Scottish Romani are the

Romani people {{Infobox ethnic group , group = Romani people , image = , image_caption = , flag = Roma flag.svg , flag_caption = Romani flag created in 1933 and accepted at the 1971 World Romani Congress , po ...

of Scotland. This includes

Romanichal The Romanichal ( ; more commonly known as English Gypsies) are a Romani people, Romani subgroup in the United Kingdom. Many Romanichal speak Angloromani, a mixed language that blends Romani language, Romani vocabulary with English syntax. Roma ...

(locally also known as ''Border Gypsies'') and

Lowland Upland and lowland are conditional descriptions of a plain based on elevation above sea level. In studies of the ecology of freshwater rivers, habitats are classified as upland or lowland. Definitions Upland and lowland are portions of a ...

Romani (''Lowland Gypsies''). Scottish Travellers are non-Romani groups indigenous to Scotland who live or traditionally lived a

nomadic Nomads are communities without fixed habitation who regularly move to and from areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the population of nomadic pa ...

lifestyle, including Scottish

Highland Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally, ''upland'' refers to a range of hills, typically from up to , while ''highland'' is usually reserved for range ...

Travellers, Scottish Lowland Travellers and

Showmen Showman can have a variety of meanings, usually by context and depending on the country. Australia Travelling showmen ("showies") are people who run amusement and side show equipment at regional shows, state capital shows, events and fest ...

(Funfair Travellers). These groups have distinct histories and traditions. Scottish Romani and Traveller groups are considered part of the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller community.

General terminology

The Romani people, also known as ''Roma'' or ''Gypsies'', are an ethnic group of Indo-Aryan origin. The Romani people in Scotland are mainly Lowland Romani, Romanichal and Roma migrants from

mainland Europe Continental Europe or mainland Europe is the contiguous mainland of Europe, excluding its surrounding islands. It can also be referred to ambiguously as the European continent, – which can conversely mean the whole of Europe – and, by so ...

. Over the last few generations, the common generic term ''Gypsies'' (derived from an old folk belief that the Romani originated in Egypt) is sometimes seen as pejorative. The most common overarching modern terms in English for non-Romani travelling groups in Scotland are ''Scottish Travellers'' or ''Travelling Folk'', though various specific groups have more particular names in English and otherwise . The Scots language equivalents are or . The

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic (, ; Endonym and exonym, endonym: ), also known as Scots Gaelic or simply Gaelic, is a Celtic language native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a member of the Goidelic language, Goidelic branch of Celtic, Scottish Gaelic, alongs ...

term is or ('Travelling Folk', literally 'People fTravel'), or more specifically ''Luchd-siubhail

Alba ''Alba'' ( , ) is the Scottish Gaelic name for Scotland. It is also, in English-language historiography, used to refer to the polity of Picts and Scots united in the ninth century as the Kingdom of Alba, until it developed into the Kingd ...

nnach'' ('Scottish Traveling Folk'). The settled British (and Irish) population have often referred to all such populations in the British Isles as ''Tinkers'' (originally meaning an itinerant tinsmith), a name now often considered pejorative, with more contemptuous derivates such as ''Tinks'' and ''Tinkies''. This English and Scots term has a

cognate In historical linguistics, cognates or lexical cognates are sets of words that have been inherited in direct descent from an etymological ancestor in a common parent language. Because language change can have radical effects on both the s ...

in Gaelic (singular ), and equivalent terms have been used throughout Western Europe to refer locally to similar populations, owing to their historically frequent work in repairing household objects. Another generally dismissive term throughout Britain is ''

Pikeys Pikey (; also spelled pikie, pykie) is a derogatory slang term 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 lifes ...

'' (also ''Pikies'', ''Pykies''; popularized widely even beyond the UK by the 2000 film '' Snatch''). The also-pejorative ''Knackers'' (a reference to livestock rendering, a low-desire form of work often foisted on Travellers) has become uncommon.

Lowland Romani and Border Romanichal

Lowland Romani (Lowland Gypsies)

Lowland Romani, or Lowland Gypsies, are a Romani subgroup in the Scottish Lowlands. They are not to be confused with Scottish Lowland Travellers, who are an indigenous people. Despite their distinct origins and cultures, Lowland Gypsies and Scottish Lowland Travellers are often grouped together as “Lowland Gypsy/Travellers”. It is believed that Lowland Gypsies share a common ancestry with the Romanichal, and, as with the ''Kalé'' of Wales, their language diverged from that of the Romanichal. Although they have mixed with indigenous Travelling groups in Scotland over centuries, Lowland Romani have retained their

Romani culture Romani culture encompasses the regional cultures of the Romani people. These cultures have developed through complex histories of interaction with their surrounding populations. Romani people constitute the largest ethnic minority in Europe. ...

and dialect They are closely related to the Romani groups of England, Wales, Norway, Sweden, and Finland. They speak

Scottish Cant Scottish Cant, Scots Romani, Scotch Romani or the Scottish Romani language is a cant and variety of the Romani language spoken by Scottish Lowland Romani, who primarily live in the Scottish Lowlands.Kirk, J. & Ó Baoill, D. ''Travellers and th ...

(also known as ''Scots Romani'') a para-Romani language-mix of Scots and Romani, similar to

Angloromani Angloromani or Anglo-Romani (literally "English Romani"; also known as Angloromany, Rummaness, or ) 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 w ...

and

Scandoromani Scandoromani is a Para-Romani dialect spoken by the Romanisæl, a subgroup of the Romani people in Norway (c. 100–150 elderly Scandoromani speakers), and Sweden. Subforms are referred to as: * The Norwegian Romani language or Traveller Norw ...

History

There is written evidence for the presence of Roma in the Scottish Lowlands as early as 1505, when – during the reign of

James IV James IV (17 March 1473 – 9 September 1513) was King of Scotland from 11 June 1488 until his death at the Battle of Flodden in 1513. He inherited the throne at the age of fifteen on the death of his father, James III, at the Battle of Sauch ...

– an entry in a book kept by the Lord High Treasurer records a payment of four

shilling The shilling is a historical coin, and the name of a unit of modern currency, currencies formerly used in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, other British Commonwealth countries and Ireland, where they were generally equivalent to 1 ...

s to a Peter Ker to take a letter from the king at

Hunthall Dunlop (; , or )
is a village and parish in

, to the "King of Rowmais". Two days later, the King authorised a payment of £20 to a messenger from the "King of Rowmais". In 1530, a group of Romanies danced before the Scottish king at the

Holyrood Palace The Palace of Holyroodhouse ( or ), commonly known as Holyrood Palace, is the official residence of the British monarch in Scotland. Located at the bottom of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, at the opposite end to Edinburgh Castle, Holyrood has s ...

and a Romani herbalist called Baptista cured the king of an ailment. However,

James V James V (10 April 1512 – 14 December 1542) was List of Scottish monarchs, King of Scotland from 9 September 1513 until his death in 1542. He was crowned on 21 September 1513 at the age of seventeen months. James was the son of King James IV a ...

sent letters to his regional officials and clergy to expel the "Egiptianes" in July 1541 Romani migration to Scotland continued during the 16th century and several groups of Romanies were accepted there after being expelled from England. The

Privy Council of Scotland The Privy Council of Scotland ( — 1 May 1708) was a body that advised the Scottish monarch. During its existence, the Privy Council of Scotland was essentially considered as the government of the Kingdom of Scotland, and was seen as the most ...

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. 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. By 1612, Romani communities were recorded to exist as far north as

Scalloway Scalloway (, name of the bay) is the largest settlement on the west coast of the Mainland, Shetland, Mainland, the largest island of the Shetland, Scotland. The village had a population of roughly 900, at the 2011 census. Now a fishing port, u ...

in the

Shetland Islands Shetland (until 1975 spelled Zetland), also called the Shetland Islands, is an archipelago in Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the Uni ...

. The '' Kàlo'', a Romani group in

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

, maintain that their ancestors were originally a Romani group who travelled to Finland from

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

; this is because the Kàlo and the ''Romanisæl'' of Norway and Sweden are distantly related to present-day Romanichal, Kalé and Lowland Romani, with all of these groups having common ancestry, being descended from the Romani who arrived in Britain in the sixteenth century. Romani people in the south of Scotland enjoyed the protection of the Roslyn family and made an encampment within the Roslyn 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”; which made it lawful to condemn, detain and execute Gypsies if they were known or reputed to be ethnically Romani. Scotland has had a

Romani Romani may refer to: Ethnic groups * Romani people, or Roma, an ethnic group of Indo-Aryan origin ** Romani language, an Indo-Aryan macrolanguage of the Romani communities ** Romanichal, Romani subgroup in the United Kingdom * Romanians (Romanian ...

population for at least 500 years; they are a distinct group from the Highland Travellers. Lowland Romani Gypsies share a common heritage with Romanichal and Kalé. They enjoyed a privileged place in Scottish society until the

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

, when their wandering lifestyle and exotic culture brought severe persecution upon them. Romanichal Gypsies from the north of England, mainly in

Newcastle-Upon-Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...

and

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders the Scottish council areas of Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders to the north, Northumberland and County Durham to the east, North Yorkshire to the south-east, Lancash ...

, commonly travel into the Scottish Borders. The annual gathering at

Appleby Horse Fair The Appleby Horse Fair, previously known as Appleby New Fair, is an annual gathering of Romani people (''Gypsies'') and Travellers in Appleby-in-Westmorland in Cumbria, England. The horse fair is held each year in early June, attracting rough ...

could be considered part of the common culture that Lowland Romani living in the Lowlands and Border Romanichal living in the Scottish Borders share with the UK's other Romani groups.

Border Romanichal (Border Gypsies)

Romanichal communities known as Border Gypsies exist in the Scottish borders. Speaking Northern Angloromani and following Romanichal traditions and customs, they are linguistically and historically culturally identical to the Romanichal communities in northern England. Romanichal from the north of England, mainly in

and

, also commonly travel into the Scottish Borders. They live in separate and distinct communities from Lowland Gypsies.Gypsies, Roma and Travellers: A Contemporary Analysis

Partial preview Partial may refer to: Mathematics *Partial derivative, derivative with respect to one of several variables of a function, with the other variables held constant ** ∂, a symbol that can denote a partial derivative, sometimes pronounced "partial ...

Google Books Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical charac ...

Romanichal traders in Scotland were upwardly mobile. By 1830, they travelled to the potteries in Staffordshire, buying china and other goods and selling the items chiefly in Northumberland while based in

Kirk Yetholm Kirk Yetholm ('kirk yet-ham') is a village in the Scottish Borders region of Scotland, southeast of Kelso, Scotland, Kelso and less than west of the Anglo-Scottish Border, border. The first mention is of its church in the 13th century. Its ...

Roxburghshire Roxburghshire or the County of Roxburgh () is a historic county and registration county in the Southern Uplands of Scotland. It borders Dumfriesshire to the west, Selkirkshire and Midlothian to the northwest, and Berwickshire to the north. T ...

. By 1874, these Gypsies were commented on as "Having physical markers in their dusky complexion that is characteristically Gypsy...and...a language that is clearly Romani". Some Romanichal from Scotland are members of Romani organisations based in England. Scottish Romanichal are known locally as Border Gypsies.

Scottish Cant, Scots-Romani, or Scotch-Romani

The Lowland Romani speak a mixed language of Scots and

called

(also known as Scots-Romani or Scotch-Romani) which includes up to 50% words of Romani origin, mostly

origin words.

Non-Romani groups

Scottish Lowland Travellers

Scottish Lowland Travellers are a traditionally nomadic group indigenous to the Scottish Lowlands.

Scottish Highland Travellers

Scottish Highland Travellers an ethno-cultural group in Scotland. They are culturally and linguistically distinct from the Roma people of Scotland. Unlike the Roma in Scotland, Scottish Highland Travellers are of indigenous origin. A poetic English name for them is the ''Summer Travellers''. In

, they may be called the ('Craftsmen'), related to the ''Tinkers'' usage. Any of the overarching terms for Scottish Travelling Folk in English, Gaelic, or Scots are sometimes also applied to them, along with the rather pejorative term ''Black Tinkers''.

Adam Smith Adam Smith (baptised 1723 – 17 July 1790) was a Scottish economist and philosopher who was a pioneer in the field of political economy and key figure during the Scottish Enlightenment. Seen by some as the "father of economics"——— or ...

, the economist and philosopher, was reportedly kidnapped by Highland Travellers at a young age before quickly being freed.

Language

The Highland Travellers' speech includes a dialect called or . It is related to the Irish Traveller

Shelta Shelta (; Irish: ) is a language spoken by Irish Travellers (), particularly in Ireland and the United Kingdom. It is also widely known as the Cant, known to its native speakers in Ireland as or , and known to the academic or professional li ...

as a creole of the

Gaelic Gaelic (pronounced for Irish Gaelic and for Scots Gaelic) is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". It may refer to: Languages * Gaelic languages or Goidelic languages, a linguistic group that is one of the two branches of the Insul ...

language group. It has been used as a cultural identifier, just as Romani groups used the Romani language. Like the Highland Travellers themselves, the language is not related to Romani.

Origins and customs

The Highland Traveller community has a long history in Scotland going back, at least in record, to the 12th century as a form of employment and one of the first records of that name states a "James the Tinker" held land in the town of Perth from 1165 to 1214. Highland Travellers share a similar heritage, although are distinct from, the

Irish Traveller Irish Travellers (, meaning ''the walking people''), also known as Mincéirs (Shelta: ''Mincéirí'') or Pavees, are a traditionally List of nomadic peoples#Peripatetic, peripatetic Indigenous peoples, indigenous Ethnic group, ethno-cultural g ...

s. As with their Irish counterparts, there are several theories regarding the origin of Scottish Highland Travellers; some that have been claimed at different times are that they are descended from the

Picts The Picts were a group of peoples in what is now Scotland north of the Firth of Forth, in the Scotland in the early Middle Ages, Early Middle Ages. Where they lived and details of their culture can be gleaned from early medieval texts and Pic ...

, originated as

excommunicated Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to deprive, suspend, or limit membership in a religious community or to restrict certain rights within it, in particular those of being in communion with other members of the con ...

clergy, were families fleeing the

Highland potato famine The Highland Potato Famine () was a period of 19th-century Scottish Highland history (1846 to roughly 1856) over which the agricultural communities of the Hebrides and the western Scottish Highlands () saw their potato crop (upon which they ha ...

, or represent a population displaced by the

Norman Invasion The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, French, Flemish, and Breton troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conquero ...

or prior socio-political disruptions. Highland Travellers are distinct both culturally and linguistically from other Gypsy groups like the

(including the British and Scandinavia

, Lowland Scottish Gypsies, Eastern European

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: People, characters, figures, names * Roma or Romani people, an ethnic group living mostly in Europe and the Americas. * Roma called Roy, ancient Egyptian High Priest of Amun * Roma (footballer, born 1979), born ''Paul ...

, and Welsh Kale groups). Several other European groups are also non-Romani, namely the Yeniches, Woonwagenbewoners in the Netherlands (who may be related to the Yeniche), indigenous Norwegian Travellers, and Landfahrer in Germany. As with indigenous Norwegian Travellers, Highland Travellers' origins may be more complex and difficult to ascertain, as they left no early written records of their own. As an indigenous group, Highland Travellers have played an essential role in the preservation of traditional Gaelic culture. It is estimated that as few as 2,000 Highland Travellers continue to lead their traditional lifestyle on the roads.

Notable Highland travellers

Andy M. Stewart Andrew McGregor Stewart (8 September 1952 – 27 December 2015) was a Scottish singer, songwriter and instrumentalist, formerly the frontman for Silly Wizard. He was born in Alyth, Perthshire. With Silly Wizard he not only sang, but also played ...

, Scottish folk-singer and songwriter. Lead singer of the band

Silly Wizard Silly Wizard were a Scottish folk band that began forming in Edinburgh in 1970. The founder members were two like-minded university students— Gordon Jones (guitar, bodhran, vocals, bouzouki, mandola), and Bob Thomas (guitar, mandolin, man ...

Lizzie Higgins Elizabeth Ann Youlden (née Higgins; 20 September 1929 – 20 February 1993) was a Scottish ballad singer from Aberdeenshire. Early life Elizabeth Ann Higgins was born on 20 September 1929, in Guest Row, Aberdeen. She was the daughter of settled ...

, Scottish folk singer (daughter of Jeannie Robertson). *

Jeannie Robertson Regina Christina Robertson (21 October 1908 – 13 March 1975) was a Scottish folk singer. She is known for her version of the traditional song " I'm a Man You Don't Meet Every Day", otherwise known as "Jock Stewart", which was covered by ...

, Scottish folk singer. *

Belle Stewart Belle Stewart, born Isobella McGregor, (18 July 1906 – 4 September 1997) was a Scottish Traveller traditional singer. Her biography, ''Queen Amang the Heather: the Life of Belle Stewart'', was written by her daughter, Sheila Stewart, and publ ...

, Scottish traditional singer. *

Sheila Stewart Sheila Stewart (7 July 1937 – 9 December 2014) was a Scottish traditional singer, storyteller, and author. She inherited a large number of traditional songs from older family members, including her mother Belle Stewart. Biography Born in a ...

, daughter of Belle Stewart, who was awarded the

British Empire Medal The British Empire Medal (BEM; formerly British Empire Medal for Meritorious Service) is a British and Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth award for meritorious civil or military service worthy of recognition by the Monarchy of the United Ki ...

for services to her country's cultural oral tradition in Scots and Gaelic. *

Duncan Williamson Duncan James Williamson (11 April 1928, Loch Fyneside, near Furnace, Argyll - 8 November 2007) was a Scottish storyteller and singer, and a member of the Scottish Traveller community. The Scottish poet and scholar Hamish Henderson once ref ...

, author / storyteller who wrote down the oral history, stories and ancient tales of the Highland Traveller. He recorded over 3,000 stories over his lifetime. * Stanley Robertson, master storyteller, ballad singer and author of several books of Lowland Traveller tales. (Nephew of Jeannie Robertson) *

Jamie Macpherson James Macpherson (–1700) was a Scottish outlaw, famed for his lament before execution. He grew up a talented swordsman and fiddle player, then became leader of a gang of robbers. He was arrested in Keith and died in Banff. The lament was rew ...

, 17th century Highland outlaw, fiddler and composer of 'Macpherson's Lament'

Showmen (Funfair travellers)

Travelling

, also known as Funfair Travellers or Fairground Travellers and sometimes as ''carnies'' are a community of , who do not form an ethnic group but an occupational and organisational

subculture A subculture is a group of people within a culture, cultural society that differentiates itself from the values of the conservative, standard or dominant culture to which it belongs, often maintaining some of its founding principles. Subcultures ...

, 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 older

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 in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, mostly in

Shettleston Shettleston (, ) is an area in the Glasgow#East End, east end of Glasgow in Scotland. Toponymy The origin of the name "Shettleston" is not clear and, like many place-names of possibly medieval origin, has had a multitude of spellings. A papal bu ...

Whiteinch Whiteinch () is an area in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated directly north of the River Clyde, between the Partick and Scotstoun areas of the city. Whiteinch was at one stage part of the burgh of Partick, until that burgh's absorp ...

, and

Carntyne Carntyne (; ) is a suburban district in the Scottish city of Glasgow. It is situated north of the River Clyde, and in the east end of the city. it has formed the core of the East Centre (ward), East Centre ward under Glasgow City Council, which ...

. Showmen families have a strong cultural identity as ''British showmen'', dating back to 1889 and the formation of the

Showmen's Guild of Great Britain The Showmen's Guild of Great Britain exists to protect the interests of Travelling Showmen in Great Britain. The Showmen's Guild was founded as the United Kingdom Van Dwellers Protection Association in 1889 in Salford. The formation of the guild ...

and Ireland. Those in Scotland are known within the broader showmen tradition in the UK as the "Scottish section". As with other showmen communities, they call non-travellers (but not other distinct travelling groups including

, Scottish Lowland Travellers, Highland Travellers, or Irish Travellers) as ''flatties'' in their own Polari language. The label of ''flattie-traveller'' can include showmen who have left the community to settle down and lead a sedentary lifestyle.

History

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 as

charter fair A charter fair in England is a street fair or market which was established by Royal Charter. Many charter fairs date back to the Middle Ages, with their heyday occurring during the 13th century. Originally, most charter fairs started as street marke ...

s. 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 the

British Isles The British Isles are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner Hebrides, Inner and Outer Hebr ...

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 Kirkcaldy ( ; ; ) is a town and former royal burgh in Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. It is about north of Edinburgh and south-southwest of Dundee. The town had a recorded population of 49,460 in 2011, making it Fife's second-largest s ...

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. 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 of

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

and

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

with a similar mixture of Charter, Prescriptive and private business fairs. The run of fairs include

Buckie Buckie () is a burgh town (defined as such in List of burghs in Scotland, 1888) on the Moray Firth coast of Scotland. Counties of Scotland, Historically in Banffshire, Buckie was the largest town in the county until the administrative area was ...

fair,

Inverness Inverness (; ; from the , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness") is a city in the Scottish Highlands, having been granted city status in 2000. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highland ...

links market and the historic fairs held at

Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

and

Arbroath Arbroath () or Aberbrothock ( ) is a former royal burgh and the largest town in the Subdivisions of Scotland, council area of Angus, Scotland, Angus, Scotland, with a population of 23,902. It lies on the North Sea coast, some east-northeast of ...

. Annually a team of young showmen from both Scotland and England play an “international

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

match” known as the international,Worlds Fair
where trophies and caps are held in high esteem. A Showman newspaper; ''

World's Fair A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition, is a large global exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specific site for a perio ...

'' is in circulation and available to showmen and non showmen alike.

Language

The use of slang used by Showmen or Parlyaree, is based on a

cant CANT may refer to: *CANT, a solo project from Grizzly Bear bass guitarist and producer, Chris Taylor. *Cantieri Aeronautici e Navali Triestini CANT (''Cantieri Aeronautici e Navali Triestini'', the Trieste Shipbuilding and Naval Aeronautics; also ...

slang A slang is a vocabulary (words, phrases, and linguistic usages) of an informal register, common in everyday conversation but avoided in formal writing and speech. It also often refers to the language exclusively used by the members of pa ...

spoken throughout the UK by Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish showfamilies. It is a mixture of

Mediterranean Lingua Franca The Mediterranean Lingua Franca, or Sabir, was a contact language, or languages, that were used as a lingua franca in the Mediterranean basin from the 11th to the 19th centuries. April McMahon describes Sabir as a "fifteenth century proto-pid ...

, Romani,

Yiddish Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...

Cant CANT may refer to: *CANT, a solo project from Grizzly Bear bass guitarist and producer, Chris Taylor. *Cantieri Aeronautici e Navali Triestini CANT (''Cantieri Aeronautici e Navali Triestini'', the Trieste Shipbuilding and Naval Aeronautics; also ...

London slang Multicultural London English (abbreviated MLE) is a sociolect of English that emerged in the late 20th century. It is spoken mainly by young, working-class people in multicultural parts of London. Speakers of MLE come from a wide variety of et ...

and

backslang Back slang is an English coded language in which the written word is spoken phonetically backwards. Usage Back slang is thought to have originated in Victorian England. It was used mainly by market sellers, such as butchers and greengrocers, f ...

. The language has been spoken in fairgrounds and theatrical entertainment since at least the seventeenth century.Partridge, Eric (1937) ''Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English'' As theatrical booths, circus acts and menageries were once a common part of European fairs it is likely that the roots of Polari/Parlyaree lie in the period before both theatre and circus became independent of the fairgrounds. The Parlyaree spoken on fairgrounds tends to borrow much more from Romany, as well as other languages and argots spoken by other travelling groups, such as

and

Discrimination

Tinker Experiments

Supported by local authorities and the wider

United Kingdom Government His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

, from the 1940s to 1980s a series of policies retroactively labelled as the "Tinker Experiment" were pursued. 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. This process involved the relocation of Scottish Traveller families into designated campsites across Scotland, including Aberdeenshire, Argyll, Highlands, Perthshire, Fife and the Scottish Borders. Families who resisted the move were reported to have been threatened with the removal of their children into social care. The conditions on many of these sites were described as poor: the Bobbin Mill site in

Pitlochry Pitlochry (; or ) is a town in the Perth and Kinross council area of Scotland, lying on the River Tummel. It is historically in the county of Perthshire, and has a population of 2,776, according to the 2011 census.Scotland's 2011 census. (n.p. ...

originally featured prefabricated military

Nissen Huts A Nissen hut is a prefabricated steel structure originally for military use, especially as barracks, made from a 210° portion of a cylindrical skin of corrugated iron. It was designed during the First World War by the Canadian-American-British e ...

with no electricity and coal-fired heating, with one family reporting "one bedroom for nine of us". The policies have been described by critics and former residents as a form of

cultural genocide Cultural genocide or culturicide is a concept first described by Polish lawyer Raphael Lemkin in 1944, in the same book that coined the term ''genocide''. The destruction of culture was a central component in Lemkin's formulation of genocide ...

, compared to similar policies carried out against other indigenous or minority groups, such the

Canadian Indian residential school system The Canadian Indian residential school system was a network of boarding schools for Indigenous peoples. The network was funded by the Canadian government's Department of Indian Affairs and administered by various Christian churches. The sch ...

. In 2022, the Scottish SNP Government announced an independent report would be commissioned into the experiment.

General terminology

Lowland Romani and Border Romanichal

Lowland Romani (Lowland Gypsies)

History

Border Romanichal (Border Gypsies)

Scottish Cant, Scots-Romani, or Scotch-Romani

Non-Romani groups

Scottish Lowland Travellers

Scottish Highland Travellers

Language

Origins and customs

Notable Highland travellers

Showmen (Funfair travellers)

History

Language

Discrimination

Tinker Experiments

See also

References

Further reading