1922.] An old Gypsy-Darwish Jargon. 377 
Xe. A.H./XVIc. A.D. The paper, handwriting and general style 
suggested Indian influence. There were originally several dated 
colophons which probably contained also the scribe’s name, but 
all of them were effaced in a most primitive manner, obviously 
because of conflicting with the Avicenna-autograph theory. 
The handwriting from beginning to end seems to be the same. 
Thus, the age of the vocabulary can be taken to be at 
least 350 years—which is probably the minimal age of the tran- 
script. But there are good grounds for suggesting an earlier 
date: the calligraphic appearance of the copy, the even distribu- 
tion of the text and other peculiarities of the MS. make it 
very unlike the usual type of ‘jungs’ or ‘majmu‘as’ of similar 
kind. One may almost certainly regard it as a copy of an ear- 
lier album. On the other hand, all the treatises whose date 
can be ascertained, belong to a period not later than the end 
of the VIIlc. AH. Therefore it is by no means impossible that 
the vocabulary in question also belongs to the same time, and 
So may be over seven centuries old. Unfortunately there are 
no positive indications to support or to reject this suggestion. 
THE CHARACTER OF THE VOCABULARY. 
The fragment is placed on the margins of three pages. 
Originally it was probably complete, but there is a lacuna of 
several folios. Its heading (in gold letters) is lube ohs jl 
Ju which probably means: ‘the beginning of the book of 
the most parasitical beggars.’ The word ‘sds,’ according to 
Vullers (who gives only two instances, both from an early 
author, Sanai), means a kind of a parasitic insect, or worm, 
which attacks men and animals. It is obsolete now, as we 
as sdst, derived fromit. It is permissible to think that this un- 
kind term was applied to the individuals who perused the code, 
on account of their unattractive manner of stimulating public 
charity! 


! The same name, in nasalised form, Sasi, is applied s—on 
known gypsy criminal tribes in the Punjab. They use two cereal css. 
of the usual Indian-gypsy origin, and the other a special vi Gite eed 
ir George Grierson, Linguistic Survey of India, a aa cole 
guages, 1922, pp. 49-70. 

