Formerly, Gipseys were commonly employed in Hungary, and in Transylvania almost universally, for hangmen and executioners. They still perform the business of flayers in Hungary, and of executioners in different parts of Transylvania. Their assiduity in torturing, their cruel invention in tormenting, are described by Toppeltin to be so shocking, that the Gipseys seem eminently calculated for works of barbarity. They do not follow flaying as a regular profession any-where; it is merely a casual occupation, in addition to their usual employment. Whenever a beast dies near where they happen to be, it is a fortunate circumstance if there be no skinner in the place; not because they can make much of the skin, which they always leave with the owner for a trifling consideration, but they are thus enabled to procure a plentiful provision of flesh for the family.
Such are the employments of the men. We shall now proceed to shew the particular methods the women have of obtaining support. It was formerly, and still is, the custom, among the wandering Gipseys, especially in winter, not for the man to maintain the wife, but the wife the husband. This is not precisely the fact in summer, when the men have the before-recited occupations; nor among those who have a regular settlement; but the women always endeavour to contribute their share towards the maintenance of the family: some deal in old clothes; others frequent brothels, which is commonly the case in Spain, and still more so in Constantinople, and all over Turkey. There are others, in Constantinople, who make and sell brooms; but this trade is followed by those chiefly who are too old to get a livelihood by their debauchery. Dancing is another means they have of obtaining contributions: they generally practise this when begging, particularly of men, in the streets; or when they enter houses, to ask charity. Their dancing is the most disgusting that can be conceived, always ending with fulsome grimaces, or the most lascivious attitudes and gestures: nor is this indecency confined to the married women, but is rather more practised by young girls, travelling with their fathers, who are also musicians, and who, for a trifling acknowledgement, will exhibit their dexterity to any body who is pleased with these unseemly dances. They are trained up to this impudence from their earliest years, never suffering a passenger to pass their parents’ hut, without endeavouring to obtain something by frisking about naked before him.
Respecting fortune telling, with which the female Gipseys impose on people’s credulity, in every district and corner of Europe, little need be said. Yet it is extraordinary, that women, generally too not till they become old, should be so sharpsighted as to discover, in every person’s hand they are permitted to inspect, the events of futurity! There are some instances of men being thus gifted; but so few, that they are only exceptions to a general rule. It is, therefore, to be ascribed to the Gipsey women alone, that faith in divination still exists in the minds of millions of people. It is true, Europe was not originally beholden to the Gipseys for this faith, it being deeply rooted in the ignorance of the middle age, when they arrived and brought it with them also. The science of divination here, was already brought to a much greater degree of perfection than among them: rules were invented to tell lies from the inspection of the hand; whereas these poor wretches were esteemed mere bunglers. During the seventeenth and beginning of the eighteenth century the Gipseys were considered as only a supernumerary party; there being men of great learning, who not only read lectures in college on the divine art of chiromancy, but wrote many books, vilifying these people, and endeavouring to spoil their market by exposing their ignorance. But those enlightened men are no more; their knowledge is deposited in the dead archives of literature: and probably, if there were no Gipseys, with them would also have died the belief in chiromancy, as has happened in regard to astrology, necromancy, oneirocritica, and the other offsprings of imbecile fancy. By the Gipseys alone will this deceit be kept alive, till every Gipsey is constrained to acknowledge some country, and to have some ostensible mode of gaining a livelihood. We can only pity the poor weak deluded beings, who pay their groschen or kreutzer, their shilling or sixpence, for a few unmeaning words!—as if it were possible for people to instruct us concerning our future fortune in life, who are ignorant of their own; being unable to determine whether a day or two hence, they may still be telling fortunes, or be taken before the magistrates, and hanged for theft.
In addition to the chiromantic deception of the Gipsey women, they also—though not exclusively, as the men likewise often profess the same talent—cure bewitched cattle, discover thefts, and possess nostrums of various kinds, to which they ascribe great virtues. These nostrums consist principally of roots, and amulets made of unfermented dough, marked with strange figures, and dried in the air. Griselini says, that, in the Banat of Temeswar, they sell certain small stones, chiefly a kind of scoriæ, which they say possess the quality of rendering the wearer fortunate in love, play, &c. Were that true, why deliver to others what they have so much occasion for themselves? Why do they beg and steal, when, with the assistance of these stones, they might honourably acquire riches, and good fortune? Yet these stones are purchased with avidity, not only in the Banat, but in Germany. People use their quack medicines; call the Gipsey woman into the stable, to exorcise their bewitched cattle, without suspecting any trick or deception. So the open-hearted farmer, in Suabia and Bavaria, has recourse to the Gipseys on many occasions, employing them as doctors for man and beast; and constantly, in cases of supposed enchantment, flies to the Gipsey: this circumstance happens most frequently among those of the common people who pretend to have the least belief in witches and witchcraft. Whenever a cow does not feed kindly, something is immediately suspected; and the Gipsey woman is called, who is often so successful as to remove the impediment. She goes into the stable, orders the cow to be shewn to her, and, after desiring every one else to go out, remains a few minutes alone with it: having finished her operations, she calls in the master, acquaints him with the beast’s recovery, and behold it eats heartily! How happens this? Was it not a piece of enchantment, wherein the Gipsey really acted the magician? Certainly not. The fraud is this:—When the cattle are feeding abroad, the Gipsey woman takes advantage of the keepers absence to entice some of them, with a handful of fodder, to follow her; she then smears them, over the nose and mouth, with some filthy composition, which she has ready in the other hand. From that moment the creature loaths all kinds of food and drink. When the Gipsey is called in to apply a remedy, the whole skill required, is to cleanse the animal’s nose and mouth from the stuff she had put on a day or two before: by this means the true smell is restored, and the cow being hungry, it is not surprising she should fall-to greedily. From this single instance, a judgment may be formed of other cases.
The more common Gipsey occupations, wherein the men and women take an equal share, are—in Spain, keeping inns; principally music in Hungary and Turkey; and gold-washing in Transylvania, the Banat, Moldavia, and Wallachia. The Gipseys, formerly, were concerned in smuggling; and probably still are, although it is not mentioned by late writers.
Both male and female Gipseys attend at entertainments with their music, and often shew great proficiency in the art: besides some wind instrument, they have generally a violin; and many of them have attained so great perfection on that instrument, as to be employed in the chapels of the nobility, and admired as great masters. Barna Mihaly, in the country of Zips, who distinguished himself, about the middle of the last century, in the chapel of the cardinal Count Emerick von Cschaky, was an Orpheus of this kind. The cardinal, who was a judge of music himself, had so great a regard for him, that he had his likeness taken by one of the most capital painters. Instances of the kind are not wanting in the other sex: it is well known that a Gipsey girl, at fourteen years of age, was so famous as a fidler, that the greatest and most fashionable people in Hungary were accustomed to send twenty or thirty miles for her, to play at their balls. There are likewise very many scrapers; these are generally such as have learned of other scrapers, at their own expense. This kind of musicians travel about, with the dancers before mentioned; or play to the peasants, who, not having much taste, always make them welcome at their weddings, or dances. They scratch away on an old patched violin, or rumble on a broken base, neither caring about better instruments, nor minding to stop in tune; being what they are, more for want of application than capacity. Others practise vocal music; and some have acquired considerable fortunes, particularly in Spain, by singing.
Goldwashing, in the rivers, is another occupation, by which many thousand Gipseys, of both sexes, procure a livelihood, in the Banat, Transylvania, Wallachia, and Moldavia. As this is only a summer employment, they are under the necessity of finding some other means of supporting themselves during the winter. It is not permitted for every one, without exception, to be a goldwasher: in Transylvania, such only can follow the employment, who have leave from the office of Mons; [51] and these only enjoy the privilege under certain restrictions. In Wallachia and Moldavia, none of the bojars’ slaves, thence called bojaresk (bojar Gipseys), are suffered to meddle with goldwashing; that being a liberty granted only to those who, like other subjects, are immediately under the prince, denominated domnesk (princely Gipseys): which are also subdivided into three classes; the first named Rudar; the second Ursar; and the third Lajaschen. The Radars alone have the licence above mentioned; the others are obliged to seek a different means of obtaining support. Each person is forced to pay a certain tribute to government. The goldwashers in Transylvania and the Banat pay four guilders annually, which is discharged in gold-dust: the same sum is due from every Gipsey, though many evade the contribution. When the time for payment approaches; they contrive to keep out of the way, particularly the Hungarian Gipseys. The tribute collected in Wallachia and Moldavia does not go into the public treasury, but belongs to the princesses for pin-money. In Cantemir’s time, that in Moldavia produced yearly one thousand six hundred drachms: and the consort of the Wallachian hospodar Stephen Rakowitza, in the year 1764, received from her Rudars, two hundred and forty in number, twelve hundred and fifty-four drachms;—a sum, according to General von Bauer and Sulzer, amounting to one thousand and three drachms, fine gold. What the Gipseys in Wallachia and Moldavia get more than their head-money, goes to the grand armasch, at two lion-guilders the drachm: this he afterwards sells again, at a higher price, according with its real value; as General von Bauer believes, for his own profit, not for that of the prince. The goldwashers in the Banat and Transylvania dispose of their share at the royal redemption-office, in Zalatnya. The earnings of these people vary with time and at different places; during heavy rains and floods they are usually most successful: besides, their profit is more or less, according to the quality of the river they wash in. At the most favourable times, viz. at the floods, Griselini calculates their daily gain not to exceed three groschens. If we understand, as we certainly ought, that this sum is not earned by each person, but by a whole family, the statement will agree, pretty nearly, with Mr. Dembscher’s account: he says, “In the year 1770 there were, in the districts of Uj-Palanka, Orsova, and Caransebes, upwards of eighty goldwashers, all of whom had families, and followed the business, with their wives and children; yet this number of hands delivered in only six or seven hundred ducats worth of gold.” Take half of the doubtful seventh hundred; deduct three hundred and twenty guilders, head money, from the gross sum; divide the remainder among eighty families, and each will receive yearly thirty-two guilders: allot to each day, in the summer half-year, its proportion, and it will be found very little more or less than three groschens. As before stated, the labour of two hundred Rudars produced, in the year 1764, twelve hundred fifty-four drachms: General von Bauer adds, this sum was exactly the half of what was collected, over the whole country, in the same year. Now as these Gipseys were under the necessity of parting with their twelve or thirteen hundred drachms, which remained after the capitation tax was paid, to the grand-armasch, at the rate of two lion-guilders per drachm, they earned still less than those in the Banat; although the rivers in Wallachia contain a sufficient plenty of gold to have enabled them to make ten times that advantage, did not their laziness prevent them. The Transylvanian rivers yield the most gold: there are annually, from eight to ten hundred weight separated from their sand, which are brought to Zalatnya, to be disposed of. As this quantity is not obtained by Gipseys only, but together with the Wallachians, and we have no account of the gross number of goldwashers, how many of them are Gipseys, nor what proportion they have of these eight hundred weight, it is impossible to ascertain the profits of the Transylvanian Gipsey goldwashers. That they are better off than those in the Banat and other places, is certain, from the circumstance of the rivers abounding more with gold, than elsewhere.
It may not be uninteresting in this place to give the process of goldwashing, in the words of those who, as mineralogists, have superintended the work. The account communicated by the Councellor von Kotzian, concerning the goldwashing in the Banat, is as follows: “The operation consists in, first, providing a board of lime-wood, about one fathom long, and half a fathom broad; being hollowed at the upper end, in the form of a dish, from which are cut ten or twelve channels, in an oblique direction. This board is fixed in an inclined position so as to form an angle of forty-five degrees with the horizon. The sand containing the gold, being laid in the hollow at the top of the board, a quantity of water is then poured upon it, which carries off the lighter parts; such as are more heavy they shove down by hand: what remains in the channels, or furrows, is discharged into an oblong tray, carried to the straining-trough, and the gold which remains picked clean out. The whole of this work is performed in so careless a manner, that much pure gold is lost: it is, moreover, to be lamented, that the Gipseys get only the gold which is perfectly separated from the sand, but by no means any that sticks to the ore, which they throw away, though there is gold in it.”
As it seems evident, from the foregoing statement, that this method is very inadequate to the purpose, and that consequently much gold must be wasted, we are the more surprised when another author, in the following words, assures us of the contrary:—“So negligent and careless as the work of the Gipseys appears at first sight, just as effectual it is proved when put to the test. Daily practice gives to these people a degree of discernment, without which another person would think they must lose a great deal. I convinced myself in the following manner: When they had finished their washing on the board—for which they commonly used from fifteen to twenty troughs of coarse stuff—I divided the washed stuff into three parcels; the ten or fifteen uppermost furrows always contained the most gold, the second division not more than an eighth part as much, but the last fifteen to twenty furrows scarcely three grains. I have also narrowly examined the refuse, and very seldom found any traces of gold in it.”
The art of goldwashing is brought to much greater perfection in Transylvania. In the description of the process adopted in that country, it is said that all the rivers, brooks, and even the pools which the rain forms, produce gold: of these the river Aranyosch is the richest, insomuch that the historians have compared it to the Tagus and Pactolus. Excepting the Wallachians, who live by the rivers, the goldwashers consist chiefly of Gipseys. They can judge with the greatest certitude where to wash to advantage. The apparatus used by them for this work is a crooked board, four or five feet long, by two or three broad, generally provided with a wooden rim on each side; over this board they spread a woollen cloth, and scatter the gold-sand, mixed with water, upon it: the small grains of the metal remain sticking to the cloth, which they afterwards wash in a vessel of water, and then separate the gold by means of the trough. When larger particles of sand are found in their washing, they make deeper channels in the middle of their crooked boards, to stop the small pieces as they roll down: they closely examine these small stones, and some are frequently found to have solid gold fixed in them.