“Ethnic identities which distinguish members of one group from the rest of society are generally based on differences in skin color, language, religion, national origin, or a combination of these factors. Occasionally, however distinct ethnic groups emerge from within culturally homogenous populations. Numerous itinerant populations in Western Europe such as the Swedish Tattare, Norwegian Tatere, Finnish Zigenare, Dutch Reiziger, and Scottish Travellers represent ethnic groups which are both indigenous to their country of residence and identical to its people in terms of colour, language and religion.” (1976:225)
Secondly, Tinkers share cultural features and behavior patterns which distinguish them from settled Irish. As a group, they possess a unique material culture including colorful carts and wagons, tents, and piebald ponies; and they practice marginal trades and services which are not generally pursued by other Irish...
@EarringsandLipstick i fix comd across these in your link.
“What do the English or Welsh Gypsies and Irish or Scottish Travellers have in common? They share a resistance to wage labour, a multiplicity of self-employed occupations, often a need for geographical flexibility and an ideological preference for trailers or caravans...
In her discussion Ní Shuinéar covers much of the ground covered earlier by the Gmelchs and Okely. Her main arguments can be summarised as follows:
– biological self perpetuation: Travellers typically marry within the group and group membership is determined by descent;
– shared fundamental cultural values and its concomitant cultural difference: shared Traveller values include self-employment, occupational flexibility priority of social obligations based on kinship, and nomadism. Travellers also have distinctive pollution beliefs;
– overt unity of cultural form and the social separation implied: there are distinctive Traveller versions of a wide range of observable phenomena including accommodation, dress and grooming, speech patterns, religious and other group rituals and artistic expression;
– own field of communication and interaction and the implication language barrier: interaction and communication between Travellers and settled people are broadly limited to business or formal settings. Not only do Travellers have their own language – Gammon or Cant – they also have a distinctive – and shared – use of English.
5 In Ní Shuinéar’s presentation these latter characteristics are also cited from Barth. Note that she slightly misquotes him at this point. For the specific context in which these latter characteristics ar
I appreciate and understand these points and I am well aware that you can sometimes tell who a traveller is from their home, the community they live in, language, accent, dress speech patterns.
What I can't see is how they are distinctly different in facial appearance.
For example, a line up of Irish people wearing the same clothes and same hair, how could I know which one is a traveller?