Itinerant groups in Europe

Ashowman's wagon, used for accommodation and transportation

There are a number oftraditionally itinerant or travelling groups in Europewho are known asTravellersorGypsies(the latter being increasingly taken as derogatory).

The origins of the indigenous itinerant groups are not always clear. The largest of these groups are theRomani people(alsoRomaorRom), who haveIndianroots and heritage; they left India around 1,500 years ago, entering Europe around 1,000 years ago. They include theSinti people,who are themselves the second largest group. Others, assumed to have taken up the travelling lifestyle out of necessity at some point during theearly modern period,are unrelated to the Romani, and assumed to not be ethnically distinct from their source population. However, recent DNA testing has shown that theIrish Travellersare of Irish origin but are genetically distinct from their settled counterparts due to social isolation, and more groups are being studied. The third largest group in Europe is theYenish,an indigenousGermanicgroup.

Many intinerant groups speak their own language or dialect, though with outsiders will use the language of the surrounding settled population. Such insider languages are often a blend of the regional settled language andRomani language,but sometimes acantbased on a regional language without Romani influence. As opposed tonomads,who travel with and subsist on herds of livestock, itinerant groups traditionally travel for trade or other work for thesedentarypopulations amongst which they live.

Indigenous Dutch Travellers (Woonwagenbewoners)

Indigenous Dutch Travellers, known in the Netherlands asWoonwagenbewoners(English:caravan dwellers), were first recorded as a population in the 1879 census, but have existed since the advent of industrial mechanization in the first half of the 19th century. They travelled around in search of employment and practised traditional professions like chair bottomers, tinsmiths, broom binders, traders, peddlers, artisans, etc.As of 2018, some 30,000–60,000 Travellers live in the Netherlands,most of whom are Catholics living in the south of the country.Many Travellers used to speak acantlanguage,Bargoens,and a derivativesociolectcontinues to exist.

Living in trailer parks or caravan camps gave rise to the pejorative nameKampersto refer to Dutch Travellers, while the latter prefer to call themselvesReizigers('Travellers'). In turn, Travellers have used the termsburgerandkafferagainst those who live in regular housing. Similar to indigenous Norwegian Travellers, Dutch and Flemish Travellers are theorised to have Yenish (German) admixture.

Indigenous Flemish Travellers (Voyageurs)

Voyageursare an indigenousFlemishgroup who are related to the Dutch Travellers. The firstVoyageursslept in stables and barns they encountered in the countryside along the way. It was only later that they started building covered wagons, a simple cart with atarpaulinover it, which they pulled themselves or for which they harnessed some dogs. Even later the horses came, and the hood carts grew into caravans.

TheseVoyageurshad their example in the intinerant way of life of mainly the Sinti. They partially adopted each other's customs, and mixed marriages were not uncommon. From this mixture of Romani and Western culture, a subculture of their own has emerged. Many also currently live in houses, which makes tracking them difficult. In addition, some are at such an advanced stage of integration into sedentary society that they do not know or deny that they are descendants ofVoyageurs,ashamed of an ancestor who walked from door to door. Their number is currently estimated at 8,000, but could be much higher. They are spread all overFlanders.

Indigenous Norwegian Travellers (Skøyere/Fantefolk)

Main article:Indigenous Norwegian Travellers

Indigenous Norwegian Travellers (more commonly known asFanter,FantefolkorSkøyere) are an itinerant group who call themselvesReisende.Confusingly, this term is also used byRomanisæl,the Romani group of Norway and Sweden. Unlike theRomanisælTravellers, the indigenous Norwegian Travellers are non-Romani by culture and origins, and they do not speak any form of Romani language. Instead, they use Rodi, a Norwegian dialect.

Similar to indigenous Dutch and Flemish Travellers, indigenous Norwegian Travellers are theorised to have Yenish (German Traveller) admixture and possibly could be descended from them. Norwegian Rodi includes a large proportion of Yenish loanwords. Rodi also has a handful ofScandoromaniloanwords due toRomanisælTravellers and indigenous Norwegian Travellers both living in close proximity to each other.

Indigenous Norwegian Travellers have always concentrated around Southern and Southwestern Norway along the coastline (which was separated from the rest of Norway due to mountains) andRomanisælTravellers have always concentrated around Central Norway (specifically in Trøndelag county around the city of Trondheim). Historically, both groups have travelled all over, and often overlap into each other's traditional areas.

They are known to the settled majority population asfantorfanter,but they prefer the termreisende('travellers'). This term is also used byRomanisælTravellers (the largest population of Romani people in Norway and Sweden), though the two groups are distinct. There are also groups in German-speaking countries who refer to themselves asreisende,which is German for 'travellers'.Eilert Sundt,a 19th-century sociologist, termed the indigenous Travellerssmåvandrerorsmåvandringer('small travellers'), to contrast them with theRomanisæl(Tater) Travellers, which Sundt calledstorvandrerorstorvandringer('great travellers') who ranged further in their journeys.

Irish Travellers (Pavee)

Main article:Irish Travellers

By DNA, the Pavees areIrish,but have a separate language and culture than the settled Irish.They live predominantly inIreland,theUnited Kingdomand theUnited States.Travellers refer to themselves as Mincéirí or Pavees in their own language or in Irish asan Lucht Siúil,meaning literally "the walking people". The language of the Irish Travellers,Shelta,is mainly based on anIrishlexicon and an English grammar. There are two dialects of this language: Gammon (or Gamin) and Cant. It has been dated back to the eighteenth century but may be older.The vast majority of Irish Travellers areRoman Catholicswho maintain their traditions and culture in a close-knit community of families.

In 2011, an analysis of DNA from 40 Travellers showed that Irish Travellers are a distinct indigenous Irish ethnic minority who separated from the settled Irish community at least 1,000 years ago; the claim was made that they are as distinct from the settled community asIcelandersare fromNorwegians.

Like other itinerant groups, they have often been ethnically discriminated against in the past and still are today. They were only recognised as an officialethnicgroup in theRepublic of Irelandon March 1, 2017.

Northern Romani Travellers

Northern Romani Traveller groups include:

• Romanichal Travellersin England (As well as North East Wales, South Wales and the Scottish Borders), with diaspora communities in the United States, Canada, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.
• Welsh Kale Travellersin the Welsh-speaking parts of Northwestern Wales.
• Scottish Lowland Travellersin Lowland Scotland.
• Romanisæl Travellersin Central Norway and Sweden.
• Finnish Kalein Finland and parts of Sweden.

These groups have much European blood due to mixing with Indigenous Traveller groups (British Romani Travellers mix with Irish Travellers, Scottish Highland Travellers and Funfair Traveller and Scandinavian Romani Travellers mix with Indigenous Norwegian Travellers) and even non-Travellers over the centuries. This has led to these Romani groups generally looking White in appearance.

It is also a reason why these groups speak mixed languages rather than more pure forms of Romani:

• Romanichal Travellers speakAngloromani(A mix of English and Romani).
• Romanisæl Travellers speakScandoromani(A mix of Norwegian, Swedish, and Romani).
• Scottish Lowland Travellers speakScottish Cant(A mix ofScotsand Romani).
• Welsh Kale speakKalá(A mix of Welsh, English, and Romani).
• Finnish Kale speakKalo(A mix of Finnish and Romani).

Romani

SintiRomanies in theRhineland,1935

Main article:Romani people

The best known itinerant community are theRomani people(alsoRomany,RomaniesTzigani,Rromani,and variants). The Romani haveIndo-Aryanroots and heritage and first entered Europe via the Middle East around a thousand years ago. They spread further through Europe during the 15th and 16th centuries, separating into various subgroups in the process.

They speak Romani, an Indo-Aryan language.

Indigenous Scottish Highland Travellers

Main article:Scottish Romani and Traveller groups § Indigenous Highland Travellers

Scottish Highland Travellersare also known asCeàrdannaninScottish Gaelic(which means 'Craftsmen'). Other terms in English include the pejorativeBlack Tinkersand the more poeticSummer Walkers.

The Highland Traveller community has a long history in Scotland going back on record to at least the 12th century. Historically, they would travel from village to village and would pitch their bow-tents on rough ground around the edge of a village and would earn money there astinsmiths,hawkers,horse dealers, orpearl-fishermen. Many found seasonal employment on farms, e.g. doing berry picking or during harvests. Nowadays, the majority of Highland Travellers have settled down into organized campsites or regular houses.

The Scottish Highland Travellers have their own (nearly extinct) language based on Scottish Gaelic calledBeurla Reagaird.

Highland Travellers are closely tied to their native Highlands and the native Gaelic-speaking population; they may follow an itinerant or a settled lifestyle. They have played an essential role in the preservation of traditional Gaelic culture.Travellers' outstanding contribution to Highland life has been as custodians of an ancient and vital Gaelic singing, storytelling, and folklore tradition. It is estimated that there are only 2,000 Highland Travellers leading their traditional lifestyle.

Yenish Travellers

Main article:Yenish people

Two Jenische inMuotathal,Switzerland,c. 1890

InGerman-speaking Europe,France,andWallonia(part of Belgium), there are theYenish people(JenischeorYenichein German and French, respectively). An early description of this group was published by Johann Ulrich Schöll in 1793.

Funfair travellers (showmen)

Main article:Showman

Showmen(also known asshowpeople,showfolk,funfair travellers,travelling showpeople,and the pejorativecarnies) are not an ethnic group, but occupational travellers, the members of multi-generational families who own and operate travelling funfairs and circuses, who move around as part of their work. These groups formed across Europe, and included the families of travelling markets, funfairs, carnvials, and circuses, which required frequent mobility. These groups usually follow a set pattern of yearly nomadism. Membership of these groups has, over the years, been drawn from other communities. For example, showpeople in Great Britain and Ireland often had a mix of English, Scottish, Welsh, Irish, and/or Traveller (typicallyRomanichal TravellerandIrish Traveller) heritage.

As a result, funfair travellers are not defined as an ethnic group themselves, even though they display certain common features, and in some countries (such as the UK) they identify as a cultural group.Inanthropologicalandsociologicalterms, they form asubculture.

Funfair travellers often sport unique cultures and self-identity, and they tend to be insular, favouring marriage within the community,which results in long lineages and a strong sense of cultural homogeneity. For example, the Showman's Guild of Great Britain requires that applicants have a parent from the funfair travelling community.

Many funfair travellers in the fairground and circus business across Europe have partial Romani heritage, evidenced by significant traces of the Romani language andmatriarchalforms of social organisation. Despite this, the roots, culture, traditions, and identity of showman groups have remained separate from Romani groups.

Camminanti

Main article:Camminanti

The Camminanti are an ethnic group inSicily,originating from the end of the 14th century. They have historically lived a nomadic life.

See also

• Gypsy (term)
• New Age Travellers
• Nomadic peoples of Europe
• Vagrancy (people)
• Gens du voyage (France)