Big Fat Gypsy Weddings: ten facts about Gypsies and Travellers
The success of Channel 4's series about Gypsy weddings has put Traveller communities in the spotlight. But where are they originally from and which terms cause them offence?
A scene from Channel 4's Big Fat Gypsy Weddings.
1. Gypsies and Travellers have similarly nomadic lifestyles (although many settle in one place), but the term gypsy more specifically refers to people of Romani origin, an ethnic group that can be traced to the Indian subcontinent, while Travellers are mainly of Irish or English origin. They are considered an ethnic group under British law.
2. The origin of Traveller communities is a subject of debate. Some say they come from families affected by Cromwell’s military campaign in Ireland in the late 17th century or who began moving from place to place during the Irish famine of the 1840s. Others say there is evidence of nomadic groups in Ireland as early as the 5th century, and that the name "Tynker" can be shown to date back to the 12th century.
3. They were often called “tinkers” because many were skilled tinsmiths, mending pots, pans and tools of local people as they moved from place to place, however the influx of plastics made this trade redundant.
4. The term “pikey” is offensive to Travellers. It has been used as a term of abuse towards gypsies since at least the 16th century, and has its origin in the word pike, which, around 1520, meant “to go away from, to go on”. “Gypo” is also considered a term of abuse.
5. Some travelling communities, particularly in Ireland but also in parts of Britain, use a language called Shelta, which is more widely known as the Cant. It includes “back slang” words such as “gop”, for kiss, which is a reversal of the Irish word “pog”, and "lackeen", for girl, from the Irish "cailin" or "colleen".
6. The term “pavee”, for Traveller, is of Shelta origin. Travellers use the term among themselves to describe one another, but would be offended if they were called this by a “settled person”. They prefer to be known as Travellers.
7. Travellers refer to non-travellers as “settled people”.
8. Many Traveller men expect their wives to be virgins when they marry. Young traveller girls have a strict upbringing, closely watched over by their parents. Many Traveller women marry as teenagers so that they can move out of the family home.
9. Large families are the norm, with some couples having over 10 children.
10. Statistics for Travellers in the UK do not exist, although a 2006 estimate of the total number of gypsies and Travellers in the UK, based on local government caravan counts, was considered to be around 300,000.
Friday 22 July 2011
Big Fat Gypsy Weddings: ten facts about Gypsies and Travellers - Telegraph
via telegraph.co.uk
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