104 GYPSIES. 



they are also called churedi, which word, I think, Bor- 

 row found in Spanish Gypsy chororo, meaning poor, and 

 compared with Sanskrit ^shudra and Hindu sTior (" Zin- 

 caW'' nocab.). Although the DidiTcai are fraternized 

 with and even, though not too commonly, inter-married 

 among, they are rather despised by the Icdlo RamaniSy 

 who pride themselves on the purity of their blood and 

 their "deep " knowledge of the language and look down 

 on the less thoroughly gypsified pdsTi ari' pdsh. 



Besides the two divisions of English Romany — Tcdlo 

 Ramanis and Didikai — and the Scotch Gypsies already 

 referred to, the immigrant steamers have recently brought 

 some Hungarian and Turkish Gypsies to America. Most 

 of these are in the West ; our own Gypsies associate 

 with them very little and say they cannot understand 

 them when speaking their language, and I myself have 

 never seen any of them. The Gypsy bands from Vienna, 

 and the Gypsies who have left the roads and now live in 

 houses, keep stores and saloons, or travel with shows 

 and circuses like other people, make up the other real 

 Gypsy elements of our population. 



All civilization probably passed through a nomadic 

 stage, and this earlier period of .culture the Gypsy still 

 perpetuates amongst us and shows an interesLing case of 

 survival of older, lower amongst higher forms. 



Staying for only a few days in one tdn^ or camp, al- 

 ways moving from place to place, their wagons are their 

 homes, and the big Gypsy van is their most important 

 as it is their most valuable possession. 



The van, or war do is the big, covered, Gypsy wagon. 

 It is twelve feet or more long and four or live wide. Its 

 box is quite deep and it is completely covered with a 

 good canvas cover. The wagon is generally gaily 

 painted, with the owner's name often lettered on the side 

 or on the tail-board. It is quite expensive, the last 

 wardo which Henry Wells bought having cost over three 



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