ITINERANT ECONOMIES AND LANGUAGES:

An International Overview
(translated from the spanish original article
by Santiago Carralero)

by D. Santiago Carralero Bentez

and
D. Carmen Camacho Guzmn

Papers presented in the IV Seminar of Guild Languges

Aviles Municipality Asturias (Spain)
4-5 november 2005

Acts of Seminar of Guild Languages

Seminar of Bron, Miranda de Avils
Ayuntamiento de Avils (Asturies)
2005

Itinerant Economies and Languages: An International Overview

by Santiago Carralero Benitez andCarmen Camacho Guzmn
Paper presented in the IV edition of Seminar of Guild Languages

The function of these languages that we will see here is mainly to enable
private communication of a small group within a larger group of known
language. First, to create a sense of identity, society, superiority over the

other groups. Secondly, it allows a more dynamic business transactions

that are common among them. However, as we shall see later, the
economic use is more important than their other social use, so that the

loss of the commercial function of slang or language will result in the loss
of its use for future situations. When groups are no longer travelling and
they do not need that language to survive tend to forget the language, for
it fades group consciousness among new residents settled.

Speaking of traveling is to talk first about Gypsies. Their language,

be it Romani or Kalo, whose origin seems to go back to Sanskrit Hindu, is a

prime example of the dynamism and adaptability of mobile economies.

Influenced by the languages of the countries where Gypsies have passed,
his tongue evidence lending Kurdish, Persian and Greek. Sinti dialects
show strong influence of the German language, the Vlach of the
Romanian language groups are part of the second wave in the late

nineteenth century and their dialect is the most widespread throughout

the world. Finally, the third wave of denouncing the influence of the

Balkan languages and Turkish. In addition, there are specific loans all

dialects, national, regional and local. Furthermore, Roma languages have

influenced in turn in the national languages and regional interpretations,
for example, in Andalusia and the context of the Cante Jondo. In
England and Wales dedication to the business of cars and scrap metal
recovery necessarily involves knowing the Anglo-Romany vocabulary.

In Iran, we can see that the various groups they dress and talk like

pastoral groups for those who work, whether Luris, Kurds, etc.. Groups of
Iranian traditional musicians have provided musical entertainment,

usually to the lowest level of society. Many appear to have originated in

some gypsy ancestry. Others may belong to indigenous groups that

perform the same activities and live the same way be confused with those.
The lutis of Kurdistan, Kermanshah, Ilam and Luristan, the Toshmal of

Bakhtiari, the Mehtar of Mamasani, the Sazandeh of Band-i-Amir and

Marv-Dasht, the Challi of Baluchistan, the Asheq of Azerbaijan and

finally musicians Torbat-i-Jam in Khorasan, present clear similarities in

the slang lexicon, falling into a small number of groups of related sub-

dialects. In the case of the Mehtar, and some other Challi many common
terms such as bread, water, woman or horse, differ significantly from
other groups. However, in all cases there is an overlap in the use of jargon

or language common secret. Those who use the root words Hindu does
not need to make changes in the lexicon to avoid being understood by

others, while the remaining part of the lexicon has taken Indian gypsy
safely after they themselves have their own unique media. What is to be
postulated claim that jargon is not the result of prolonged use of foreign
languages, as migrants usually tend to take in a few generations the

language adopted in the new country, forgetting their own over time.
Only in cases where the tribal union remains in the new country through

successive generations and continues to have imported the language

function remain in effect among immigrants. The jargon is then held as

an instrument of social cohesion such as social cohesion arises for

traditional occupations of the original group. When such a group is

spread because their traditional occupations are no longer profitable and

has to take other completely foreign to them, the language group also
ceases to be spoken by the subgroups that are formed. It is a typical case

happened among traveling groups, also common to all indigenous tribal

communities. For example, among the Yaghans of Navarino, on the
southern tip of the Americas, there are only two women who still speak
the original language Yagan, and kept alive largely as a symbol of the

purity of their blood. Among the community representatives maintaining

their language gives them special value to his own comrades and mixed-

race members to the Chilean neighbors. In addition, these two women are
using their language unknown to the rest of the world as a strategy of

mutual understanding against any of which may derive some economic

benefit.

A language, in a broad sense, is a way to communicate. Especially among

roaming, given their mobility and constant adaptation to the climate, the

vicissitudes of history, economics, technological advances, the way

communication has also had to be dynamic, always different, resourceful

and innovative, much more degree than that of the sedentary. In a static
society corresponds to a static form of communication. The rigidity of the
social structure that was sought from the highest levels also imply rigidity

in the form of communication. In the embodiment of the Romance

languages the official language of the western peoples had a large share

humblest sectors of society at that time. The minstrels and troubadours

were a cornerstone in the dissemination of that other most popular means

of communication, while it was in the courts, between the clerics and

intellectuals where Latin maintained its former glory. The romance was
the first literary form of the slang lingo. There was a ruffian poetry began
as anonymous and ended up taking the name of jcara slang.

In principle, someone who is constantly in motion must constantly

learn from their environment to survive and be better, to be prepared

against any eventuality and make the most out of your situation upstart in
a new environment. This contrasts with the permanent care routine vision
sedentary workers. Mainly has to be understood, and often improvising to

new situations in which new markets will fall. The strategies adopted have
been many and varied. The most basic include signs, grimacing, whistling.
Among the carriers is very common this behavior. In the case of Mexican

muleteers, VR Meza tells us about these adventurous men and insightful

despite their basic training, which they used as a second language the
classic whistle carrier, with which were driving their mules, they

communicated with their peers, when the distance between them, insulted
their enemies or made fun of those who were not sympathetic. Elsewhere

in the world, Bhotia northern India and Nepal adopted a language of hand
signs. The trading system of the trans-himalayan Bhotia was based on the

trust on commercial partner of Tibet. The friendship between the two was
developed only after a formal ritual, called "sulchyu-milchyu" which
involved drinking tea or wine in a special common bowl, inlaid in silver,

known as furu, of such size that could be carried wrapped in the pockets
of Bhotia. Commercial partner, known as the miter, could only trade
with their respective partner acquired through the rite of sulchyumilchyu. To solve the problems that this loyalty violations occurred

gamgia was reached, a sort of written agreement between parties to

trade. To keep the exchange rate between two mitres, lakgirpa was
developed, a system using the fingers of one hand hidden by the coat.

Once inside our country could not fail to mention some of the most

prominent inventors of secret jargon, the mercheros, as Menendez

Perrin wrote, the so-called quinquis. Among the few books written
about this ancient community really unknown we can find the book by J.
de las Heras and J. Villarin, which talks about quinqui jargon. Although
they say at the outset that this is an unoriginal lingo then recognize that

its originality lies in the particularity of using that jargon, a mixture of

gypsy words, prison language of slang and Spanish language, which in
itself is also the original . The meaning of his words, money and the
meaning of words takes on a major and unexpected importance in the

jargon of mercheros. Again, this ability to get along with double

meanings emerges the dynamism of another traveling group. The
imagination goes further and mercheros, among its various alternative
strategies have been used based signs of spots, circles, geometric lines,
written in the bark of trees, on the facades of the houses, stones or cairns

apparent at the entrance of towns and cities. These messages are true

people's market research in question, which reflects data on authorities,

risks, benefits, etc. For quinquis, "hot" is the name of the language spoken

most secretly, which only other quinquis can understand. But beyond
the forms of communication mercheros also including a code of gestures

there is imperceptible to the rest, very useful for emergency situations,

especially to the authorities.

It often happens that things are not as simple as they seem or as we

want to be. If mercheros as such did not jump to the historical reality
until the 50s of last century was because we never knew they existed as a

distinct group. There was from the time of the Catholic Monarchs profuse

documentation about a growing community of vagabonds and

malentretenidos of various kinds. And of course, very identifiable
Gypsies whose origin rebelled later as a Hindu. Of the mercheros we
know their preferences for Castilian plateau. The equivalent for Galicia

for merchero is moinante; in Castilla-La Mancha found the wool, old

restaadores now settled and concentrated around Navahermosa
(Toledo) who do not like to be included in the same bag of mercheros.

These are sometimes called ironmongers, a generic term sometimes used

for any itinerant merchant and peddlers like traditional. Other times they
were called sandpipers. C. J. Cela, in his dictionary, says that the secret

language of the sandpiper is the gringo. But while the sandpipers or

wanderers to be the Quinquis Salillas for Roma gypsies themselves would

be those that go in caravans. On the other hand would julandrnW slang

common to all migratory underworld, which would include for L. Ignacio
and Salillas to quinquis or mercheros. On the other hand, the core of

semi-nomadic tinkers Miranda de Aviles, whose origin could be due to

emigration from France, we can say that they spoke a language called
Bron that, indeed, appear to have similarities to that spoken in the area of

the Auvergne by the bands called Yenis or jenischen closely related to the
itinerant metallurgy and extended from the Tyrol to France. These
jenischen of Germany and Switzerland called the rothwelsch their own
language, in which there are Gypsies and Yiddish terms, which terms
must be added Polish, Austrian, Swiss, and other dialects, according to the

chronology of each group. When the Germans came to Scandinavia

traveling contacted the roaming there, which are generically called tattar

or tattare, and according to the zone takes several names: Rejsende,

Natmandsfolk, etc.. From the slang called rothwelsch Kjaeltring formed.

The Bron, which contains a grammatical structure contains elements
Spanish Basque, Asturian, Bable and French, from Jenis, plus many words
of Roma.

It makes sense to think that in the Iberian Peninsula, as elsewhere in

Europe, it had before and after the arrival of gypsies a variety fairly large
of mobile groups dedicated to specific activities such as greeters, peddlers,

porters, ironmongers, comedians, puppeteers, etc. as well as opportunistic

vagabonds, and each one according to circumstances and the vicissitudes

of history have shaped their own jargon and specific task with many

points in common with other nomadic groups who attended in their

itineraries, as demonstrated more recently the adoption of words gypsies

by briqueros of Cantalejo to form its peculiar speech: la gacera. The

briqueros, like other itinerant groups from Galicia and Asturias, have

been formed in response to specific needs of certain sectors of the

population, beset by poverty. In their respective lexicons are therefore not
as old terms as those belonging to those groups that were formed at the

end of the Middle Ages and Modern Age, probably as a result of the
breakdown of social order characteristic of medieval and fed by many
underprivileged groups from penury and fratricide wars as the Thirty
Years ones. But given the regional location of some of these groups, the
languages of their region, in the Asturian and Galician have further
enriched the slang of these. Such is the case of speech called barallete

between Galician sharpeners. Their learning is gradually received from

other peers during the long career, and used where required to
communicate something to other colleagues. Sometimes it was mixed with
words in Galician not be understood in fairs and cafes. The barallete was

actually a defense system against the others, as in the streets ambulant

traders were considered marginalized groups. Moreover, and here the

interesting thing about his affinity to the profession rather than group
identity, learning was done simultaneously with the exercise of the
profession. Not to mention other contributions coming from the nearby

roaming France, and in the case of Bron Boilermakers, Miranda is clear. In

the case of gacera, the ancient origin must be taken from an previous

re-population of a briquero group. It was the repopulation of Burgos

and Soria elements of Basque roots which gave birth to their words of this

amazing slang, improper humble and illiterate people. The settlement of

Arabs in the region of Seplveda provided the contribution of the Arabic

language. The gacera has exchanged words with other itinerant groups,
such as beds and pantoja of Cantabria, the Boilermakers bron, Asturian
xiriga of the weavers of Llanes, the Galician Barallete. Similarly, the gypsy
slang and speech became part of the mixed language of briqueros.

The fact is a clear racial distinction between the Roma from the rest

of itinerant course has given them special status, which hardly would
have been confused with those of others. But just so we do not

differentiate between different Gypsy groups who came to Spain from the

fifteenth century we tend to label others traveling in very general, giving

them words like mercheros or pedlars, without much distinction. What

one note common to all these groups is the use of old words, almost
medieval, that have survived among them as castaways on drift islands in

the Hispanic social system ocean. So studying their respective languages it

is possible to guess a lot about his obscure origin.

Turning again to France and from there to the rest of Europe, we

say that there at least apparent complexity of the various groups traveling

is greater, and the degree of fusion between Roma and indigenous groups.
Thus, several authors believe that the equivalent of the Spanish mercheros

would be the Manouches French, but is more likely to be called Yenis,

whose appearance is more similar to that of the travelers English, Scottish

and Irish, all with different own jargon the Roma. The Jenischen are
German and Austrian equivalent of these French. The other would
Karrner own distinct branch of the Tyrol. In Italy, as well as groups of
Roma origin have to mention the Caminanti of Sicily, that some Gypsies
are lowered, but whose origin is probably indigenous. They speak the

baccagghiu, according with M. Schemmari in his book on the Walkers

of Sicily, again "a cryptic language, an instrument of defense and group

cohesion, transmitted from mothers to children and closely guarded ." The
Caminanti are a traveling community of Sicily whose origin is uncertain,
and no one really knows if they are of gypsy origin, mixed or native. His
first historical reference data no less than 1952 in the town of Noto,
which is very reminiscent of the Spanish mercheros because, well, they
share with all the custom of bride kidnapping. Their activities are varied:
umbrella stands, boiler, gas stoves repairers, vendors, etc.. The
contribution of the terms Roma is not enough to suggest that the language
of the Roma Caminanti has a root, rather it appears that the similarity of
all "itinerant language" makes it a confusing similarity.
Veering to the north, in Scotland find references to the tinkers, or
before the twelfth century tinsmiths, confirming the ancient appearance
of traveling communities throughout Europe devoted to metallurgy, prior
to the arrival of the gypsies. The Gypsy phenomenon itself, as would be
common to any country with a decadent feudal system and broadened to
include groups from different backgrounds and occupations, but related
by an outdoor life. For the Scottish tinker were often included in the same
bag as the homeless. In 1710 it is considered that there were about
100,000 beggars in Scotland, made up of Gypsies, tinkers and musicians.
The jargon of these tinkers was also accredited by this time. The
ceardannan of travelers, such as horse traders and sellers needed both
Gaelic and English and, in addition to the travelers of the northern
Highland made use of an ancient and secret language, known as Beurla
Reagaird, which gave them an innate social cohesion . His interest lies in
the fact that it contained items that related to literary esoteric language of
poets traveling in Gaelic society. While travelers from the southern half of
Scotland had a good knowledge of gypsy slang, which is evident in the
cant, the English language with grammatical structure (with 50% of
Gypsy words in some groups), in the north, this English slang was
replaced by Beurla Reagaird, which shares similarities with the jargon of
Irish Travellers known as Shelta or Gammon. There is only within the

Gaelic-speaking groups and symbiotic relationship with the Gaelic.

Itinerant traders, the ceardannan (the word originally meant artisans),
played a vital role in Gaelic society. They were part, but clearly separated

from settled society. With regard to the travelers Shelta Irish, Scottish
reagaird related to beurla also maintains elements that connect you to the
linguistic activities of the first poets and other teachers. Secret languages
of great antiquity appears in certain Irish manuscripts under different
names and that, now confined to the Tinkers, was known to poets and

scholars, probably their original builders. While the Shelta contains any
number of Roma words(10%) and barely has Beurla Reagaird
contributions. The travelers who speak the lingo and knows the Southern
slang not mix or confuse, but rather use it as a fourth language

independent. Continued Beurla Reagaird in the twentieth century shows

the predominance of oral culture among itinerants. His vital dynamism

translates into greater freedom to change and evoke the literary and
bureaucratic language. The travelers enjoy manipulating words just like

they change their names. Decorate, revitalize, produce jokes and subvert
conventional descriptions, rates and associations.

In the sixteenth century Holland prosperous Jewish communities

lived refugees from persecution Spanish, who controlled the textile sector.

The Jews emigrating from Eastern Europe were not as well regarded
because of their miserable condition. In their home countries, Prussia,
Westphalia, Bavaria, Bohemia, Russia and Poland, had been forbidden to

practice some professions essential to the economic development of the

nation, so many of them became street vendors. In countries with low
guilds followed the policy of restricting their social and, therefore, many

continued their former occupational travelers. Social cohesion, beyond

religion and profession, supplied the common use of Yiddish as a
language particular.

In West Africa, Gambia and Senegal, the majority population

belongs to the Wolof ethnic group. This is a very stratified society, where

many of the places guess common among medieval societies of the West.

As a result, here are mobile elements, whose status has been of

longstanding pejorative connotations, although it has improved a lot

today. Griots are a subgroup among the Wolof recounting genealogies,

their kings and chiefs were the deeds of these, who played music and
performed as minstrels and improvised reporters. Under the label of
laube and as blacksmiths, often traveling and also within the inferior
status, the Senegalese griot have their special secret language.

The Slovaks traveling were known in the eighteenth and nineteenth

centuries for its variety of shops and wide range that stretched across

Europe oriented, Russia, Siberia, Central Asia and Mongolia, and even
reached to Kamchatka, as in the case of Tinkers, which is essentially

devoted to the array of pottery, besides producing food, toys, baskets, traps

and hooks. Others had window panes in wooden boxes on their backs and
repairing broken windows, referred to in Afghanistan. Healers about
3000 Slovak regions roamed as far as Sweden, Persia and China. Since the

nineteenth century appeared saffron and oil dealers, who were also

introduced after haberdashery items. These merchants of saffron had a

secret specific language using secret signs to identify their prices. It

consisted of several elements: a sense of well-known words as well as

grammatical forms were changed, new words were created and adopted
foreign words. Other signs used in Russia than in Poland. The 0000 Russia

sign meant a ruble. Because these secret signs had problems with the

Russian authorities. Vagorum mentions the Liber and secret languages of

the trappers and publishes a short vocabulary.

Returning to the Iberian peninsula and analyzing the dialectal

forms not eminently itinerant groups, but occasionally engaged in

activities such as mule and occasional street trading, such as the cases of
pasiegos of Cantabria and maragatos of Len is concluded that their

ways are different from those who surround them, they are interpreted
with an accent and a peculiar form, common to these groups relatively
isolated from the rest of society. Not coming to form their own jargon, but

we must not doubt that these particular forms of speech were exploited
where appropriate.

Roaming in America has always been a vague, never as specialized

as in Asia, Africa or Europe, and this probably because it has medieval and
everything else has benefited from colonial formulation of the estates
known as colonial caste. The professions have generally been the traveling

salesman, always performed by disadvantaged social echelons. In colonial

times by the mestizo caste, less appreciated: marriages of blacks and

Indians, etc.. After it was the cholo, as a middleman between two worlds,
that of the highland Indians and the whites and mestizos of cities, which

has largely taken the control of street trading. Perhaps only a specialized
group can be regarded as itinerant profession historically transmitted
from generation to generation. We refer to Callawaya healers, specialized

characters in the collection and distribution of plant remedies against a

host of illness, well versed in magic arts related to healing. Documented

since the Inca period, the Callawaya traveled through much of the year
for South American lands, from Panama to Chile, on foot and carrying his

bag full of classic healing remedies. Their traditional home is spread over
several villages in the region of Charazani, in the Bolivian Andes to the

Titicaca region that is close to the Peruvian border. Apparently, when the

Incas conquered this region found people very learned in medicine,

astrology, magic, etc.. So he took them to Cuzco and gave them special

treatment in court. It is likely that they'll learn the sacred language of the
Incas. After the fall of the Incas the Callawaya, back to their villages,

continued to use this language in their religious rites and ceremonial

magic. This language is called "machchaj juvai". Some believe it derives

from pukina, extincted language centuries ago, but apparently does not
keep much in common with that and it is more like a mix of Hispanic,
Aymara and Quechua with really unidentifiable and unknown elements.

Saharan Africa, and Eastern Saharan number of Travellers working

for various tribes, some nomadic livestock, other farmers. Also here the

trend is to add or omit vowels, syllables, prefixes or suffixes to words that

already exist in your environment, as well as apply imaginative ways and

turns, making the language of sedentary farmers for working in secret

languages. In Egypt, for example, rotani, the language of some of the

peripatetic groups who work there, which it means literally secret
language. Among the nomadic pastoralists who give roaming service, we
find the Tuareg of the Sahara and the Borana, southern Ethiopia. In these,

as in other cases, blacksmiths often use secret or special languages. Such is

the case of tenat, the secret language of Inandan, among Tuaregs. Tenat

language works with the words of the language used by farmers

Tanacheq for which Inandan work, only applying suffixes and prefixes.

Finally let's talk about dialects and slang of some groups in

Afghanistan and India, very identifiable with the original culture gypsy

still spoken, as the economy traveling in these countries is still feasible.

Keep in mind that the two millions of people are engaged in India to the
nomadic activities. In Afghanistan we find the Sheikh Mohammadi, a

mobile community dedicated to various activities, among which are the

manufacture of sieves. They are families who claim to belong to a

common ancestor but not related in a Familial or genealogy, there is

considerable confusion among themselves on those who really belong or
not the community. It seems that the dedication is essential to some trades

which gives this attachment to the group, along with the use of a
particular secret language called adurgari, which distinguishes the
community from the rest of Afghan society. Until 6 or 7 years children
speak only Persian, but from that age begin to be trained in the use of

adurgari. All groups know and call it the language of the Sheikh
Mohammadi. A detailed analysis of the same seems to indicate the
predominance of one ethnic group, the Kohistani.

In India several groups hold the title of being legendary ancestors of

the European gypsies. Among the best known are the Lohar, Banjara and
the Sansi. The first are the blacksmiths of Rajput origin and centered
mainly in Rajasthan, the latter are traders, drovers and cattle dealers,

transporters originally salt and food for Rajput armies, which are

scattered all over India, but mainly are found in the states of Rajasthan
and Maharashtra, where they are known as Lambani or Lamani. They
have thier own Lamani language, with sharp influences of Sanskrit. The

Sansis are beggars, vagabonds, temporary labourers. Notorious because of

their crime habits in colonial India, it seems they come from the

remainings of Rajput army. With the war times over, those survivng
Rajput begun to roam around surviving by different occupations. Initially,
Sansi dialect is more akin to Sanskrit, but after a deeper study can conlude

that Sansi language shows more similarities with Punjabi. Becase Aryans
settled down first in Punhjab, punjabi language is very rich in aryans

terms. But, moreover this Sansi dialect contents urdu words and other of
their own. These ones are just punjabi or urdu words changed in some
way to become it in strange words for punjabi or urdu speakers.