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25th November 2011, 07:02 PM
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Location: Buraimi Oman, on the border with the UAE
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Important points, at a glance, noted so far.
"The Straight is a Sayf and the Curved is a Kattara".
Salaams All, At this point I would like to place before the Forum the results in numbered format to date so that the impact and direction of this thread can be fully seen. It may also act as a précis of the key results so far which are quite astonishing viz; 1. The Old Omani Battle Sword (Sayf) Turned down Quillons..dates to the beginning of Ibathi Islam marked by the appearance of the first Imam Ibn Julanda in 751 A.D. #65 2. It is similar in 11 ways to the Abbasid sword against which it was used. #5 3. It continued in service for around 1000 years; being passed down father to son, until its decline probably because of the advent of gunpowder and possibly because it was being superseded by a lighter more flexible blade but perhaps because the expertise in making the old blade had ceased to exist. #153 4. It has a living record in the Funoon, Razha and Agaaleh; traditional dance and martial mimicry from the inception of the first Imam and every year, many times, since. #56 5. It is called Sayf but its local name in the UAE and Omani Interior is Sayf Yamaani (the term for the sword from old Yemen) #157 6. It achieved Iconic status seen on a drawing at the waist of an(1890) 19th C. Sultan. #25 7. It was used in unison with a Buckler Shield (Terrs) made from an amphibious beast either Whale, Hippo, Water Buffalo or possibly Rhino. #155 8. It may have had a replacement hilt thinner and flexible fitted in the 17th C but detail is as yet unresolved. 9. A completely new blade appeared as a one piece "hilt blade and tang" possibly in the 18th and /or 19th C and 20th C and 21stC from external sources perhaps from Europe and /or local and / or other places like India; as yet unresolved. 10. The New Sayf retained the old name and the Buckler shield and was absorbed into the Funoon with a new style of handling and movement. #56 and 65 11. Local centres of production include Musandam peninsular and Al Ain/Buraimi. Nizwa may have made swords since they had the expertise to make copper utensils and iron tools using the bellows technique to increase the heat..#98 and157 12. A visitor (Mr Frazer) to Hormuz garrisoned by Omani troops noted in 1821….. that they wore a broadsword similar to a Scotish Claymore. 13. The famous British secretary ( Mr Ingrams) at the Royal Zanzibar Court in about 1910 noted that the Funoon / Razha sword dances were only performed by Omani men (born in Muscat… not Zanzibaris indicating the system was indeed Omani.) 14. Gypsies (Zutood) may have produced many swords in Oman with a wandering forge on commission. #156 15. The New Sayf gained popularity and Iconic status and seen in photographs on the waist of Zanzibari Sultans in the late 19th and early 20th C. 16. A flambouyant or zig zag bladed Sayf variant appeared at a point not yet determined but probably after 1821.#30 17. Sayf is the very old Arabic word for swords whilst Kattara may not even be an Arabic word at all and may have only joined the vocabulary in the 18th or 19th C with the advent of curved blades entering the arena from all points of the compass which in turn achieved VIP status like most styles of Omani swords photographed on the waist in Zamzibar etc. #21 18. A new nomenclature has been reported to Forum as "The Straight is a Sayf and the Curved is a Kattara". #155 19. Key reference material from The Omani Craft Heritage Documentation Project, Muscat Museum, Bait Zubair Museum and the Abu Dhabi Cultural and Heritage Foundation are offered as definitive proof so far along with almost 160 Forum letters many full of vital, excellent, helpful and constructive notes. "The Straight is a Sayf and the Curved is a Kattara". Regards, Ibrahiim al Balooshi. Last edited by Ibrahiim al Balooshi; 25th November 2011 at 07:22 PM. Reason: Text corrections. |
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25th November 2011, 11:09 PM
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Location: Olomouc
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Thank you for the this detailed outline Ibrahiim. Your interactions with Madam Ghaya Khalfan al Dhaheri were particularly interesting to read about. This is absolutely the best possible method for conducting field research these days and I am grateful for you taking the time to do this and sharing it with us.
I also look forward to hearing the tale of the Dark Cloud sword! All the best, Iain Last edited by Iain; 26th November 2011 at 01:47 AM. |
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26th November 2011, 09:14 AM
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#3 | |
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Quote:
Rakan Ibn Suroor al Dhahiri, now recognised as a great sword maker on the Buraimi/ al Ain oasis which I believe was called Tawam in those days operated a bellows enhanced forge and using special high temperature burning wood as described. To keep the furnace hot a team of bellows men took it in turns to operate the hand blower system made of animal skins. Rakan was always in trouble at home because once started it took two days non stop work to complete a sword~ an absence which made his wife very angry ! The Sheikh .. Sheikh Zayed The Great .. and his entourage were involved in a sword fight and in his party was Rakan . The Sheikhs sword snapped in half and quickly Rakan handed him his own sword and thus without a weapon withdrew from the afray... fast! Zayed continued the fight finished off the enemy and noticed how fine had been the weapon which though given brutal hammering against the foe... seemed to be unscathed. Later as he handed back Rakans sword he remarked asking who made this fine blade? Rakan said it was he... Rakan the Swordmaker. Zayed was surprised and had heard of the master craftsman but hadnt realised he was in his group ... Rakan asked if he could make a sword for him.... and Zayed agreed. It took 2 months on the forge to make the blade. Rakans wife would be furious! When he delivered it to the Sheikh he was asked by Zayed... how is the blade?... to which he replied that it was an excellent edge and very strong to which he had given it the name Dark Cloud . Zayed The Great remarked that it had better be good because if it wasn't he would come back and test it on Rakan... Soon after there was a meeting of all the leaders and a feast ensued ... preceeded by the slaughtering of a camel for the feast. An ideal opportunity to test the blade! The sheikh drew his sword and in one fell swoop cut the beast entirely in half! Dark Cloud had spoken... In later years when the leader died the sword passed to the sons who fought and killed each other til finally Khaliffa took the weapon and hid it somewhere in the desert so it could not kill again. Thus the story of Dark Cloud passed into folklore of The UAE. Regards Ibrahiim al Balooshi. |
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26th November 2011, 01:33 AM
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Location: B.C. Canada
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Quote:
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26th November 2011, 09:20 AM
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Quote:
Regards, Ibrahiim al Balooshi. On The Buraimi Oasis. |
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26th November 2011, 10:53 AM
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#6 |
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Straight Omani Sayf. (or Saif)
Showing 3. 1.Top.The Sayf Abu Falq. Flambouyant zig zag blade occasionally seen. 2.Centre The Sayf. Probably the weapon that superceded 3 below in the late 18/early19th C (and until today) from a variety of sources possibly European and certainly local manufacture. 3.Bottom The Sayf Yamaani; The ancient Omani Battle Sword design of around 751 AD lasting 1000 plus years. Origin uncertain but Hadramaut Yemen is suspect, Basra Iraq or elsewhere possibly Oman. Replaced gradually by 2 above from late 18/early 19thC. *A sword with 3 fullers is also referred to as Abu Thalath Musayil. ** All curved swords are called Kattara in Oman including Shamshir, Nimcha and any other curved variants. The Buckler Shield(Terrs or Turs) is made from Hippo, Rhino, Waterbuffalo or Whale hide and said to came from the region of Zanzibar. |
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30th November 2011, 04:53 PM
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#7 |
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Salaams, Notes to forum ~
1.In 1878 a Mr Geary (editor of the Times of India) visited Muscat and wrote of the weapons he saw carried by locals ~ A favourite weapon is a straight broad two-handed sword, the sweep of which would take off a man's thigh or even cut him in two at the waist.The swordsmen carried over their shoulder small shields of rhinoceros horn 8 or 9 inches in diameter.... 2.Captain James Welstead in 1835 at Jalaan Bani Bu Ali (on the Eastern edge of the Wahaybah) remarked on the Funoon, Razha, sword parade and dance that the blades of their swords are 3 feet in length, straight, thin, double edged and as sharp as a razor. 3.Mr Frazer who also visited Hormuz in 1821 (and Oman at the same time as Welstead in about 1835) described The Omani Garrison at Hormuz swords as similar to Scotish Broadswords and also described separately in Oman later the Ters buckler shields.. Ibrahiim al Balooshi. |
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1st December 2011, 08:52 AM
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#8 |
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Gypsy Detail. Swordmakers?
~The Gypsy (Zutoot) Situation in Oman.~
It has been suggested in my previous posts that Gypsies from India wandered about in Oman randomly doing sword manufacturing for commissions using a wandering forge system. Evidence is almost impossible to verify, though, there are a few exceptional accounts from those that can remember or by stories passed down the ages. It is tantalizing that Gypsies from Hyderabad could have been involved. The following skills were practiced in Oman by Zutoot (Gypsies) from India who had dark skin, danced and played music, stole everything , moved about from place to place, used an unintelligible language and had no apparent religion. Their skills viz; 1. Tinning. 2. Fixing broken metal objects. 3. Sword and knife makers fixers and sharpeners. 4. Medical Practitioners. Tinning. Virtually every copper and brass vessel, plate, tray, spoon, ladle and coffee pot was traditionally tinned. This was normally done by drenching the object in molton tin and draining off the superfluous metal. It was done to protect from verdigris poisoning. Fixing broken metal objects. Many pots even today can be seen to have crenelated repairs and resoldering repairs etc..Far less expensive than a new item repairing was standard practice. Sword and Knife makers, fixers and sharpeners. It is noted from the Cultural Heritage of Oman that swords were said to be made on commission by Gypsies. Local dignatories can remember Zutoot making basic knives on the Buraimi Oasis and some apparently still exist today and are sought. National Documents Research Abu Dhabi have also given similar evidence. Medical Practitioners. This was a cross between herbal medicine superstitious belief and accepted socio-religious structures; Zutoot were experts at Circumcision. They knew herbal cures. Timeline. All sources indicate that frequent visits by Zutoot faded out between 30 and 40 years ago which ties in with events in Oman since most of the above activities became rapidly obsolete after 1970 . Before that there were no doctors, clinics or hospitals and modern items like plastic vessels and pots had not yet appeared. Work for a few bands of wandering tinkers would have been quite plentiful. Once Oman had been injected into the late 20th Century many of the ancient ways vanished. The Zutoot went out on that ticket…it seems. To what extent did Gypsies make weapons in Oman? No written record exists but it may be assumed that a few swords were made; perhaps dozens but not hundreds. Apparently no examples exist/have yet been discovered today. It is more likely that they were repairers of broken handles and blade sharpeners but some sword making cannot be ruled out. They may have been from Hyderabad, therefore, expert swords makers, however, I suggest they were of small importance but fascinating in the general picture of Omani Swords and their development. A fairly vast quantity of information exists on Gypsy history and I have included that in my notes though those have been largely plagiarized from the web. I have outined in Bold Print the relevant skills. All of the detail concerns their history in Europe and parts of the Islamic world though nothing exists from Oman. It makes interesting reading especially and in addition; the gunpowder weaponry in which they were engaged.  Regards, Ibrahiim al Balooshi. Notes; Web References: http://romafacts.uni-graz.at/index.php/history/early-european-history-first-discrimination/ottoman-empire [URL=http://www.hinduwisdom.info/War_in_Ancient_India.htm (for all things India)[/URL] Gypsies Artillery was introduced into Europe by the Roma (Gyspsies), who were none else than the Jats and Rajputs of India. This has been revealed in a study by a reputed linguist, Weer Rajendra Rishi, after an extensive tour of Roma camps in Europe. He explains that the Romas, who are the Gypsies of Europe, also taught the use of artillery to Europeans. These Roma belonged to the Jat and Rajput clans who left India during the invasions by Mohamud Ghaznavi and Mohammad Ghori between the 10th and 12th centuries of the Christian era. He says the use of artillery was known in Asia, notably in India, from time immemorial, while it was introduced to the Europeans much later. Mr. Rishi reveals that the Roma had helped different countries of Europe in making artillery. “Evidence of this is given as early as 1496 by a mandate of that date granted by Wadislas, King of Hungary, wherein it is said that Thomas Polgar, chief of 25 tents of wandering Gypsies had, with his people, made at Funfkirchen musket-balls and other ammunition for Bishop Sigismond. “In 1546 when the English were holding Boulogne against the French the latter took the help of two experienced Romas of Hungary to make great number of cannons of greater caliber than earlier guns. The Hungarian Roma of the 16th century possessed fuller knowledge of fabricating artillery than the races of Western Europe. There were also records that the Roma were employed as soldiers by some countries of Europe. Dr. W. R. Rishi, is the author of the book, Roma - The Panjabi Emigrants in Europe, Central and Middle Asia, the USSR, and the Americas - published 1976. Mr. Rishi is a well-known linguist of India and was awarded the honour of 'Padmashri' by the President of India in 1970 for his contributions in the field of linguistics. He is also the Founder Director of the Indian Institute of Romani Studies. THE TAX REGISTER OF SULTAN SULEIMAN I THE MAGNIFICENT 1522-1523, during the reign of Sultan Suleiman I the Magnificent, another tax register was prepared, entitled “Comprehensive roll of the income and taxation of the Gypsies of the Province of Rumelia”. This vast register consisted of 347 pages and specifically dealt with the “Gypsies”. It recorded the number of “Gypsy” households classified according to tax communities, situated in nine judicial districts encompassing big parts of what is now the Balkan peninsula. This is a unique document with a huge quantity of data about the “Gypsy” population in the Balkans in the beginning of the 16th century. The register recorded 10,294 Christian and 4,203 Muslim “Gypsy” households (in the total a further 471 widows’ households were included). Apart from these, there were a further 2,694 Muslim households in the “Gypsy sanjak”. According to the same calculations, counting each household having an average of 5 people, this made a total of 66,000 “Gypsies” in the Balkans, of which about 47,000 were Christian. Further calculations made on the basis of this register are also of great interest. According to these, a total of 17,191 “Gypsy” households – in what became the territory of the present-day Balkan states – were distributed as follows: Turkey – 3,185, Greece – 2,512, Albania – 374, former Yugoslavia – 4,382 and Bulgaria 5,701, while the exact locality of 1,037 households is uncertain. The Ottoman tax registers are also a source for understanding the religious confessions of the Roma. Generally speaking, summarising the data yet available from the tax registers, it can be said that Christian Roma predominated in the 15th and 16th centuries. HOW THE ROMA EARNED THEIR LIVING Roma in the Ottoman Empire worked in a range of occupations. In the tax register of 1522-1523 the “Gypsies” were most often recorded as musicians (military or “free lanced”), which is also confirmed by other sources. The musical instruments most commonly mentioned are the “zurnas” (a kind of oboe) and drums, but other instruments were also used (most often the tambourine and in more recent times different string instruments). Along with this, there is much evidence about “Gypsy” ensembles with dancers (mainly Roma and sometimes Jewish women). In many places around the world the Roma are known as smiths. This occupation has a long tradition, and has been well preserved in the Balkans until the present day. Although during certain periods of time – as in the early 16th century – Roma blacksmiths and ironmongers were relatively uncommon in the Ottoman Empire, evidence concerning blacksmiths becomes very extensive from the 17th century onwards. [Ills. 9, 10] In some cases the Roma abandoned their former occupations and became involved in agriculture, which they practiced within the framework of the existing feudal possessions of military officers. For example, in an inventory of fiefdoms in the Sofia region, dating to 1445-1446, there is detailed information on one belonging of Ali, which included the village of Dabijiv; it consisted of 15 complete and 3 widows’ households; the inventory categorically states that “they are Gypsies”. Ill. 9 Closely related to the art of the “Gypsy” musicians was the development of some specialised forms of musical theatrical performances, for example, the puppet shows. (from Marushiakova / Popov 2001, p. 66) In the 1522-1523 tax register, among the recorded occupations of the “Gypsies”, are musicians, tinsmiths, farriers, goldsmiths, sword-makers, stove-makers, shoemakers, slipper-makers, makers of clout-nails, leather workers, tailors, carpet-makers, dyers, ironmongers, cheese-makers, butchers, kebab-makers, gardeners, muleteers, guards, prison guards, manservants, couriers, monkey-breeders, well-diggers and others, occasionally including army officers, janissaries, policemen, doctors, surgeons. Perhaps the earliest record of Gypsy migrations is that recorded in the Shah Nameh (or King's Book) written about 1,000 AD. The Persian poet Firdawsi tells of twelve thousand itinerant minstrels, the Luri, sent to Persia from India about 420 AD, upon the request of a Sassanide prince, Bahram Gur, who intended that they should lighten the life of his hard-working people and charm away their misery. He provided them with grain and agriculture that they should support themselves. This plan was, of course, doomed to failure. The Luri used the supplies and made no attempt at farming. Furious at the waste, the prince sent them all away and condemned them to roam and earn a living by smuggling and begging. This account was confirmed in 940 A.D. by the Arab historian, Hamza. THE “GYPSY SANJAK” – ROMA IN THE OTTOMAN ARMY The “Law concerning the Gypsies in the Province of Rumelia” confirms the special administrative legal status and the extended rights to taxation self-government for those living in the “Gypsy sanjak”. Dating from 1541, there was also a special law concerning the leader of the “Gypsy sanjak”. This institution originated in Anatolia but was modified to suit the “Gypsies” in the Balkans. In this case “sanjak” is not used in the usual sense of a territorial unit but in the sense of a special category of the “Gypsy” population which was involved in a number of auxiliary activities in the service of the army. Roma were, however, recruited into the actual army as well. There is evidence, dating from 1566, that some members of the taxable population who were called up for military duties were Muslim Roma. Estimations made on the basis of the data preserved shows that during the 16th and the 17th centuries between 15,000 and 20,000 “Gypsies” must have been involved in the Ottoman army undertaking various services, mostly auxiliary military duties. THE “GYPSY SANJAK” – ROMA IN ARMY AUXILIARY SERVICES The “Gypsies” included in the “Gypsy sanjak” were grouped into “myusellem” (platoons) and their auxiliary units. At the head of each “myusyulem” was the “mir-liva” (major), a non-“Gypsy”, who was in charge of four captains and eleven corporals. For their service the “myusellem” (altogether 543) received land properties, 449 in total, situated in 17 regions of Rumelia. The members of the “myusellem” undertook auxiliary military duties. The head of the “Gypsy sanjak” was based in the town of Kırk Klise (modern Kırklareli) in Eastern Thrace. Processes of sedentarization in towns and villages were active among the Gypsy population in the Ottoman Empire. A new type of semi-nomadic lifestyle emerged (Gypsies with a specific residence and an active nomadic season within regional boundaries). Most certainly, these processes did not include all Gypsies, nevertheless they were rather active. Often Gypsies would break away from their traditional crafts and take up farming (e.g. 15th c. the village of Dabizhiv populated only by Gypsy households was registered in Sofia county) but usually they still practised some occupations and crafts. The most popular occupations were village blacksmiths and town musicians. Registers from the years 1522-1523 listed also tinsmiths, farriers, goldsmiths, sword-makers, cutlers, shoe-makers, curriers, sieve-makers, butchers, guards, servants, etc. It is hard to define which occupations were traditional and which were newly acquired, but the traditional professional specialisation of Gypsy groups seems to have been the case in most instances. Demographic information about Gypsies in Bulgarian lands in 17th and 18th c. is incomplete and quite unreliable. However, one thing is obvious - the tendency of Gypsies to change their religion: while in the 15th and 16th c. Christian Gypsies were the majority, the ratio changed drastically in the 19th c. in favour of Muslim Gypsies. Known as Dakshini - Sikhs, they belong to the Sikligar, Vanjara and Lubana castes and live as gypsies in various states across India. The history of Dakshini Sikhs dates back to the time of sixth Sikh guru Hargobind in 1595. They made swords, spears and shields for the Sikh army. Their descendents worked for the tenth Sikh guru, Guru Gobind Singh, and joined his army to fight against the Mughals. In 1832, the Nizam of Hyderabad requested Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the ruler of Punjab, to send his army to ward off attacks from the neighbours. Ranjit Singh sent a force of 2,000 Sikh soldiers, mostly from these castes, many of whom stayed on in Hyderabad. The Nizam gave jobs to these soldiers who came to be known as Dakshini Sikhs. |
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6th December 2011, 11:50 AM
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#9 |
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Member
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Location: Buraimi Oman, on the border with the UAE
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Zutooti: The Roma In Oman.
Zutooti (or Ztut or Zutoot)
Auxiliary Omani Sword Makers ! The anthropology of Gypsies in Oman and surrounding areas is apparently, as yet, undocumented. Their contribution to knife and sword making though slight is an intriguing factor in that study. They wandered around doing various tasks including tinning and repairs of brass and copper utensils, dishes and coffee pots. They had extraordinary knowledge of herbal medicines and were entrusted with minor operations such as circumcission. Like their counterparts who entered Europe via the Ottoman territories they saw gaps in the local market and as tinkers managed to make a living even where neccessary becoming small holders and farmers. They could turn their hands to most things and were famous cannon makers and soldiers for the Ottomans. But who were they and what was their position in Omani society? They may be Indian though it is still being researched and since that is where Gypsies originated (see notes below)...They are described only verbally as there are no actual records. Dark skinned, unruly, generally dirty, unkempt and of no known religion and using a peculiar unintelligible language. They came and went..They stole everything or so it was claimed. Their status was probably as low as it could be in society. Lower than slaves in days gone by. They married only within their own "sect". Allowing a Ztut into ones family would invariably result in daily arguement and fighting. The Ztut were an underclass yet were tolerated, however, with suspicion. Ztut did herbal cures and specialised in wild honey collecting. They knew music and could dance. Some of the girls were stunningly beautiful but regarded as untouchable regarding intermarriage. It appears that a househole would have a few slaves and perhaps a few Ztut under their umbrella but of the 2 Ztut were lower in the pecking order. Ztut were much more loosely attached thus could be expected to vanish overnight. Very odd? These days they still exist but have retained the attachment of wariness and suspicion in society but still do tinker tasks. It would be very rude (adding to the difficulty in research) to walk up and say you are a Ztut I want to ask you some questions...I have discovered that they still have amazing knowledge of herbal remedies.. they still do wild honey collecting and still potter about doing metalwork. In the old days before 1970 they were very much part of the old Omani fabric where their role in limited sword making cannot be ruled out. Regards, Ibrahiim al Balooshi. Notes; Unashamedly I attach almost entirely the brilliant work of Stephanie G. Folse sfolse@du.edu from University of Denver for reference and interesting reading. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tracing the history of a non-literate culture Linguists compare Gypsy languages to historical languages; they look at words borrowed from other languages and when and where those words originally existed. It is possible to trace Gypsies back to their origin: the Sind area of India (today south central Pakistan -- the mouth of the Indus). Three separate emigrations occurred over the course of about four hundred years, traceable today in three identifiable linguistic populations: the Eastern Gypsy (Domari) in Egypt and the Middle East, the Central Gypsy (Lomavren) in Armenia and eastern Turkey, and the Western Gypsy (Romani) (Romany refers to the people, Romani refers to the language, Rom refers to a man or the people as a whole. Confused yet?  in Europe. This last group is the population most widely dealt with in reference works and literature, and therefore most of the information here pertains to them.The first exodus was spurred by a ruler of Afghanistan, Mahmud of Ghanzi, who invaded the Sind area in A.D. 1001-1027. The second exodus arose out of attacks upon northwest India by Mahmud of Gorh (A.D. 1191-1192), and then the empire expansion of Genghis Khan (A.D. 1215-1227). The third took place during the reign of the khan Tamerlane in the late 1300's and early 1400's, when he attempted to repeat Genghis Khan's exploits. Origin of the Gypsy The cultural group that would later become the Gypsies led a semi-nomadic life in India, and has been tentatively identified as the Dom, which has been recorded as far back as the sixth century. The Dom performed various specialized jobs such as basket-making, scavenging, metal-working and entertainment, traveling a circuit through several small villages each year. This is not a unique phenomenon; the Irish Travellers, although completely unrelated genetically to the Gypsies, fulfill the same functions. Indian caste beliefs of the time may have been the original model for the strict purity and pollution ideology of the present Gypsies, modified over time through contact with other cultures. This semi-nomadic life allowed the Dom the opportunity to easily flee when battles threatened the area in which they lived, and apparently did so three times during the Middle Ages. The European Gypsies are perhaps the original refugees from Mahmud of Ghanzi's wars, for all sixty Romani dialects contain Armenian words, suggesting that they passed through Armenia in the early 11th century on the way into the Byzantine Empire. The impetus to continue on and enter Byzantine Anatolia was most likely provided by the Seljuk Turks attacked Armenia during the 11th century and spurred the Gypsies onward The earliest currently known reference to Gypsies is in a Life of St. George composed in the monastery of Iberon on Mt. Athos in Greece in 1068. It relates events in Constantinople in 1050, when wild animals plagued an imperial park. The Emperor Constantine Monomachus commissioned the help of "a Samaritan people, descendants of Simon the Magician, who were called Adsincani, and notorious for soothsaying and sorcery," who killed the beasts with charmed pieces of meat. (I wonder if the concept of "poison" never occurred to these people?) "Atzinganoi," the Byzantine term for Gypsies, is reflected in several other languages: the German "Zigeuner," the French "Tsiganes," the Italian "Zingari," and the Hungarian "Cziganyok." During the next 200 years, the Gypsies slowly advanced southwest into Arabia, Egypt and North Africa, northwest into the Byzantine Empire and established themselves in the southern Balkan countries (Serbia, Moldavia, Bulgaria, Hungary and the surrounding area) before 1300. It seems likely to me that this movement was slow due to the westward pressure of the Mongolian Empire; all of Eastern Europe's population was in turmoil and Russian refugees were fleeing west at the time. Once Khubilai Khan died in 1294, the Mongolian Empire began its decline and the borders crept back east, easing pressure on Europe and allowing the Gypsies to expand more rapidly than the previous two centuries. They entered Dubrovnik (modern-day Yugoslavia) before 1362, and had blanketed the Balkans by 1400. The fourteenth and fifteenth centuries came as close to a Gypsy Golden Age as there had ever been. Gypsies covered Thrace, Macedonia, Greece, Yugoslavia and Rumania long before the Ottoman Turks conquered those lands. There was a large population at the seaport of Modon in the 1300's, on the most popular route to the Holy Land, settled in the Gypsy Quarter, a tent-city just outside the city walls sometimes called Little Egypt. This exposure to pilgrims and the attitudes and privileges accorded to them may have led the Gypsies to adopt pilgrim personas once they spread into Western Europe. The Gypsies seemed to prefer Venetian territories such as Crete and Corfu, perhaps because those lands were relatively safe from the constant Turkish incursions. The population, and therefore their annual dues, in Corfu increased enough to form an independent fief conferred in 1470 onto the baron Michael de Hugot, which lasted until the nineteenth century. In the town of Nauplion, in the eastern Peloponnese, the Gypsies apparently formed an organized group under a military leader, one Johannes Cinganus (John the Gypsy). The Venetians expected to be given military aid in the case of increasing Turkish raids, and may have hoped the Gypsies would cultivate depopulated land. Gypsies a little farther north, in the Balkans, were not quite as lucky. They certainly had economic importance, valued as artisans practicing such trades as blacksmithing, locksmithing and tinsmithing, and also filled the niche between peasant and master, but to prevent escape the government declared them slaves of the boyars. They could be sold, exchanged or given away, and any Rumanian man or woman who married a Gypsy became a slave also. Liberty was not fully restored to them in Moldo-Wallachia until the nineteenth century. During the fifteenth century, the nature of the Gypsies' hesitant travels into Western Europe changed. Before that time, they were quiet, unobtrusive and loosely organized, but afterwards they moved in a purposeful way, courting attention, claiming to be pilgrims and demanding subsidies and letters of dispensation. During the two decades after 1417, there are some interesting observations to make. The Gypsy bands seemed to have some unity of action and connection with each other, telling the same tales and displaying similar supporting documents (papal letters and such). A surprising fact is that well into the sixteenth century there is no mention made of Gypsies having their own language, and no apparent difficulty in communicating with the inhabitants of countries they were visiting for the first time. These groups were organized under leaders with noble names and titles, sometimes exchanged with other chiefs. This is unusual in that many of the countries of central and eastern Europe made sure that Gypsies did not rule Gypsies. What was behind this curious behavior? It may have been the Turkish invasion of the Balkans in the early 1400's; Wallachia capitulated to Turkish rule in 1415, two years before the first Gypsy bands were recorded in Western Europe. The Gypsies themselves would probably not have been affected in the long run under Turkish rule (ignoring the immediate fires, sacking and battles), due to the Turkish habit of leaving civilian populations free as long as they paid taxes to their conquerors, not an unfamiliar state of affairs for Gypsies. Many people stayed and embraced Islam, but there are records of other refugees including nobles wandering west in groups and subsisting on charity. One traveler who visited Modon attributed the Gypsy migration to lords and counts who would not serve under the Turks. It seems that the self-interest of barons of Gypsy fiefs who stood to lose quite a bit under Turkish rule was the impulse behind the organized incursions into Western Europe, and at least during the first few years the men who claimed to be barons, counts and dukes were telling the truth. Whatever the impetus, the Gypsies exploded into central Europe. The usual scam involved a group claiming to be from Egypt or Little Egypt (perhaps referring to Modon?) showing up in a city and informing city officials that they were Christians doomed to wander for a period of years to fulfill a penance imposed upon them for the sin of neglecting their religion. They would collect food, money and letters of protection from the city and then continue to the next town. By 1417, Gypsies were recorded in Germanic cities. In 1418, several thousand Gypsies under a leader called Count Michael showed up in Strassbourg. Gypsies were entering Brussels and Holland by 1420, Bologna in 1422, and showing up in Rome in July of that same year. They travelled into Spain by 1425 and Paris by 1427. By the middle of the century, rulers and town governments started banning Gypsies, usually citing theft, fortunetelling, begging and sometimes espionage as the reasons. Europeans also recognized as lies the Gypsies' claims to be pilgrims in exile from Egypt, but there are a few instances of alms being given into the sixteenth century, apparently by slow learners. At this point their meteoric expansion westward stopped for almost a century. Groups traveled east from the Balkans into Russia, establishing themselves in Siberia by the early sixteenth century but they did not enter Great Britain until 1514, probably because a completely separate ethnic group, the Tinkers, already occupied Britain and performed the same roles Gypsies did in other countries: nomadic entertainers, knife-grinders, pot-menders, woodworkers, transient field employees and so forth. The impetus to enter the British Isles was probably given by late fifteenth century Spanish policies ruling against and banishing Gypsies. With nowhere else to go, they entered Britain, then finally Norway in 1544 and Finland in 1597. Why stay nomadic for so long? From an anthropological point of view, I would say that this transient, fully nomadic lifestyle developed in response to the constant fighting pushing them west. Originally refugees from India, they may have thought they would return to their homeland as soon as Mahmoud of Ghanzi's fighting stopped. Refugees quite often stay ready to return to their point of origin for many years once pushed out of their native lands. (A modern example: some Cuban refugees still keep bags packed in anticipation of returning at any time.) When the Dom people left the Sind, they probably planned to live on the road for a few years and then return to their home territory. Normally, the second generation would have settled down in this "temporary" new area, but they were semi-nomadic to begin with, and then the Seljuk Turks invaded and pushed them farther west. After that the Mongolian expansion kept pushing them, and eventually the idea that there was a "back home" was lost. They retained their original semi-nomadic lifestyle in the midst of sedentary cultures, keeping their language and strict pollution ideology in order to maintain their unity as a people as well as clinging to something familiar in the midst of strange new cultures. They were mostly successful until the nations of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries grew powerful enough to force the majority to settle. Their identity as a separate people is still strong enough for them to remain the brunt of prejudice and hatred, a fact hammered home by the killing of half a million Gypsies by the Nazis during World War II. Now, it may only be a few generations until any idea of nomadism is leached out of almost all Gypsies Last edited by Ibrahiim al Balooshi; 6th December 2011 at 01:55 PM. Reason: consolidation |
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Hybrid Mode
