 | This article cites its sourcesbut does not providepage references. Please helpimprove it by providing page numbers for existing citations.(October 2025) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Scottish Romani and Traveller Groups are the various groups ofRomani people (Gypsies) andTravellers in Scotland. Scottish Gypsy/Traveller is an official term used by the Scottish Government to encompass these groups.[1]
The termScottish Gypsy/Traveller includes:
These groups have distinct histories and cultures.[1]Scottish Highland Travellers andScottish Lowland Travellers are the two main, historic nomadic ethnic groups in Scotland. These two ethnicities hadethnogenesis within Scotland and both may have a history stretching back at least to 1200AD.[2][3][page needed]
Scottish Gypsy/Travellers can be divided into two groups: Romani and Indigenous.
The principle Romani subgroups in Scotland are:
The principle Indigenous subgroups in Scotland are:
There is written evidence for the presence of Romani people in the Scottish Lowlands as early as 1505, when – during the reign ofJames IV – an entry in a book kept by the Lord High Treasurer records a payment of fourshillings to a Peter Ker to take a letter from the king atHunthall, to the "King of Rowmais". Two days later, the King authorised a payment of £20 to a messenger from the "King of Rowmais".[13][14][page needed] In 1530, a group of Romanies danced before the Scottish king at theHolyrood Palace and a Romani herbalist called Baptista cured the king of an ailment.[14][page needed] However,James V sent letters to his regional officials and clergy to expel the "Egiptianes" in July 1541[15]
Romani migration to Scotland continued during the 16th century and several groups of Romanies were accepted there after being expelled from England.[16][17] ThePrivy Council of Scotland made a proclamation in April 1573 ordering the "Egiptianis", who had been permitted to wander up and down the country, either to leave Scotland, or to settle in one place and take up a trade.[18]
Records in Dundee from 1651 documented the migrations of small groups of people called "Egyptians" in the Highlands, noted to be of the same nature as the Gypsies in England.[19] By 1612, Romani communities were recorded to exist as far north asScalloway in theShetland Islands.[16][20]
TheKàlo, a Romani group inFinland, maintain that their ancestors were originally a Romani group who travelled to Finland from Scotland;[21] this is because the Kàlo and theRomanisæl of Norway and Sweden are believed to have descended from Romani who arrived in Britain in the 16th century.
Romani people in the south of Scotland enjoyed the protection of the Roslyn family and made an encampment within theRoslyn castle grounds. However, as with its neighbour England, the Scottish parliament passed an act in 1609 against Romani groups known as the “Act against the Egyptians”;[17] which made it lawful to condemn, detain and execute Romani people.[16]
Scotland has had a Romani population for at least 500 years; they are a distinct group from the Highland Travellers. Lowland Romani Gypsies share a common heritage with Romanichal andKale. They enjoyed a place in Scottish society until theReformation, when their wandering lifestyle and exotic culture brought severe persecution upon them.[22]
Lowland Romany speak a dialect calledCant[3][page needed]. Estimates of theRomani element in Scoto-Romani includes up to"50% debased Romani" as put forward byJohn Sampson.[3][page needed]
Scottish Highland Travellers, also known asIndigenous Highland Travellers (IHT) are a nomadicethnic group historically situated in theHighlands of Scotland.[9]Scottish Highland Travellers are of fully indigenous origin.[9] They are culturally and linguistically distinct[9] from other ethnic groups under theGypsy/Traveller umbrella term in Scotland.[1]
The pejorative termBlack Tinkers is applied to them.[23]Tinkers inGaelic-speaking areas were calledcèard fiosachd ("fortune-telling tinkers"),[24]baobh shiùbhlach ("strolling fortune-tellers)[24] andceàrdannan ("craftsmen") inScottish Gaelic.
Highland Travellers share a similar heritage, although are distinct from, theIrish Travellers. As with their Irish counterparts, there are several theories regarding the origin ofScottish Highland Travellers; some that have been claimed at different times are that they are descended from thePicts,[25] originated asexcommunicated clergy,[25] were families fleeing theHighland potato famine, or represent a population displaced by theNorman Invasion or prior socio-political disruptions.[25]
As an indigenous group, Highland Travellers have played an essential role in the preservation of traditional Gaelic culture.[26] It is estimated that as few as 2,000 Highland Travellers continue to lead their traditional lifestyle on the roads.
Adam Smith, the economist and philosopher, was reportedly kidnapped by Highland Travellers at a young age before quickly being freed.[27][28]
ScottishHighland Travellers spoke a Gaelic-based jargon calledBeurla Reagaird.[29] It is related to theIrish Traveller languageShelta. A lexicon can be found at the back of Timothy Neat'sThe Summer Walkers. It is unrelated toBeurlagair na Saor, the jargon spoken by Irish masons.[30]
Scottish Lowland Travellers, historically calledNawkens, also known asNackens, Nagins, Nakins, Naggens andNakens[31] among other variants, are the most common, widespread and most well attested nomadic ethnic group in Scotland. LikeIrish Travellers, the primary endonym of Nawkens today isTravellers[10] hence the termScottishLowland Travellers to distinguish them fromIrish Travellers andScottish Highland Travellers.
Nawkens have been variously calledTinkers andTinklers[3][page needed] historically. Today, they primarily call themselves(Lowland) Travellers.[10] Although sometimes discussed alongsideLowland Gypsies in academic literature, they are not believed to be Romani. Nonetheless, some such as Walter Simson believed "Gipsies", "tinkers" or "nawkens" (he uses all three terms interchangeably) were solely descended from an incoming Romani population which had existed in Scotland since 1504 and which had, through the course of 350 years, intermarried with the settled Scottish population. This belief can be seen in his 1871 publicationA History of the Gipsies . Others such as Andrew McCormick believed Scottish"gypsies" or"tinkers" (he also uses the terms interchangeably) were a mix between a pre-existing Scottish tinker population that had existed since at least 1200AD (and which possibly descended fromPicts who went extinct around that time) and an incoming Romani population in 1504, hence the term"Tinkler-Gypsies".[3][page needed] David MacRitchie, in hisAncient and Modern Britons, puts forth the theory of a partialPictish origin forNawkens which was subsequently reiterated by McCormick.[3][page needed]
Kirk Yetholm Tinklers[32] were a regional cluster of theNawken ethnic group inhabiting the small villages ofKirk Yetholm,Town Yetholm,Kelso andColdstream situated in theScottish Borders.[33] They were also calledYetholm Tinklers,[2]Horners,Muggers andPotters.[33]Kirk Yetholm Tinkers were widely believed to be a separate "race" to the other"tinkers".[3][page needed] This was disproved by McCormick through language analysis.[3][page needed]
Showmen, also known as Funfair Travellers or Fairground Travellers and sometimes ascarnies are a community ofoccupational travellers, who do not form an ethnic group but an occupational and organisationalsubculture, which can be categorised broadly as a business community of travelling shows, circus and carnival communities, and fairground families. Occupational travellers travel for work across Scotland, England, Wales and into continental Europe. The show/fairground community is close knit, with ties often existing between them and the olderRomanichal families, although showmen families are a distinct, multi-ethnic group and have a vibrant social scene organised around both the summer fairs and the various sites and yards used as winter quarters. Many Scottish show and fairground families live in winter communities based mainly in the east end of Glasgow. Housing an estimated 80% of all British show families, Glasgow is believed to have the largest concentration of showmen quarters inEurope, mostly inShettleston,Whiteinch, andCarntyne.[34]
Showmen families have a strong cultural identity asBritish Showmen, dating back to 1889 and the formation of theShowmen's Guild of Great Britain and Ireland. Those in Scotland are known within the broader showmen tradition in the UK as the "Scottish section".[35] As with other showmen communities, they call non-travellers (but not other distinct travelling groups includingRomanichal,Roma, Scottish Lowland Travellers, Highland Travellers, orIrish Travellers) asflatties in their ownParlyaree language.[36] The label offlattie-traveller can include showmen who have left the community to settle down and lead a sedentary lifestyle.
Fairs in Scotland have been held from the early Middle Ages, and traditionally brought together the important elements of medieval trade and a festival. Many of the common markets and fairs are rooted in ancient times, from the medieval period or earlier, and are said to be "prescriptive fairs". Other fairs will have been granted a royal charter to cement their importance and secure their future, and these are known ascharter fairs. In the middle ages, the royal charters gave the fairs legal status and developed their economic importance. The majority of fairs held in Scotland and the rest of theBritish Isles can trace their origins to charters granted in the medieval period. Traders would travel long distances to sell their goods, as did travelling musicians and entertainers who kept both the traders and customers entertained. In the thirteenth century, the creation of fairs by royal charter was widespread. Between 1199 and 1350, charters were issued granting the rights to hold markets or fairs.Kirkcaldy links market remains the longest-running funfair in Scotland, from a charter granted by Edward I in 1304. By the early 18th century, the livestock-market aspect of these Scottish charter fairs had diminished, with the focus shifting to amusement, and they evolved into the modern-day travelling fairs.[37]
The modern travelling showmen have as strong a family history and heritage as do their counterparts in Wales, England and Ireland. Fairs in Scotland are presented around the same time as they are in the rest ofGreat Britain andIreland with a similar mixture of Charter, Prescriptive and private business fairs. The run of fairs includeBuckie fair,Inverness,Kirkcaldy links market and the historic fairs held atDundee andArbroath. Annually a team of young showmen from both Scotland and England play an “internationalfootball match” known as the international,[38] where trophies and caps are held in high esteem. A Showman newspaper;World's Fair is in circulation and available to showmen and non showmen alike.[38]
Parlyaree is the language spoken by Showmen Travellers.[39]Parlyaree is primarily a mixture ofItalian,Thieves' Cant,Angloromani,Yiddish andbackslang.[40]Parlyaree has been spoken in fairgrounds and theatrical entertainment since at least the seventeenth century.[41]
Supported by local authorities and the widerUnited Kingdom Government, from the 1940s to 1980s a series of policies retroactively labelled as the "Tinker Experiment" were pursued.[43][44] The goal of these policies was to assimilate Travellers into the wider population by acclimatising them to "normal housing", preventing them from traditional nomadic practices.[43] This process involved the relocation of Scottish Traveller families into designated campsites across Scotland, including Aberdeenshire, Argyll, Highlands, Perthshire, Fife and the Scottish Borders.[43]
Families who resisted the move were reported to have been threatened with the removal of their children into social care.[43] The conditions on many of these sites were described as poor: the Bobbin Mill site inPitlochry originally featured prefabricated militaryNissen Huts with no electricity and coal-fired heating, with one family reporting "one bedroom for nine of us".[45]
The policies have been described by critics and former residents as a form ofcultural genocide, compared to similar policies carried out against other indigenous or minority groups, such theCanadian Indian residential school system.[45][44] In 2022, the Scottish SNP Government announced an independent report would be commissioned into the experiment.[45]
The termgypsy is seen as pejorative by some Scottish Romani people.[46]
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)