Gypsies, Tinkers and travellers, researching their history

In starting my research of gypsy culture and music, I found that most avenues I took lead me to the Romany gypsy community. Most research and written work focusses on the European travellers, and in my early ignorance I first thought perhaps there would not be so much difference between Irish Travellers and Romany Gypsies. The distinction, however, becomes clear as we briefly study their origin.

'While it has been fairly well established that Gypsies hail from India, Irish Travellers are thought to be strictly of Celtic origin. Unlike the Gypsies who spread over rather a wide area, Irish Travellers are limited to the British Isles and America. In addition, Gypsies speak Romany and Irish Travellers Shelte, a language of Celtic origin.'

The study of traveller history has proven to be complicated, much to the nature of the way they learn of their history from the previous generations.

'The greatest difficulty lies in trying to place Travellers in a credible historical context', There are multiple theories, including 'descendants of the dispossessed of the Famine', and many travellers themselves said to once have claim to lands stretching across half the country, and yet 'All informants were consistent, however, in failing to refer back to more than five generations, but this may be due to the nature of the extended family system rather than due to a faulty historical memory' - Gypsies, Tinkers and other Travellers.

Their history (however factual) is shared through generations by oral tradition rather than written down in books and such like. Therefore, it is natural that 'The true history of the Gypsy race is in the study of their language' [The gypsy Caravan], as their stories and songs contain such richness of their culture.

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Bibliography

The Gypsy Caravan - David Malvinni

Gypsies, Tinkers, and other Travellers