372 Jean-Pierre Liegeois

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

Kenrick, D. and G. Puxon Chapter 16

1972 The Destiny of Europe's Gypsies. London: Heinemann.
IN SEARCH OF GUILT:
Liegeois, J-P.
1971
LEGENDS ON THE ORIGIN OF THE PERIPATETIC NICHE
Les Tsiganes. Paris: Editions du Seuil.
1976 Mutation tsigane. Bruxelles: Editions Complexe.
1978 Boherniens et pouvoirs publics en France du XVeme au XIXeme Michael J Casimir
siecle. Etudes Tsiganes 4: 10-30.
1979 Tsiganes, nomades et pouvoirs publics en France au 20eme siecle.
Pluriel-Debat 19: 69-88. "Though guiltless, you must
1980a La fin du voyage. Monde Gitan 53: 5-10. expiate your father's sins."
1980b Gitans et pouvoirs publics en Espagne. Ethnopsychologie 1: 67-84. Horace, Odes III, VI, 1.
1980c Pedagogic et acculturation. In: J-P. Liegeois (ed.) La scolarisation
des enfants tsiganes et nomades: 265-287. Paris: Ministere de
l'Education Nationale/Centre de Recherches Tsiganes.
Peripatetics have been defined as endogamous and primarily non-food II
1981a Expulser les nomades. Esprit (March Issue): 31-36.
producing nomads who subsist on the sale or exchange of goods and/or II
1981b

1981c
L'environnement. In: J-P. Liegeois (ed.) Les populations tsiganes en
France: 45-57. Paris: Ministere de l'Education Nationale/Centre
de Recherches tsiganes.
Comment peut-on etre Tsigane? Paris: Groupement pour les droits
services. They live in most parts of the world among sedentary or other
mobile populations, as low-status groups. This inferior status derives
largely from their traditional occupations and their apparently meagre
I
des rninorites. posessions, a symbol for poverty.
1981d Rejets eternels: les collectivites locales face aux Tsiganes et aux If we apply the definition of a niche as given, for example by Colin-
nomades. Pluriel-debat 28: 75-101. vaux (1982: 394) we find that it implicitly takes into account both roles
1985 Gypsies and Travellers. Council of Europe. and status. Colinvaux speaks of "... a specific set of capabilities for ex-
1986 Gypsies. London: Al Saqi Books.
tracting resources for surviving hazard and for competing, coupled with
Massart, J a corresponding set of needs." A specific set of capabilities implies role
1970 Seminaire sur les populations d'origine nomade. Rennes: Ecole Na- performance and to every role there is a corresponding status. In the case
tionale de la Sante Publique. of peripatetics the roles they perform collide with the norms and values ,:
Massenet, M. of the larger society. These roles are thus, generally inferior and \
1970 Presentation. Lecture delivered at the "Seminaire sur les populations sometimes despised; hence their status in the wider society is often very I
d'origine nomade". Rennes: Ecole Nationale de la Sante Publique. low.
Vaux de Foletier, F. de N
1961 Les Tsiganes dans L'Ancienne France. Paris: onnais ance du p
Monde.
Wiklund,
1969 Rapport sur La situation d
A mbh! n ul . tiv du
374 Michael J. Casimir
and sorted out at the psychological level. At the same time strategies
must be evolved to use their primary resources (customers) in the best
possible manner.
Guilt and Punishment
Assuming that all basic human psychological mechanisms are in prin-
ciple the same, it can be postulated that psychological stress i~ :,orked
out in a similar fashion. Of all human processess of cognmon, of
knowledge acquisition and experience, the following are of universal
significance:
1. Every event has an origin, or cause which is traceable to natural or
supernatural sources. .
2. All actions which can be related to the norms and values of a gIven
society 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. The
latter may then atone for his doings through acts of repentance, or
by accepting punishment.
4. Atonement and expiation generally consist of unpleasant actions or
situations.
The term guilt will be used here to cover all violations of norms and
values. The violation of specifically divine decrees has often been defined
as sin (e.g. Mitchell 1985: 165); I shall, however, consider this here as a
specific form, or sub-category of guilt. Following Lebra (1971), a distinc-
tion will be made, however, between the feelings of guilt and shame: guilt
feelings arise when reciprocal relations are not respected in a social or
religious context. Lebra writes (p. 243):
"Guilt emerges ... when such a balance collapses, that is, when Ego has
over-exercised his rights vis-a-vis Alter without fulfilling corresponding
obligations ... "
Lebra relates the feelings of shame, on the other hand, to context In
which social tructure is a ymetrical:
"Shan resuhs Irorn wbatcvcr happcn l undermin ) d'nillllth
I. imcd I tu I I' v\lil1l\ 0111 ddll how v I 'trivlal' ... nl i h lnlm
w Iii Ii ill 11I1 i I 111 iI Ii iii I 1111." p. I I
In search of guilt 375
Guilt-feelings can be converted into feelings of shame, when a person
publicly 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 to
buy freedom from guilt." (p. 254)
In all cultures physical or mental suffering is often interpreted as a
punishment for an act of guilt. Even when no such wrongdoings can
be identified, this kind of interpretation is validated by projecting the
guilt on some ancestor in the hoary past. This interpretation of suffering
as punishment can sometimes even be applied to animals. Thus, the
slaughter and consumption of geese on St. Martin's Day (November
11th) in Germanyl was justified by explaining that cackling geese had
betrayed 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 verraten
darum tut man sie braten."
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 to
Calvary and paused to rest for a moment on this man's doorstep, drove
the 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 apparent
possessions (e.g. flocks, or goods in bulk) was viewed as the lot of the
wretched. Just this apparently aimless wandering without major, visible
re ourc nstitute th image f pcripateti in most societies. Since
th 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 Iti '( rn
I' "I'll 1111 III ,11111111 11111111111 I II 1\
III Ii "
376 Michael J. Casimir
munities reflect this dilemma, while explaining, and almost justifying
the origin of their niche. I follow Kirk (1970: 31) in his definition of
legends (as distinct from myths and folktales) as tales of a "... historical
or historizing nature ... (which) are founded, or implicitly claim to be
founded, on historical persons or events." The content of legend is, in
very many cultures context and audience-specific; this is also true of the
legends peripatetics narrate about their origins. Especially when, in cer-
tain situations the audience consists of non-peripatetics, such legends can
serve 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 peripatetics
by others, and those peripatetics themselves narrate. The following
legend 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 machine
which 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 under
the 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 Turkey
at the present day. This unnatural marriage coming to the knowledge of
a Moslem saint in the neigbourhood, not only the parties to it, but the
whole tribe were laid by the holy man under the following terrible curse:
- 'May you ... be scattered as outcasts and wanderers to the four corners
of the earth, ever homeless, poor, and wretched, never enjoying the fruits
of your labour, realising wealth, or acquiring the esteem of mankind.'"
This basic theme of ancestral guilt recurs in many of the leg nd whi h
peripatetics themselves narrate. I shall now take a cl er 1 k at h
Mata (a p werlul fcmal d ity f hakti cult) cursed them on some occa-
si n that th y
B - a( a d ak h)
"1\11 ld king hnd ehrcc sons.Thc f] tl .. rn'kil1~1 L II h,lh
or ,u~ n I Ill-I I1f, 01' vn 111.\ ,'I'h lhild on IIi! 0 r
"
In search of guilt 377
A related story recounts that the three sons quarreled after the death of
their 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 most
eminent blonpo. The king caught them and sent them both away to be
beggars:' (Erdmann 1984: 154)
Gadulia Lohar (North India)
"Maharana Pratap was a very brave man. Our ancestors were also with
him. He had won many battles. He had the blessings of Kalka Mata. She
had told him that she would always be at his back in war but that he
sho.uld never look back. When Rana Pratap saw a very large army of the
enemy he got frightened and he looked back to make sure whether his
chiefs were with him or not. On his back was Kalka Mata and he saw
her. Such a disregard of her instructions infuriated her and so she cursed
him that he should be defeated in the war. Rana was defeated in the war
and was forced to live in jungles. He had to eat bread made out of grass
and hat to wear clothes made of wild grass and leaves.... After Rana was
defeated, our ancestors also came out in jungles along with him. There
was a sister of Rana, called Padma. Rana told her that his people were
disintegrating, and so she should go and see if anything could be done
for them. She was coming in her chariot towards our people and on the
way in the jungle, the axle of her chariot broke down. Our caste people
saw 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 time
bellows 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 the
right hand provided the example of hammer. With these equipments they
repaired the axle of her chariot. She was very much satisfied and said that
from then on that would form the kit of their tools and blacksmithy
would be their profession." (Misra 1977: 14-15)
In another legend rep rted by Mis~ it is narrated that, ". .. once Kalka
uld n t lead as tl d lif ," (Mi ra 1977: 13)
II
378 Michael J. Casimir
la recut, ilia pietina et renvoya le messager du Prophete. Mohammad
a
demanda son messager comment il avait ete recu par Kayhan et par les
autres rois et que lies avaient ete leurs reponses. Le messager repondit: 'cer-
tains l'ont placee sur leur tete, d'autres sur leur coeur et certains l'ont mise
dans leur poche, mais Kayhan l'a placee sous son genou,'
Hazrat-e Behtartn-e 'Alam dit alors: 'Puisqu'il a rnarche dessus, que sa
maison soit ruinee .. :; et c'est pourquoi les gens de Kayhan sont au-
jourd'hui encore eparpilles dans Balucistan et Iran .... Ie jour vint ou tout
le peuple de Balucistan se revolta contre lui, le detrona et le tua. Seuls
son fils et sa fille purent echapper au massacre.... Arrives a Herat, ils
... se mirent en quete de nourriture. Ayant toujours tres peur d'etre tues
a
par les Baluc, ils partirent tot le lendemain Kandahar, C'est ici qu'ils
deciderent d'acheter des tentes et c'est depuis ce ternps-Ia que nous avons
des tentes," (Rao 1982: 220; d. Rao 1982Jor other versions of this legend).
Rao and Casimir (in press) mention another legend which runs as
follows:
"Siaun sat atop a hill weaving a sieve and then he grew hungry. A piece
of bread appeared, first within reach, but then, since God was angry with
our ancestor, the bread rolled down the hill and up the next and Siaun
had to run after it for many miles before he could finally catch it. This
is why we, his descendants, still have to walk so far and wide to find our
ruzi (food):'
'Gypsies'
Unlike the other communities referred to here, among various tradi-
tionally peripatetic 'Gypsy' groups several legends have been recorded
concerning the origins of their niche; for a recent discussion of these
legends see Mirga (1985). There is a particularly great contextual varia-
tion in these legends, the most well known of these being, perhaps, that
about Christ's Curcifixion and the forging of the Nails of the Cross by
a '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 dou
apparait toujours devant les tentes des descendants de l'homme qui forgea
les 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 explaining
nomadism in terms of a punishment, there are other versions of this
legend 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 the
fourth Nail. These positive versions are sometimes used to explain that,
unlike sedentists, 'Gypsies' are 'free' to go where they like, pursue any
occupation, and may steal (cf. Rao 1974: 38, where a Sinti woman stole
the fourth Nail), without being caught (d. Salo 1977). Salo (1977: 44)
briefly sums up the negative and positive verions of this legend as
follows:
"Various versions of the Nail of the Cross legend account for the Gypsies'
nomadism and success in theft. According to one story the Gypsies are
rewarded for stealing the nail intended to piece Jesus' heart by being
forgiven for future thefts, but punished by being made to wander.
Another has the Gypsies condemned to wander for having forged the
nails for the crucifixion ... In a third, nomadism is seen as a blessing given
as a reward for having stolen the nail: Gypsies will never go hungry, they
may order their lives as they please, may decide to move on when they
wish. 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 was
supposed to go into his heart, or something. And ever since then, they
say, 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'll
never get caught. That's pretty well the truth, pretty well the truth ... "
Salo further suggests that, while several 'Gypsies' are aware of one ore
more 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 context
in 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
hinterlassen kannst?" ... "Ich brauche nur eine solche Frau, (antwortete er)
die meinen Willen stets befolgt; ist sie mir nur einmal ungehorsam, so muss
ich sie verfluchen!" ... Lange Zeit lebten sie in bestem Einverstandniss, denn
die Frau that nie etwas zur Unzufriedenheit ihres Mannes ... Da traf es sich
einmal, 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 als
sie ihn weckte, da beschien schon die Sonne die weite Erde. Da sprang der
weise Mann von seinem Lager auf und sprach: "... Nun also sei verflucht und
wcrde eine Pflanze, die, von Thieren und Menschen gemieden, in ihrer Frucht
so viele Korner enthalt, als du Kinder auf die Welt gebracht hast! Deine Kinder
sollen die ganze Welt durchwandern und dich iiberall hinfiihren; du aber sollst
ihnen dienen und gehorsam sein miissen!" Hierrauf verschwand der weise
Mann und aus der Frau entstand der Stechapfel, den ihre Kinder mit sich in
die Welt fiihrten und iiberall verbreiteten'--Man sagt eben, wir stammen von
den 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 will
always 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 her
handsome 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 who
wander, without a country, homeless ... (A1630)'" (Maximoff 1948: 110-114
in Salo 1977: 44)
"... un jour au paradis, Dieu alla trouver Adam et Eve. Puisqu'ils avaient
honte d'avoir beaucoup d'enfants, ils n'en firent voir qu'une partie a Dieu et
cacherent les autres. Dieu demanda si ceux qu'il avait en face de lui etaient
tous les enfants qu'avaient Adam et Eve et ils dirent oui. Dieu se mit en colere
et 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 seraient
toujours 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 his
followers were banished and a fearful curse was pronounced on them by a
powerful magician: they should wander forever across the earth, never spend
two nights in the same spot, never drink twice from the same pring, never
ford the same river within one year:' (Berovici 1929: 25 in Berger n.d.: 822;
author's translation)
In search of guilt ~H I
Inaden (West Africa)
"The Inaden were living independently when a famine struck. The Pr ph t
Mohammad passed through their territorry and they asked Him for help, II
gave 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. In
time, they forgot that they owed their prosperity to the Prophet's strand of h ir
and sold it to some passing Arab caravan traders. Once again, the Inaden C II
into 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 k
dolls out of mats, leaves, pieces of leather, and earn their living by exhibiting
marionettes before village audiences. The brothers of the woman, who w rc
poor, were induced to join their nephews subsequently, and they formed ,
separate caste by themselves, reinforced by other accessions. It was after this that
they 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 voulu
le convertir, il refusa et decida avec Bagali, Aoualidou, Iwayou, Abadiali (?) de
tuer Ie Prop here. Ils Ie blesserent, et Sourakhata ayant bu le sang de la blessure
a
fut maudit par Mohammadou, et condamna 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)"

382 Michael J. Casimir
grew to manhood. The mother sent the lad to the other side of the island, and
after his depature, changed herself into a young girl and went to meet him. The
lad took her as wife, and she bore the first Mawken." (Bernatzik 1938: 45 in
Sopher 1965: 64)
Qalandar (Pakistan)
"During the period of Sikander (Alexander, before Jesus or Mohammed ...
our forefathers were zamindars (landowners) living a very happy life with land
and many cattle.
One day a woman among our ancestors was preparing the evening meal at
her house. There was a knock at the door. When she opened the door, there
stood 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 later
the beggar came back, but just at that moment the woman burned her hand and
so 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 entire
family will always wander around like a dog begging for food." ... A few months
later, a big disaster came and destroyed all the buildings, crops, and animals, and
the family was starving. The entire biradari (brotherhood) met and discussed
the beggar's bedua. They decided to search for the beggar and appologize for
the woman's sharp words.
After searching for many years they found the beggar and cried at his feet to
please turn the bedua ... The fakir told them that a bedua cannot be called back
from 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 and
this monkey, train them, and they will earn your bread ... " Since that time ur
life is dependent on our animals. We always have to move for two reason. Wi
cannot 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)
In search of guilt 383
der Schlacht bei Kerbela' (61 = 680) den Husain b. Ali mit dessen Anhangern
und Streitgenossen im Stich gelassen haben und somit die Mitschuld an ihrer
Niedermetzelung tragen." (Enzykl. des Islam, old ed.: 553)
Waata (East Africa)
"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 pretended
to trip and fall. The Gabbra man, who was following him, murmured words
of 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 get
up. The Waata man merely laughed. God said that henceforth, the Gabbra
would be blessed with all the stock; the Boran would be blessed with the gift
of 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 eternal
object of mockery" (Kassam 1985: 3; for other versions of this legend see Dahl
1979: 177, who heard these from Waata informants: Dahl personal com-
munication).
"Sky-God called all the people together and told them to bring their containers
to the gathering. He distributed milk to the people. One young boy refused
to attend this meeting. When the people had drunk the milk and found it very
sweet-tasting, Sky-God gave them all livestock to rear and milk. When the
young boy heard about this, he came to Sky-God to request his share. Sky-God
gave 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 given
and ate them. Then he ate and killed a donkey which was not a domesticated
animal at the time. Finally, he made a bow and arrow, obtained some poison
and started to hunt wild animals for food:' (Kassam 1985: 4)
"When Sky-God first created the world, he called all the people to a meeting
and distributed the different categories of livestock to them. The Waata arived
at the meeting late and Sky-God had already given away all the animals. So
Sky-God decreed that the Waata would never own any stock but would always
be beggars, dependent on the Boran for food. He said that the Boran would
rive 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 can
I . i lcnri i ,I in scv I I th 'I" such pcrip n.i ,I g nd ,and which can be
lis, 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 inin
I 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
384 Michael J. Casimir In search of guilt

Table I heritage. The transgression is either against divine, or human rd r. 'I'h

The basic structure of 19 legends collected among 13 peripatetic societies resultingfateis becoming peripatetic with, in most cases, the a
ing stigma of the peripatetic niche - poverty, hornlessness and
PERIPATETIC GROUP IN THE BEGINNING THE TRANSGRESSION THE RESULTANT FATE AUTHOR
tion.
1. Princes Fraternal discord Dispossession Erdmann (1984:
BEDA (Ladakh)
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) Legends of Origin as Adaptive Strategy
1. King Insulling the Pro- Dispossession, dsper-
Rao (1982: 220) Two recent types of contextual interpretation of myth and legend r
GHORBAT phet Mohammad sal and nomadism
(Afghanistan)
2. King Unknown transgression Rao and Casimir
the historical (e.g. Luig 1985) and the ecological (e.g. Wright and irks
Hunger and Nomadism
by ancestor (in press) 1983); for a comprehensive review of such interpretations see y
1. A wise man and a Wlislocki (1890:
(1984). Whereas in the former an attempt is made to reconstruct th
Disobedience of wife Origin of group
woman 7-8) history of a community by interpreting its legends more or less literally,
a. Disrespect towards God Poverty
2. Creation
'GYPSIES' b. Intercourse with the
Homelessness
Salo (1977: 44) in the latter it is assumed that legends mirror the strategies adopted by
(Europe & U.S.A.) Devil
3. Adam & Eve Swindling God
Abandoned by God, des-
Piasere (1985: 249) a group in new habitats. A contextual interpretation of peripateti
titution and nomadism
4. A tribal chief Suspected incest Eternal nomadism Bet [n.d.: 615)
legends, however, must be, I suggest of a psychological nature. The
5. A Gypsy smith Forging the nails for Wandering' Cle rt (1961: legends largely illustrate how peripatetics see that part of their niche
the Cross' 16-19)
which is their status. Figure 1 illustrates the universal expression of the
INADEN (Niger) Independent people Ingratttude towards Misery, desti1ution, Casajus (this relation between trangression of norms and values, guilt and punish-
the Prophet Mohammad subjugation volume)
ment. It shows that the cognitive process found in peripatetic legends
KILLEKYATHA A Mahratta Okkaliga Intercaste sexual Outcasted. migration.
(South India) woman and a intercourse present occupation
Morab (1977: 15) is the reverse of this expression.
goldsmith On the one hand the legends are a consolation to them, since they
Plotting against the
assure them both of a decent genealogy and of the fact that they
GRIOTS MALINKE
A man Sourakhata
Prophet Mohammad. in Elernal nomadism for
Zemp (1966: 615) themselves are not to be blamed for their present condition. On the other
(Guinea) juring him and drin hill and his descendanls
king his blood hand, these legends can serve - and have done so in the past - to get
the maximum out of their host societies. Noble ancestry, true remorse
MAWKEN a. Intercourse with a dog
Princess Origin oi first Mawken Sop/ler (1965: 64)
(Southeast Asia) b. Incest (mother/son) and destitution are, in many societies factors which contribute to the suc-
Stealing the oillamps Weber (1986); cf cess of peripatetics in their spontaneous dealings with customers. Several
NAWAR (Egypt) A man Abu Nur Explusion and migration also Canova
of Mecca
(1981)
'Gypsy' groups migrating in western Europe in the fifteenth century
QALANDAR (Pakistan) landowners Refusal of alms Nomadism, beggary Berland (1982:
made use of such a strategy. Calling their leaders Prince, Duke, or Count,
751.) many such groups proclaimed themselves christians going on pligrimage
SHEIKH MOHAMMADI a
Sons Sheikh Rohani, Gambling and olher Dispersion and
t expiate their sins, and were well received by local authorities. De Vaux
01 n (Ihls
(Afghanistan) a saintly man forms of misbehaviour nomadism velum) (1970: 103) has described the situation as follows:
a. Incest (mother/son)
-
b. Forsaking Husayn, the
SULAIB (Arabia) Prop/let's grandson duo ln/ykl do I Inm
Relatively high ranking Ongin of hrsl Sui ib
(old ad 33)
ancestors ring the battle of
KerbeiS'

1. Mocking God B g 1'1,d nd 11(;'1.

WMTA (East Africa) 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~' I
IIi~k
--:~-
386 Michael J. Casimir In search of guilt IH1
388 Michael J. Casimir In search of guilt

In this chapter I have tried to show how legends which peripatetics Dahl, G.
themselves narrate about their origins all follow the same basic pattern; 1979 Suffering Grass: Substistence and Society of Wt,W JIll
the thread running through them all is the search for guilt, the search holm: Stockholm Studies in Social Anthr p: III
for the sinner. Many of the legends narrated about peripatetics by others Day, M.S.
also follow this basic pattern. This does not mean that peripatetics do 1984 The Many Meanings of Myth. New Yc rk:
not narrate other legends as well; it means simply that this type of legend America.
is narrated among almost all peripatetic communities studied so far. The Enzykl. des Islam
peripatetic niche is thus, probably the most uniformly and universally (old ed.) Sulaib. In: Enzyklopaedia des Islam: 55
represented one in human oral tradition (Casimir in press).
Erdmann, F.
1983 Social Stratificationin Ladakh: Upp 'r E I lit unl l 'I
Kantowsky and R. Sanders (ed .) R 1'1111',1,,/ """ /
165. Miinchen: Weltforum Y, rl: .
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