Gypsy Folk Tales

[Dept of PMM Artists & things]

Gypsy Folk Tales
by Francis Hindes Groome
[1899]

Francis Hindes Groome was one of the small group of 19th century folklorists who immersed themselves in Roma (Gypsy) life. This was in the heroic period of the study of folklore, when devoted scholars built up the field from scratch. Even then, however, it was obvious that there were universal story motifs that spanned continents and cultures. Groome hypothesized that the nomadic Roma had been a primary conduit for the transfer of a common body of stories across a broad region of Eurasia.

Today we know that many of these themes not only span Eurasia, but are present in the folklore of people in Africa, Polynesia, Australia, and the New World, who are separated by millennia and oceans from Europe. The fairy-tale narrative of a protagonist of humble origin who goes on magical journeys of transformation, aided by animal guides, tales of tricksters, and evil step-relations are found around the world. So diffusion is less attractive as a hypothesis. These stories seem to be embedded in the deep structure of our consciousness.

This book is a treasure trove of classic 'Gypsyology', and makes fascinating reading for everyone interested in the Roma people and folklore in general. These are not watered down 'fairy tales,' but sophisticated and often earthy stories, with 'Adult situations.' Groome edited this material with a very light hand, and made no attempt to correct plot holes or inconsistencies, as in the some of the more bowdlerized 19th century folklore books. He simply lets the story teller weave their spell on us.