604 



GYMNOSOPHISTS GYPSIES. 



an objection to which the exercises with the dumb- 

 bells are liable. 



GYMNOSOPHISTS, or BRACHMANS; the name 

 given by the Greeks to the Indian philosophers, be- 

 cause, according to tradition, they went naked. They 

 were divided into two sects Hrahmans (Brachmans, 

 Bramins), and Samans (Sarmans, Garmans.) Of their 

 philosophical systems we know only that they made 

 philosophy to consist in constant meditation and the 

 severest ascetic habits, by which they sought to over- 

 come sensuality, and to unite themselves with the 

 Deity. They often burned themselves alive to become 

 pure the sooner, as Calanus did in the presence of 

 Alexander, and Xarimarus at Athens, when Augustus 

 was there. The little acquaintance of the ancients with 

 the Indies gave rise to many wonderful stories respect- 

 ing them. This name is sometimes given to the sages 

 of Ethiopia. 



GYN^ECEUM (yviaixtiet, yuiaixatiTis). The Greeks 

 did not live on a footing of friendly intimacy with 

 their wives, like the moderns, but preserved a certain 

 distance, handed down from the earliest ages, when 

 women were regarded as the slaves and the property 

 of their husbands. Hence the former inhabited a 

 different part of the house, termed gynaceum, or the 

 females' apartment, the most remote interior room in 

 the building, situated behind the court. Under the 

 Roman emperors, there was a particular establish- 

 ment of gyneecea, being a kind of manufactories, 

 chiefly under the management of women, for the 

 making of clothes and furniture for the emperor's 

 household. In imitation of these, many modern 

 manufactories, particularly those of silk, where a 

 number of females are associated, are called gyncecea, 



GY1SMECOCRACY; a form of government in 

 which females are eligible to the supreme command. 



GYPSIES (from Egyptians, the name by which 

 they were called in the English statutes) ; a wander- 

 ing nation, whose Asiatic form, language, and cus- 

 toms differ entirely from those of European nations. 

 The German name Zigeuner has been considered, 

 by some, of German origin, and derived from Zieh- 

 Gauner (wandering rogues) ; yet this seems errone- 

 ous, for even when they first appeared in Hungary, 

 in the beginning of the fifteenth century, they were 

 called Zigani and Zingani. The Italians, Uala- 

 chians, and even the Turks, called them Zingari, 

 Tschingani, and Zigani. This name is not derived 

 from the Sigynnae, who, according to Herodotus, 

 inhabited the country extending from the Pontus to 

 the Adriatic sea ; but it appears most probable that 

 it is originally Indian ; for at the mouth of the Indus, 

 there is still a similar people, the Tchingani, whom 

 lieutenant Pottinger lately met with in Beluchistan, 

 on the Persian frontiers, and describes as resem- 

 bling the gypsies in their peculiar customs. The 

 Dutch call the gypsies Heiden (heathen). The 

 Swedes and Danes call them Tartars ; the French, 

 Bohemians. The Spaniards call them Gitanos, 

 which designates their crafty character. They call 

 themselves Pharaon or Sinte (which corresponds to 

 Sinde, the Hindoo name of the inhabitants of Hin- 

 dostan). This people is spread over all Europe, and 

 it is probable there are 700,000 scattered through 

 the different European countries. The greater part, 

 however, appear to lead their strolling life in the 

 south of Spain. In England, there are above 18,000. 

 Sir Walter Scott has given an excellent description of 

 them in Guyv Mannering. It is believed in England, 

 that they are of Indian origin, and that they be- 

 longed to the race of the Sindes, an Indian caste, 

 which was dispersed, in 1400, by the expeditions of 

 Timour. Their language is the same throughout 

 Europe, with but little variation, and even now cor- 

 responds with the dialect of Hindosian. It has been 



proposed, in England, to establish schools for them, 

 and to convert them by means of missionaries. Ill 

 Germany and France, there are but few ; but they 

 are numerous in Hungary, Transylvania and Mol- 

 davia, where their number amounts to about 200,000. 

 They are still more numerous in Bessarabia, the Cri- 

 mea, near Constantinople, and in the whole of Turkey. 

 Gypsies are remarkable for the yellow brown, or 

 rather olive colour, of their skin ; the jet black of 

 their hair and eyes ; the extreme whiteness of their 

 teeth, on account of which many of the gypsy girls, 

 particularly those of Spain, are considered beauties ; 

 and for the symmetry of their limbs, which distin- 

 guishes even the men, whose general appearance, 

 however, is repulsive and shy. The gypsies have 

 much elasticity and quickness ; they are seldom of a 

 tall or powerful frame ; their physiognomy denotes 

 carelessness and levity. They rarely settle perma- 

 nently any where. Wherever the climate is mild 

 enough, they are found in forests and deserts, in 

 companies. They seldom have tents, but seek shel- 

 ter from the cold of winter in grottoes and caves, or 

 they build huts sunk some feet in the earth, and 

 covered with sods laid on poles. In Spain, and even 

 in Hungary, and Transylvania, there are, however, 

 some who follow a trade. They are inn-keepers, 

 horse-doctors, and dealers in horses ; they are smiths, 

 mend old pans and kettles, and make iron utensils, 

 nails, and the like. Some work in wood, making 

 spoons, spindles, troughs, or they assist the farmer 

 in the fields. Their talent for music has been 

 remarked, but it is confined to instrumental music, 

 which they chiefly practise by the ear. They play 

 on the violin, Jews-harp, the bugle, flute, and haut- 

 boy. Their music for dancing is lively and expres- 

 sive ; there are no better musicians for the Hungarian 

 and Polish national dances. Their lively motions 

 are remarkable in their own peculiar dances, and 

 they have great talent for mimicry. The gypsies 

 who formerly traversed Germany supported them- 

 selves by tricks, the women telling fortunes with 

 cards ; the men dancing on the rope, and performing 

 similar feats. The gypsy women, in their younger 

 years, particularly in Spain, are dancers. As soon 

 as they grow older, they invariably practise fortune- 

 telling and chiromancy. This is their chief occupa. 

 tion in all parts of Europe. The children go per- 

 fectly naked until their tenth year. The men wear 

 a shirt and trowsers; the women, petticoats and 

 aprons, red or light blue. In England, they have 

 red cloaks with hoods, and generally, a handker- 

 chief tied over the head. They are fond of rings 

 and ornaments. Those gypsies who lead a settled 

 life are very fond of dress. Their house utensils 

 consist of a pan, dish, kettle, and a silver mug; 

 their domestic animals are horses and pigs. In Eng- 

 land they have always donkeys in their caravans. 

 They are fond of onions and garlic, according to the 

 Oriental custom. They eat all kinds of flesh, even 

 that of animals which have died a natural death ; 

 on which account, a murrain is the most welcome 

 event for them. Some thirty or forty years ago, 

 they were accused, in Hungary, of having slaugh- 

 tered human beings and devoured them, and, in con- 

 sequence of this charge were treated with the 

 greatest severity. Their guilt, however, has never 

 been proved. Brandy is their favourite beverage ; 

 tobacco their greatest luxury; both men and women 

 chew and smoke it with avidity, and are ready to 

 make great sacrifices for the sake of satisfying this 

 inclination. They have no peculiar religion. 

 Amongst the Turks they are Mohammedans ; and in 

 Spain, at least, as well as in Transylvania, they 

 follow the forms of the Christian religion, without, 

 however, caring for instruction, or having any interest 



