyes met, and gave a loud shriek, and cried Zincalo, Zincalo ! and I felt him shudder, and he relaxed his grasp and started up, and he smote his fore- head and wept, and then he came to me and knelt down by my side, for I was almost dead, and he took my hand and called me Brother and Zincalo, and he produced his flask and poured wine into my mouth and I revived, and he raised me up, and led me from the con- course, and we sat down on a knoll, and the two parties were fighting all around, and he said, ' Let the dogs fight, and tear each other's throats till they are all destroyed, what mat- ters it to the Zincali ; they "are not of our blood, and shall that be shed for them V So we sat for hours on the knoll and discoursed on matters pertaining to our people; and I could have listened for years, for he told mo secrets which made my ears tingle, and I soon found that I knew nothing, though I
had before considered myself quite Zincalo; but as for him he knew the whole cuenta ; the Bengui Lango* himself could have told him nothing but what he knew. So we sat till the sun went down and the battle was over, and he proposed that we should both flee to his own country and live there with the Zin- cali ; but my heart failed me ; so we embraced, and he departed to the Gabine, whilst I re- turned to our own battalions."
Myself. — "Do you know from what coun- try he came J"
Antonio. — " He told me that he was a Mayoro."
Myself. — " You mean a Magyar or Hun- garian."
Antonio. — "Just so; and I have repented ever since that I did not follow him."
Myself— " Why so?"
Antonio. — "I will tell you : the king has destroyed the law of the Cales, and has put disunion amongst us. There was a time when the house of every Zincalo, however rich, was open to his brother, though he came to him naked ; and it was then the custom to boast of the errate.' It is no longer so now : those who are rich keep aloof from the rest, will not speak in Calo, and will have no deal- ings but with the Busne. Is there not a false brother in this foros, the only rich man among us, the swine, the balichow? he is married to a Busnee, and he would fain appear as a Busno ! Tell me one thing, has he been to see you? The white blood, I know he has not ; he was afraid to see you, for he knew that by Gypsy law he was bound to take you to his house, and feast you whilst you re- mained like a prince, like a crallis of the Cales, as T believe you are, even though he sold the last gras from the stall. Who have come to see you, brother? Have they not been such as Paco and his wife, wretches without a house, or, at best, one filled with cold and poverty; so that you have had to stay at a mesuna, at a posada of the Busne; and, moreover, what have the Cales given you since you have been residing here? Nothing, I trow, better than this rubbish, which is all I can offer you, this Meligrana de los Ben- gues."
Here he produced a pomegranate from the pocket of hiszamarra, and flung it on the table with such force that the fruit burst, and the red grains were scattered on the floor.
The Gitanos of Estremadura call them- selves in general Chai or Chabos, and say that, their original country was Chal or Egypt. I frequently asked them what reason they could assign for calling themselves Egyptians, and whether they could remember the names of any places in their supposed father land, but I soon found that, like their brethren in other parts of the world, they were unable to give any rational account of themselves, and pre- served no recollection of the places where their forefathers had wandered: their lan- guage, however, to a considerable extent,
* The lame devil : Atmodffua.
60
THE ZINCALI.
solved the riddle, the bulk of which being Hindui, pointed out India as the birth-place of their race, whilst the number of Persian, Sclavonian, and modern Greek words with which it is chequered, spoke plainly as to the countries through which these singular peo- ple had wandered before they arrived in Spain.
They said that they believed themselves to be Egyptians, because their fathers before them'believed so, who must know much bet- ter than themselves. They were fond of talk- ing of Egypt and its former greatness, though it was evident that they knew nothing far- ther of the country and its history than what they derived from spurious biblical legends current amongst the Spaniards; only from such materials could they have composed the following account of the manner of their ex- pulsion from their native land.
''There was a great king in Egypt, and his name was Pharaoh. He had numerous armies, with which he made war on all coun- tries, and conquered them all. And when he had conquered the entire world, he became sad and sorrowful ; for as he delighted in war, he no longer knew on what to employ him- self. At last he bethought him of making war on God ; so he sent a defiance to God, daring him to descend from the sky with his angels, and contend with Pharaoh and his armies ; but God said, I will not measure my strength with that of a man. But God was incensed against Pharaoh, and resolved to punish him ; and he opened a hole in the side of an enormous mountain, and he raised a raging wind, and drove before it Pharaoh and his armies to that hole, and the abyss re- ceived them, and the mountain closed upon them ; but whosoever goes to that mountain on the night of St. John, can hear Pharaoh and his armies singing and yelling therein. And it came to pass, that when Pharaoh and his armies had disappeared, all the kings and the nations which had become subject to Egypt revolted against Egypt, which, having lost her king and her armies, was left utterly without defence; and they made war against her, and prevailed against her, and took her people and drove them forth, dispersing them over all the world."
So that now, say the Chai, " Our horses drink the waters of the Guadiana." — (Apily- ela gras Chai la panee Lucalee.)
,(tiie steeds of the Egyptians drink the waters of the guadiana.
" The. repion bf Chai Was our dear native soil, When; in fulness of pleasure we lived without toil; Till dispers'd through all lands, 'twas our fortune to
be— Our steeds, Guadiana, must now drink of thee.
" Once kings came from far to kneel down at our gate, And princes re.joic'd on our meanest to wait;
But now whoso mean but would seorn our degree — Our diced*, Guadiana, must now drink of thee.
* For the Undebel saw, from his throne In the cloud, That our deeds they were foolish, our hearts they were
proud; And in anger he bade US his presence to lice — Our steeds, Guadiana, must now drink of lluee.
u Our horses should drink of no river but one; It sparkles through Chai, 'neath the smile of the sun; But they taste of all streams save that only, and see — Apilyela gras Chai la panee Lucalee."
CHAPTER II.
MADRID. GYPSY WOMEN.— GRANADA. — GYP- SY SMITHS. — PEPE CONDE. SEVILLE.
TRIANA. — CORDOVA. — HORSES. — THE ES- QUILADOR. — CHARACTERISTIC EPISTLE. — CATALONIA, ETC.
In Madrid the Gitanos chiefly reside in the neighbourhood of the " mercado," or the place where horses and other animals are sold, — in two narrow and dirty lanes, called the Calle de la Comadre and the Callejon de Lavapies. It is said, that at the beginning of last centu- ry, Madrid abounded with these people, who, by their lawless behaviour and dissolute lives, gave occasion to great scandal; if such were the case, their numbers must have considera- bly diminished since that period, as it would be difficult at any time to collect fifty through- out Madrid. These Gitanos seem, for the most part, to be either Valencians, or of Va- lencian origin, as they in general either speak or understand the dialect of that province; and whilst speaking their own peculiar jar- gon, the Rommany, are in the habit of making use of many Valencian words and terms.
The manner of life of the Gitanos of Mad- rid differs in no material respect from that of their brethren in other places. The men, every market day, are to be seen on the skirts of the mercado, generally with some misera- ble animal; for example, a foundered mule, or galled borrico, by means of which they sel- dom fail to gain a dollar or two, either by sale or exchange. It must not, however, be sup- posed that they content themselves with such paltry earnings. Provided they have any va- luable animal, which is not unfrcquentiy the case, they invariably keep such at home snug in the stall, conducting thither the chapman, should they find any, and concluding the bar- gain with the greatest secrecy. Their rea- sons for this conduct are manifold. In the first place, a deadly feud exists between the Gitanos and the chalanes, or jockeys of Spa- nish blood, by whom the former are not un- frequently ejected from the fair by force of palos or cudgels, verifying the old adage, that two of a trade are sure to quarrel. The chalanes in this violence are to a certain ex- tent countenanced by law; for though by the edict of Carlos the Third, the Gitanos were in other respects placed upon an equality with the rest of the Spaniards, they were still forbidden to obtain their livelihood by the traffick of markets and lairs.
Another reason for the secrecy that they practise in these cases, is the fact, that ani- mals of this description are generally ob- tained by dishonest means, and would pro-
PEPE CONDE.
61
fcably be recognised were they publicly ex- posed for sale. The stealing-, concealing, and receiving animals when stolen, is an in- veterate Gypsy habit, and is perhaps the last from which the Gitano will be reclaimed, or will only cease when the race has become ex- tinct. In the prisons of Madrid, either in that of the Saladero, or De la Corte, there are never less than a dozen Gitanos immured for stolen horses, or mules being found in their possession, which themselves or their connexions have spirited away from the neighbouring villages, or sometimes from a considerable distance. I say spirited away, for so well do they take their measures, and watch their opportunity, that they are sel- dom or never taken in the fact.
The Madrilenian Gypsy women are inde- fatigable in the pursuit of prey, prowling about the town and the suburbs from morn- ing till night, entering houses of all descrip- tions, from the highest to the lowest; telling fortunes, or attempting to play off various kinds of Gypsy tricks, from which they de- rive much greater profit, and of which we shall presently have occasion to make parti- cular mention.
We have already stated that the Gypsy women in general are far more remarkable beings than the men, whose pursuits, those of the jockey and the horse-stealer, are low and mean, possessing nothing capable of strongly captivating the imagination, — not so what regards the females; and those of Madrid yield to none in Spain in those quali- ties on which a good Galli prizes herself. The boldness, acuteness, and subtlety of some of these women are truly wonderful, and their self-possession is so great, that they pass unharmed through dangers, which would be fatal to others educated in a school less stern and hard than Gypsy life in Spain.
From Madrid let us proceed to Andalusia, casting a cursory glance on the Gitanos of that country. 1 found them very numerous at Granada, which in the Gitano language is termed Meligrana. Their general condition in this place is truly miserable, far exceeding in wretchedness the state of the tribes of Es° tremadura. It is right to state that Granada itself is the poorest city in Spain ; the great- est part of the population, which exceeds sixty thousand, passing their days in beggary and nakedness, and the Gitanos share in the general distress.
Many of them reside in caves scooped in the sides of the ravines which lead to the higher regions of the Alpujarras, on a skirt of which stands Granada. A common occu- pation of the Gitanos of Granada is working in iron, and it is not unfrequent to find these caves tenanted by Gypsy smiths and their fa- milies, who ply the hammer and forge in the bowels of the earth. To one standing at the mouth of the cave, especially at night, they afford a picturesque spectacle. Gathered round the forge, their bronzed and naked bo- dies, illuminated by the flame, appear like I figures of demons ; while the cave, with its | 9
flinty sides and uneven roof, blackened by the charcoal vapours which hover about it in fes- toons, seems to offer no inadequate repre- sentation of fabled purgatory. Working in iron was an occupation strictly forbidden to the Gitanos by the ancient laws, on what ac- count does not exactly appear; though, per- haps, the trade of the smith was considered as too much akin to that of the chalan to be permitted to them. The Gypsy smith of Gra- nada is still a chalan, even as his brother in England is a jockey and tinker alternately.
Whilst speaking of the Gitanos of Grana- da, we cannot pass by in silence a tragedy which occurred in this town amongst them, some fifteen years ago, and the details of which are known to every Gitano in Spain, from Catalonia to Estremadura. We allude to the murder of Pindamonas by Pepe Conde. Both these individuals were Gitanos; the latter was a celebrated contrabandista, of whom many remarkable tales are told. On one occasion, having committed some enor- mous crime, he fled over to Barbary and turned Moor, and was employed by the Moorish Emperor in his wars, in company with the other renegade Spaniards, whose grand depot or presidio is the town of Agu- rey in the kingdom of Fez. After the lapse of some years, when his crime was nearly forgotten, he returned to Granada, where he followed his old occupations of contraban- dista and chalan. Pindamonas was a Gitano of considerable wealth, and was considered as the most respectable of the race at Grana- da, amongst whom he possessed considera- ble influence. Between this man and Pepe Conde there existed a jealousy, especially on the part of the latter, who, being a man of proud untameable spirit, could not well brook a superior amongst his own people. It chanced one day that Pindamonas and other Gitanos, amongst whom was Pepe Conde, were in a coffee-house. After they had all partaken of some refreshment they called for the reckon- ing, the amount of which Pindamonas insist- ed on discharging. It will be necessary here to observe, that on such occasions in Spain, it is considered as a species of privilege to be allowed to pay, which is an honour gene- rally claimed by the principal man of the party. Pepe Conde did not fail to take um- brage at the attempt of Pindamonas, which he considered as an undue assumption of su- periority, and put in his own claim ; but Pin- damonas insisted, and at last flung down the money on the table, whereupon Pepe Conde instantly unclasped one of those terrible Manchegan knives which are generally car- ried by the contrabandistas, and with a fright- ful gash opened the abdomen of Pindamonas, who presently expired.
After this exploit, Pepe Conde fled, and was not seen for some time. The cave, how- ever, in which he had been in the habit of re- siding was watched, as a belief was enter- tained that sooner or later he would return to it, in the hope of being able to remove some of the property contained in it. This
62
THE ZINCALI.
belief was well founded. Early one morning he was observed to enter it, and a band of soldiers was instantly despatched to seize him. This circumstance is alluded to in a Gypsy stanza : —
" Fly, Pepe Conde, seek the hill; To flee 's tliy only chance: With bayonets fixed, thy blood to spill, See soldiers four advance."
And before the soldiers could arrive at the cave, Pepe Conde had discovered their ap- proach and fled, endeavouring to make his escape amongst the rocks and berrancos of the Alpujarras. The soldiers instantly pur- sued, and the chase continued a considerable time. The fugitive was repeatedly summoned to surrender himself, but refusing, the soldiers at last fired, and four balls entered the heart of the Gypsy contrabandista and murderer.
Once at Madrid I received a letter from the sister's son of Pindamonas, dated from the prison of the Saladero. In this letter the writer, who it appears was in durance for stealing a pair of mules, craved my cha- ritable assistance and advice, and possibly in the hope of securing my favour, forwarded some uncouth lines commemorative of the death of his relation, and commencing thus: —
" The death of Pindamonas filled all the world with pain: At the coffee-house's portal, by Pepe he was slain."
The faubourg of Triana, in Seville, has, from time immemorial, been noted as a fa- vourite residence of the Gitanos, and here, at the present day, they are to be found in greater numbers than in any other town in Spain. This faubourg is indeed chiefly in- habited by desperate characters, as, besides the Gitanos, the principal part of the robber- population of Seville is here congregated ; perhaps there is no part even of Naples where crime so much abounds, and the law is so little respected as at Triana, the character of whose inmates was so graphically delineated two centuries and a half back by Cervantes, in one of the most amusing of his tales.*
In the vilest lanes of this suburb, amidst dilapidated walls and ruined convents, exists the grand colony of Spanish Gitanos. Here they may be seen wielding the hammer ; here they may be seen trimming the fetlocks of j horses, or shearing the backs of mules and borricos with their cachas; and from hence | they emerge to ply the same trade in the town, or to officiate as terceros, or to buy, sell, or exchange animals in the mercado, and the women to tell the bahi through the streets, even as in other parts of Spain, ge- nerally attended by one or two tawny bant- lings in their arms or by their sides ; whilst others, with baskets and chafing-pans, pro- ceed to the delightful banks of the Len Baro,f by the Golden Tower, where, squatting on the ground and kindling their charcoal, they roast the chestnuts which, when well pre- pared, are the favourite bonne bouche of the Sevillians ; whilst not a few, in league with
* Rinconeto and Cortadillo.
| The great river, or Guadalquivir.
the contrabandistas, go from door to door offering for sale prohibited goods brought from the English at Gibraltar. Such is Gi- tano life at Seville, such it is in the capital of Andalusia.
It is the common belief of the Gitanos of other provinces that in Andalusia the lan- guage, customs, habits, and practices pecu- liar to their race are best preserved. This opinion, which probably originated from the fact of their being found in greater numbers in this province than in any other, may hold good in some instances, but certainly not in all. In various parts of Spain, I have found the Gitanos retaining their primitive language and customs better than in Seville, where they most abound ; indeed it is not plain that their number has operated at all favourably in this respect. At Cordova, a town at the distance of twenty leagues from Seville, which scarcely contains a dozen Gitano families, I found them living in much more brotherly amity, and cherishing in a greater degree the observances of their forefathers.
I shall long remember these Cordovese Gitanos, by whom I was very well received, but always on the supposition that I was one of their own race. They said that they never admitted strangers to their houses save at their marriage festivals, when they flung their doors open to all, and save occasionally peo- ple of influence and distinction, who wished to hear their songs and converse with their women ; but they assured me, at the same time, that these they invariably deceived, and merely made use of as instruments to serve their own purposes. As for myself, I was admitted without scruple to their private meetings, and was made a participator of their most secret thoughts. During our in- tercourse, some remarkable scenes occurred : one night more than twenty of us, men and women, were assembled in a long low room on the ground floor, in a dark alley or court in the old gloomy town of Cordova. After the Gitanos had discussed several jockey plans, and settled some private bargains amongst themselves, we all gathered round a huge brasero of flaming charcoal, and be- gan conversing sobre las cosas de Egypto, when I proposed that, as we had no better means of amusing ourselves, we should en- deavour to turn into the Calo language some piece of devotion, that we might see whether this language, the gradual decay of which I had frequently heard them lament, was capa- ble of expressing any other matters than those which related to horses, mules, and Gypsy traffic. It was in this cautious man- ner that I first endeavoured to divert the at- tention of these singular people to matters of eternal importance. My suggestion was received with acclamations, and we forthwith proceeded to the translation of the Apostle'i creed. I first recited in Spanish, in the usual manner and without pausing, this noble con- fession, and then repeated it again, sentence by sentence, the Gitanos translating as I pro- ceeded. They exhibited the greatest eager-
CORDOVA.
G3
ness and interest in their unwonted occupa- tion, and frequently broke into loud disputes as to the best rendering — many being offered at the same time. In the meanwhile, I wrote down from their dictation, and at the con-, elusion I read aloud the translation, the result of the united wisdom of the assembly, where- upon they all raised a shout of exultation, and appeared not a little proud of the corn- position-.
Cordova has always been celebrated for its steeds ; the best breeding horses in the whole of Spain being found in the stalls of the large landed proprietors in the neighbourhood. These animals are of unequalled beauty in their way; their colour is in general a glossy black, their manes bushy and silky and of a great length, whilst their tails trail upon the ground, and seem a forest of waving hair; they are invariably broad-chested and round in their quarters, and their embonpoint, which is remarkable, is considered their chief or- nament.
The Spaniards consider these horses as the genuine descendants of the steeds of the Moorish conquerors of Spain, — that terrific cavalry, who dyed the waters of the Guada- lete with the blood of the Goths. This, however, is a gross error; no two animals can be more unlike than the Moorish and Andalusian horse.; the first being far from handsome, and the mane and tail scanty and of a wiry quality, instead of exhibiting the rich, glorious redundancy of the Andalusian. The Moorish horse, again, (we speak of those of high caste,) is a furious, savage creature, whom it is frequently necessary to chain, — indefatigable in the course, and never resting but on its legs ; whilst the Andalusian is gentle and docile, and will follow its keeper like a dog, and though of great swiftness for a short distance, is soon blown and fatigued, and when seeking repose, will cast itself on its side like a human being. These beautiful -animals, which are a mixture of many breeds, are nurtured with the greatest delicacy, and their slightest wants and ailments attended to. Nothing is more deserving of remark in Spanish grooming, than the care exhibited in clipping and trimming various parts of the horse, where the growth of hair is con- sidered as prejudicial to the perfect health and cleanliness of the animal ; particular at- tention being always paid to the pastern, that fiart of the foot which lies between the fet- ock and the hoof, to guard against the arestin, that cutaneous disorder which is the dread of the Spanish groom, on which ac- count the services of a skilful esquilador are continually in requisition.
The esquilador, when proceeding to the exercise of his vocation, generally carries under his arm a small box containing the in- struments necessary, and which consist prin- cipally of various pairs of scissors, and the acidly two short sticks, tied together with whipcord at the end, by means of which the lower lip of the horse, should he prove res- tive, is twisted, and the animal reduced to
speedy subjection. In the girdle of the es- quilador are stuck the large scissors called in Spanish lijeras, and in the Gypsy tongue cuchas, with which he principally works. He operates upon the backs, ears, and tails of mules and borricos, which are invariably sheared quite bare, that if the animals are galled, either by their harness or the loads which they carry, the wounds may be less liable to fester, and be more easy to cure. Whilst engaged with horses, he confines him- self to the feet and ears. The esquiladores in the two Castiles, and in those provinces where the Gitanos do not abound, are for the most part Aragonese ; but in the others, and especially in Andalusia, they are of the Gypsy race. The Gitanos are wonderfully expert in the use of the cachas, which they handle in a manner practised no where but in Spain; and with this instrument the poorer class principally obtain their bread.
In one of their couplets allusion is made to this occupation in the following manner:— -
" I'll rise to-morrow bread to earn, For hunger's worn me grim ;
Of all I meet 111 ask in turn, If they've no beasts to trim."
Sometimes, whilst shearing the foot of a horse, exceedingly small scissors are neces- sary, for the purpose of removing fine soli- tary hairs; for a Spanish groom will tell you that a horse's foot behind ought to be kept as clean and smooth as the hand of a senora; such scissors can only be procured at Madrid. My sending two pair of this kind to a Cor- dovese Gypsy, from whom I had experienced much attention whilst in that city, was the occasion of my receiving a singular epistle from another whom I scarcely knew, and which I shall insert as being an original Gypsy composition, and in some points not a little characteristic of the people of whom I am now writing.
"Cordova, 20th day January, 1837. " SENOR DON JORGE,
"After saluting you and hoping that you are well, I proceed to tell you that the two pair of scissors arrived at this town of Cor- dova with him whom you sent them by ; but, unfortunately, they were given to another Gypsy, whom you neither knew nor spoke to nor saw in your life ; for it chanced that he who brought them was a friend of mine, and he told me that, he had brought two pair of scissors which an Englishman had given him for the Gypsies ; whereupon I, understanding it was yourself, instantly said to him, 'Those scissors are forme;' he told me, however, that he had already given them to another, and he is a Gypsy who was not even in Cor- dova during the time you were. Neverthe- less, Don Jorge, I am very grateful for your thus remembering me, although I did not re- ceive your present, and in order that you may know who I am, my name is Antonio Salazar, a man pitted with the small-pox, and the very first who spoke to you in Cordova in the posada where you were; and you told
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THE ZINCALI.
me to come and see you next day at eleven, and I went, and we conversed together alone. Therefore 1 should wish you to do me the favour to send me scissors for trimming beasts, — good scissors, mind you, — such would be a very great favour, and I should be ever grateful, for here in Cordova there are none, or if there be they are good for nothing. Sefior Don Jorge, you remember I told you that I was an esquilador by trade, and only by that I got bread for my babes. Senor Don Jorge, if you do send me the scis- sors for trimming, pray write and direct to the alley De la Londiga, No. 28, to Antonio Salazar, in Cordova. This is what I have to tell you, and do you ever command your trusty servant, who kisses your hand and is eager to serve you.
"Antonio Salazar."
FIRST COUPE.ET.
"That. I may clip and trim the beasts, a pair of cachas grant, If not, 1 fear my luckless babes will perish all of want.
SECOND COUPLET.
" If thcu a pair of cachas grant, that I my babes may feed, I'll pray to the Almighty God, that thee he ever speed."
It is by no means my intention to describe the exact state and condition of the Gitanos in every town and province where they are to be found; perhaps, indeed, it will be con- sidered that I have already been more cir- cumstantial and particular than the case re- quired. The other districts which they in- habit are principally those of Catalonia, Murcia, and Valencia ; and they are likewise to be met with in the Basque provinces, where they are called Egipcioac or Egyptians. What I next purpose to occupy myself with, are some general observations on the habits, and the physical and moral state of the Gi- tanos throughout Spain, and of the position which they hold in society.
CHAPTER III.
GENERAL REMARKS ON THE PRESENT STATE OF THE GITANOS. — EFFECTS OF EDUCA- TION.— INEFFICIENCY OF THE OLD LAWS.
PROSPECTS OF THE GITANOS. — PARTIAL
REFORMATION. — DECLINE OF THE GYPSY
SECT. — FAIR OF LEON. LOVE OF RACE.
— GYPSY EXECUTED. — NUMERICAL DE- CREASE.
Already, from the two preceding chapters, it will have been perceived that the condition of the Gitanos in Spain has been subjected of late to considerahle modification. The words of the Gypsy of Badajoz are indeed, in some respects, true ; they are no longer the people that they were ; the roads and " despoblados " have ceased to be infested by them, and the traveller is no longer exposed to much danger on their account; they at present confine
themselves, for the most part, to towns and villages, and if they occasionally wander abroad it is no longer in armed bands, for- midable for their numbers, and carrying ter- ror and devastation in all directions, bivou- acking near solitary villages and devouring the substance of the unfortunate inhabitants, or occasionally threatening even large towns, as in the singular case of Logrono, men- tioned by Francisco de Cordova* The Gita- nos no longer dream of committing excesses such as these, and the reader may be excused for demanding whether, in the chang-e which has taken place, their minds and morals "have not been improved as well as modified of late years; and what have been the means em- ployed, or the accidental causes which have led to such a result. We shall therefore, as briefly as possible, afford as much elucidation on these points as the sphere of our know- ledge will permit.
The Gitanos have, to a considerable de- gree, renounced their wandering habits, and their name is no longer a sound of terror to the peaceable traveller. By residing in towns they have insensibly become more civilized than their ancestors, who passed the greatest part of their time amongst the deserts and mountains ; their habits and manners are less ferocious, for all wandering tribes may be ranked amongst the savage people of the earth, whose very reason is little better than a brute instinct, and who, indeed, in other respects, are but very few degrees superior to the brute creation. The culture of their minds has not been entirely neglected, and upon the whole their education and acquire- ments are not inferior to those of the lower classes of the Spaniards. Tt is not uncommon to find amongst the men, especially of the rising generation, individuals able to read and write in a manner by no means con- temptible. It is true that amongst the women such instances do not occur, but then the great majority of the female part of the Spanish population itself is entirely unedu- cated; many females, even of respectable station, being quite ignorant of letters, whilst those of inferior grade are as illiterate as the Gitanas. It is probable that the Spanish Gypsies have had their full share of the im- provement in mental education, which during the present century has been going on in Spain, where formerly learning of any kind was entirely confined to the nobility, to the priesthood and the legal class. Had the an- cient laws continued in force, which branded the Gitanos as an impure caste, and which placed them at an immeasurable distance from other members of society in Spain, it is difficult to conceive that they would have participated in this advance of education ; the schools would have been most assuredly closed ngainst their children, and notwith- standing that they invariably found numerous individuals to protect and encourage them in their unlawful practices and avocations, which made them the pests of society, they would hardly have found minds philanthropic enough
GENERAL REMARKS.
65
to interpose for the purpose of procuring them the means of eventually redeeming the race from the state of degradation in which it grovelled ; nor is it probable that the Gitanos themselves would have made any considera- ble sacrifices to obtain that end. But on be- ing declared on a level with the other Spa- niards, they naturally enough were desirous of becoming participators in any advantages within the reach of the Spaniards in general, though certainly with no intention of be- coming, in any respect, worse Gypsies than they had hitherto been, or of abandoning one point of their Gitanismo. There is no sect in the world which professes ignorance, or amongst whose members ignorance is con- sidered an advantage ; there are sects of murderers, for example, the Maravars of Ind ; there are sects of thieves, for example, the Thugs of the East, and the Gypsies of Eu- rope ; yet neither Maravar nor Gypsy would be expelled from these societies for the fact of being able to read or write, which would be considered as any thing but disqualifica- tion ; yet certain it is that, provided education were more generally extended, there would be fewer Thugs and Gypsies, as it is only from the uneducated orders that such people arise.
To acquire only the rudiments of education, it is necessary to subject the mind to a spe- cies of discipline which, in most cases, exerts a salutary influence over the human being; education, however slight, never yet made an individual reckless, but has sobered many, and preserved them from crime by opening their eyes to the consequences of evil actions.
Has Gitanismo, which is :the Gypsy sect, increased in Spain during the last seventy years'? The answer is comprised within a monosyllable, and that a decided negative. The Gitanos are not so numerous as in for- mer times, witness those barrios in various towns still denominateu vHtanerias, but from whence the Gitanos have Jisappeared even like the Moors from the Morerias ; nor are the Gitanos of the present day so daring, nor their excesses so flagrant as in former times, witness the total suspension of those edicts which were continually being fulminated against them from the throne and the cortes. At present neither their actions nor their numbers can create much reasonable ground for apprehension, however dishonest and knavish they may be, which facts lead us to the conclusion that Gitanismo is declining in Spain, and we shall now proceed to inves- tigate the causes of that decline.
One thing is certain in the history of the Gitanos, that the sect flourished and increased so long as the law recommended and enjoined measures the most harsh and severe for its suppression ; the palmy days of Gitanismo were those in which the caste was proscribed, and its members, in the event of renouncing their Gypsy habits, had nothing further to expect than the occupation of tilling the earth, a dull, hopeless toil; then it wns that the Gitanos paid tribute to the inferior mi-
nisters of justice, and were engaged in illicit connexion with those of higher station, and by such means baffled the law, whose ven- geance rarely fell upon their heads; and then it was that they bid it open defiance, retiring to the deserts and mountains, and living in wild independence by rapine and shedding of blood ; for as the law then stood they would lose all by resigning their Gitanismo, whereas by clinging to it they lived either in the independence so dear to them, or beneath the protection of their confederates. It would appear that in proportion as the law waa harsh and severe, so was the Gitano bold and secure. The fiercest of these laws was the one of Philip the Fifth, passed in the year 1745, which commands that the refrac- tory Gitanos be hunted down with fire and sword ; that it was quite inefficient is satis- factorily proved by its being twice reiterated, once in the year 46, and again in 49, which would scarcely have been deemed necessary had it quelled the Gitano. This law, with some unimportant modifications, continued in force till the year 83, when the famous edict of Carlos Tercero superseded it. Will any feel disposed to doubt that the preceding laws had served to foster what they were in- tended to suppress, when we state the re- markable fact, that since the enactment of that law, as humane as the others were un- just, we have heard nothing more of the Gitanos from official quarters; they have ceased to play a distinct part in the history of Spain; and the law no longer speaks of them as a distinct people ? The caste of the Gitanos still exists, but it is neither so ex- tensive nor so formidable as a century ago, when the law in denouncing Gitanismo pro- posed to the Gitanos the alternatives of death for persisting in their profession, or slavery for abandoning it.
There are fierce and discontented spirits amongst them, who regret such times, and say that Gypsy law is now no more, that the Gypsy no longer assists his brother, and that union has ceased among them. If this be true, can better proof be adduced of the beneficial working of the later law] A blessing has been conferred on society, and in a manner highly creditable to the spirit of modern times ; reform has been accomplished, not by persecution, not by the gibbet and the rack, but by justice and tolerance. The tra- veller has flung aside his cloak, not compelled by the angry buffeting of the north wind, but because the mild, benignant weather makes such a defence no longer necessary. The law no longer compels the Gitanos to stand back to back, on the principle of mutual defence, and to cling to Gitanismo to escape from servitude and thraldom.
Taking every thing into consideration, and viewing the subject in all its bearings with an impartial glance, we are compelled to come to the conclusion that the law of Carlos Tercero, the provisions of which were dis- tinguished by justice and clemency, has been the principal if not the only cause of the de-
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66
THE ZINCALI.
clinc of Gitanismo in Spain. Other causes, of which we are not aware, may have had their effect, and it must be remembered that during the last seventy years, a revolution has been progressing in Spain, slowly, it is true, and such a revolution may have affected even the Gitanos. Some value ought to be attached to the opinion of the Gitanos them- selves on this point, who allude to the influ- ence which the law of Carlos Tercero nas exerted over their condition in the saying which has become proverbial amongst them: " El Crallis ha nicobado la liri de los Cales."
By the law, the whole career of the arts and sciences is now open to them. Have they availed themselves of this privilege!
Up to the present period but little. What more could be expected'? Some of these Gypsy chalanes, these bronzed smiths, these wild-looking esquiladors can read or write in proportion of one man in three or four; what more can be expected 1 Would you have the Gypsy bantling, born in filth and misery, 'midst mules and borricos, amidst the mud of a choza or the sand of a barranco, grasp with its swarthy hands the crayon and easel, the compass or the microscope, or the tube which renders more distinct the heavenly orbs, and essay to become a Murillo, or a Feijoo, or a Lorenzo de Hervas, as soon as the legal disabilities are removed which doomed him to be a thievish jockey or a sullen husbandman! Much will have been accomplished, if, after the lapse of a hundred years, one hundred human beings shall have been evolved from the Gypsy stock, who shall prove sober, honest, and useful members of society, — that stock so degraded, so invete- rate in wickedness and evil customs, and so hardened by brutalizing laws. Should so many beings, should so many souls be rescued from temporal misery and eternal wo ; should only the half of that number, should only the tenth, nay, should only one poor, wretched sheep be saved, there will be joy in heaven, for much will have been accomplished on earth, and those tremendous lines will have been falsified which made Mahmoud tremble on his throne.
" For the root that's unclean, hope if you can ; No washing e'er whitens the black Zigan ; The tree that's bitter by birth and race, If in paradise garden to grow you place, And water it free with nectar and wine, From streams in paradise meads that shine, At the end its nature it still declares, For bitter is all the fruit it bears. If the egg of the raven of noxious breed You place 'neath the paradise bird, and feed The splendid fowl upon its nest, With immortal figs, the food of the blest, And give it to drink from Silsibel,* Wbii.-t lift; in the egg breatbea Ganrl6I, A raven, a raven, the cjz shall bear. And the fostering bird shall waste its care."
Ferdousi.
The principal evidence which the Gitanos have hitherto given that a partial reformation has been effected in their habits, is the re- linquishment, in a great degree, of that wan- dering life of which the ancient laws were
+ A fountain in Paradise.
continually complaining, and which was the? cause of infinite evils, and tended not a little to make the roads insecure.
Doubtless, there are those who will find some difficulty in believing that the mild and conciliatory clauses of the law in question could have much effect in weaning the Gi- tanos from this inveterate habit, and will be more disposed to think that this relinquish- ment was effected by energetic measures re- sorted to by the government, to compel them to remain in their places of location. It does not appear, however, that such measures were ever resorted to. Energy, indeed, in the re- moval of a nuisance, is scarcely to be expected from Spaniards, under any circumstances. All we can say on the subject, with certainty, is, that since the repeal of the tyrannical laws, wandering has considerably decreased among the Gitanos.
Since the law has ceased to brand them, they appear to have come nearer to the com- mon standard of humanity, and their genera) condition to have been ameliorated. At pre- sent, only the very poorest, the parias of the race, are to be found wandering about the heaths and mountains, and this only in the summer time, and their principal motive, ac- cording to their own confession, is to avoid the expense of house rent; the rest remain at home, following their avocations, unless some immediate prospect of gain, lawful or unlaw- ful, calls them forth; and such is frequently the case. They attend most fairs, women and men, and on the way frequently bivouack in the fields, but this practice must not be confounded with systematic wandering.
Gitanismo, therefore, has not been extin- guished, only modified; but that modification has been effected within the memory of man, whilst previously near four centuries elapsed, during which no reform had been produced amongst them by the various measures de- vised, all of which were distinguished by an absence, not only of true policy, but of com- mon sense ; it is therefore to be hoped, that if the Gitanos are abandoned to themselves, by which we mean no arbitrary laws are again enacted for their extinction, the sect will eventually cease to be, and its members be- come confounded with the residue of the population; for certainly no Christian, not merely philanthropic heart, can desire the continuance of any sect or association of people, whose fundamental principle seems to be to hate all the rest of mankind, and to live by deceiving them ; and such is the prac- tice of the Gitanos.
During the last five years, owing to the civil wars, the ties which unite society have been considerably relaxed ; the law has been trampled under foot, and the greatest part of Spain overrun with robbers and miscreants, who, under pretence of carrying on partisan warfare, and not unfrequently under no pre- tence at all, have committed the most fright- ful oxcospos, plundering and murdering the defenceless. Such a state of things would have afforded the Gitanos a favourable op-
FAIR OF LEON.
67
portunity to resume their former kind of life, and to levy contributions as formerly, wan- dering about in bands. Certain, it is, how- ever, that they have not sought to repeat their ancient excesses, taking advantage of the trou- bles of the country; they have gone on, with a few exceptions, quietly pursuing that part of their system to which they still cling, their jockeyism, which, though based on fraud and robbery, is far preferable to wandering bri- gandage, which necessarily involves the fre- quent °shedding of blood. Can better proof be adduced, that Gitanismo owes its decline, in Soain, not to force, not to persecution, not to any want of opportunity of exercising it, but to other causes, to one of which we have already distinctly pointed, the conferring on the Gi- tanos the rights and privileges of other sub- jects.
We have said that the Gitanos have not much availed themselves of the permission, which the law grants them, of embarking in various spheres of life. They remain jock- eys, but they have ceased to be wanderers ; and the grand object of the law is accom- plished. The law forbids them to be jock- eys, or to follow the trade of trimming and shearing animals, without some other visible mode of subsistence. This provision, except in a few isolated instances, they evade, and the law seeks not, and perhaps wisely, to dis- turb them, content with having achieved so much. The chief evils of Gitanismo which still remain, consist in the systematic frauds of the Gypsy jockeys, and the tricks of the women. It is incurring considerable risk, to purchase a horse, or a mule, even from the most respectable Gitano, without a pre- vious knowledge of the animal and his for- mer possessor, the chances being that he is either diseased, or stolen from a distance ; and even the sale of a horse to a Gitano should be carefully avoided, or the owner will, to a certainty, at the conclusion of the bargain, find himself most miserably duped and cheated.
The Gitanos in general are very poor, a pair of large cachas and various scissors of a smaller description constituting their whole capital ; occasionally a good hit is made, as they call it, but the money does not last long, being quickly squandered in feasting andf revelry. He who has habitually in his house a couple of donkeys is considered a thriving Gitano; there are some, however, who are wealthy in the strict sense of the word, and carry on a very extensive trade in horses and mules. These, occasionally, visit the most distant fairs, traversing the greatest part of Spain. There is a cele- brated cattle-fair held at Leon, on St. John's or Midsummer day, and on one of these oc- casions, being present, £ observed a small family of Gitano, consisting of a man of about fifty, a female of the same age, and a handsome young Gypsy, who was their son ; they were richly dressed after the Gypsy fashion, the men wearing zamarras with aaassy clasps an-d knobs of silver, and the
woman a species of riding dress witli much gold embroidery, and having immense gold rings attached to her ears. They came from Murcia, a distance of one hundred leagues and upwards. Some merchants, to whom 1 was recommended, informed me that they had credit on their house to the amount of twenty thousand dollars.
They experienced rough treatment in the fair, and on a very singular account : imme- diately on their appearing on the ground the horses in the fair, which, perhaps, amounted to three thousand, were seized with a sud- den and universal panic; it was one of those strange incidents for which it is difficult to assign a rational cause ; but a panic there was amongst the brutes, and a mighty one ; the horses neighed, screamed, and plunged, endeavouring to escape in all directions: some appeared absolutely possessed, stamp- ing and tearing, their manes and tails stiffly erect, like the bristles of the wild boar — many a rider lost his seat. When the panic had ceased, and it did cease almost as sud- denly as it had arisen, the Gitanos were forthwith accused as the authors of it ; it was said that they intended to steal the best hors,es during the confusion, and the keepers of the ground, assisted by a rabble of chalanes, who had their private reasons for hating the Gitanos, drove them off the field with sticks and cudgels. So much for having a bad name.
These wealthy Gitanos, when they are not ashamed of their blood or descent, which is rarely the case, and are not addicted to proud fancies, or " barbales," as they are called, possess great influence with the rest of their brethren, almost as much as the rab- bins amongst the Jews ; their bidding is con- sidered law, and the other Gitanos are at their devotion. On the contrary, when they prefer the society of the Busne to that of their own race, and refuse to assist their less fortunate brethren in poverty or in prison, they are regarded with unbounded contempt and abhorrence, as in the case of the rich Gypsy of Badajoz, and are not unfrequently doomed to destruction: such characters are mentioned in their couplets :
" The Gypsy fiend of Manga mead, Who never gave a straw, He would destroy for very greed, The good Egyptian law.
The raise Juanito day and night
Had best with caution go; The Gypsy carles of Yeira height
Have sworn to lay him low."
However some of the Gitanos may com- plain that there is no longer union to be found amongst them, there is still much of that fellow-feeling which springs from a con- sciousness of proceeding from one common origin, or, as they love to term it, "blood." At present their system exhibits less of a commonwealth than when they roamed in bands amongst the wilds, and principally subsisted by foraging, each.individunl contri- buting to the common stock, according to
6S
THE ZINCALI.
his success. The interests of individuals are now more distinct, and that close con- nexion is of course dissolved which existed when they wandered about, and their dan- gers, gains, and losses were felt in common ; and it can never be too often repeated that they are no longer a proscribed race, with no rights nor safety save what they gained by a close and intimate union. Neverthe- less, the Gitano, though he naturally prefers his own interest to that of his brother, and envies him his gain when he does not ex- pect to share in it, is at all times ready to side with him against the Busno, because the latter is not a Gitano, but of a different blood, and for no other reason. When one Gitano confides his plans to another, he is in no fear that they will be betrayed to the Busno, for whom there is no sympathy, and when a plan is to be executed which re- quires co-operation, they seek not the fellow- ship of the Busne but of each other, and if successful share the gain like brothers.
As a proof of the fraternal feeling which is not unfrequently displayed amongst the Gitanos, I shall relate a circumstance which occurred at Cordova a year or two before I iirst visited it. One of the poorest of the Gitanos murdered a Spaniard with the fatal iVLanchegan knife ; for this crime he was seized, tried, and found guilty. Blood-shed- ding in Spain is not looked upon with much abhorrence, and the life of the culprit is sel- dom taken, provided he can offer a bribe suf- ficient to induce the notary public to report favourably upon his case ; but in this instance money was of no avail ; the murdered indi- vidual left behind him powerful friends and connexions, who were determined that jus- tice should take its course. It was in vain that the Gitanos exerted all their influence with the authorities in behalf of their com- rade, and such influence was not slight; it was in vain that they offered extravagant sums that the punishment of death might be commuted to perpetual slavery in the dreary presidio of Ceuta; [was credibly informed that one of the richest Gitanos, by name Fruto, offered for his own share of the ran- som the sum of five thousand crowns, whilst there was not an individual but contributed according to his means — nought availed, and the Gypsy was executed in the Plaza. The day before the execution, the Gitanos, per- ceiving that the fate of their brother was sealed, one and all quitted Cordova, shutting up their houses and carrying with them their horses, their mules, their borricos, their wives and families, and the greatest part of their household furniture. No one knew whither they directed their course, nor were they seen in Cordova for some months, when they again suddenly made their appearance; a few, however, never returned. So great was the horror of the Gitanos at what had occurred, that they were in the habit of say- ing that the place was cursed for evermore, and when I knew them there were many amongst them who, on no account, would
enter the Plaza which had witnessed the dis- graceful end of their unfortunate brother.
The position which the Gitanos hold in society in Spain is the lowest, as might be expected; they are considered at best as thievish chalans, and the women as half sor- ceresses, and in every respect thieves ; there is not a wretch, however vile, the outcast of the prison and the presidio, who calls him- self Spaniard, but would feel insulted by being termed Gitano, and would thank God that he is not; and yet, strange to say there are numbers, and those of the higher classes, who seek their company, and endeavour to imitate their manners and way of speaking. The connexions which they form with the Spaniards are not many ; occasionally some wealthy Gitano marries a Spanish female, but to find a Gitana united to a Spaniard is a thing of the rarest occurrence, if it ever takes place. It is, of course, by intermarriage alone that the two races will ever commingle, and before that event is brought about, much modification must take place amongst the Gitanos, in their manners, in their habits, in their affections, and their dislikes, and, per- haps, even in their physical peculiarities; much must be forgotten on both sides, and every thing is forgotten in the course of time.
Considerable difficulties oppose themselves to the attempt of forming a correct census of the Gitano population of Spain. Some writers, we believe, have estimated the num- ber at sixty thousand, or thereabouts ; this might possibly be a fair estimate at former periods, but it would hardly hold good at the present day, when, from the opportunities which we have had of observing them, we should say that their number cannot exceed forty thousand, of which about one third are to be found in Andalusia alone. We have already expressed our belief that the caste has diminished of latter years ; whether this diminution was the result of one or many causes combined ; of a partial change of habits, of pestilence or sickness, of war or famine, or of a freer intercourse with the Spanish population, we have no means of determining, and shall abstain from offering conjectures on the subject.
CHAPTER IV.
ILLUSTRATIONS OF GYPSY CHARACTER.
THE GYPSY INNKEEPER OF TARIFA. — THE GYPSY SOLDIER OF VALDEPENAS.
In the autumn of the year 1839, I landed at Tarifa, from the coast of Barbary. I ar- rived in a small felouk laden with hides for Cadiz, to which place I was myself going. We stopped at Tarifa in order to perform quarantine, which, however, turned out a i mere farce, as we were all permitted to come ! on shore ; the master of the felouk having
THE GIPSY INNKEEPER.
69
bribed the port captain with a Few fowls. We . formed a motley group. A rich Moor and his I son, a child, with their Jewish servant Yusouf, sind myself with my own man Hayim Ben Attar, a Jew. After passing through the gate, the Moors and their domestic were conducted by the master to the house of one of his -acquaintance, where he intended they should lodge; whilst a sailor was despatched with myself and Hayim to the only inn which the place afforded. I stopped in the street to speak to a person whom I had known at Seville. Before we had concluded our dis- course, Hayim, who had walked forward, re- turned, saving, that the quarters were good, land that we were in high luck, for that he knew the people of the inn were Jews. "'Jews*"" said I, "here in Tarifa, and keep- ing an inn, I should be glad to see them." •So 1 left my acquaintance and hastened to the house. We first entered a stable, of which the ground floor of the building con- sisted, and ascending a flight of stairs en- tered a very large room, and from thence passed into a kitchen, in which were several people. One was a stout, athletic, burly fellow of about fifty, dressed in a buff jerkin •and dark cloth pantaloons. His hair was black as a coal and exceedingly bushy, his face much marked from some disorder, and his skin as dark as that of a toad. A very tall woman stood by the dresser, much resembling him in feature, with the same hair and complexion, but with more intelli- gence in her eyes than the man, who looked heavy and dogged. A dark woman, whom I subsequently discovered to be lame, sat in a corner, and two or three swarthy girls, from fifteen to eighteen years of age, were flitting about the room. I also observed a wicked- looking boy, who might have been called handsome, had not one of his eyes been in- jured. "Jews!" said I, in Moorish to Hay- im, as I glanced at these people and about the room; "These are not Jews, but chil- dren of the Dar-bushi-fal."
" List to the Corohai," said the tall woman in broken Gypsy slang; " hear how they jab- ber, (hunelad como chamulian,) truly we will make them pay for the noise they raise in the house." Then coming up to me, she demanded with a shout, fearing otherwise that I should not understand, whether I would not wish to see the room where I was to sleep. I nodded: whereupon she led me out upon a back terrace, and opening the door of a small room, of which there were three, asked me if it would suit. "Perfectly," said I, and returned with her to the kitchen.
11 O, what a handsome face! what a royal person!" exclaimed the whole family as I returned, in Spanish, but in the' whining, canting tones peculiar to the Gypsies, when they are bent on victimising. "A more ugly Busno it has never been our chance to see," said the same voices in the next breath, speaking in the jargon of the tribe. " Won't your Moorish Royalty please to cat some- thing]" said the tall hag. "We have no- 10
thing in the house ; but I will run out and buy a fowl, which I hope may prove a royal peacock to nourish and strengthen you." "I hope it may turn to drow in your en- trails," she muttered to the rest in Gypsy. She then ran down, and in a minute returned with an old hen, which on my arrival, I had observed below in the stable. " See this beautiful fowl," said she, "I have been run- ning over all Tarifa to procure it for your kingship; trouble enough I have had to ob- tain it, and dear enough it has cost me. 1 will now cut its throat." "Before you kill it," said I, "I should wish to know what you paid for it, that there may be no dispute about it in the account." "Two dollars I paid for it, most valorous and handsome sir; two dollars it cost me, out of my own quiso- bi — out of my own little purse." I saw it was high time to put an end to these zala- merias, and therefore exclaimed in Gitano, "You mean two brujis (reals,) O mother of all the witches, and that is twelve cuarlos more than it is worth." "Ay Dios mio, whom have we here?" exclaimed the females. " One," I replied, " who knows you well and all your ways. Speak ! am I to have the hen for two reals? if not, I shall leave the house this moment." "Oyes, to be sure, brother, and for nothing if you wish it," said the tall woman, in natural and quite altered tones; "but why did you enter the house speaking in Corohai like a Bengui? We thought you a Busno, but we now see that you are of our religion ; pray sit down and tell us where you have been."
Myself. — "Now, my good people, since I have answered your questions, it is but right that you should answer some of mine; pray who are you? and how happens it that you are keeping this inn?"
Gypsy Hag. — "Verily, brother, we can scarcely tell you who we are. All we know of ourselves is, that we keep this inn, to our trouble and sorrow, and that our parents kept it before us ; we were all born in this house, where I suppose we shall die."
Myself. — " Who is the master of the house, and whose are these children V
Gypsy Hag. — " The master of the house is the fool, my brother, who stands before you without saying a word ; to him belong these children, and the cripple in the chair is his wife, and my cousin. He has also two sons who are grown up men ; one is a chumajarri (shoemaker,) and the other serve* a tanner."
Myself. — "Is it not contrary to the law of the Cales to follow such trades."
Gypsy Hag. — " We know of no law, and little of the Cales themselves. Ours is the only Calo family in Tarifa, and we never left it in our lives, except occasionally to go on the smuggling lay to Gibraltar. True it is that the Cales when they visit Tarifa put up at our house, sometimes to our cost. There was one Rafael, son of the rich Fruto of Cordova, here last summer, to huv <u> horses, and he departed a bcria and a !':..; o2
70
THE ZINCALI-
in our debt; however, I do not grudge it him, for he is a handsome and clever chabo — a fellow of many capacities. There was more than one Busno had cause to rue his coming to Tarifa."
Myself. — "Do you live on good terms with the Busne of Tarifa?"
Gypsy Hag. — "Brother, we live on the best terms with the Busne of Tarifa; espe- cially with the errays. The first people in Tarifa come to this house, to have their baji told by the cripple in the chair and by my- self. I know not how it is, but we are more considered by the grandees than the poor, who hate and loathe us. When my first and only infant died, for I have been married, the child of one of the principal people was put to me to nurse, but I hated it for its white blood, as you may well believe. It never throve, for I did it a private mischief, and though it grew up and is now a youth, it is — mad."
Myself. — " With whom will your bro- ther's children marry] You say there are no Gypsies here."
Gypsy Hag. — "Ay de mi hermano ! It is that which grieves me. I would rather see them sold to the Moors than married to the Busne. When Rafael was here he wished to persuade the chumajarri to accom- pany him to Cordova, and promised to pro- vide for him, and to find him a wife among the Callees of that town ; but the faint heart would not, though I myself begged him to comply. As for the curtidor (tanner,) he goes every night to the house of a Busnee ; and once, when I reproached him with it, he threatened to marry her. I intend to take my knife, and to wait behind the door in the dark, and when she comes out to gash her over the eyes. I trow he will have little desire to wed with her then."
Myself. — " Do many Busne from the coun- try put up at this house?"
Gypsy Hag. — " Not so many as formerly, brother; the labourers from the Campo say that we are all thieves ; and that it is impos- sible for any one but a Calo to enter this house without having the shirt stripped from Ins back. They go to the houses of their acquaintance in the town, for they fear to enter these doors. I scarcely know why, far my brother is the veriest fool in Tarifa. Were it not for his face, I should say that lie is no Chabo, for he cannot speak, and permits every chance to slip through his fingers. Many a good mule and borrico have gone out of the stable below, which he might have secured, had he but tongue enough to have cozened the owners. But he is a fool, as I said before ; he cannot speak, and is no Chabo.
How far the person in question, who sat fill the while smoking his pipe, with the most unperturbed tranquillity, deserved the character bestowed upon him by his sister, will presently appear. It is not my inten- tion to describe here all the strange things
I both saw &nd heard in this Gypsy inn. Se- veral Gypsies arrived from the country during the six days that I spent within its walls ; one of them, a man, from Moron, was re- ceived with particular cordiality, he having a son, whom he was thinking of betrothing to one of the Gypsy daughters. Some females of quality likewise visited the house to gossip, like true Andalusians. It was singular, to observe the behaviour of the Gypsies to these people, especially that of the remarkable woman some of whose con- versation I have given above. She whined, she canted, she blessed, she talked of beauty, of colour, of eyes, of eye-brows, and pestanas, (eyelids,) and of hearts which were aching for such and such a lady. Amongst others, came a very fine woman, the widow of a colonel lately slain in battle ; she brought with her a beautiful innocent little girl, her daughter, between three and four years of age. The Gypsy appeared to adore her; she sobbed, she shed tears, she kissed the child, she blessed it, she fondled it. I had my eye upon her countenance, and it brought to my recollection that of a she-wolf, which I had once seen in Russia, playing with her whelp beneath a birch-tree. " You seem to love that child very much, O, my mother," said I to her, as the lady was departing.
Gypsy Hag. — "No lo camelo hijo ! I do not love it, O my son, 1 do not love it; I love it so much, that I wish it may break its legs as it goes down stairs, and its mother also."
On the evening of the fourth day, I was seated on the stone bench at the stable door, taking the fresco; the Gypsy innkeeper sat beside me, smoking his pipe, and silent as usual; presently a man and woman with a borrico, or donkey, entered the portal. I took little or no notice of a circumstance so slight, but I was presently aroused by hear- ing the Gypsy's pipe drop upon the ground : I looked at him, and scarcely recognised his face. It was no longer dull, black, and heavy, but was lighted up with an expres- sion so extremely villanous, that I felt uneasy. His eyes were scanning the recent comers, especially the beast of burden, which was a beautiful female donkey. He was almost in- stantly at their side, assisting to remove its housings, and the alforjas, or bags. His tongue had become unloosed, as if by sor- cery ; and far from being unable to speak, he proved that, when it suited his purpose, he could discourse with wonderful volubility. The donkey was soon tied to the manger, and a large measure of barley emptied before it, the greatest part of which the Gypsy boy presently, removed, his father having pur- posely omitted to mix the barley with the straw, with which the Spanish mangers are always kept filled. The guests were hur- ried up stairs as soon as possible. I re- mained below, and subsequently strolled about the town and on the bench. It was about nine o'clock when 1 returned to the inn to
THE GYPSY INNKEEPER.
71
retire to rest ; strange things had evidently been going on during my absence. As I passed through the large room, on my way to my apartment, lo, the table was set out with much wine, fruits, and viands. There sat the man from the country, three parts intoxicated ; the Gypsy, already provided with another pipe, sat on his knee, with his right arm most aiFectionately round his neck ; on one side sat the chumajarri drinking and smoking; on the other, the tanner. Behold, poor humanity, thought I to myself, in the hands of devils; in this manner are human souls insnared to destruction by the fiends of the pit. The females had already taken possession of the woman at the other end of the table, embracing her, and displaying every mark of friendship and affection. I passed on, but ere I reached my apartment, I heard the words mule and donkey. " Adios," said I, for I but too well knew what was on the carpet.
In the back stable the Gypsy kept a mule, a most extraordinary animal, which was em- ployed in bringing water to the house, a task which it effected with no slight difficulty ; it was reported to be eighteen years of age ; one of its eyes had been removed by some accident, it was foundered, and also lame, the result of a broken leg. This animal was the laughing-stock of all Tarifa ; the Gypsy grudged it the very straw on which alone he fed it, and had repeatedly offered it for sale at a dollar, which he could never obtain. During the night there was much merriment going on, and I could frequently distinguish the voice of the Gypsy raised to a boisterous pitch. In the morning, the Gypsy hag en tered my apartment, bearing the breakfast of myself and Hayim. " What were you about last night 1" said I.
"We were bargaining with the Busno. evil overtake him, and he has exchanged us the ass, for the mule and the reckoning," said the hag, in whose countenance triumph was blended with anxiety.
" Was he drunk when he saw the mule?" I demanded.
"He did not see her at all, O my son, but we told him we had a beautiful mule, worth any money, which we were anxious to dis- pose of, as a donkey suited our purpose bet- ter. We are afraid that when he sees her he will repent his bargain, and if he calls off within four-and-twenty hours, the exchange is null, and the justicia will cause us to re- store the ass ; we have, however, already re- moved her to our huerta out of the town, where we have hid her below the ground. Dios sabe (God knows) how it will turn out."
When the man and the woman saw the lame, foundered, one-eyed creature, for which and the reckoning they had exchanged their own beautiful borrica, they stood confounded. It was about ten in the morning, and they had not altogether recovered from the fumes of the w'.ne of the preceding night ; at. last the man, with a frightful oath, exclaimed to
the innkeeper, "Restore my donkey, you Gypsy villain."
" It cannot be, brother," replied the latter, "your donkey is by this time three leagues from here ; I sold her this morning to a man 1 do not know, and I am afraid I shall have a hard bargain with her, for he only gave two dollars, as she was unsound. O, you have taken me in, I am a poor fool, as they call me here, and you understand much, very- much, baribu."*
" Her value was thirty-five dollars, thou demon," said the countryman, "and the jus- ticia will make you pay that."
"Come, come, brother," said the Gypsy, "all this is mere conversation, you have a capital bargain, to-day the mercado is held, and you shall sell the mule, I will go with you myself. O, you understand baribu; sister, bring the bottle of anise; the senor and the senora must drink a copita." After much persuasion, and many oaths, the man and woman were weak enough to comply; when they had drank several glasses, they departed for the market, the Gypsy leading the mule. In about two hours they returned with the wretched beast, but not exactly as they went; a numerous crowd followed, laughing and hooting. The man was now frantic, and the woman yet more so. They forced their way up stairs to collect their baggage, which they soon effected, and were about to leave the house, vowing revenge. Now ensued a truly terrific scene, there were no more blandish- ments ; the Gypsy men and women were in arms, uttering the most frightful execrations ; as the woman came down stairs, the females assailed her like lunatics; the cripple poked at her with a stick, the tall hag clawed at her hair, whilst the father Gypsy walked close beside the man, his hand on his clasp- knife, looking like nothing in this world : the man, however, on reaching the door, turned to him and said : "Gypsy demon, my borrica by three o'clock — or you know the rest, the justicia."
The Gypsies remained filled with rage and disappointment; the hag vented her spite on her brother. "'Tis your fault," said she; "fool! you have no tongue; you a chabo, you can't speak ;" whereas, within a few- hours, he had perhaps talked more than an auctioneer during a three days' sale : but he reserved his words for fitting occasions, and now sat as usual, sullen and silent, smoking his pipe.
The man and woman made their appear- ance at three o'clock, but they came — intox- icated; the Gypsy's eyes glistened — blandish- ment was again had recourse to. " Come and sit down with the cavalier here," whined the family; "he is a friend of ours, and will soon arrange matters to your satisfaction." I arose, and went into the street; the hag followed mo. " Will you not assist us, brother, or are you no chabo]" she mut- tered.
* A Oypsy word, signifying "exceeding much."
72
THE ZINC ALL
" I will have nothing to do with your mat- ters," said L
" I know who will," said the hag, and hur- ried down the street.
The man and woman, with much noise, demanded their donkey, the innkeeper made no answer, and proceeded to fill up several glasses with the anisado. In about a quarter of an hour, the Gypsy hag returned with a young man, well dressed, and with a genteel air, but with something wild and singular in his eyes. He seated himself by the table, smiled, took a glass of liquor, drank part of it, smiled again, and handed it to the coun- tryman. The latter seeing himself treated in this friendly manner by a cabaliero, was evidently much flattered, took off his hat to the new comer, and drank, as did the woman also. The glass was filled, and refilled, till they became yet more intoxicated. I did not hear the young man say a word : he appeared a passive automaton. The Gypsies, how- ever, spoke for him, and were profuse of compliments. It was now proposed that the caballaro should settle the dispute : a long and noisy conversation ensued, the young man looking vacantly on : the strange people had no money, and had already run up ano- ther bill at a wine house to which they had retired. At last it was proposed, as if by the young man, that the Gypsy should pur- chase his own mule for two dollars, and for- give the strangers the reckoning of the pre- ceding night. To this they agreed, being apparently stultified with the liquor, and the money being paid to them in the presence of witnesses, they thanked the friendly mediator and reeled away.
Before they left the town that ~ight, they had contrived to spend the entire two dollars, and the woman who first recovered her senses, was bitterly lamenting that they had permitted themselves to be despoiled so cheaply oi&pren&a tan preciosa, as was the donkey. Upon the whole, however, I did not much pity them. The woman was cer- tainly not the man's wife. The labourer had probably left his village with some stroll- ing harlot, bringing with him the animal which had previously served to support him- self and family.
I believe that the Gypsy read, at the first glance, their history, and arranged matters accordingly. The donkey was soon once more in the stable, and that night there was much rejoicing in the Gypsy inn.
Who was the singular mediator'? He was neither more nor less than the foster child of the Gypsy hag, the unfortunate being whom she had privately injured in his infancy. After having thus served them as an instrument in their villany, he was told to go home
THE GYPSY SOLDIER OF VALDEPENAS.
It was at Madrid one fine afternoon in the beginning of March, 1838, that, as I was sit- ting behind my table in a cabinete, as it is called, of the third floor of No. 10 in the Calle De Santiago, having just taken my
meal, my hostess entered and informed me that a military officer wished to speak to me, adding, in an under tone, that he looked a strange guest. I was acquainted with no military officer in the Spanish service; but as at i hat time I expected daily to be arrested for having distributed the Bible, I thought that very possibly this officer might have been sent to perform that piece of duty. I instantly ordered him to be admitted, where- upon a thin active figure, somewhat above the middle height, dressed in a blue uniform, with a long sword hanging at his side, tripped into the room. Depositing his regimental hat on the ground, he drew a chair to the table, and seating himself, placed his elbowa on the board, and supporting his face with his hands, confronted me, gazing steadfastly upon me, without uttering a word. I looked no less wistfully at him, and was of the same opinion as my hostess, as to the strangeness of my guest. He was about fifty, with thin flaxen hair covering the sides of his head, which at the top was entirely bald. His eyes were small, and, like ferrets', red and fiery. His complexion like a brick, a dull red, chequered with spots of purple. "May f inquire your name and business, Sir?" I at length demanded.
Stranger. — "My name is Chaleco of Val- depefias; in the time of the French I served as bragante fighting for Ferdinand VII. I am now a captain on half pay in the service of Donna Isabel; as for my business here it is to speak with you. Do you know this book?"
Myself.— " This book is Saint Luke's Gospel in the Gypsy language ; how can this k concern you?"
Stranger. — " No one more. It is in the language of my people."
Myself. — " You do not pretend to say that you are a Calo?"
Stranger. — " I do ! I am Zincalo, by the mother's side. My father, it is true, was one of the Busne, but 1 glory in being a Calo, and care not to acknowledge other blood."
Myself — "How became you possessed of that book?"
Stranger. — "I was this morning in the Prado, where I met two women of our peo- ple, and amongst other things they told me that they had a Gabicote in our language. T did not believe them at first, but they pulled it out, and I found their words true. They then spoke to me of yourself, and told me where you live, so I took the book from them and am come to see you."
Myself. — "Are you able to understand this book?"
Straiigcr. — "Perfectly, though it is written in very crabbed language :* but I learnt to read Calo when very young. My mother was a good Calli, and early taught me both to speak and read it. She too had a Gabi- cote, but not printed like this, and it treated of a different matter."
* " LcngiM nnij- ccrrada."
THE GYPSY SOLDIER.
73
Myself. — " How came your mother, being a. good Calli, to marry one of a different blood!"
Stranger. — " It was no fault of hers ; there was no remedy. In her infancy she lost her parents, who were executed ; and she was abandoned by all, till my father, taking com- passion on her, brought her up and educated her; at last he made her his wife, though three times her age. She, however, remem- bered her blood and hated my father, and taught me to hate him likewise, and avoid him. When a boy, I used to stroll about the plains, that I might not see my father ; and my father would follow me and beg me to look upon him, and would ask me what I wanted ; and I would reply, Father, the only thing I want is to see you dead."
Myself.—" That was strange language from a child to its parent."
Stranger. — " It was, — but you know the couplet,* which says, 'I do not wish to be a lord — I am by birth a Gypsy; — I do not wish to be a Gentleman — I am content with being a Calo!'"
Myself. — " I am anxious to hear more of your history; pray proceed."
Stranger. — " When I was about twelve years old my father became distracted, and died. I then continued with my mother for some years ; she loved me much, and procured a teacher to instruct me in Latin. At last she died, and then there was a pleyto (law- suit.) I took to the sierra and became a highwayman : — but the wars broke out. My cousin Jara, of Valdepenas, raised a troop of bragantes.i I enlisted with him and distin- guished myself very much ; there is scarcely a man or woman in Spain but has heard e Jara and Chaleco. I am now captain in the service of Donna Isabel — I am covered with wounds — I am — ugh ! ugh ! ugh ! — "
He had commenced coughing, and in a manner which perfectly astounded me. I had heard hooping-coughs, consumptive-coughs, coughs caused by colds and other accidents, hut a cough so horrible and unnatural as that of the Gypsy soldier, I had never witnessed in the course of my travels. In a moment he was bent double, his frame writhed and laboured, the veins of his forehead were frightfully swollen, and his complexion be- cameblack as the blackest blood; hescreamed, he snorted, he barked, and appeared to be on the point of suffocation, — yet more explosive became the cough; and the people of the house, frightened, came running into the apartment. I cried, "The man is perishing, run instantly for a surgeon !" He heard me. and with a quick movement raised his left hand as if to countermand the order; — another struggle, then one mighty throe, which seemed to search his deepest intestines; and he re-
* " No catnelo ser eray, es Calo mi nacimiento No camelo ser eray, con ser Calo me contento."
f Armed partisans, or guerillas on horseback : they Waited a war of extermination against the French, hut at the same time plundered their countrymen without scruple.
mained motionless, his head on his knee. The cough had left him, and within a minute or two he again looked up.
"That is a dreadful cough, friend," said I, when he was somewhat recovered. "How did you get it]"
Gypsy Soldier. — " I am — shot through the lungs — brother! Let me but take breath, and I will show you the hole — the agujero."
He continued with me a considerable time, and showed not the slightest disposition to depart; the cough returned twice, but not so violently; — at length, having an engage- ment, I arose, and apologizing, told him I must leave him. The next day he came again at the same hour, but he found me not, as 1 was abroad dining with a friend. On the third day, however, as I was sitting down to dinner, in he walked, unannounced. 1 am rather hospitable than otherwise, so T cor- dially welcomed him, and requested him to partake of my meal. " Con mucho gusto," he replied, and instantly took his place at the table. I was again astonished, for if his cough was frightful his appetite was yet more so. He ate like a wolf of the sierra ; — soup, puchero, fowl and bacon dis- appeared before him in a twinkling. I or- dered in cold meat, which he presently de- spatched ; a large piece of cheese was then produced. We had been drinking water, j,
" Where is the wine1?" said he.
"I never use it," I replied.
He looked blank. The hostess, hon who was present waiting, said, "If the gen-
L.ot& Trtrarty full which I will instantly fetch."
The skin bottle, when full, might contain
out _ur quai.s. She filled him a very large glass, and was removing the skin, but he prevented her, saying, "Leave it, my good woman ; my brother here will settle with you for the little I shall use."
He now lighted his cigar, and it was evi- dent that he had made good his quarters. On the former occasion I thought his behaviour sufficiently strange, but I liked it still less on the present. Every fifteen minutes he emp- tied his glass, which contained at least a pint; his conversation became horrible. He related the atrocities which he had com- mitted when a robber and bragante in La Mancha. "It was our custom," said he, "to tie our prisoners to the olive trees, and then, putting our horses to full speed, to tilt at them with our spears." As he continued to drink he became waspish and quarrelsome : he had hitherto talked Castilian, but he would now only converse in Gypsy and in Latin, the last of which languages he spoke with great fluency, though ungrammatically. He told me that he had killed six men in duels; and, drawing his sword, fenced about the room. I saw by the manner in which he handled it, that he was master of his weapon. His cough did not return, and he said it seldom afflicted him when he dined well. He gave me to understand that ho had received no pay for two years. "Therefore vou visit
74
THE ZINCALI.
me," thought t. At the end of three hours, perceiving that he exhibited no signs of taking his departure, I arose, and said I must again leave him. "As you please, brother," said he ; " use no ceremony with me, I am fatigued and will wait a little while." I did not re- turn till eleven at night, when my hostess informed me that he had just departed, pro- mising to return next day. He had emptied the bota to the last drop, and the cheese pro- duced being insufficient for him, he sent for an entire Dutch cheese on my account; part of which he had eaten and the rest carried away. I now saw that I had formed a most troublesome acquaintance, of whom it was highly necessary to rid myself, if possible; I therefore dined out for the next nine days.
For a week he came regularly at the usual hour, at the end of which time he desisted ; the hostess was afraid of hirn, as she said that he was a brujo or wizard, and only spoke to him through the wicket.
On the tenth day I was cast into prison, where I continued several weeks. Once, during my confinement, he called at the house, and being informed of my mishap, drew his sword, and vowed with horrible imprecations to murder the prime minister Ofalia, for having dared to imprison his bro- ther. On my release, I did not revisit my lodgings for some days, but lived at an hotel. I returned late one afternoon, with my ser- vant Franci<5ro. p Rasn.i^ 0f Hernani, who e rved me with the utmost fidelity during my imprisonment, which he had voluntarily Sfiured wtth me. • The Ifrrt person I ntW en entering was the Gypsy soldier, seated by the tctuio, „ . ore several bottles of
wine which he had ordered from the tavern,, of course on my account. He was smoking, and looked savage and sullen; perhaps he was not much pleased with the reception he had experienced. He had forced himself in, and the woman of the house sat in a corner looking upon him with dread. I addressed him, but he would scarcely return an answer. At last he commenced discoursing with great volubility in Gypsy and Latin. I did not understand much of what he said. His words were wild and incoherent, but he repeatedly threatened some person. The last bottle was now exhausted — he demanded more. I told him in a gentle manner that he had drank enough. He looked on the ground for some time, then slowly, and somewhat hesitatingly, drew his sword and laid it on the table. It was become dark. I was not afraid of the fellow, but I wished to avoid any thing un- pleasant. I called to Francisco to bring lights, and obeying a sign which I made him, he sat down at the table. The gypsy glared fiercely upon him — Francisco laughed, and began with great glee to talk in Basque, of which the Gypsy understood not a word. The Basques, like nil Tartars,* and such they are, are paragons of fidelity and good nature ; they are only dangerous when outraged, when they
* The Basques speak a Tartar dialed Which strikingly resembles the Mongolian and the Mamlchou.
are terrible indeed. Francisco to the strength of a giant joined the disposition of a lamb. He was beloved even in the patio of the pri- son, where he used to pitch the bar and wrestle with the murderers and felons, al- ways coming off victor. He continued speak- ing Basque. *The Gypsy was incensed ; and, forgetting the languages in which, for the last hour, he had been speaking, complained to Francisco of his rudeness in speaking any tongue but Castilian. The Basque replied by a loud carcajada, and slightly touched the Gypsy on the knee. The latter sprang up like a mine discharged, seized his sword, and, retreating a few steps, made a despe- rate lunge at Francisco.
The Basques, next to the Pasiegos,* are the best cudgel-players in Spain, and in the world. Francisco held in his hand part of a broomstick, which he had broken in the stable, whence he had just ascended. With the swiftness of lightning he foiled the stroke of Chaleco, and, in another moment, with a dexterous blow, struck the sword out of his hand, sending it ringing against the wall.
The Gypsy resumed his seat and his cigar. He occasionally looked at the Basque. His glances were at first atrocious, but presently changed their expression, and appeared to me to become prying and eagerly curious. He at last arose, picked up his sword, sheathed it, and walked slowly to the door, when there he stopped, turned round, advanced close to Fra'icisco, and looked him steadfastly in the face. "My good fellow," said he, "I am a Gypsy, and can read baji. Do you know where you will be at this time to-morrow P'f Then laughing like a hyena, he departed, and I never saw him again.
At that time on the morrow, Francisco was on his death-bed. He had caught the jail fever, which had long raged in the Carcel de la Corte, where I was imprisoned. In a few days he was buried, a mass of corruption, in the Campo Santo of Madrid.
CHAPTER V.
VARIOUS POINTS CONNECTED WITH THE GI- TANOS. — DRESS. — PHYSICAL CHARACTER- ISTICS.— THE GYPSY GLANCE. — EXTRACTS FROM A SPANISH WORK.
The Gitanos, in their habits and manner of life, are much less cleanly than the Spa- niards. The hovels in which they reside ex-
, hibit none of the neatness which is observa- ble in the habitations of even the poorest of
j the other race. The floors are unswept, and
* A small nation or rather sect of contrabandistas, ! who Inhabit the valley of Pas amidst the mountains or Santandar; they -;irrv long sticks, in the handling of which they an: unequalled. Armed with one of these sticks, a smuggler of Paa has been known to beat ml" . two mounted dragoons.
t The hostess, .Maria Diaz, and her son Juan Jose j Lopez, were present when the outcast uttered these pro- I |>hctic wo.ds.
DRESS.
75
abound with filth and mud, and in their per- sons they are scarcely less vile. Inattention to cleanliness is a characteristic of the Gyp- sies, in all parts of the world.
The Bishop of Forli, as far back as 1422, gives evidence upon this point, and insinu- ates that they carried the plague with them ; as he observes that it raged with peculiar violence the year of their appearance at Forli*
At the present day they are almost equally disgusting, in this respect, in Hungary, Eng- land, and Spain. Amongst the richer Gi- tanos, habits of greater cleanliness of course exist than amongst the poorer. An air of sluttisbness, however, pervades their dwell- ings, which, to an experienced eye, would sufficiently attest that the inmates were Gi- tanos, in the event of their absence.
What can be said of the Gypsy dress, of which such frequent mention is made in the Spanish laws, and which is prohibited toge- ther with the Gypsy language and manner of life) Of whatever it might consist in former days, it is so little to be distinguished from the dress of some classes amongst the Spa- niards, that it is almost impossible to describe the difference. They generally wear a high peaked, narrow brimmed hat, a zamarra of sheepskin in winter, and, during summer, a jacket of brown cloth ; and beneath this they are fond of exhibiting a red plush waistcoat, something after the fashion of the English jockeys, with numerous buttons and clasps. A faja, or girdle of crimson silk, surrounds the waist, where, not unfrequently, are stuck the cachas which we have already described. Pantaloons of coarse cloth or leather de- scend to the knee; the legs are protected by woollen stockings, and sometimes by a species of spatterdash, either of cloth or leather; stout high-lows complete the equip- ment.
Such is the dress of the Gitanos of most parts of Spain. But it is necessary to re- mark that such also is the dress of the cha- ianes, and of the muleteers, except that the latter are in the habit of wearing broad som- breros as preservatives from the sun. This dress appears to be rather Andalusian than Gitano ; and yet it certainly beseems the Gi- tano better than the chalan or muleteer. He wears it with more easy negligence or jaun- tiness, by which he may be recognised at some distance, even from behind.
It is still more difficult to say what is the peculiar dress of the Gitanas; they wear not the large red cloaks and immense bonnets of coarse beaver which distinguish their sisters of England ; they have no other head gear than a handkerchief, which is occasionally resorted to as a defence against the severity of the weather; their hair is sometimes con- fined by a comb, but more frequently is per- mitted to stray dishevelled down their shoul- ders; they are fond of large ear-rings whe- ther of gold, silver, or metal, resembling in
* Eodem anno precipue fuit pestis sea mortalitas. Foriivio.
this respect the poissardes of France. There is little to distinguish them from the Spanish women save the absence of the mantilla, which they never carry. Females of fashion not unfrequently take pleasure in dressing a la Gitana, as it is called, but this female Gypsy fashion, like that of the men, is more properly the fashion of Andalusia, the prin- cipal characteristic of which is the saya, which is exceedingly short with many rows of flounces.
True it is that the original dress of the Gitanos, male and female, whatever it was, may have had some share in forming the An- dalusian fashion, owing to the great number of these wanderers who -found their way to that province at an early period. The An- dalusians are a mixed breed of various na- tions, Romans, Vandals, Moors; perhaps- there is a slight sprinkling of Gypsy blood in their veins, and of Gypsy fashion in their garb.
The Gitanos are, for the most part, of the middle size, and the proportions of their frames convey a powerful idea of strength and activity united; a deformed or weakly object is rarely found amongst them in per- sons of either sex ; such probably perish in> their infancy, unable to support the hardships and privations to which the race is still sub- jected from its great poverty, and these same privations have given and still give a coarse- ness and harshness to their features, which are all strongly marked and expressive. Their complexion is by no means uniform, save that it is invariably darker than the general olive hue of the Spaniards ; not un- frequently countenances as dark as those of Mulattos, present themselves, and in some few instances of almost negro blackness. Like most people of savage ancestry, their teeth are white and strong; their mouths are not badly formed, but it is in the eye more than in any other feature that they differ from other human beings.
There is something remarkable in the eye of the Rommany ; should his hair and com- plexion become fair as those of the Swede or the Finn, and his jockey gait as grave and ceremonious as that of the native of Old Cas- tile, were he dressed like a king, a priest, or a warrior, still would the Gitano be detected by his eye, should it continue unchanged. The Jew is known by his eye, but then in the Jew that feature is peculiarly small ; the Chi- nese has a remarkable eye, but then the eye of the Chinese is oblong, and even with the face, which is flat ; but the eye of the Gitano is neither large nor small, and exhibits no marked difference in its shape from eyes of the common cast. Its peculiarity consists chiefly in a strange staring expression, which to be understood must be seen, and in a thin glaze, which steals over it when in repose, and seems to emit phosphoric light. That the Gypsy eye has sometimes a peculiar cf* feet, we learn from the following stanza:
" A Oypsy stripling glossy eye Has pierced my bosom's core,
7G
THE ZINCALI.
A feat no eye beneath the sky Could e'er effect before."
The following passages are extracted from a Spanish work,* and cannot be out of place here, as they relate to those matters to which we have devoted this chapter.
" The Gitanos have an olive complexion : and very marked physiognomy ; their cheeks are prominent, their lips thick, their eyes j vivid and black ; their hair is long, black, and coarse, and their teeth very white. The general expression of their physiognomy is a compound of pride, slavishness, and cunning. They are, for the most part, of good stature, well formed, and support with facility fatigue and every kind of hardship. When they discuss any matter, or speak among them- selves, whether in Catalan, in Castilian, or in Germania, which is their own peculiar jar- gon, they always make use of much gesticu- lation, which contributes to give to their con- versation and to the vivacity of their phy- siognomy a certain expression, still more penetrating and characteristic.
" When a Gitano has occasion to speak of some business in which his interest is in- volved, he redoubles his gestures in propor- tion as he knows the necessity of convincing those who hear him, and fears their impassi- sibility. If any rancorous idea agitate him in the course of his narrative ; if he endea- vour to infuse into his auditors sentiments of jealousy, vengeance, or any violent passion, his features become exaggerated, and the vivacity of his glances, and the contraction of his lips, show clearly, and in an imposing manner, the foreign origin of the Gitanos and all the customs of barbarous people. Even his very smile has an expression hard and disagreeable. One might almost say that joy in him is a forced sentiment, and that like unto the savage man, sadness is the dominant feature of his physiognomy.
" The Gitana is distinguished by the same complexion, and almost the same features. In her frame she is as well formed, and as flexible as the Gitano. Condemned to suffer the same privations and wants, her counte- nance, when her interest does not oblige her to dissemble her feelings, presents the same aspect of melancholy, and shows, besides, with more energy, the rancorous passions of which the female heart is susceptible. Free in her actions, her carriage, and her pursuits,
*This work is styled Historia de los GitAnos, by J. M , published at Darcelona in the year 1832; it con- sists of 93 very small and scantily furnished pages. Its chief, we might say its only merit, is the style, Which is tlncnt and easy. The writer is a theorist, and sacrifices truth and probability to the shrine of one idea, and that one of the most absurd that ever entered the head of an individual. He endeavours to persuade his readers that the GitAnos are the descendants of the Moors, and the greatest part of his work is a history of those Africans, from the time of their arrival In the Peninsula till their expatriation by Philip the Third. The GitAnos be sup- poses to be various tribes of wandering Moors, who baf- lled pursuit amidst the fastnesses of hills; be denies that they are of the same rare and origin as the Gypsies, Bo- hemians, <&c, of other lands, though he affords no proof, anil is confessedly ignorant of the GilAno language, the only criterion.
To this work we shall revert on a future occasion.
she speaks, vociferates, and makes more ges- tures than the Gitano, and, in imitation of him, her arms are in continual motion, to give more expression to the imagery with which she accompanies her discourse ; her whole body contributes to her gesture, and to in- crease its force; endeavouring by these means to sharpen the effect of language in itself in- sufficient; and her vivid and disordered ima- gination is displayed in her appearance and attitude.
" When she turns her hand to any species of labour, her hurried action, the disorder of her hair, which is scarcely subjected by a lit- tle comb, and her propensity to irritation, show how little she loves toil, and her dis- gust for any continued occupation.
"In her disputes, the air of menace and high passion, the flow of words, and the fa- cility with which she provokes and despises danger, indicate manners half barbarous, and ignorance of other means of defence. Fi- nally, both in males and females, their phy- sical constitution, colour, agility, and flexi- bility, reveal to us a caste sprung from a burning clime, and devoted to all those ex- ercises which contribute to evolve bodily vigour, and certain mental faculties.
"The dress of the Gitano varies with the country he inhabits. Both in Rousillon and Catalonia, his habiliments generally consist of jacket, waistcoat, pantaloons, and a red faja which covers part of his waistcoat; on his feet he wears hempen sandals, with much ribbon tied round the leg as high as the calf; he has, moreover, either woollen or cotton stockings; round his neck he wears a hand- kerchief, carelessly tied ; and in the winter he uses a blanket or mantle with sleeves, cast over the shoulder ; his head is covered with the indispensable red cap, which ap- pears to be the favourite ornament of many nations in the vicinity of the Mediterranean and Caspian Sea.
"The neck and the elbows of the jacket are adorned with pieces of blue and yellow cloth embroidered with silk, as well as the seams of the pantaloons ; he wears, moreo- ver, on the jacket or the waistcoat, various rows of silver buttons, small and round, sus- tained by rings or chains of the same metal. The old people, and those who by fortune, or some other cause, exercise, in appearance, a kind of authority over the rest, are almost always dressed in black or dark blue velvet. Some of those who affect elegance amongst them, keep for holidays a complete dress of sky-blue velvet, with embroidery at the neck, pocket-holes, armpits, and in all the seams ; in a word, with the exception of the turban, this was the fashion of dress of the ancient Moors of Granada, the only difference being occasioned by time and misery."
"The drc^s of the Gitanas is very varied: ' the young girls, or those who are in tolerably ; easy circumstances, generally wear a black bodice laced up with a string, and adjusted to their figure, and contrasting with the scar- let-coloured saya, which only covers a part
GYPSY PRACTICES. — THE BAHI.
77
of the leg ; their shoes are cut very low, and are adorned with little buckles of silver; the breast, and the upper part of the bodice, are covered either with a white handkerchief, or one of some vivid colour; and on the head is worn another handkerchief, tied beneath the chin, one of the ends of which falls on the shoulder, in the manner of a hood. When the cold or the heat permit, the Gitana re- moves the hood, without untying the knots, and exhibits her long and shining tresses re- strained by a comb. The old women, and the very poor, dress in the same manner, save that their habiliments are more coarse, the colours less in harmony, and more disor- der in their array. Amongst them misery appears beneath the most revolting aspect : whilst the poorest Gitano preserves a certain deportment which would make his aspect supportable, if his unquiet and ferocious glance did not inspire us with aversion."
CHAPTER VI.
CERTAIN TRICKS AND PRACTICES OF THE
GYPSY FEMALES. — THE BAHI. HOKKANO
BARO. — USTILAR PASTESAS. SHOP-LIFT-
I ING. — DRAO. — THE LOADSTONE. — THE ROOT OF THE GOOD BARON.
Whilst their husbands are engaged in their jockey vocation, or in wielding the ca- chas, the Callees, or Gypsy females, are sel- dom idle, but are endeavouring, by various means, to win all the money they can. The richest amongst them are generally contra- bandistas, and in the large towns go from house to house with prohibited goods, espe- cially silk and cotton, and occasionally with tobacco. They likewise purchase cast off fe- male wearing apparel, which, when vamped up and embellished, they sometimes contrive to sell as new, with no inconsiderable profit.
Gitanas of this description are of the most respectable class ; the rest, provided they do not sell roasted chestnuts, or esteras, which are a species of mat, seek a livelihood by dif- ferent tricks and practices, more or less fraud- ulent, for example : —
La Bahi, or fortune-telling, which is called in Spanish buena ventura. — This way of ex- tracting money from the credulity of dupes, is, of all those practised by the Gypsies, the readiest and most easy; promises are the only capital requisite, and the whole art of fortune-telling consists in properly adapting these promises to the age and condition of the parties who seek for information. The Gitanas are clever enough in the accomplish- ment of this, and in most cases afford per- fect satisfaction. Their practice chiefly lies amongst females, the portion of the human race most given to curiosity and credulity. To the young maidens they promise lovers, 11
handsome invariably, and sometimes rich ; to wives children, and perhaps another husband; for their eyes are so penetrating, that occa- sionally they will develop your most secret thoughts and wishes; to the old, riches — and nothing but riches; for they have sufficient knowledge of the human heart to be aware that avarice is the last passion that becomes extinct within it. These riches are to pro- ceed either from the discovery of hidden trea- sures, or from across the water; from the Americas, to which the Spaniards still look with hope, as there is no individual in Spain, however poor, but has some connexion in those realms of silver and gold, at whose death he considers it probable that he may succeed to a brilliant "herencia." The Gi- tanas, in the exercise of this practice, find dupes almost as readily amongst the superior classes, as the veriest dregs of the popula- tion. It is their boast, that the best houses are open to them ; and perhaps in the space of one hour, they will spae the bahi to a duchess, or countess, in one of the hundred palaces of Madrid ; and to half a dozen of the lavanderas engaged in purifying the linen of the capital, beneath the willows which droop on the banks of the murmuring Manzanares. One great advantage which the Gypsies pos- sess over all other people, is an utter absence of mauvaise honte; their speech is as fluent, and their eyes as unabashed, in the presence of royalty, as before those from whom they have nothing to hope or fear; the result be- ing, that most minds quail before them, and they play with what would be fatal to others. There were two Gitanas at Madrid, and pro- bably they are there still. The name of one was Pepita, and the other was called La Chi- charona ; the first was a spare, shrewd, witch- like female, about fifty, and was the mother- in-law of La Chicharona, who was remarkable for her stoutness. These women subsisted entirely by fortune-telling and swindling. It chanced that the son of Pepita, and husband of Chicharona, having spirited away a horse, was sent to the presidio of Malaga for ten years of hard labour. This misfortune caused inexpressible affliction to his wife and mo- ther, who determined to exert every effort to procure his liberation. The readiest way which occurred to them, was to procure an interview with the Queen Regent Christina, whom they doubted not would forthwith par- don the culprit, provided they had an oppor- tunity of assailing her with their Gypsy dis- course : for, to use their own words, " they well knew what to say." I at that time lived close by the palace, in the street of Santiago, and daily, for the space of a month, saw them bending their steps in that direction.
One day, they came to me in a great hurry, with a strange expression on both their coun- tenances. " We have seen Christina, hijo," (my son,) said Pepita to me.
"Within the palace?" I inquired.
" Within the palace, O child of my gar- lochin," answered the sibyl: "Christina at last saw and sent for us, as I knew she would ; II
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THE ZINC ALL
I told her 'Bahi,' and Chicharona danced the Romalis (Gypsy dance) before her."
"What did you tell her?"
11 1 told her many things," said the hag, " many things which I need not tell you : know, however, that amongst other things, I told her that the chabori (little queen) would die, and then she would be Queen of Spain. I told her, moreover, that within three years she would marry the son of the King of France, and it was her bahi to die Queen of France and Spain, and to be loved much, and hated much."
" And did you not dread her anger, when you told her these things]"
"Dread her, the Busnee! " screamed Pe- pita: "No, my child, she dreaded me far more: I looked at her so — and raised my finger so — and Chicharona clapped her hands, and the Busnee believed all I said, and was afraid of me: and then I asked for the pardon of my son, and she pledged her word to see into the matter, and when we came away, she gave me this baria of gold, and to Chicharona this other, so at all events we have hokkanoed the queen. May an evil end overtake her body, the Busnee?-"
Though some of the Gitanos contrive to subsist by fortune-telling alone, the generality of them merely make use of it as an instru- ment towards the accomplishment of greater things, the immediate gains are scanty; a few cuartos being the utmost which they receive from the majority of their customers. But the bahi is an excellent passport into houses, and when they spy a convenient op- portunity they seldom fail to avail themselves of it. It is necessary to watch them strictly, as articles frequently disappear in a myste- rious manner, whilst Gitanos are telling for- tunes. The bahi, moreover, is occasionally the prelude to a device which we shall now attempt to describe, and which is called Hokkano Baro, or the great trick, of which we have already said something in the former part of this work. When the Gitana has met some credulous female, whom she sus- pects to be wealthy, she will address her in much the way as she of yore is represented to have addressed the widow, in the History of Alonso; telling her that she will disclose to her a way by means of which both may make their fortunes. It is neither more nor less than, at a certain hour and place, to de- posit a sum of money, the more the better; as the Gitana says, that if not looked at until a certain time, it will increase a thousand fold. Some of our readers will have difficulty in believing that any people can be found sufficiently credulous to allow themselves to be duped by a trick of this description, the grossness of the intended fraud seeming too palpable. Experience, however, proves the contrary. The deception is frequently prac- tised at the present day, and not only in Spain but in England — enlightened England — and in France likewise; an instance being given in the memoirs of Vidocq, the late celebrated head of the secret police of Paris, though, in
that instance, the perpetrator of the fraud was not a Gypsy. The most subtle method of accomplishing the hokkano baro is the fol- lowing:—
When the dupe has been induced to con- sent to make the experiment, the Gitana de- mands of her whether she has in the house some strong chest, with a safe lock and key. On receiving an affirmative answer, she will request to see all the gold and silver, of any description, which she may chance to have in her possession. The money is shown her; and when the Gitana has carefully inspected and counted it, she produces a white hand- kerchief, saying: "Lady, I give you this handkerchief which is blessed. It is now ne- cessary that you place in it your gold and silver, tying it with three knots. I will then depart for three days, when I will return. In the mean time you must keep the bundle, which contains your treasure, beneath your pillow, permitting no one to go near it, and observing the greatest secrecy, otherwise the money will take wings and fly away. Every morning during the three days it will be well to open the bundle, for your own satisfac- tion, to see that no misfortune has befallen your treasure; be always careful, however, to fasten it again with three knots. On my return, we will place the bundle, after having inspected it, in the chest, which you shall yourself lock, retaining the key in your pos- session. But, thenceforward, for three weeks, you must by no means unlock the chest, nor touch the treasure, but pray night and morning to San Antonio that it be multiplied, other- wise it will fly away."
The Gitana departs, and, during the three days, prepares a bundle as similar as possible to the one which contains the money of her dupe, save that instead of gold ounces, dol- lars, and plate, its contents consist of copper money and pewter articles of little or no value. With this bundle concealed beneath her cloak, she returns at the end of three days to her intended victim. The bundle of real treasure is produced and inspected, and again tied up by the Gitana, who then re- quests the other to open the chest, which done, she formally places a bundle in it; but, in the meanwhile, she has contrived to sub- stitute the fictitious for the real one. The chest is then locked, the lady retaining the key. The Gitana promises to return at the end of three weeks, to open the chest, as- suring the lady that if it be not unlocked till that period, it will be found filled with gold and silver; but threatening that, in the event of her injunctions being disregarded, the money deposited will vanish. She then walks off" with great deliberation, bearing away the spoil. It is needless to say that she never re- turns.
There are other ways of accomplishing the hokkano baro. The most simple, and indeed the most generally used by the Gitanas, is to persuade some simple individual to hide a sum of money in the earth, which they afterwards carry away. A case of this description oc-
GYPSY PRACTICES. — USTILAR PASTESAS.
79
curred within my own knowledge, at Madrid, towards the latter part of the year 1837. There was a notorious Gitana, of the name of Aurora ; she was about forty years of age, a Valencian by birth, and immensely fat. This amiable personage, by some means, formed the acquaintance of a wealthy widow lady ; and was not slow in attempting to prac- tise the hokkano baro upon her. She suc- ceeded but too well. The widow, at the in- stigation of Aurora, buried one hundred ounces of gold, beneath a ruined arch in the field, at a short distance from the wall of Madrid. The inhumation was effected at night by the widow alone. Aurora was however on the watch, and, in less than ten minutes after the widow had departed, possessed herself of the treasure ; perhaps the largest one ever ac- quired by this kind of deceit. The next day the widow had certain misgivings, and, re- turning to the spot, found her money gone. About six months after this event, I was im- prisoned in the Carcel de la Corte, at Madrid, and there I found Aurora, who was in durance for defrauding the widow. She said that it had been her intention to depart for Valencia with the "barias," as she styled her plunder, but the widow had discovered the trick too soon, and she had been arrested. She added, however, that she had contrived to conceal the greatest part of the property, and that she expected her liberation in a few days, having been prodigal of bribes to the " justicia." In effect, her liberation took place sooner than my own. Nevertheless, she had little cause to triumph, as before she left the prison she had been fleeced of the last cuarto of her ill- gotten gain, by alguazils and escribanos, who, she admitted, understood hokkano baro much better than herself.
When I next saw Aurora, she informed me that she was once more on. excellent terms with the widow, whom she had per- suaded that the loss of the money was caused by her own imprudence, in looking for it be- fore the appointed time; the spirit of the earth having removed it in anger. She added that her dupe was quite disposed to make another venture, by which she hoped to re- trieve her'ormer loss.
Ustilar pastesas. — Under this head may be placed various kinds of theft committed by the Gitanas. The meaning of the words is stealing with the hands ; but they are more generally applied to the filching of money by dexterity of hand, when giving or receiving change. For example : a Gitana will enter a shop, and purchase some insignificant ar- ticle, tendering in payment a baria or golden ounce. The change being put down before her on the counter, she counts the money, and complains that she has received a dollar and several pesetas less than her due. It seems impossible that there can be any fraud on her part, as she has not even taken the money in her hand, but merely placed her fingers upon it; pushing it on one side. She now asks the merchant what he means by at- tempting to deceive the poor woman. The
merchant, supposing that he has made a mis- take, takes up the money, counts it, and finds in effect that the just sum is not there. He again hands out the change, but there is now a greater deficit than before, and the merchant is convinced that he is dealing with a witch. The Gitana now pushes the money to him, uplifts her voice, and talks of the jus- ticia. Should the merchant become fright- ened, and, emptying a bag of dollars, tell her to pay herself, as has sometimes been the case, her utmost hopes will be gratified, as she will contrive, by means which baffle the possibility of detection, to convey at least five or six dollars into her sleeves, when she will depart with much vociferation, declaring that she will never again enter the shop of so cheating a picaro.
Of all the Gitanas at Madrid, Aurora the fat was, by their own confession, the most dexterous at this species of robbery; she having been known, in many instances, whilst receiving change for an ounce to steal the whole value, which amounts to sixteen dol- lars. It was not without reason that, mer- chants in ancient times were, according to Martin del Rio, advised to sell nothing out of their shops to Gitanas, as they possessed an infallible secret for attracting to their own purses from the coffers of the former the money with which they paid for the articles they purchased. This secret consisted in stealing a pastesas, which they still practise, Many accounts of witchcraft and sorcery, which are styled old women's tales, are per- haps equally well founded. Real actions have been attributed to wrong causes — thus the seeming absurdity.
Shop-lifting, and other kinds of private lar. ceny, are connected with stealing a pastesas, for in all dexterity of hand is required. Many of the Gitanas of Madrid are provided with large pockets, or rather sacks, beneath their gowns, in which they stow away their plun- der. Some of these pockets are capacious enough to hold, at one time, a dozen yards of cloth, a Dutch cheese, and a bottle of wine. Nothing that she can eat, drink, or sell, comes amiss to a veritable Gitana ; and some- times the contents of her pocket would afford materials for an inventory far more lengthy and curious than the one enumerating the effects found on the person of the man moun- tain at Lilliput.
Drao or Drow. — By this word is meant the venomous preparation which the Gitanos were in the habit of flinging into the mangers of the cattle, for the purpose of causing sick- ness and death. I say, were, as there is rea- son for believing that the practice has ceased, at least to a very considerable extent. Few know how to prepare it, though all speak of the practice as common amongst their fore- fathers ; it is said, that it was the province of the women to compound the ingredients of the drao, which answered many purposes, all unlawful ; the stalls and stables were visited secretly, and the provender of the animals poisoned, who at once fell sick; speedily ap.
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THE ZINC ALL
peared the Gitanos, offering their services to the labourers, on the condition of no cure no pay, and, when these were accepted, the malady was speedily removed.
The manner in which they pretended to effect the cure was curious; they used no medicines, only charms, which consisted of small variegated beans, called in their lan- guage " bobis,"* dropped in the mangers, though they doubtless administered privately a real and efficacious remedy. By this means they fostered the idea, already prevalent, that they were people possessed of supernatural gifts and powers, who could remove diseases without, having recourse to medicine. By means of drao, they likewise procured them- selves food; poisoning swine, as their bre- thren in England still do, and then feasting on the flesh, which was abandoned as worth- less: witness one of their own songs:
" By Gypsy drovv the porker died, I saw him stiff at evening tide, But I saw him not when morning shone. For the Gypsies ate him flesh and bone."
By drao also they could avenge themselves on their enemies by destroying their cattle, without incurring a shadow of suspicion. Revenge for injuries, real or imaginary, is sweet to all unconverted minds ; to no one more than the Gypsy, who, in all parts of the world, is, perhaps, the most revengeful of hu- man beings.
Vidocq in his memoirs states, that having formed a connexion with an individual whom he subsequently discovered to be the captain of a band of Walachian Gypsies, the latter, whose name was Caroun, wished Vidocq to assist in scattering certain powders in the mangers of the peasants' cattle; Vidocq, from prudential motives, refused the employment. There can be no doubt that these powders were, in substance, the drao of the Spanish Gitanos.
La Bar Lachi, or the Loadstone. — If the Gitanos in general be addicted to any one superstition, it is certainly with respect to this stone, to which they attribute all kinds of miraculous powers. There can be no doubt, that the singular property which it possesses of attracting steel, by rilling their untutored minds with amazement, first gave rise to this veneration, which is carried be- yond all reasonable bounds.
They believe that he who is in possession of it has nothing to fear from steel or lead, from fire or water, and that death itself has no power over him. The Gypsy contraban- distas are particularly anxious to procure this stone, which they carry upon their per- sons in their expeditions; they say, that in the event of being pursued by the jaracanallis, or revenue officers, whirlwinds of dust will arise and conceal them from the view of their enemies; the horse-stealers say much the same thing, and assert that they arc uniform- ly successful, when they bear about them the
* A Russian word signifying beans.
precious stone. But it can effect much more. Extraordinary things are said of its power in exciting the amorous passions, and, on this account, it is in great request among the Gypsy hags; all these women are procuresses, and find persons of both sexes weak and wicked enough to make use of their pretend- ed knowledge in the composition of love draughts and decoctions. In the case of the loadstone, however, there is no pretence, the Gitanas believing all they say respecting it, and still more ; this is proved by the eager- ness with which they seek to obtain the stone in its natural state, which is somewhat diffi- cult to accomplish.
In the museum of natural curiosities at Madrid, there is a large piece of loadstone originally extracted from the American mines. There is scarcely a Gitana in Madrid who is not acquainted with this circumstance, and who does not long to obtain the stone, or a part of it; its being placed in a royal muse- um, serving to augment, in their opinion, its real value. Several attempts have been made to steal it, all of which, however, have been unsuccessful. The Gypsies seem not to be the only people who envy royalty the posses- sion of this stone. Pepita, the old Gitana, of whose talent at telling fortunes such ho- nourable mention has already been made, in- formed me that a priest, who was muy ena- morado (in love) proposed to her to steal the loadstone, offering her all his sacerdotal gar- ments in the event of success; whether the singular reward that was promised had but slight temptations for her, or whether she feared that her dexterity was not equal to the accomplishment of the task, we know not, but she appears to have declined attempting it. According to the Gypsy account, the person in love, if he wish to excite a corre- sponding passion in another quarter by means of the loadstone, must swallow, in aguardi- ente, a small portion of the stone pulverized, at the time of going to rest, repeating to him- self the following magic rhyme:
" To the Mountain of Olives one morning I hied Three little black goats before me I spied. Those three little goats on three cars i laid, Black cheeses three from their milk I made; The one I bestow on the loaditone of power, That save me it may from all ills that lowerj The second to Mary Padilla I give, And to all the witch lia^s about her that live; The third I reserve for Asmedeus lame, That fetch me he may whatever I name."
La raiz del buen Baron, or the root of the good Baron. — On this subject we cannot be very explicit. It is customary with the Gi- tanas to sell, under this title, various roots and herbs, to unfortunate females who are desirous of producing a certain result; these roots are boiled in white wine, and the abo- minable decoction is taken fasting. I was once shown the root of the good baron, which, in this instance, appeared to be pars- ley root. By the good baron is meant his Satanic majesty, on whom the root is very appropriately fathered.
DON ALVARO.
81
CHAPTER VII.
THE LACHA OF THE GITANAS. — THE DICLE.
GYPSY BETROTHMENTS. — DON ALVARO. — THE SCRUTINY. — THE MARRIAGE FESTI- VAL.— EASTERN JEWS — THEIR WEDDINGS. THE GITANA OF CORDOVA. — THE ITA- LIAN AND THE GYPSY.
It is impossible to dismiss the subject of the Spanish Gypsies, without offering some remarks on their marriage festivals. There is nothing which they retain connected with their primitive rites and principles, more cha- racteristic perhaps of the sect of the Rom- many, of the sect of the husbands and wives, than all which relates to the marriage cere- mony, which gives the female a protector, and the man a helpmate, a sharer of his joys and sorrows. The Gypsies are almost en- tirely ignorant of the grand points of morali- ty; they have never had sufficient sense to perceive that to lie, to steal, and to shed hu- man blood violently, are crimes which are sure, eventually, to yield bitter fruits to those who perpetrate them ; but on one point, and that one of no little importance as far as tem- poral happiness is concerned, they are in general wiser than those who have had far better opportunities than such unfortunate outcasts, of regulating their steps, and dis- tinguishing good from evil. They know that chastity is a jewel of high price, and that conjugal fidelity is capable of occasionally flinging a sunshine even over the dreary hours of a life passed in the contempt of al- most all laws, whether human or divine.
There is a word in the Gypsy language to which those who speak it attach ideas of pe- culiar reverence, far superior to that con- nected with the name of the Supreme Being, the creator of themselves and the universe. This word is Ldcha, which with them is the corporeal chastity of the females ; we say corporeal chastity, for no other do they hold in the slightest esteem ; it is lawful amongst them, nay praiseworthy, to be obscene in look, gesture, and discourse, to be accessa- ries to vice, and to stand by and laugh at the worst abominations of the Busne, provided their Ldcha ye trnpos, or corporeal chastity, remains unblemished. The Gypsy child, from her earliest years, is told by her strange mo- ther, that a good Calli need only dread one thing in this world, and that is the loss of Lacha, in comparison with which that of life is of little consequence, as in such an event she will be provided for, but what provision is there for a Gypsy who has lost her Lacha'? "Bear this in mind, my child," she will say, "and now eat this bread, and go forth and see what you can steal." She is, however, by no means content with advice and exhor- tation. She has recourse to other means for securing her daughter's Lacha. There is another word in the Gypsy language, Diclc, and this word is closely connected with La- cha, indeed is inseparable from it in unmar- ried females ; for to lose their Dicle is tanta-
mount to losing Lacha. Reasons which may easily be judged, render it impossible for us to be very explicit on this point; it will be permitted to us, however, to state, that no females in the world wear their interior dra- pery in the same manner as the Gitanas : and this drapery or Diclc of the female children is invariably fastened by their mothers after a peculiar and singular fashion, and is never removed, but continually inspected by the latter until the day previous to her marriage. The Dicle, therefore, is the seal of the Lacha. A Gypsy girl is generally betrothed at the age of fourteen to the youth whom her pa- rents deem a suitable match, and who is ge- nerally a few years older than herself. Mar- riage is invariably preceded by betrothment; and the couple must then wait two years be- fore their union can take place, according to the law of the Cales. During this period it is expected that they treat each other as common acquaintance ; they are permitted to converse, and even occasionally to exchange slight presents. One thing, however, is strictly forbidden, and if in this instance they prove contumacious, the betrothment is in- stantly broken and the pair are never united, and thenceforward bear an evil reputation amongst their sect. This one thing, is going into the campo in each other's company, or having any rendezvous beyond the gate of the city, town, or village, in which they dwell. Upon this point we can perhaps do no better than quote one of their own stanzas : —
" Thy sire and mother wrath and hate Have vowed against us, love ! The first, first night that from the gate We two together rove."
With all the other Gypsies, however, and with the Busne or Gentiles, the betrothed fe- male is allowed the freest intercourse, going whither she will, and returning at all times and seasons. With respect to the Busne, indeed, the parents are invariably less cau- tious than with their own race, as they con- ceive it next to an impossibility that their child should lose her Lacha by any intercourse with the white blood; and true it is that experience has proved that their confidence in this re- spect is not. altogether idle. The Gitanas have in general a decided aversion to the white men ; some few instances, however, to the contrary are said to have occurred, and by far the most remarkable is the fol- lowing one : —
At the beginning of the present century there resided near Ciudad Real, in la Mancha, a certain Don Alvaro Murioz, a celebrated "ganadero" or proprietor of cattle; and from his dehesas, and those of his ancestors for more than one hundred years, had pro- ceeded the fiercest and most terrible bulls, animals which the bravest toreros of Madrid and Seville never encountered in the circus without trembling and fear. This cavalier, at the time we arc speaking of, was about two and twenty, handsome of feature, noble of carriage, the best jinete in all La Mancha, and invariably possessed of the best hordes, u 2
82
THE ZIN€ALI.
for he was passionately fond of good steeds, His generosity and frankness were proverbial, so that no gentleman ever expressed an ad- miration for any thing which he possessed but he instantly presented it to him, and this not in mere compliment, without wishing or expecting the gift to be received, as is but too customary in Spain, but from overflowing generosity and bounty of heart. There was one steed which he particularly cherished, the finest horse in Spain, a genuine Cordo- vese by the four sides, for which he had paid twenty thousand reals. Tt chanced one day whilst his steed was standing splendidly caparisoned in the court yard, that a cavalier passed by the cortijo of Don Alvaro Munoz, and stopped to survey the horse. An excla- mation expressive of admiration of the splen- did animal escaped him. Don Alvaro heard him, and when the cavalier had passed by on his way, he despatched a servant after him with the horse, which he requested him to accept. The cavalier astonished, returned, and inquired the reason of so extraordinary and splendid an offer to an unknown indivi- dual. Don Alvaro's answer was the follow- ing. "No gentleman shall ever admire any ihing which I possess without having it in- stantly placed at his disposal," and warmly pressed the stranger to receive the animal. But the latter, who was a person of noble birth, begged leave to refuse the offer, and passed on his way, which was to Madrid.
At this time there were several Gypsy fa- milies residing in the town of Ciudad Real. As they were people of very evil character, and were much looked after by the authorities, they experienced considerable obstacles in carrying on their Gypsy traffick. They were in need of some powerful protector; and, knowing that Don Alvaro enjoyed great au- thority in the neighbourhood, they endea voured, by every artifice in their power, to secure his good graces, and soon succeeded, by the knowledge which they displayed in curing the diseases to which horses are sub- ject, and by improving the beauty of the fa- vourite steeds of Don Alvaro.
"But he was chiefly induced to favour them from the extraordinary impression which he had received from the beauty of a young girl, the daughter of one of the principal Gypsies. This girl, who was called Maria, was in her sixteenth year, and had been be- trothed for a considerable time to one Sim- profie, a Gypsy, whose parents were consi- dered rich. He was the ugliest fellow of his caste, not only in La Mancha, but in all Spain. He was tuerto or one-eyed, and was, moreover, manco, or maimed ; his left hand having been bit off in an encounter with one of the bulls of Don Alvaro. When the Gyp- sies saw how enamoured the cavalier was of the eyes of Maria, they persuaded her to use all her influence with him for their benefit ; and, indeed, in a short time, through her means, the Gypsies enjoyed many privileges in the neighbourhood of Ciudad Real, so that many came from afar and settled there, in
order to share in the good fortune of their brethren.
But the parents of Maria never dreamt of a possible contingency. They would not permit her to pass the gate of the town with the ugly Simprofie,but encouraged her every day to visit alone the cortijo of the gallant Don Alvaro, in order that she might request something farther for their advantage. One morning, however, shortly before she was to have been married to Simprofie, there was a terrible uproar in Ciudad Real amongst the Gypsies, and the mother of Maria ran through the town with dishevelled hair, screaming, " El Bengue hanicobado la lacha de min chai."
From that moment, no one knew what be- came of Maria; but she is said to have been carried behind the stony mountains which skirt the pass of Lapice, and to have there perished a victim beneath the cachas of her friends and relations. The Gypsies did not long enjoy the protection of Don Alvaro; for the disappearance of Maria changed the favour which he formerly displayed to them into bitter hate and direst persecu- tion. He drove them from Ciudad Real, after having killed the maimed and one- eyed Simprofie with his own hand; and, not content with this, hunted them up and down, and, at length, succeeded in driving them through the pass which leads into An- dalusia. From that time there have been tew or no Gypsies seen in La Mancha, and especially at Ciudad Real.
A short time previous to the expiration of the term of the betrothment, preparations are made for the Gypsy bridal. The wedding day is certairaly an eventful period in the life of every individual, as he takes a partner for better or for worse, whom he is bound to cherish through riches and poverty; but to the Gypsy particularly the wedding festival is an important affair. If he is rich, he fre- quently becomes poor, before it is terminated ; and if he is poor, he loses the little which he possesses, and must borrow of his bre- thren ; frequently involving himself through- out life, to procure the means of giving a festival ; for without a festival, he could not become a Rom, that is a husband, and would cease to belong to the sect of Rommany. But, before the festival begins, a singular scrutiny is performed, the subject of which is the betrothed girl ; and here again we can- not be very explicit. . . .
This scrutiny is connected with the dicle and the lacha of the girl; and, to ascertain the point in question, four matrons are ap- pointed, relations of the contracted parties — two on the part of the bridegroom, two on the part of the bride. A rigorous examina- tion ensues, in which a handkerchief of finest French cambric takes a leading part. Should the bride be pronounced blameless by these female inquisitors, the bridal takes place the next day; but should they discover that she has proved frail, the chances are that she will be made away with privately, and
MARRIAGE FESTIVAL.
83
in a manner which will leave no trace be- hind.
There is a great deal of what is wild and barbarous attached to these festivals. I shall never forget a particular one at which I was present. After much feasting, drinking and yelling, in the Gypsy house, the bridal train sallied forth — a frantic spectacle. First of all marched a villanous jockey-looking fellow, holding in his hands, uplifted, a long pole, at the top of which fluttered in the morning air — what? the mysterious dicle, and yet more mysterious handkerchief of cambric — the latter unspotted — for, otherwise, there would have been no bridal, and the betrothed girl would perhaps ere then have been a corse. Then came the betrothed pair, fol- lowed by their nearest friends ; then a rabble rout of Gypsies, screaming and shouting, and discharging guns and pistols, till all around rang with the din, and the village dogs barked. On arriving at the church gate, the fellow who bore the pole stuck it into the ground with a loud huzza, and the train, forming two ranks, defiled into the church on either side of the pole and its strange ornaments. On the conclusion of the ceremony, they returned in the same manner in which they had come.
Throughout the day there was nothing going on but singing, drinking, feasting, and dancing; but the most singular part of the festival was reserved for the dark night. Nearly a ton weight of sweetmeats had been prepared, at an enormous expense — not for the gratification of the palate, but for a pur- pose purely Gypsy. These sweetmeats of all kinds, and of all forms, but principally yemans, or yolks of eggs prepared with a crust of sugar, (a delicious bonne bouche,) were strewn on the floor of a large room, at least to the depth of three inches. Into this room, at a given signal, tripped the bride and bridegroom dancing romolis, followed amain by all the Gitanos and Gitanas, dancing ro- malis. To convey a slight idea of the scene, is almost beyond the power of words. In a few minutes the sweetmeats were reduced to a powder, or rather to a mud, and the dancers were soiled to the knees with sugar, fruits, and yolks of eggs. Still more terrific became the lunatic merriment. The men sprang high into the air, neighed, brayed, and crowed; whilst the Gitanas snapped their fingers in their own fashion, louder than castanets, distortingtheir forms into all kinds of obscene attitudes, and uttering words to repeat which were an abomination. In a corner of the apartment capered the while Sebastianillo, a convict Gypsy from Melilla, strumming the guitar most furiously, and producing demoni- acal sounds which had some resemblance to Malbrun (Malbrouk,) and as1 he strummed, repeating at intervals the Gypsy modification of the song.
u Chala Malbrun rbinfrnenir, Kiranddn, birand6n, birandtfra— Cbala Malbrun cliinguerur, No s6 bus tutcra -
No se bus tutera.
No sc bus luterft I a romi que le r.airtf'la, BJr&adfoj biramkVu," <Scx
The festival endures three days, at the end of which the greatest part of the property of the bridegroom, even if he were previously in easy circumstances, has been wasted in this strange kind of riot and dissipation. Paco, the Gypsy of Badajoz, attributed his ruin to the extravagance of his marriage fes- tival ; and many other Gitanos have confessed the same thing of themselves. They said that throughout the three days they appeared to be under the influence of infatuation, having no other wish or thought but to make away with their substance ; some have gone so far as to cast money by handfuls into the street. Throughout the three days all the doors are kept open, and all comers, whether Gypsies or Busne welcomed with a hospitality which knows no bounds.
In nothing do the Jews and Gitanos more resemble each other than in their marriages, and most points connected therewith. In both sects there is a betrothment : amongst the Jews for seven, amongst the Gitanos for a period of two years. In both there is a wedding festival, which endures amongst the Jews for fifteen, and amongst the Gitanos for three days, during which, on both sides, much that is singular and barbarous occurs, which, however, has perhaps its origin in antiquity the most remote. But the wedding ceremo- nies of the Jews are far more complex and allegorical than those of the Gypsies, a more simple people. The Nazarene gazes on these ceremonies with mute astonishment; the washing of the bride — the painting of the face of herself and her companions with chalk and carmine — her ensconcing herself within the curtains of the bed with her female bevy, whilst the bridegroom hides himself within his apartment with the youths his companions — her envelopment in the white sheet, in which she appears like a corse, the bride- groom's going to sup with her, when he places himself in the middle of the apartment with his eyes shut, and without tasting a morsel. His going to the synagogue, and then repairing to breakfast with the bride, where he practises the same self-denial — the washing of the bridegroom's plate and sending it after him, that he may break his fast — the binding his hands behind him— his ransom paid by the bride's mother — the visit of the sages to the bridegroom — the mulct imposed in case he repent — the killing of the bullock at the house of the bridegroom — the present of meat and fowls, meal and spices, to the bride — the gold and silver — that most im- posing part of the ceremony, the walking of the bride by torch-light to the house of her betrothed, her eyes fixed in vacancy, whilst the youths of her kindred sing their wild songs around her — the cup of milk and the spoon presented to her by the bridegroom's mother — the arrival of the sages in the morn — the reading of the Ketuba — the night — the half enjoyment — the old woman — the tanta- lizing knock at the door — and then the fes- tival of fishes, which concludes all, and leaves the jaded and wearied couple to repose after a fortnight of persecution.
84
THE ZINCALI.
Strange are the marriage ceremonies of the Jews, and much there is in them that is incomprehensible, even to those who can read the book of elucidation, the Zohar, (lucus a non lucendo,) but strange as they are, they are upon the whole less singular than those of the Gypsies, solely from the absence of two objects which flutter about in the bridals of the latter — these are the dicle and the cambric handkerchief.
The Jews, like the Gypsies, not unfre- quently ruin themselves by the riot and waste of their marriage festivals. Throughout the entire fortnight, the houses, both of bride and bridegroom, are flung open to all comers; — feasting and song occupy the day — feasting and song occupy the hours of the night, and this continued revel is only broken by the ceremonies of which we have endeavoured to convey a faint idea. In these festivals the sages or ulemma take a distinguished part, doing their utmost to ruin the contracted parties, by the wonderful despatch which they make of the fowls and viands, sweet- meats and strong waters provided for the occasion.
After marriage the Gypsy females gene- rally continue faithful to their husbands through life ; giving evidence, in one respect at least, of the good effects which the exhor- tations of their mothers in early life, and the use of the dicle have produced. Of course licentious females are to be found both amongst the matrons and the unmarried ; but such instances are rare, and must be con- sidered in the light of exceptions to a princi- ple. The Gypsy women, (I am speaking of those of Spain,) as far as corporeal chastity goes, are very paragons; but in other re- spects— alas ! an anecdote or two will best depicture what they are. At the commence- ment of the year 1838, 1 was visited in Madrid by a Gypsy woman from Cordova — her hus- band had been sent to the Presidio of Melilla, I think for a robbery of mules as usual; she departed for Madrid to try what she could do to effect his liberation. The distance was two hundred miles; she had two children which she brought with her in paniers upon a donkey. Whilst passing through La Man- cha she was met by robbers, who took from her the donkey, the greatest part of her dress, and all the money which they could find about her. But this did not satisfy them, and they were proceeding to commit another crime, whereupon she fell on her knees, and in a frantic manner told them that all kind of blessings should await them if they desisted; but if, on the contrary, they committed the proposed violence, all the worst curses which the Gypsy devil could hurl upon them should be their lot; and that in less than a month they should be carrion for the grajos (rooks.) She added that if they acceded to' her prayer, she had power to reward them on the spot. Even the desperadoes of La Mancha were abashed by her manner, and not uninfluenced, perhaps, by hor 1 at for words, vowed by the Virgin and Santo Christo to let her alone; ■whereupon she produced several pieces of
gold which she had concealed by a Gypsy artifice, and giving it them she was permitted to pass on. She arrived at Madrid with her children, whom she had been compelled to carry the greatest part of the way. Their state was wretched, half starved and naked; they procured, however, some relief from the Gitanos. Well, this faithful and exemplary wife, this affectionate mother, this miracle of corporeal chastity had scarcely recovered from the fatigue of her journey, when she commenced exhibiting the other and worst side of her character by plying the arts of the fortune-teller, the shop-lifter, and the pro- curess. True it is that all the while she thought of nothing but to obtain a sufficient sum to make up her loss, with which she hoped to bribe some notary public to report favourably the case of her husband. To raise money she depended chiefly on bringing couples together; in other words, purveying for vice. She even made her propositions to myself, I will not say with what result. In the same house, however, lived an Andalu- sian cavalier, rich and gay, and to him she next resorted with the same proffers. Now the Gypsy, though tawny, sun-burnt, and ill- dressed, was rather good-looking, and the Andalusian was upon the whole much taken with her: she told him that if he would em- ploy her, she would engage to procure for him within two days any lady with whom he might chance to be captivated. The Anda- lusian, however, soon gave her to understand that he liked no one better than herself, and that she might easily earn any thing she asked for. He showed her two ounces of gold, a far larger sum than what she had lost by the thieves ; she at first affected to con- sider him in jest, and began to enumerate other women far more handsome than herself who would be at his disposal ; but perceiving him growingtoo pressing, she suddenly struck him in the face, and, with a bitter maledic- tion, asked him if he thought she was one of the Pallias,* that he ventured to hope he should be able to corrupt her lacha ye trupos, or corporeal chastity.
At Grenada, in the year 1836, it was my chance to become acquainted with an indi- vidual an Italian, who officiated as a kind of valet de place. This person had received a good education, and in many respects was a very sensible man ; he was about fifty years of age, and had entered Spain with the ar- mies of Napoleon; his manners were highly corrupt, and instead of affording the infor- mation expected from a person in his situa- tion, he would talk of nothing but his " bonnes fortunes." A casualty induced us to speak of the Gypsy women, but here he shook his head and said, that he had never experienced difficulty with any women but the " Maldette Zingarinelle." "They are possessed witli a fiend," he added; "I was acquainted with one Jaen, she lived alone, her husband ha- ving been transported: she supported herself entirely by officiating as procuress for the
* Women who arc not Gypsies; Spanish females
THE INWARD MONITOR.
S5
canons of the cathedral ; she was upwards of forty, but was nevertheless a ' bella e mag- nifica Rufiana.' I became enamoured of her, and we were very good friends. I soon proposed the matter to her; but she said it could never, never be.' • Why not, woman,' said I, ' is that matter worse than to carry on your present trade!' 'You are a fool, foreigner,' she replied, 'you know nothing of the ways of our people: there is a gulf between us which neither of us can pass.'* I saw it was no use, and said no more on the subject."
Had this individual, who was a confirmed boaster, told me of a conquest effected by him over the Gitana, I should have entirely disbelieved him, but as he detailed a defeat which he had experienced, I placed implicit confidence in his words.
It were easy to accumulate examples of this kind, but enough has been said on the subject.
CHAPTER VIII.
ATTEMPTS MADE TO PROPAGATE THE SCRIP- TURE AMONGST THE GITANOS. — THE IN- WARD MONITOR- THE ONE-EYED GITANA.
PEPA AND CHICHARONA. THE GYPSY CON- GREGATION.
As I did not visit Spain with the express purpose of labouring among the Gitanos, nor indeed had them at all in view in my visit to that country, I could only devote a portion of my time, and that a slight one, in endea- vouring to remove the extreme ignorance under which they laboured with regard to the most common points of religion, and of interesting the minds of these strange people in the subject. It will be as well to observe, at the commencement, that I can scarcely flatter myself with having experienced any success in my endeavours ; indeed 1 never expected any, or at least any which I myself could hope to witness ; I knew too well the nature of the ground on which I was casting seed ; true it is that it may not be lost, and that it may eventually spring up in this or that direction, as barley has dropped from the cerements of a mummy, and has sprung up, and displayed vitality after laying choked and hidden for two thousand years. It is not, however, my intention to fill up this chapter with reflection, entertaining a belief that a simple narration of facts will be far more agreeable and instructive.
It has been said, that there is a secret monitor, or conscience, within every heart, which immediately upbraids the individual on the commission of a crime; this may be true, but certainly the monitor within the Gitano breast is a very feeble one, for little
* This unhappy and very wicked person understood the Scriptures well, and spoke Latin admirably. Instead of s^ivinp the exact words of the Gitana, lie paraphrased them in a quotation from the vulgate.
12
attention is ever paid to its reproofs. With regard to conscience, be it permitted to ob- serve, that it varies much according to cli- mate, country, and religion ; perhaps nowhere is it so terrible and strong as in England; I need not say why. Amongst the English, I have seen many individuals stricken low, and broken-hearted, by the force of conscience ; but never amongst the Spaniards or Italians ; and I never yet could observe that the crimes which the Gitanos were daily and hourly committing, occasioned them the slightest uneasiness.
One important discovery I made among them ; it was, that no individual, however wicked and hardened, is utterly godless. Call it superstition, if you will, still a certain fear and reverence of something sacred and supreme would hang about them. I have heard Gitanos stiffly deny the existence of a Deity, and express the utmost contempt for every thing holy; yet they subsequently never failed to contradict themselves, by permitting some expression to escape which belied their assertions, and of this I shall presently give a remarkable instance.
I found the women much more disposed to listen to any thing I had to say than the men, who were in general so taken up with their traffick, that they could think and talk of nothing else ; the women, too, had more curiosity, and more intelligence ; the conver- sational powers of some of them I found to be very great, and yet they were destitute of the slightest rudiments of education, and were thieves by profession. At Madrid I had regular conversaziones, or, as they are called in Spanish, tertulias, with these wo- men, who generally visited me twice a week ; they were perfectly unreserved towards me with respect to their actions and practices, though their behaviour, when present, was invariably strictly proper. I have already had cause to mention Pepa, the sibyl, and her daughter-in-law, Chicharona ; the man- ners of the first were sometimes almost ele- gant, though, next to Aurora, she was the most notorious she-Thug in Madrid ; Chicha- rona was good-humoured, like most fat per- sonages. Pepa had likewise two daughters, one of whom, a very remarkable female, was called La Tuerta, from the circumstance of her having but one eye, and the other, who was a girl of about thirteen, La Casdami, or the scorpion, from the malice which she oc- casionally displayed.
Pepa and Chicharona were invariably my most constant visiters. One day in winter they arrived as usual ; the One-eyed and the Scorpion following behind.
Myself. — " 1 am glad to see you, Pepa; what have you been doing this morning?"
Pepa. — " I have been telling baji, and Chi- charona has been stealing a pastesas ; we have had but little success, and have come to warm ourselves at the brasero. As for the One-eyed, she is a very sluggard, (holgazana,) she will neither tell fortunes nor steal." The One-eyed. — "Hold your peace, mo-
86
THE ZINCALI.
ther of the Bengues ; I will steal, when I see occasion, but it shall not be a pastesas, and I will hokkawar (deceive,) but it shall not be by telling fortunes. If I deceive, it shall be by horses, by jockeying.* If I steal, it shall be on the road — I'll rob. You know already what I am capable of, yet knowing that, you would have me tell fortunes like yourself, or steal like Chicharona. Me dinela conche (it fills me with fury) to be asked to tell fortunes, and the next Busnee that talks to me of bajis I will knock all her teeth out."
The Scorpion. — "My sister is right; I, too, would sooner be a salteadora (highway- woman,) or a chalana (she-jockey,) than steal with the hands, or tell bajis."
Myself.—" You do not mean to say, O Tuerta, that you are a jockey, and that you rob on the high-way."
The One-eyed. — " I am a chalana, brother, and many a time I have robbed upon the road, as all our people know. I dress myself as a man, and go forth with some of them. I have robbed alone, in the pass of the Guada- rama, with my horse and escopeta. I alone once robbed a cuadrilla of twenty Gallegos, who were returning to their own country, after cutting the harvests of Castile; I stripped them of their earnings, and could have stripped them of their very clothes had I wished, for they were down on their knees like cowards. I love a brave man, be he Busno or Gypsy. When I was not much older than the Scor- pion, I went with several others to rob the cortijo of an old man ; it was more than twenty leagues from here. We broke in at midnight, and bound the old man : we knew he had money; but he said no, and would not tell us where it was ; so we tortured him, pricking him with our knives and burning his hands ever the lamp ; all, however, would not do. At last I said, « Let us try the pimientos ; so we took the green pepper husks, pulled open his eyelids, and rubbed the pupils with the green pepper fruit. That was the worst pinch of all. Would you believe it? the old man bore it. Then our people said, ' Let us kill him,' but I said, no it were a pity; so we spared him. though we got nothing. I have loved that old man ever since for his firm heart, and should have wished him for a husband."
The Scorpion. — " Ojala, that I had been in that cortijo, to see such sport!"
Myself.— "Bo you fear God, O Tuerta!"
The One-eyed. — "Brother, I fear nothing."
Myself — "Do you believe in God, Tuerta]"
The One-eyed. — " Brother, I do not ; I hate all connected with that name ; the whole is folly; me dinela conche. If I go to church, it is but to spit at the images. I spat at the bulto of Maria this morning; and I love the Corojai, and the Londone,f because they are not baptized."
Myself — " You, of course, never say a prayer."
The One-eyed. — " No, no ; there are three or four old words, taught me by some old peo-
* Por m6dio de chalancrias.
f The English.
pie, which I sometimes say to myself; I be- lieve they have both force and virtue."
Myself — " 1 would fain hear ; pray tell me them."
The One-eyed. — " Brother, they are words not to be repeated."
Myself—" Why not?"
The One-eyed. — "They are holy words, brother."
Myself. — "Holy! You say there is no God ; if there be none, there can be nothing holy; pray tell me the words, O Tuerta."
The One-eyed. — " Brother, I dare not."
Myself. — "Then you do fear something."
The One-eyed.—" Not I "— . • Saboca Enrecar Maria Ereria,'* and now I wish I had not said them."
Myself. — "You are distracted, O Tuerta: the words say simply, ' Dwell within us, blessed Maria.' You have spitten on her bulto this morning in the church, and now you are afraid to repeat four words, amongst which is her name."
The One-eyed. — "I did not understand them ; but I wish I had not said them."
I repeat, that there is no individual, how- ever hardened, who is utterly godless.
The reader will have already gathered from the conversations reported in this volume, and especially from the last, that there is a wide difference between addressing Spanish Gi- tanos and Gitanas and English peasantry: of a certainty what will do well for the latter, is calculated to make no impression on these thievish, half wild people. Try them with the Gospel, 1 hear some one cry, which speaks to all: I did try them with the Gospel, and in their own language, I commenced with Pepa and Chicharona. Determined that they should understand it, I proposed that they themselves should translate it. They could neither read nor write, which, however, did not disqualify them from being translators. I had myself previously translated the whole Testament into the Spanish Rommany, but I was desirous to circulate amongst the Gitanos, a version conceived in the exact language in which they express their ideas. The women made no objection, they were fond of our tertulias, and they likewise reckoned on one small glass of Malaga wine, with which I in- variably presented them. Upon the whole, they conducted themselves much better than could have been expected. We commenced with Saint Luke: they rendering into Rom- many the sentences which I delivered to them in Spanish. They proceeded as far as the eighth chapter, inthe middle of which they broke down. Was that to be wondered at] The only thing which astonished me was, that I had induced two such strange beings to advance so far in a task so unwonted, and so entirely at variance with their habits, as translation.
These chapters I frequently read over to
* These words are very anrient, and were, perhcps, used by the earliest Spanish Gypsies; they differ much from (he language of the present day, and are quite unin- telligible to the modern Gitanos.
THE GYPSY CONGREGATION.
87
them, explaining the subject in the best man- ner I was able. They said it was lacho, and jucal, and misto, all of which words express approval of the quality of a thing. Were they improved, were their hearts softened by these Scripture lectures? I know not. Pepa committed a rather daring theft shortly after- wards, which compelled her to conceal her- self for a fortnight ; it is quite possible, how- ever, that she may remember the contents of those chapters on her death-bed, if so, will the attempt have been a futile one?
I completed the translation, supplying de- ficiencies from my own version, begun at Badajoz in 1836. This translation I printed at Madrid in 1838 ; it was the first book which ever appeared in Rommany, and was called "Ernbeo e Majaro Lucas," or Gospel of Luke the Saint. I likewise published, simultane- ously, the same Gospel in Basque, which, however, I had no opportunity of circulating.
The Gitanos of Madrid purchased the Gypsy Luke freely : many of the men understood it, and prized it highly, induced of course more by the language than the doctrine ; the wo- men were particularly anxious to obtain copies, though unable to read; but each wished to have one in their pocket, especially when engaged in thieving expeditions, for they all looked upon it in the light of a charm, which would preserve them from all danger and mischance ; some even went so far as to say, that in this respect it was equally effica- cious as the Bar Lachi, or loadstone, which they are in general so desirous of possessing. Gf this Gospel* five hundred copies were printed, the greatest part of which I contrived to circulate amongst the Gypsies in various parts ; 1 cast the book upon the waters and left it to its destiny.
I have counted seventeen Gitanas assem- bled at one time in my apartment in the Calle de Santiago in Madrid: for the first quarter of an hour we generally discoursed upon indiffe- rent matters, when, by degrees, I guided the subject to religion and the state of souls. I finally became so bold that I ventured to speak against their inveterate practices, thieving and lying, telling fortunes, and stealing a pastesas; this was touching upon delicate ground, and I experienced much opposition and much feminine clamour. I persevered, however, and they finally assented to all I said, not that I believe that my words made much impression upon their hearts. In a few months matters were so far advanced that they would sing a hymn; I wrote one ex- pressly for them in Rommany, in which their own wild couplets were, to a certain extent, imitated.
The people of the street in which I lived, seeing such numbers of these strange females
* It was speedily prohibited, together with the Basque Gospel; by a royal ordoiniance, however, which appeared in the gazette of Madrid in August 1838, every public li- brary In the kingdom was empowered to purchase two copies in both languages, as the works in question were allowed to possess some merit in a literary point of vinr. In the Basque translation I was assisted by an ingenious gentleman, a native of the province of Guipn/.coa.
continually passing in and out, were struck with astonishment, and demanded the rea- son. The answers which they obtained by no means satisfied them. " Zeal for the con- version of souls, — the souls too of Gitanas, — disparate ! the fellow is a bribon. Besides he is an Englishman, and is not baptized; what cares he for souls'? They visit him for other purposes. He makes base ounces, which they carry away and circulate. Ma- drid is already stocked with false money." Others were of opinion that we met for pur- poses of sorcery and abomination. The Spa- niard has no conception that other springs of action exist than interest or villany.
My little congregation, if such I may call it, consisted entirely of women; the men sel- dom or never visited me save they stood in need of something which they hoped to ob- tain from me. This circumstance 1 little re- gretted, their manners and conversation being the reverse of interesting. It must not, how- ever, be supposed that, even with respect to the women, matters went on invariably in a smooth and satisfactory manner. The fol- lowing little anecdote will show what slight dependence can be placed upon them, and how disposed they are at all times to take part in what is grotesque and malicious. One day they arrived, attended by a Gypsy jockey whom I had never previously seen. We had scarcely been seated a minute, when this fel- low, rising, took me to the window, and with- out any preamble or circumlocution, said, — "Don Jorge, you shall lend me two barias" (ounces of gold.) " Not to your whole race, my excellent friend," said I ; " are you fran- tic? Sit down and be discreet." He obeyed me literally, sat down, and when the rest de- parted, followed with them. We did not in- variably meet at my own house, but occa- sionally at one in a street inhabited by Gyp- sies. On the appointed day I went to this house, where I found the women assembled ; the jockey was also present. On seeing me he advanced, again took me aside, and again said, — " Don Jorge, you shall lend me two barias." I made him no answer, but at once entered on the subject which brought me thither. I spoke for some time in Spanish ; I chose for the theme of my discourse the situa- tion of the Hebrews in Egypt, and pointed out its similarity to that of the Gitanos in Spain. I spoke of the power of God, manifested in preserving both as separate and distinct peo- ple amongst the nations until the present day. I warmed with my subject. I subsequently produced a manuscript book, from which [ read a portion of Scripture, and the Lord's Prayer and Apostle's Creed, in Rommany. When I had concluded I looked around me. The features of the assembly were twisted, and the eyes of all turned upon me with a frightful squint; not an individual present but squinted, — the genteel Pepa, the good- humoured Chicharona, the Caedmai, &c, &c, all squinted. The Gypsy fellow, the con- triver of t he burla, squinted worst of all. Such arc Gypsies.
PART III.
CHAPTER I.
THE POETRY OF THE GITANOS.
There is no nation in the world, however exalted or however degraded, but is in pos- session of some peculiar poetry, by which it expresses its peculiar ideas of religion or mo- rality, depicts the manner of life to which it is addicted, or in which it embodies its tradi- tions, if any it possess. If the Chinese, the Hindoos, the Greeks, and the Persians, those splendid and renowned races, have their mo- ral lays, their mythologic epics, their trage- dies, and their immortal love songs, so also have the wild and barbarous tribes of Sou- dan, and the wandering Esquimaux, their dit- ties, which, however insignificant in compa- rison with the compositions of the former na- tions, still are entitled in every essential point to the name of poetry; if poetry mean those creations of the mind in which it seeks for solace and recreation from the cares, dis- tresses, and anxieties to which mortality is subject.
The Gypsies too have their poetry. Of that of the Russian Zigani we have already said something, and hope on a future occa- sion to be enabled to say yet more; for, though the present work is devoted to the Spanish Gypsies, we are willing to confess that they afford a subject by no means so ex- tensive and interesting as their brethren of Sclavonia, to whom we should assuredly have turned our attention in preference, had posi- tion and circumstances brought us so much and so continually in contact with them as with the Zincali of Spain. It has always been our opinion, and we believe that in this we are by no means singular, that in nothing can the character of a people be read with greater certainty and exactness than in its songs. How truly do the warlike ballads of the Northmen and the Danes, their drapas and kcempe visers, depict the character of the Goth ; and how equally do the songs of the Arabians, replete with homage to the one high, uncreated, and eternal God, "the foun- tain of blessing," "the only conqueror," lay bare to us the mind of the Moslem of the de- sert, whose grand characteristic is religious veneration and uncompromising zeal for the glory of the Creator.
The poetry of the Spanish Gypsies is, in almost every respect, such as might be ex- pected to originate among people of their class: a set of Thugs, subsisting by cheating
and villany of every description ; hating the rest of the human species, and bound to each other by the bands of common origin, lan- guage, and pursuits. The themes of this po- etry are the various incidents of Gitano life — cattle-stealing, prison adventures, assassina- tion, revenge, with allusions to the peculiar customs of the race of Roma. Here we be- hold a swine running down a hill, calling to the Gypsy to steal him, which he will most assuredly accomplish by means of his intoxi- cating drao — a Gypsy reclining sick on the prison floor, beseeches his wife to intercede with the alcayde for the removal of the chain whose weight is bursting his body — the moon arises, and two Gypsies, who are about to steal a steed, perceive a Spaniard and in- stantly flee. Sometimes expressions of wild power and romantic interest occur. The swarthy lover threatens to slay his be- trothed, even at the feet of Jesus, should she prove unfaithful. And another hopes to bear away a beauty of Spanish race, by the magic sound of a word of Romrnany whis- pered in her ear at the window.
Amongst these effusions are even to be found tender and beautiful thoughts; for Thugs and Gitanos have their moments of gentleness. True it is that such are few and far between, as a flower or a shrub are here and there seen springing up from the inter- stices of the rugged and frightful rocks of which the Spanish sierras are composed : a wicked mother is afraid to pray to the Lord with her own lips, and calls on her innocent babe to beseech him to restore peace and comfort to her heart— an imprisoned youth appears to have no earthly friend on whom he can rely, save his sister, and wishes for a messenger to carry unto her the tale of his sufferings, confident that she would hasten at once°to his assistance. And what can be more touching than the speech of the re- lenting lover to the fair one whom he has outraged?
" Extend to me the hand so small,
Wherein 1 see thee weep,
For O thy balmy tear-drops nil
I would collect and keen!"
This Gypsy poetry consists of quartets, or rather couplets, but two rhymes being dis- cernible, and those generally imperfect, the vowels alone agreeing in sound. Occasion- ally, however, sixains or stanzas of six lines, a re to be found, but this is of rare occurrence. The thought, anecdote or adventure described, is seldom carried beyond one stanza, in which every thing is expressed which the poet wishes
RHYMES.
89
to impart. This feature will appear singu- lar to those who are unacquainted with the character of the popular poetry of the south, and are accustomed to the redundancy and frequently tedious repetition of a more po- lished muse. It will be well to inform such that the greatest part of the poetry sung in the south, and especially in Spain, is extem- porary. The musician composes it at the stretch of his voice, whilst his fingers are tugging at the guitar; which style of compo- sition is by no means favourable to a long and connected series of thought. Of course, the greatest part of this species of poetry perishes as soon as born. A stanza, however, is some- times caught up by the by-standers, and com- mitted to memory; and, being frequently re- peated, makes, in time, the circuit of the country. For example, the stanza about Co- runcho Lopez, which was originally made at the gate of a venta by a Miquelet,* who was conducting the said Lopez to the galleys for a robbery. It is at present sung through the whole of the peninsula, however insignificant it may sound to foreign ears : —
" Coruncho Lopez, gallant lad, A smuggling he would ride; He stole his father's ambling prad, And therefore to the galleys sad Coruncho now I guide."
The couplets of the Gitanos are composed in the same off-hand manner, and exactly re- semble in metre the popular ditties of the Spaniards. In spirit, however, as well as language, they are in general widely differ- ent, as they mostly relate to the Gypsies and their affairs, and not unfrequently abound with abuse of the Busne or Spaniards. Many of these creations have, like the stanza of Coruncho Lopez, been wafted over Spain amongst the Gypsy tribes, and are even fre- quently repeated by the Spaniards them- selves ; at least, by those who affect to imi- tate the phraseology of the Gitanos. Those which appear in the present collection, con- sist partly of such couplets, and partly of such as we have ourselves taken down, as
* A species of gendarme or armed policeman. The Miquelets have existed in Spain for upwards ol'two hun- dred years. They are called Miquelets, from the name of their original leader. They are generally Aragonese by nation, and reclaimed robbers.
soon as they originated, not unfrequently In the midst of a circle of these singular people, dancing and singing to their wild music. Jn no instance have they been subjected to mo- dification; and the English translation is, in general, very faithful to the original, as will easily be perceived by referring to the lexi- con. To those who may feel disposed to find fault with or criticise these songs, wo have to observe, that the present work has been written with no other view than to de- pict the Gitanos such as they are, and to il- lustrate their character; and, on that ac- count, we have endeavoured, as much as possible, to bring them before the reader, and to make them speak for themselves. They are a half civilized, unlettered people, pro- verbial for a species of knavish acuteness, which serves them in lieu of wisdom. To place in the mouth of such beings the high- flown sentiments of modern poetry would not answer our purpose, though several authors have not shrunk from such an absurdity.
These couplets have been collected in Es- tremadura and New Castile, in Valencia and Andalusia; the four provinces where the Gi- tano race most abounds. We wish, howe- ver, to remark, that they constitute scarcely a tenth part of our original gleanings, from which we have selected one hundred of tke most remarkable and interesting.
The language of the originals will convey an exact idea of the Rommany of Spain, as used at the present day amongst the Gitanos in the fairs, when they are buying and sell- ing animals, and wish to converse with each other in a way unintelligible to the Spaniards. We are free to confess that it is a mere bro- ken jargon, but it answers the purpose of those who use it ; and it is but just to remark that many of its elements are of the most re- mote antiquity, and the most illustrious de- scent, as will be shown hereafter. We have uniformly placed the original by the side of the translation ; for though unwilling to make the Gitanos speak in any other manner than they are accustomed, we are equally averse to have it supposed that many of the thoughts and expressions which occur in these songs, and which are highly objectionable, origi- nated with ourselves.
POESIAS DE LOS GITANOS. RHYMES OF THE GITANOS,
Me ligueron al vero,
Por medio de una estaripel,
Le penelo a mi romi,
Que la mequelo con mi chabore.
Unto a refuge me they led, To save from dungeon drear;
Then sighing to my wife I said: I leave mv habv dear.
90
THE ZINCALI.
II.
Abillelo del vcro, Dique a mi chabori, He penado a mi romi : Io me chalo de aqui.
in.
Cuando me blejelo en mi gra, Mi chabori al atras, Ustilelo io la pusca, Empiezan daranar.
IV.
Manguela chabori, Si estas en gracia de Undebel, Que me saiga araquerarme, Descanso a mi suncue.
El chuquel de Juanito Bien puede chalar con cuidao Que los Cales de Lleira Le quieren dinar un pucazo.
VI.
Nueve bejis hace hoy Que chalaste de mi quer, Abillar a Santo Christo, A diflarle cuenta a Undebel.
VII.
Mai fin terele el Crallis, Que lo caquero, Liguero a mi batus y min dai, Y me mequelo.
VIII.
Sinaron en una bal Unos poco de randes, Con las puscas en las pates, Pa marar a Undebel.
IX.
Por aquel luchipen abajo> Abillela un balichoro, Abillela a goli goli : Ustilame Caloro.
El gate de mi trupo, No se muchobela en pani, Se muchobela con la rati, De Juanito Rali.
XI.
He costunado en mi gra, Con Juanito Rali, Al sicobar por l'ulicha,1 Un pucazo io le di.
XII.
Al pinre de Jezunvais Me abillelo matarar La gachi que llo camelo, Si abillela nansala.
XIII.
Cuando paso por Pulicha, Yebo el estache blejo, Para que no penele tun dai De que camelo io.
XIV.
No te chibcle beldolaia, A recogerte una fremi ; Quo no es el jnlia mas rico, Ni la bal mas bari.
ii.
Back from the refuge soon I sped,
My child's sweet face to see; Then sternly to my wife I said,
You've seen the last of me.
in.
0 when I sit my courser bold, My bantling in my rear,
And in my hand my musket hold,
0 how they quake with fear.
IV.
Pray little baby, pray the Lord,
Since guiltless still thou art, That peace and comfort he afford
To this poor troubled heart.
v.
The false Juanito, day and night,
Had best with caution go, The Gypsy carles of Yeira height,
Have sworn to lay him low.
VI.
Nine years are past since this abode
Thou left'st to grief a prey, And took'st to Christ the heavenward road, ~ To him account to pay.
VII.
Upon the king may evils pour,
Such ills from him I've borne, From me my parents lov'd he tore,
1 now am left forlorn.
VIII.
Within a garden rav'd and yell'd
A desperate robber horde, And in their hands they muskets held,
To shoot their God and Lord.
IX.
There runs a swine down yonder hill,
As fast as e'er he can, And as he runs he crieth still,
Come steal me, Gypsy man.
x.
1 wash'd not in the limpid flood,
The shirt which binds my frame; But in Juanito Ralli's blood, I bravely wash'd the same.
XI.
I sallied forth upon my gray,
With him my hated foe, And when we reach'd the narrow way,
I dealt a dagger blow.
XII.
To blessed Jesus' holy feet,
I'd rush to kill and slay My pliffhted lass so fair and sweet,
Should she the wanton play.
XIII.
I slouch my beaver o'er my brow,
As down the street I rove, For fear thy mother keen should know
That I her daughter love.
XIV.
The purslain weed thou must not sow,
If thou wouldst fruit obtain, As poor would be the garden's show,
As would the crardcner's gain.
RHYMES.
91
XV.
He mangado la pani,
No me la camelaron dinar ;
He chalado a la ulicha
Y me he chibado a dustilar.
XVI.
He mangado una poca yaque, No me la camelaron dinar, El gate de mi trupo, Si io les camelare dinar.
XVII.
Najeila Pepe Conde, Que te abillelan a marar, Abillelan cuatro jundunares, Con la bayoneta cala'
XVIII.
El Bengue de Manga verde, Nunca camela dinar, Que la ley de los Cales La camela nicabar.
XIX.
Chalando por una ulicha He dica'o una mulati,
Y a mi me araquero : Garabelate Calori.
He chalado a la cangri, A araquerar con Undebel, Al tiempo de sicobarme, Alache pansche chules.
XXI.
Io me chale a mi quer, En buscar de mi romi, La topisare orobando, Por medio de mi chabori.
XXII.
Me chalo por una rochime, A buscarme mi bien serial; Me tope con Undebel,
Y me peno: Aonde chalas'?
XXIII.
Abillaron a un gao Unos poco de Cales, Con la chaboeia orobando, Porque no terelaban lo hates, Pa dinarles que jamar,
Y maraban Undebel.
XXIV.
El crallis en su trono, Me mando araquerar ; Coma, aromali, me camelaba, Ahcra su real me heta.
XXV.
He chalado por un dru, He dicado una rande, A las goles que dinaba, He pejado Undebel.
XXVI.
El crallis anda najando, Que lo camelo marar ; Ha ampenado las chabes, Que no los tenga dustilar.
xv.
I for a cup of water cried, But they refus'd my pray'r;
Then straight into the road I hied, And fell to robbing there.
XVI.
I ask'd for fire to warm my frame, But they'd have scorn'd my pray'r,
If I, to pay them for the same, Had stripp'd my body bare.
XVII.
Fly, Pepe Conde, seek the hill,
To flee's thy only chance, With bayonets fix'd thy blood to spill,
See soldiers four advance.
XVIII,
The Gypsy fiend of Manga mead,
Who never gave a straw, He would destroy, for very greed,
The good Egyptian law.
XIX.
I walk'd the street, and there 1 spied
A goodly gallows-tree, And in my ear methought it cried;
Gypsy, beware of me.
The church I enter'd, thither bound With God discourse to hold,
And when I left it, lo, I found A prize — five crowns of gold.
XXI.
I bounded through my cottage door,
My partner to embrace, And lo, I found her weeping o'er
My dying infant's face.
XXII.
I spurr'd my courser o'er the ford,
Afar my luck I'd try, Encounter'd me my God and Lordf
And said, where dost thou hie]
xxnr. There came adown the village street,
With little babes that cry, Because they have no crust to cat,
A Gypsy company; And as no charity they meet,
They curse the Lord on high.
XXIV.
I spoke, 'twas at the king's command,
And as I spoke he smiPd Benign, and now, by all the land
Your Highness I am styl'd.
XXV.
Along the pathway as I trod,
A beggar met my eye, And at her cries the Almighty God
Descended from the sky.
XXVI.
The king in fear before me runs, Because I him would slay,
He bears with him his little ones, Lest hands on them I lay.
92
THE ZINCALI.
XXVII.
El erajai de Villa Franca Ha mandiserado araquerar, Que la ley de los Cales, La camela nicabar.
XXVIII.
Abillela el erajai Por el dm de Zabuncha, El chororo de Facundo Ha comenzado najar.
XXIX.
Me chalo de mi quer, En l'ulicha m'ustilaron ; Ampenado de los Busnes, Este Calo ha sinado.
XXX.
Me sicobaron del estaripel, Me ligueron al libano ; Ampenado de los Busnes Esto Calo no ha sinado. '
XXXI.
Toda la erachi pirando Emposuno, emposuno, Con las acais pincherando Para dicar el Busno Que le dinele con el chulo.
XXXII.
No hay quien liguerele las nuevas
A la chabori de min dai,
Que en el triste delveo
Me sinelan nicabando la metepe!
XXXIII.
Sinamos jatanes y les peno Que se sicobelen por abri, Que camelo araquerar Con esta romi.
XXXIV.
Me ha penado que gustisaraba Un estache de Laloro ; 'Laver chibes por la tasala Chalo a la tienda y lo quino.
XXXV.
Le sacaron a mulabar Entre cuatro jundunares ; Ha penado laCrallisa Que no marela a nadie.
XXXVI.
Por la ulicha van beando Vasos finos de cristal ; Dai merca mangue uno, Que lo camelo estrenar.
XXXVII.
No camelo romi Que camela chinoro ; Chalo por las cachimanis Beando el pefiacoro.
XXXVIII.
Undcbel de chinoro !>c gnillo con los Cales; Y sinelando el varo Le mataron los gaehes.
XXVII.
The priest of Villa Franca bold
Proclaimeth far and wide, That he the law which Gypsies hold
Is bent to set aside.
XXVIII.
And see adown the road doth prance
The priest in full array, In fear before his countenance
Facundo runs away.
XXIX.
I left my house and walk'd about, They seized me fast and bound;
It is a Gypsy thief, they shout, The Spaniards here have found.
xxx. From out the prison me they led,
Before the scribe they brought ; It is no Gypsy thief, he said,
The Spaniards here have caught.
XXXI.
Throughout the night, the dusky night,
I prowl in silence round, And with my eyes look left and right,
For him, the Spanish hound, That with my knife I him may smite,
And to the vitals wound.
XXXII.
Will no one to the sister bear News of her brother's plight.
How in this cell of dark despair, To cruel death he's dight.
XXXIII.
We all are met, a sign I make, That they abroad should steal,
For to this maid my mind to break, So sore inclin'd I feel.
xxxiv.
She told me she would gladly wear
A hat of Portugal ; To-morrow's morn 'twill be my care
To buy one at the stall.
xxxv. The youth to execution went,
Held fast by soldier's hands ; The queen proclaimed him innocent,
And freed him from his bands.
XXXVI.
Within the street they're selling, see,
Vases of crystal fine ; Dear mother, purchase one for me —
I'll fill it up with wine.
XXXVII.
I hate a wife who sits at homo
A-fondling aye her child ; Unto the brandy shops I roam,
And drink till I am wild.
XXXVIII.
The Lord, as e'en the Gentiles state,
By Egypt's nice was bred, And when he came to man's estate,
His blood the Gentiles shed.
RHYMES.
93
XXXIX.
No camelos a gaches Por mucho que se aromanen, Que al fin ila por partida Te reverdisce la rati.
XL.
Dela estaripel me sicobelaron
Blejo un gel ;
Por toda la polvorosa
Me zuran el barandel.
XL I.
Me sicobelan dela estaripel Me ligueron al vero Ustilada una pusca Un puscazo les dino.
XLII.
He abillado de Madrilati Con muclia pena y dolor, Porque ha penado el Crallis : Marad a ese Cala.
XLIII.
Ya estan los Cales balbales Cada uno en sus queres, Y tosares los pobrecitos Los llevan al jurepe.
XLIV.
La puri de min dai La curaron los randes, Al abillar a la Meligrana Pa manguelarme metepe.
Que el encarcelamiento de Undebel No causo tanto dolor, Cuando se guillaba la Majari Atras de su Chaboro.
XLVI.
Sinaron en un paluno Unos poco de Cales ;! Se ban sicobado najando Por medio del barate.
XLVII.
Empunandome '1 estache La plata para salir, Me curelan los soiares — Ustile la churi.
XLVIII.
Me costune la chori Para chalar a Laloro, Al nacar de la pani Abillo obusno,
Y el chuquel a largo me chibo.
XLTX.
Empenete romi
Con el carcelero,
Que me nicobelc este gran sase,
Porque me merelo.
L.
Tositos los correoi Te dinelan recado,
Y tu me tenelas en el rinconcillo. De Jos olvidados.
10
XXXIX.
O never with the Gentiles wend, Nor deem their speeches true ;
Or else, be certain in the end, Thy blood will lose its hue.
XL.
From out the prison me they bore,
Upon an a^s they plac'd, And scourg'd me till I dripp'd with gore,
As down the road it pac'd.
XLI.
They bore me from the prison nook, They bade me rove at large ;
When out I'd come a gun I took, And scathed them with its charge.
XLII.
From out Madrid I wretch have fled With many a tear and sigh,
Because the cruel king has said — This Gypsy he shall die.
XLIII.
Within his dwelling sits at ease
Each wealthy Gypsy churl, While ali the needy ones they seize
And into prison hurl.
XLIV.
My mother, ag'd afflicted dame
By thieves beset was she, To high Granada as she came
From bondage me to free.
XLV.
For oh ! the imprisonment of God
Awak'd not grief more wild In blessed Mary as she trod
Behind her heavenly child.
XLVI.
Of Gypsy folk a scanty few
Into the wood had stray'd, But out in hurry soon they flew
Before the fierce alcayde.
My hat and mantle on I cast
To sally forth I thought, Then by the greaves they seiz'd me fast,
And I my dagger caught.
XLVIII.
My mule so bonny I bestrode,
To Portugal I'd floe, And as I o'er the water rode
A man came suddenly; And he his love and kindness show'd
By setting his dog on me.
XLIZ.
O wife, beseech the prison lord
That he this chain remove. For I shall perish ovcrpower'd
Unless he clement prove.
L.
Each post that leaves the village gate My message forth doth bear,
But still forgotten here I wait, And wither and despair. 12
94
THE ZIKCALI.
LI.
Si min dai abillar A dicar a su men, Io le penara que fuera Con Dios (Jndebel.
Me ardinelo a la muralia
Y Je penelo al jil,
Que me querelaron un tumbacillo De acero y de marfil,
LIII.
Pucas tenela min dai Ducas tenelo yo, Las de min dai io siento Las de Mangue no.
LIV.
Si pasaras por la cangri Trin berjis despues de mi mular, Si araqueras por min nao Respondiera mi cocal.
LV.
Io no tenelo batu
Ni dai tampoco,
Io tenelo un planelillo.
Y le Hainan el loco.
LVI.
Si tu te romandinaras
Y io le supiera,
Io vestiria todo min trupos De bayeta negra.
LVII.
Si io no t'endicara
En una semana —
Como aromali Flamenca de Roma
Me rincondenara.
LVIII.
Flamenca de Roma Si tu sinaras mia, Te metiera entre viere Por sari la vida.
LIX.
Difiame el pate
Por donde orobaste,
A recoger la pani delas acais
Que tu derramaste.j
LX,
El gate de mi trupo No se muchobela en pani, Se muchobela con la rati Que ha chibado mi romi.
LXI.
No sinela su men min dai La que me chindo, Que sinando io chinorillo Se liguero v me meco.
LXII.
Tosarias las m ananas Que io me ardinelo, Con la pani de mis acais La chichi me nmcliabelo.
LXIII.
Tu patu y tun dai Me publican clijnga,
Sir Cavalier, my mother dear
Must come and visit you, That Mother dear, Sir Cavalier,
The face of God may view.
LII.
I'll climb the wall which towereth there,
And to the winds I'll cry; They've built for me a tomb so fair
Of steel and ivory.
LIII.
My mother has of griefs a store
And I have got my own ; Full keen and sore I hers deplore,
But ne'er for mine I moan.
LIV.
When I in grave three years have lain, If thou shouldst pass thereby,
And but to breathe my name shouldst deign, My dead bones would reply.
LV.
Sire nor mother me caress,
For I have none on earth ; One little brother I possess,
And he's a fool by birth.
LVI.
If thou another man" shouldst wed, And I the same should know,
In mourning clad, from foot to head, For ever I would go,
LVII.
Unless within a fortnight's space
Thy face, O maid, I see, Flamenca of Egyptian race
My lady love shall be.
LVIII.
Flamenca of Egyptian race,
If thou wert only mine, Within a bonny crystal case
For life I'd thee enshrine.
LIX.
Extend to me the hand so small,
Wherein I see thee weep, For O thy balmy tear-drops all
I would collect and keep.
LX.
I wash'd not in the limpid flood
The goodly shirt I bear, I wash'd it in the streaming blood
Of my betrothed fair.
LXI.
Thou'rt not, sweet dame who smil'st so mild
The mother me who bore, She left, me whilst a little child,
And fled and came no more.
LXII.
Each morning when from bed I rise,
'Tis then I lave my face With tears, which from my wretched eyes
Begin to flow apace.
LXIII.
Thy sire and mother wrath and hate Have vow'd against me, love!
RHYMES.
95
Como la rachi mu chalemos Afuera d'este gau.
LXIV.
Abillelate a la dicani, Que io voy te penelar Una buchi en Calo, Y despues te liguerar.
LXV.
Unas acais callardias
Me ban vencido,
Como aromali no me vencen otras
De cayque nacido.
LXVI.
Como camelas que te rnequele Si en su men tuve una chabori, Que cada vez que abillelo Le penara en Germani.
LXVII.
Undebel me ha castigado Con esa romi tan fea, Que nastisarelo liguerarla Adonde los busne la vean.
LXVIII.
Esta rachi no abillelan Dai los Cales; Es serial que ban chalado A los durotunes.
LXIX.
Un chibe los Cales
Han gastado olibeas de seda,
Y acana por sus desgracias Gasten saces con cadenas.
LXX.
Esta gran duca
Ha ardinelado al cielo,
Que Undebel de los tres cayes
Lo pongo en su remedio.
LXXI.
Tres vezes te he araquerado
Y no camelas abillar;
Si io me vuelvo a araquerarte Mi trupos han de marar.
LXXII.
Alia arribita
Mararon no chanelo quien; El mulo cayo en la truni El maraol se puso a huir.
LXXIII.
Sinaron en unos bures Unos poco de randes, Aguardisarando q'abiflara. La Crallisa y los parnes.
LXXIV.
Chalo para mi quer Me tope con el meripe; Me peno, adonde chalas1 Le pene, para mi quer.
LXXV.
Io no camelo ser eray Que es Calo mi nacimiento ; Io no camelo ser eray Con ser Calo me contento.
The first, first night *hat from the gate We two together rove.
LXIV.
Come to the window, sweet love, do,
And I will whisper there, In Romrnany, a word or two,
And thee far off will bear.
A Gypsy stripling's sparkling eye Has pierced my bosom's core;
A feat no eye beneath the sky Could e'er effect before.
LXVI.
Dost bid me from the land begone,
And thou with child by me'? Each time I come, the little one
I'll greet in Romrnany.
LXVII.
With such an ugly, loathly wife
The Lord has punish'd me, I dare not take her for my life
Where'er the Spaniards be.
LXVIII.
Tkis night abroad the Gypsies stay,
O mother, that's a sign They've to the shepherds ta'en their way,
To steal the lambkins fine.
LXIX.
Brown Egypt's race in days of old Were wont silk hose to wear,
But for their sins so manifold They now must fetters bear.
That spirit, long oppress'd with grief, Hath scap'd and heavenward flown,
In hope the Lord will grant relief Who builds in heaven his throne.
LXXI.
I've called thee thrice in anxious strain,
But thou dost not appear, And should I raise my voice again
Thy kinsmen me would hear.
LXXII.
Above there, in the dusky pass, Was wrought a murder dread ;
The murder'd fell upon the grass, Away the murderer fled.
LXXIII.
The thieves, the thieves are on the watch
Amid the hills so green; They're on the watch that they may catcli
The treasure and the queen.
LXXIV.
Towards my home I bent my course.
Then death to me drew nigh, And where art bound I he bellow'd hoarse,
Home, home, was my reply.
LXXV.
O I am not of gentle clan,
I'm sprung from Gypsy tree, And I will be no gentleman,
But an Egyptian tree.
96
THE ZINCALI.
LXXVI.
La filimicha esta puesta,
Y en ella un chindobaro, Pa mulabar una lendriz Que echantan estardo.
LXXVII.
El reo con sus chineles Le sacan del' estaripel,
Y le alumbran con las velas De la gracia Undebel.
LXXVIII.
El baro jil mejanela
Los chobares me dan tormento ;
lo me chalo al daro quer,
Y ote alivio a mi cuerpo.
LXXIX.
Si tu chalas por l'ulicha
Y rachelas con mi romi, Pen que mangue monrabelo Que querele yaque a la peri.
LXXX.
Mango me chalo a mi quer
Y te mequelo un cotor, Si abillelas con mangue Te dinelo mi carlo.
LXXXI.
La tremucha se ardela Guillabela el caloro: Chasa mangue, acai Abillela obusno.
LXXXII.
Abillela la rachi
Y io no puedo pirar, lo me chalo mirando Q' abillele un jundunar
Y me camele marar.
LXXXI1I.
Este quer jandela minchi, Acai no abillele la salipen ; Mi batus camela a tun dai Mango me chalo a mi quer.
LXXXIV.
La romi que se abillela Debajo delos portales, No s'abillela con tusa, Que s'abillela con mangue.
LXXXV.
Tapa chabea las chuchais, Que las dica el bufio ; Que las digue 6 no las digue A el chabe lo camelo io.
LXXX VI.
Esta rachi voy de pirar A dinar mule a un errajai,
Y me chapesgue de mi pasma A los pindres del oclay.
LXXXVII.
La romi que io cameloO Si otro me la camelara, Sacaria la chuli
Y la fila le cortara,
O el me la cortara a mi.
LXXVI.
The gallows grim they've raised once more,
The hangman ready stands, And all to slay a partridge poor
That's fallen in their hands.
LXXVII.
'Twixt soldier now and alguazil
The culprit forth they bear, Whilst him with grace divine to fill
The holy tapers glare.
LXXVIII.
I'm bitten by the frosty air,
The fleas about me swarm : Unto the great house I'll repair,
And there myself I'll warm.
LXXIX.
If down the street, my friend, thou stray, And my dear wife thou meet,
I'm plying, say, the shears all day, That she the pot may heat.
LXXX.
I hasten home, but leave with thee
A portion of my heart, But if thou home wilt come with me
The whole I will impart.
LXXXI.
On high arose the moon so fair,
The Gypsy 'gan to sing : I see a Spaniard coming there,
I must be on the wing.
LXXXII.
The night descends, yet I'm afraid
Abroad my face to show ; I fear to meet a soldier blade,
Who'd kill me at a blow.
LXXXIII.
This house of harlotry doth smell,
I flee as from the pest; Your mother likes my sire too well ;
To hie me home is best.
LXXXIV.
That lass with cheek of rosy hue That's entering now the gate,
She does not come to visit you, She comes on me to wait.
LXXXV.
O daughter, hide thy breasts, for shame,
For them the boy can see, — And if he can, or cannot, Dame,
That boy is lov'd by me.
LXXXVI.
This night, to dog the priest I go,
And shed his priestly gore, Then I will haste myself to throw
The monarch's feet before.
LXXXVII.
The girl I love more dear than life
Should other gallant woo, I'd straight unsheath my dudgeon knife
And cut his weasand through, Or ho, the conqueror in the strife,
The same to me should do.
TUIYMES.
97
LXXXVIII.
Esos calcos que tenelas En tus pulidos pindres, No se los dines a nadie, Que me costaron el parnes.
LXXXIX.
Corojai en grastes Majares en pindre, Al tomar del quer lacho Del proprio Undebel.
xc.
Mas que io me guillelo Portu bundal, Al dicar tu chaboreia Me difiela canrea.
xci.
Te chibelas en l'ulicha Querelando el sobindoi ; Abillela el barete,
Y te chibela estardo.
xcu.
Voy dicando tus parlachas, Para poder las quinar, Para chibarlas bucha, Sin que chanele tun dai.
xcin.
Me ardifielo de tasala A orotarme que jalar, A tosare Busne puchando, Si tenelan que monrabar.
XCIV.
Un caloro chororo Se vino por jundunar, Se najo con los jalleri,
Y le mandaron unglabar.
XCV.
Retirate a la cangri Mira que abillela el chinel, Mira no te jongabe
Y te lleve al estaripel.
XCVI.
Chalo a la beia de Clunes A manguelar mi metepe; Los erais de la beia Me dinaron estaripel.
XCVII.
A la burda de su men
Abillela un pobre lango mango,
Pirando del vero, —
No permita su majaro lacho
Que su men se abillele,
En semejante curelo.
XCVIII.
Mango me chalo pirar Por el narsaro baro, En estes andaribeles, Al chen de lospallardos.
XCIX.
Un Coroyai me penelo
Que camelaba Undeber y mangue;
Y io le he penelado
Tute camarelas ser chuquer.
LXXXVIII.
The shoes, O girl, which thou dost bear On those white feet of thine,
To none resign for love or pray'r, They're bought with coin of mine.
LXXXIX.
On horseback fought the bloody Moors,
On foot the Christian clan, What time were gain'd the holy towers
Where God once dwelt with man.
Whene'er, and that's full frequently,
I past your portal go, And there your naked babes espy,
I feel at heart so low.
xci.
Within the street thou down hast lain
To slumber in the ray, And yonder comes the justice train,
Who'll thee in prison lay.
xcu.
To spy thy window, love, I go,
For I would creep in there, And out to thee thy things would throw,
Thy mother not aware.
XCIII.
I'll rise to-morrow bread to earn,
For hunger's worn me grim, Of all I meet I'll ask in turn
If they've no beasts to trim.
XCIV.
The Gypsy bold himself enroll'd
As soldier of the king, But he deserted with the gold,
And therefore he must swing.
XCV.
Seek, seek the church, thou'st broke the law,
The alguazil I spy ; He comes on thee to set his claw
And drag to custody.
XCVI.
I ran to Clime's judgment seat
My forfeit life to crave; The judges rose upon their feet,
And chains and dungeon gave.
XCVII.
I come a-begging to your gate, A maim'd and crippled wight,
From out the prison thrust of late In rags and tatters dight;
May thy blest saint from such a fate Protect thee, good Sir Knight.
XCVIII.
T leave my home and haste to roam
In yonder bark of pride, To lands far o'er the salt sea foam,
Where foreign nations bide.
xcix. One day a bearded Moor did vow
He lov'd the Lord and me; And I replied with frowning brow,
Thou lov'st a dog to be.
9S
THE ZINC ALL
El eray guillabeia El eray obusno ; 0,'abillele Romanela, No abillele Caloro.
La chimutra se ardela, A pas-erachi ; El Calo no abillela Abillela la Romi.
c.
Loud sang the Spanish cavalier, And thus his ditty ran : —
God send the Gypsy lassie here, And not the Gypsy man.
ci.
At midnight, when the moon began To show her silver flame,
There came to him no Gypsy man, The Gypsy lassie came.
CHAPTER II.
SPURIOUS GYPSY POETRY OF ANDALUSIA.
The Gitanos, abject and vile as they have ever been, have nevertheless found admirers in Spain, individuals who have taken plea- sure in their phraseology, pronunciation, and way of life ; but above all, in the songs and dances of the females. This desire for culti- vating their acquaintance is chiefly preva- lent in Andalusia, where, indeed, they most abound ; and more, especially in the town of Seville, the capital of the province, where, in the barrio or Faubourg of Triana, a large Gi- tano colony has long flourished, with the de- nizens of which it is at all times easy to have intercourse, especially to those who are free of their money, and are willing to purchase such a gratification at the expense of dollars and pesetas.
When we consider the character of the Andalusians in general, we shall find little to surprise us in this predilection for the Gitanos. They are an indolent frivolous people, fond of dancing and song, and sensual amusements. They live under the most glorious sun and benign heaven in Europe, and their country is by nature rich and fertile, yet in no pro- vince of Spain is there more beggary and misery ; the greatest part of the land being un- cultivated, and producing nothing but thorns and brushwood, affording in itself a striking emblem of the moral state of its inhabitants.
Though not destitute of talent, the Anda- 'usians are not much addicted to intellectual pursuits, at least in the present day. The person in most esteem among them is inva- riably the greatest majo, and to acquire that character it is necessary to appear in the dress j of a Merry Andrew, to bully, swagger, and \ smoke continually, to dance passably, and to strum the guitar. They are fond of obscenity and what they term picardias. Amongst them learning is at a terrible dis- 1 count, Greek, Latin, or any of the languages generally termed learned, being considered1 in any light but accomplishments, though not so the possession of thieves' slang or the J dialect of the Gitanos, the knowledge of a
few words of which invariably creates a cer- tain degree of respect, as indicating that the individual is somewhat versed in that kind of life or trato for which alone the Andalu- sians have any kind of regard.
In Andalusia the Gitano has been studied by those who, for various reasons, have min- gled with the Gitanos. It is tolerably well understood by the chalanes, or jockeys, who have picked up many words in the fairs and market-places which the former frequent. It has, however, been cultivated to a greater degree by other individuals, who have sought the society of the Gitanos from a zest for their habits, their dances, and their songs ; and such individuals have belonged to all classes, amongst them noblemen and members of the priestly order.
Perhaps no people in Andalusia have been more addicted in general to the acquaintance of the Gitanos than the friars, and pre-emi- nently amongst these the half jockey, half religious personages of the Cartujan convent at Xeres. This community, now suppressed, was, as is well known, in possession of a celebrated breed of horses, which fed in the pastures of the convent, and from which they derived no inconsiderable part of their revenue. These reverend gentlemen seem to have been much better versed ' in the points of a horse than in points of theology, and to have understood thieves' slang and Gitano far better than the language of the Vulgate. A chalan, who had some know- ledge of the Gitano, related to me the fol- lowing singular anecdote in connexion with this subject.
He had occasion to go to the convent, having been long in treaty with the friars for a steed which he had been commissioned by a nobleman to buy at any reasonable price. The friars, however, were exorbitant in their demands. On arriving at the gate, he sang to the friar who opened it, a couplet which he had composed in the Gypsy tongue, in which he stated the highest price which he was authorized to give for the animal in question; whereupon the friar instantly an- swered in the same tongue in an extempo- rary couplet full of abuse of him and his ern- ployer, and forthwith slammed the door in the" face of the disconcerted jockey.
SPURIOUS GYTSY POETRY.
99
An Augustine friar of Seville, called, u-e believe, Father Manso, who lived some twcnty years ago, is still remembered for his passion for the Gitanos; he seemed to be under the influence of fascination, and passed every moment that he could steal from his clerical occupations, in their company. His conduct at last became so notorious that he fell under the censure of the Inquisition, before which he was summoned ; whereupon he alleged, in his defence, that his sole motive for follow- ing the Gitanos was zeal for their spiritual conversion. Whether this plea availed him we know not ; but it is probable that the Holy Office dealt mildly with him; such offenders, indeed, had never much to fear from it. Had he been accused of liberalism, or searching into the Scriptures, instead of connexion with the Gitanos, we should, doubtless, have heard either of his execution or imprison- ment for life in the cells of the cathedral of Seville.
Such as are thus addicted to the Gitanos and their language, are called, in Andalusia, Los del' Aficion, or those of the predilection. These people have, during the last fifty years, composed a spurious kind of Gypsy literature: we call it spurious because it did not originate with the Gitanos, who are, moreover, utterly unacquainted with it, and to whom it would be for the most part unintelligible. It is somewhat difficult to conceive the reason which induced these individuals to attempt such compositions ; the only probable one seems to have been a desire to display to each other their skill in the language of their predilection. It is right, however, to observe, that most of these compositions, with respect to language, are highly absurd, the greatest liberties being taken with the words picked up amongst the Gitanos, of the true meaning of which, the writers, in many instances, seem to have been entirely igno- rant. From what we can learn, the com- posers of this literature flourished chiefly at the commencement of the present century: Father Manso is said to have been one of the last. Many of their compositions, which are both in poetry and prose, exist in manuscript in a compilation made by one Luis Lobo. It has never been our fortune to see this com- pilation, which, indeed, we scarcely regret, as a rather curious circumstance has afforded us a perfect knowledge of its contents.
Whilst at Seville, chance made us acquaint- ed with a highly extraordinary individual, a tall, bony, meagre figure, in a tattered Anda- lusian hat, ragged capote, and still more ragged pantaloons, and seemingly between
I forty and fifty years of age. The only ap- pellation to which he answered was Manuel. His occupation, at the time we knew him, was sellingftickets for the lottery, by which he obtained a miserable livelihood in Seville and the neighbouring villages. His appear- ance was altogether wild and uncouth, and there was an insane expression in his eye. Observing us one day in conversation with a Gitana, he addressed us, and we soon found that the sound of the Gitana language had struck a chord which vibrated through the depths of his soul. His history was remark- able; in his early youth a manuscript copy of the compilation of Luis Lobo had fallen into his hands. This book had so taken hold of his imagination, that he studied it night and day until he had planted it in his memory from beginning to end; but in so doing, his brain, likethatof the hero of Cervantes, had become dry and heated, so that he was unfitted for any serious or useful occupation. After the death of his parents he wandered about the streets in great distress, until at last he fell into the hands of certain toreros or bull- fighters, who kept him about them, in order that he might repeat to them the songs of the Aficion. They subsequently carried him to Madrid, where, however, they soon desert- ed him after he had experienced much bru- tality from their hands. He returned to Se- ville, and soon became the inmate of a mad- house, where he continued several years. Having partially recovered from his malady he was liberated, and wandered about as be- fore. During the cholera at Seville, when nearly twenty thousand human beings pe- rished, he was appointed conductor of one of the death-carts, which went through the streets for the purpose of picking up the dead bodies. His perfect inoffensiveness eventu- ally procured him friends, and he obtained the situation of vender of lottery tickets. He frequently visited us, and would then re- cite long passages from the work of Lobo. He was wont to say that he was the only one in Seville, at the present day, acquainted with the language of the Aficion ; for though there were many pretenders, their knowledge was confined to a few words.
From the recitation of this individual, we wrote down the Brijindope or Deluge, and the poem on the plague which broke out in Seville in the year 1800. These, and some songs of less consequence, constitute the poe- tical part of the compilation in question ; the rest, which is in prose, consisting chiefly of translations from the Spanish, of proverbs and religious pieces.
iu ur u,
BRIOTDOPE.-THE DELUGE.
A POEM, IN TWO PARTS.
BRIJ1ND0PE,
BROTOBA PAJIN.
Dajirando presimelo Abillar la pelabru ;
Y manguelarle camelo A la Beluni de otarpe, Nu inerique sos terelo De soscabar de siarias, Persos menda ne chanelo Sata niquillar de ondoba,
Y an dial lo fendi grobelo Sin utilarme misto: Men crejete orobibelo Dicando trincha henira Sata aocana nacardelo, Delos chiros naquelaos.
Y aocana man presimelo On sandani de Ostebe
Y desquero day darabemos, Sos sin nonrro longono: Jinare lo sos chanelo, Sasta Ostebe se abichola
Y le penelo a Noyme: Tran quifiado soscabelo; Ies Estarica queraras, Sos or surdan dicabelo Tran najabao, y andial Quera lo sos man te pendo, Sos se ennagren persos man La Janro en la Bas terelo:
Y Noyme pendaba a golis: Sos se ennagreis os penelo, Sos dico saro or surdan Najabao y lo prejeno; Ostebe nu lo dichaba,
Per lo trincha lo penelo.
Y saros se sarrasiran : Sos duquipen dicobelo! Los Brochabos le bucharan E nonro Bato, y diquelo
A saros persibaraos : La Erandia la dicobelo Bartrabe de su costuri
Y or Erajay — presimelo A jinar sata Ostebe Yes minricla dichabelo Sar yes simachcs bare — Sin trincha dan sos terelo Dicando los Lariandcscs Tran bares sos me merelo, Dicando saro or surdan Tran jurune dan terelo,
100
THE DELUGE.
PART THE FIRST.
I with fear and terror quake, Whilst the pen to write I take ; I will utter many a pray'r To the heaven's Regent fair, That she deign to succour me, And I'll humbly bend my knee ; For but poorly do I know With my subject on to go ; Therefore is my wisest plan Not to trust in strength of man. I my heavy sins bewail, Whilst 1 view the wo and wail Handed down so solemnly In the books of times gone by. Onward, onward, now I'll move In the name of Christ above, And his Mother true and dear, She who loves the wretch to cheer. All I know, and all I've heard f will state — how God appear'd, And to Noah thus did cry; Weary with the world am I; Let an ark by thee be built, For the world is lost in guilt; And when thou hast built it well, Loud proclaim what now I tell : Straight repent ye, for your Lord In his hand doth hold a sword. And good Noah thus did call : Straight repent ye, one and all, For the world with grief I see Lost in vileness utterly. God's own mandate I but do, He hath sent me unto you. Laugh'd the world with bitter scorn I his cruel sufferings mourn ; Brawny youths with furious air Drag the Patriarch by the hair ■ Lewdness governs every one : Leaves her convent now the nun, And the monk abroad I see Practising iniquity. Now I'll tell how God, intent To avenge, a vapour sent, With full many a dreadful sign — Mighty, mighty fear is mine : As I hoar the thunders roll, Seems to die my very soul ; As I Pfe the world o'erspread All with darkness thick and dread ;
THE DELUGE.
101
Y ne camelara mend a, Trincha sata orobibelo Chalabear la pelabru
On la opuchen sos terelo
De soscabar libanando —
Per los barbanes junelo
Butes benges balogando,
Pendando a golis bares
Ochardilo terelamos ;
Aocana sin la ocana
Sosque sinastra queramos.
Dajiralo sos punis.
Dicar las queles petrando,
A butes las chibiben
Les nicaba merelando,
Persos los cotos bares
A butes guilla marando ;
Ne sindo lo chorro ondoba,
Sos aocana presimando
Las minrriclas bus pani
On or surdan techescando,
De chibel y de rachi nardian tesumiando.
Sos perplejo tranbare !
Saros a Ostebe acarando
A nonrria day y Erani —
Chi de ondoba ne molando,
Per socabar Ostebe
Sar los murciales sustiiiaos.
O henira tran bare
A golis saros pendando;
Chapescando nasti chanan
De or rifian sos dicando
Flima a flima bus pajes ;
La chen se cha pirrandando :
Se quimpifia la sueste
Sos niquilla chapescando,
E isna longono caute ;
Bute pani brijindando ;
Saros los perifuyes
De los jebis niquillando :
Or jabuno y jabufii
On toberjeli guillando ;
La Julistraba y chaplica
Se encaloman per lo sasto ;
Chiribito y tejuni,
Y oripatia pirelando,
Ne chanan sosque chibarse,
Y se muquelan tasaos. Gollori, braco y braqui — Los jurus catabranando,
Y or batane y Jabuni, On or chasno an sustifiao Bajilache y Baluni,
Los duis se an cataneaos : Chelendres y Bombardos, De or rifian chapescando; La sorjia sar los chabales, Tramisto cha platanando ; Or chinoje y Jerini, Choro y choria acareando, La andalula y or Jojoy, Per or dron cataneaos ; Los grates y los gadujos, De chapescar tesumiaron— On yes pray se catanan,
Y aoter catane mucaron ; Escotria en Pavel pajin, Pendare lo sos queraron.
I the pen can scarcely ply For the tears which dim my eye, And o'ercome with grievous wo, Fear the task I must forego I have purposed to perform. — Hark, I hear upon the storm Thousand, thousand devils fly, Who with awful howlings cry: Now's the time, and now's the hour We have license, we have power To obtain a glorious prey. — I with horror turn away; Tumbles house and tumbles wall ; Thousand lose their lives and all, Voiding curses, screams, and groans For the beams, the bricks, and stones Bruise and bury all below — Nor is that the worst, I trow, For the clouds begin to pour Floods of water, more and more, Down upon the world with might, Never pausing day or night. Now in terrible distress All to God their cries address, And his Mother dear adore, — But the time of grace is o'er, For the Almighty in the sky Holds his hand upraised on high. Now's the time of madden'd rout Hideous cry, despairing shout ; Whither, whither shall they fly? For the danger threat'ningly Draweth near on every side, And the earth, that's opening wide, Swallows thousands in its womb, Who would 'scape the dreadful doom. Of dear hope exists no gleam, Still the water down doth stream ; Ne'er so little a creeping thing, But from out its hole doth spring See the mouse, and see its mate Scour along, nor stop nor wait ; See the serpent and the snake,; For the nearest highlands make ; The tarantula I view, Emmet small, and cricket too, All unknowing where to fly, In the stifling waters die. See the goat and bleating sheep, See the bull with bellowings deep, And the rat with squealings shrill, They have mounted on the hill : See the stag, and see the doe, How together fond they go : Lion, tiger-beast, and pard, To escape are striving hard : Followed by her little ones, See the hare how swift she runs : Asses he and she, a pair, Mute and mule with bray and blare, And the rabbit and the fox, Hurry over stones and rocks With the grunting hog and horse, Till at last they stop their course — On the summit of the hill All assembled stand they still ; In the second part I'll tell, Unto them what there befell.
14
K
102
THE ZINCALI,
BRIJINDOPE,
REBLANDUY PAJIN
Bus muque la avel pajin, Dine carema a or surdan De pendar sata guillo Or janbri sar la Pastia La Cremen y or Piribicho, Saros se guillon aotar, On lay Pray se catanan Bus dicaron abillar Or Bispibi y Coligote,
Y la Anis sar la Macha; Or Chilindrote y Lore,
Y or Cacarabi apala ; Ballestero y Ballestera, Curraco tramisto cha; Catacolla y Escobiche Balogan per or barban ; Ne berjan sosque urdifarse, Per soscabar or surdan Saro perdo de pani ;
Se petran y se tasaban : . "Guillemos a monrro Bato!" Sos la Estarica pirranda, Chibelando enrre a saros Perifuyes y los garaba, De cata yesque yes cro ; Tramisto chibelo aotar Desquero sueste, y cotria La Estarica la panda. De saros ha chibelado,.
Y garabaos aotar.
On los sastos de la pray La pani begorea otar ; Naquelao bin chibeles, La Estarica sustiria, La legera aupre y aostele, Sata yes buchi basta. Diquemos sos duquipen, Per la pani nofiabar Trincha los drupos mules, Sos ne se asislan jinar ! O duquipen tran bare, Sos se tasabo or surdan. Aunsos nasti sin saro, Flimas se muquelaran, Pa en camelando Ostebe Linbidien a perbarar Avel sueste bufendi, Pa querar demo surdan Sos archaben a Ostebe.
Y aocana canbro pendar, Sueste de andoba chiro, Ennagrabarse, y dicar Sos oclinde sia pafii Aocana sen bus basta Sos pendan los Manjaros Se remarara or surdan On llaquele retablejiendo,
Y flacha se querara.
THE DELUGE.
PART THE SECOND.
When I last did bid farewell, I proposed the world to tell, Higher as the Deluge flow'd, How the frog and how the toad, With the lizard and the efte, All their holes and coverts left, And assembled on the height ; Soon I ween appear'd in sight All that's wings beneath the sky, Bat and swallow, wasp and fly, Gnat and sparrow, and behind Comes the crow of carrion kind ; Dove and pigeon are descried, And the raven fiery-eyed, With the beetle and the crane Flying on the hurricane : See they find no resting-place, For the world's terrestrial space Is with water cover'd o'er, Soon they sink to rise no more : " To our father let us flee !" Straight the ark-ship openeth he, And to every thing that lives Kindly he admission gives, Of all kinds a single pair, And the members safely there Of his house he doth embark, Then at once he shuts the ark ; Every thing therein has pass'd, There he keeps them safe and fast. O'er the mountain's topmost peak Now the raging waters break. Till full twenty days are o'er, 'Midst the elemental roar, Up and down the ark forlorn, Like some evil thing is borne : O what grief it is to see Swimming on the enormous sea Human corses pale and white, More, alas! than 1 can write : O what grief, what grief profound But to think the world is drown'd ; True a scanty few are left, All are not of life bereft, So that, when the Lord ordain, They may procreate again, In a world entirely new, Better people and more true, To their Maker who shall bow; And I humbly beg ye now. Ye in modern times who wend, That your lives ye do amend; For no wat'ry punishment, But a heavier shall be 6ent; For the blessed saints pretend That the latter world shall end To tremendous fire a prey, And to ashes sink away.
THE DELUGE.
103
A la Estarica linbidio Sos pira per or surdan Najabada, y Ostebe Los camela listramar: Yes callico pirrandaron Yesque besni per dicar De otarpe la simachi ; Pa orondar or surdan Sublirnan la Ballestera ;
Y a las duis canas le an Yesque corbi de eruquel, On or punsabo alala. Pendan dinelando golis, '* Sos terelamos surdan.' Begorean a yes pray ;
Y bus se dican aotar, Saros panelan on Chen De siarias per dinar Las sardanis a Ostebe ,
Y se camelan guillar Yesque lacri y yesque lacro, A perbarar or surdan,
A or sichen Corajafio. — Avel cro tramisto cha A la chen del Gabine ; Saros guillan andial Querando nevel sueste. Ondoba panchabaras, Sos lo muco libanado Nonrro Bato, y andia! Abillo de yesque avel Pa enjalle per or surdan. Man soscabo manguelando Estormen pa libanar A saros lo sos chanaren Chipi Cayi araquerar ;
Y la Debel de Ineriqu Me dine la sardafia, Sos me quera farsilaja, E ochipa. Anarania.
To the Ark I now go back
Which pursues its dreary track
Lost and 'wilder'd till the Lord
In his mercy rest accord.
Early of a morning tide
They unclosed a window wide,
Heaven's beacon to descry ,
And a gentle dove let fly,
Of the world to seek some trace,
And in two short hours' space
It returns with eyes that glow,
In its beak an olive bough.
With a loud and mighty sound.
They exclaim: "The world we've found.
To a mountain nigh they drew
And when there themselves they view,
Bound they swiftly on the shore,
And their fervent thanks outpour
Lowly kneeling to their God ,
Then their way a couple trod,
Man and woman, hand in hand,
Bent to populate the land,
To the Moorish region fair —
And another two repair
To the country of the Gaul ;
In this manner wend they all
And the seeds of nations lay.
I beseech ye'll credence pay,
For our father, high and sage,
Wrote the tale in sacred page,
As a record to the world,
Record sad of vengeance hurl'd.
I, a low and humble wight,
Beg permission now to write
Unto all that in our land
Tongue Egyptian understand:
May our Virgin Mother mild
Grant to me, her erring child,
Plenteous grace in every way
And success. Amen I say.
LA KETREQUE.-THE PESTILENCE.
A POEM COMMEMORATIVE OF THE PLAGUE WHICH BROKE OUT AT SEVILLE IN THE
YEAR 1800.
LA RETREQUE,
Man camelo libanar, Pa enjalle on chipi Cale, Saro lo sos chunde6J On caba Foro bare.
On or brege de ostor gres, On macara llacuno, Tenblesquero sustifio La bate tabastorre Sar ies griba tranbare, Dinelando a jabelar Sos camelaba Hilar Jina de monria puchel. Pa difielar irsimen Man camelo libanar.
Dajirando on la retreque Se ennagro saro or surdan'
Y aocana sen bus bastas On or surdan los crejetes, Per socabar la sueste Chanorgaos de Ostebe, Sata unga la beriben
Se udicara merelao ; Per ondoba e libanao Pa enjalle on chipi Cale.
De niquillar a la olicha Difielaba duquipen, On dicar trincha mule Sueste on la ferminicha; Flimas a la banbanicha Guillan a tapillar mol, Per soscabar nasalos— Difielaba alangari : Sian canrrias y Pufiis Saro lo sos chundeo.
La sueste a or drobardo Guillan orobibelando Per la olicha manguelando Estormen a or Erano ;
Y los cangollos perdos Mustinando los mules Bartrabes a oltarique — Sos duquipen sia, Erais, Ne dicar ies Arajay
On caba foro bare. 104
THE PESTILENCE,
I'm resolved now to tell, In the speech of Gypsy-land, All the horror that befell In this city huge and grand.
In the eighteenth hundred year In the midst of summer tide, God, with man dissatisfied, His right hand on high did rear, With a rigour most severe ; Whence we well might understand He would strict account demand Of our lives and actions here. The dread event to render clear Now the pen I take in hand.
At the dread event aghast,
Straight the world reform'd its course ;
Yet is sin in greater force,
Now the punishment is past;
For the thought of God is cast
All and utterly aside,
As if death itself had died.
Therefore to the present race
These memorial lines I trace
In old Egypt's tongue of pride.
As the streets you wander'd through How you quail'd with fear and dread, Heaps of dying and of dead At the leeches' door to view. To the tavern O-how few To regale on wine repair ; All a sickly aspect wear. Say what heart such sights could brook- Wail and wo where'er you look — Wail and wo and ghastly care.
Plying fast their rosaries, See the people pace the street, And for pardon God entreat Long and loud with streaming eyes. And the carts of various size, Pil'd with corses, high in air, To the plain their burden bear. O what grief it is to me Not a friar or priest to see In this city huge and fair.
THE PRAISE OE BUDDH.
METEMPSYCHOSIS.
It ub scarcely' necessary to apologize for the insertion, in tnis place, of the following poem, which contains the creed of the Buddhists. In many por- tions of the present work, allusion has been made to the want of any fixed or certain, religious opinions amongst the Gypsies, since their appearance in Europe. Of their original religion, whatever it was, no vestige seems to re- main, save some vague ideas of metempsychosis, which are still occasionally to be found amongst them in England and in Russia, and the remembrance of which has not altogether disappeared from those of Spain. India is the proper home of that superstition, from whence, by the transmigration of na- tions, or by other circumstances, it was conveyed, at an early period, to more westerly regions, where it subsequently fell into total discredit. At present no trace of it is found in the West, except amongst the Gypsies, whose arri- val dates from a very modern period.
This attachment of the Gypsy race to metempsychosis, or even their re- membrance of it, is one of the distinguishing marks of their Indian extrac- tion. It pertains as much to India, as do their complexions, and the broken jargon which they speak: it connects them with Buddh and Brahma. The wild dream of spiritual wandering through millions of ages, even through calaps, when the world itself goes to wreck, till, by enormous penance and mortification, the state is attained where there is no pain, no birth, and no death, forms an essential part of the two great religious systems of India. It is with the view of affording the reader some idea of what the original re- ligion of the Gypsies may possibly have been, that we lay before him a synopsis of Buddhism, contained in a brief but singularly comprehensive hymn to Buddh, or, as he is called by the Tartars, the Great Foutsa, who seems to have been the father of religious imposture, and whose system was subsequently modified by Brahma for the worse.
The Gypsies know not Buddh by name, but they unconsciously acknow- ledge him when they declare, as they have been known to do, that it is use- less to execute them as they cannot die; for such doctrine is his own, and from him it sprang. In the following hymn the transmigration of souls is distinctly alluded to: the human or dragon spirit, bereft of kindred, solitary and desolate, may discover the spot where its parents and kindred have been born again, and rejoin them by paying reverence to Buddh — as individual Gypsies have said, that however the souls of their race may go a- wandering they are sure to rejoin each other at last. This hymn is chanted in their respective languages by Buddhists of most lands, by the Chinese and Cinga- lese, by the Mongolians, and by the present lords of China, the Mandchou Tartars, and it is from the Mandchou that the present version has been made.
k2 105
POEM
RELATING TO THE WORSHIP OF THE GREAT FOUTSA OR BUDDH.
Should I Foutsa's force and glory,
Earth's protector, all unfold, Through more years would last my story,
Than has Ganges' sands of gold. Him the fitting reverence showing,
For a moment's period, brings Ceaseless blessing, overflowing,
Unto all created things. If from race of man descended,
Or from dragon's kingly line, Thou dost dread, when life is ended,
Deep in sin to sink and pine — If thou seek great Foutsa ever,
With a heart devoid of guile, He the mists of sin shall sever,
All before thee bright shall smile. Whosoe'er his parents losing,
From his earliest infancy, Cannot guess, with all his musing,
Where their spirits now may be ; He who sister dear nor brother,
Since the sun upon him shone, And of kindred all the other
Shoots and branches ne'er has known — If of Foutsa Grand the figure
He shall shape and colour o'er, Gaze upon it rapt and eager,
And with fitting rites adore, And through twenty days shall utter
The dread name with reverent fear, Foutsa huge of form shall flutter
Round about him and appear, And to him the spot discover
Where his kindred breathe again, And though evils whelm them over,
Straight release them from their pain, If that man, unchang'd still keeping,
From backsliding shall refrain, \ lie, by Foutsa touch'd when sleeping,
Shall Biwangarit's title gain. If to Bouddi's elevation
He would win, and from the three Confines dark of tribulation
Soar to light and liberty; When a heart with kindness glowing
He within him shall descry, To Grand Foutsa's image going,
Let him gaze attentively; Soon his every wish acquiring
He shall triumph glad and fain And the shades of sin retiring
Never more his soul restrain. Whosoever bent on speeding
To that distant shore, the home 106
Of the wise, shall take to reading
The all-wondrous Soudra* tome; If that study deep beginning
No fit preparation made, Scanty shall he find his winning,
Straight forgetting what he's read ; Whilst he in the dark subjection
Shall of shadowing sin remain, Soudra's page of full perfection
How shall he in mind retain ? Unto him the earth who blesses,
Unto Foutsa, therefore he Drink and incense, food and dresses
Should up-offer plenteously; And the fountain's limpid liquor
Pour Grand Foutsa's face before, Drain himself a cooling beaker
When a day and night are o'er; Tune his heart to high devotion ;
The five evil things eschew, Lust and flesh and vinous potion,
And the words which are not true ; Living thing abstain from killing
For full twenty days and one ; And meanwhile with accents thrilling
Mighty Foutsa call upon — Then of infinite dimension
Foutsa's form in dreams he'll see, And if he with fix'd attention,
When his sleep dissolv'd shall be, Shall but list to Soudra's volume,
He, through thousand ages flight, Shall of Soudra's doctrine solemn
Ne'er forget one portion slight ; Yes, a soul so richly gifted
Every child of man can find, If to mighty Foutsa lifted
He but keep his heart and mind. He who views his cattle falling
Unto fierce disease a prey Hears his kindred f round him brawling,
Never ceasing night nor day, Who can find no rest in slumber
From excess of grief and pain, And whose prayers, in countless number
Though they rise, are breathed in vain — To earth favouring Foutsa's figure
If but reverence he shall pay,
* The Sacred Codex of the Buddhists, which contains the canons of their religion.
f Literally, in whose house bones are breaking and cuts occurring MntamoUy. In the metaphorical language of the Chinese and Tartars, who profess the Buddhic re- ligion, the flesh and bone of a man stand for his kin- dred.
THE PRAISE OF BUDDH.
107
Dire misfortune's dreadful rigour
Flits for ever and for aye : No domestic broils distress him,
And of nought he knows the want ; Cattle, corn, and riches bless him,
Which the favouring demons grant. Those, who sombre forests threading,
Those, who sailing ocean's plain, Fain would wend their way undreading
Evil poisons, beasts, and men, Evil spirits, demons, javals,
And the force of evil winds, And each ill, which he who travels
In his course so frequent finds, — Let them only take their station
'Fore the form of Foutsa Grand, On it gaze with adoration,
Sacrifice with reverent hand, And within the forest gloomy,
On the mountain or the vale, On the ocean wide and roomy,
Them no evil shall assail. Thou, who every secret knowest
Foutsa, hear my heartfelt pray'r; Thou who earth such favour showest,
How shall I thy praise declare? If with cataract's voice the story
I through million calaps roar, Yet of Foutsa's force and glory
I may not the sum outpour. Whosoe'er the title learning
Of the earth's protector high, Shall whene'er his form discerning,
On it gaze with steadfast eye, And at times shall offer dresses,
Offer fitting drink and food, He ten thousand joys possesses,
And escapes each trouble rude ; Whoso into deed shall carry
Of the law each precept, he Through all time alive shall tarry,
And from birth and death be free . Foutsa, thou, who best of any
Know'st the truth of what I've told, Spread the tale through regions many
As the Ganges' sands of gold.
ON THE
LANGUAGE OF THE GITANOS.
"I am not very willing that any language should be totally extinguished; the similitude and derivation of lan- guages afford the most indubitable proof of the traduction of nations, and the genealogy of mankind: they add often physical certainty to historical evidence of ancient migrations, and of the revolutions of ages which left no written monuments behind them."— Johnson.
The speech of the Gitanos, as it at present exists in Spain, though scarcely entitled to the appellation of a language, was, neverthe- less, at one period, the same which the first wanderers of the Romanian sect brought with them into Europe from the remote regions of the East. It may now be termed with more propriety the ruins of a language than the language itself, enabling, however, in its ac- tual state, the Gitanos to hold conversations amongst themselves, the import of which is quite dark and mysterious to those who are not of their race, or by some means have be- come acquainted with their vocabulary. The relics of this tongue, singularly curious in themselves, must be ever particularly inte- resting to the philological antiquarian, inas- much as they enable him to arrive at a satis- factory conclusion respecting the origin of the Gypsy race. During the latter part of the last century, the curiosity of some learned individuals, particularly Grellman, Richard- son, and Marsden, induced them to collect many words of the Romanian language, as spoken in Germany, Hungary, and England, which, upon analyzing, they discovered to be in general either pure Sanscrit or Hindus- tani words, or modifications thereof; these investigations have been continued to the present time by men of equal curiosity and no less erudition, the result of which has been the establishment of the fact that the Gypsies of those countries are the descend- ants of a tribe of Hindus, who, for some par- ticular reason, had abandoned their native country. In England, of late, the Gypsies have excited particular attention ; but a de- sire far more noble and laudable than mere antiquarian curiosity has given rise to it, namely, the desire of propagating the glory of Christ amongst those who know him not, and of saving souls from the jaws of the in- fernal wolf. It is, however, with the Gyp- sies of Spain, and not with those of England and other countries, that we are now occu- pied, and we shall merely mention the latter so far as they may serve to elucidate the case of the Gitanos, their brethren by blood and language. Spain for many centuries has been the country of error; she has mistaken stern 108
and savage tyranny for rational government; base, low, and grovelling superstition for clear, bright, and soul-ennobling religion; sordid cheating she has considered as the path to riches; vexatious persecution as the path to power; and the consequence has been that she is now poor and powerless, a pagan amongst the pagans, with a dozen kings, and with none. Can we be surprised, therefore, that, mistaken in policy, religion, and moral conduct, she should have fallen into an error on points so naturally dark and mysterious as the history and origin of those remarkable people, whom for the last four hundred years she has supported under the name of Gitanos? The idea entertained at the present day in Spain respecting this race is, that they are the descendants of the Mo- riscos who remained in Spain, wandering about amongst the mountains and wilder- nesses, after the expulsion of the great body of the nation from the country in the time of Philip the Third, and that they form a dis- tinct body, entirely unconnected with the wandering tribes known in other countries by the names of Bohemians, Gypsies, &c. This, like all unfounded opinions, of course originated in ignorance, which is always ready to have recourse to conjecture and guess-work, in preference to travelling through the long, mountainous, and stony road of patient investigation ; it is, however, an error far more absurd and more destitute of tenable grounds than the ancietit belief that the Gitanos were Egyptians, which they themselves have always professed to be, and which the original written documents which they brought with them on their first arrival in western Europe, and which bore the sig- nature of the king of Bohemia, expressly stated them to be. The only clue to arrive at any certainty respecting their origin, is the language which they still speak amongst themselves ; but before we can avail ourselves of the evidence of this language, it will be necessary to make a few remarks respecting the principal languages and dialects of that immense tract of country, peopled by at least eighty millions of humt>n beings, generally known by the name of Hindustan, two Per-
THE LANGUAGE OF THE GITANOS.
109
sian words tantamount to the land of Ind, or, the land watered by the river Indus.
The most celebrated of these languages is the Samskrida, or, as it is known in Europe, the Sanscrit, which is the language of reli- gion of all those nations, amongst whom the faith of Brahma has been adopted ; but though the language of religion, by which we mean the tongue in which the religious books of the Brahmanic sect were originally written and are still preserved, it has long since ceased to be a spoken language; indeed, history is silent as to any period when it was a language in common use amongst any of the various tribes of the Hindus ; its know- ledge, as far as reading and writing it went, having been entirely confined to the priests of Brahma, or Brahmans, until within the last half century, when the British, having subjugated the whole of Hindustan, caused it to be openly taught in the colleges which they established for the instruction of their youth in the languages of the country. Though sufficiently difficult to acquire, prin- tffially on account of its prodigious richness BRpynonymes, it is no longer a sealed lan- guage, its laws, structure, and vocabulary being sufficiently well known by means of numerous elementary works, adapted to faci- litate its study. It has been considered by several famous philologists as the mother not only of all the languages of Asia, but of all others in the world. So wild and prepos- terous an idea, however, only serves to prove that a devotion to philology, whose principal object should be the expansion of the mind by the various treasures of learning and wis- dom which it can unlock, sometimes only tends to its bewilderment, by causing it to embrace shadows for reality. The most that can be allowed, in reason, to the Sanscrit, is that it is the mother of a certain class or fa- mily of languages, for example, those spoken in Hindustan, with which most of the Euro- pean, whether of the Sclavonian, Gothic, or Celtic stock, have some connexion. True it is that in this case we know not how to dis- pose of the ancient Zend, the mother of the modern Persian, the language in which were written those writings generally attributed to Zerduscht, or Zoroaster, whose affinity to the said tongues is as easily established as that of the Sanscrit, and which, in respect to antiquity, may well dispute the palm with its Indian rival. Avoiding, however, the discus- sion of this point, we shall content ourselves with observing, that closely connected with the Sanscrit, if not derived from it, are the Bengali, the high Hindustani, or grand po- pular language of Hindustan, generally used by the learned in their intercourse and writings, the languages of Multan, Guzerat, and other provinces, without mentioning the mixed dialect called Mongolian Hindustani, a corrupt jargon of Persian, Turkish, Arabic, and Hindu words, first used by the Mongols, after the conquest, in their intercourse with the natives. Many of the principal languages of Asia are totally unconnected with the San- 15
scrit, both in words and grammatical struc- ture; these are mostly of the great Tartar family, at the head of which there is good reason for placing the Chinese and Tibetian.
Bearing the same analogy to the Sanscrit tongue, as the Indian dialects specified above, we find the Rommany, or speech of the Roma, or Zincali, as they style themselves, known in England and Spain as Gypsies and Gita- nos. This speech, wherever it is spoken, is, in all principal points, one and the same, though more or less corrupted by foreign words, picked up in the various countries to which those who use it have penetrated. One remarkable feature must not be passed over without notice, namely, the very consi- derable number of pure Sclavonic, or Rus- sian words, which are to be found imbedded within it, whether it be spoken in Spain or Germany, in England or Italy; from which circumstance we are led to the conclusion, that these people, in their way from the East, travelled in one large compact body, and that their route lay through the steppes of Rus- sia, where they probably tarried for a consi- derable period, as nomade herdsmen, and where numbers of them are still to be found at the present day. Besides the many Scla- vonian words in the Gypsy tongue, another curious feature attracts the attention of the philologist— an equal or still greater quantity of terms from the modern Greek ; indeed, we have full warranty for assuming that *t one period the Gypsy nation, or at least the Spa- nish branch thereof, understood the Greek language well, and that, besides their own Indian dialect, they occasionally used it in Spain for considerably upwards of a century subsequent to their arrival, as amongst them there were individuals to whom it was intel- ligible so late as the year 1540.
Where this knowledge was obtained it is difficult to say, perhaps in Bulgaria; that they did understand the Romaic in 1540, we gather from a very remarkable work called "El Estudioso Cortesa.no," written by Lo- renzo Palmireno; this learned and highly extraordinary individual was by birth a Va- lencian, and died, we believe, about 1580; he was professor at various universities — of rhetoric at Valencia, of Greek at Zaragossa, where he gave lectures, in which he explained the verses of Homer; he was a proficient in Greek, ancient and modern, and it should be observed that, in the passage which we are about to cite, he means himself by the learned individual who held conversation with the Gitanos. El Estudioso Cortesano was re- printed at Alcala in 1587, from which edition we now copy.
" Who are the Gitanos ? I answer ; these vile people first began to show themselves in Germany, in the year 1417, where they call them Tartars or Gentiles; in Italy they are termed Ciani. They pretend that they came from Lower Egypt, and that they wander about as a penance, and to prove this they show letters from the king of Poland. Thev lie, however, for they do not lead the life of
110
THE ZIXCALI.
penitents, but of dogs and thieves. A learned | person, in the year 1540, prevailed with! them, by dint of much persuasion, to show ! him the king's letter, and he gathered from it that the time of their penance was already expired ; he spoke to them in the Egyptian tongue ; they said, however, that as it was a long time since their departure from Egypt, they did not understand it; he then spoke to them in the vulgar Greek, such as is used at present in the Morea and Archipelago; some understood it, others did not ; so that as all did not understand it, we may conclude that the language which they use is a feigned one,* got up bythieves for the purpose of concealing their robberies, like the jargon of blind beggars.''
Still more abundant, however, than the mixture of Greek, still more abundant than the mixture of Sclavonian, is the alloy in the Gypsy language wherever spoken, of modern Persian words, which circumstance will com- pel us to offer a few remarks on the share which the Persian has had in the formation of the dialects of India, as at present spoken.
The modern Persian, as has been already observed, is a daughter of the ancient Zend, and, as such, is entitled to claim affinity with the Sanscrit, and its dialects. With this language none in the world would be able to vie in simplicity and beauty, had not the Persians, in adopting the religion of Ma- homet, unfortunately introduced into their speech an infinity of words of the rude coarse language used by the barbaric Arab tribes, the immediate followers of the warlike Pro- phet. With the rise of Islam the modern Persian was doomed to be carried into India. This country, from the time of Alexander, had enjoyed repose from external aggression, had been ruled by its native princss, and been permitted by Providence to exercise, without control or reproof, the degrading superstitions, and the unnatural and bloody rites of a religion, at the formation of which the fiends of cruelty and lust seem to have presided ; but reckoning was now about to be demanded of the accursed ministers of this system for the pain, torture, and misery, which they had been instrumental in inflict- ing on their countrymen for the gratification of their avarice, filthy passions, and pride ; the new Mahometans were at hand — Arab, Persian, and Afghan, with the glittering scimitar upraised, full of zeal for the glory and adoration of the one high God, and the relentless persecutors of the idol-worshippers. Already, in the 426th year of the Hageira, we read of the destruction of the great Butkhan, or image-house of Sumnaut, by the armies of the far-conquering Mahmoud, when the dissevered heads of the Brahmans rolled down the steps of the gigantic and Babel- like temple of the great image —
* A very unfair inference; thnt some of the Gypsies did not understand the author when lie spoke Romaic, whs no proof that their own private language \va.i ;i feigned one, invented for thievish purposes.
It is not our intention to follow the conquests of the Mahometans from the days of Walid and Mahmoud to those of Timour and Na- dir; sufficient to observe, that the greatest part of India was subdued, new monarchies established, and the old religion, though far too powerful and widely spread to be extir- pated, to a considerable extent abashed and humbled before the bright rising sun of Islam. The Persian language, which the conquerors* of whatever denomination intro- duced with them to Hindustan, and which their descendants at the present day still re- tain, though not lords of the ascendant, speedily became widely extended in these regions, where it had previously been un- known. As the language of the court, it was of course studied and acquired by all those natives whose wealth, rank, and influence necessarily brought them into connexion with the ruling powers, and as the language of the camp, it was carried into every part of the country where the duties of the soldiery sooner or later conducted them ; the result of which relations between the conquerors and conquered, was the adoption into the popular dialects of India of an infinity of modern Persian words, not merely those of science, such as it exists in the East, and of luxury and refinement, but even those which serve to express many of the most common objects, necessities, and ideas, so that at the present day a knowledge of the Persian is essential for the thorough understanding of the principal dialects of Hindustan, on which account, as well as for the assistance which it affords in communication with the Maho- metans, it is cultivated with peculiar care by the present possessors of the land.
No surprise, therefore, can be entertained, that the speech of the Gitanos in general, who, in all probability departed from Hindus- tan long subsequent to the first Mahometan invasions, abounds, like other Indian dialects, with words either purely Persian, or slightly modified to accommodate them to the genius of the language. Whether the Rom many originally constituted part of the natives of Multan or Guzerat, and abandoned their na- tive land to escape from the torch and sword of Tamerlane and his Mongols, as Grellman and others have supposed, or whether, as is much more probable, they were a thievish caste, like some others still to be found in Hindustan, who fled westward, either from the vengeance of justice, or in pursuit of plunder, their speaking Persian is alike satis- factorily accounted for. With the view of exhibiting how closely their language is con- nected with the Sanscrit and Persian, we subjoin the first ten numerals in the three tongues, those of the Gypsy according to the
* Of all these, the most terrible, and whose sway en- dured for the longOBl period, were the Mongols, as they were called: few, however, of his original Mongolian warriors followed Timour in the invasion of India. His armies latterly appear to have consisted chiefly of Turco- mans and Persians It was to obtain popularity amonjjst these soldiery that he abandoned the old relision of the steppea, a kind of leash, or sorcery, and became a Ma- hometan.
THE LANGUAGE OF THE GITANOS.
Ill
Hungarian dialect, as quoted in the Mithri. dates of Adelung, vol. i. page 246.
Gypsy. |
Persian. |
Sanscrit. |
|
1 |
Jek |
Ek |
Ega |
2 |
Dui |
Du |
Dvaya |
3 |
Trin |
Se |
Treya |
4 |
Schtar |
Chehar |
Tschatvar |
5 |
Pansch |
Pansch |
Pantscha |
6 |
Tschov |
Schesche |
Schasda |
7 |
Efta |
Heft |
Sapta |
8 |
Ochto |
Hescht |
Aschta |
9 |
Enija |
Nu |
Nava |
10 |
Dosch |
De |
Dascha |
It would be easy for us to adduce a thou- sand instances, as striking as the above, of the affinity of the Gypsy tongue to the Per- sian Sanscrit and the Indian dialects, but we have not space for farther observation on a point which long since has been sufficiently discussed by others endowed with abler pens than our own ; but having made these pre- liminary remarks, which we deemed neces- sary for the elucidation of the subject, we now hasten to speak of the Gitano language as used in Spain, and to determine, by its evi- dence, (and we again repeat, that the lan- guage is the only criterion by which the ques- tion can be determined,) how far the Gitanos of Spain are entitled to claim connexion with the tribes, who, under the names of Zigani, &c, are to be found in various parts of Eu- rope, following, in general, a life of wander- ing adventure, and practising the same kind of thievish arts which enable those in Spain to obtain a livelihood at the expense of the more honest and industrious of the commu- nity.
The Gitanos of Spain, as already stated, are generally believed to be the descendants of the Moriscos, and have been asserted to be such in printed books.* Now they are
* For example, in the Historiade los Gitanos, of which we have had occasion to speak in the first part of the present work: amongst other things the author says, p. 95, "If there exist any similitude of customs between the Gitanos and the Gypsies, the Zigeuners, the Zingari, and the Bohemians, they (the Gitanos) cannot, however, be confounded with these nomade castes, nor the same
origin be attributed to them All that we shall find
jn common between these people will be, that the one, (the Gypsies, &c.,) arrived fugitives from the heart of Asia by the steppes of Tartary, at the beginning of the fifteenth century, whilst the Gitanos, descended from the Arab or Morisco tribes, came from the coast of Africa as conquerors at the beginning of the eighth."
He gets rid of any evidence with respect to the origin of the Gitanos which their language might be capable of affording, in the following summary manner: " As to the particular jargon which they use, any investigation which people might pretend to make would be quite useless; in the first place, on account oi the reserve which they ex- hibit on this point, and secondly, because, in the event of some being found sufficiently communicative, the in- formation which they could impart would lead to no advantageous result, owing to their extreme igno- rance."
It is scarcely worth while to offera remark on reason- ing which could only emanate from an understanding of the very lowest order,— so the Gitanos are so extremely ignorant, that however frank they might wish to be, they would be unable to tell the curious inquirer the names for bread and water, meat and salt, in their own peculiar tongue— for, assuredly, had they sense enough to afford that slight quantum of information, it would lead to two very advantageous results, by proving, first, that they spoke the same language as the Gypsies, &c, hnd were consequently .he same people— and secondly,
known to speak a language or jargon amongst themselves, which the other natives of Spain do not understand; of course, then, sup- posing them to be of Morisco origin, the words of this tongue or jargon, which are not Spanish, are the relics of the Arabic or Moorish Tongue once spoken in Spain, which they have inherited from their Moorish an- cestors. Now it is well known, that the Moorish of Spain was the same tongue as that spoken at present by the Moors of Bar- bary, from which country Spain was invaded by the Arabs, and to which they again retired when unable to maintain theirground against the armies of the Christians. We will there- fore collate the numerals of the Spanish Gi- tano with those of the Moorish tongue, pre- ceding both with those of the Hungarian Gypsy, of which we have already made use, for the purpose of making clear the affinity of that language to the Sanscrit and Persian. By this collation we shall at once perceive whether the Gitano of Spain bears most re- semblance to the Arabic, or the Rommany of other lands.
Hungarian |
Spanish |
Moorish |
|
Gypsy. |
Gitano. |
Arabic. |
|
1 |
Jek |
Yeque |
Wahud |
2 |
Dui |
Dui |
Snain |
3 |
Trin |
Trin |
Slatza |
4 |
Schtar |
Estar |
Arba |
5 |
Pansch |
Pansche |
Khamsa |
6 |
Tschov |
Job. Zoi. |
Seta |
7 |
Efta |
Hefta |
Sebea |
8 |
Ochto |
Otor |
Sminia |
9 |
Enija |
Esnia. (Nu |
. Pers.) Tussa |
10 |
Dosch |
Deque |
Aschra |
We believe the above specimens will go very far to change the opinion of those who have imbibed the idea that the Gitanos of Spain are the descendants of Moors, and are of an origin different from that of the wan- dering tribes of Rommany in other parts of the world, the specimens of the two dialects of the Gypsy, as far as they go, being so strikingly similar, as to leave no doubt of their original identity, whilst, on the con- trary, with the Moorish, neither the one nor the other exhibit the slightest point of simi- larity or connexion. But with these speci- mens we shall not content ourselves, but pro- ceed to give the names of the most common things and objects in the Hungarian and Spa- nish Gitana, collaterally, with their equiva- lents in the Moorish Arabic ; from which it will appear that whilst the former are one and the same language, they are in every re- spect at variance with the latter. When we consider that the Persian has adopted so many words and phrases from the Arabic, we are at first disposed to wonder that a considerable portion of these words are not to be disco- vered in every dialect of the Gypsy tongue, since the Persian has lent it so much of its vocabulary. Yet such is by no means the
that they came not from the coast of Northern Africa, where only Arabic and Shilhah are spoken, but from the heart of Asia, three words of the four being pure Sanscrit.
112
THE ZINCALI.
case, as it is very uncommon, in any one of these dialects, to discover words derived from the Arabic. Perhaps, however, the follow- lowing consideration will help to solve this point. The Gitanos, even before they left India, were probably much the same rude, thievish, and ignorant people, as they are at the present day. Now the words adopted by the Persian from the Arabic, and which it subsequently introduced into the dialects Oi India, are sounds representing objects and ideas with which such a people as the Gitanos could necessarily be but scantily acquainted, a people whose circle of ideas only embraces physical objects, and who never communed with their own minds, nor exerted them, but, in devising low and vulgar schemes of pillage and deceit. Whatever is visible and common is seldom or never represented by the Per- sians, even in their books, by the help of Arabic words : the sun and stars, the sea and river, the earth, its trees, its fruits, its flowers and all that it produces and supports, are seldom named by them by other terms than those which their own language is capable of affording; but in expressing the abstract thoughts of their minds, and they are a peo. pie who think much and well, they borrow largely from the language of their religion — the Arabic. We therefore, perhaps, ought not to be surprised, that in the scanty phra- seology of the Gitanos, amongst so much Persian, we find so little that is Arabic ; had their pursuits been less vile, their desires less animal, and their thoughts less circumscribed, it would probably have been otherwise ; but from time immemorial they have shown them- selves a nation of petty thieves, horse traf- fickers and the like, without a thought of the morrow, being content to provide against the evil of the passing day.
The following is a comparison of words in the three languages.
Name
Night
Nose
Old
Red
Salt
Sing
Sun
Thief
Thou
Tongue
Tooth
Tree
Water
Wind
Hungarian Gypsy.
Nao
Rat
Nakh
Puro
Lai
Lon
Spanish Gitano.
Nao
Rachi
Naqui
Puro
Lalo
Lon
Gjuwawa Gilyabar Can Choro Tucue Chipe Dani Caste Pani Barban
Cam
Tschor
Tu
Tschib
Dant
Karscht
Pani
Barbar
Moorish Arabic.
Ism
Lila
Munghar
Shaive
Hamr
Mela
Iganni
Schems
Haram
Antsi
Lsan
Sinn
Schizara
Ma
Ruhk
Hungarian Gypsy. |
Spanish Gitano. |
Moorish Arabic. |
|
Bone |
Cokalos |
Cocal |
Adorn |
City |
Forjus |
For os |
Beled |
Day |
Dives |
Chibes |
Youm |
Drink (to) Ear |
Piava Kan |
Piyar Can |
Yeschr Oothin |
Eye Feather |
Jakh Por |
Aquia Porumia |
Ein Risch |
Fire Fish |
Vag Maczo |
Yaque Macho |
Afia Hutz |
Foot |
Pir |
Piro, pindro Rjil |
|
Gold |
Sonkai |
Sonacai |
Dahab |
Great |
Baro |
Baro |
Quibir |
Hair |
Bala |
Bal |
Schar |
He, pron. |
Wow |
O |
Hu |
Head |
Tschero |
Jero |
Ras |
House |
Ker |
Quer |
Dar |
Husband |
Rom |
Ron |
Zooje |
Lightning |
Molnija |
Maluno |
Brak |
Love (to) |
Camaba |
Cumelar |
Yehib |
Man |
Manusch |
Manu |
Rajil |
Milk |
Tud |
Chuti |
Helib |
Mountain |
Bar |
Bur |
Djibil |
Mouth |
Mui |
Mui |
Finn |
We shall offer no farther observations re- specting the affinity of the Spanish Gitano to the other dialects, as we conceive we have already afforded sufficient proof of its origi- nal identity with them, and consequently shaken to the ground the absurd opinion that the Gitanos of Spain are the descendants of the Arabs and Moriscos. We shall now con- clude with a few remarks on the present state of the Gitano language in Spain, where, per- haps, within the course of a few years, it will have perished, without leaving a vestige of its having once existed ; and where, perhaps, the singular people who speak it are likewise doomed to disappear, becoming sooner or later engulfed and absorbed in the great body of the nation, amongst whom they have so long existed a separate and peculiar class.
Though the words or a part of the words of the original tongue still remain, preserved by memory amongst the Gitanos, its gram- matical peculiarities have disappeared, the entire language having been modified and subjected to the rules of Spanish grammar, with which it now coincides in Syntax, in the conjugation of verbs, and in the declen- sion of its nouns. Were it possible or ne- cessary to collect all the relics of this speech, they would probably amount to four or five thousand words; but to effect such an achieve- ment, it would be necessary to hold close and long intercourse with almost every Gitano in Spain, and to extract from them, by various means, the information which they might be individually capable of affording ; for it is ne- cessary to state here, that though such an amount of words may still exist amongst the Gitanos in general, no single individual of their sect is in possession of one third part thereof, and indeed we may add, those of no single city or province of Spain ; neverthe- less all are in possession, more or less, of the language, so that, though of different pro- vinces, they are ennbled to understand each other tolerably well, when discoursing in this their characteristic speech. Those who tra- vel most are of course best versed in it, as, independent of the words of their own vil- lage or town, they acquire others by inter- mingling with their race in various places. Perhaps there is no part of Spain where it is spoken better than in Madrid, which is
THE LANGUAGE OF THE GITANOS.
113
easily accounted for by the fact, that Madrid, as the capital, has always been the point of union of the Gitanos, from all those provinces of Spain where they are to be found. It is least of all preserved in Seville, notwith- standing that the Gitano population is very considerable, consisting, however, almost en- tirely of natives of the place. As may well be supposed, it is in all places best preserved amongst the old people, especially the fe- males, their children being comparatively ig- norant of it, as perhaps they themselves are in comparison with their own parents, which naturally leads us to the conclusion that the Gitano language of Spain is at the last stage of its existence, an idea which has been our main instigator to the present attempt to col- lect its scanty remains, and by the assistance of the press, rescue it in some degree from destruction. It will not be amiss to state here, that it is only by listening attentively to the speech of the Gitanos, whilst dis- coursing amongst themselves, that an ac- quaintance with their dialect can be formed, and by seizing upon all unknown words as they fall in succession from their lips. Nor thing can be more useless and hopeless than the attempt to obtain possession of their vo- cabulary by inquiring of them how particular
objects and ideas are styled in the same, for with the exception of the names of the most common things, they are totally incapable, as a Spanish writer has observed, of yielding the required information, owing to their great ignorance, the shortness of their memories, or rather the state of bewilderment to which their minds are brought by any question which tends to bring their reasoning facul- ties into action, though not unfrequently the very words which have been in vain required of them, will, a minute subsequently, proceed inadvertently from their mouths.
We now take leave of their language. When wishing to praise the proficiency of any individual in their tongue, they are in the habit of saying, "He understands the seven jargons." In the Gospel which we have printed in this language, and in the dic- tionary which we have compiled, we have endeavoured, to the utmost of our ability, to deserve that compliment ; and at all times it will afford us sincere and heartfelt pleasure to be informed that any Gitano, capable of appreciating the said little works, has ob- served, whilst reading them or hearing them read: It is clear that the writer of these books understood
The Seven Jargons.
K
ON
ROBBER LANGUAGE:
OR, AS IT IS CALLED IN SPAIN, GERMANIA.
" So I went with them to a music booth, where they made me almost drunk with gin, and began to talk their Flash Language, which I did not then understand." — Narrative of the exploits of Henry Simms, executed at Tyburn, 1746.
" Hablaronse los dos en Germania, de lo qual resulto darme un abraco, y ofrecerseme."— Qoevedo. Vida del gran Tacano.
Havtng in the preceding article endea- voured to afford all necessary information concerning1 the Rommany, or language used by the Gypsies amongst themselves, we now propose to turn our attention to a subject of no less interest, but which has hitherto never been treated in a manner calculated to lead to any satisfactory result or conclusion ; on the contrary, though philosophic minds have been engaged in its consideration, and learned pens have not disdained to occupy themselves with its details, it still remains a singular proof of the errors into which the most acute and laborious writers are apt to fall, when they take upon themselves the task of writing on matters which cannot be studied in the clo- set, and on which no information can be re- ceived by mixing in the society of the wise, the lettered, and the respectable, but which must be investigated in the fields, and on the borders of the highways, in prisons, and amongst the dregs of society. Had the lat- ter system been pursued in the matter now before us, much clearer, more rational, and more just ideas would long since have been entertained respecting the Germania, or lan- guage of thieves.
In most countries of Europe there exists, amongst those who obtain their existence by the breach of the law, and by preying upon the fruits of the labours of the quiet and or- derly portion of society, a particular jargon or dialect, in which the former discuss their schemes and plans of plunder, without being in general understood by those to whom they are obnoxious. The name of this jargon va- ries with the country in which it is spoken. In Spain it is called " Germania ;" in France, " Argot ;" in Germany, " Rothwelsch," or red Italian; in Italy, "Gorgo;" whilst in England it is known by many names, for example " cant, slang, thieves' Latin," &c. The most remarkable circumstance connect- ed with the history of this jargon is, that in all the countries in which it is spoken, it has invariably, by the authors who have treated 114
of it, and who are numerous, been confounded with the Gypsy language, and asserted to be the speech of those wanderers who have so long infested Europe under the name of Gi- tanos, &c. How far this belief is founded in justice we shall now endeavour to show, with the premise that whatever we advance is de- rived, not from the assertions or opinions of others, but from our own observation ; the point in question being one which no person is capable of solving, save him who has mixed with Gitanos [and thieves, not with the for- mer merely or the latter, but with both.
We have already stated what is the Rom- many or language of the Gypsies. We have proved that when properly spoken it is to all intents and purposes entitled to the appella- tion of a language, and that wherever it ex- ists it is virtually the same. That its origin is illustrious, it being a daughter of the San- scrit, and in consequence in close connexion with some of the most celebrated languages of the East, although it at present is only used by the most unfortunate and degraded of beings, wanderers without home and al- most without country, as wherever they are found they are considered in the light of fo- reigners and interlopers. We shall now state what the language of thieves is, as it is generally spoken in Europe; after which we shall proceed to analyze it according to the various countries in which it is used.
The dialect used for their own peculiar purposes amongst thieves, is by no means entitled to the appellation of a language, but in every sense to that of a jargon or gibber- ish, it being for the most part composed of words of the native language of those who use it, according to the particular country, though invariably in a meaning differing more or less from the usual and received one, and for the most part in a metaphorical sense. Metaphor and allegory, indeed, seem to form the nucleus of this speech, notwithstanding that other elements are to be distinguished; for it is certain that in every country where
ROBBER LANCUAGE.
115
it is spoken, it contains many words differing from the language of that country, and which may either be traced to foreign tongues, or are of an origin at which, in many instances, it is impossible to arrive. That which is most calculated to strike the philosophic mind when considering this dialect, is doubt- less the fact of its being formed every where upon the same principle — that of metaphor, in which point all the branches agree, though in others they differ as much from each other as the languages on which they are founded; for example, as the English and German, from the Spanish and Italian. This circum- stance naturally leads to the conclusion that the robber language has not arisen fortui- tously in the various countries where it is at present spoken, but that its origin is one and the same, it being probably invented by the outlaws of one particular country; by indivi- duals of which it was, in course of time, car- ried to others, where its principles, if not its words, were adopted ; for upon no other sup- position can we account for its general me- taphorical character in regions various and distant. It is, of course, impossible to state with certainty the country in which this jar- gon first arose, yet there is cogent reason for supposing that it may have been Italy. The Germans call it Rothwelsch, which signifies "Red Italian," a name which appears to point out Italy as its birth-place ; and which, though by no means of sufficient importance to determine the question, is strongly cor- roborative of the supposition, when coupled with the following fact. We have already intimated, that wherever it is spoken, this speech, though composed for the most part of words of the language of the particular country, applied in a metaphorical sense, ex- hibits a considerable sprinkling of foreign words; now of these words no slight number are Italian or bastard Latin, whether in Ger- many, whether in Spain, or in other coun- tries more or less remote from Italy. When we consider the ignorance of thieves in ge- neral, their total want of education, the slight knowledge which they possess even of their mother tongue, it is hardly reasonable to sup- pose that in any country they were ever ca- pable of having recourse to foreign languages, for the purpose of enriching any peculiar vo- cabulary or phraseology which they might deem convenient to use among themselves ; nevertheless, by associating with foreign thieves, either exiled from their native coun- try for their crimes, or from a hope of reap- ing a rich harvest of plunder in other lands, it would be easy for them to adopt a consi- derable number of words belonging to the languages used by their foreign associates, from whom at the same time they derived an increase of knowledge in thievish arts of every description. At the commencement of the fifteenth century no nation in Europe was at all calculated to vie with the Italian in arts of any kind, whether those whose tendency was the benefit or improvement of society, or those the practice of which serves
to injure and undermine it. The artists and artisans of Italy were to be found in all the countries of Europe, from Madrid to Mos- cow, and so were its charlatans, its jug- glers, and multitudes of its children, who lived by fraud and cunning. Therefore, when a comprehensive view of the subject is taken, there appears to be little improbability in supposing, that not only were the Italians the originators of the metaphorical robber jargon, which has been termed "Red Ita- lian," but that they were mainly instrumen- tal in causing it to be adopted by the thievish race in the less civilized countries of Europe. It is here, however, necessary to state, that in the robber jargon of Europe, elements of another language are to be discovered, and perhaps in greater number than the Ita- lian words. The language which we allude to is the Rommany; this language has been, in general, confounded with the vocabulary used among thieves, which, however, is a gross error, so gross, indeed, that it is almost impossible to conceive the manner in which it originated. The speech of the Gypsies being a genuine language of oriental origin, and the former little more than a phraseology of convenience, founded upon particular Eu- ropean tongues. It will be sufficient here to remark, that the Gypsies do not understand the jargon of the thieves, whilst the latter, with perhaps a few exceptions, are ignorant of the language of the former. Certain words, however, of the Rommany have found admission into the said jargon, which may be accounted for by the supposition that the Gypsies, being themselves by birth, educa- tion, and profession, thieves of the first water, have, on various occasions, formed alliances with the outlaws of the various countries in which they are at present to be found, which association may have produced the result above alluded to ; but it will be as well here to state, that in no country of Eu- rope have the Gypsies forsaken or forgotten their native tongue, and in its stead adopted the "Gerrnania," " Red Italian," or robber jargon, notwithstanding that they preserve their native language in a state of more or less purity. We are induced to make this statement from an assertion of the celebrated Lorenzo Hervas, who, in the 3d vol. of his " Catalogo de las lenguas," trat. 3. cap. vi. p. 311, expresses himself to the following effect: " The proper language of the Gitanos, neither is nor can be found amongst those who scattered themselves through the western kingdoms of Europe, but only amongst those who remained in the eastern, where they are still to be found. The former were notably divided and disunited, receiving into their body a great number of European outlaws, on which account the language in question was easily adulterated and soon perished. In Spain, and also in Italy, the Gitanos have totally forgotten and lost their native Ian. guage; yet still wishing to converse with each other in a language unknown to tho Spaniards and Italians, they have invented
116
THE ZINCALI.
some words, and have transformed many others by changing the signification which properly belongs to them in Spanish and Italian." In proof of which assertion he then exhibits a small number of the words of the " Red Italian," or allegorical tongue of the thieves of Italy.
It is much to be lamented that a man like Hervas, so learned, of such acknowledged, and upon the whole well-earned celebrity, should have helped to propagate three such flagrant errors as are contained in the passage above quoted. 1st. That the Gypsy language, within a very short period after the arrival of those who spoke it in the western kingdoms of Europe, became corrupted, and perished by the admission of outlaws into the Gypsy fraternity. 2dly. That the Gypsies, in or- der to supply the loss of their native tongue, invented some words, and modified others, from the Spanish and Italian. 3dly. That the Gypsies of the present day in Spain and Italy speak the allegorical robber dialect. Concerning the first assertion, namely, that the Gypsies of the west lost their language shortly after their arrival, by mixing with the outlaws of those parts, we believe that its erroneousness will be sufficiently established by the publication of the present volume, which contains a dictionary of the Spanish Gitano, which we have proved to be the same language in most points as that spoken by the eastern tribes.
There can be no doubt that the Gypsies have at various times formed alliances with the robbers of particular countries, but that they ever received them in considerable num- bers into their fraternity, as Hervas has stated, so as to become confounded with them, the evidence of our eye-sight precludes the pos- sibility of believing. If such were the fact, why do the Italian and Spanish Gypsies of the present day still present themselves as a distinct race, differing from the other inhabi- tants of the west of Europe in feature, co- lour, and constitution 1 Why are they in whatever situation and under whatever cir- cumstances, to be distinguisiied, like Jews, from the other children of the Creator? But the question involves an absurdity; and it is scarcely necessary to state that the Gypsies of Spain and Italy have kept themselves as much apart, or at least have as little mingled their blood with the Spaniards and Italians as their brethren in Hungaria and Transyl- vania with the inhabitants of those countries, on which account they still strikingly resem- ble them in manners, customs and appear- ance. The most extraordinary assertion of Hervas is perhaps his second, namely, that the Gypsies have invented particular words to supply the place of others which they had lost. The absurdity of this supposition nearly induces us to believe that Hervas, who has written so much and so laboriously on language, was totally ignorant of the phi- losophy of his subject. There can be no doubt, as we have before admitted, that in the robber jargon, whether spoken in Spain,
Italy, or England, there are many words at whose etymology it is very difficult to arrive; yet such a fact is no excuse for the adoption of the opinion that these words are of pure invention. A knowledge of the Rommany proves satisfactorily that many have been borrowed from that language, whilst many others may be traced to foreign tongues, es- pecially the Latin and Italian. Perhaps one of the strongest grounds for concluding that the origin of language was divine, is the fact that no instance can be adduced of the inven- tion, we will not say of a language, but even of a single word that is in use in society of any kind. Although new dialects are con- tinually being formed, it is only by a system of modification, by which roots almost coeval with time itself are continually being repro- duced under a fresh appearance, and under new circumstances. The third assertion of Hervas as to the Gitanos speaking the alle- gorical language of which he exhibits speci- mens, is entitled to about equal credence as the two former. The truth is, that the entire store of erudition of the learned Jesuit, and he doubtless was learned to a remarkable de- gree, was derived from books, either printed or manuscript. He was aware, from the then recent publication of Grellman, that the Gyp- sies of Germany and Hungaria spoke amongst themselves a language differing from the rest of the European ones, specimens of which he compared with various vocabularies, which have long been in existence, of the robber jargon of Spain and Italy; which jargon, by some unaccountable fatuity, has been con- sidered as belonging to the Gitanos, but he never gave himself the trouble to verify whe- ther this jargon was intelligible to the Gyp- sies of the respective countries ; had he done so, he would have found it about the same degree as unintelligible to them, as the words in the vocabulary of Grellman would have proved if quoted to thieves. With respect to the Gitanos of Spain, it will be sufficient to observe that they speak the language of the present volume, whilst the Gitanos of Italy, who are generally to be found existing in a half savage state in the various ruined castles, relics of the feudal times, with which Italy abounds, speak a dialect very similar, and about as much corrupted. There are, however, to be continually found in Italy roving bands of Rommany, not natives of the country, who make triennial excursions from Moldavia and Hungaria to France and Italy, for the purpose of plunder; and who, if they escape the hand of justice, return at the ex- piration of that period to their native regions, with the booty they have amassed by the practice of those thievish arts, perhaps at one period peculiar to their race, but at pre- sent, for the most part, known and practised by thieves in general. These bands, how- ever, speak the pure Gypsy language, with all its grammatical peculiarities. It is evi- dent, however, that amongst neither of these j classes had Hervas pushed his researches, ! which, had he done, it is probable that his
ROBBER LANGUAGE.
117
investigations would have resulted in a workl ing various conjectures respecting its origin; of a far'different character from the confused, its sound, cotipJed with its signification, at'-
unsatisfactory, and incorrect details of which is formed his essay on the language of the Gypsies.
Having said thus much concerning the rob- ber language in general, we shall now pro- ceed to offer some specimens of it, in order that our readers may be better able to under- stand its principles. We shall commence with the Italian dialect, which there is rea- son for supposing to be the prototype of the rest. For this purpose we avail ourselves of some of the words adduced by Heryas, as specimens of the language of the Gitanos of Italy. "I place them," he observes, "with the signification which the greater number properly have in Italian."
Arm
Belly Devil
Earth
Eye
Father
Fire
God
Hair
Head
Heart Man
Moon
Night Nose Sun
Tongue Water
Robber jargon of Italy.
Ale
Barbacane
Fagiana
Rabuino
Calcosa
Balco
Grimo
Presto
Anticrotto
Prusa* "Elmo I Borellaf .Chiurlat
SalsEi
Osm
Proper signification of the words.
Wings
Barbican
Pheasant
Perhaps Rab- bin, which, in Hebrew, is Master
Street, road
Balcony
Old, wrinkled
Quick
Probably An- tichrist
Helmet
Mocoloso di Sant' Alto
Brunamaterna
Gambaro
Ruffo di Sant' Alto ^ Serpentina \ Danosa 5 Lenza I Vetta$
Sauce
From the Ita- lian uomo, which is man Wick of the
firmament Mother-brown Crab Red one of the
firmament Serpent-like Hurtful Fishing-net Top, bud
The Germania of Spain may be said to di- vide itself into two dialects, the ancient and modern. Of .the former there exists a voca- bulary, published first by Juan Hidalgo, in the year 1609, at Barcelona, and reprinted in Madrid, 1773. Before noticing this work, it will perhaps be advisable to endeavour to as- certain the true etymology of the word Ger- mania, which signifies the slang vocabulary, or robber language of Spain. We have no intention to embarrass our readers by offer-
* Possibly from the Russian Eoloss, which has the same signification.
| Basque, Ilurua.
t Sanscrit, Schira.
$ These two words, which Hervas supposes to be Ita- lian used in an improper sense, are probably of quite ano- ther origin. Len, in Gitano signifies "river," whilst vadi In Russian is equivalent to water.
16
fording sufficient evidence that it is but a corruption of Rommany, which properly de- notes the speech of the Roma or Gitanos. The thieves who from time to time associ- ated with this wandering people, and ac- quired more or less of their language, doubt- less adopted this term amongst others, and, after modifying it, applied it to the peculiar phraseology which, in the course of time, be- came prevalent amongst them. The diction- ary of Hidalgo is appended to six ballads, or romances, by the same author, written in the Germanian dialect, in which he describes the robber life at Seville at the period in which he lived. All of these romances possess their peculiar merit, and will doubtless always be considered valuable, and be read, as faithful pictures of scenes and habits which now no longer exist. In the prologue, the author states that his principal motive for publish- ing a work written in so strange a language was, his observing the damage which result- ed from an ignorance of the Germania, espe- cially to the judges and ministers of justice, whose charge it is to cleanse the public from the pernicious gentry who use it. It will be necessary to observe here, that Hidalgo speaks of this language as the language of the thieves as it in reality is, but neither in his preface, nor in the romances themselves, utters one syllable which could lead his read- ers to conclude that it was used by the Gita- nos, concerning whom he is perfectly silent throughout his work. His editor, however, J of 1779, has fallen into that error, and, as an appendix to the work, has reprinted the dis- course of Doctor Sancho Moncada, Profes- sor of Theology at the University of Toledo, addressed to Philip the Third, concerning the expulsion of the Gitanos ; the consequence of which has been that, at the present day, the vocabulary of Hidalgo is generally con- sidered in Spain to consist of the genuine relics of the Gitano, and the romances in Germania to be written in the Rommany, or speech of the Gitanos. By far the greatest part of the vocabulary consists of Spanish words used allegorically, which are, howe- ver, intermingled with many others, most of which may be traced to the Latin and Ita- lian, others to the Sanscrit or Gitano, Rus- sian, Arabic, Turkish, Greek, and German languages.* This circumstance, which at first may strike the reader as singular, and almost incredible, will afford but slight sur- prise, when he takes into consideration the peculiar circumstances of Spain during the
^pai sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Spain was at that period the most powerful monar-
* It is not our intention to weary the reader with pro- lix specimens; nevertheless, in corroboration of what W 9 have asserted, we shall take the liberty of offering a tow. Piar, to drink, (p. 188,) is Sanscrit, piawa. llasilra, cal- lows, (p. 15*,) is Russian, bcnliti. CaraOlO, wine, and gurapo, galley, (p. ir>9-17(>,) Arabic, haram (whicb IKd. rally signifies that which Is forbidden) and rrab. rat, (p. 27&,] harlot, Turkish, kilt. Barton, bread, (p. 177,) Greek, arto.-. Gaido, good, and hurgnmandera. boriot, (p. 177-8,) German gut and Inirr. Tiple, wine, (p l'.'7,) is the same as I he EngJiflb « ord tij>;l( . G\ rw; . I
12
IIS
THE ZINC ALL
chy in Europe, her foot reposed upon the Low Countries, whilst her gigantic arms em- braced a considerable portion of Italy. Main- taining always a standing army in Flanders and in Italy, it followed, as a natural conse- quence, that her Miquelets and soldiers be- came tolerably conversant with the languages of those countries; and, in course of time, returning to their native land, not a few, es- pecially of the former class, a brave and in- trepid, but always a lawless and dissolute species of soldiery, either fell in or returned to evil society, and introduced words which they had learnt abroad into the robber phra- seology; whilst returned galley slaves, from Algiers, Tunis, and Tetuan, added to its motley variety of words from the relics of the broken Arabic and Turkish, which they had acquired during their captivity. The greatest part of the Germania, however, re- mained strictly metaphorical, and we are aware of no better means of conveying an idea of the principle on which it is formed, than by quoting from the first romance of Hidalgo, where particular mention is made of this jargon: —
66 A la cama llama Blanda Donde soman en poblado. A la Fresada Vellosa, Que mucho vello ha criado. Dice a la sabana Alba Porque es alba en sumo grade. A la eamisa Carona, Al jubon llama apretado; Dice al Sayo Tapador Porque le lleva tapado. Llama a los zapatos Duros, Clue las piedras van pisando. A la capa llama nuve, Dice al Sombrero Texado. Respeto llama a la Espada, due por ella es respetado. Al meson llama Sospecho Porque del Guro es mirado. Llama al Bodegon Registro, Do el dinero es registrado. A la Taberna Alegria, due alegra al mas enojado. A los reales Contento, Glue el oue los tiene es preciado."
Hidalgo, p. 21—3.
After these few remarks on the ancient Germania of Spain, we now proceed to the modern, which differs considerably from the former. The principal cause of this differ- ence is to be attributed to the adoption by the Spanish outlaws, in latter years, of a con- siderable number of words belonging to, or modified from, the Rommany, or language of the Gitanos. The Gitanos of Spain, during the last half century, having, in a great de- gree, abandoned the wandering habit of life which once constituted one of their most re- markable peculiarities, and residing, at pre- sent, more in the cities than in the fields, have come into closer contact with the great body of the Spanish nation than was in for- mer days their practice. From their living thus in towns, their language has not only undergone much corruption, but has become, to a slight degree, known to the dregs of society, amongst whom they reside. The .thieves' dialect of the present day exhibits, therefore, less of the allegorical language preserved in the pages of Hidalgo than of
the Gypsy tongue. It must be remarkeo, however, that it is very scanty, and that the whole robber phraseology at present used in Spain barely amounts to two hundred words, which are utterly insufficient to express the very limited ideas of the outcasts who avail themselves of it. As our readers may per- haps entertain some curiosity respecting this dialect, we subjoin a small vocabulary, com- piled in the prison of Madrid. In this voca- bulary, some of the allegorical words of Hi- dalgo will be observed, though the greater part consists of Gitano words modified and not unfrequently used in a wrong sense.
Abillar |
To have |
Agarabar |
To seize |
Alajai |
Friar |
Alares |
Pantaloons |
Aplacerarse |
To be |
Aquerar |
To say |
Arriar |
To send |
Baril |
Judge |
Barria |
Ounce of Gold |
Bastes |
Hands |
Bato, Bata |
Father, Mother |
Bero |
Galley |
Bola |
Street |
Burda |
Gate |
Calcos |
Shoes |
Camalinches |
Buttons |
Cargar |
To take |
Clais |
Eyes |
Coba |
Mouth |
Coba |
Talk, fun |
Colgandero |
Watch |
Culebra |
Girdle |
Cha |
Yes |
Chai |
Woman |
Charros |
Fetters |
Chima |
Head |
Chiscon |
Dungeon |
Chivei |
Village |
Chuli |
Knife |
Chulo |
Good |
Dinar |
To give |
Estabo |
Robbery |
Estaro |
Prison |
Estache |
Hat |
Falda |
Clothes, linen |
Fila |
Face |
Filipichi |
Jacket |
Filar |
To see |
Filotear |
To recognise |
Filoteo |
Recognition |
Gache |
Man |
Gao |
Madrid |
Gitana |
Twelve ounces of bread |
small pound |
|
Jardin |
Court of the prison |
Jaula |
Chapel |
Junar |
To learn |
Jundo |
Soldier |
Liban |
Ink |
Libanadora |
Pen |
Libanar |
To write |
Libano |
Notary public |
Lima |
Shirt |
Manro |
Bread |
ROEBER LANGUAGE.
119
Maque
In Spanish Cardjo, an oath
Monro An adult
Mosquete Dollar
Muy Tongue
Nacle Light
Nel No
Nibel God
Nube Cloak
Paloma Billet, note
Papiri Paper
Pel a Peseta
Pelusera Blanket
Peria Brandy
Pesquivar To like
Picudos Field Pease
Pili Cigar
Pifios Teeth
Pin res Feet,
Piano, plana Brother, sister Pusca Pistol
Quile Mentula
Recarii Window
Rumi Harlot
Safo Handkerchief
Sarto Serjeant
Tarpe Heaven.
Concerning the Germania of France* or "Argot," as it is called, it is unnecessary to make many observations, as what has been said of the language of Hidalgo and the Red Italian, is almost in every respect applicable to it.: As early as the middle of the sixteenth century, a vocabulary of this jargon was pub- lished under the title of " Langue des Es- crocs," at Paris. Those who wish to study it as it at present exists, can do no better than consult " Les Memoires de Vidocq," where a multitude of words in Argot are to be found, and also several songs, the subjects of which are thievish adventures.
The first vocabulary of the "Cant Lan- guage," or English Germania, appeared in the year 1680, appended to the life of "The English Rogue," a work which, in many re- spects, resembles the history of Guzman D'Al- farache, though it is written with considerably more genius than the Spanish novel, every chapter abounding with remarkable adven- tures of the robber whose life it pretends to narrate, and which are described with a kind of ferocious energy, which, if it do not charm the attention of the reader, at least enslaves it, holding it captive with a chain of iron. Amongst his other adventures, the hero falls in with a Gypsy encampment, is enrolled amongst the fraternity, and is allotted a " mort," or concubine; a barbarous festival ensues, at the conclusion of which an epi- thalamium is sung in the Gypsy language, as it is called in the work in question. Nei- ther the epithalamium, however, nor the vo- cabulary, are written in the language of the English Gypsies, but in the "Cant," or alle- gorical robber dialect, which is sufficient proof that the writer, however well acquainted with thieves in general, their customs and man- ners of life, was in respect to the Gypsies pro- foundly ignorant. His vocabulary, however
has been always accepted as the speech of the English Gypsies, whereas it is at most en- titled to be considered as the peculiar speech of the thieves and vagabonds of his time. The cant of the present day, which, though it differs in some respects from the vocabu- lary already mentioned, is radically the same, is used by the greatest part of those who live in open defiance of the law, or obtain their livelihood by means which morality cannot sanction ; it is used not only in the secret re- ceptacles of crime, but on the race-course, and in the "ring," where those tremendous beings, the pugilists of England, display their prowess and ferocity. It is, moreover, much cultivated by the young and debauched aris- tocracy of England, whose pride it is to con- verse with the pugilists of the ring, and the jockeys of the race-course, in their own vul- gar and disgusting jargon, resembling, in this point, the Grandees of Spain, who are not ashamed to receive into their palaces, and to feast at their tables, the ruffian Toreros of An- dalusia. As a specimen of the cant of Eng- land, we shall take the liberty of quoting the epithalamium to which we have above al- luded.
Bring out, bien morts, and tour and tour, Bring out, bien morts and tour; For all your duds are bing'd awast The bien cove hath the loure.
I met a dell, I view'd her well, She was benship to my watch; So she and I did stall and cloy. Whatever we could catch.
This doxy dell can cut ben whids, And wap well for a win, And prig and cloy so benshiply, All daisy-ville within.
The hoyle was up, we had good luck, In frost for and in snow; When they did seek, then we did creep And plant in roughman's low.
Which may be thus translated into Spanish.
Fuera: al camino: vos, las buenas muchachas; fu6ra; al cainitjo : para dar una vuelta ; pues que todas vuestras alhajas estan empeiiAdas, y el Tabernero tiene el dinero.
Me tope con una ino/.a y despues de considerarla con atencion parecio bien a mis ojos; compania Kcba, nos pusimos a trabajar, engnfiando, y robando todo lo que nos era posible.
Esta moza-ramera tiene el don del bienhablar, y sabe trocar sus jeneros, siginpre con la canancia de algun cuarto; sabe pillar y bribonear divinainentedentrodelos pueblecitos del campo.
Al fin conclniinos nutstro juego, despues de tener mucha suerte en el tiempo de la escarcha y de la nieve, principiando la justicia a buscamos, fuiinos a agazapar' nos en unas oscuras cucvjis de la tierra.
It is scarcely necessary to dilate farther upon the Germania in general or in particular ; we believe that we have achieved the task which we marked out for ourselves, and have conveyed to our readers a clear and distinct idea of what it is. We have shown that it has been erroneously confounded with the Rommany, or Gitano language, with which it has nevertheless some points of similarity. The two languages, are, at the present day, used for the same purpose, namelv, to enable habitual breakers of the law to carry on their consultations with more secresy and privacy than by the ordinary means. Yet, it must not be forgotten, that the thieves jargon was
120
THE ZINCALI.
invented for that purpose, whilst the Rom- 1 many, originally the proper and only speech ' of a particular nation, has been preserved j from falling into entire disuse and oblivion, i because adapted to answer the same end. It was impossible to treat of the Rommany in a manner calculated to exhaust the subject, and to leave no ground for future cavilling, with- out devoting a considerable space to the con- sideration of the other dialect, on which ac- j count we hope we shall be excused many of | the dry details which we have introduced into the present essay. There is a link of con- nexion between the history of the Roma, or wanderers from Hindustan, who first made their appearance in Europe at the commence- ment of the fifteenth century, and that of mo- dern roguery. Many of the arts which the Gypsies proudly call their own, and which were perhaps at one period peculiar to them, have become divulged, and are now practised by the thievish gentry who infest the various European states, a result which, we may as- sert with confidence, was brought about by the alliance of the Gypsies being eagerly Bought on their first arrival by the thieves, who, at one period, were less skilful than the former in the ways of deceit and plunder;
which kind of association continued and held good, until the thieves had acquired all they wished to learn, when both parties retired to their proper and most congenial orbits, the Gypsies to the fields and plains, so dear to them from the vagabond and nomade habits, which had become identified with their na- ture, and the thieves and vagabonds of Eu- ropean origin to the towns and cities. Yet from this temporary association were pro- duced two results ; European fraud became sharpened by coming into contact with Asiatic craft, whilst European tongues, by impercep- tible degrees, became recruited with various words, (some of them wonderfully expressive,) many of which have long been stumbling, stocks to the philologist, who, whilst stigma- tizing them as words of mere vulgar inven- tion, or of unknown origin, has been far from dreaming that a little more research or re- flection would have proved their affinity to the Sclavonic, Persian, or Romaic, or perhaps to the mysterious object of his veneration, the Sanscrit, the sacred tongue of the palm- covered regions of Ind ; words originally in- troduced into Europe by objects too miserable to occupy for a moment his lettered attention, — the despised denizens of the tents of Roma.
ADVERTISEMENT
TO THE
VOCABULARY.
The Gypsy words in this Collection are written according to the Spanisli orthography: and their pronunciation is the Spanish; the rules for which need not be laid down, the Spanish language being at present very extensively cul- tivated in Europe, and a knowledge of it considered as forming part of a li- beral education.
The words pointed out as derivatives, though tolerably numerous, are to be considered merely in the light of specimens of what may be accomplished. We are within compass, when stating, that there are hundreds of words in this Vocabulary which we could as easily have traced to the Sanscrit, Modern Greek, Sclavonian, &c. — and have forborne; it being our belief that the general scholar will peruse the following columns with increased interest, on perceiving that many roots have been left in the soil, which will not fail to reward his patient research.
To those who may feel inclined, in some instances, to call in question the correctness of our derivations, we wish to observe, that in order to form an opinion on this point, it is necessary to be well acquainted with the manner in which not only the Gitanos, but the lower orders of the Spaniards them- selves, are in the habit of changing and transposing letters. In some provinces, the liquids are used indifferently for each other — I for r, r for n and Z, y for 11, and vice versa. With respect to the Git&nos, they not only confuse the liquids, but frequently substitute the I for the d: for example, they have changed the Persian duriya, "the sea," into luriya; and in their word for "thunder," have afforded a curious instance how the change of a letter may render it diffi- cult to trace a word to its etymon: unacquainted with this habit of theirs, no one would venture to derive lurian, their term for "thunder," from the San- scrit; yet when spelt and pronounced durian, as it ought to be, the difficulty at once vanishes: durian being twin brother to the Celtic darian, which is clearly allied to the Danish torden, the German donner, the English thunder, which latter is but a slight modification of the Sanscrit indra. They likewise occasionally confound a liquid with a labial; saying, lombardo or bombardo indif- ferently, which word in their language signifies "a lion."
We shall offer no examples as to their manner of transposing letters; but content ourselves with observing, that nothing is more common than such transpositions. With all its faults, we recommend this Vocabulary to the Reader, assuring him that it contains the elements of the speech of a most ex- traordinary people, the Spanish Gypsies — a speech which, if this memento preserve it not, must speedily be lost, and consigned to entire oblivion — a speech which we have collected in its last stage of decay, at the expense of much labour and peril, during five years spent in unhappy Spain — Spain, which we have traversed in all directions, mindful of the proverb—
Chuquel sos pin'ila Cocal terda.
121
THE ZINCALI
VOCABULARY OF THEIR LANGUAGE.
Abatico, 5.7W. Father. Padre.
Vid. Batu. Abelar, v. a. To have, possess.
Tener. Sans, Ava.* Abertune, s. a. Foreigner, fo- reign. Forastero. Aberucar, v. n. To repent.
Arrepentirse. Abicholar, v.n. To appear. Pa-
recer. Abillelar, v. n. To come. Ve-
nir. Pers. Amdan. Hin. Ana. Abx'x, adv. Out, abroad. Fuera.
Pers. Badar. Sans. Vahira. Acaba, pron. dem. This. Este. Aca.ni,adv. Now. Ahora. Pers.
Acnun. Saris. Adhuna. Acarar, v. a. To call. Llamar. Acatan, adv. Hither. Aca. Achibes, adv. To-day. Hoy.
Hin. Ajhi. Achinelar, v. a. To cat. Cor-
tar. Achogornar, v. n. To assist.
Acudir. Acoi, adv. Here. A qui. Acores, 5. pi. Nuts. Nueces.
Mod. Gr. xaovSi. Ajojoy, s.m. A hare. Liebre. Ajoro, s. m. Friday. Viernes. Ajua, s. m. Halter. Cabestro. Alachar, v. n. To meet. En-
contrar. Alala, s.f. Joy, Alegria. Sans.
Ullasa. Alangari, s.f. Grief, sorrow.
Pesar. Alao, s. m. Word. Palabra. Alcarran, s. m. Drone. Zan-
gano. Alcorabisar, v. a. To arrive at.
Alcanzar. Alendarse, v. r. To rejoice.
Alegrarse. Sans. Ananda. Alialy, s.f. Temper, disposi- tion. Genio. Alicati, s.f. Time, turn. Vez. Aligata, s.f. Side. Lado. AIigatas,6av. Justby. Al lado. Aljenique, s.f. Fountain. Fu- J
ente.
Almedalle, s.f. Almond. Al-
mendra. Almensalle, s.f. Table. Me- sa. Amal, s. m. Companion. Com-
paiiero. A mala, 5./. Companion. Com-
panera. Amartelar, v. n. To wither.
Marchitar. Amini, s.f Anvil. Ayunque. Amolar, v. n. To be worth.
Valer. Ampio,5.?re. Oil. 0!eo,aceyte.
Sans. Abhyanjana. Ampio majaro, Holy oil. Santo
6leo. Amucharse, v. r. To intoxicate
oneself. Emborracharse. Amular, v. a. To hang, exe- cute, strangle. Ahorcar,dar
garrote. An, s.pl. Things, matters.
Cosas. Mod. Gr. ov (being
existence.) Anacar, v. impers. To happen.
Suceder. Anarania > adv. Amen, so be it. Anariana ) Amen, asi sea. Andandula, s. f. Fox. Raposa.
Andingla, s.f. Girth. Cincha. Andoba, pron. dem. This. Este. Andoriles, s.pl. Strings, gar- ters. Ligas. Andre, adv. prep. In, within.
En, dentro. Pers. Andar.
Sans. Antare. Anduque, adv. Whither. Adon-
de. Anduyo, s. m. Lamp. Velon. Anglal, adv. Before, forward.
Delante. Hin. Age. Anglano, s. m. A publican.
Publica.no. Angrunio, s. m. Lock, bolt.
Cermjo. Sans. Argala. [Germ.
Riegel.] An<rui, s.f. Honey. Miel. Pers.
Angbin. Angusti, s.f. Finger. Dedo.
j Pers. Angusht. Sans. Agru, Anguri. Angustro,5. 771. A ring. Anillb. Pers. Angushtari. Sans. An- guriya. Anis, s.f. Wasp. Avispa. Anjella, prep. Before. Antes, Anjelo, s. m. Desire. Deseo. Anro,5. m. Egg. Huevo. Sans. Anda. Both in Sanscrit and Gypsy, this word signifies a testicle. Ansul, adj. Sick. Enfermo. Aocana. Vid. Acana. Aopler, v. a. To open. Abrir. Aotar, adv. Yonder. Alia. Aoter, adv. There. Alii. Apajenar, v. a. To approach.
Acercar. Apala, prep. Behind. Detras.
Sans. Apara. [Fr. Apres.] Aparati, s.f. Cloud. Nube.
Pers. Abar." Apenar, v. a. To take. Tomar.
Hin. Pana. Apuchelar, v.n. To live, dwell.
Vivir, habitar. Sans. Piji. Apucheris, s.p^l. The living.
Los vivos. Aquia, s.f. The eye. Ojo. Sans.
Akshi. Germ. Auge. Aquinbilaneto, s. m. Attend- ance, accompaniment. Ac- companamiento. Aquirimen, s.f. Affection. Afi-
cion. Aquirindoy, adj. Affected. Afi- cionado. Aracate,s. m. Guard. Guarda. Aracatear, v. a. To guard.
Guardar. Arachi, adv. Last night. Ano-
che. Arajambi,s./. Under-petticoat.
Zagalejo. Arajay, s. m. Friar. Frayle.
Arab. Raheb. Araperar, v. a. To remember.
Acordar. Arapuchi, s.f. Tortoise. Gala- pago. Sans. Kachchhapa, Krodapada. TiMs.Cherepakia,
* As there are no Sanscrit types in this country, and no Arabic of the proper size, we have been compelled to put our author's .Sanscrit, Persian, and Arabic etymologies in Roman characters; which to the majority oi readers will be rather a subject of felicitation than of regret. Jn so doing we have followed the usual and most convenient course, giving the English sound to the consonants, and the Italian to the vowels, hi Shemitish words the combinations with //. are to he pronounced as follows: i,h like v.dk like th in thine, th like th in thin, and kh like ch in German, or the Greek /; but in words from the Sanscrit, Hlndostanee, &c, the first letter of the combination retains its hard sound, which is simply followed by an aspirate; thus hh is to be pronounced as in ahhor, ilk as in mad-house, 6ic. The long vowels are designated by an acute accent. An apostrophe ('; represents the Sheinitish letter Ayiu. A few additional etymologies are placed between brackets.— Am. Ed.
123
124
THE ZINCALI.
Araquerar, v. a. To speak, talk,
call. Hablar. llamar. Sans.
Rata. Araquerepenes,s .pi. Sayings.
Dichos. Arara, s.f. Pledge. Prenda. Arari, adj. Pregnant. Pre-
nada. Arasno, s. m. Fear. Miedo. Arate, s. m. Blood. Sangre. Archabar,-». a. To serve. Ser-
vir. Sans. Abhichara, Pari-
chara, (servant.)
"} v. a. To raise. Le-
Ardelar vantar. Sans.
! Arohana.
^(rising.) Celtic,
Ardinelar Ard (high, ex-
J alted.) Ardoria, s.f. Vein. Vena. [Lat.
Arteria.] Arispejal, s. m. Metal. Metal,
Sans.Ara. (brass;) Pitala (yel- low, ) literally yellow brass. Arite, s. m. Lentil. Lenteja. Arjana, s.f. Salad. Ensalada. Armensalle, adj. Free. Libre. Aromali, adv. Verily, indeed.
En verdad. Aruje, 5. in. Wolf. Lobo. Hin.
Bheruha. Asaselarse, v. r. To rejoice, to
laugh. Alegrarse, reirse. Hin.
Hansna. Ashios, pron.pl. Those. Aquel-
los. Asislable, adj. Powerful. Po-
deroso. Asislar, v. a. To be able. Po-
der. Vid. Astisar. Asisnastri, s.f. Apprentice.
Aprendiz. Asisprole, s. m. Brass. Bronce. Asna.o, s.m. Name, word. Vid.
Alao. Asparabar, v. a. To break, tear.
Romper, lacerar. Gr. ana-
Astis, a. Possible. Posible. Astisar, v. a. To be able. Po-
der. Astra, s.f. Moon, star. Luna.
Estrella. [Sans. Tara, Zend.
Stara. Gr. aarrjQ.li Atelis, adv. Below. Abajo. Vid.
Ostele. Turk. Altandeh. Hin.
Tule. Aterni, s. a. Dead-born. Na-
cido muerto. This word in
Sanscrit signifies pregnant
Udarin.
m. Steel : ra Acero. Sans
Atudiesalle, thcr iron. Ayasa
Avel
Aver
adj. Other, another,
Otro. Sans. Apara. Arab. Ghair.
Aunsos,cory.Although.Aunque.
Aupre, adv. Above. Arriba.
\Gr. v7rtQ. Germ. Ueber.
Eng. Over.]
Ayes, adv. Yet, nevertheless.
Aim. Ayore, adv. Above. Arriba. [See Aupre.]
'Azia, s.f. Mill. Molino. Pers.
Asya. Azimache, s.f. Sign. Sena.
B.
Babinar, v. a. To extinguish. Apagar.
Bachildoy, s.f. Loose-hair. Melena.
Bacria, s.f. A goat. Cabra.
Bajanbar, v. a. To touch. To- car. Hin. Pukurna.
Bajatia, s.f. A bell. Campana. A derivative from the pre- ceding word.
Baji,s./. Luck, fortune. Suerte, ventura. — Penar baji, " to tell fortunes," Decir la bue- na ventura. Sans. Bhagaya. Pers. Bakht. Instead of this word, the English Gypsies make use of a derivative from the Sclavonian, duk- kerin. In their dialect, to tell fortunes is " penaw duk- kerin."
Bajilache, s. m. Deer, venison. Venado.
Bajin, s. m. Event. Caso. — Bajine, " that which has happened." Acaecido.
Bajuma, 5./. Bug. Chinche.
Bal, s.f.. Garden, kitchen-gar- den. Jardin, huerta. Sans. Vela.
Bal, s.f. Hair. Pelo. Sans. Bala. Gr. palog. Mod. Gr. uaXku
Balbalo, adj. Rich, strong. Rico, • fuerte. Pers. Pahlii. Sans. Balavag.
Baliba, s.f. Bacon, Tocino.
Balicho, s. m. Hog. Marra.no. Sans. Balin. Hin. Barah.
Ballestera, s.f. Pigeon. Palo- ma. Mod. Gr. TtiQionqa.
Ballestero, s. m. Cock-pigeon. Palomo.
Balogar, v. a. To fly. Volar.
Balunes,5.pZ. Pantaloons. Pan- talones.
Baluni, s.f. Wild-goat, cha- mois. Corza, gamiiza.
)s.f. Shop, cel- lar; also Gal- lows. Botica, bodega, tarn-' bien, horca.
Bar, s.f. Stone. Piedra. Hin. Puthur.
Bar lacln, s.f The loadstone. La piedra iman. — Connected with this word there is a kind of magic rhyme,* used by the Gypsy women in their incantations; it runs as fol- lows:
En el beji d'Olivdte entrisard, Trin Hraqtiia callardia encontrisar6, En trin tmdnfl las oidriiisare,
Y trin quir.iiis callardia nicobfl: Yoque se lo dinulo A la bar lachi Pura que me nicobele de meripa;
Y 'laver se in dtBelo & Padilla romi Con sarin bu suesu;
* Of this rhyme there is a transla- tion in the first volume.
Y '1 aver al Bengui langd Para que m'otorguisarele lo que ca- melo yo.
Baraca, s.f. Winter. Invierno.
Barader, s. m. Justice of peace, a person of authority. Al- calde, hombre principal.
Barandi, s.f. Back, shoulder. Espalda.
Barani. s.f. Galley. Galera.
Barbalu, s.m. Physician. Me- dico.
Barban, s. m. Wind, air. Vien- to, ayre. Vid. Bear. Sans. Pradhavana, Pavana.
Barchata, s.f. Knobbed stick. Porra.
Bardadi, adj. Empty. Vacio.
Bardi, s.f. Prison. Carcel.
Bardon, 5. m. Reason. Razon.
Bardroy, adj. Green. Verde. Sans. Bharita.
Barendani, s.f. Stone. Piedra. Vid. Bar.
Bares del mol, n.p. Vol depe- nas; literally, " The rocks of the wine," Penas del vino.
Bargana, s.f.f War. Guerra. Pers. Perkhash.
Baribu, adj. Much. Mucho. Sans. Puru.
Baricuntus, s. m. The Captain or Count of a band of Gita- nos, — a governor; literally, The Great Count. El Capi- tan 6 Conde de una tropa de Jitanos, — gobernador.
Baro, adj.; pi. bareles; Great Grande. Hin. Bura.
5K&>* J°hn- J-°-
Barsamia, adv. Enough. Bas- tante.
Bartrabe, adv. Without. Fuera. Moorish Arabic, Barra.
Bartrabes, adv. Contrariwise. Al reves.
Bas, s.f; pi. bastes; The hand. Mano. Pers. Bazu.
Basno,5.m. Cock. Gallo. Sans. Puchchhinu.
Bastardo, s. a. Affliction, evil, prison. Afliccion, mal, car- cel. The proper significa- tion of this word is probably slavery. Pers. Parastari.
Bastarre, s.f. The right-hand. La derecha.
Basto, adj. Evil. Malo. v. Bas- tardo. |
Basya, s.f. Sleeve. Manga.
Batane, s. m. Calf. Becerro. "1 5. 7/1.; pi. batuces; Fa-
Bato (^ ther. Padre. From
Batu [ the Russian word, ba- J tuschka.
Bato Majoro, The Holy Father, the Pope. El Padre Santo.
Bausale, s.f. Cause. Causa.
Bnyopio, adj. Maimed, one- handed. Manco.
Bazan, pron. dcm. pi. fem. Tliese. Estas.
Bazin, pron. dcm. pi. mas. These. Estos.
Beao, s. m. A lord, a gentle-
VOCABULARY OF THEIR LANGUAGE.
125
man. SeSor, caballero. Turk. Beg.
Bear, > s. to. Wind,air.Vien-
Bearbal, $ to, ay re. Hin. Bara.
Beda, s.f Manner, way, cus- tom. Manera, costumbre.
Bedar, > v. a. To Teach. En-
Bedelar, > senar. It has many other meanings; e.g. Bedar or yaque, " To light the fire." Encender fuego. — Bedar or chiros. — " To pass the time:" Pasar el tiempo, &c.
Bede de mulo, "Funeral of the dead." El entierro de un difunto.
Bedora, \s.f A girl, virgin.
Bedori, > Muchacha, virjen.
Bedoro, s. m. Boy, youth. Mu- chacho, joven. Arab. Badr.
Bedrajami, s. m. Giant. Ji- gante. Pers. Bah ad ar, [strong man.] Sans. Patti, Vikramin.
*?*?> ]s.m. Cart. Carro. Berdo, $
Bejanbi,s./. Fault, crime. De- lito.
Bejari, 5./. Female lizard. La- garta. Lagartija.
Bejelar, v. n. To take a seat. Asentar.
Belga, adv. There. Alii.
Bella, s.f. War. Guerra.
Beluni, s.f. A calash. Calesa.
Beluni, s.f. Queen. Reyna. Pers. Banu. Sans. Battini. [Welsh, Brenhines.]
Bengue, >*.m. Devil, evil
Bengui, $ spirit. Demonio, espiritu malo. Sans. Panka, i. e. mud, bog. According to the Hindoo mythology, there is a hell of mud, called Bengraprabha: the Bengues of the Gypsies appear to be the tenants of this hell. The Russian Bog (God,) and the English nursery demon, Bo- gey, are possibly derived from the same Sanscrit root.
Benseni, s.f Audience. Au- diencia.
Beo, s. to. Las partes vergon- zosas de una mujer. Sans. Bhaga. Hin. Bhug.
Beo, s. m. Prison. Carcel.
Berabar, v. a. To save. Salvar.
Berallas, s.f pi. Bee-hives. Colmenas.
Beralli, s.f. Galley. Galera.
Berbal, s. to. Picture. Cuadro.
Berbel, s.m. Looking-glass. Espejo.
Berbirincha, s.f Star-lizard. Salamanquesa. — The proper meaning is squirrel, which is an animal rarely found in Spain. Mod. Gr. SenftiQirta. Ardilla.
Berdacufii,.?./. Window. Ven- tana.
Berdeji, s m. Lizard. Lagarto.
Berdi, s.f. Quarrel, dispute. Rina. Perhaps from the 17
Scandinavian word Barda, "to fight." Berdo, s. to. A ship. Navio.
Vid. Bero. Berdoche, s. to. Coach. Coche. Beribu, s.f. Multitude. Multi- tud. Vid. Baribu.
Beriga, s.f. Chain. Cadena. Rus. Veriga.
Berilli, s.f. Wasp. Avispa. Hin. Birnee.
Berjar, v. a. To find. Hallar.
Berji,s. m. A year. Aiio. Hin. Burukh.
Bero, 5. m. Galley; garrison to which criminals are sent for hard labour. Galera, presi- dio. Sans. Padara.
Berquero, s. to. Wen. Loba- nillo.
Berrandana, s.f. Stone. Pie- dra. Vid. Barendani.
Berrinches, s. pi. Lemons. Li- mones.
Bersali, s. Spy. Espia.
Berseji, s.f. VVar, quarrel. Gu- erra, rina.
Berseli, adj. Coarse, rude. Bas- to.
Berteleri, s.f Appellation. Apelacion. Perhaps Word, from the Sanscrit.
Beruni, s.f. Balcony. Balcon.
Beslli, s.f. War, dispute. Gu- erra, quimera. Vid. Bella.
Besiii,s./. Window. Ventana. Pers. Bin (seeing.)
Bestale, ) s. Seat, chair, saddle
Besti, 5 bench. Silla, banco.
Bestelar, v. a. To sit. Asen tar.
Bestipen, s.f Wealth, riches. Riqueza.
Bestique, par. Seated. Asen- tado.
Beyio, adj. Single, singular Solo, iinico.
Bian,acZj. Twenty-three.Veinte y tres. g
Bica, s.f Chair. Silla.
Bichabar, v. a. To send. En- viar. Hin. Bhejwa'd. Sans. Visa, Vikshepa (casting.)
Bichola, s.f Likeness, simi- litude. Semejanza.
Bicholar, v. n. To appear. Pa- recer. Vid. Abicholar.
Biere, s. to. Glass. Vidrio.
Bifi, s.f. Snow. Nieve. Pers. Barf.
Bigorear, v. a. To arrive. Lie- gar.
Binar, v. a. To sell. Vender. Sans. Vikrayana. (selling.) Panana. (sale.) Hin. Bikna. Arab. Bai.
Bique, s. to. Edict, Cartel.
Biruquero, s.m. Carpenter. Carpintero.
B\s,adj. Twenty. Veinte. Hin. Bis.
Bisarar. v. a. To owe. Deber.
Bisinia, s.f. Pasture-ground. Dehesa.
Bisna, 5./. Sale. Venta. Vid. Binar.
M
Bispaparo, s. m. Grandfather.
Abuelo. Bispibi, s.f. Hornet. Avispon. Blani, s.f. Jacket. Chaquett- Blejo, adj. Slouched. Sesgo. Bobes, s.jd. Beans. Habas.
Rus. Boby. Hin. Lnbiya. Boltani,5./. Turn. Vue'lta. Bombardo, s.m. Lion. Leon.
Ilin. Bubur. Bomboi, adj. Foolish. Tonto. Bonbachi, s.f. Pipe. Pipa.
Boqui, )'•/'. Hunger fa- r> -v > mine. — Hambre. Boqms,^ £ flj^Bhakh.
Bordani, s.f. Tower, castle.
Torre, castillo. Bordeles, s.pl. Christians. Cris-
tianos. Bosnansibla, s.f. Confidence.
Confianza. Query, Possibi-
lity. Rus. Vosinojgnost. Bostan, s. to. Linen. Lienzo. Bostan, adj. Weak, feeble.
Flojo.
Bozuchoy,}5-w- Abear °so Brabani, adj. Valiant. Valiente.
[Fr. Brave.] Braco, s. m. Mutton. Carnero. Bracuiu, s.f. A sheep. Oveja. Braga-lachi, Much shame.
Mucha verguenza. Bragante, adj. Made of straw.
Pajizo. Brajata, s.f. Necessity. Nece-
sidad. Braji, s.f Sheep. Oveja. Pars.
Barah. Brajial, s. m. Hospital. Hospi- tal. Breji, s. m. Field, mountain.
Campo, monte. Hin. Bur (a
desert.) Brequejo, adj. par. Obliged
Obligado. Brequenar, v. a. Defend, de- fender. Bresban, adj. Blessed. Ben-
dito. Possibly that which is
connected with Brahman or
Brahma. Bretegeli, s.f pi. Delights. De-
licias. Brichardilar, v. a. To ask, im- plore. Rogar. Bricholar, v. a. To bear, suffer
Padecer. Bridaque, s. A break, rupture.
Quiebra. Bridaquelar, v. a. To break.
Romper, quebrar. Brijindal, s. Rain, shower.
Lluvia. Pers. Biiran. Sans.
Purana. Mod. Gr. pQQXV- Brijindar,u.n. To rain. Llovtr. Brijindobio, S. to. Hunchback.
Jorobado. Sans. Bhangura. Brijindope,5.??i. Deluge, mighty
rain. Diluvio. Brinda, s.f. A pear. Pora,
fruta. Brinsela, s.f. Bottle. Botella. Brinza, sf, flesh, meat. (Carrie Broba, \s.f. Pompinn. cala- Brobia, ) bash. Calabazu.
126
THE ZINCALI.
Brochabo, s. m. Boy, lad. Mu- ch ac ho.
Brodelo, s. and adj. Third, third party, mediator. Ter- cero.
Brojuchi, s.f. Pink, flower, Clavel.
Brondo, conj. But, yet. Pero.
Brono Alienicato, n. pr. Pon- tius Pilate. Poncio Pilato.
Bros, adj.pron. Your, yours. Vuestro.
Brosibana,5/. Bramble. Zarza. Hin. Bhur-band.
Brostildan, s.m. Mayor, jus- tice of peace. Alcalde.
Brote, s. m. Camel. Camello.
Brotobo, )adj. First. Pri-
Brotoboro, ) mero. Gr.TQanog.
Brotomuchi, s.f. The spring. Primavera.
Brotomucho, s.m. First-cou- sin. Primo-hermano.
Brucharno, s.m. A shot. Tiro.
Bruchino, s. m. Dried cod-fish. Bacallao.
Brudilar,z?. d. To answer. Con- testar, responder. Vid. Ru- dilar.
Bruja, s.f. The Holy Brother- hood, La Santa Hermandad. This word is a cant term (Bruja, in Spanish means a witch,) and does not proper- ly belong to the Gitano lan- guage.
Bruji, s.f. A real, a Spanish coin. Un real.
Brum, s.f. A she-goat. Cabra.
Bruinito, s.m. A kid. Cabrito.
Bucharar,t>. a. To shoot. Tirar. — This word has numerous significations; e.g. Bucharar la baste, " To extend the hand :" Extender la mano. — Me bucharela l'errate, "My blood beats." Me arde la sangre. Sans. Vikshepa. Vid. Bichabar.
Buchi, s.f. Any thing, the public executioner. Cual- quiera cosa, el verdugo.
Bucos, s.m. Liver. Higado. Sans. Bukka (heart.)
Bufa, s.f. Crib, manger. Pese- bre.
Bufaire, s. m. A king's evi- dence, informer, cat. So- plon, gato.
Bufendi, adv. Better. (From bus, " more," and fendi, "good.") Mejor.
Bujendi, s. m. Catamite. Bu- jarron.
Bujibio, s.m. Hunchback. Jo- robado.
n , ~)s. The anus, orificio.
ii it > &ins.Put.Phalaka. Uullati, ^ Ilin BiJ
Bullas, s.f.pl. Gray hairs. Ca-
nas. Bundal, s.f. Gate, door. Puer-
ta. Vid. Burda. Buque, s. m. Point. Punto.
Sans. Makada (^peak.) Buquepe,^. Account, informa-
tion given to the ministers of justice. Cuenta dada a. la justicia. Arab. Wokuf.
Bur, s. m. Mountain. Monta- na. Rus. Bugor.
Burda, s.f. Gate, door. Puerta. Sans. Puradwara,(of a town.) Hin. Bur.
Burlo,.s. m. Play, sport. Juego.
Bus, adv. and conj. More, but, yet. Mas, pero.
Bus, adv. When. Cuando.
Busne, adj. Sweet. Dulce.
Busno, s. m. A gentile, a sa- vage, every person who is not of the Gypsy sect. Jen- til, salvaje ; asi llaman los Jitancs al que no es dela sangre de ellos.^The Eng- lish Gypsies make use of the word Tororo in this sense, which signifies what is poor and pitiful ; See Cho- roro. The root of Busno is probably the Sans. Purusha (a man in general) or Puk- kasa, an impure person, "Busurman," in the Rus- sian tongue, signifies **A heathen."
Busne, s. pi. The Gentiles, sa- vages. Los Jentiles, los sal- vajes.
Busnos, s.pl. Torments, pains. Tormentos.
Busorala, adj. Ripe. Maduro.
Buste, s.f. The act of sticking or joining together. Pega- dura. Pers. Baslah.
Butacole, adj. Yellow, Ama- rillo. Sans. Pitala.
Butanar, v. a. To drain, spill, scatter. Derramar.
Butrl' \ adv- More* Mas' Butron, s. m. Abyss, a deep hole. Abismo, hoyo profun- do. This word is evidently derived from the Sanscrit Avada. Mod. Gr. (ivdog. Eng- lish, Pit.
Caba, pron. dem. This. Este. Vid. Acaba.
Cabana, 5./. Tomb, grave. Se- pultura. Moorish Arab. Ca- war.
Cabanar, v. a. To bury. En- terrar. Mod. Gr. oxanrw.
Cacabi,s./. A kettle. Caldera. This word is pure Greek, x.a%K(x(}*}.
Cacalufii, s.f Species of earth- en pan. Cazuela.
Cacarabi, s. m. A crow. Grajo. Sans. Kaka, Karava. [Lat. Corvus.]
Cachas, s-f.pl. Scissors. Tije- ras. Sans. Katraro.
Cachicalli, *./. Female rela- tion. Parienta.
Cachimani, s.f. Brandy-shop, tavern. Aquardienteria, ta berna. Query. The seller of brandy, from Kasya, a kind
of liquor. Rus. Quass, and
Manuj, man. Cafi, s.f. Nail. Clavo. Mod. Gr.
xao<t>i. Cajuco, adj. Deaf. Sordo. Cajuguy, s.f. File. Lima. Calabea, s.f Lie, falsehood.
Mentira. Arab. Khelaf. Calabear, v. a. To lie. Mentir. Calafresa, s.f. Chitterlings.
Asadura. Calas, s.pl. The Gypsies. Ji-
tanos. Vid. Calo." Calisen, s.f. Death. Muerte.
Sans. Kala. Callicaste, adv. Yesterday.
Ayer. Callico, s. m. Dawn. Madru-
gada. Sans. Kalya. Callardo, adj. Black. Negro.
~\ s. m. A Gypsy, a Calo, [ black. Jitano,hom- Caloro, f bre negro. Sans.
J Kala. Hin. id. Calli, s.f. A Gypsy woman.
Jitana. Calochin, s. m. Heart Corazon.
Properly, liver. Sans. Ka-
lah-kanjana. Caltrabo, s. m. Convict-garri- son. Presidio. Calumbrico, s. m. Understand- ing. Entendimiento. Sans.
Kalandika. Mod. Gr. xara-
XctuBavw, to M understand." Cam,) s. m. Sun. Sol. Hin. Can, ) Khan. Sans. Khamani. Camaranchas, s.f. pi. Buttons.
Botones. Cambarii, s.f. Shop. Tienda. Cambrai, s.m. Dog. Perro. ' [Arab. Calb.] ^ , / } adj. fern. Preg-
Cambrobi, $ ^ Garbhino. Camelar, v. a. To love. Amar.
Sans. Kama, Kama. (Love,
Cupid.) Cameni, s.f. Shop. Tienda.
Pers. Carkhaneh. The root
is the Sans. Karmman (work,
action.) Camuchi, s. Heel-bone. Zan
cajo. Cana, s.f Hour. Hora. Cana, s.f. A Bell. Campana. Canbrar, ca. To love. Amar.
Vid. Camelar. Canbuter, s. m. Sorcerer,^ wi- zard. Hechicero. Sans. Karm-
mana (magic.) Russ. Cal-
dun. Canche, s.m. Saturday. Sa-
bado. Candon,s.?n. Companion. Com-
pafiero. Candor ry,s.r/2. Christian. Cris-
tiano. Cangallo, 5. m. Wagon, cart.
Carro. Properly, one that is
tilted from Kambala (a
blanket.) Cangri, 5 /. Church. Iglesia.
The literal meaning appears
to be Tower. Pers. Cun-
gurah.
VOCABULARY OF THEIR LANGUAGE.
12'
Cangrias, s.f. pi. Heels of
shoes. Tapas delos zapatos. Canguelar, v. a. To fear. Te- rrier. Sans. Kampana (trem- bling.) Canguelo, s. m. Fear. Temor.
Cani, s.f. Ear. Oreja. Sans. Kama. Hin. Kaun.
Canrea, s.f. Pity. Lastima Sans. Karuna. Hin. Kuruna.
Canriano, s. m. Summer. Ve- rano. Mod. Gr.xaloxaiQi.
Canrias, s.f.pl. Troubles. Fa- tigas.
Canro, s. m. Neck. Pescuezo.
Canucho, s. m. Heel-bone, stu- pid person. Zancajo.
Cani, s.f. Hen. Gallina.
Canismi, s.f. Forge. Fragua.
Capirima, s.f. Aloe. La Pita. Mod. Gr. xaTiTcaQi.
Capucho, s. m. Child's cap. Capillo.
Car, s. m. Heat. Calor. Sans. Khara. Arab. Kharr.
Carbe, s. m. Dike. Malecon.
Carema, s.f. Word. Palabra. Arab. Calam.
Carjibar, v. a. To finish. Fene- cer.
Carlo. 5. m. Heart. Corazon. Arab. Kalb.
Carmujon,5. m. Mouse. Raton.
Carobi, s.f. Staple, ring. Ar- golla. Query, bracelet. Sans. Karabhushana.
Cartacaya, s.f. Stork, heron. Cigiiena, Sans. Karetu.
Cartrabar, v. a. To load. Car- gar.
Casabo, s.m. Liver. Higado.
Cascane, s. m.. Avaricious, stin- gy. Pers. Gursneh (hungry.)
Cascane, s.m. Tuesday: ac- cording to others, Thursday, Martes, Jueves.
Casian, s.f. Wood, timber. Madera.
Casidazo, s. m. March, month of Marzo.
Casinoben, s. m. Hell. Infierno. Literally, A blaze, conflagra- tion. Mod. Gr. xav<rtfiov.
Caste, s. m. A stick. Palo. The true meaning is, Tree. Sans. Kachchha. (wood.) Pers. Eghaj. Hin. Gachh.
Caste-randador, s. m. A work- ing-stick, i. e. a plough. Ara- do.
Casto, s. m. Hammer. Martillo.
Castorro, s.m. Hat. Sombrero.
Castumba, s.f. The province of Castile. Castilla.
Cata, adj. Every. Cada.
Catabranar, v. n. To roar. Bra- mar.
Catacolla, s.f. Stork, crane. Ciguena.
Catanar,?1'-*. To assemble.
Cataiiar { Juntar.2ftn.Ckhu- ' ) than-k.
Catane, pi. Catanes. adj. Uni- ted, assembled. Junto, jun- tos.
Catesca,s./. Spot, mark. Pinta.
Caute, adj. None, not one.
Ningun, ninguno. Cayes, s.pt. Heavens. Cielos. Cayque, s. m. Nobody. Nadie. Cende, s.f. Light. Luz.
Cengarica, s.f. Desire. Gana. Sans. Kanksha. Peis. Kha- ter khah. Hin. Chana (to desire.)
Ciria, s.f. Passover, Easter. Pascua.
Ciria, s.f. Garlick. Ajo. Hin. Seer. Fid. Sar.
Claby, s.f. Earthen pan, pip- kin. Cazuela.
Clarico, s. m. Dawn. Madru- gada. Vid. Callico.
Clasma, s.f. Queen. Revna. Vid. Crallisa.
Clemaco, s. m. Hunter. Caz- dor.
Clichi, s.f. Key. Llave. Rus. Clootch. The root is Sanscrit, Kilaka (bolt.)
Clonel, s. m. Pink. Clavel.
Cobadrar, v. n. To bark. La- drar. Arab. Kavvwaha. Rus. Gabh.
Cobler, 5. ra. Elbow. Codo. Sans. Kurppara.
Coca], s.m. Bone. Hueso. Mod. Gr. y.oy.xalov. Sans. Kulya.
Cocal ie Lubano. Bone of the navel. Hueso del empeyne.
Cocalis, pi. Bones. Huesos.
Cochoco, s.m. Evergreen oak. Encina.
Cochoglera, s.f. Oil-cruse. Al- cuza.
Coco, s. m. Nut. Nuez.
Cocole, s.m. Number. Nume- ro.
Coin, pron. rel. Who, Quien. Hin. Kaun,
Colcoro, adj. Alone. Solo.
Coligote, s.m. Bat. Murcie- lago.
Combo, adj. Dumb. Mudo. Sans. Muka.
Conche, s.m. Anger. Coraje.
Condari, s.f. Beam. Viga. Hin. Kandee. Sans. Kanda.
Contique,s. m. Neighbour. Ve- cino.
Coplemande,s. m. Coward. Co- barde.
Coracano, s. m. Guard. Guarda.
Corajai, s.pl. The Moors. Los Moros. Probably derived from the word Kurreh, a term of execration and con- tempt too frequently em- ployed by the common Moors in their discourse.
Corajano, s. and adj. Moor, Moorish. Moro, Moruno.
Corbo, adj. Strange. Estrano.
Corby, s.f. Branch, shoot, sprig. Rama.
Corcorria, s. f. Solitude. Sole- dad. Vid. Colcoro.
Cori, s.f. Island. Isla.
Coria, s.f. Large jar. Tinaja.
Corio, s. m. An ochavo, a small brass coin. Ochavo.
Coripen, s.f. Trouble, afflic- tion. Tribulacion, aflicion.
1 Cormuni, adj. Some. Alguno.
.Comes, s.pl. Buskins. Bo- tines. [Gr. uaAoQvoi.] Comicha, s.f. Basket. Espu-
erta. Sans. Karanda. Coro, s. in. Pitcher. Cantaro.
Hin. Ghurola. Corpichi, s.f. Rice. Arroz.
Sans. Kur. Oorvovo, udj. One-eyed. Tuer-
to. Costiiii, 5./. Tax levied on horses sold at fairs. Alcab.i- la. Literally, "The mount- ing," or " tax paid for mount- ing." Vid. Costunar.
Costipen, s. m. The summer. Verano.
Costunar, v.n. To mount. Mon- tar. Pers. Khastan.
Costuri,5. Convent. Convento.
Cotor, 5.771. A piece. Pedazo. Arab, Ket'at.
Cotria.,adv. Immediately. Lue- go.
Coyme, s. m. Farm-house. Cor- tijo.
Crallis,s.m. King. Rey. From the Sclavoniun word Krai.
Cralb'sa, s.f. Queen. Reyna.
Crejete, s.pl. Sins. Pecados. Rus. Graike.
Cremen. s.f. Worm. Lombriz. Sans. Krimi.
Criscote, s.m. A book. Libro. Vid. Gabicote.
Crisime, n.pr. Christ. Christo.
Cro, s. m. Pair. Par.
Cuarinda, s.f. Lent. Cuares- ma.
Cucana, s f. Millet, Panic- grass. Panoja. Sans. Kangu.
Cuchioyo, s. m. Sedge. LV parto.
Cudo, s.?n. Mill. Molino. Hin. Kolhoo.
Cueiii,5./. Cave. Cueva. Sans. Gahana.
Cuji, s.f. Rose. Rosa. Pers. Gul.
Culana, s.f. Bell. Campana. Sans. Kala (to sound.) Rus. Kolokol.
Culco,5. m. Sunday. Domingo.
Cumorra, s.f. Hall, chamber. Sala. Hin. Cumra. Germ. Kammer.
Cundus, s. m. Count, lord. Conde. Mod. Gr.Komic.
Curar, v. a. To strike, do, work. Pegar, hacer, tr aba jar. Hin. Gurhna.
Curda,5./. Drunkenness. Bor- rachera.
Curebay, s.f. Bit of a bridle. Bocado de freno. Sans. Ka- viya.
Curelo, s.m. Trouble, pain. Trabajo, pena.
Curolamiento, s.m. Carpenters plane. Cepillo de carpintero.
Curoro, s.m. Colt. Potro. Hin Koorru.
Curque, s. m. Sunday. Do-
128
THE ZINCALI.
mingo. Modern Greek y.v-
Curraco, s.m. Raven. Cuervo.
Sans. K.ikala. Currandea, s.f Flat roof of a
house, terrace. Azotea. Currandi, s.f. Veil. Mantilla. Currando, s. m. A hammer.
Martillo. Curriel, s.m. Trade, business.
Oficio. Sans. Karana.
CH
Chabel, s. m. Son. Hijo.
Chabo, ) s. m. A boy, a child.
Chaboro, J Muchacho, niiio. In the English dialect, Chab: e. g. Rommany Chab, " A Gypsy boy" or "fellow;'' whence the cant expression, Rum Chap. Arab. Shab. Sans. Arbha.
Chabori,s./. A girl. Muchacha.
Chachipe, s.f. Truth. Verdad. — This word which the English Gypsies pronounce Tsatsipe1 seems to be a com- pound of the Sanscrit, Sat, which signifies " True," and the word of Sanscrit origin, Chipi, " a tongue." Cha- chipi, therefore, is literally " True tongue."
Chai, s. pi. Children, fellows, Gypsies. Niiios, muchachos. Jitanos. Vid. Chabo.
Chaja, s.f. Cabbage. Col.
Chajamen, s.f. Prudence, bashfulness. Rec&to, timidez. Pers. Sharm. [Eng. Shame.]
Chalabear, v. a. To move. Mo- ver. Sans. Kshwela. Rus. Kolebat.
Chalar, v. n. To walk, to go. Andcir, ir. Sans. Kshwela.
Chalendre, s.m. Tiger. Tigre. Sans. Sardula. Pers. Shir.
Chalchiben, s.m. Steel for striking fire. Eslabon.
Chalks, s.pl. Ear-rings. Zar- cillos.
Challu, s.f Lie. Mentira.
Chalorgar, s. m. Altar. Altar. Pers. Keblah gah. Sans. Chat- wara.
Chamuliar, v. a. To speak. Hab- lar. Sayis. Sambhasha (dis- course.)
Chan, 5. 7/i. Cloth. Pano. Sans. Achchhadana.
Chancle, s.f Knee. Rodilla. Sans Janu. [Lat. Genu.]
Chando, s. and adj. Wise, a sage. Sabio, doctor. [Gey. Kundig.]
Chanelar, v. a. n. To know. Sa- ber. Pers. Shenat'tan.
Chuneo, s. m. Ring. Anillo.
Changanar, v. a. n. To awake. Despertiir. Sans. J.igri. llin. Jugana.
Chanjrane, adj. Awake. Des- pierto. Sana, Jajrarin.
Changero, adj. False. Falso
Chanispar, r. o. n. Exhale, breathe, inspire. Espirar.
Chanispero, s.m. Spirit. Espi- ritu.
Chanorgar, v. a. To forget. Ol- vidiir.
Chantar, v. a. To plant. Plan- tar.
Chaomo, s. m. Winter. Invi- erno. Pers. Sarma.
Chapardo, s.m. Tinder. Yesca.
Chapesca, s.f Flight. Fuga.
Chapescar,??. n. To flee. Huir.
Chaplesca, s. f Serpent. Ser- piente.
Char, s. m. Heaven. Cielo. Sans. Swar. Pers. Charkh.
Char, ^. m. Egypt : according to the dialect of Estrema- dura. Egipto; segun el dia- lecto de los Jitanos. Estre- menos.
Char, s.f. Grass. Yerba. Pers. Gey ah.
Charabaro, adj. Sad. Triste.
Charaburi, s.f. Sadness. Tris- te za.
Chardi, s.f. A fair, market. Feria. Vid. Chati.
Charnique, s.f Life. Vida. Hin. Jan.
Charipe, s.f. Bed, bedstead. Cama. Hin. Charpoy. Mo- dern Greek, tcQeftftori.
Chasar, v. n. To pass. Pasar.
Chaseos, s. m. Exercise. Ejer- cicio.
Chasilar, v. a. To sup. Cenar.
Chati, s.f. A fair. Feria. Hin. Chhetr.
Chavo, s. m. A plate. Plato.
Chaute, n. p. The fortress of Ceuta. Ceuta.
Che, s.f Scab. Tina. Sans. Kachchhu. Hin. Khaj.
Chen, s.f Earth, land. Tierra. [Gr.yiff] Vid. Chim.
Chepo, s.m. Breast, bosom. Seno, pecho. Pers. Jayb.
Cherdillas,5.p/. The stars. Las estrellas.
Cherdino, s. m. The morning- star. Lucero.
Cherja, s.f. Bag, bundle. Hal- da.
Chetalli, s.f. Olive. Oliva.
Cheti, s.f Olive-oil. Aceyte.
Chi, s. f and adv. Nothing. Nada.
Chiabalo, s. m. Cigar. Cigarro.
Chiaca, s.f Table. Mesa.
Chibar, v. a. To cast, shoot. Echar. Sans. Kshipa. This verb is used in many senses.
Chibarse a penar, To begin to speak. Comenzar a hablar.
Chibar lacho, To make well, to cure. Curar, sanar.
Chibar sermon, To preach. Predicar.
Chibel. Vid. Chibes.
Chibel,5.?ft. A river. Rio. Pers. Jui.
Cliibelar, v. a. Vid. Chibar.
Chtbes, *, 7ii. Day. Dia. Sans. Divasa. Hin. Dewus.
('hibiben
Chibos,
5. Life. \"ida.
Chicato, 5.7n. Uncle. Tio. Hin. Chucha.
Chiche, s.f. Face. Cara.
Chichi, s. Nothing. Nada. Que- ry, Any thing. Pers. Chizi.
Chichoji, s. Cat. Giito.
Chiguay, s. m. Louse. Piojo.
Childar, v. a. To put, place. Poner, meter.
Chi\do, par. pars. Put, placed Metido, puesto.
Chilindrote, 5.7ra. Sparrow. Gor- rion. Hin. Chiriya.
Chim, 5. to. Kingdom, coun- try. Reyno, tierra. Sans. Kshmd.
Chimoni, s.f. Any thing. Cual-
quier cosa.
r*i • a — } s. Glory. Glo- Chimudani, f • o •* «„, r,. . , ' > na. Sans. bam-
Cnimusolano, i ,,,,„,; ' ) bhavana.
Chimuyar, v. a. Vid. Chamu- liar.
Chimutra, s.f. Moon. Luna. Arab. Kamr. Saw5. Kaumu- dipati.
Chinaora, s.f Sickle. Hoz. Vid. Chinelar.
Chindar, v. a. To hang up. Colgar.
Chindar, v. a. To bear, pro- duce. Parir. Sans. Jani, (birth.) Hin. Junna. [Gr. ysvraw.]
Chinday, 5./. Mother. Madre. Sans. Janitwa.
Chindo, ^s.fy-adj. Blind,
Chindoquendo, ) blind man. Ciego. Sans. Andha. Hin. Chundhla, (blear-eyed.)
Chindoma, s. m. Butcher. Car- nicero. Saws. Sunavata.
Chinel, ) 5. m. A person of offi-
Chino, 5 c'al rank. Hombre de graduacion, oficial. De- rived from the Russian, Chin, "Rank."
Chinelar, v. a. To cut, reap. Cortar, segar.
Chingabar, 5. m. Pin. Alfiler.
Chingrar, v.a. To fight. Pe- leAr, renir.
Chingaripen, s.m. War, battle. Guerra,combate. Sans. San- gara. Pers. Jang.
Chinobaro, 5. 7ft. High-consta- ble, governor. Alguacil may- or, gobernador. Vid. Chino and Baro.
Chinoje, 5. 7ft. He-ass. Burro.
Chinoro, adj. Small, little. Pe- querio. Sans. Kanika, Ka- nishta ; whence likewise the English cant word Kinchin.
Chipalo, 5. 7M. Blacksmith. Her- rero. Sans. Kapila (dark, tawny.)
Chipe, s.f. Truth (improper- ly.) Verdad.
,„, - ) 5. f. Tongue. Lengua.
Wf Sans. Jihwa. Hin.
Uhip1' ) Jibh. Pers. Znb.in.
Cbipen, s.f. Life. \*ida. Sans. Jivana. Per-s. Jan. Hin.Jee.
Chique, s.f. Earth, ground Tierra, suelo. Sans, ldika.
VOCABULARY OF THEIR LANGUAGE.
129
Ohirinda Chiringa
ILdUU.
' S Mi
;,)
Chobar, Chobelar
€hique. 5./. Butter. Manteca.
Hin. Ghee. Chirdabar, v. a. To cut. Cor-
tar. Chirdo. adj. Short. Corto. Chiribito,s. m. A cricket. Gril-
lo. Sans. Chirika. Chiriclo, s.m. A fowl, chicken. Polio. Properly, A bird. Ave, Hin. Chiriya. Chirijimar, v. a. n. To advance.
Adelantar. Hin. Churhana. Chirijimen, -par. pas. Advanced, delantado
An orange.
aranja. In
Moorish, China.
Time. Tiem
Chiro, I po. Sans. Cruras*
Chiros, f ya (long time.)
J Mod. Gr. y.aigog. Chirriria, s.f. Bit of thread, lint, Mota. Sans. Chora
Chismar, v. a. To spit. Escu- pir. Sans. Smarasawa (sali- va.)
& }™. Childar.
Chitino, s. m. Passport. Pasa-
porte. Cho, s.f. Barley. Cebada.
Pers. Ju.
" v.a. To wash. La- var. Pers. Shu- yidan. Chocoronar, v. a. To remedy.
Remediar. Chocorono, s.m. A remedy.
Remedio.
^ s/.Petticoat.Saya, Choji, I enaguas. Sans.
Chojinda, | Chalanaka, Sa.-
J taka. Chon, s.f. Beard, chin. Barba.
Mod. Gr. ysvtiov. Choneria, 5./. Barber's shop.
Barberia. Chonero, s. m. Barber. Barbe-
ro. Sans. Chandila. Chono,s.m. Month. Mes. Hin.
Chand. Chopala, s.f. Hut, tent. Choza.
Sans. Skula. Hin. Chuppur.
Italian, C'apanna. Chopon,5. m. Quince. Mem-
brillo. Chor, 5. 771. Thief. Ladron.
Sans. Chaura. Hin. Chor. Chorl,s. /. Knife. Cuchillo,
navaja. Sans, Chhuro. Hin.
Chooree. Mod. Gr. ua/aiQi. Chori,s.f. Mule. Mula. Hin.
Khuchur. Choro, s. and adj. Thief, thiev- ish, evil. Ladron, malo. Chororo, adj. Poor, Pobre.
Sans. Kshudra. Hin. Shor. . Chorripen, s.f Evil, wicked- ness. Maldad. Chotiar, v.a. To spit. Eseupir.
Sans. Nishtuta (spitting.) Chova,s./. Hand. Mano. ~Sans.
Charpata (the palm.) [Hcb.
Caph.] Chuajani, s.f. Witch, sorce-
ress. Bruja, hechicera pro-
fetisa. Sans. Sanvanana. J Jin.
Syana. Rus. Charobnitza. Chube, s. m. Louse, Piogo.
Sans. Kitibha. Hin. Jun. Chubalo, s. m. Cigar. Cigar-
ro. Chucha,5/. Breast, pap. Pecho.
Sans. Kucha. Chuchipon, s.m. Suet, grease.
Sebo. Chuchiri, s.f. Fat. Gordura. Chuchuquelar, s.f. Oil-cruse.
Alcuza. Chuli, ~)s.m. A dollar. Un Chulo, ) duro. un peso fuerte. Chulo, s. m. A knife. Un cu- chillo. Hin.C luil hoc. Chullo, adj. Fat. Gordo. Sans.
Sthula. Hin, Chuodhur. Chumasconas, s.f. Harlot. Ra-
inera. Sans. Smara (love.) Chumajari, s.m. Shoemaker.
Zapatero. Sans. Charmma-
kara. Chumajayal, s.f. Grinders.
Muelas. Chumia, s.f. Time, turn. Vez. Chundear, v. imp. To happen.
Suceder. Hin. Ho-chooka. Chungalipen, s.f. What is
ugly, heavy. Cosa fea, pe-
sada. Hin. Choonna.
Chungalo, H£*£SJ; Chungo, <j pe,.i.TaPng. Chupardelar, v. n. To stumble.
Tropezar. Chupendi, s.f A kiss. Beso.
Sans. Chumbana (kissing.)
Hin. Chooma. Chuque, )s. m. Dog. Perro. Chuquel, ) Sans. Kukura
Basque, Chacurra. Pers.
Sag. Churdani, s.f. Fancy, presump- tion. Fantasia. Churdina, s.f. Dagger-blow.
Puiialada. Churrilli, s.f. Nit. Liendre. Chusno, s. m. Hillock. Cer-
10. Chuti,s./. Milk. Leche. Sans.
Dugdha, Duh. Hin. Dudh. Chuvias, s. pi. Fisty-cuffs. Pu-
fiadas.
Dabastro. Vid. Drabaro.
Dai, > s f. Mother, {properly,
Day, 5 "Nurse"; Madre. Pers. Dayah. Mod. Gr. Qua.
Dajiralo,s.»i. Trembling. Tem- blor.
Dajirar, v.n. To tremble. Tem- blar.
Dal, ^s. m. Fear. Temor. Mod.
Dan, > Greek, duXta. Sans.
Dar, ) Dara.
Danbilar, v. a. To chew. Mas- car.
Dandesquero, s. m. Lamp, can- dle. Candil.
Dani, s. v/. Teeth. Dientes. Sans, Danta.
Darabar, v.a. To praise, (pro- M2
perly, " to fear,") Alabar.
temer. Daraiiar, v. n. To fear. Temer Darano, v.a. Fearful, Teine-
roso. Dari, .<?./. Thread, line. Hilera
Vid. Dori. Debel, s.7u. God. Dios. Sans.
Div (heaven,) Deva (deity.) Debla, s.f. The Virgim (God- dess.) La Virjen. Diosa. Debleschinday, Tiie Mother of
God. Madro de Dios. Vid.
Debel, and Chinday. Debus, adv. Over and above.
Dernas. Delale, par. Presented. Pre-
sentado. Delune, s.f Sickle. Hoz. Deplemande,a^?j. For nothing.
Debalde. Deque, s.m. Ten. Diez. Mod.
Gr. Sexa. Pers. Dah. Demo, adj. New. Nuevo. Sans.
Taruna. Desparugar, v.a. To return a
thing bartered. Destrocar. Desquero, pron. pers. injlec. Of
him, his. Del,su. Hin. Iska. I Desquinar, v.n. To rest. Des-
cansar. Destechescar, v. a. To undo.
Deshacer. Diar, v.a. To see. Ver, mirar.
Pers. Didan. Dicani,5./. Window. Ventana. Dicar, v. a. To see. Ver. Sans.
Iksha. Dichabar,?;. a. To send. Man-
dar. Vid. Bichabar. Diclo, s. m. Handkerchief,
clout. Panuelo, panal. Dilia,^./. Lettuce. Lechuga. Dinaste, s. m. Glass. Vidrio. Dinelo, s.fy adj. Fool. Tonto.
Pers. Diwanah. Dini, s.f. Pound. Libra. i-.~ )».a. To give. Dar.
Dinelar, ^ Dena
Dinator, 5. m. Doctor. Doctor.
Dinople, s. m. Harm, damage, Dano.
Discoli, s. m. Disciple. Disci- pulo.
Disde, adv. Until. Hasta.
Docurdanza, s.f. Mistress. Maestra.
Docurdo, s. m. Master. Maestro. Sans. Thakkura. Hin. Tha- kur.
Doj, \s.f Fault. Culpa. Sa?is.
Doji, 5 Dosha. Hin. Dokh.
Dori, s.f. Rope. Soga. Pers. Dari.
Doscusaiia, s.f. A crown. Co- rona.
Dosta, adv. Enough. Basta. From the Russian verb, Dos tat, "to suffice." Sans. Tashu.
Drabaro, s.m. Rosary. Rosii- rio. — Drabarar or drabaro: " To tell one's beads," Rezjr el rosilrio. This word is com* pounded of"da.l'' aud " baro,'
130
THE ZINCALI.
literally, " a thing of great fear" or " sanctity."
Drabuco, adj. Flat. Chato.
Dracay, sf.pl. Grapes. Uvas. Sans. Draksha.
Drami, s.f. Week. Semana.
Drante, s. Ink. Tinta,
Drao, s. m. Poison. Veneno. The Gitanos apply this word to a certain noxious prepara- tion, which they are in the habit of casting in the man- gers of cattle, to cause sick- ness and death. Pers. Zahr. (poison.) Vid. Grao.
Draute. Vid. Drante.
Drescos. s.pl. Corns. Callos.
Droba, s.f. Leather-bag for wine. Bota.
Droji, s.f Rind, peel. Cascara.
Dromalis, s.pl. Carriers, mu- leteers, men of the road. Ar- rieros, viajeros.
Dron,")s. >m. Road. Camino.
Drun, 5 Pers. Darund. Mod. Gr. dQo/iiog. Hin. Duhur.
Dron-grugi, ) s. Royal road,
Drunji, ) likewise a Foot-
path. Camino real, vereda.
Drupos, s. m. Body. Cuerpo.
Dua, \s.f. Pain, grief. Pena.
Duga, 5 Sans. Tuda (to pain.)
Dubela, s.f. Cup. Tasa. Pers. Peyaleh.
Ducano, adj. Compassionate. Compasivo.
Dm, adj. Two. Dos. Pers. Du.
Dujo, adj. Wroth in spirit, angry. Enojado. Vid. Du- quende.
Dumen, s. m. Loin. Lorao.
Dundilo, s. m. Lamp. Velon.
Dundun, s.f. Light. Luz.
Duneo, s. m. Sunday. Domin- go.
Duqueles,s.;>Z. Dobloons. Dob- lones.
Duquende,5. m. A spirit, ghost. Duende. From the Russian, Dook, "a spirit;" which is itself derived from the Sans. Dhuka.
Duquendio, s. m. Master, a principal person amongst the Gitanos. Maestro, hombre principal entre los Jitanos.
Duquipen, s. m. Grief. Dolor.
Dnr. adv. Far. Lejos. Sans. Dura. Pers. Dur.
Durlin, s.7n. Police archer. Cor- chete.
Durotunes, s.pl. Shepherds, herdsmen. Pastorcs. Hin. Dnoongur.
Dusuldo, s.m. Drunkard. Bor- racho.
Dut, s.f. Light. Luz. Sans. Dyuti. Hin. Yot. Moorish Arabic, Dow.
E.
E, gen. sin. of the article O.
Jenetivo singular del arti-
cuto O. JEfta. adj. Seven. Siete. Pas.
Haft. Gr. tmu.
\ Egresi ton, adj. Last. Ultimo.
Embeo, s. m. Book. Libro.
Hin. Bed. Emposuno, adv. Attentively.
Atentamente. Enbrota, s.f Trunk, proboscis.
Trompa. Encalomar, v. a. To mount,
ascend. Subir. Sans. Unnaya.
(raising.) Ende, adv. prep. Since, after,
from Desde. Engrejeri,s. m. Asparagus. Es-
parrago. Sans. Indivara. Enjallar, v. n. To remember.
Acordar. Enjalle, sf. Memory. Memoria. Ennagrar, v. a. To repair. En-
mendar. Enorme, 5. m. Enemy. Ene-
migo. Enpirre, s.pl. Footmen, infan- try, labourers. Peones. Enre, ) adv. Within. Dentro. Enrun, ) Gr.tvdov.(Lat Antra..) Enrecar, Within us. En noso-
tros ; e. g. Saboca enrecar
Maria ereira! " Dwell within
us, Blessed Mary!" Enrrar, v. n. To enter. Entrar. Ensimacha, s.f. Ensign. En-
sena. Enia, adj. Nine. Nueve. Mod.
Gr. svvta. Epicon^ s.f. Corner. Esquina. Erajay,. s. m. Friar. Frayle.
Vid. A raj ay. Erajami,/. s. Dress of a friar.
Habito de fraile. Er ajar da, s.f. Bramble, thistle.
Zarza, cardo. Pers. Khar.
Hin. Jardar. Erandia, s.f Nun. Monja. Erani, s.f Lady. Seiriora. Erano, s.m. Lord, master. Se-
rior. Sans. Bharanda. Rus.
Bareen. Eray, s.m. Gentleman, knight.
Caballero. Hin. Rae. Erdicha.s./. Poverty. Pobreza.
Vid.Zichz. Eres, s.pl. Men not of the
Gypsy caste : " Hombres que
no son Jitanos." Ererio, adj. Blessed. Bendito. Erescare, adj. Blue. Azul. Eresia, s.f. Vine, vineyard.
Vid, vina. Pers. Raz. Sans.
Trirahnara (grape.) Eriche, s.jh. Pig, swine. Mar-
ra.no. Eriiries, s.pl. Hojrs. Marranos. Erisimen, s.f Blessing. Ben-
dicion. Erradcras, s.pl. Lettuces. Le-
chugas. Eru, 7 s.m. Olive tree. Oli- Eni(]uel, ) vo. Nod.Gr. tXaia. Erucar, 5. m. Olive-ground.
Olivar. Eso&nii, s.f. Staircase, ladder.
Escala. Escobiche,s. m. Beetle. Esca-
rabnjo Eaden, .<?. Ten. Diez, properly
Deque, q.v.
Esden y yesque, Eleven. Once. Esden y duis, Twelve. Doce. Esden y trin, Thirteen. Trece. Esden y ostar, Fourteen. Ca-
torce. Esden y panche, Fifteen.
Quince. Esden y jobe, Sixteen. Diez y
seis. Esden y ester, Seventeen. Diez
y siete. Esden y ostor, Eighteen. Diez
y ocho. Esden y esne, Nineteen. Diez
y nueve. Esne, adj. Nine. Nueve. Via
Enia. Esnerdi, s. Ninety. Noventa. Esorgie, adj. Extreme. Extre- me Espajuo, s. m. Fright, wonder.
Espanto. Espandador, s. m. Gorge of a
hill. Barranco. Esparrabar. Vid. Asparabar. Esparrusar, v. a. To hide. Es-
conder. Sans. Apavarana
(concealment.) Espibias, 5. pi. Chestnuts. Cas-
tanas. Espirabia, s.f. Leech. Sangui-
juela. Sans. Asrapa. Esporboria, s.f. Onion. Cebolla. Esprejaiio, s. m. Mulatto. Mu-
lato. Espurria, s.f Gut. Tripa. Espusifia, s.f. Spur. Espuela. Estache, s.m. Hat. Sombrero
From the Arab. Taj (a crown.) Estar, adj. Four. Cuatro. Estarica,5./. Ark, chest. Area
Vid. Jestari. Estardi, adj. Forty. Cuarenta. Estardo, s. & adj. Prisoner,
captive. Preso. Arab, and
Heb. Asfr. Estaripel, s.f. Prison. Carcel.
Arab. Asiri. Esterdi,arfj. Seventy. Setenta. Estomar, v. a. To pardon. Per-
donar. Estongri, s.f. A weight, dollar.
Peso. Estonquelar, v. a. To weigh.
Pesar, Estonquele, s.m. A weight.
Peso. Estonqueleta, s.f. Small silver
coin. Peseta. Estoriar. r. r. To be tired. Ren-
dir. Estoriel, adj. Fatigued, worn
up. Rendido. Sans. Avasada
(weariness.) Estormen,5./. Pardon. Remis- sion. Remision. Estuche, s.m. Sword. Espada.
Sans. Asidhenu (knife,) Asi.
Fachoyi. s.f. Grub, insect.
Vicho, vichuelo. Fac6rro.5.»». Halt. Alto. Que-
relar facorro, To halt. Hacer
alto. Farafais, s.pl. Buttons. Botones.
VOCABULARY OF THEIR LANGUAGE.
131
Farsilaja, s.f. Fault. Falta. Feda, s.f. Way, path. Camino. Felicha, 5./. Tower (prison.)
Torre, Mod. Gr. (pukax.ij. Fermentar, s.f. Penitence. Pe-
nitencia. Fendo, fendi, adj. Good. Bue-
no, buena. Fermicha, s.f. Tower. Torre. Feter, adv. Better. Mejor. Pers.
Bahtar. Fiafo, s.m. Steel for striking
fire. Eslabon. Fili, s.f. Face. Cara. Fili, s.f. Jacket. Chaqueta. Filimicha, s.f. Gallows. Horca.
Rus. Bicelitza. Fingule, s. to. Kind of Gnat.
Cagarropa. Firb, s.pl. Sparrows. Gorriones. Flacha,s./. Ashes. Ceniza. Hin.
Rakh. lamar, s. m. Jest. Chanza -'loja, s.f. Account. Cuenta. Floripi, s.f. Mass. Misa. Fondela, s.f. Tavern. Taver-
na. Foro, ) s. to. City. Ciudad. Foros, 5 Sans. Puri. Hin.Pnr. Fracasia, s.f. Low. La puerca. Fracaso, s.m. Hog. El puerco. Frasardo,s.m. Tiled Roof. Te-
jado. Fresiego, s.m. Gulf. Golfo.
From the Sans. Asthaga
(deep.) Fresiego e Bombardo, Gulf of
Lyons, Golfo de Leon.
Aunson guilles
Y te chobes
En e fresiego
E Bombardo—
N&sti nicabas
E quichardila
Sos sar menda
Te petro. "Although thou go and wash thee in the Gulf of Lyons, thou wilt not get rid of the stain which thou didst obtain through me (which with me fell to thee.")
Frima, ado. Little. Poco. — " Frima, frima,'' " By de- grees, "Poco a poco."
Fronsaperar,u. a. n. To wait, to hope. Esperar.
Frujeria, s.f. Fruit. Fruta.
Fufu, s. m. A well. Pozo.
Ful, s. to. Dung. Estiercol. Sans. Mala. Hin. Mul.
Fulalo, s. m. A dirty fellow. Hombre dispreciable.
Fulaiii, s.f. Dirtiness. Sucie- dad.
Furi,*./. Jacket. Chaqueta.
Furi,s./. Pudendum muliebre. Hin. Furj.
Furnia, s.f. Cave. Cucva.
Furunc, s.f. Favour, grace. Fa- vor, gracia.
G.
Gabicote. s. m. Book. Libro.
Jirab. KeUib. Gabine, s.m. Frenchman,
French. Frances. Gabuno, s. m. Mouse. Raton. 21
Gachapla, s.f. Couplet, catch
Copla. Gachaten, s. Cup, brasier.
Copa. Gachinbarta, s.f. Goodness, righteousness. Rectitudjus- ticia.
Gacho, s.m. A gentleman. Caballero. — Properly, Any kind of person who is not a Gypsy: " Cualquier hombre quo no sea Jitano."
Gae, s. m. Wine-press. Lagar.
Gajere, 1 adv. Always. Si-
Gayeres, ) empre.
Galisarda, s.f. Hunger. Ham- bre. Rus. Golod
Gancibe, s.f. Avarice. Avari- cia.
Gandi, s.f. Smell. Olor. Sans. Gandha. Hin. Gund.
Gandias, s.fd. Dross, siftings. Granzas.
Ganisardar, v. a. To gain. Ga- ndr.
Gao, s. w. Town, village. Pue- blo. Sans. Karvvada. Pers. Cui. In the Thieves' lan- guage, this word is applied to Madrid.
Garabelar, v. To be on one's guard, to guard. Guardar.
Garapatia, s.f. Thanks. Gra- cias. Arab. 'Arefat.
Garibardo, adj. Wounded, full of sores. Llagado.
Garipe, s. Scab. Postilla.
Garlochin, s.m. Heart. Cora- zon. Vid. Carlochin.
Gate, s. to. Shirt. Camisa. Pro- perly, A cloth round the middle. Sans. Kadirra.
Gavin, s.J. France. Francia.
Gel, s. m. Ass. Burro.
Geliche, s. to. Cord. Cordel.
Geremancha, s.f. Shop. Tien- da.
Gerjeres. Vid Guerere.
Gerinel, «./>. Michael. Miguel.
Gi, s. to. Wheat. Trigo.
Gilo, s. Kind of rope. Soga.
Gimona,s./". Hunting-cap. Mon- te r a.
Ginar, v. a. To count. Contar. Sans. Gana. Hin. Ginna.
Ginglar, v. n. To smell. Oler.
Girelar, v. n. To laugh. Reir. Hin. Khilkhilana.
Give, s.f. Snow. Nieve.
Giyabar, v. a. To relate. Con- tar.
Glandaseo, s. and adj. A gal- lant. Gallant. Galante.
Glandi.s./. A knife. Cuchil- lo.
Gloriban, s. m. Idler. Holga- zan.
Gola, s.f. Order. Orden.
Golberi, s.f 4 Crop, harvest. Cosecha.
Gole, s.f. Shout, cry. Voz, grito. Hin. Ghooloo. Rus. Golos.
Golipcn, s.f. Health. Salud.
Golisarelar, v. 71. To smell, i Oler
Golli,5./. Black-pudding. Mor-
ci 11a. Hin. Gulgul. Gollori, 5. to. Male animal.
Macho. Goneles,s.7ra. Garments, linen.
Vestidos, ropa. Sans. Goni.
Rus. Gune. — These words in
the Sanscrit and Russian
tongues are solely applied to
the habiliments of a beggar. Gono, s. m. A sack. Saco, cos- tal. Hin. Gon. Gorberi, s. m. Farmer. Cose-
chero. Gorbi, s. m. Ox. Buey. Sans.
Gavaraja (bull.) Gorbio, s. m. A swelling. Bollo. Gorobar, v. n. To howl, Aullar.
Vid. Cobadrar. Gorotune, s.m. Native of Es-
tremadura. Estremeiio. Goruy. s. m. Ox. Buey. Vid.
Gorbi. Gozoni, 5./. Young mare. Po-
tranca. Gra,5. m. Horse. Caballo. Sans.
Kharu. Hin. Ghora. Grajuno, adj. Dirty. Sucio. Granajina, s.f. Species of
plant. Berengena. Granar, v.n. To bray. Rebuz-
nar. Grani, s.f. Mare. Yegua. Grao, s. to. Poison. Veneno.
Sans. Gara. Gras, > s. m. Horse. Caballo. Graste, > Vid. Gra. Grateriza, s.f. Stable. Cuadra. Grejelo, adj. Certain. Cierto. Grejeri, s. Asparagus. Espar-
rago. Gres, s. Hundred. Ciento. Gres, prep.adv. Before. Antes. Gresdene, s. m. Stove. Anafe. Gresone, p.n. Jesus Christ.
Jesu Christo. Grestis, s.pl. Breeches. Cal-
zones. Grey, s. m. Century. Siglo. Griba, s.f. Rigour. Rigor. Gribule, adj. Rigorous. Rigo-
roso. Grimpar, v.n. To toast, pledge.
Brindar. Gris, s.m. Cold. Frio. Grobelar, v. a. To repair, go- vern. Componer, gobernar. Grodogopo, adj. Wounded.
Estropeiido. Gronichen,A/. Manured earth.
Tierra estercolada. Groiii, s.f. Dung-heap. Ester-
col6ro. Grose, 5. to. Forest, mountain.
Monte. Rus. Gora. Grucha, s.f. Cloth. Tola. Guachedre, s. Manger. Pese-
bre. Gnajalote, s. m. Turkey, pea- cock. Pavo. Sans. Garabrata,
Galavrata. Gucanar, v. a. To open. Abrir
Hin. Kuhna. Guchiba, s.f. Stable. Cuadra Guel, 5. in. Donkey, ass. Bor
132
THE ZINCALI.
Guel, s.f. Itch. Sarna. Guergere,s. m. Tuesday. Mar-
tes. Gui, s.f. Wheat. Trigo. Guillabar,r>. a. To sing. Cantar.
Sans. Kheli (a song.) Hin.
Guvvuya. Guillar, v. n. To go, to walk.
Ir, pasear. Rvs. Gulliat. Guillopio,r/</j. Maimed. Manco. Gula, s.f. Wave. Onda. Gule,s.m. Must, sirup. Arrope. Gulupe, s. m. Cotton. Algo-
don. Sans. Sthulapatta. Gurabano, s. m. Pastry cook.
Bollero. Guribano,5.?n. Silence. Silen-
cio. Guruju, s.m. Dissolute fellow.
Tunante. Gusto, 5. in. Goose. Ganso.
H.|
Haccuno, s. m. Summer. Ve-
rano. Hambo, s.m. One who is not a
Gypsy. El que no es Jita-
no. Harero, s. m. Plum-tree. Ci-
ruelo. Helo,s.m. Hog. Marrano. Sans.
Kola. Moor. Arab. Haiti f. Henira, s.f. Misfortune. Des-
gracia. Heta, adj. Named. Nombrado.
— This word appears to be
derived from the same root
as the English " hight," and
the " hedte" of the Danes
and Scandinavians. Horipaquia, s.f. Ant, emmet.
Hormiga.
I
Ibrain,s.ra. February. Febr6ro.
Iclene, adj. Celebrated. Cele- bre. Rus. Slavnoy. [Lat. In- clytus.]
Ie, properly the genitive singu- lar of the article O; also the accusative; it frequently serves for the nominative; e.g. Ie pray the mountain ; ie ran the rod ; Ie trujacai the grapes. — Propriamente el je- nitivo singular del articulo O; tambien el acusativo . frecu6ntemente sirve por el nominativo.
lege, s.f. Mass. Misa.
leque, adj. One. Uno. Sans. Eka. [Pers. Yak.]
leru, s. m. Wolf. Lobo.
les, gen. pi. of the article O. Jen. pi. del articulo O.
Ies, adj. One. Uno.
Iesano, s. m. Bacon. Tocino.
Iescotria, adv. Immediately. Luego. Vid. Escotria.
Iesdra, s.f. The left-hand. Mano izquierda.
lesque. Vid. Ieque.
iesque avel, One to another. Uno a otro.
Inclobo, s. m. Hermitage. Er- raito.
Inericar, v. a. To protect, shel- ter. Amparar.
Inerin, s. m. January. Enero.
Inerique, 5. m. Protection, shel- ter. Ampa.ro.
Ingodine,a6(;. Gluttonous. Go- loso.
Ingrodile. Impossible, lmposi- ble.
Inica, adj. Doting. Chocho.
lnolobi, s. m. Hermit. Ermi- tano. Rus. Inokk (monk.)
Irismen, s.m. Information. Aviso.
Isic6n,5. m. Corner. Esquina.
Isnabar, v. a. To have. Haber. Isna, " There is." Hay.
Iu, s. m. Paper. Papel. Hin. Ruq (parchment.)
Iusmito, s. vi. Smith. Herrador.
J.
Jaba, s.f. Harlot. Ramera.
Sans. Kavera. Moorish, Kah-
bah. Jabillar, v. a. To understand.
Entender. Jabuni, s.f. Rat. Rata. Jacbapen, s. Food. Comida.
Sans. Kasipu. Hin. Khaja. Jacharar, v. a. To burn. Que-
mar. Sans. Chura. Jachari, *./. Conflagration,
blaze. Incendio. Jal, s. m. Rope tied round the
neck. Dogiil. Jalar, v. a. To eat. Comer.
Sans. Gala Jalares, s. pi. Breeches. Cal-
zones. Jamar, v. a. To eat. Comer.
Sans. Chamya (food.) Hin.
Khana. Jamachuri, ) s.f. Strawberry- Jamaduri, ) tree« Madrono. Jamaco, s. m. Apricot. Albari-
coque. Janbri, s.m. Toad. Sapo. Jandeblaban,*. m. Proverb. Re-
fran. Jandojo, s. m. Sin. Pecado. Jandorro, s.m. Money. Dinero. Janreles, 5. pi. The genitals.
Los jenitales.
Janro°,'}*m- S^e. Sable. \ s.f Virgin. Virjen. Sans.
Jaiia, ! Kani. [Suns. Jani.
Jani, [ Rus. Jena. Gr. ywtj J woman.]
Japufie, $. m. Soap. Jabon.
Jar, s. m. Heat. Calor. Sans. Khara. [Arab. Kharr. Old Ger. Har]
Jara, s.f. Ounce of gold. Onza de oro.
Jaracaiiales, s. pi. Guards, offi- cers of the revenue. Guardas, carabineros.
Jarambolis, 5. pi. Rags.Trapos.
Janimi, s.f. Jacket. Chaquota.
Jarando, s. m. Pool, puddle. Charco.
Jardani, pr. v. John. Juan.
Jarima, s.f. Crumb, micraja.
Jarrumbo, .s\ rn. Sieve. Harnero.
Jarsia, s.f. Justice. Justicia
Jayere, s.m. Money. Dinero. Jayro, adj. Dry. Seco. Jebe, )5. Hole. Agujero. Sans. Jebi, 5 Gavaksha. Hin. Beh. Jebilen, s.m. Hole, well. Pozo. Jele, s.f. Pope. Soga. Jeli, s.f. Love Amor. Jenebel, s. m. Cloak. Capote. Jeni, s.f. She-ass. Burra. Jeralli,s./. Hunting-cap. Mon-
tera. Jerami, s.f. Bracelet. Manilla. Jerardo, 5. m. Hell. Infierno. Jerias, s. pi. Legs. Piernas. Jeriiii, s.f. She-ass. Burra. Jero, s. m. Head. Cabeza. Sans.
Sira. Jeroro,5. m. He-ass. Burro. Jeroscosa, 5. /. Crown of the
head. Mollera. Jerquem,sf. Fountain. Fucnte. Jerrumbro, s. m. Muleteer. Ar-
riero. Jesame, s.f. Waistcoat. Chupa Jestari, s.f Chest. Area. Gr.
y.iort]. Jetayo, 5. m. Lackey, footman.
Lacayo. Jetro, adj. Another. Otro. Jibicha, s.f Soup. Sopa. Jichanca, s.f. Gypsy- woman
J i tan a. Jichanco, s. m. Gypsy-man. Ji-
tano. Jil, s.m. Cold. Frio. Sans. Si-
tala. [Lat. Gelid us, adj.] Jil, s. m. Wheat. Trigo. Jimilo, s.m. Sigh. Suspiro.
[Lat. Gemitus.] Jinar, v. a. To count, reckon.
Contar. Vid. Ginar. Jinco, adj. Deep. Hondo. Jindo, adj. Dirty. Sucio. Sans.
Gundaka (dirt.) Jinar, v. n. To exonerate the
belly. Descargar el vientr»\
Sans. Havna. Mod. Gr. pw Jir, 5. m. Cold. Frio. Vid. Jil. Jircar, v.n. To shiver. Tiri-
tar. Jire, adj. pron. Your, yours.
Vuestro. Jiribar, v. a. To cook victuals,
to curry. Guisar. Vid. Que-
rabar. Jirirde, adj. Thin. Delgado. Jitarrorro, 5. m. Rag. Trapo. Job, adj. Six. Seis. Joberdi, a\ Sixty. Sesenta, Jojabar, v. a. To deceive. En-
gafiar. Sans. Kuhaka. (de- ception ;) whence also the
English Hoax, Hocus. Jojana, s.f. Deceit, lie. Enga-
iio, Mentira. Sans. Kuhana.
Hin. Jhooth. Jojenan, > s. m. Captain. Ca- Jojerian, ) pitan. Jojoy, 5. m. Hare, rabbit. Lie-
bre, conejo. Jolili, s.f. Earth, country. Ti-
erra, pais. Sans. Kula. Jollin, s. to. Anger, rage. Co-
raje. Hin. Julun. Jongabar, v. a. To tie, bind.
Atar. Htm. Jukurnar.
VOCABULARY OF THEIR LANGUAGE.
133
Jorgarse, v. r. To divert one- self. Divertirse.
Jorosnosco, adj. Hoary, gray. Canudo.
Jorpoy , s. m. Wool. Lana. Arab. Tsuf.
Jostia, s.f. Disputa.
Jotisarar, v. a. To approach. Acercar.
Jubeni, s.f Sale. Venta.
Jubichen, s. m. Gaspacho.
Jucal, adj. Lovely, generous. Hermoso, generoso. Sans. Prakula. Sukala. Hin. Shu- keela.
Jucali, fern, of the preceding. Eermosa, &c.
Juco, adj. Lean. Delgado./em. Juqui.
Juica, s.f. Cradle. Cuna.
Julabar,z7. a. To sweep. Barrer. Sans. Khalapu. (sweeper.)
Julabay,s./. A broom. Escoba.
Julaiii, s.f. Mistress. Ama.
Julay, s.m. Master. Arao. Sans. Kulika (head of a family.)
Julistraba, s.f. Serpent. Cule- bra. Sans. Kalasarpa (black snake.)
Jumeri,s./. Bread. Pan. Sans. Sumana (wheat.) Pers. Gon- dam. [Arab. Khamir, leaven.]
Junar, v. a. To hear, listen. Oir, escuchar. Pers.
J undro, s. m. Tube, pipe. Canon.
Jundro de la pusca, Barrel of a gun. Carion de la escopeta.
Jundunar, s. m. Soldier. Sol- dado. Sans. Kandira (an archer,) from Kanda (an arrow.)
Junios, s. m. A lamb. Cordero. Mod. Gr. anvi.
Juntuno, s.m. Listener, scoun- drel. Escuchador, bribon. Vid. Junar.
Jurdi, 5./. Gunpowder. P61- vora. Sans. Kshoda.
Jurepe, s. m. Prison, tribula- tion. Carcel, tribulacion.
Juri, s.f. File. Lima.
Juribaiii, s.f. A cow. Vaca.
Jurnio, s. m. A rope. Soga. Hin. Joorna (to tie.) " Chibar un jurnio en el aver pinre." — When an animal is lame in one foot, the Gypsies are in the habit of driving a nail into the other, by which they frequently deceive the chap- man : for when a horse is lame in both feet, it is diffi- cult to perceive that he is lame at all, the paces being equal. This trick is expressed by the above phrase ; which means, literally, " To cast a rope into the other foot."
Jurtibar, 5.?7i. September. Sep- tiembre.
Juru, 5. m. A bull. Toro.
Jurune, adj. Dark, obscure. Oscuro.
Justi, 5 /. Girdle. Faja.
Justia, s. f. Pinchbeck. Tum- baga.
18
Juter Juti
M
s. Vinegar. Vimiorrc. Mod. Gr. |o*i. [Lat. Acetum.] Jutia, s.f. Needle. Aguja. Suchi. Hin. Suja.
L.
Labane,5. Purple, a red cloak.
Purpura, capa encarnada. Labelar, v. a. To sing, to speak.
Cantar, hablar. Sans. Lapa.
Mod. Gr. Xayu). Ger. Lallen. Lacha, s.f. Shame, modesty.
Verguenza. Sans. Lagga. Lachinguel, adj. Long. Largo. Lachipe, s.f Silk, Seda. Lachipen, s.f Goodness. Bon-
diid. Lacho,fem. Lachi, adj. Good.
Bueno. Hin. Achchha. Sans.
Ruchira (beautiful.) Lacro, s. m. Servant. Criado.
Sans. Loka (a man.) Hin.
Larka (lad, boy.) Lalo, adj. Red, purple. Rojo,
purpureo. Sans. Lohita. Pers.
Lai. Lalore, s. m. A Portuguese.
Portugues. Laloro, Portugal " The red
land." Tierra bermeja, i. e.
Portugal. Lanbar, s. m. Law-suit. Pleyto. Lanbio, ) s. Farming-man, la- Lanbro, ) bourer. Aperador. Lanchicol, s.m. Charcoal-dust.
Cisco. Landari, s.f. Ribbon Cinta. Lanelar, v. a. To bring. Traer.
Hin. Lana. Langar, s. m. Coal, Carbon. Lango, adj. Lame Cojo. Sans.
Langa. Pers. Lang. Languear, v.n. To limp. Co-
jear. [Pers. Langidan.] Languno, s. m. Thigh. Muslo. Languro, s. m. Back-door. Pos-
tigo. Lao, s. m. A word. Palabra.
Sans. Lapa (speaking.) Rus.
Slobo. See Labelar. Larpa, s.f. A blow. Golpe. Lebate, s. m. Flint. Pedernal. Leberbena, s.f. Public walk
planted with elms. Alameda. Legrente, s. m. A gallant. Ga-
ldn. Lei, s. m. The world. Mundo. Lembresque, s.f. Lie, error.
Mentira. Lemitre, v. Limitren. Len, s.f River. Rio. Lendriz,s./, Partridge. Perdiz. Leprefete, s. m. Parsley. Pere-
ifl-
Leprentero, s.m. Glazed pan.
Lebrillo. Lerenes, s. pi. Letters. Letras. Li, s.f. Paper, a letter. Papel,
carta. Sans. Li pi. Libanar, v. a. To write. Escri-
bir. Sans. Likha. Hin. Likha. Libano. 5. m. Notary Public.
Escribano. Sans. Lipikara.
Hin. Likhunhara LiclirijS./. Lantern. Linterna.
Liganda, s.f Tassel. Borla.
Liguerar, v. a. To carry. Llevar.
Lilibuto, s. m. Sale, despatch, bureau. Despacho.
Lillar, v. a. To take. Tom;ir.
Lillax, pr. n. Thomas. Tom.is. — This is one of the many ridiculous words manufac- tured by the "Aficion" of Seville. Lillar, in Gypsy, signifying "to take," in Spa- nish Tomar, they, by slight- ly modifying the word, have attempted to make it serve for "Tomas," or " Thomas:" whereby, unwittingly, they have converted an Apostle into a thief or shop-lifter; for such is Lillax, according to the principle of the Gypsy tongue. In like manner,from Lon, " salt," in Spanish Sat, they have coined Londilla for " parlour," because in Spanish it is called Sala ; whereas the proper meaning of Londilla is a " salt-cellar."
Lilo, s.m. Fool, madman. Loco. Sans. Ligu. Mod. Gr. lialoq.
Lima, s.f. Wood. Lena.
Lima, s.f. Shirt. Camisa.
Limbidiar, ) v.a.n. To return.
Linbidiar, 5 Volver.
Limitren, s. m. Monday. Lunes.
Limutra,5./. Public walk. Ala- meda.
Linaste, s. m. Motive. Motivo. ^1 s. to. Fool, igno-
Lipendi, I rant person. Ton-
Lilipendi, f to,ignorante.Jlforf. J Gr. XujkortaiSu).
Liquia,5./. Nit. Liendre. Sans. Liksha. Hin. Leikh.
Lirenar, v. a. To read. Leer.
Lirestres, s.pl. Letters. Letras.
Liri, s.f. Law. Ley.
Lirione, adj. Light. Lijero.
Liripio, s. m. Lead. Plomo. Sans. Trapula.
Listrabar, ~)v. a. To free. Li-
Listramdr, ) bertar, librar.
Listrabea, s.f Livery. Librea.
Liter, s. m. Inscription. Letrero.
Litinguagi, s.f. Dispute, law- suit. Pleyto.
Lofi, s.f. Navel. Ombligo.
Lole, >6\m. Love apple. To-
Lolo, 5 n)ate.
Lombardo, s. m. Lion, the pro- vince of Leon. Leon. Vid. Bombardo.
Lon, s.f. Salt. Sil. Sans. La- vana. Hin. Lon. — Haperado la lon chingaripcn, " the salt of quarrel has fallen;" a proverbial expression of the Gypsies when they chance to drop salt, which they con- sider to be a prognostic ol strife.
Londe, prep. For. by. Por.
Londilla, 5./. Parlour, hall. Sal:i.
Lon done, .v. to. Englishman. In- •rlos. — This word is derived from " London," which the Spaniards in general consi
134
THE ZIXCALI.
der to be synonymous with England.
Longono, s. m. Comfort. Con- suelo.
Lorampio, s.m. A watch. Re- lox.
Lore, s.m. Gnat. Mosquito.
Loria, s f The sea. El mar. Pers. Darya, from the Sans. Toyjadhi.
Loriazo, s. m. March. Marzo.
Luandar, v. a. To hang up, weigh. Colgar.
Luas, s.pl. Pesetas, coins. Pe- setas.
Lucali, s.f. The river Gua- diana. — La Guadiana. — This word seems to be derived from Jubdl, q. v.
Luchardo, s. m. Steel for strik- ing fire. Eslabon.
Luchipen, s.f. Cliff, declivity. Cuesta.
Lucrarre, s. Large jar. Tinaja.
Luey,s. m. Wolf. Lobo. Greek, XvKog. [Fr. Loup.]
Luli, s.f. Basket. Espuerta. Hin. Duliya.
Lumi, }
Lumia, S s.f Harlot. Ramera.
Lumiaca, }
Lunberu. s. m. Lantern. Farol.
Luno, s.m. Sickle. Hoz. Sans. Lavanaka, Lavana.
Luquindone,5.m. Cypress-tree. Cipres.
Lurco, s. m. Well. Pozo.
Luriandez, s.f. Thunder. True- no. It is probable that this word sprung from the same root as the Celtic Daran, which it very much resem- bles : which root seems to have been the Sanscrit In- dra, from which the Gothic "thunder," " donner," &c, are more immediately de- rived. Lur, in old Danish, signifies " a horn."
Luricani, s.f. Guest-house. Po- sada.
Lluslu, s. m. Water-parsnep. Berro.
M.
Maas, s.f Meat, flesh. Came. Sans. Mansa. Rus. Miaso.
Maasengoro, s. m. A butcher. Carnicero.
Maasquero, s. m. Shambles, public market-place. Carni- ceria, pkiza publica.
Macache, adj. Dull. Torpe.
Macolotende, s. m. The abode of the fish, i. e. the sea. El mar. — This word is com- pounded from the Sanscrit Machchha (fish) and Alaya (abode,) and is one of those beautiful metaphorical terms for the great deep with which "the divine language" abounds.
Macota, s.f Drop. Gota.
Madia, s.f Fly. Mosca. Sans. Makshilu.
Machican, ) . ,-, . r,4n J
Machico, J'.w-ACat.Galo.
Machingano, ")s.m. A drunk-
Machargarno, 5 ar(k Borracho.
Machiro, s. m. Witness. Tes- tigo.
Macho, s.m. Fish. Pez. Sans. Machchha. Hin. Muchee.
Machunu, s.f. Fish-market. Pescaderia.
Madoy, s. m. A clove for eat- ing. Clavo de comer.
Majara, adj. Half, middle. Me- dio. Sans. Madhya.
Majara-chibel, s. Mid-day. Me- diojia. Sans. Divamadhya.
Majares, s. m. pi. The saints. Los santos.
Majari, s.f. The beatic one, i. e. The Virgin. La Virjen.
MeLJ9.ro, adj. Holy. Santo. Mod. Gr. iiaxaqioq.
Mai, 5. m. Comrade. Compa- nero.
Malabar, v. a. To rob. Robar. Sans. Malucha.
Maluno, s. m. Lightning. Re- lampago. Sans. Mahotka. Rus. Molnia.
Mamucha, s.f Short carbine. Tercerola.
Man, pron. pers. 1. Io. Pers. Man.
Manchin, s. m. Treasure. Te- soro.
Manclay, s. m. Prince. Prin- cipe. Sans. Madanalaya.
Manclay i, s.f Princess. Prin- cesa.
Mancon, 5. m. Hedge-hog. Eri- zo. Mod. Gr. sxiv°S'
Mandela, s.f Cloak. Capa.
Mang, s.f Meat, flesh. Carne. Vid. Maas. Hin. Mans.
Mangue, the accusative of the pron. pers. Man. El acusa- tivo del pro. pers. Man.
Manguelar, v. a. n. To entreat, beg. Pedir, rogar. Sans. Va- nika (beggar.) Hin. Mangna.
Manpori, s./. Tail. Cola.
Manricli, s.f. Kind of cake. Torta.
Manro, s. m. Bread. Pan. In the Gypsy dialect of Eng- land, Morro. Hin. Roti.
Manronas, s.pl. Bags (for bread.) Alforjas.
Mansenquere.s./. Meat, flesh. Carne. Vid. Maas, mane.
Mantroji, s.f. Wrist. Mufie- ca
Manu, ) s. in. Man. Flombre.
Manupe, ) From the Sans. Manu. i. e. Menu, " the first man, " the creator of the world," and " the giver of political institutes."
Manus, s. m. A man. Hombre. In this form it is likewise found in the Sans. Manasha. Hin. Manus.
Manusalo, adj. Valiant,^ pow- erful. Valiente. poderoso.
Manusardi, .•>•./. Woman. Mujer. Sans. Manushi.
Maqueo, s. m. Halter. Cabes-
tro. Arab. Mekwad (rope ) Marabear, v. a. To grind. Mo-
ler. Maramfios, s. m. Fennel. Hi-
nojo. Manir, v. a. To kill. Matar. Maraol, s.m. Assassin. Ase-
sino. Marcuri, s.m. Cat. Gato. Sans.
Marjara. Marelar, v. a. To kill. Matar.
Pers. Mirandan. Marmulli,s./. Wax. Cera. Pers.
Mum. Marmuya, s.f. Ball. Bala. Maru, s. m. Man. Hombre. Pers.
Mard. Mastronges,s. pi. Wrists. Mu-
necas. Masune, s. Skirt. Falda. Masvaro, s. m. Flesh-market.
Plaza de la carne. Matipen, s.f Drunkenness.
Borracheria. Sans, Madi (to
make drunk.) Pers. Masti. Mato, adj. and part. Drunk,
drunken. Borracho. Matobar, v. a. To intoxicate.
Emborrachar. Mod. Greek,
Matogarno, s. m. Drunkard. Borracho.
Meelfa, 5./. Measure. Medida.
Melalo, s. m. A measure of wine, a drunkard. Medida de vino : tambien, borracho.
Meligrana, s.f A pomegranate, The city of Granada, Gra- nada fruta, tambien, la ciu- dad de Granada. From the Italian, Melagrana.
Men, pron. pos. Mine. Mi.
Men, s. Person, honour. Per- sona, honor. — Su men "your lordship." Usted. From the Sans. Mana (to honour, re- spect.)
Menbrerico, s.m. Purgatory. Purgatorio.
Mencha, s.f Pudendum fe minse. Hin. Chicha.
Menda, pron. pers. I. Io.
Menderi, s.f. Phial. Limeta.
Mendesqucro, adv. Less. Mo- nos.
Mensalle, S.f. Table. Mesa.
Mequelar, v. a. To leave, let go. Dejar. Sans. Moksha. Moorish, Ihalli.
Merdipen, s.f. Wound. Ma- tad ura.
Merdo, adj. Sick. Enfermo.
Mericha, s.f. Bushel. Fanegn.
Mericlen, s.f Yard, court Corral.
Merinao, adj. An immortal. Suns. Marut.
Meripen. s.f. Death. Muerte. Sans. Mar an a. Arab. Maradz.
Mermelli, s.f. A taper. Vela.
Mestepen, s /. Life. Vida.
Mesiina.s./. Guest-house. Po- sada.
Milan, s. m. One thousand. Mil.
Miliyo, s. m. Heart. Corazun.
VOCABULARY OP TIIEIR LANGUAGE.
13;
Milla, 5./. League. Legua.
Pers. Mil. Minchabar, v. a. To produce,
bring forth. Parir. Minchi, s.f. Pudendum femi-
nse. In the English dialect,
Mitcld. Sans. Madanayadha. Minchoro, s. m. The bully of
a prostitute. El querido, 6
rufian de una mujer publica. M\nrio,pron. poss. Mine. Mio. Minrricla,s./. Cloud. Nube.
Sans. Mudira. Mirindia, adv. In the mean- while. Mientras. Mistos, adv. Well. Bien. Mochi, s.f. Doublet. Coleto. Mochique, 5. Mallet. Mazo. Mo\, s.m. Wine. Vino. A pure
Persian word. Mollati. s.f. Grape. Uva. Monborico, s. and adj. Violet.
Morado. Monrabar, v. a. To clip, shear.
Esquilar. Vid. Munrabar. Monro, s.m. A friend. Amigo,
Sans. Vandhu. Morchas.s. Skin, hide. Pellejo.
Hin. Mushk. Morquilen, s. m. Mentula. Moscabis, adj. Enamoured.
Enamorado. Mostarban, s. m. A traveller.
Viajante. Arab. Mosafer. Mostipelo, s . m. Farm-house.
Cortijo. Mu, pron. pers. pi. We, our- selves. Nosotros. Muchi, s.f. Spark. Chispa. Muchobelar, v. a. To wash.
Lavar. Vid. Chobelar. Sans.
Marjju. Muclar, v.n. To hold one's
tongue. Callar. Muclar, v. n. To void urine.
Orinar. Mui, s.f. Mouth, face. Boca,
cara. De mamui. In front,
De fr£nte. Sajis. Mukha.
Hiii. Mukh. Mulani, adj. Sad. Triste. Mulati, s.f. The gallows. Horca. Mule 16, adj. Mortal. Mortal. —
Crejete mulela, " mortal sin." i
Pecado, "mortal." Mulo, s. m. A dead man. Mu-
erto. Pers. Mordah. Munela, s.f. Cap. Gorra. Munrabar, ©.a. To clip, shear.
Esquilar. Munrabador, s. m. A shearer.
Esquilador. Muquelar,z?.a. To leave, aban- don. Dejar. Vid. Mequilar. Murcia, s.f. Arm. Brazo. Murciales, s.pl. Arm3. Brazos. Murciali, s.f. A sweet drink
of wine, water, sugar, &c.
Mistela. Mureo, s. m. A wall. Pared. Murmo Murno.
}odj.
Dear. Caro.
Mus, conj. But, yet. Pero. [Fr.
Mnis.] Musile, adj. Dumb. Mudo. Musley, s. m. Lamp. Candil.
Mustiiiar, v. a. To extract, pull
out. Saciir. Mutrar, v.n. To void urine.
Orinar. Sans. Mutra. Hin.
Mutna.
N. Na, adv. No. Sans, and Pers.
Na. [Welsh and A. Sax. id.] Nacar, v.n. To pass. Pasar. Nacardelar, v. a. To read. Leer. Nacicar, v. a. To grind, whet.
Amolar. Nacle, s.f. Fire. Candela. Nafre, s. m. Thread. Hilo. Naguerindoy, s.f. Idle dis- course, conversation. Con-
versacion. Najabar, v. a. To lose. Perder.
Sans. Nakka (to destroy.) Najar, v.n. To flee. Huir. Hin.
Nathna. Najipen, s.f. Loss, perdition.
Perdida, perdicion. Najira, s.f. Banner, Bandera. Nanai, adv. No. Nansu,o.f/j. Pleasant. Chvisco. Nao, s.m. Name. Nombre.
[Welsh Enw.] Naquelar, v. n. To pass. Pasar.
Vid. Nacar. * Naqui,s./. Nostril. Nariz. Sans.
Narkudaka. Hin. Nakh. Nardian, adv. Never. Nunca. Narsichisle, s. m. A dwarf.
Enano. Sans. Nara (man,)
Nichais (low.) Nasalo,arfj. Sick, infirm. En-
fermo. Nasallipen, s.f. Sickness. En-
fermedad. Mod. Gr.voaivf.ia. Nasti, adv. No. Nastibre, s.m. November. No-
viembre. Nasula, s.f. The evil eye. Mai
de ojo. Nausardan, adj. Vile. Vil. Ne, adv. No, not. Sans. Nahi. Nebel, adj. New. Nuevo. Sans.
Navina. Nebo, adj. New. Nuevo. Sans.
Nava. Nebor6,a</;. Small. young. Pe-
queno, joven. Necaute, adj. None, not one.
Ningun. Nicabar, v. a. To take away,
steal. Quitar, robar. Nichobelar, v.n. To appear.
Parecer. Niguillar, v. n. To go out. Salir.
Hin. Nikulna. Nililo, s. m. Turkey, peacock.
Pavo. Ninelo, s. m. Fool, ninny. Tonto. Nislo, adj. Prompt, quick.
Pronto. Nivel, s.f. Ray. Raya. Nonabar, v. n. To swim. Na-
dar. Nonrro, pron. poss. Our. Nues-
tro. Noques, s. pi. Horns. Cuernos.
Has. Roger. Norical, s. Snail. Caracol. Norungarse, v.r. To be angry.
Enojarse.
Norungy, adj. Angry. Eno-
jadov Nostaro, s. m. Small coin. Cu-
artillo. Nostu, s.m. Small coin. Cuarto. Noyme,n.^r. Noah. No6. Nu, pron. vers. ace. sin. Me. Me. Nu, adj. Nine. Nucve. Pers.
Nuh. Nuca, 5./. Mother-in-law. Sue-
gra. Nunutibe, s. m. July. Julio. Nutib6, s. m. June. Junio.
O.
O, art. dcf. The. El.— ex. gr.
"Ocan," The sun. El sol. O, pron. pers. He. El. Pers. O. Oben, s. Winter. Invierno.
Sans. Haimana. Obiserna,^./. Scabbard. Vayna. Ocajanaycha,5./. Hut. Cabana. Ocana, s.f. Hour. Hora. Ocanagimia, s.f. Prayer. Ora-
cion. Ochardilo, s. m. Permission.
Licencia. Hin. Choottee. Ochi, s.f. Soul, spirit. Alma,
espiritu. Hin. Jee. Ochipa,s./. Fortune. Fortiina. Ochon, s. m. Month. Mes. Oclajita, s.f. Estate. Hacienda. Oclaye, 5.772. King. Rey. Oclinde,<wfo. Then. Entonces. Ocrianse, s. Ant. Hormiga. Odisilo, s. m. Vice. Vicio. Odoros, 5. pi. Jealous fancies.
Zelos. Ogomo, s. m. Stomach. Esto-
mago. Sans. Anga (bod v.1)
ml ojh. *V.T'
Ojabesar,?j.a. To pardon. Per-
donar. Ojarar, v. n. To remember.
Acordar. Ojomon, s. m. Stomach. Esto-
mago. Olacerar, v. n. To cost. Costar. Olajay, s.f. Curse. Maldicion. 01ebarachi,s/. Midnight. Me-
dianoche. Oleria, s.f. Roof-tile. Teja. Olibias, s.pl. Stockings. Me-
dias. Rus. Obubh (shoes and
stockings.) OKcha, s f. Street. Calle. Vid.
Ulicha. Olilo, s. m. Heart. Corazon. Ollarub, s. m.. Wolf. Lobo. Oltarique, s. m. Plain. Campo. Olune, s. Sickle. Hoz. Oman, 5. m. Hole, pit. Hoyo,
agujero. Sans. Avada. Rus.
Obman (deceit, artifice.) Omito, s.m. Farrier. Albeytar. On, prep. In. En. Onchullao, adj. Having the
dropsy. Hidropico. Onchullar, v.n.v.a. To grow
fat, to fatten. Engordilr. Ondila, s.f Win<r. Ala. Ondinamo, s. m. Elm. Alamo. Ondoba, pron. dcm. This. Estc. Ondolay a, pron. pers. ft m. She.
Ella. Ondole, pron. pers. mas. He. El.
136
THE ZINCALI.
Ondoquel, pron. dem. That.
Aquel. Onrrcs, s.f. Skirt. Falda.
Operisa, s.f Salad. Ensalada.
Opoy,s. Pupil of the eye. Nina del ojo.
Opre, adv. Above. Encima. Hin. Ooupur. Gr. vticq.
Opucher, s.f. Occasion. Oca- sion.
Or. Vid.O.
Oranpion. s.m. Watch. Reloj.
Orasta, s.f. Play, comedy. Comedia.
Or-bajando, s. m. Drum. Tam- bor. Literally, the thing that is touched or beaten. Vid. Pajabar.
Orcajaiii, s.f. ('age. Jaula.
Orchiri, s.f. Beauty. Hermo- sura.
Orfi,s/. Fig. Higo. Sans. Avarohin.
Orioz, s.m. Wolf. Lobo.
Orobar, v. n. To weep. Llorar. Sans. Ruda. Hin. Rowuya (weeping.)
Orobrero, s.m. Thought. Pen- samiento.
Orocana, s.f. Foot-path. Senda.
Orondar, v. a. To seek. Bus- car.
Oropate, s.f. Ant. Hormiga.
Oropatia, s.f. Leaf. Hoja. Pro- bably from, the Sanscrit com- pound Gurupatra (large leaf.)
Oropatiara, interject. God grant. Ojala.
Oropendola, s.f. Will. Volun- tad.
Oropera,s./. Company. Com- pania.
Oropielar, v. a. To suck the breast. Mamar. — Coin ne orobiela ne oropiela, " He who does not weep, does not suck. — Gypsy Proverb.
Orosque, s. m. Copper. Cobre. Properly, Brass. Sans. Ara- kuda.
Orotar, v. a. To seek. Buscar. Vid. Orondar.
Orpachirima,5./. Patience. Pa- ciencia.
Ortalame, s. m. Plain, field. Campo.
Orteli, s./. Love. Amor.
Oruji,s./. Rind,husk. Cascara.
Orzica, s.f Harlot. Ramera.
Ospanto, 5.W. Pompion, cala- bash. Calabaza
Ospesimia, s.f. Spice. Especia.
Ostabar, v. a. Rob. Robar.
Ostalique, s. Plain, field. Campo.
Oste, tit. hon. Your worship. Usted. pi. Ostelende.
0stebel,5.m. God. Dios. Vid. Debel.
Ostelinda, s.f. Goddess, the Virgin. Diosa, la Virgen.
Ostelc, ?fld;vHnd"»be1^- Ostely', \ tzstl Ostil'ir, v. a. To rob. Robar. Ostilador, s.m. Robber, thief. Ladron.
Ostinar,r. a. n. To awake. Des-
pertar. Ostor, adj. Eight. Ocho. Ostord i.,adj. Eighty. Ochenta.
Pers. Hashtad. Osuncho, s. m. Pleasure. Placer. Osune, adj. Obscure, dark. Os-
curo. Otal, 5. m. The heavens. El
cielo. Otan, adv. Already. Ya. Otarpe, s.m. The heavens. El
cielo. Ote, adv. There, yonder. Alii,
alia. Hin. Uthe. Otembrolilo, s. m. Heart. Co-
razon. Otoba, pron. dem. That. Aquel. Otollojo, adj. Tame. Manso. Oto, adj. Eight. Ocho. Vid.
Ostor. Otorbar, s. m. October. Octu-
bre. Oygue, s. m. Lodging for sol- diers. Cuartel. Ozandi, s.f. Hempen sandal.
Alpargata.
P.
Pa, prep. For. Para.
Pacuaro, adj. Handsome, pret- ty. Bonito. — The Gypsies have a trick, which they employ when they wish to get rid of an animal with an ugly neck and head : they place him in an attitude by which his ugliness is partly concealed from the chapman, which they call.De pacuaro. The word is pure Persian, Pacru. [Lat. Pule her.]
Pachabelar, v. a. To believe. Creer. Sans. Puja (to reve- rence.)
Pachandra, s.f. The festival of Easter. Pascua.
Pacharracar,r. a. To sow. Sem- brar.
Pacbatrar, v. a. To pound, break to pieces. Machacar.
Pachi, s.f. Modesty, honour, virginity. Verguenza, virji- nidad. Suns. Puja.
Pachibalo, adj. Honest, ho- nourable. Honrado.
Pachibar,0.a. To honour. Hon- rar. Rus. Pachitat.
Paehimaehi, s.f. Foot and leg. Pata.
Pachuno, adj. Modest, bashful. Vergonzoso.
Paillo, 5. m. One who is not a Gypsy. El que ne es Jita.no.
Pajabar. v. a. To touch, feel. Tocar, tentar. Sans. Pricha.
Pajanbo, s.f. Temptation. Ten- tacion.
Pajandi,5./. Guitar. Guilarra. Literally, Tbe thing that is touched or played upon.
Paiardo, *. m. Watch. Reloj.
Pajilaa, s. A ball. Peldta.
Paiin,*./. Part. Parte. Sans. Paksha.
Pajorias, s.pl. Ribs. Costillas.
Pajumi, s.f. Flea. Pulga.
Palabear, v. a. To shave. Afetar. Sans. Palyula (to cut.)
Palal, adv. Behind. Atras, de- tras.
Palard. Vid. Pajardo.
Palchandra,s./. Carnival. Car- nestolendas.
Paldum,5. m. Hunchback. Jo- robado.
Palife, adj. Exquisite. Esqui- sito. Sans. Pelava (delicate.)
PalomiaSjS.pf. Hips. Caderas.
Paluli, s.f. Acorn. Bellota. Pers. Palid. Arab. Ballut.
Paluno, s. in. A wood, farm- house. Bosque, tambien cor- lijo. Sans. Palla (kind of sbed.)
Panchabar, Vid. Pachabelar.
Pa.nche, adj. Five. Cinco. Pers. Panj.
Pancherdi, adj. Fifty Cincu- enta.
Pandar, v. a. Vid. Pandelar.
Pandela, s.f. Frying-pan. Sar- ten. Jta/. Padella.
Pandelar, v. a. To enclose, to tie, to shut. Atar, cerrar. Sans. Vandha. Pers. Pay- wandan.
Pandipen, s.m. Dungeon, pri- son. Calabozo, carcel-
Panelar, v. n. To leap, jump. Saltar. Sans. Plava.
Pani, s.f. Water. Agua. Sans. Paniya, Pavana. Hin. Panic
Paniscaia,5./. Water-melon. — Sandia.
Pansiberarse, v. r. To live in concubinage. Amancebarse.
Pantaluno,s. m. A Frenchman. Frances. — This is a cant word, and not Gypsy.
Pani, s.f. Vid. Pani.
Papajoy,5./. Parable. Parabola.
Paparuiii, s.f. Grandmother. Abuela.
Papimia, s.f. Flea. Pulga.
Papiri, 5. Paper. Papel.
Paque, adv. Near at hand. Cerca.
Paquilli, s.f Silver. Plata.
Parabar, v. a. n. To break. Par- tir, romper.
Paraiii, s.f. Broom. Escdba. Hin. Burhni.
Paratute,s.?rc. Rest. Descanso. Sans. Parajata (adopted, nou- rished.)
Parauco, *. m. Care. Cuidado. See the last.
Parbarar, v. a. To nurse, edu- cate. Criar. Sans. Parajata (adopted.) Pers. Parwardan.
Parbaraura, s.f. A child, in- fant. Criatuni.
Pare hand i,5./. Easter. Pascua. Vid. Pachandra.
Parcbandrero, adj. Ragged, slo- venly. Dospilfarrado.
Parcharique, adj. Obstinate. Port! a do.
Tardy, s.f. Tinder. Yesca.
Pariolar, v. n. To rage. Uabi;ir.
Paripen, s. m. Danger. Peligro.
VOCABULARY OP THEIR LANGUAGE.
137
Pnrlacha, s.f. Window. Ven- tana.
Parlaora, s.f. A letter. Car- ta.
Parne, s. m. White or silver money. Dineros blancos, i. e. De plata.
Parno, adj. White. Blanco. Sans. Pandu.
Paroji, s.f. Leaf. Hoja.
Parracha, s.f. Wave. Onda.
Parrotobar, v. n. To fast. Ayu- nar.
Parta, s.f. Ribbon. Cinta.
Parugar, v. a. To exchange, barter. Cambiar. trocar. Sans. Parivatta (exchange,) Para- spara (interchanging.)
Paruipen,5. m. Exchange, bar- ter. Cambio.
Paruni, s.f. Grandmother. Abu- ela.
Pas, adj. Half. Medio. Pas- chibe, Half-day, i. e. Noon, Medio-dia. In like manner, the English Gypsies say,Pas- korauni, "Half-a-crown," &c.
Pasabia, 5./. Strength. Fuerza.
Pas-callico, s. m. The day after to-morrow. Pasadomanana.
Pas-pile, Half drunk. Medio borracho.
Pasque, s.f. The half. Mitad. Sans. Bhaga.
Pastia,5./. Frog. Rana. [Arab. Dzafda'.]
Pastimache, s. . Footstep. Pi- sada.
Pu3uno, s.m. Farm-house. Cortijo.
Pa,tupire,5. Staircase. Escalera. Sans. Pad (a foot)
Pavi, s.f Nostril. Nariz.
Pea, s.f. Chair, Saddle. Silla.
Pebuldorico, adj. Catholic. Ca- tolico. — Cangri Pebuldorica y Rebuldorica, " Catholic and Apostolic Church."
Pecalis, s.f. French silk. Seda. Francesa.
Pechisla, s. m. Sexton. Sacris- tan.
Peco, adj. Roasted. Asado. Sans. Pakka from Pacha (to cook.) Pers. Pokhtan. Rus. Petsch (oven.)
Pelanbru, s.f. Pen. Plurna.
Pele, s.pl. Eggs, the genitals. Huevos, los jenitales. Sans. Pela.
Pen, A particle frequently used in the Gypsy language in the formation of nouns ; e.g.Chungalipen," ugliness," or "an ugly thing;" in which word the particle Pen is af fixed to Ckungalo, " ugly." Una particula de que fre- cuentemente se sirve en Ji- tano para la formacion de substantives.
Penar, i.a. To say, speak. Decir, hablar. Hin. BoJna.
Penchahar,© n. To think. Pen- sar. Hin. Bicharna.
Pendar. Vid. Penar.
Pendebre, s. m. December. Di- ci6mbre.
Penebri,*./. Root. Rafz.
Peniche,5. m. The Holy Ghost El Espiritu Santo. Greek, Tlvev/xa.
Penascoro, ) 5. m. Brandy. Agu-
Penaquero, ) ardiente (fire- drink.) Sans. Pana (drink- ing,) Agira (fire.)
Peiiaspe, 5.7n. Blunderbuss. Trabuco.
Pepedro, s. m. Plain, field. Cam- po.
Peperes, s. m. Pepper. Pimien- to. Sans. Pippali.
Per, prep. For, by. Por.
Perar, v. n. To fall. Caer. Hin. Purnar.
Perbarar, v. a. To create. Criar.
Perbaraor, s. m. Creator. Cria- dor.
Percara,^./. Tongue. Lengua.
Perdine, s.f. Musket. Escopeta.
Perdineles, s. pi. Musketeers. Escopeteros.
Perdo, adj. Full. Lleno.
Perdobal, s.m. A debauchee. Tunante.
Perdoripe, adj. Full. Lleno.
Perelalo, adj. Full. Lleno. Sans. Purita.
Perfine, adj. Necessary. Pre- cise Mod. Gr. TiQenet.
Pergenamiento, 5. m. Feeling, grief. Sentimiento.
Pergenar, v. a. To feel. Sentir.
Pergoleto, s. m. Pilgrim. Pere- grino.
Perifuye, s.m. Worm, rep- tile.
Perindola, s.f. Ball. Bola. Sans. Parimandala, Pinda. Hin. Pinda.
Peris, n.p. Cadiz.
Perma,5./. Yolk of Egg. Yema.
Pernasi, s.f. Salad. Ensalada.
Perpello, s.m. Calf. Becerre.
Perpelo, s. m. Peach. Mekco- ton.
Perpeni, s.f. Bridge. Fuente.
Perpiche, s. m. Cat. Gato.
Perplejo, s. m. Fright. Susto.
Persibarao, adj. Lining in con- cubinage. Ama^cebado.
Persibararse, v.r. To live in concubinage. Amancebarse.
Persifuye, s. m. Worm, reptile. Bicho. Vid. Perifuye.
Persine, adj. Savage, fierce. Bravo.
Persos, conjunc. Because. Por- que,
Perto, 5.W. Bolt. Cerrojo.
Pertraba, s.f Knapsack. Mo- chila.
Fespuro, s. m. Pepper. Pimi- ento.
Pesquibar, v. a. n. To taste, en- joy. Gustiir.
Pesquilar,r. a. To deceive. En- gaiiar
Pesquital, s. m. Pleasure. Pla- cer, gusto.
Petali,s./. Horse-shoe. Herra- dura. Mud. Gr.ntxaXuv.
N
Petallas, s.pl. Horse-shoes.
Herraduras. Petalli, s.f. Lodging. Posada.
Mod. Gr. OTrijTt (a house.) Petano, s. m. Calf. Becerro. Petra,s./. A fall. Caida. Sans.
Patayalu. Peujo, 5.771. He-goat. Macho
cabrio. Pichibibi,5./. Linnet. Jilguero. Pichiscas, s.f. Cough. Tos.
Sans. Vikshava. Mod. Gr.
Pico, 5. 771. Shoulder. Hombro. Picon, Tip. La Mancha. — This
word seems to belong to the
Germania, or cant dialect. Piltra, s.f Bed. Cania. Pilvo, adj. Bald. Calvo. Pincherar, v. a. r. To know, to
be acquainted with. Conocer.
Hin. Puh-channa. Pindorri, s.f. Girl, lass. Mu-
chacha. Pindorro, 5. m. Boy, lad. Mu-
chacho. Pindrabar. v. a. To open. Abrir.
Hin. Bihurna. Pindro, 7 5. 7». Foot. Pie. pi. Pinro, 5 Pinres. [Sayis. Pad.] Pinre-bustaro, The right foot.
El derecho. Pinre-can, The left foot. El
izquierdo. Pinnelar,t».a. To paint. Pinttir. Pinpore, 5. m. Lip. Labio. Pinsorra, s.f. Crab-louse. La-
dilla. Pipindorio, n.p. Antonio. Pipochi, s.f. Block, stock. Cepo. Pirabar. v. r. a. To copulate, to
heat. Copuliir, calentar. Mod.
Gr. nvooivia. Sans. Pallava
(i'ove.) Pirando, s. m. Lover, libidinous
person. Amante, hombre li-
bidonoso. Sans. Peiradarika. Pirar, v. n. To walk. Andar.
Properly, To fly. Pers. Pari-
dan. Piri, s.f. Earthen pot. Olla.
Sans. Pithara. Piribicha, s.f. Female lizard.
Lagarta. Vid. Berbirincha. Piribicho, 5. m. Lizard. La- gar to. Piro, 5.771. Foot. Pie. Vid.
Pinro. Pisabais, s.pl. Buckles. Hebil-
las. Pispindi,5./. Pepper-plant. Pi-
micnto. Pispiri, s.f Pepper. Pimicnta. Pispirucha, s.f. Widow. Viuda. Pista, s.f. Account. Cuenta. —
" Dinar pista," " To give ac- count." Dar cuenta. Pita, 5./. Drink, beverage. Be-
bida. Rus. Pitic. Piuli,5./. Widow. Viuda. Pers.
Biwah. Piyar, v. a. To drink. Beber.
Sans. Pivati. Hi*. Piya-k. Placo, s.m. Tobacco. Tabaco.
Literally, Dust, powder. Rus.
Prak.
138
THE ZINCALI.
, ~)s.m. Brother. Herma- it C no.— The first of to, j these words is nei-
Plai,s./. A mountain. Sierra, montana.
Plajista, s. m. Smuggler of to- bacco. Contrabandista de ta- baco.
Plal, ") 5. m. Brother. Herma
Plan
Piano, „ ther more nor less than the English Pal, a cant expres- sion much in use amongst thieves, which signifies a comrade or brother in vil- lany.
Plani, s.f. Sister. Hermana. Sans. Bhgani.
Plasarar, v. a. To pay. Pagar. Rus. Platit.
Plastariar, v. a. To follow, to pursue. Seguir. Sans. Pras- thana (march.)
Plastani, s f. A company, a band of people pursuing thieves. Compania, caterva que sigue a ladrones.
£J\ta' Is. Cloak. Capa.
Platamugion, )
Platesquero,s.ra. Court. Patio.
Platilla, s.f. Straw. Paja.
Playi,s./. Importunity. Porfia.
Plescari, adj. Clear. Claro.
Plubi, s.f. Silver. Plafa (pro- perly, Rupi.) Sans. Raupya.
Flaco,adj. Strange, rude. Fan- tastico, basto. Rus. Plok.
Po,5.m. Belly. Vientre.
Poba, s.f. Apple. Manzana. [Lat. Pomum.]
Poban6,s.ra. Apple-tree. Man- zano.
p0„^aJ^DuC!lt'Du<!4d0-
Polvorosa.s./. Road, way. Ca- mino. — This is a cant ex- pression, and does not pio- perly belong to the Gypsj language.
Pomi, s.f. Silver. Plata.
Pondesquero, s.m. Pontiff, chief. Pontifice, cabo.
Pondone, s. m. Mattress. Col chon.
Poquinar,t5.a. To pay. Pagar. Hin. Pukrana.
For, s.f Feather. Pluma. Pers. Par. Rus. Pero. [He&.Ebher, pinion.]
Porescaro, s. m. Governor of a town. Gobernadorde ciudad. Sans.Fm'i (city,) Kara (lord.)
Pori, s.f. Tail. Cola.
Porias,s. pi. Bowels. Entranas. Sans. Puritat.
Porsumi, s.f. Onion. Cebolla.
Pos, s. Belly. Barriga. [Rus. Puzo. Ger. Bauch.]
Posilati, adv. Compulsively, by force. Por fuerza.
Postan,s.m. Skin. Pitt. Pers. Pust. Also, Linen, Lienzo. Properly, The skin or hide in which smuggled goods are wrapped.
Postaiii, s.f Parcel of smug- gled goods Contrabando.
Posters. m. Bosom. P6cho.
Posuno,s.m. Courtyard. Cor-
rah Potosi, s. Bottomless abyss.
Abisimo sin fondo. Vid. Bu- tton. Also, A pocket, Faltri-
quera. Prachindo. adj. Dirty. Sucio.
From the Sans. Raja (dust.) Prasni, s.f. A family, a tribe.
Familia, tribu. Sans. Pras-
tita (crowded, swarming.) Pray, s.f. Mountain. Montana.
Vid. Plai. Pre, prep. For. Por. Prelumina, s.f. Week. Semana. Presa s,conjunc. Because. Por-
que. Presimelar, v. a. To begin. Em-
pezar. Sans. Prastavana (be- ginning.) Prestani, s.f. Pasture-ground,
meadow. Dehesa. Prevarengue,5. Hell. Infierno.
Sans. Pratapana. Pritingina,5./. Week. Semana. Probosquero, s.m. Herald, com- mon crier. Pregonero. Prochibar, v. a. To offer. Ofre-
cer. Protobolar, v. a. To cure. Cu-
rar. Prulano, s. m. Hedgehog. Erizo. Prumi, s.f. Beard, chin. Barba. Prusiatini, s.f. Pistola. Pucanar, v. a. Proclaim. Pre-
gonar. Hin. Pukarnar. Pucano, s. m. Herald, common
crier. Pregonero. Puchabar, > v. a. To question. Pucharar, $ Preguntar. Prach-
chha. Hin. Puchna. Puchel, s.f. Life. Vida. Pujumi, s.f. Flea. Pulga. Pul,s.m. Abridge. Puente.
This word is pure Persian.
Sans. Pali. Pumen, s. m. Shoulder. Hom-
bro. Putu,5./. Trouble, affliction.—
Pexia. Punsa'oo, s. m. Beak. Pico. Pur, adt. When. Cuando. Purelar, e.n. To be born. Na-
cer. Puro, adj. Old. Viejo. Sans.
Pura. Pers. Pir. Pus, s. m. Strav. Paja. Hin.
Bhusa. Pusabar, v. a. To prick. Picar. Pusca, s.f Muskei. Escopeta.
Rus. Pushca. Puscali,5./. Pen, feather. Plu- ma. Putar, s. m. Well. Pozo. Sans.
Patala. Puy, s. Straw. Paja.
Q.
Quejelano, adj. Open, clear,
unincumbered. Raso. Quejeiia, s.f. Custom-house.
Aduana. Qucjosa,^./. Silk. S6da. Sans.
Kauseya. Quelalla, s.f. Egg-plant. Be-
rengena.
Quelar, v. n. To dance. Baylar.
•Sans. Kela (to sport.) Quelati, s.f. A rial, coin. Real. Quele, s. m. Dance. Bayle. Quelebao, s. m. Dancer. Bay-
lador. Queliben, s.f. Declaration. De-
claracion. Quer, s. m. House. Casa. Sans.
Agara. Hin. Ghur. Querabar, v. a. To cook. Gui-
sar. Vid. Jiribar. Hin. Kurna. Querar, ) »• £ To do, make.
Querelar nasula, To cast the
evil eye. Aojar. Querdi, par. pass. Done.Hecho.
Pers. Kardeh. Querescaro, s. m. Steward, but- ler. Mayordomo. Querisar,r. a. To scratch. Ara-
nar. Querlo, s.m. Neck, throat Pes-
cuezo. Sans. Gala. Pers.
Galu. Rus. Gorlo. Querosto,s.m. August. Agos-
to. Quichardila, s f. Stain. Man-
cha. Quichardino, adj. Tight, hard,
mean. Apretado, Quichi, adj. adv. As many as,
concerning. Cuanto. — On
quichi, "Inasmuch." En
cuanto. Quicia, s.f. Basket. Espuerta. Quiguinibe, s. m. A cook. Co-
cinero Quijari, s.f Stirrup. Estribo. Quilen, s. Mentula. Quillaba, s.f. Prune. Ciruela. Quimbila, s.f. Company. Com- pania. Quimbilo, s. m. Companion.
Companero Quimpinar, v. a. To swallow.
Tragar. Quimuqui, s.f. Gimlet. Barre-
na. Quinar, v. a. To buy. Comprar.
Hin. Kinna. [Arab. Kana.] Quinate, s. m. Cheese. Queso. Quindia, s.f. A species of bean.
Abichuela. Quinguina, s.f. Kitchen. Co-
cina. Quinao, adj. Tired. Cansado. Quiquiria, s.f. Bug. Chinche.
Hin. Khut-kira. Mod. Greek,
KOQig.
Quira, >s./. Cheese. Queso.
Quiralis, ) Mod. Greek, tvqu
Quiria, s.f. Ant. Hormiga.
Quiribi, s.f. Godmother. Co- madre.
Quiribo,s.m. Godfather Com- p.idre.
Quirindia, adj. Most holy (fe- male.) Santisima. — " Debla quirindia," " Most blessed Virgin." Maria Santisima.
Quisi,s./. Purse. Bolsa. Pers. Kisch.
Quisobu, s.m. Money-bag, pouch Bolsillo.
VOCABULARY OF THEIR LANGUAGE.
139
R.
Raco, s. m. A crab. Cangrejo.
Rus. Rak. Rachar, v. a. n. To meet. En-
contrar. Rachi, s.f. Night. Noche. Sans.
Ratri. Hin. Rat. Ran, s.f. Rod. Vara.— With- out doubt, one and the same with the Bengalic Ratan, Sanscrit Ratha ; whence the English Rod, and German Ruthe. Randar, v. a. To rob. Robar. Randar, v. a. To write. Escri-
bir. Rande, s. m. Thief. Ladron.
Pers. Rend. Randinar, v. n. To work, la- bour. Labrar. Randinipen, s.f. A writing.
Escritura. Rapipocha, s.f. A fox. Zorra. Rapipoche, s. m. Dungeon. Ca-
labozo. Rasajel, adj. Oppressed. Opri-
mido. Rastrajel, adj. Miserable. Mise- rable. Rati, s.f. Blood. Sangre. Sans.
Rakta. Rus. Ruda. Rebardroy, s.f. Obstinacy, re- belliousness. Rebeldia. Reblandani, s.f. Stone. Pie-
dra. Reblandete, s. m. Mat, clout.
Pallete. Reblanduy, adj. Second. Se-
gundo. Reblantequere, 5. to. Joint. Co-
yuntura. Rebrino, s. to. Respect. Re-
speto. Rebuldorico, adj. Apostolic.
Apostolico. Recafa, s.f. Heat. Calor. Recardi, adj. Dragged along.
Arrastrado. Reche, s. Cane, reed. Cana. Rechibilly, s.f. A little net.
Redecilla. Rechipatis, adj. Naked. Des-
nudo, en cueros. Rechitar, v. a. To patch, mend.
Remendar. Redundis, s. pi. Chick-peas.
Garbanzos. Rejelendre, s.m. A proverb.
Refran. Rejonisa, s.f. Dough. Masa. Relichi, s.f. Net. Red. Relli, s.f. lnclosure. Cercado. Remacha,s./. Procuress. Alca-
hucta. Remarar, v. a. n. To finish. Re-
matar, acabar. Rendepe, adj. Round. Redondo. Repani, s.f. Turnip, radish. Nabo. Sans. Haritparna. Mod. Gr. Qanavi. [Ger. Ruben.] Repani, s.f. Brandy. Aguar- diente. Repurelar, v. a. To resuscitate.
Resucitar. Resaronomo, adj. Cheap. Ba* r.ito
Resis, s.f. Cabbage. Col. Retamo, s. to. Cloak. Capote. Retejo, adj. Content, merry.
Contento. Retreque, s.f. Pestilence,
plague. Peste. Reutilar, v. a. To withdraw. Re-
tiiar. Reyi, s.f Dust. Polvo. Sans.
Raja. Pers. Rayg. Rias, s.f. Damsel. Doncella. Rifian, 5. to. Danger. Peligro. Rilar, v.n. To belch. Peer, Rilo, s. to. Belching. Pedo. Rilli, s.f. Wax. Cera. Rin, s.f. Engine for drawing water. Noria. Properly, A river. Icelandic, Rin. Rinballar, v. a. To pull up by
the roots. Arrancar. Ro. Vid. Rom.
Rocamblo, s. to. A friend. Ami- go. Sans. Raksha (protect- ing.) Rochimel, s. to. River. Rio.
Mod. Gr. Qvaxt. Roi, s.f. Flour. Harina. Hin.
Rui. Roin, s.f. Spoon. Cuchara. Rolli, s f. Spoon. Cuchara. Rom, s. to. A husband, a mar- ried man, a Gypsy. Marido, hombre casado, un Jitano. Sans. Rama. Roma, s. pi. The Husbands ; the goneric name of the na- tion or sect of the Gypsies. Los maridos, i. e. nombre je- nerico de la nacion 6 secta de los Jitanos. Romi, s.f. A married woman, a female Gypsy. Mujer ca- sada, Jitana. Romalis, s.f. A Gypsy dance.
Danza Jitana. Romandinar, v.n. To marry.
Casar. Romandiiiipen, s.f. A mar- riage, bridal. Casamiento. Romani, s.f. The Rommany or Gypsy language. Lengua de los Jitanos. Romani-chal. s. Gypsy-grass, a species of plant. La yerba de los Jitcinos una planta. Romuy, s.f. The face. Lacara. Roscorre, s.m. Lamb. Cordero. Rotuiii, s.f. Mouth. Boca. Rus.
Rot. Rudelar, v.a.n. To answer.
Responder, contestar. Rujia, s.f. Rose. Rosa. Rulisarra, s.f. Knee. Rodilla. Rullipate,s./. Wheel. Rueda.
Sans. Rathapada. Rullitagar, v. a. To turn up- side down. Trastornar. Rullitaque. Vid. Rullipate. Rumijele, s. m. Pilgrim ; also, Rosemary. Rom6ro.
S. Sabocar, v. a. To inhabit. Ha-
bitar. Sans. Sabha (house.) Saces, s.pl. Irons, chains. Ca-
d6nas.
Safacoro, 71.7;. The city of Se- ville. Sevilla.
Salamisto, s.m. Physician. Me- dico.
Salchuyo,5.?n. Anvil. Yunque.
Salquero, s. to. A glass. Vaso.
Salvaiii, s.f. A long sausage. Longaniza.
Sampuni, s.f. Soap, Jabon. Properly, The Hindoo sham- pooing or rubbing. Sans. Sa- vahana. Mod. Gr. oanovn. Germ. Seife, &c.
Sane, s.m. Sausage. Chorizo.
Sapumetelli, s f. Trumpet. Trompcta. Modern Greek,
Sar, s. m. Iron. Hierro. Sans.
Sarana. Sar, prep. With. Con. Sar, s. to. Garlick. Ajo. Hin.
Seer. Saraballi, s.f Money, coin.
Moneda. Arab. Dzarb. Saracate, s. m. Tailor. Sastre.
Sans. Sauchika. Saray,s. in. Sergeant. Sarjento. Sarballeri, adj. Convalescent.
Convaleciente. Sardana, s.f. Favour. Gracia. Sardenar, v. a. To condemn.
Condenar. Sardo, s. in. Brandy. Aguar- diente. Sons. Sandluina. Sarmenda, With me. Conmigo.
Vid. Sar, menda. Sarmufie, adj. Prompt, quick. Pronto. Sans. Sambhama. (haste.) Saro, adj. All. Todo. Sans.
Sarvva. Pers. Sayr. Saro, asisiluble, All-powerful.
Todo poderoso. Sarplar,a. a. To pass judgment.
Juzgar. Sarquere, s. m. Glass, cup. Vaso, Sans. Saraka. Pers. Saghar. Sarquerin,s.?ri. Large pan. Ba-
cin. Sarraoatin, s. to. Huckster. Re-
gaton. Sarrasinir.7j.71. To laugh. Reir. Sarsale, With him. Con el.
Vid. Sar. Sarsos, So that. Con que. Vid.
Sar, sos. Sarta, adv. How, as, why.
Como. Sas, s. to. Iron. Hierro. Sans.
Ayasa. Sasta, adv. As, how. until. Como, hasta. Sans. Saddasa. Saste, adj. High, tall. Alto.
Sans. Sada (crest.) Sasteji,s/. Complaint. Queja. Sastri, s. Relation. Parientc. Sat. prep. With. Con. Sans.
Saba. Sata,flr/o. As, how. Como. Vid.
Sarta, Sasta. Saullo, s.m. Colt. Potro. Seffritin, adj.fcm. Last. 'Ul- tima. Segriton.ar/y. to. Last. 'Ultimo. Seirron, s. m. J'ruit, benefit. Fruto.
140
THE ZINCALI.
Selvani, s.f. Buffet. Bofetada.
Semuche, s. m. Monkey. Mico.
Senjen, s. pZ. Spaniards. Espa- noles.
Sentalli, s.f. Front. Frente.
Seiieba, s. Fowl, pigeon.
Serdani,s./. Razor. Navaja.
Sersen,n.p. Spain. Espana.
Servants./. Pilchard. Sardina.
Serviche, s.m. Morning-slar. Lucero. Seems to be the S'an- scvit Saptajihwa, one of the names of Agni, the personi- fication of Fire.
Seso, n. adj. Spaniard, Spanish. Espanol — Sesi, " Spanish woman," Espanola.
Sestroji,s./. Shell, husk. Cas- cara.
Siarias, 5. pi. Knees. Rodillas.
Sibica, s.f. Trumpet, probos- cis. Trompa.
Sicha, s.f Female monkey. Mona. [Fr. Singe.]
Sichen,s. m. Kingdom. Reyno.
Side, s. m. Age, century. Siglo.
Sicobar, v. a. To extract, pull out. Sacar. Properly, To lift. Mod. Gr. oijxojvo).
Sila, 5./. Strength. Fuerza.
Sillofi, s.f. Thorn. Espina. Sans. Sula (pin, spit.) Hin. Sul.
Sihw, adj. Strong. Fueite.Rus. Silnoy.
Simaehe, ) s. Sign. Serial. Gr.
Simachi, } otjusior.
Simbres, s. pi. Eye-brows. Cejas.
Simprofie, n. p. Joseph. Jose.
Sinar, v.n. To be. Ser, Estar.
Sinastra, s.f. Capture, prize. Prcsa.
Sinastro, s. m. Prisoner. Preso. Sans. Sandita.
Sincarfial, s. m. Slave. Esclavo,
Sinchule, s. m. Roll of tobac- co, cigar. Cigarro.
Singa, s.f. Singing, music. Can- tar. Musica.
Singe, s.m. Horn. Cuerno. Sans. Sringa. Hin. Sing.
Singo, adv. Quick. De priesa. Sans. Sankshu.
Simpalomi,«</j. Peeled. Decor- ticated. Pelado.
Sirbalo, s. m. Thimble. Dedal.
Sirguedes, ) s. m. Wednesday.
Sirquedis, ) Miercoles.
Siroque, s.m. Hemp. Caifiamo.
Siscabelar, v. a. To teach. En- sefiar.
Siscunde, s.m. Wednesday Miercoles.
Sisla, s.f. Vid. Sila.
Sisli, s.f. Moment. Momento. — or sisli, " At the moment," Al momento.
Sistigui, s. Girdle. Cenidor. Sans. Saptaka.
Sitacoria, s.f Kind of tax, carved work. Talla.
Sitaescorial,s./. Unglazed jug. Alcarraza.
Sixtiliar, v.n. To kindle. En- cender.
.Soba, s.f Nightmare Pesadilla.
Sobadrar, v. a. To sweat. Sudar.
Sobelar, v. n. To sleep. Dormir. Sans. San vesa (sleeping.)
Sobindoy, s. Sleep. Dormidura. Perhaps the proper significa- cation of this word is, Dream, vision. From the Russian Snobidenie.
Socabar, v.a.n. To inhabit, dwell. Habitar, morar. Also, To be, Estar. Vid. Sabocar, Soscabar.
Socreteria, s.f. Synagogue. Si- nagoga.
Sodimiar,i>. a. To sweat. Su- dan^
Sofanar, v. n. To travel, go. Viajar, ir. Arab. Safara.
Solaja, s.f Curse. Maldicion. — Chibar una solaja, " To curse." Maldecir. Vid. Ola- jay-
Solares,s.^. Pantaloons, trow- sers. Pantalones.
Solares,5.pZ. Powers. Poderes. Sans. 1 Sthaura (power.) — I found this word in a transla- tion, apparently ancient, of a church canticle, which a Cordovese Gypsy repeated to me; and which runs as follows : —
Majaro Undebel ! "Holy God!" Majaro Sol&res ! " Holy Powers !"
Majaro Merinao! J "Jjjf, lmmor-
Listrab&nos, Er- j „ Sa*eug)Lord„ ano, ) '
De o saro bastai- 5 " From all afflic- tardo I" ) tion I"
Solgia,.s./, Hare. Liebre. Sans.
Sulika. Arab Sokhalat. Solibari, s.f. Bridle. Freno,
Mod. Gr. ovZfaiPaQi. Solter, s.m. Notary Public.
Escribano. Sonacai, s. Gold. Oro. Sans.
Kanaka. Pers. Tanka. Sonsane, s. m. Sausage. Cho-
nzo. Sonsi, s.f Mouth. Boca. Sonsibelar, v. n. To keep si- lence (hold the mouth.) Cal-
lar. Sorinbo, adj. Serious, dejected.
Serio. Soripa, s.f Wood. Lena. Sornar, v. n. To sleep. Dormir.
Hin. Sona. Soronje, adj. Sorrowful. Afli-
jido. Soronji,s./. Sorrow. Afliccion. Sos, pron. rel. Who, that. Que.
[Gr.oc.] Soscabas, v. a. n. To inhabit,
dwell. Habitar. Sosi, s. Court, yard. Corral. Sosimbo, s.m. Oven. Homo. Sosimbres, s.pl. Eye-lashes.
Pestanas. Soso, 5. m. Tranquillity. So-
siego. Sosque,a<Zp. Where. Donde. Sotagaji, s.f Jujube, fruit of
the jujube. Azufayfa. Sans.
Suviryva
Sublimar, v. a. To set at liber- ty, loose. Soltar. Sudo, adv. Asleep. Durmiendo. Sueti,s./. World, people. Mun-
do, jente. — This word is pure
Russian. Sugerilar, v. a. To put. Poner. Sugilla, s.f Justice. Justicia. Sulando, adj. Loose, light, easy.
Suelto. Sulastraba, s.f. Chain, shackle.
Cadena. Arab. Selselat. Sans.
Srinkhala. Sumi,s./. Broth, soup. Caldo.
Mod. Gr. tovui. Sans. Supa. Sumuquelar, v. a. To cement,
join. Pegar. Suncai, s.f. Spirit, soul. Espi-
ritu, alma. Sundilar, v.n. To descend. De- scender. Sungalo, s. m. Traitor, he-goat.
Traidor, cabron. Sungar,r.a. To betray, inform
against. Soplar. Sungelar,0.n. To stink. Heder. Sunglq, s. m. Melon. Melon. Sunpacel, adv. Near. Cerca.
Sans. Samipa. Surabi, adj. Fine. Fino. Sans.
Saru. Surdan, s.f World. Mundo.
Sans. Sansara. Surde, adj. Buff-coloured. An-
teado. Surdete, s. m. World. Mundo.
Sans. Sansriti. Surdinar, v. a. v. r. To raise,
stand up. Levantar. Susalar, v. a. To satisfy. Satis-
facer. Sustilar, v. a. v. r. To detain,
to be detained. Detener. Hin.
Soostana (to rest.) Sustiry, 5./. Lot, fortune. Su-
erte. Sans. Susthata (happi- ness.) Hin. Sitari.
Ta, conjunc. And Y. — Chulo tapaque, "Dollar and a half," Duro y medio.
Tabastorre, s.f. The right- hand. Mane derecha. Sans. Avasavya.
Tabuman, s. m. May. Mayo. Sans. Tapana.
Tacufii, s.f. A kind of leather case. Petaca.
Tajuni, s.f. Box. Caja.
Talabi, s.f. Sedge. Esparto.
Talarosis, 5. pi. Garments. Ves- tidos. Sans. Cheld.
Tanbubian,5./7i. Hcrse-jockey. Chahin.
Tandal,5.»» Court, yard. Pa- tio.
Tangle, s.m. April. Abril.
TapHlar, v. a. To drink. Beber. Vid. Piyar.
Taquibaque, s. Ramrod. Ba- queta.
Tarpe,5. m. Heaven. Ci61o, Sans. Devapatha, Div.
Tarquino, s. m. Parable. Pard- bola.
VOCABULARY OF THEIR LANGUAGE.
141
Tasabar, v. a. To choak, suffo- cate. Ahogar.
Tasala, s.f. Evening. Tarde. Sans. Say a.
Tasalar, v. n. To delay. Tardar.
Tasar. Vid. Tasabar.
Tasarbani, s. m. Mason. Alba- nil.
Tasarden, adv. Late. Tarde.
Tasquiiio, 5. m. Million. Millon.
Tati, 5./. Fever. Calentura. Sans. Tapaka.
Tati bari, s.f. The great or putrid fever. Calentura ma- ligna.
Tato, s. m. Bread. Pan.
Tebleque, God, the Saviour. Dios, Jesus.
Techafao, adj. Bent, crooked. Agachado.
Techescdr,».a. To cast. Echar.
Techorde, adj. Weak, infirm. Invalido.
Tejuni, s.f. Tarantula. Taran- tula.
Telejeni, s.f. Mat. Estera.
Tellorre, s. m. Minister. Mi- ni stro.
Tememblero,a<fo. Early. Tem- prano.
Tempano, s.m. Piece, portion. Pedazo. Sans. Damma (to divide.)
Terelar, v. a. To hold, have, possess. Tener. Sans. Dha- rana (holding.)
Ternaciba, s.f. Rage, madness. Rabia.
Ternasibel, s.m. Worth, valour. Valor, valentia. Sans. Dha- nara.
Terneja, adj. Valiant. Valiente.
Ternoro, adj. Young, new. Jo- ven, nu6vo. Pers. Tar.
Terrepleco, s.m. End, bounda- ry. Termino.
Terrain, s.f. Scratch. Arano.
Tesquelo, s. m. Grandfather. Abuelo.
Tesquera, s.f. Front, forehead. Frente.
Tesquinso, adj. Sour. Agrio. Pers. Tez.
Tesumiar, v. n. To stop. Parar.
Tibay, adj. Stiff, firm. Tieso.
Tiliche, s. m. Lover. Amante.
Timuchi,
, ]«<!/. Same. Misma.
Tinbalo, s. m. Musician. Mu- sico. Sans. Tandava (dan- cing.)
Tirabani, 5. m. Shoe. Zapato.
Tirajai, 5. pi. Shoes. Zapatos. Sans. Tadatrana.
Tiraj6ro, s. m. Shoe-maker. Za- patero.
Tiro, pron.pos. Thine. Tu. — Fern. Tin. Hin. Tera.
Torbergeli, s.f. A plain, desert place, mountainous region Campo, despoblado, serrania. Sans. Dhara.
Tornasiba, s.f. Rage, anger Rabia.
Tornasibe, s. m. Pride, passion. Soberbia. 19
Tocinb6,5. m. Circumvolution, wheel. Torno.
Toto, s.m. Cheese. Queso. Properly, curdled milk. Sans. Dadhi.
Trabare, So great. Tan grande.
Traisne, s. m. The post, cou- rier. Correo. Sans. Taraswin.
Tramalar, v. a. To tie, tram- mel. Atar.
Tran, adv. comp. So much. Tan.
Tran-flima, adv. So little, nei- ther. Tampoco.
Trani,5./. Mouth. Mes.
Traquias, 5. pi. Grapes. Uvas. Sans. Draksha. Vid. Dracay.
Tramistos, conjunc. adv. Also, as well. Tambien.
Trasardo, s. m. Tiled roof. Te- jddo^
Trebena, s.f. A star. Estr6lla.
Tremendo, s. m. Danger. Pe- ligro. — This word appears to belong to the eant, or robber jargon.
Tremucha, s.f. Moon. Luna. Sans. Chandramas.
Trianda, adj. Thirty. Treinta. Mod. Gr. TQiavra.
Trijul, s.f. The cross. La cruz. Hin. Trisool. — Querelar la trijul, " To make the sign of the cross," Persignarse.
Triman, s.f. Alms, charity. Li- mosna.
Trin, adj. Three, Tres.
Trin, adj. So much so. Tanto.
Troecane, s.f. Work, deed. Obra.
Tronfaron, s. m. Stock, trunk. Tronco.
Trostis, adj. Educated, nou- rished. Criado, alimentado. — A child that has lost its parents, and is adopted by other people, is Trostis.
Trujan , s. m. Tobacco. Tabaco.
Trujatapucherido, adj. Con- ceived. Concebido.
Truni,s./. Floor, ground. Sud- lo.
Trupo, s.m. Body. Cuerpo. Rus. Trap.
Truta, s.f Return. Vuelta.
Trutar, v. a. n. To return. Vol- ver.
Tucue, pron. pers. Thou. Tu. Pers. Tu.
Tumbardo, 5. m. Purgatory. Purgatorio.
Tun, pron. pos. Thy, thine. Tu.
Tundico, adj. Muddy, turbid. — Turbio.
Tunia, s.f. Cave. Cueva.
Tuni, s.f. Apothecary's shop. — Botica.
Tuiii, s.f. Oil-flask. Alcuza.
Turno, s.m. Castle. Castillo.
Turra, s.f. Nail, claw. Una.
Tusni,s./. Earthen jar. Betija.
Tuyolo, adj. Bad, evil. Malo.
V.
Vea.,s.f. Garden, kitchen-gar- 1 den. Jardfn, huerta.
n2
Velar, v. a. To cut. Ccrtar. \vr;iblv, adj. Everlasting. Scrn-
pitcrno. Visalti, s.f. Debt. Deuda. Vriardao, par. pas. Dressed,
adorned, Vestido, adornado.
U.
Uchagardi, s.f. Star. Estrel- la
Uchi, s.f Tongue. Lengua.
Udicare, v. def. Might or should have. Hubiere.
Ulandar, v. a. To hang up. Collar.
Ulandi, s.f. Hook to hang things upon. Colgadcro.
Ulaque, s. One of the districts into which a town is divided. Barrio.
Ulicha,5./. Street. CallcRus. Ulitza.
Ulilla, n. p. Seville. Sevilla.
Ulique, s. Festival. Fiesta.
Ululo, adj. Angry. Enojado.
Uluya, s.f Fame. Fama.
Uncho, A particle, which the Gypsies of Estremadura are in the habit of affixing to Spanish words, in order to disguise them, and to pre- vent their being easily un- derstood ; e. g. Favoruncho, "favour;" Gozuncho,"joy," &c. — Particula que los Jita- nos de Estremadura, suelen posponer a palabras Castel- lanas, para disfrazarlas,y que no se les entienda facilmente.
Undabilar, v. a. To chew. Mas- car.
Un-debel, s. m. God. Dios. — The first syllable of this word seems to be the Om of the Buddhists and Brahmins, which is one of the names of the Deity : and is the com- mencement of that mysteri- ous sentence, Om ma ni bat si khom; which, according to the creed of the followers of the Grand Lama, contains the essence of all prayer ; and by the constant repeti- tion of which, they hope to obtain the tide of Bivanga- rit, and to ascend to the ele- vation of Bouddh.
Unga, adv. Yea, truly, yes. Si. In the English dialect, Auka. Sans. Tryama.
Ungachoba, s.f. Syllable. Si- laba.
Ungla, s.f. Nail, claw. Uni. [Lat. Ungula.J
Unglabar, v. a. To seize, to hang. Agarrar, ahorcar.
Ununique, s f. Confession, Confesion.
Urapero, adj. Prudent. Cuerdo, prudente.
Urdifar, v. a. To put. Poner,
Urdiffar, v. a. To kindle. En- cender.
Urdiiii,5./. Fancy, presump- tion. Fantasia.
142
THE ZINCALI.
Uriiyar, v. a. To suffer. Su-
frir. Ustilar, v. a. To take, to steal.
Tomar, robar. Usur, s. m. Smoke. Humo. Uyi,s./. Sugar. Azucar. Sans.
Ikshu (sugar-cane.)
Y.
Yaque, >5.m. Fire. Fuego, Yaquero, ) lumbre. Sans. Agi-
ra. Hin.Ag. [Rus. Ogin. Lat.
Ignis.] Ybucho, s. m. Jew. Judio. Ye-ref, s. m. The colour, form.
El color, la figura. Yeru, s. m. Wolf. Lobo. Ylo, s.m. Soul. Alma. Vid.
Olilo. Sans. Ligu. Yustique, s.m. Girdle, belt.
Ceiiiddr.
Z.
Zaraborino, s. m. Pumpkin, ca- labash. Oalabaza.
Zarapia, s.f. The itch. Sarna.
Zerecin,5.m. Sausage. Salchi- chon.
Zermana, s.f. Curse. Maldi- cion. Sans. Sapana.
Zi,s.f. Hen. Gallina.
Zibaora, s.f. Needle. Agiija.
Zin-calo, e. m. Gypsy. Jitano.
ADVERTISEMENT.
*w^^%^^**^^/*^^«^^^^
It is with the view of preserving as many as possible of the monuments of the Spanish Gypsy tongue that the author inserts the following pieces; they are for the most part, whether original or translated, the productions of the " Aficion" of Seville, of whom something has been vsaid in the Preface to the Spurious Gypsy Poetry of Andalusia; not the least remarkable, however, of these is a genuine Gypsy composition, the translation of the Apostles' Creed by the Gypsies of Cordova, made under the circumstances detailed in the second part of this volume. To all have been af- fixed translations, more or less literal, to assist those who may wish to form some acquaintance with the Gitano language.
MISCELLANIES
IN THE
GITANO LANGUAGE.
COTORRES ON CHIPE CALL!
Bato Nonrro sos socabas on o tarpe, man- jirificado quejesa tute acnao; abillanos or tute sichen, y querese tute orependola andial on la chen sata on o tarpe ; or manrro nonrro de cata chibel difianoslo sejofiia, y estormenanos nonrrias bisauras andial sata gaberes estor- menamos a nonrros bisaraores ; y nasti nes muques petrar on la bajanbo, bus listrabanos de chorre.-— Anarania.
Panchabo on Ostebe Bato saro-asisilable, Perbaraor de o tarpe y la chen, y on Gresone desquero Beyio Chabal nonrrio Erano, sos guillo sar-trujata-pucherido per troecane y sardafia de or Chanispero Manjaro, y purelo de Manjari ostelinda deblaj Bricholo ostele de or asislar de Brono Alienicato ; guillo tre- juficao, mule y cabafiao; y sundilo a los casinobes,* y a or brodelo chibel repurelo de enrre los mules, y encalomo a los otarpes, y soscabela bestique a la tabastorre de Ostebe Bato saro-asisilable, ende aoter a de abillar a sarplar a los Apucheris y mules. Panchabo on or Chanispero Manjaro, la Manjari Can- gari Pebuldorica y Rebuldorica, la Erunon de los Manjaros, or Estormen de los crejetes, la repurelo de la mansenquere y la chibiben ve- rable. — Anarania, Tenbleque.
OCANAJ1MIA A LA DEBLA.
O Debla quirindia, Day de saros los Bor- deles on coin panchabo: per los duquipenes sos naquelastes a or pindre de la trejul de tute Chaborro majarolisimo te manguelo, Debla, me alcorabises de tute chaborro or estormen de sares las dojis y crejetes sos menda udicare aquerao on andoba surdete. — Anarania, Tebleque.
Ostebe te berarbe Ostelinda! perdoripe sirles de sardafia ; or Erano sin sartute ; bres- ban tute sirles enrre sares las rumiles, y bres- ban sin or frujero de tute po. — Tebleque.
Manjari Ostelinda, day de Ostebe, brichar- dila per gaberes crejetaores aocana y on la
* V. Casinolcn in Lei icon.
MISCELLANIES.
Father our, who dwellest in the heaven, sanctified become thy name ; come-to-us the thy kingdom, and be-done thy will so in the earth as in the heaven ; the bread our of every day give-us-it to day, and pardon-us our debts so as we-others pardon (to) our debtors ; and not let us fall in the temptation, but de- liver-us from wickedness. — Amen.
I believe in God, Father all-powerful, cre- ator of the heaven and the earth, and in Christ his only Son our Lord, who went con- ceived by deed and favour of the Spirit Holy, and born of blessed goddess divine ; suffered under (of) the might of Bronos Alienicatos ;* went crucified, dead and buried ; and de- scended to the conflagrations, and on the third day revivedf from amongthe dead, and ascend- ed to the heavens, and dwells seated at the right-hand of God, Father all-powerful, from there he-has to come to impeach (to) the living and dead. I believe in the Spirit Holy, the Holy Church Catholic and Apostolic, the communion of the saints, the remission of the sins, the re-birth of the flesh, and the life everlasting. — Amen, Jesus.
PRAYER TO THE VIRGIN.
O most holy Virgin, mother of all the Chris- tians, in whom I believe : for the agony which thou didst endure at the foot of the cross of thy most blessed Son, I entreat thee, Virgin, that thou wilt obtain for me, from thy Son, the remission of all the crimes and sins which I may have committed in this world. — Amen, Jesus.
God save thee, Maria! full art thou of grace; the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou amongst all women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. — Jesus.
Holy Maria, Mother of God, pray for us
* By these two words, Pontius Pilate is represented, but whence they are derived I know not. J fieborn.
144
MISCELLANIES.
145
ocana de nonrra beriben ! — Anarania, Teble- que.
Chimuclani or Bato, or Chabal, or Chanis- pero manjaro ; sata sia on or presimelo, aoca- na, y gajeres : on los sides de los sicles. — Anarania.
OR CREDO.
SARTA LO CHIBELARON LOS CALES DE COR- DOVATI.
Pachabelo en Un-debel batu tosaro-baro, que ha querdi el char y la chique ; y en Un- debel chinoro su unico chaboro erano de amangue, que chalo en el trupo de la Majari por el Duquende Majoro, y abio del veo de la Majari; guillo curado debajo de la sila de Pontio Pilato el chinabaro; guillo mulo y garabado ; se chalo alas jacharis ; al trin chibe se ha sicobado de los mules al char ; sinela bejado a las baste de Un-debel barrea ; y de ote abiara a juzgar a los mules y a los que no lo sinelan ; pachabelo en el Majaro ; la Can- gri Majari barea ; el jalar de los Majaries ; lo meco de los grecos ; la resureccion de la maas, y la ochi que no marela.
REJELENDRES.
Or soscabela juco y terable garipe on le sin perfine anelar relichi.
Bus yes manupe cha machagarno le pendan chuchipon los brochabos.
Sacais sos ne dicobelan calochin ne brida- quelan.
Coin terelare trasardos e dinastes nasti le buchare berrandanas a desquero contique.
On sares las cachimanes de Sersen abillen reches.
Bus mola yes chirriclo on la ba sos gres balogando.
A Ostebe brichardilando y sar or mochique dinelando.
Bus mola quesar jero de gabuno sos man- pori de bombardo.
Dicar y panchabar, sata penda Manjaro Lillar.
Or esorjie de or narsichisle sin chismar la- chinguel.
Las queles mistos grobelas: per macara chibel la piri y de rachi la operisa.
Aunsos me dicas vriardao de jorpoy ne sirlo braco.
Chachipe con jujana — Calzones de buchi y medias de lana.
Chuquel sus pirela cocal terela.
Len sos sonsi bela pani oreblandani terela.
ODORES YE TILICHE.
Dica Calli soslinastes terelas, plasarandote misto men calochin desquifiao de trinchas punis y canrrias, sata anjella terelaba dicando
* Poverty is always avoided.
t A drunkard reduces himself to the condition of a hog. % The most he can do.
§ The puchero,orpan of glazed earth, in which bacon, beef, and garbanzos are stewed.
sinners, now and in the hour of our death ! — Amen, Jesus.
Glory (to) the Father, the Son, (and) the Holy Ghost ; as was in the beginning, now, and forever: in the ages of the ages.— Amen.
THE CREED.
TRANSLATED BY THE GYPSIES OF CORDOVA.
I believe in God the Father all-great, who has made the heaven and the earth ; and in God the young, his only Son, the Lord of us, who went into the body of the blessed (maid) by (means of) the Holy Ghost, and came out of the womb of the blessed ; he was tormented beneath the power of Pontius Pilate, the great Alguazil ; was dead and buried ; he went (down) to the fires; on the third day he raised himself from the dead unto the heaven ; he is seated at the major hand of God ; and from thence he shall come to judge the dead and those who are not (dead.) I believe in the blessed one ; in the church holy and great ; the banquet of the saints ; the remission of sins ; the resurrection of the flesh, and the life which does not die. j
PROVERBS.
He who is lean and has scabs needs not carry a net.*
When a man goes drunk the boys say to him "suet."f
Eyes which see not break no heart.
He who has a roof of glass let him not fling stones at his neighbour.
Into all the taverns of Spain may reeds come.
A bird in the hand is worth more than a hundred flying.
To God (be) praying and with the flail ply- ing.
It is worth more to be the head of a mouse than the tail of a lion.
To see and to believe, as Saint Thomas says.
The extremej of a dwarf is to spit largely.
Houses well managed : — at mid-day the stew-pan, § and at night salad.
Although thou seest me dressed in wool, I am no sheep.
Truth with falsehood — Breeches of silk and stockings of wool. ||
The dog who walks finds a bone.
The river which makes a noiseH has either water or stones. |
THE LOVER'S JEALOUSY
Reflect, O Callee !** what motives hast thou (now that my heart is doting on thee, having rested awhile from so many cares and griefs
|| Truth contrasts strangely with falsehood ; this is a genuine Gypsy proverb, as are the two which follow : it is repeated throughout Spain without bring understood.
1! In the original wears a mouth: the meaning is, ask nothing, gain nothing. ♦* Female Gypsy.
146
THE ZIXCALI.
on los chorres naquelos sos me tesumiaste, y andial reutila a men Jeli^ dinela gao a sos menda orobibele ; men puni sin trincha per la quimbila nevel de yes manu barbalo; sos saro se muca per or jandorro. Lo sos bus prejeno Calli de los Bengorros sin sos nu muqueis per yes manu barbalo. On tute orchiri nu chismo, tramisto on coin te ara- quera, sos menda terela men nostus pa avel sos me camela bus sos tute.
OR PERSIBARARSE SIN CHORO.
Gajeres sin corbo rifian soscabar yes manu persibarao, per sos saro se linbidian odoros^y beslli, y per esegriton apuchelan on sardana de saros los Benjes, techescando grejos y olajais — de sustiri sos lo resaronomo niquilla murmo ; y andial lo fendi sos terelamos de querar sin techescarle yes sulibari a or Jeli, y ne panchabar an caute manusardi, persos trutan a yesque lili.
LOS CHORES.
On grejelo chiro begoreo yesque berbanilla de chores a la burda de yes mostipelo a oleba rachi — Andial sos la prejenaron los cambrais presimelaron a cobadrar ; sar andoba linaste changano or lanbro, se sustino de la charipe de lapa, untilo la pusca, y niquillo platanando per or platesquero de or mostipelo a la burda sos socabelaba pandi, y per or jobi de la clichi chibelo or jundro de la pusca, le dino pesquibo a or langute, y le sumuquela yes bruchasno on la tesquera a or Jojenan de los ostilaores y lo techesco de or grate a ostele. Andial sos los debus quimbilos dicobelaron a desquero Jojerian on chen sar las canrriales de la Be- riben, lo chibelaron espusifias a los grastes, y niquillaron chapescando, trutando la romuy apala, per bausale de las machas 6 almedalles de liripio.
* Women understood.
f With that motive awoke the labourer. Orig.
which formerly it endured, beholding the evil passages which thou preparedst for me ;) to recede thus from my love, giving occasion to me to weep. My agony is great on account of thy recent acquaintance with a rich man : for every thing is abandoned for money's sake. What I most feel, O Callee, of the devils is, that thou abandonest me for a rich man. . . I spit upon thy beauty, and also upon him who converses with thee, for I keep my money for another who loves me more than thou.
THE EVILS OF CONCUBINAGE.
It is always a strange danger for a man to live in concubinage, because all turns to jea- lousy and quarrelling, and at last they live in the favour of all the devils, voiding oaths and curses : so that what is cheap turns out dear. So the best we can do, is to cast a bridle on love, and trust to no woman, for they * make a man mad.
THE ROBBERS.
On a certain time arrived a band of thieves at the gate of a farm-house at midnight. So soon as the dogs heard them they began to bark, which causing! the labourer to awake, he raised himself from his bed with a start, took his musket, and went running to the court-yard of the farm-house to the gate, which was shut, placed the barrel of his musket to the key-hole, gave his finger its desire,| an(* sent a bullet into the forehead of the captain of the robbers, casting him down from his horse. Soon as the other fellows saw their captain on the ground in the agonies of death, they clapped spurs to their horses, and galloped off fleeing, turning their faces back on account of the flies§ or almonds of lead.
X Gave its pleasure to the finger, i.e. his finger was itching to draw the trigger, and he humoured it.
§ They feared the shot and slugs, which are compared, and not badlv, to Hies and almonds.
MISCELLANIES.
147
COTOR YE GAB1C0TE MAJARO.
OR SOS SARO LO HA. CHIBADO EN CHIPE CALLI OR RANDADOR DE OCONOS PAPIRIS AUNSOS NARDIAN LO HA DINADO AL SURDETE.
Y soscabando dicando dico los Barbalos sos techescaban desqueros mansis on or Ga- zofilacio; y dico tramisto yesque pispiricha chorrorita, sos techescaba duis chinorris sara- ballis, y penelo : en chachipe os penelo, sos caba chorrorri pispiricha a techescao bus sos sares los aveles : persos saros ondobas han techescao per los mansis de Ostebe, de lo sos les costuna ; bus caba e desquero chorrorri a techescao sare saro or susalo sos terelaba. Y pendo a cormufiis, sos pendaban del canga- ripe, soscabelaba uriardo de orchiris berran- danas, y de denes : Cabas buchis sos dicais, abillaran chibeles, bus ne muquelara berran- daiia costuiie berrandafia, sos ne quesesa de- marabea. Y le prucharon y pendaron : Do- curdo, bus quesa ondoba? Y sos simachi abicara bus ondoba presimare'J Ondole po- nelo: Dicad, sos nasti queseis jonjabaos; persos butes abillaran on men acnao, pen- dando : man sirlo, y or chiro soscabela pajes : Garabaos de guillelar apala de ondolayos : y bus junureis barganas y sustifies, ne os espa- jueis ; persos sin perfine sos ondoba chundee brotobo, bus nasti quesa escotriaoregresiton. Oclinde les pendaba : se sustinara sueste sar- tra sueste, y sichen sartra sichen, y abicara bareles dajiros de chenes per los gaos, y re- treques y bocatas, y abicara buchengeres es- pajuis, y bareles simachis de otarpe : bus anjella de saro ondoba os sinastraran y pre- guillaran, enregandoos a la Socreteria, y los ostardos, y os legeraran a los Oclayes, y a los Baquedunis, per men acnao : y ondoba os chundeara on chachipe. Terelad pus suraji on bros garlochines de ne orobrar anjella sata abicais de brudilar, persos man os diiiare rotufii y chanar, la sos ne asislaran resistir ne sartra pendar saros bros enormes. Y quesareis enregaos de bros batos, y opranos, y sastris, y monrrores, y querara merar a cormuni de averes ; y os cangelaran saros per men acnao ; bus ne carjibara ies bal de bros jeros. Sar bras opachirima avelareis bras orchis: pus bus dicareis a Jerusalem relli, oclinde chanad sos desquero petra soscabela pajes ; oclinde los soscabelan on la Chutea, chapesguen a les toberjelis; y los que on ma- cara de ondolaya, niquillense; y lo sos on los oltariques, nasti enrren on ondolaya; persos odoba sen chibeles de Abillaza, pa sos chun- deen sares las buchis soscabelan libanas; bus isna de las araris, y de las sos difian de oro- pielar on asirios chibeles ; persos abicara bare quichartura costuiie la chen, e guillara pa
SPECIMEN OF THE GOSPEL.
FROM THE AUTHOR'S UNPUBLISHED TRANS- LATION OF THE NEW TESTAMENT.
And whilst looking he saw the rich who cast their treasures into the treasury; and he saw also a poor widow, who cast two small coins, and he said : In truth, I tell you, that this poor widow has cast more than all the others; because all those have cast, as of- ferings to God, from that which to them abounded ; but she from her poverty has cast all the substance which she had. And he said to some, who said, of the temple, that it was adorned with fair stones, and with gifts : These things which ye see, days shall come, when stone shall not remain upon stone, which shall not be demolished. And they asked him and said : Master, when shall this be 1 and what sign shall there be when this begins 1 He said : See, that ye be not de- ceived, because many shall come in my name, saying: I am (he,) and the time is near : be- ware ye of going after them : and when ye shall hear (of) wars and revolts do not fear ; because it is needful that this happen first, for the end shall not be immediately. Then he said to them : Nation shall rise against nation, and country against country, and there shall be great tremblings of earth among the towns, and pestilences and famines ; and there shall be frightful things, and great signs in the heaven : but before all this they shall make ye captive, and shall persecute, de- livering ye over to the synagogue, and pri- sons ; and they shall carry ye to the kings, and the governors, on account of my name : and this shall happen to you for truth. Keep then firm in your hearts, not to think before how ye have to answer, for I will give- you mouth and wisdom, which all your enemies shall not be able to resist, or contradict. And ye shall be delivered over by your fathers, and brothers, and relations, and friends, and they shall put to death some of you ; and all shall hate you for my name; but not one hair of your heads shall perish. With your patience ye shall possess your souls: but when ye shall see Jerusalem surrounded, then know that its fall is near ; then those who are in Judea, let them escape to the mountains ; and those who are in the midst of her, let them go out; and those who are in the fields, let them not enter into her; because those are days of vengeance, that all the things which are written may happen ; but alas to the preg- nant and those who give suck in those days, for there shall be great distress upon the earth, and it shall move onward against this people;
148
THE ZINCALI.
andoba Gao ; y petraran a surabi de janrro ; yquesan legeraos sinastros asareslas chenes, y Jerusalen quesa omana de los suestiles, sasta sos quejesen los chiros de las sichenes ; y anicara simaches on or orcan, y on la chi- mutia, y on las uchurgafiis; y on la chen chalabeo on la sueste per or dan sos bausa- lara la loria y desqueros gulas; muquelendo los romares bifaos per dajiralo de las buchis sos costime abillaran a saro or surdete ; persos los solares de los otarpes quesan sar-chala- beaos; y oclinde dicaran a or Chaboro e Manu abillar costufie yesque minrricla sar baro asislary Chimusolano : bus presimelaren a chundear caba buchis, dicad, y sustifiad bros jer6s pajes soscabela bras redencion.
and they shall fall by the edge of the sword ; and they shall be carried captive to all the countries, and Jerusalem shall be trodden by the nations, until are accomplished the times of the nations ; and there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and in the earth trouble of nations from the fear which the sea and its billows shall cause; leaving men frozen with terror of the things which shall come upon all the world ; because the powers of the heavens shall be shaken ; and they shall see the Son of Man coming upon a cloud with great power and glory: when these things begin to happen, iook ye, and raise your heads, for your redemption is near.
THE END.
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The subscriber proposes the publication of a Monthly Library, in which he will offer to the notice of the community a series of works of another character, which, from the high price at which they are neld, are almost sealed books, except to the wealthy.
The first of the series will be D'Aubigne's History of the Great Reformation in Germany and Swit- zerland. At this time, when the efforts of the Roman Catholic clergy to extend their religious, and as many believe, civil sway over our country, are so untiring, the general diffusion of this work cannot but be advantageous to the cause of civil and religious freedom. The historian has discharged his task with singular fidelity and ability. The ever-varying scenes of that eventful period pass before the eye in the most vivid manner, producing effects as far surpassing in interest as in truth the highest efforts of dra- matic skill. The characters of Luther and the other leading Reformers, as well as those of the champions of the church of Rome, are depicted with a force that imparts to them the reality and beauty of the most masterly paintings. They 4' live, move, and have a being," though centuries have elapsed since they played their part in the most eventful drama of modern ages.
This work has the commendation of the Protestant clergy of both our own country and Europe, and has passed through several editions even in its present costly form. It will be published in five monthly numbers, each containing about 240 pages of the American book copy, and at one-fourth the price of the present edition. The present work will be followed by others of a similar character.
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