ABSTRACT
The previous chapter argued that the first group identified as gypsies in England were probably travellers from Scotland who intermixed with English women and men. With regard to group identity, it matters little whether the first Egyptians were descendants of migrants from northern India or inventive tinkers from Scotland. Identity is socially negotiated regardless of geographical origins. The defining elements of culture, such as language, dress and customs, are more important than genealogy in determining identity; the why and how concerning the formation of a distinct ethnic collective is more relevant than lineage. The social constructionist approach does not negate the possibility that the initial formation of the group started from a specific geographical base or some other primordial basis. However, after the initial group coalesced, it developed elements of culture and ethnicity, both consciously and unconsciously.1 The group’s nomadic lifestyle, the development and protection of a separate and secret language, the ongoing practice of fortune-telling and cunning craft, distinctive attire and the perceived difference of dark skin contributed to the development of a cohesive and communal identity.2 Gypsies became one of several ‘others’, exotic aliens who were both disruptive and deceptive. Any subsequent cultural dissimilarities performed by the group, or perceived by the host nation, further marked the group as different.3 These cultural markers were developed and reinforced over time by the members of the group, as they evolved into resident aliens.
