Chavvy kai my boi – kai means where. But chavvy is more likely to be chavi/chavvie – meaning small child, usually female while chavo is the male equivalent but is less used and chavi has come to represent both genders. Boi doesnt mean anything in Romany. Roughly – where’s your children my boy.
Sorry Karin I didnt accuse you of saying Gyppo.
I agree with some of the things said and disagree with other things. But still it’s not a lifestyle – Romany have been travelling for 1,000 years since leaving Northern India. Gypsies have adapted over the centuries and will do so over the forthcoming ones. This two hundred years has seen the Romany move from living in tents to wagon life and then onto motorised life. All suiting the occupations that they were involved in, predominantly fruit and vegetable picking and general labouring. Transport was required to follow the seasonal fruit and vegetable picking routes and other activities that utilised or required transport. Romany/Traveller life will not change just because they become sedentary, yes there is some marrying out but Romany/traveller life is a community and that includes marrying each other.
But not all Romany are settled, some still travel. Others settled because they had a business to run or had decent long term employment rather than seasonal work that required them to move between different farms within a large area.
More Gypsies and travellers started roaming again once the caravan sites act was repealed in the 1990s. Before that, councils were obliged to provide transient sites for travellers that had not already bought their own land. Councils encouraged travellers to buy their own land as the council sites were being all closed down. This many did but then the same councils refused them planning permission on the land and then evicted them off their own land they had bought and then usually confiscated the land in payment for eviction costs.
Romany were first reported in this country in the 1500s. There have been several waves of Romany to the UK. The ones that have been here the longest are the ones most likely to have married the occasional non-Romany and look less like the Roma in Eastern Europe who remained concentrated and sedentary as slaves until the late 1800s. After the 1800s many Romany came to the UK from the East after being freed from slavery, some stayed in the UK but many moved onto the Americas and other British colonies. Many Romany from the UK also went to the USA and there are many British Romany (also known as Romanichals) there with the same family names as the Romany here such as Smith, Lee, Heron, Loveridge, Hearn, Boswell, Stanley, etc. Many British Romany also migrated to Scandinavia where they are know as Romanishals or Kale which is what many of the Welsh Romany are known as.
Irish travellers came to this country in three main waves the 1850s, the 1960s and the past couple of years due to changes in the law in Ireland. The 1850s wave most probably see themselves as English Gypsies/travellers now, perhaps even some of the 1960s wave do aswell???? But many of them still self identify as Irish/Pavee/travellers and many of them still talk with an Irish accent as they are an isolated community, even if they have been here for generations and never been to Ireland, they will still have the accent.
Some Romany self identify as Travellers, they see it as the umbrella name for all travellers – Irish, Scots, Welsh, Romany and Travellers. Fair Ground people are seen as separate and are called show people. Some Romany don’t like the name Gypsy and don’t use it and prefer traveller while some are still happy to use it.
Romany/traveller life is very traditional with set gender roles. Some do find the life quite suffocating but those tend to marry out. If you stay in the Romany/traveller life then you know what you are getting but is this no different from the traditional tribal lives of bush people of africa, the amazon forest tribes etc etc.
