Bo Hazell´s “Resandefolket: Från tattare till Traveller” was
published in 2002. The book
deals with Swedish and Norwegian Travelers from a sympathetic, pro-Traveler
perspective. It´s probably still the most widely accessible work in Swedish on
this particular ethnic or social minority group. The author is a Swedish “buro”
(non-Traveler) and journalist with a long-standing interest in Travelers and
similar groups. The book contains chapters on Traveler history, persecution,
culture, language, family values and – somewhat surprisingly – blood feuds. Surprisingly,
since Hazell in general views the Traveler lifestyle as unproblematic, blaming
majority society for the historically bad relations between them and the “buros”.
Many interviews with Travelers have been included. In a concluding chapter,
Hazell discusses Irish, English, Dutch and French Travelers, who are somewhat
different from their Swedish and Norwegian counterparts (and from each other).
The book doesn´t deal with the groups usually called “Gypsies”, such as
Kalderash, Lovari and so on. It does mention the Kale and the Sinti in passing,
since some Scandinavian Travelers may be related to these “Gypsy” groups. There
is also a peculiar interview with stand up comedienne Anna-Lena Brundin, who is
*not* a Traveler!
The exact
origin of the Traveler community in Sweden is still a matter of some
controversy, including among the Travelers themselves. Like the author, I
originally assumed that the “tattare” (the derogatory term for Travelers)
weren´t an actual ethnic minority, but rather a social outcast group with the
same ethnic make-up as the majority. This seems to have been the official view
of the Swedish authorities during the decades after World War II. It replaced
an earlier view, based on race biology, that the “tattare” were an alien and
degenerate racial element, probably a mixture of Gypsies and lower class
Swedes. Thus, the “segregationist” view was replaced by a seemingly more
progressive “assimilationist” ditto. The Travelers themselves felt oppressed under
both systems. Today, Travelers have been recognized as a ethnic minority group
in Sweden, while at the same time being lumped together with the Gypsies under
the “Roma” designation, which some of them accept, while others don´t.
Hazell
doesn´t take sides in the infected conflicts over Traveler origins. He seems to
favor the view that Travelers aren´t homogenous. Some may indeed be “Gypsies”,
but this too isn´t clear-cut, since the Gypsy groups from northwest India aren´t
necessarily related either, having left India or the territory today called
Pakistan at different times in the past. As already indicated, the self-consciously
Roma Travelers claim affinity with the Kale and the Sinti. Conversely, many
Roma from the Balkans regard the Finnish Kale as a completely different people
altogether, so by implication, they probably wouldn´t accept Swedish Travelers either.
Other Travelers may be descended from Russian or German soldiers serving in the
Swedish armies during the “Great Power Period”, or ethnically Swedish poor
peasants forced to take to the roads when land and labor got scarce during the
18th century. Some speculations about Traveler origins combine the
options above. Thus, many Travelers believe that the warrior-king Karl XII
(Charles XII) recruited Roma to the Swedish army during its prolonged stay in
the Balkans. The Traveler language, Svensk Rommani, is based on the “Gypsy”
language Romanès but has a Swedish grammatical structure. (Many common Swedish
slang words actually come from Svensk Rommani, most notably “tjej” for “girl”.)
A large
portion of “Resandefolket” deal with the way majority society until recently segregated
or downright persecuted the “tattare”. The preferred methods in Sweden were
forced sterilization of adults and removal of Traveler children into Swedish foster care.
The Travelers often lived in segregated communities – in Snarsmon, in literal
holes in the ground. Violence between Swedes and Travelers was common, dubbed “ethnic
cleansing” by the author. In Norway, Travelers were sent to a virtual labor
camp at Svanviken, the “re-education” facility being operated by a Norwegian
Church “mission”. The camp existed from 1908 to 1978, and was supported by the
national government. For these and other reasons, many Travelers are wary about
revealing their true group identity or volunteer information to “buros”. I´m
somewhat surprised that Hazell got so much information as he did. He seems to
have been tested by the Travelers at a kind of meetings of denunciation, and apparently
passed the test!
The most
fascinating piece of information concerns the Traveler religion. Some Travelers
claim to have access to an ancient religious tradition, according to which
there are two gods, known as Alakoh and Devel. Alakoh is the moon god and is
depicted as compassionate and full of grace – after all, the moon lits up the
night so Travelers can travel safely. Devel is the stern god of inflexible
justice and sinless perfection, associated with the sun, and isn´t worshipped.
The rites of Alakoh are secret and only performed by the tribal elders,
although Hazell witnessed a prayer to Alakoh at a Traveler memorial ceremony in Norway. In a footnote,
Hazell reveals that he met one Traveler who claimed that the Alakoh cult is
fake and was invented by his family during the 20th century! According to the same tradition, the Travelers´ original
homeland is “Assas in Assaria”, perhaps a garbled reference to Assur and
Assyria.
Today, many
Traveler groups around the world have converted to charismatic Christianity,
and the most popular Pentecostal preachers at Traveler revival meetings are
themselves Travelers. Perhaps the out-going and slightly rowdy character of
Pentecostalism appeals to Travelers? Hazell´s book contain an interview with a
Dutch Traveler who claims that the Bible contains a prophecy about Travelers
being converted to Christ. This is connected to an apocalyptic perspective in
which the Jews were the first people to hear the Gospel, while the Traveler
communities are the last. A Norwegian Traveler told Hazell that according to
his understanding, Travelers are descended from Abraham through Keturah and her
children.
Otherwise,
I was struck by the similarities between “Gypsy” and Traveler culture as
described in the book. Both groups prefer a nomadic lifestyle and have traditionally
made a living from handicrafts, peddling, the breeding and selling of horses, and
begging. Both groups often dress as people from high society. Travelers take the
names of distinguished people or heroic characters from folktales. This seems to
be a way of establishing a higher status (at least in their own minds) to that
of the surrounding peasant population. Traveler domestic life is surrounded by
taboos and purity laws, and their family values are patriarchal and
conservative – this latter fact is probably galling today, when Swedes are extremely
equalitarian. In passing, Hazell also mentions that Travelers frequently boast
about how they are able to cheat “buros” – another common trait with Gypsies,
as I hear. The constant clan feuds are another important factor in Traveler
life. The main difference between Swedish Travelers and Gypsies is that the
former often hide their true identity after centuries of conflict with majority
society, while Gypsies flaunt it. The degree of Traveler-buro intermarriage
also seems to be higher than Gypsy-gadjo ditto, although still relatively low
overall.
One problem
with “Resandefolket” is that the author sometimes conflates historical fact
with Traveler claims about the same. Thus, Hazell´s only source for the claim
that Karl XII was pro-Traveler are Traveler stories. More seriously, his only
source for the claim that Vidkun Quisling and the Nazis wanted to send the
Norwegian Travelers to the death camps are Traveler tales claiming this is so.
Maybe it is (the Nazis did exterminate Gypsies), but what historical sources
backs this up? The Travelers claim to know that a very special train was
already prepared for the occasion, but the whole operation had to be cancelled
due to the Allied liberation of Norway…
That being
said, I nevertheless recommend “Resandefolket” to everyone who speaks the buro
language of Swedish and wants to commence his or her own research into this
particular topic.
ADDED 2019-02-16
Hans Christian Andersen mentions the cult of Alakoh and Devel in "To be or not to be", published in 1857, so obviously the tradition is older than the 20th century. In his version, Alako (spelled without the "h") is a lunar god said to have incarnated as a man to reveal the Law after which he ascended to the Moon, his kingdom. He is depicted as a man holding a pencil and a sword, an image supposedly in the possession of all Gypsy chiefs. In the novel, a Gypsy woman also carries the image on a stone. One day, Alako will lead his people (the Gypsies) back to Assas in Assyria, which Andersen believes is really Assam in India!
Viktor Rydberg mentions Alako in "Singoalla", published in 1865. Here, too, Alako is pictured on a small stone, just as in H C Andersen´s version.
In a second edition of "Resandefolket", published in 2011, Hazell drops the claim that the Alakoh cult is a 20th century invention.
ADDED 2019-02-17
I removed some amateurish personal speculations about the Sanskrit origins of "Alakoh" from the post. "Devel" is clearly Sanskrit, however: it´s of course derived from "deva", the Sanskrit word usually translated "god" (with a smaller-case "g"). The origins of the name or word Alakoh seem to be unknown...
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