A Historical Survey of the Customs, Habits, & Present State of the GypsiesHoyland, John
History
A Historical Survey of the Customs, Habits, & Present State of the Gypsies
Hoyland, John
Romanies
As historians admit that the greatest numbers of them are to be found in
Turkey, and south of Constantinople, there is reason to apprehend they
had a passage through that country. If many of them did not visit Egypt
previously to their arrival in Europe, they probably wished to avail
themselves of the reputation the Egyptians had acquired in occult
sciences, that they might practise with greater success, the arts to
which they had been previously accustomed, and the practice of which is
common in various parts of Asia. In other respects the habits of Egypt
were very dissimilar to theirs.
We find by the reports on the first question put by the Circular,
mentioned in Section IX. that “all Gypsies in this country suppose the
first of them came from Egypt;” and this idea is confirmed by many
circumstances that have been brought into view in the course of this
work. In addition it may be observed, that before the discovery of the
passage to India, by the Cape of Good Hope, all the productions of the
east, that were distributed in Europe, came to Egyptian ports. Hence we
have many concurring testimonies, which render it highly probable, if not
evidently clear, that the first Gypsey tribes who came into England, and
other parts of Europe, migrated from hordes of that people who had
previously found their way into Egypt.
The evidence appears equally strong, that they were not natives of Egypt;
but as the Egyptians were in great repute for the practice of the occult
sciences, common to them and to the Suder caste; we cannot be surprized
to find these crafty itinerants, should avail themselves of such an
opportunity, as coming out of that country, to profess themselves
Egyptians.
Continental writers exhibit a strange assemblage of crude, and
incongruous ideas on the subject of Gypsey extraction. So numerous are
the opinions diffusely stated, that Grellmann must have exercised much
patient investigation, to deduce from them the rational and satisfactory
conclusions which his Dissertation presents.
Our countryman Swinborne, in describing the Gypsies in Calabria, is the
first to remark that their peculiar language bears great affinity to the
oriental tongues; and that many of their customs resemble those of the
heathens. But European ignorance of the habits and speech of Asiatics
may be accounted for, whilst the rich productions of India continued to
be brought to Egyptian ports, and to be conveyed thence by the Lombard
merchants, to be distributed over Europe
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