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Abstract
Historically, states have sought to repress the nomadic way of life, as evidenced by various policies that seek to displace, criminalize, or assimilate them. This practice continues today, as the situation of Gypsies and Travelers in Ireland and Britain attests to. This paper examines how Gypsies and Travelers are repeatedly denied the right to practice a nomadic way of life. This occurs through various measures, each corresponding to a particular understanding of how culture operates. I identify two dominant discourses: ‘culture as choice’ and ‘culture as nature.’ The former seeks to assimilate and sedentarize while the latter wishes to prevent Gypsies and Travelers from ‘settling down’ as it does not see any option but for nomadism to continue. Both are similar, however, in that they misunderstand nomadic practices and wish to erase Gypsy and Traveler ways of life. I then delineate how a cultural politics of mobility avoids the pitfalls of seeing culture as a choice or as essential and unchanging, as well as not ignoring culture as acultural approaches do, but instead recognizes how Gypsies and Travelers themselves utilize cultural discourses to navigate through legal constraints and discrimination.
Historiquement, les états ont essayé de réprimer le style de vie nomade, comme le prouvaient des mesures variées visant à les déplacer, les criminaliser, ou les assimiler. Cette pratique continue encore aujourd'hui, comme en témoignage la situation des Gitans et des voyageurs en Ireland et en Angleterre. Cet article traite de la manière dont on refuse fréquemment aux Gitans et aux Voyageurs le droit de pratiquer un style de vie nomade. Ceci se produit à différentes échelles, chacune correspondant à une compréhension particulière de la façon dont la culture fonctionne. J'identifie deux discours dominants: ‘la culture comme choix’ et ‘la culture comme nature’. Le premier cherche à assimiler et rendre inactif tandis que le second cherche à empêcher les Gitans et les Voyageurs de ‘s'installer’ en n'offrant aucune alternative à leur style de vie. Les deux sont cependant similaires, parce qu'ils comprennent mal les pratiques nomades et tous deux visent à écraser les styles de vie des Gitans et des Voyageurs. Ensuite, je décris comment une politique culturelle de mobilité a évité les embûches pour voir la culture comme un choix ou comme essentielle et statique, et également pour ne pas ignorer la culture comme font certaines approches culturelles, mais reconnaît quand même comment Gitans et Voyageurs eux-mêmes utilisent les discours culturels pour naviguer à travers les contraints légales et discriminatoire.
Históricamente, estados han intentado reprimir la manera nómada de vivir, evidente en la política que intenta desplazar, penalizar, o asimilar los nómadas. Esta práctica sigue hoy en día, como las circunstancias de los Gitanos y Viajeros en Irlanda y Gran Bretaña se testifican. Este papel se examina como los Gitanos y Viajeros se están denegados el derecho vivir como nómadas repetidamente. Se ocurre por varias medidas, y cada una se corresponde a una interpretación especifica de cómo la cultura se funciona. Identifico dos discursos dominantes: ‘cultura como elección’ y ‘cultura como naturaleza’. El primero se trata asimilar y asentar mientras el segundo se intenta impedir ‘el establecimiento’ de los Gitanos y Viajeros porque no se vea ningún opción aparte de la permanencia del nomadismo. No obstante, los dos son similares en como se malinterpretan las practicas nómadas y se desean borrar los estilos de vida Gitano y Viajero. Entonces delineo como una política cultural de movilidad se evita los riesgos de ver cultura como una elección o como esencial e invariable, también como no ignorar la cultura como los enfoques aculturales, sino reconocer como los Gitanos y Viajeros mismos utilizan discursos culturales para navigar por restricciones legales y discriminación.
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank Phil Hubbard and two anonymous reviewers for their helpful suggestions throughout the revision process. Michael Curry, Claudia Brazzale, and Nick Howe also provided me with valuable comments on earlier versions of this article. This article is derived from my doctoral dissertation completed at UCLA in 2007.
Notes
1 I will refer to British Gypsies and Irish Travelers under the umbrella term Gypsies and Travelers, which also includes other groups, such as Scottish Travelers and New Travelers. It is useful to discuss these groups together because those who live a traveling way of life face similar issues, and it is not my intention to suggest they are all a part of one group. Also, though most Roma find the term Gypsy to be denigrating, Gypsies in the UK usually self-ascribe as Gypsy.
2 See Clark and Greenfields (Citation2006: 157–159) and Vanderbeck (Citation2003).
3 This is particularly interesting since the vast majority of Roma/Gypsies and Irish Travelers are sedentary, and have been for quite some time.
4 This refers mainly to British Gypsies, as they have been living in Britain for five centuries. On the other hand, Irish Travelers, in this exclusionary rhetoric, can be seen as needing to return to Ireland, though many in fact do hold British citizenship.
5 While scholars like James Clifford and George Marcus are hailed as the first to herald such views, it should be noted that early anthropologists and geographers who focused on diffusion clearly emphasized flows and interconnectedness.
6 See Government Circular 1/94, Gypsy Sites and Planning.
7 However, I do not wish to suggest that becoming sedentary is not a viable strategy or result for many Gypsies and Travelers, as many live, or have lived, in ‘bricks and mortar’ housing for varying reasons, though the entire spectrum is represented in terms of their feelings towards their ceasing to travel.
8 There are some exceptions of course. Romantic stereotypes of nomads are quite common, conjuring images of people living a free and simple existence, at one with nature. Also, the nomad has recently become a figure of (heroic) resistance in postmodern social theory. However, in these discourses it is used metaphorically.
9 For a counter to this claim, where the culture of poverty theory is utilized in an attempt to avoid this critique, see Ladányi and Szelényi (Citation2003), although they examine sedentary Roma.
10 Diddicoy or didikois is an example of the Anglo-Romani term for ‘half-breed.’ For discussion of hierarchies within Gypsy and Traveler communities, see Acton (Citation1974) and Okely (Citation1983).
11 The human rights policy being referred to is the European Convention on Human Rights.
12 The Gypsy and Traveller Law Reform Coalition attempted to bring caravan dwelling into the legitimate housing market, and though their proposed bill, The Traveller Law Reform Bill 2002, was placed on the agenda, no law was passed. Though the group subsequently disbanded, its members joined together with other groups to create the Traveller Law Reform Project, and is actively seeking to pass such legislation.
13 A cultural narrative refers to any discourses that describe a way of life, specific practices, traditions etc.