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The Gypsy Lore Society was founded in Great Britain in 1888 to unite persons interested in the history and lore of Gypsies and rovers and to establish closer contacts among scholars studying aspects of such cultures. [1]
David MacRitchie was one of its founders in 1888 and he worked with Francis Hindes Groome until 1892 to produce its quarterly journal. From 1892, the organisation was dormant until its revival in 1907, when MacRitchie became its president.
Another early member of the society was the explorer Sir Richard Burton, who wrote from Trieste in 1888:
We [The Gypsy Lore Society] must advance slowly and depend for success upon our work pleasing the public. Of course, all of us must do our best to secure new members, and by Christmas I hope that we shall find ourselves on the right road. Mr. Pincherle writes to me hopefully about his practical studies of Gypsy life in Trieste. As regards Orientalism in England generally I simply despair of it. Every year the study is more wanted and we do less. It is the same with anthropology, so cultivated in France, so stolidly neglected in England. I am perfectly ashamed of our wretched "Institution" in Hanover Square when compared with the palace in Paris. However, this must come to an end some day. [2]
The Society had ceased to function during World War I. Robert Andrew Scott Macfie had set it up again round 1906 and John Sampson was its president of 1915. The Romani scholar Dora Esther Yates supported the society's revival in 1922 and she became its de facto secretary although this did not happen formally until 1932. [3] [4]
Since 1989 it has been headquartered in the United States. Its goals include promotion of the study of Roma, Gypsies and Travellers. Gypsy Lore Society publications include journal Romani Studies continuing Journal of the Gypsy Lore Society and Newsletter of the Gypsy Lore Society. The biannual journal, Romani Studies, concerned with disseminating accurate information aimed at increasing understanding of these cultures in their diverse forms. The Journal of the Gypsy Lore Society appeared in four series, starting in July 1888. The Society's archives are held at the University of Liverpool. [5]
The Gypsy and Traveller cultures represented include those traditionally known as Roma, Sinti, Calé, Romnichels, Ludar, Irish Travellers, Scottish Travellers and others. [6]
The Society also sponsors programmes and conferences. The North American chapter of the Society established the Victor Weybright Archives of Gypsy Studies in 1978, [7] specialising in recent scholarly work on Gypsy, Traveller and related studies. This research collection is now housed at the University of Michigan.
The president of the Gypsy Lore Society from 2012 to 2020 was Elena Marushiakova. [8] From 2020 the president of the Gypsy Lore Society is Tatiana Podolinska.
The Romani people, also known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group who traditionally lived a nomadic, itinerant lifestyle. Linguistic and genetic evidence suggests that the Romani people originated in the Indian subcontinent, in particular the region of Rajasthan. Their first wave of westward migration is believed to have occurred sometime between the 5th and 11th centuries. They are thought to have first arrived in Europe sometime between the 9th and 14th centuries. Although they are widely dispersed, their most concentrated populations are believed to be in Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, Serbia and Slovakia.
Shelta is a language spoken by Irish Travellers, particularly in Ireland and the United Kingdom. It is widely known as the Cant, to its native speakers in Ireland as de Gammon or Tarri, and to the linguistic community as Shelta. Other terms for it include the Seldru, and Shelta Thari, among others. The exact number of native speakers is hard to determine due to sociolinguistic issues but Ethnologue puts the number of speakers at 30,000 in the UK, 6,000 in Ireland, and 50,000 in the US. The figure for at least the UK is dated to 1990. It is not clear if the other figures are from the same source.
Pikey is an ethnic slur referring to Gypsy, Roma and Traveller people. It is used mainly in the United Kingdom and in Ireland to refer to people who belong to groups which had a traditional travelling lifestyle. Groups referred to with this term include Irish Travellers, English Gypsies, Welsh Kale, Scottish Lowland Travellers, Scottish Highland Travellers, and Funfair Travellers. These groups consider the term to be extremely offensive.
Francis Hindes Groome was a writer and foremost commentator of his time on the Romani people, their language, life, history, customs, beliefs, and lore.
Angloromani or Anglo-Romani is a Para-Romani dialect spoken by the Romanichal, a subgroup of the Romani people in the United Kingdom and other parts of the English-speaking world. It is characterised by the presence of Romani vocabulary and syntax in the English used by Romanichal.
The Romanichal are a Romani subgroup within the United Kingdom and other parts of the English-speaking world. Many Romanichal speak Angloromani, a mixed language that blends Romani vocabulary with English syntax. Romanichal residing in England, Scotland, and Wales are part of the Gypsy (Romani), Roma, and Traveller community.
Romani culture encompasses the regional cultures of the Romani people, an Indo-Aryan ethnic group originating in northwest India. These cultures have developed through complex histories of interaction with their surrounding populations.
The Romani flag or the flag of the Roma is the international ethnic flag of the Romani people, historically known as "Gypsies", which form a stateless minority in countries across Eurasia, Africa, the Americas, and Australasia. It was approved by the representatives of various Romani communities at the first and second World Romani Congresses (WRC), in 1971 and 1978. The flag consists of a background of blue and green, representing the heavens and earth, respectively; it also contains a 16-spoke red dharmachakra, or cartwheel, in the center. The latter element stands for the itinerant tradition of the Romani people and is also an homage to the flag of India, added to the flag by scholar Weer Rajendra Rishi. It superseded a number of tribal emblems and banners, several of which evoked claims of Romani descent from the Ancient Egyptians.
Romani people in Bulgaria constitute Europe's densest Roma minority. The Romani people in Bulgaria may speak Bulgarian, Turkish or Romani, depending on the region.
Romani folklore encompasses the folktales, myths, oral traditions, and legends of the Romani people. The Romani were nomadic when they departed India during the Middle Ages. They migrated widely, particularly to Europe, while other groups stayed and became sedentary. Some legends say that certain Romani have passive psychic powers such as empathy, precognition, retrocognition, or psychometry. For example Wlislocki was known for being a self taught gypseologist, and many of his writings are seen as authentic Romani stories, but the myths published by Wlislocki have no connection to authentic Romani traditions; this causes a misinterpretation about the Romani people as a whole. Other legends include the ability to levitate, travel through astral projection by way of meditation, invoke curses or blessings, conjure or channel spirits, and skill with illusion-casting. The Roma from Slavic countries believe in werewolves. Romani chovihanis often use a variety of herbs and amulets for protection. Garlic is a popular herb used by the Roma.
Scottish Romani are the Romani people of Scotland. This includes Romanichal and Lowland Romani.
Romani studies is an interdisciplinary ethnic studies field concerned with the culture, history and political experiences of the Romani people. The discipline also focuses on the interactions between other peoples and Romas, and their mindset towards the Romas.
The Kale are a Romani subgroup predominantly found in northwestern Wales, specifically in the Welsh-speaking areas. Romani have been present in Wales since the 16th century.
John Sampson (1862–1931) was an Irish linguist, literary scholar and librarian. As a scholar he is best known for The Dialect of the Gypsies of Wales (1926), an authoritative grammar of the Welsh Romani language.
Alice Elizabeth Gillington was a British author, poet and journalist. She published works under the names Alice E. Gillington, Betty Gillington and The Romany Rawny. Gillington published early works of poetry with her sister, May Byron, before moving into a caravan and living with local Gypsy folk. She joined the Gypsy Lore Society and went on to publish books about Gypsies, collections of their folklore, folk songs and singing games. Although she corresponded with the Folk-Song Society, she never joined.
Elena Marushiakova is a historian and ethnographer working in field of Romani Studies, of Slovak and Russian origin, who has lived and studied in Slovakia and Bulgaria. In 2016 she became a research professor in the School of History at the University of St Andrews. Elena Marushiakova became the president of the Gypsy Lore Society.
Dora Esther Yates was a British bibliographer, linguist and Romani scholar. She understood every dialect of Romani and she became the de facto secretary of the Gypsy Lore Society in 1922.
Leeds University Library's Gypsy, Traveller and Roma Collections are one of the five Designated collections held by the Brotherton Library at the University of Leeds. The collections contain an extensive range of international books, manuscripts and archives relating to Gypsy, Traveller and Roma culture. The majority of the materials do not originate from within these communities, instead they encapsulate external representations.
Romani Studies is a biannual peer-reviewed academic journal covering all aspects of Romani studies. It is the official journal of the Gypsy Lore Society. It was established in 1888 and until 1982 was published as the Journal of the Gypsy Lore Society. Its publication resumed in 1991 and in 2000 the journal obtained its current title. The society currently publishes it in association with the Liverpool University Press.
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