But, if we prefume that Tfchingis ufed this manner of writing, his fucceffors must have changed it for another; fince the prefent Mongole writing evidently difcovers its Syrian origin. Yet even this language may be called the Igurean; becaufe certain miffionaries of the Neftorian fect lived among the Igureans, and communicated their manner of writing to the Mongoles. The word Uigur or Uegur, in the Mongole language, generally denotes a foreigner. With greater certainty we may affirm, that the ancient fepulchres in Siberia and Ruffia are the work of the Tartars who lived in the reign of Tichingis and his firft fucceffors. This hero founded his monarchy in the beginning of the thirteenth century. The Mongoles and Tartars united under his fceptre were at that time a poor people, wandering in the defarts of the rivers Selenga, Orchon, and Onon, and fometimes ftraying as far as the Baikal fea. This laft circumftance obviously affords us a reafon, why thefe tombs contain fo few valuable relics; and the fact is corroborated by hiftory, which likewife in its turn receives light from it. By the fame means as we are enabled to account for the poverty of the tombs about Selenginfk and Nertfchinfk, we are capacitated alfo to afcertain whence the Tartars got thefe riches that are found in the other fepulchres. In the year 1281 Tfchingis began the conqueft of China, which was finished fo fuccefsfully by his nephew Koblai; in whofe person began a new dynasty, known in the hiftory of that empire by the name of Juen, which continued uninterruptedly to the year 1369. The Tartars foon made themfelves rich in China; but, not contented with their wealth, they traversed almoft all Afia, and a confiderable part of Europe; increafing their riches in proportion as they proceeded in their conquefts. In the year 1224 they first invaded Ruffia, and fought that fignal battle on the river Kalka. From 1237 to 1240 they fubdued the whole country. Notwithstanding they were divided under different chieftains and into different parties, and thofe who over-run Afia had nothing in common with the conquerors of Europe but the name, they had however a general head of the family, who had been acknowledged by their forefathers. To the main camp of that chieftain was therefore brought much of the riches carried off from the conquered countries. I think it highly probable that this main camp was, in the thirteenth century, in fome parts of the defart on the Irtifh; and that the Tartars, divided into different hordes, inhabited all the regions between the Yaik and the Ob. In that century the miffionaries from Rome, Carpin, Rubruquis, and others, vifited thefe countries. The laft river they mention in their voyages is the Yaik; had they croffed the Irtish, they would (not certainly have omitted to take notice of it. But, as they fay nothing of that river, we may thence infer that the camp of the Khans, to whom they were delegated, was on this fide of the river Irtith. We know that European goldfmiths refided among the Tartars, and worked for them. Rubruquis mentions a Frenchman, Guilleaume, who he fays made very curi ous ous pieces of workmanfhip for the Khan Mangus Batu. The conqueror of Poland, Ruffia, Silefia, and Hungary, muft have had ftill more of these artifts in his fervice. It is remarked likewife that the beft relics, which are found in the fepulchres near the Volga, are as rich as thofe in other tombs. The Zo. loatia orda (the golden horde) that was given to the camp of the Khans who fubdued Ruffia, muft have been given on account of the riches of that Tartarian horde. But concerning the tombs of the Zolotaia horda we can only form conjectures; as thefe were opened and fearched in times very remote, of which no narrative is preferved. Some curiofities in the cabinet of the Imperial Academy here are prefumed to be from thofe regions; but this opinion is founded merely on conjecture. We are better informed upon the article of the fepulchres found on the rivers Irtifh, Tobol, Ob, and Yenifei. Thefe could only be explored at the beginning of the prefent century, after the Kalmucs and Kirguifes, who, infefted these parts, had retired to other plains. About twenty years ago, there were many perfons in Siberia who ftill fubfifted entirely on the fpoils they had formerly obtained by ranfacking these fepulchres. But, fince that time, it is not certainly known that any have followed this occupation. The custom was to affociate in large companies for fearching after fepulchres, in the fame manner as they do in our times for hunting fables. But the countries between the Ob and the Irtifh were often plundered by the Kirguife Kofacs, after the retreat of the Kalmucs. To the western fide of the Irtifh very few have ventured of late years, on account of the incurfions of thofe Kofacs; but, fince the government has now taken care to prevent them, it may be prefumed that in fome future period great riches may be procured from thence. We cannot find that the rich fepulchres bear any peculiar external marks upon them; but it is fuppofed, from various reafons, that the tombs on the eastern fide of the Irtifh, where great numbers are yet unexplored, will yield no great advantage. Some have been examined at Ukamenogorskaia, but they contained nothing of any value. Their whole contents confifted in inftruments of iron, grown forufty, that it was fcarcely poffible to dif cover for what ufe they had been made. In others, that were opened near Nertfchiník, nothing of any confequence was found; not even bones of men, but only thofe of horfes. Hence it is probable, that the afhes of burnt bodies alone, or the remains of human bones that were here depofited, might have been long ago mouldered away; but the bones of horfes killed at the interment, and which were not burnt, may have fubfifted a longer time unaltered. Some of thefe curiofities were brought to the academy. Among others there is a man on horseback tolerably well executed in gold; as likewife fome filver coins, with the imprefs of a rofe juft opening from the bud; but there are no infcriptions on any of them. The nation therefore, by whom this coin was ftruck, could not have been at that time acquainted with the art of writing: or at least this money muft have been coined previous to the the introductionoftheMohammedan corruption of Egyptian, and fome religion among the Tartars; for it was by that means that these na tions became acquainted with the Arabic letters, which they have ever fince made ufe of in infcriptions on their coins. The gold in these tombs is feldom pure, but commonly adulterated with filver; and the filver has generally an alloy of half its weight in copper. It was very eafy for the European workmen to cheat the fimple Tartars. It is extremely unfortunate that many of these curiofities fell into the hands of ignorant people, who immediately melted them down. But from those preserved in the Imperial Academy we may form an idea of feveral circumftances relating to that ancient nation. I am, &c. W. TOOKE. Obfervations on the Language of the BEG you will do me the favour to communicate to the learned Society of Antiquaries the inclofed paper, on a subject to the inveftigation of which you have fo effential ly contributed. I am, Sir, your much obliged and moft obedient fervant, IT has long been furmifed that the vagrant tribes of people called in this country Gypfies, and on parts of the continent of Europe, Cingari, Zingari, and Chingali, were of Eaftern origin. The former name has been fuppofed a VOL. XXVII. learned perfons have judged it not improbable that their language might be traced to the Coptic. In the course of researches which I have had occafion to purfue on the fubject of language, I obferved that Ludolfus, in his hiftory of Ethiopia, makes mention, incidentally, of the Cingari vel Errones Nubiani, and gives a fpecimen of words which he had collected from these people in his travels, with a view of determining their origin. He difcuffes the opinions of various writers concerning them, but fornis no precife one of his own, concluding his obfervations with these words: Eadem vocabula, cùm maximam partem reperiam apud Vulcanium, à centum ferè annis tradita, non fictitia exiftimo, ut Megiferus putat, nec corrupta ex aliis linguis, neque Egyptiaca five Coptica. I was furprifed to find many of the words contained in the fpecimen familiar to my eye, and pointed out to Sir Jofeph Banks (in the latter end of the year 1783) their evident correfpondence with terms in the Hindoftanic, or as it is vulgarly termed in India, the Moors language. This fimilitude appeared to me fo extraordinary, that I was inclined to fufpect an error in the publication, which might have ari fen from a confufion of obfcure vocabularies in the author's poffeffion. The circumftance, however, determined me to pay further attention to the fubject, and to examine, in the first place, whether the language spoken by the Gypfey tribes in England, and by thofe in the remoter parts of the continent of Europe, were one and the fame; and then to afcertain whether this actually bore the affinity, which fo forcibly truck me in Ludolfus, to any of the languages on the conti- lefs correfpondence with that of the nent of India. Through the obliging affiftance. of Sir Jofeph Banks, who has spared no pains to promote this investigation, I procured an opportunity of obtaining a lift of words from our Gypfies, which I can depend upon as genuine, and tolerably accurate in respect to the pronunciation, from their being corroborated by words also taken down, feparately, by Sir Jofeph, and by Dr. Blagden. Mr. Matra did me the favour to tranfmit for me a lift of words to Turkey, and from his ingenious friend Mr. B. Pifani, I received a complete and fatisfactory tranflation of them, together with fome information refpecting the manners of the Chinghiarés, in the Turkish dominions, which however does not come within the defign of this paper, as I mean to confine myself, in the prefent communication, fimply to the queftion of the fimilarity of language, which, if established, I fhould efteem a matter of no little curiofity; prefuming it to be perfectly new to the world. Of this fimilarity the learned members of the Society will be enabled to form their judgment from the annexed paper, exhibiting a comparison of a few of the words procured from the different quarters before mentioned, with the Hindoftanic terms, from the best published and parole authorities. It may not be unworthy of the remark, that the general appellation for thefe people in the eastern parts of Europe, is very nearly connected with that of the inhabitants of Ceylon, in the Eaft-Indies, who are equally termed Lingalefe and Chingalefe; though at the fame time it muft be acknowledged, that the language of this ifland has much Gypfies, than many other of the Indian dialects. His grace the archbishop of York, with his ufual difcernment, fuggefted to me the probability that the Zingari here spoken of may have derived their name, and perhaps their origin, from the people called Langari, or Langarians, who are found in the north-weft parts of the peninsula of Hindoftan, and infeft the coafts of Guzerat and Sindy with their piratical depredations. The maritime turn of this numerous race of people, with their roving and enterprifing difpofition, may warrant the idea of occafional emigrations in their boats, by the courfe of the Red Sea. Notwithstanding that the refemblance to the Hindoftanic is the predominant feature in the Gypfey dialect, yet there are words interfperfed which evidently coincide with other languages. Befide the Mahratta and Bengalefe, which I have marked in the comparative fpecimen, it is not a little fingular that the terms for the numerals feven, eight, and nine, are purely Greek, although the first five, and that for ten, are indifputably Indian. It is alfo a curious obfervation, that although the Indian term for fever being Jaath, differs from the Gypfey, yet that for a week, or fever days, is the Eftan of the latter. One word only, among those which I have examined, bears a refemblance to the Coptic which is rom, the fame with romi, a man. In comparisons of this nature, a due allowance muft be made, not only for the various modes of fpelling adopted by different perfons, and different nations, but alfo for the diffimilar manner in which the fame individual founds ftrikes the or. gans gans of the hearers; of which fome pointed inftances might be given. Should any be inclined to doubt (which I fcarcely fuppofe poffible) of the identity of the Gypfey or Cingari, and the Hindoftanic languages, ftill it will be acknowledged as no uninterefting fubject of fpeculation, that tribes wandering through the mountains of Nubia, or the plains of Romania, have been converfed for centuries in a dialect precisely fimilar to that spoken at this day by the obfcure, despised, and wretched people in England, whofe language has been confidered as a fabricated gibberish, and confounded with a cant in ufe amongst thieves and beggars, and whofe perfons have been (till within the period of a year (an object of the perfecution, instead of the protection of our laws. WILLIAM MARSDEN. language was read, I recollected that, feveral years ago, I had heard my friend Mr. Bryant mention his having collected a confiderable number of words used by this wandering tribe; feveral of which words appeared to bear a close affinity to thofe of the fame meaning in the languages of ancient and of diftant nations. At my requeft, he has obligingly tranfmitted the inclofed papers containing the refult of his inquiries on the fubject; and I take the liberty of putting them into your hands, to be laid before the Society. Befides his own collections, Mr. Bryant has also favoured me with the communication of a letter which he had fome years ago received from the Rev. Mr. Coxe. That learned traveller, when in Hungary, had met with Gypfies, and had taken from their mouths fpecimens of their language. It is very remarkable, that of seventeen words thus obtained and enumerated in his letter, fourteen appear to refemble moft exactly thofe of the fame fignification, as collected by Mr. Bryant in England. To distin. guish them, they are marked in the Vocabulary with afterisks. I am, dear Sir, your most obedient fervant, JOHN DOUGLAS. A VOCABULARY of the Zingara, or Gypfey Language. ape An afs A. godocovan. millan. Above apra. ionadafs. yarraw, also beval caulo. B. |