342 An Essay on Gypsies. 



Art. XVI. — An Essay on Gypsies ; abridged from the Revue En- 



cyclopedique, Nov. 1832; by J. Griscom. 



There are few questions in Anthropology or Ethnography which 

 have more closely engaged the attention of philologists, geographers 

 and historians than that of the origin and character of this singular 

 people. A race of men which presents the most extraordinary phe- 

 nomenon in social life, has existed nearly four centuries in Europe ; 

 and yet remains almost unknown. Neither time, climate, politics 

 nor example have produced any change in their institutions, their 

 manners, their language or their religious ideas. The Israelites are 

 the only people, who have preserved, like them, their primitive char- 

 acter in foreign lands, but with far less distinctness and discrimi- 

 nation. 



Names by which they are known in the different countries in which 

 they reside. — The Arabs and Moors call them Harami (robbers) ; 

 the Hungarians, Cinganys and Pharaoh Nepek (people of Phara- 

 oh). The latter name is also given them in Transylvania ; the Eng- 

 lish have adopted the name of Gipsies, an alteration of the word 

 Egyptians; the Scotch, that of Caird ; the Spanish call them Gita- 

 nos ; the Portuguese, Ciganos ; the Dutch, Heidenen (idolaters) ; 

 the Russians, Tzengani; the Italians, Zingari; the Swedes, Spa- 

 karing ; the Danish and Norwegians, Tatars; the Wallachians, 

 Bessarabians, Moldavians, Servians and Sclavonians, Cigani; the 

 Germans, Zigeuner; in France they received at first the name of 

 Egyptians and more recently that of Bohemiens, because the earli- 

 est of the tribe came into France from Bohemia. Historians of the 

 middle ages, designate them by the name of Azinghans ; the mod- 

 ern Greeks, under that of Atinghans; in Adzerbaidjan, they are 

 called Hindou Karach, (black Hindoos); in Persia, Louri; the 

 Buchanans and inhabitants of Turkistan, call them Tziaghi which 

 appears to be the root of Tchingeni the term given by the Turks to 

 this wandering race. I have been acquainted in Europe with three 

 of their Rabers or chiefs, who assure me that they call themselves 

 Roumna-ChaL These two words belong to the Mahratta language, 

 and signify men toho tvander in the plains. I consider Tzengaris 

 as their primitive name and which is still preserved in their mothei 

 country > 



