Romany Gypsies belong to the wider Romani people (including Roma, Kale, Sinti and others) who are believed to have left India in the 11th century. Over time, Romani people gained many European influences but kept a distinct ethnicity and heritage.
About half of all European Roma lived in eastern Europe, especially in the Soviet Union and Romania. Hungary, Yugoslavia, and Bulgaria also had large Romani communities. In prewar Germany there were at most 35,000 Roma, most of whom held German citizenship. In Austria, there were approximately 11,000 Roma.
(dʒɪpsi ) also Gipsy. Word forms: Gypsies plural. countable noun. A Gypsy is a member of a race of people who travel from place to place, usually in caravans, rather than living in one place.
The term Gypsy, Roma and Traveller has been used to describe a range of ethnic groups or people with nomadic ways of life who are not from a specific ethnicity.
Romany Gypsies have been in Britain since at least 1515 after migrating from continental Europe during the Roma migration from India. The term Gypsy comes from “Egyptian” which is what the settled population perceived them to be because of their dark complexion.
What's in a name? The RTFHS website includes lists of surnames that frequently occur in the Gypsy and Traveller community. Gypsy surnames which occur in Surrey include Cooper, Matthews, Ayres, Smith, Green, Taylor, Williams, Brazil, Shepherd, Beaney, Chapman and Scott among others.
What's the difference between a Gypsy and a Traveller?
There are around 300,000 Gypsy Roma and Irish Travellers in the UK – Roma Gypsies are originally from northern India, whereas Travellers are of Irish origin – and both groups are nomadic. Since 2002, Travellers have been recognised as an ethnic group and are protected under the Race Relations Act.
pikey (plural pikeys) (UK, Ireland, ethnic slur, offensive) An itinerant person, especially one of Romani or Irish Traveller heritage. quotations ▼ (UK, Ireland, derogatory, offensive) A working-class (often underclass) person with negative connotations of benefit fraud, theft and living on rundown estates.
The High Court has rejected a claim that Gypsies occupying caravans on private land were discriminated against by legislation which resulted in them not being able to claim full Housing Benefit to cover their rent.
You may have Romani, Traveller or Gypsy ancestry if your family tree includes common Romani or Gypsy surnames such as Boss, Boswell, Buckland, Chilcott, Codona, Cooper, Doe, Lee, Gray/Grey, Harrison, Hearn, Heron, Hodgkins, Holland, Lee, Lovell, Loveridge, Royles/Ryalls, Scamp, Smith, Stevens/Stephens, Wood and Young.
How do the girls stay so slim? It turned out that just like their romany cousins across the pond, these romanichal gypsy girls eat a lot of malt vinegar and salt. However, unlike the Brits they don't sprinkle them on their chips (fries): they put them on fruit.
No. Roma identity is something you're born with. Your Romanipen is what defines you as a Roma person (aka “gypsy”, though that word is a racial slur). It's something you are born with and raised in, and almost impossible for an outside to understand or adopt.
Some of the better known areas of work that Gypsies and Travellers are involved in include seasonal agricultural work, motor trading and tree-felling. Some are employed as academics, teachers and public servants and in this way they add to the local economy.
Also known as “Gypsies,” the Roma originated in India. They were nomads who migrated over the centuries throughout eastern Europe and gained a reputation as musicians, thieves, and metalworkers. Romania has Europe's largest Roma population.
Most Eastern European Roma are Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, or Muslim. Those in Western Europe and the United States are mostly Roman Catholic or Protestant. In southern Spain, many Roma are Pentecostal, but this is a small minority that has emerged in contemporary times.
“Gypsies and Travellers have the same rights of access to the NHS as any other citizen. All residents in the UK can have NHS care whether they have proof of address or not.”
What is the difference between a pikey and a Gypsy?
Pikey's most common contemporary use is not as a term for the Romani ethnic group, but as a catch-all phrase to refer to people, of any ethnic group, who travel around with no fixed abode. Among English Romani Gypsies the term pikey refers to a Traveller who is not of Romani descent.
Some of these customs have included looking after the elderly people in one's community and maintaining close family ties throughout one's life. Gypsies are known for practicing trades outside the mainstream; portable trades. These include fortune telling, repairing metal tools, working with horses, and entertainment.
The OED defines “in Romani usage: a person who is not Romani; a non-Gypsy” as 'gorger' (first-used 1843) but also uses almost the same definition for 'gadjo' (1886).
Councils have a responsibility to identify land for Travellers to live and stop in their area, but the vast majority fail to do this. Irish Travellers usually refer to themselves as Travellers, Pavee or Mincéirs. There are believed to be 300,000 or more Gypsy and Traveller people currently living in the UK.
Yet the dedication to cleaning – born during nomadic days when keeping wagons clear from dust and dirt on the road was a tough undertaking for traveller women – remains important. As a result, cleaning is a process that takes priority over everything else – including school.
Typical Romany surname: common ones include Cooper, Smith, Lee, Boswell, Lovell, Doe, Wood, Young and Heron. But take a look at our Famous Families books for many more examples.
Gypsy and Travellers from a traditional and cultural background will rarely use toilet facilities inside their homes - there are strict rules of cleanliness which require Travellers to adhere to codes of sanitary standards and practices within the home.
