The Zincali Part 23

ODORES YE TILICHE / THE LOVER'S JEALOUSY

Dica Calli sos linastes terelas, plasarandote misto men calochin desquinao de trinchas punis y canrrias, sata anjella terelaba dicando on los chorres naquelos sos me tesumiaste, y andial reutila a men Jeli, dinela gao a sos menda orobibele; men puni sin trincha per la quimbila nevel de yes manu barbalo; sos saro se muca per or jandorro. Lo sos bus prejeno Calli de los Bengorros sin sos nu muqueis per yes manu barbalo. . . . On tute orchiri nu chismo, tramisto on coin te araquera, sos menda terela men nostus pa avel sos me camela bus sos tute.

Reflect, O Callee! (104) what motives hast thou (now that my heart is doting on thee, having rested awhile from so many cares and griefs which formerly it endured, beholding the evil pa.s.sages which thou preparedst for me;) to recede thus from my love, giving occasion to me to weep. My agony is great on account of thy recent acquaintance with a rich man; for every thing is abandoned for money's sake. What I most feel, O Callee, of the devils is, that thou abandonest me for a rich man . . . I spit upon thy beauty, and also upon him who converses with thee, for I keep my money for another who loves me more than thou.

OR PERSIBARa.r.s.e SIN CHORO / THE EVILS OF CONCUBINAGE

Gajeres sin corbo rifian soscabar yes manu persibarao, per sos saro se linbidian odoros y beslli, y per esegriton apuchelan on sardana de saros los Benjes, techescando grejos y olajais - de sustiri sos lo resaronomo niquilla murmo; y andial lo fendi sos terelamos de querar sin techescarle yes sulibari a or Jeli, y ne panchabar on caute ma.n.u.sardi, persos trutan a yesque lili.

It is always a strange danger for a man to live in concubinage, because all turns to jealousy and quarrelling, and at last they live in the favour of all the devils, voiding oaths and curses: so that what is cheap turns out dear. So the best we can do, is to cast a bridle on love, and trust to no woman, for they (105) make a man mad.

LOS Ch.o.r.eS / THE ROBBERS

On grejelo chiro begoreo yesque berbanilla de ch.o.r.es a la burda de yes mostipelo a oleba rachi - Andial sos la prejenaron los cambrais presimelaron a cobadrar; sar andoba linaste changano or lanbro, se sustino de la charipe de lapa, utilo la pusca, y niquillo platanando per or platesquero de or mostipelo a la burda sos socabelaba pandi, y per or jobi de la clichi chibelo or jundro de la pusca, le dino pesquibo a or langute, y le sumuquelo yes bruchasno on la tesquera a or Jojerian de los ostilaores y lo techesco de or grate a ostele. Andial sos los debus quimbilos dicobelaron a desquero Jojerian on chen sar las canrriales de la Beriben, lo chibelaron espusifias a los grastes, y niquillaron chapescando, trutando la romuy apala, per bausale de las machas o almedalles de liripio.

On a certain time arrived a band of thieves at the gate of a farm- house at midnight. So soon as the dogs heard them they began to bark, which causing (106) the labourer to awake, he raised himself from his bed with a start, took his musket, and went running to the court-yard of the farm-house to the gate, which was shut, placed the barrel of his musket to the keyhole, gave his finger its desire, (107) and sent a bullet into the forehead of the captain of the robbers, casting him down from his horse. Soon as the other fellows saw their captain on the ground in the agonies of death, they clapped spurs to their horses, and galloped off fleeing, turning their faces back on account of the flies (108) or almonds of lead.

COTOR YE GABICOTE MAJARO / SPECIMEN OF THE GOSPEL OR SOS SARO LO HA CHIBADO EN CHIPE CALLI OR RANDADOR DE OCONOS PAPIRIS AUNSOS NARDIAN LO HA DINADO AL SURDETE.

FROM THE AUTHOR'S UNPUBLISHED TRANSLATION OF THE NEW TESTAMENT

Y soscabando dicando dico los Barbalos sos techescaban desqueros mansis on or Gazofilacio; y dico tramisto yesque pispiricha chorrorita, sos techescaba duis chinorris saraballis, y penelo: en chachipe os penelo, sos caba chorrorri pispiricha a techescao bus sos sares los aveles: persos saros ondobas han techescao per los mansis de Ostebe, de lo sos les costuna; bus caba e desquero chorrorri a techescao saro or susalo sos terelaba. Y pendo a cormunis, sos pendaban del cangaripe, soscabelaba uriardao de orchiris berrandanas, y de denes: Cabas buchis sos dicais, abillaran chibeles, bus ne muquelara berrandana costune berrandana, sos ne quesesa demarabea. Y le prucharon y pendaron: Docurdo, bus quesa ondoba? Y sos simachi abicara bus ondoba presimare? Ondole penclo: Dicad, sos nasti queseis jonjabaos; persos butes abillaran on men acnao, pendando: man sirlo, y or chiro soscabela pajes: Garabaos de guillelar apala, de ondolayos: y bus junureis barganas y sustines, ne os espajueis; persos sin perfine sos ondoba chundee brotobo, bus nasti quesa escotria or egresiton. Oclinde les pendaba: se sustinara sueste sartra sueste, y sichen sartra sichen, y abicara bareles dajiros de chenes per los gaos, y retreques y bocatas, y abicara buchengeres espajuis, y bareles simachis de otarpe: bus anjella de saro ondoba os sinastraran y preguillaran, enregandoos a la Socreteria, y los ostardos, y os legeraran a los Oclayes, y a los Baquedunis, per men acnao: y ondoba os chundeara on chachipe. Terelad pus seraji on bros garlochines de ne orobrar anjella sata abicais de brudilar, persos man os dinare rotuni y chanar, la sos ne asislaran resistir ne sartra pendar satos bros enormes. Y quesareis enregaos de bros batos, y opranos, y sastris, y monrrores, y queraran merar a cormuni de averes; y os cangelaran saros per men acnao; bus ne carjibara ies bal de bros jeros. Sar bras opachirima avelareis bras orchis: pus bus dicareis a Jerusalen relli, oclinde chanad sos, desquero petra soscabela pajes; oclinde los soscabelan on la Chutea, chapesguen a los tober-jelis; y los que on macara de ondolaya, niquillense; y lo sos on los oltariques, nasti enrren on ondolaya; persos ondoba sen chibeles de Abillaza, pa sos chundeen sares las buchis soscabelan libanas; bus isna de las araris, y de las sos dinan de oropielar on asirios chibeles; persos abicara bare quichartura costune la chen, e guillara pa andoba Gao; y petraran a surabi de janrro; y quesan legeraos sinastros a sares las chenes, y Jerusalen quesa omana de los suestiles, sasta sos quejesen los chiros de las sichenes; y abicara simaches on or orcan, y on la chimutia, y on las uchurganis; y on la chen chalabeo on la suete per or dan sos bausalara la loria y des-queros gulas; muquelando los romares bifaos per dajiralo de las buchis sos costune abillaran a saro or surdete; persos los solares de los otarpes quesan sar- chalabeaos; y oclinde dicaran a or Chaboro e Manu abillar costune yesque minrricla sar baro asislar y Chimusolano: bus presimelaren a chundear caba buchis, dicad, y sustinad bros jeros, persos pajes soscabela bras redencion.

And whilst looking he saw the rich who cast their treasures into the treasury; and he saw also a poor widow, who cast two small coins, and he said: In truth I tell you, that this poor widow has cast more than all the others; because all those have cast, as offerings to G.o.d, from that which to them abounded; but she from her poverty has cast all the substance which she had. And he said to some, who said of the temple, that it was adorned with fair stones, and with gifts: These things which ye see, days shall come, when stone shall not remain upon stone, which shall not be demolished. And they asked him and said: Master, when shall this be? and what sign shall there be when this begins? He said: See, that ye be not deceived, because many shall come in my name, saying: I am (he), and the time is near: beware ye of going after them: and when ye shall hear (of) wars and revolts do not fear, because it is needful that this happen first, for the end shall not be immediately. Then he said to them: Nation shall rise against nation, and country against country, and there shall be great tremblings of earth among the towns, and pestilences and famines; and there shall be frightful things, and great signs in the heaven: but before all this they shall make ye captive, and shall persecute, delivering ye over to the synagogue, and prisons; and they shall carry ye to the kings, and the governors, on account of my name: and this shall happen to you for truth. Keep then firm in your hearts, not to think before how ye have to answer, for I will give you mouth and wisdom, which all your enemies shall not be able to resist, or contradict. And ye shall be delivered over by your fathers, and brothers, and relations, and friends, and they shall put to death some of you; and all shall hate you for my name; but not one hair of your heads shall perish. With your patience ye shall possess your souls: but when ye shall see Jerusalem surrounded, then know that its fall is near; then those who are in Judea, let them escape to the mountains; and those who are in the midst of her, let them go out; and those who are in the fields, let them not enter into her; because those are days of vengeance, that all the things which are written may happen; but alas to the pregnant and those who give suck in those days, for there shall be great distress upon the earth, and it shall move onward against this people; and they shall fall by the edge of the sword; and they shall be carried captive to all the countries, and Jerusalem shall be trodden by the nations, until are accomplished the times of the nations; and there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and in the earth trouble of nations from the fear which the sea and its billows shall cause; leaving men frozen with terror of the things which shall come upon all the world; because the powers of the heavens shall be shaken; and then they shall see the Son of Man coming upon a cloud with great power and glory: when these things begin to happen, look ye, and raise your heads, for your redemption is near.

THE ENGLISH DIALECT OF THE ROMMANY

'TACHIPEN if I jaw 'doi, I can lel a bit of tan to hatch: N'etist I shan't puch kekomi wafu gorgies.'

The above sentence, dear reader, I heard from the mouth of Mr.

Petulengro, the last time that he did me the honour to visit me at my poor house, which was the day after Mol-divvus, (109) 1842: he stayed with me during the greatest part of the morning, discoursing on the affairs of Egypt, the aspect of which, he a.s.sured me, was becoming daily worse and worse. 'There is no living for the poor people, brother,' said he, 'the chok-engres (police) pursue us from place to place, and the gorgios are become either so poor or miserly, that they grudge our cattle a bite of gra.s.s by the way side, and ourselves a yard of ground to light a fire upon. Unless times alter, brother, and of that I see no probability, unless you are made either poknees or mecralliskoe geiro (justice of the peace or prime minister), I am afraid the poor persons will have to give up wandering altogether, and then what will become of them?

'However, brother,' he continued, in a more cheerful tone, 'I am no hindity mush, (110) as you well know. I suppose you have not forgot how, fifteen years ago, when you made horse-shoes in the little dingle by the side of the great north road, I lent you fifty cottors (111) to purchase the wonderful trotting cob of the innkeeper with the green Newmarket coat, which three days after you sold for two hundred.

'Well, brother, if you had wanted the two hundred, instead of the fifty, I could have lent them to you, and would have done so, for I knew you would not be long pazorrhus to me. I am no hindity mush, brother, no Irishman; I laid out the other day twenty pounds in buying rupenoe peam-engries; (112) and in the Chong-gav, (113) have a house of my own with a yard behind it.

'AND, FORSOOTH, IF I GO THITHER, I CAN CHOOSE A PLACE TO LIGHT A FIRE UPON, AND SHALL HAVE NO NECESSITY TO ASK LEAVE OF THESE HERE GENTILES.'

Well, dear reader, this last is the translation of the Gypsy sentence which heads the chapter, and which is a very characteristic specimen of the general way of speaking of the English Gypsies.

The language, as they generally speak it, is a broken jargon, in which few of the grammatical peculiarities of the Rommany are to be distinguished. In fact, what has been said of the Spanish Gypsy dialect holds good with respect to the English as commonly spoken: yet the English dialect has in reality suffered much less than the Spanish, and still retains its original syntax to a certain extent, its peculiar manner of conjugating verbs, and declining nouns and p.r.o.nouns. I must, however, qualify this last a.s.sertion, by observing that in the genuine Rommany there are no prepositions, but, on the contrary, post-positions; now, in the case of the English dialect, these post-positions have been lost, and their want, with the exception of the genitive, has been supplied with English prepositions, as may be seen by a short example:-

Hungarian Gypsy.(114) English Gypsy. English.

Job Yow He Leste Leste Of him Las Las To him Les Los Him Lester From leste From him Leha With leste With him

PLURAL.

Hungarian Gypsy English Gypsy. English Jole Yaun They Lente Lente Of them Len Len To them Len Len Them Lender From Lende From them

The following comparison of words selected at random from the English and Spanish dialects of the Rommany will, perhaps, not be uninteresting to the philologist or even to the general reader.

Could a doubt be at present entertained that the Gypsy language is virtually the same in all parts of the world where it is spoken, I conceive that such a vocabulary would at once remove it.

English Gypsy. Spanish Gypsy.

Ant Cria Crianse Bread Morro Manro City Forus Foros Dead Mulo Mulo Enough Dosta Dosta Fish Matcho Macho Great Boro Baro House Ker Quer Iron Saster Sas King Krallis Cralis Love(I) Camova Camelo Moon Tchun Chimutra Night Rarde Rati Onion Purrum Porumia Poison Drav Drao Quick Sig Sigo Rain Bris.h.i.+ndo Brejindal Sunday Koorokey Curque Teeth Danor Dani Village Gav Gao White Pauno Parno Yes Avali Ungale

As specimens of how the English dialect maybe written, the following translations of the Lord's Prayer and Belief will perhaps suffice.

THE LORD'S PRAYER

Miry dad, odoi oprey adrey tiro tatcho tan; Medeveleskoe si tiro nav; awel tiro tem, be kairdo tiro lav acoi drey pov sa odoi adrey kosgo tan: dey mande ke-divvus miry diry morro, ta fordel man sor so me pazzorrus tute, sa me fordel sor so wavior mushor pazzorrus amande; ma riggur man adrey kek dosch, ley man abri sor wafodu; tiro se o tem, tiro or zoozli-wast, tiro or corauni, kanaw ta ever- komi. Avali. Tatchipen.

LITERAL TRANSLATION

My Father, yonder up within thy good place; G.o.d-like be thy name; come thy kingdom, be done thy word here in earth as yonder in good place. Give to me to-day my dear bread, and forgive me all that I am indebted to thee, as I forgive all that other men are indebted to me; not lead me into any ill; take me out (of) all evil; thine is the kingdom, thine the strong hand, thine the crown, now and evermore. Yea. Truth.

THE BELIEF

Me apasavenna drey mi-dovvel, Dad soro-ruslo, savo kedas charvus ta pov: apasavenna drey olescro yeck chavo moro arauno Christos, lias medeveleskoe Baval-engro, beano of wendror of medeveleskoe gairy Mary: kurredo tuley me-cralliskoe geiro Pontius Pilaten wast; nasko pre rukh, moreno, chivios adrey o hev; jas yov tuley o kalo dron ke wafudo tan, bengeskoe stariben; jongorasa o trito divvus, atchasa opre to tatcho tan, Mi-dovvels kair; bestela kanaw odoi pre Mi-dovvels tacho wast Dad soro-boro; ava sig to lel shoonaben opre mestepen and merripen. Apasa-venna en develeskoe Baval-engro; Boro develeskoe congri, develeskoe pios of sore tacho foky ketteney, soror wafudu-penes fordias, soror mulor jongorella, kek merella apopli. Avali, palor.

LITERAL TRANSLATION

I believe in my G.o.d, Father all powerful, who made heaven and earth; I believe in his one Son our Lord Christ, conceived by Holy Ghost, (117) born of bowels of Holy Virgin Mary, beaten under the royal governor Pontius Pilate's hand; hung on a tree, slain, put into the grave; went he down the black road to bad place, the devil's prison; he awaked the third day, ascended up to good place, my G.o.d's house; sits now there on my G.o.d's right hand Father-all- powerful; shall come soon to hold judgment over life and death. I believe in Holy Ghost; Great Holy Church, Holy festival of all good people together, all sins forgiveness, that all dead arise, no more die again. Yea, brothers.

SPECIMEN OF A SONG IN THE VULGAR OR BROKEN ROMMANY