Les Gillies, chansons traditionnelles des tsiganes britanniques ou « can you dukker a rai ? »

Résumé 0

The Romani songs, in Angloromani « Gillies » (from Romani) are a mixture of traditional English songs, in which Angloromani words are used, and which go back to the times of Henry VIII and his daughter Elizabeth I. The Gillies have been orally transmitted for centuries. From the 19th century to present, Gypsy songs have been written down – either by the members of the Romani community or by the non-Gypsies (the Gorgios or Gaujos). Oral transmission of the Gillies has decreased due to various reasons : (forced) sedentarisation, provoking the dispersion of Gypsy families, the enforcement of increasingly severe laws that continue to limit the Gypsy way of life (commercial nomadism), thus making illegal gatherings of Gypsies in fields and fairs as freely as before. The Gypsy singers found occasions to sing limited to festive gatherings and marriages. Writing down these songs has been a way for the Romani community to preserve its cultural heritage and to transmit its history as the Gillies recall the every day life of this community throughout the centuries.