Book of the Wisdom of the Egyptians

The Book of the Wisdom of the Egyptians - that's the title of this small story found in "Romano Lavo-Lil" by George Borrow. It's a wonderful collection of sayings, stories, anecdotes, and explanations. Enjoy!

• The young people often ask: What good is there in the Romany tongue? I answers: Ye are all fools! There is plenty, plenty of good in it, and plenty, plenty of our people would have been transported or hung, but for the old, poor Roman language. A word in Romany said in time to a little girl, and carried to the camp, has caused a great purse of money and other things, which had been stolen, to be stowed underground; so that when the constables came they could find nothing, and had not only to let the Gypsy they had taken up go his way, but also to beg his pardon.
• His term of transportation has now expired, and it were but right in him to come home, if it were only to take care of his poor old wife: she has been a true, true wife to him, and I don't believe that she has taken up with another man ever since he was sent across....

I am so sorry to do this to you, but this post has been moved to my new website, Gypsy Magick and Lore, hosted at shirleytwofeathers.com, and can be found in its entirety here: Book of the Wisdom of the Egyptians

What is Cauring?

Cauring is an old gypsy trick - here's how it works:

The Gypsy has some queer, old-fashioned gold piece; this she takes to some goldsmith's shop, at the window of which she has observed a basin full of old gold coins, and shows it to the goldsmith, asking him if he will purchase it. He looks at it attentively, and sees that it is of very pure gold; whereupon he says that he has no particular objection to buy it; but that as it is very old it is not of much value, and that he has several like it....

I am so sorry to do this to you, but this post has been moved to my new website, Gypsy Magick and Lore (hosted at shirleytwofeathers.com) and can be found in its entirety here: Another Old Gypsy Trick

What is The Hukni?

The hukni is an old Gypsy trick - here's how it works:

The Gypsy makes some poor simpleton of a lady believe that if the latter puts her gold into her hands, and she makes it up into a parcel, and puts it between the lady's feather-bed and mattress, it will at the end of a month be multiplied a hundredfold, provided the lady does not look at it during all that time. On receiving the money she makes it up into a brown paper parcel, which she seals with wax, turns herself repeatedly round, squints, and spits...

I am so sorry to do this to you, but this post has been moved to my new website, Gypsy Magick and Lore (hosted at shirleytwofeathers.com) and can be found in its entirety here: An Old Gypsy Trick

Gypsy Prayer To The Virgin

The following short prayer to the Virgin, which I have frequently heard amongst the Gypsies of Hungary and Transylvania, will serve as a specimen of their language.

Gula Devla, da me saschipo. Swuntuna Devla, da me bacht t'aldaschis cari me jav; te ferin man, Devla, sila ta niapaschiata, chungale manuschendar, ke me jav ande drom ca hin man traba...


I am so sorry to do this to you, but this post has been moved to my new website Gypsy Magick and Lore (hosted at shirleytwofeathers.com) and can be found in its entirety here: Gypsy Prayer To The Virgin

Rhymed List of Gypsy Verbs

To dick and jin,
To bikn and kin;
To pee and hal,
And av and jal;
To kair and poggra,
Shoon and rokra;
To caur and chore,
Heta and cour,
Moar and more,...

I am so sorry to do this to you, but this post has been moved to my new website Gypsy Magick and Lore (hosted at shirleytwofeathers.com) and can be found in its entirety here: Rhymed List of Gypsy Verbs