Gypsies, Travellers, Traveller-Gypsies, Tinkler-Gypsies, Romanies, Roma: who are these people, the half-despised, half-envied “menace” who pitch their caravans on the outskirts of town? Are they related to the men with accordions and women with flouncy skirts, recently arrived in our cities? What about Scottish Travellers, whom the historian and folklorist Hamish Henderson credited as an ancient Celtic tribe, repository of ballads, folk songs and stories? And Irish Travellers, especially those now living in England – what about them? They are often yoked together with Gypsies for official purposes, or for bad press, but are the two groups content with that?
How many Gypsies are there anyway, in the UK? Well, it depends whom you count, or who offer themselves up to be counted. The first census to offer “Gypsy or Irish Traveller” as a recognised ethnic minority was in 2011: 58,000 people ticked that box, the majority living in houses. Romany or Roma was not an option, though Romany folk might claim to be the most authentic, indeed the only “Gypsies”. Romanies are now known to have originated in Rajasthan, reaching the British Isles in the 15th century; their language still shares elements with Hindi. At first they were mistaken for Egyptians, hence “Gypsy”, and treated with courtesy, but that didn’t last. Soon it became a hanging offence simply to be a Gypsy.
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