History of Gypsies and Irish Travellers

Gypsies

Gypsies were thought to have left the northern Indian sub-continent about 1000 years ago.

Over the centuries they travelled westwards, often settling in countries where the host culture was more welcoming. Today they live on every continent.

Gypsies are thought to have arrived in England during the reign of Henry VIII.

People thought they had come from Egypt, and so at first called them 'Egyptians'. The name changed over the years to 'Gyptians' then 'Gypsies'.

The Romany language has its roots in Hindi and has been adapted according to the host language. Many Gypsy children today are bi-lingual, speaking Anglo-Romany at home.

Their culture has always been an oral (spoken) one, and the language has never been formally recorded so there is no standard spelling.

Some Romany words have been absorbed into English, for example, 'lolly' and 'dosh' can mean 'money'; 'mush' can mean 'man'; 'pal' can mean 'brother' and 'kushti' can mean 'good'.

Irish Travellers

When Gypsies arrived in the UK, there were already nomads here.

Until the 19th Century, Irish Travellers moved around in bender tents and wagons and were commonly known as Tinkers. The name Tinker came from 'tinceard' which means 'tinsmith'. This came from their ancient pre-Gaelic language called Shelta, which some Irish Travellers still use today alongside English.

'Irish Travellers' is a name society has given them, but their name for their people is Pavee.

Many do not consider themselves to be Irish. They consider themselves to be the indigenous population of the island of Ireland, much like the aborigines in Australia and the Native Americans in North America.

Past intermarriage between Gypsies and Irish Travellers and with the settled population, has resulted in English Gypsies being generally fairer than their European cousins.

Occasional intermarriage still occurs, but Irish Travellers and English Gypsies remain two distinct groups.

Behaviour

Some people have negative perceptions of how Gypsies and Travellers behave, and believe that they are criminal, anti-social and don't pay tax.

These perceptions are usually based on the behaviour of a small number they have observed, and inaccurate and sometimes racist reporting in the media.

Negative media reporting reinforces stereotypes, and leads to anecdotal rather than factual discussion about Gypsies and Travellers.

Assistant Chief Constable of Kent Police, David Ainsworth, was quoted as saying on 19 October 2005:

"It is important to remember that only a small minority of the Gypsy and Traveller population are criminals, the same as with the settled population."

The minority who do cause disruption and nuisance set an inaccurate stereotype for all Gypsies and Travellers.

All people in Kent should be dealt with based on their specific behaviour rather than as a result of their ethnic or lifestyle status.

In other words, issues involving Gypsies and Travellers should be managed in the same way as they would be for any other member of society - fairly, proportionately and lawfully.