Casimir 1987 in Search of Guilt_Legends on the Origin of the Peripatetic Niche

372

INSEE1961

Jean-Pierre Liegeois

Recensement du 6 mars 1961, rubrique "Populations ittnerantes oud'origine nomade" Paris: INSEE

Kenrick, D. and G. Puxon1972 The Destiny of Europe's Gypsies. London: Heinemann.

Liegeois, J-P.197119761978

1979

1980a1980b1980c

1981a1981b

1981c

1981d

19851986

Les Tsiganes. Paris: Editions du Seuil.Mutation tsigane. Bruxelles: Editions Complexe.Boherniens et pouvoirs publics en France du XVeme au XIXemesiecle. Etudes Tsiganes 4: 10-30.Tsiganes, nomades et pouvoirs publics en France au 20eme siecle.Pluriel-Debat 19: 69-88.La fin du voyage. Monde Gitan 53: 5-10.Gitans et pouvoirs publics en Espagne. Ethno·psychologie 1:67-84.Pedagogic et acculturation. In: J-P. Liegeois (ed.) La scolarisationdes enfants tsiganes et nomades: 265-287. Paris: Ministere del'Education Nationale/Centre de Recherches Tsiganes.Expulser les nomades. Esprit (March Issue): 31-36.L'environnement. In: J-P. Liegeois (ed.) Les populations tsiganes enFrance: 45-57. Paris: Ministere de l'Education Nationale/Centrede Recherches tsiganes.Comment peut-on etre Tsigane? Paris: Groupement pour les droitsdes rninorites.Rejets eternels: les collectivites locales face aux Tsiganes et auxnomades. Pluriel-debat 28: 75-101.Gypsies and Travellers. Council of Europe.Gypsies. London: Al Saqi Books.

Massart, J1970 Seminaire sur les populations d'origine nomade. Rennes: Ecole Na-

tionale de la Sante Publique.

Massenet, M.1970 Presentation. Lecture delivered at the "Seminaire sur les populations

d'origine nomade". Rennes: Ecole Nationale de la Sante Publique.

Vaux de Foletier, F. de1961 Les Tsiganes dans L'Ancienne France. Paris: onnais ance du

Monde.

Wiklund,1969 Rapport sur La situation d

A mbh! n ul . tiv du

Chapter 16

IN SEARCH OF GUILT:LEGENDS ON THE ORIGIN OF THE PERIPATETIC NICHE

Michael J Casimir

"Though guiltless, you mustexpiate your father's sins."

Horace, Odes III, VI, 1.

Peripatetics have been defined as endogamous and primarily non-food IIproducing nomads who subsist on the sale or exchange of goods and/or I I

services. They live in most parts of the world among sedentary or othermobile populations, as low-status groups. This inferior status derives Ilargely from their traditional occupations and their apparently meagreposessions, a symbol for poverty.

If we apply the definition of a niche as given, for example by Colin-vaux (1982: 394) we find that it implicitly takes into account both rolesand status. Colinvaux speaks of "... a specific set of capabilities for ex-tracting resources for surviving hazard and for competing, coupled witha corresponding set of needs." A specific set of capabilities implies roleperformance and to every role there is a corresponding status. In the caseof peripatetics the roles they perform collide with the norms and values ,:of the larger society. These roles are thus, generally inferior and \sometimes despised; hence their status in the wider society is often very Ilow.

Np

374 Michael J. Casimir In search of guilt 375

Assuming that all basic human psychological mechanisms are in prin-ciple the same, it can be postulated that psychological stress i~ :,orkedout in a similar fashion. Of all human processess of cognmon, ofknowledge acquisition and experience, the following are of universalsignificance:

Guilt-feelings can be converted into feelings of shame, when a personpublicly acknowledges his misdoings. As Lebra puts it:

"Guilt and shame may be exchanged on a social market as when the guil-ty person makes public apology so that the price of shame is payed tobuy freedom from guilt." (p. 254)

In all cultures physical or mental suffering is often interpreted as apunishment for an act of guilt. Even when no such wrongdoings canbe identified, this kind of interpretation is validated by projecting theguilt on some ancestor in the hoary past. This interpretation of sufferingas punishment can sometimes even be applied to animals. Thus, theslaughter and consumption of geese on St. Martin's Day (November11th) in Germanyl was justified by explaining that cackling geese hadbetrayed the Saint's retreat when the latter, chosen as Bishop of Tours(A.D. 371) had hidden himself in humility. A Renaissance song goes:

,:Washaben denn die Gins' getan,da~ so viel's Leben miissen Ian?

and the answer is:

Sankt Martin han verratendarum tut man sie braten."

and sorted out at the psychological level. At the same time strategiesmust be evolved to use their primary resources (customers) in the bestpossible manner.

Guilt and Punishment

1. Every event has an origin, or cause which is traceable to natural orsupernatural sources. .

2. All actions which can be related to the norms and values of a gIvensociety exert an influence on the status of the actor.

3. The violation of social norms and values can be construed as guilt,or sin and may lead to feelings of guilt or shame in the violator. Thelatter may then atone for his doings through acts of repentance, orby accepting punishment.

4. Atonement and expiation generally consist of unpleasant actions orsituations.

The term guilt will be used here to cover all violations of norms andvalues. The violation of specifically divine decrees has often been definedas sin (e.g. Mitchell 1985: 165); I shall, however, consider this here as aspecific form, or sub-category of guilt. Following Lebra (1971), a distinc-tion will be made, however, between the feelings of guilt and shame: guiltfeelings arise when reciprocal relations are not respected in a social orreligious context. Lebra writes (p. 243):

"Guilt emerges ... when such a balance collapses, that is, when Ego hasover-exercised his rights vis-a-vis Alter without fulfilling correspondingobligations ... "

Lebra relates the feelings of shame, on the other hand, to context Inwhich social tructure is a ymetrical:

"Shan resuhs Irorn wbatcvcr happcn l undermin ) d'nillll·th·I. imcd I tu I I' v·\lil1l\ 0111 ddll how v I 'trivlal' ... nl i h lnlm I'

w Iii Ii ill 11I1 i I 111 iIIi iii I 1111." p. I I

This logic of suffering as a symbol of punishment is taken to its ex-treme when the guilty are condemned to lifelong suffering, or punish-ment, as in the classical Greek myths of Tantalus, Sysyphus and Pro-metheus. In later times it is embodied in the legend of the Wandering Jew

"... a man in Jerusalem who, when Christ was carrying His Cross toCalvary and paused to rest for a moment on this man's doorstep, drovethe Saviour away ... crying aloud ... 'Walk faster!' And Christ replied,'I go, but you will walk until I come again!'" (Anderson 1965: 11)

Christ's verdict must be understood in the context of a society in~which an apparently aimless migration (wandering) without apparentpossessions (e.g. flocks, or goods in bulk) was viewed as the lot of thewretched. Just this apparently aimless wandering without major, visiblere ourc nstitute th image f pcripateti in most societies. Sinceth s P ripat ti at 1 st p rtly . pt th ba i valu s f their ma ro-

j ty, hey t 0 in I II is im: . leplo II . n I pitiful. But h y must.1 live witl i 111m nipulntc it t i thcir : lvnnt H ,.s •• sthisisp ssi-hlc.J IIH' I tluu nuu: 1'1(l1d I 11I1 I \Ill( III V 1.11 'Iii I·ti '( rn

"I'llIII Ii "

1111 III ,11111111 11111111111 I II 1\

376 Michael J. Casimir

munities reflect this dilemma, while explaining, and almost justifyingthe origin of their niche. I follow Kirk (1970: 31) in his definition oflegends (as distinct from myths and folktales) as tales of a "... historicalor historizing nature ... (which) are founded, or implicitly claim to befounded, on historical persons or events." The content of legend is, invery many cultures context and audience-specific; this is also true of thelegends peripatetics narrate about their origins. Especially when, in cer-tain situations the audience consists of non-peripatetics, such legends canserve not only to reduce psychological stress, but also to 'manipulate'resources.

Legends About Pe_ripatetics

These legends are of two broad types: those narrated about peripateticsby others, and those peripatetics themselves narrate. The followinglegend is an example of the former type, and is narrated in Turkey(Garnett 1891: 356-357):

"In the early days of their wanderings the Gipsy tribe arrived at Mehran,and during their sojourn there they constructed a wonderful machinewhich was to be worked by turning a wheel. All their efforts, however,to turn this wheel were in vain until, by the advice of an evil spirit underthe guise of a holy man, or, as some say, a sorcerer, their chief, Chen,consented to marry his sister, Guin, a union which gave to the Gipsy na-tion the name of Chenguin, by which they are generally known in Turkeyat the present day. This unnatural marriage coming to the knowledge ofa Moslem saint in the neigbourhood, not only the parties to it, but thewhole tribe were laid by the holy man under the following terrible curse:- 'May you ... be scattered as outcasts and wanderers to the four cornersof the earth, ever homeless, poor, and wretched, never enjoying the fruitsof your labour, realising wealth, or acquiring the esteem of mankind.'"

This basic theme of ancestral guilt recurs in many of the leg nd whi hperipatetics themselves narrate. I shall now take a cl er 1 k at h

B - a( a d ak h)

"1\11 ld king hnd ehrcc sons.Thc f] tl .. rn'kil1~1 L II h,lhor ,u·~· n I Ill-I I1f, 01' ·v·n 111.\ ,'I'h· lhild on IIi! 0 r

"

In search of guilt

A related story recounts that the three sons quarreled after the death oftheir father. One of them forsook his rights and lost all his possessions.A different legend tells of a queen who was having an affair with the mosteminent blonpo. The king caught them and sent them both away to bebeggars:' (Erdmann 1984: 154)

Gadulia Lohar (North India)

"Maharana Pratap was a very brave man. Our ancestors were also withhim. He had won many battles. He had the blessings of Kalka Mata. Shehad told him that she would always be at his back in war but that hesho.uld never look back. When Rana Pratap saw a very large army of theenemy he got frightened and he looked back to make sure whether hischiefs were with him or not. On his back was Kalka Mata and he sawher. Such a disregard of her instructions infuriated her and so she cursedhim that he should be defeated in the war. Rana was defeated in the warand was forced to live in jungles. He had to eat bread made out of grassand hat to wear clothes made of wild grass and leaves.... After Rana wasdefeated, our ancestors also came out in jungles along with him. Therewas a sister of Rana, called Padma. Rana told her that his people weredisintegrating, and so she should go and see if anything could be donefor them. She was coming in her chariot towards our people and on theway in the jungle, the axle of her chariot broke down. Our caste peoplesaw this and told her that as they did not know the art of blacksrnithy,and as they did not have any tool they were helpless to repair her chariot.She asked them not to worry and assured them of her help. At that timebellows were patterned after the nose, the forge was made after the mouth,the anvil after the knee of the leg, the tongs after the left hand, and theright hand provided the example of hammer. With these equipments theyrepaired the axle of her chariot. She was very much satisfied and said thatfrom then on that would form the kit of their tools and blacksmithywould be their profession." (Misra 1977: 14-15)

In another legend rep rted by Mis~ it is narrated that, ". .. once KalkaMata (a p werlul fcmal d ity f hakti cult) cursed them on some occa-si n that th y uld n t lead as tl d lif ," (Mi ra 1977: 13)

377

II


la recut, ilia pietina et renvoya le messager du Prophete. Mohammaddemanda a son messager comment il avait ete recu par Kayhan et par lesautres rois et quelies avaient ete leurs reponses. Le messager repondit: 'cer-tains l'ont placee sur leur tete, d'autres sur leur coeur et certains l'ont misedans leur poche, mais Kayhan l'a placee sous son genou,'

Hazrat-e Behtartn-e 'Alam dit alors: 'Puisqu'il a rnarche dessus, que samaison soit ruinee .. :; et c'est pourquoi les gens de Kayhan sont au-jourd'hui encore eparpilles dans Balucistan et Iran .... Ie jour vint ou toutle peuple de Balucistan se revolta contre lui, le detrona et le tua. Seulsson fils et sa fille purent echapper au massacre.... Arrives a Herat, ils... se mirent en quete de nourriture. Ayant toujours tres peur d'etre tuespar les Baluc, ils partirent tot le lendemain a Kandahar, C'est ici qu'ilsdeciderent d'acheter des tentes et c'est depuis ce ternps-Ia que nous avonsdes tentes," (Rao 1982: 220; d. Rao 1982Jor other versions of this legend).

Rao and Casimir (in press) mention another legend which runs asfollows:

"Siaun sat atop a hill weaving a sieve and then he grew hungry. A pieceof bread appeared, first within reach, but then, since God was angry withour ancestor, the bread rolled down the hill and up the next and Siaunhad to run after it for many miles before he could finally catch it. Thisis why we, his descendants, still have to walk so far and wide to find ourruzi (food):'

'Gypsies'

Unlike the other communities referred to here, among various tradi-tionally peripatetic 'Gypsy' groups several legends have been recordedconcerning the origins of their niche; for a recent discussion of theselegends see Mirga (1985). There is a particularly great contextual varia-tion in these legends, the most well known of these being, perhaps, thatabout Christ's Curcifixion and the forging of the Nails of the Cross bya 'Gypsy' smith. Clebert (1961: 17-19) summarizes this legend, follow-ing Bercovici (1928) and de Ville (1956), as follows:

In search of guilt 379

attendit que ce clou refroidit ... (Mais) le clou restait incandescent ...Terrifie, le Tzigane chargea sa tente sur son ane et s'enfuit .... Et ce douapparait toujours devant les tentes des descendants de l'homme qui forgeales clous pour crucifier Yeshua ben Miriam. Et quand le clou apparait,les Tziganes fuient. C'est pour cela qu'ils se deplacent toujours."

While this version of the legend portrays a purely negative attitude,condemning the 'Gypsy' smith and his descendants and explainingnomadism in terms of a punishment, there are other versions of thislegend in which a positive view is taken on the whole, since the smith,when he learned what the Nails were intended for, hid, or stole thefourth Nail. These positive versions are sometimes used to explain that,unlike sedentists, 'Gypsies' are 'free' to go where they like, pursue anyoccupation, and may steal (cf. Rao 1974: 38, where a Sinti woman stolethe fourth Nail), without being caught (d. Salo 1977). Salo (1977: 44)briefly sums up the negative and positive verions of this legend asfollows:

"Various versions of the Nail of the Cross legend account for the Gypsies'nomadism and success in theft. According to one story the Gypsies arerewarded for stealing the nail intended to piece Jesus' heart by beingforgiven for future thefts, but punished by being made to wander.Another has the Gypsies condemned to wander for having forged thenails for the crucifixion ... In a third, nomadism is seen as a blessing givenas a reward for having stolen the nail: Gypsies will never go hungry, theymay order their lives as they please, may decide to move on when theywish. A fourth has the Gypsies rewarded by a promise of success in theft:"Yea, it was supposed to be a Gypsy fellow that stole the nail, that wassupposed to go into his heart, or something. And ever since then, theysay, the God's supposed to say, Christ, he says there'll always be Gypsies.As long there'll be Gypsies, there'll be stealing going on. And they'llnever get caught. That's pretty well the truth, pretty well the truth ... "

Salo further suggests that, while several 'Gypsies' are aware of one oremore versions of this legend, they narrate them less out of conviction,than ut f curiosity - more as an example of the image non-Gypsies'havf' yp ics', 'WI kn w n xt t n thing about the specific contextin whi h ' ypsy' I 'g nus w r n rrat d in th pa t, but at least orne( r the , I 'H n Is h, ve I 'II r ord I. TT re 11 W • r ~ ur u h 1 g nd .

380 Michael J. Casimir In search of guilt ~HI

hinterlassen kannst?" ... "Ich brauche nur eine solche Frau, (antwortete er)die meinen Willen stets befolgt; ist sie mir nur einmal ungehorsam, so mussich sie verfluchen!" ... Lange Zeit lebten sie in bestem Einverstandniss, denndie Frau that nie etwas zur Unzufriedenheit ihres Mannes ... Da traf es sicheinmal, dass er spat in der Nacht von einem Kranken, den er zu heilen suchte,heimkam und zu seiner Frau also sprach: " ... wenn morgen der Tag darnmert,so wecke mich auf ... " ... Sie liess also ihren Gatten weiter schlafen, und alssie ihn weckte, da beschien schon die Sonne die weite Erde. Da sprang derweise Mann von seinem Lager auf und sprach: " ... Nun also sei verflucht undwcrde eine Pflanze, die, von Thieren und Menschen gemieden, in ihrer Fruchtso viele Korner enthalt, als du Kinder auf die Welt gebracht hast! Deine Kindersollen die ganze Welt durchwandern und dich iiberall hinfiihren; du aber sollstihnen dienen und gehorsam sein miissen!" Hierrauf verschwand der weiseMann und aus der Frau entstand der Stechapfel, den ihre Kinder mit sich indie Welt fiihrten und iiberall verbreiteten'--Man sagt eben, wir stammen vonden Kindern dieses Ehepaares ab ... " (Wlislocki 1890: 7-8)

• "God, having created the nations of the world, summons them before Him.Having stopped to gather fruit, the Gypsies are late; God decrees they willalways be so. The Gypsies are together with the Jews in Egypt, and are drown-ed in the Red Sea. The sole survivor, a blind and lame woman, marries herhandsome savior, who turns out to be the Devil. 'And we were all her children... There is no one more devilish than we. Since then, we are people whowander, without a country, homeless ... (A1630)'" (Maximoff 1948: 110-114in Salo 1977: 44)

• "... un jour au paradis, Dieu alla trouver Adam et Eve. Puisqu'ils avaienthonte d'avoir beaucoup d'enfants, ils n'en firent voir qu'une partie a Dieu etcacherent les autres. Dieu demanda si ceux qu'il avait en face de lui etaienttous les enfants qu'avaient Adam et Eve et ils dirent oui. Dieu se mit en colereet dit qu'a partir de cet instant, il n'aurait pris soin que de ceux qu'il voyait,tandis que ceux qui avaient ete caches seraient devenus Tsiganes. De ceux-ci,Adam et Eve devaient prendre soin; ils auraient vecu dans les bois et seraienttoujours restes sans maison. Seuls les autres dont lui merne prenait soin,auraient eu maison et terre." (Strukelj, 1980: 225 in Piasere, 1985: 249)

• "Once upon a time a tribe suspected its chief of practising incest. He and hisfollowers were banished and a fearful curse was pronounced on them by apowerful magician: they should wander forever across the earth, never spendtwo nights in the same spot, never drink twice from the same pring, neverford the same river within one year:' (Berovici 1929: 25 in Berger n.d.: 822;author's translation)

Inaden (West Africa)

"The Inaden were living independently when a famine struck. The Pr ph tMohammad passed through their territorry and they asked Him for help, IIgave them a strand of His hair and said, 'You will never know misery. I 111-\as you keep this strand of hair'. And indeed, the Inaden enjoyed prosperity. Intime, they forgot that they owed their prosperity to the Prophet's strand of h irand sold it to some passing Arab caravan traders. Once again, the Inaden C IIinto misery, and since then the Arabs have been wealthy and the lnaden p r,begging their food from the mighty of this world." (Casajus, this volume: 2 )

Killekyatha (South India)

"It is said that one ... Mahratta Okkaliga woman became intimate with a mt n

of the Goldsmith caste named Kattare Kalachari and had seven sons by him.They were, of course, put out of caste, and the smith taught his son to me kdolls out of mats, leaves, pieces of leather, and earn their living by exhibitingmarionettes before village audiences. The brothers of the woman, who w rcpoor, were induced to join their nephews subsequently, and they formed ,separate caste by themselves, reinforced by other accessions. It was after this thatthey migrated to different parts of southern India." (Nynjundayya & Iyer 1930,Vol. III: 517-518 in Morab 1977: 15)

Griots Malinke (Guinea)

"Sourakhata ... est l'ancetre de tous les griots ... Mohammadou ayant voulule convertir, il refusa et decida avec Bagali, Aoualidou, Iwayou, Abadiali (?) detuer Ie Prop here. Ils Ie blesserent, et Sourakhata ayant bu le sang de la blessurefut maudit par Mohammadou, et condamna a errer eternellement, lui et ses en-fants." (Arcin, 1970 in Zemp 1966: 615-616)

M. w k n (t h - all d a-Gypsies of Southeast As ia)"

382In search of guilt

Michael J. Casimir

grew to manhood. The mother sent the lad to the other side of the island, andafter his depature, changed herself into a young girl and went to meet him. Thelad took her as wife, and she bore the first Mawken." (Bernatzik 1938: 45 inSopher 1965: 64)

der Schlacht bei Kerbela' (61 = 680) den Husain b. Ali mit dessen Anhangernund Streitgenossen im Stich gelassen haben und somit die Mitschuld an ihrerNiedermetzelung tragen." (Enzykl. des Islam, old ed.: 553)

Waata (East Africa)

Qalandar (Pakistan) • "Once upon a time, four people were walking along together in single file:Sky-God, a Gabbra man, a Waata man and a Boran man. Sky-God pretendedto trip and fall. The Gabbra man, who was following him, murmured wordsof sympathy and averted his gaze from the Mighty One out of awe and respect.The Boran man immediately went to Sky-God's side and helped him to getup. The Waata man merely laughed. God said that henceforth, the Gabbrawould be blessed with all the stock; the Boran would be blessed with the giftof cattle. The Waata, however, would always be beggars, dependent on the Gab-bra for milk and must live to the west of a Gabbra camp and be an eternalobject of mockery" (Kassam 1985: 3; for other versions of this legend see Dahl1979: 177, who heard these from Waata informants: Dahl personal com-munication).

• "Sky-God called all the people together and told them to bring their containersto the gathering. He distributed milk to the people. One young boy refusedto attend this meeting. When the people had drunk the milk and found it verysweet-tasting, Sky-God gave them all livestock to rear and milk. When theyoung boy heard about this, he came to Sky-God to request his share. Sky-Godgave him some for not having come to taste the milk he had offered. He pro-nounced that the boy's container would never contain anything but blood.The boy was very hungry, so he slaughtered all the animals he had been givenand ate them. Then he ate and killed a donkey which was not a domesticatedanimal at the time. Finally, he made a bow and arrow, obtained some poisonand started to hunt wild animals for food:' (Kassam 1985: 4)

• "When Sky-God first created the world, he called all the people to a meetingand distributed the different categories of livestock to them. The Waata arivedat the meeting late and Sky-God had already given away all the animals. SoSky-God decreed that the Waata would never own any stock but would alwaysbe beggars, dependent on the Boran for food. He said that the Boran wouldrive them milk and a spe ifi cut of meat." (Kassam 1985: 4)

t\ 11 th . I 'g .nds m .rui 11 .d h ire br adly f II w a pattern which canI . i lcnri i ,I in scv I I th 'I" such pcrip n.i ,I g nd ,and which can belis, • tcd illl tlu ,11\ i 1,111, 'l'h 'N' I, rts l r ': II. ·t 'i!.ilmirlf!., the tran-

\~llf\\;1I11 Illd II 11\1/1111 }II ,'1'111 I Ii I II \1 'II 1'11'11 IN I 'I't ininI III liliitilllllll\ 111\11111111 jllll ul th ntll,llIllIlI~tlllllt·~·

I II I iii /•• /1/1111 1 ""1111 II Ii It 1111'11 t 1111 11111 \I II I 11111 I

"During the period of Sikander (Alexander, before Jesus or Mohammed ...our forefathers were zamindars (landowners) living a very happy life with landand many cattle.

One day a woman among our ancestors was preparing the evening meal ather house. There was a knock at the door. When she opened the door, therestood a beggar asking for something to eat. "do and beg from other places first",she said, "my food is not prepared yet. But come back later:' Some time laterthe beggar came back, but just at that moment the woman burned her hand andso she shouted at him, "Go away, you are like a dog sitting there begging."

Before he left, the beggar gave her a bedua (bad wish) and said, "Your entirefamily will always wander around like a dog begging for food." ... A few monthslater, a big disaster came and destroyed all the buildings, crops, and animals, andthe family was starving. The entire biradari (brotherhood) met and discussedthe beggar's bedua. They decided to search for the beggar and appologize forthe woman's sharp words.

After searching for many years they found the beggar and cried at his feet toplease turn the bedua ... The fakir told them that a bedua cannot be called backfrom God and that they would always have great disasters in their live."However", said the beggar, "to help you earn a daily living take this bear andthis monkey, train them, and they will earn your bread ... " Since that time urlife is dependent on our animals. We always have to move for two reason. Wicannot perform animals shows in one area every day, and if we have land, c

disaster will come and destroy us .. :' (Berland 1982: 75-76)

Su l a ib (Arabia)

383

384 Michael J. Casimir In search of guilt

Table IThe basic structure of 19 legends collected among 13 peripatetic societies

heritage. The transgression is either against divine, or human rd r. 'I'hresultingfate is becoming peripatetic with, in most cases, the aing stigma of the peripatetic niche - poverty, hornlessness andtion.PERIPATETIC GROUP IN THE BEGINNING THE TRANSGRESSION THE RESULTANT FATE AUTHOR

BE·DA (Ladakh) 1. Princes Fraternal discord Dispossession Erdmann (1984:2. Queen Adultery Begging 154)

GADULIA LOHAR Followers of the King The king disobeys Defeat, dispersal, no- Misra (1977:(North India) Maharana Pratap Kalka Mata madism and smithery 14-15)

1. King Insulling the Pro- Dispossession, dsper- Rao (1982: 220)GHORBAT phet Mohammad sal and nomadism(Afghanistan)

2. King Unknown transgression Hunger and Nomadism Rao and Casimirby ancestor (in press)

1. A wise man and a Disobedience of wife Origin of group Wlislocki (1890:woman 7-8)

2. Creationa. Disrespect towards God Poverty

'GYPSIES' b. Intercourse with the Homelessness Salo (1977: 44)(Europe & U.S.A.) Devil Abandoned by God, des-3. Adam & Eve Swindling God

titution and nomadism Piasere (1985: 249)

4. A tribal chief Suspected incest Eternal nomadism Bet [n.d.: 615)5. A Gypsy smith Forging the nails for Wandering' Cle rt (1961:

the Cross' 16-19)

INADEN (Niger) Independent people Ingratttude towards Misery, desti1ution, Casajus (thisthe Prophet Mohammad subjugation volume)

KILLEKYATHA A Mahratta Okkaliga Intercaste sexual Outcasted. migration. Morab (1977: 15)(South India) woman and a intercourse present occupationgoldsmith

Plotting against theGRIOTS MALINKE A man Sourakhata Prophet Mohammad. in· Elernal nomadism for Zemp (1966: 615)(Guinea) juring him and drin· hill and his descendanls

king his blood

MAWKEN Princess a. Intercourse with a dog Origin oi first Mawken Sop/ler (1965: 64)(Southeast Asia) b. Incest (mother/son)

NAWAR (Egypt) A man Abu Nur Stealing the oil·lamps Explusion and migrationWeber (1986); cf

of Mecca also Canova(1981)

QALANDAR (Pakistan) landowners Refusal of alms Nomadism, beggary Berland (1982:751.)

SHEIKH MOHAMMADI Sons a Sheikh Rohani, Gambling and olher Dispersion and 01 n (Ihls(Afghanistan) a saintly man forms of misbehaviour nomadism velum)

-a. Incest (mother/son)

SULAIB (Arabia)b. Forsaking Husayn, the

ln/ykl do I InmRelatively high ranking Prop/let's grandson duo Ongin of hrsl Sui ibancestors ring the battle of (old ad 33)

KerbeiS'

WMTA (East Africa)1. Mocking God B g 1'1,d nd 11(;'1.

A Waala man ?.DIsr I 1(1 od Obi I d III kIlIy,1I1I1I1 /It II 1/1 I)3Drt IIPMlId' I II1U. 111 ~ 11N1I11~ 1'( Illlll (I Iln

alt k. I "''I, II~' IIIi~k

--:~-

Legends of Origin as Adaptive Strategy

Two recent types of contextual interpretation of myth and legend rthe historical (e.g. Luig 1985) and the ecological (e.g. Wright and irks1983); for a comprehensive review of such interpretations see y(1984). Whereas in the former an attempt is made to reconstruct thhistory of a community by interpreting its legends more or less literally,in the latter it is assumed that legends mirror the strategies adopted bya group in new habitats. A contextual interpretation of peripatetilegends, however, must be, I suggest of a psychological nature. Thelegends largely illustrate how peripatetics see that part of their nichewhich is their status. Figure 1 illustrates the universal expression of therelation between trangression of norms and values, guilt and punish-ment. It shows that the cognitive process found in peripatetic legendsis the reverse of this expression.

On the one hand the legends are a consolation to them, since theyassure them both of a decent genealogy and of the fact that theythemselves are not to be blamed for their present condition. On the otherhand, these legends can serve - and have done so in the past - to getthe maximum out of their host societies. Noble ancestry, true remorseand destitution are, in many societies factors which contribute to the suc-cess of peripatetics in their spontaneous dealings with customers. Several'Gypsy' groups migrating in western Europe in the fifteenth centurymade use of such a strategy. Calling their leaders Prince, Duke, or Count,many such groups proclaimed themselves christians going on pligrimaget expiate their sins, and were well received by local authorities. De Vaux(1970: 103) has described the situation as follows:

386 Michael J. Casimir In search of guilt IH1


In this chapter I have tried to show how legends which peripateticsthemselves narrate about their origins all follow the same basic pattern;the thread running through them all is the search for guilt, the searchfor the sinner. Many of the legends narrated about peripatetics by othersalso follow this basic pattern. This does not mean that peripatetics donot narrate other legends as well; it means simply that this type of legendis narrated among almost all peripatetic communities studied so far. Theperipatetic niche is thus, probably the most uniformly and universallyrepresented one in human oral tradition (Casimir in press).

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MICHAEL BOLLIG, Institut flir Volkerkund ,Koln.

DOMINIQUE CASAJUS, Centre Nari nal d 1.que, Paris.

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I II I II

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IGNACY-MA

I II III

WILLIAMOrkney.

JEAN-PIERRE LIEParis V, Paris.

DAVID NEMETH, Department of Geography, Univer itynia, Los Angeles (UCLA).

ASTA OLESEN, Institut f. Etnografi og Socialantropologi, Universityf Aarhus, Aarhus.

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111\