Quote:The Scottish Travellers emigrated to Appalachia in the late 19th century.
They were known as storytellers, entertainers, humorists, and musicians. Scottish Travellers have a word in the Cant language – conyach. Conyach describes the state when who you are, and what you are doing, merge into one. It's a highly sought after state when one is the singer, dancer, or storyteller at a ceilidh.
Usually at the ceilidh, songs would be sung about local people. This was a form of social control. You could spread gossip, make fun of someone, express admiration or love for someone, spread bad news about someone, or ruin the reputation of someone, just by singing a song about them, or inserting their name into an already existing song.
Travellers share a love of words in songs & stories. Also — a desire to constantly move on. They tend to be drawn to thrown away people, or outcasts, the broken, or the hidden.
https://www.appalachianhistory.net/2018/...ttish.html
Quote:In Scottish Gaelic they are known as "The Craftsmen", or less controversially, "People of Travel". Poetically known as the "Summer Walkers", Highland Travellers are a distinct ethnic group. Mistakenly, the settled Scottish population may call all travelling and Romani groups tinkers, which is usually regarded as pejorative, and contemptuously as "tinks" or "tinkies". Highland Travellers are closely tied to the native Highlands, and many traveller families carry clan names like Macfie, Stewart, MacDonald, Cameron, Williamson and Macmillan.
https://www.douglashistory.co.uk/history...psies.html
Quote:One thing is certain: the Scottish travellers were not gypsies, although there may have been intermarriage between the two groups in the 16th century and after, particularly in the Lowlands and Borders, when the gypsies or Egyptians, a Romany people from Central Europe were forced into Western Europe by the Mongol invasions of Russia led by Genghis Khan.
https://www.arts.gla.ac.uk/STELLA/STARN/...ngtrav.htm
Quote:Representatives of the community asked researchers at the University of Edinburgh to carry out the study, as there has been no genetic research involving Scottish Travellers.
Everyone who takes part in the University of Edinburgh study will complete an online questionnaire about their health and lifestyle. They will also be asked to return a saliva sample by post, which will be used for genetic analysis by researchers.
"Scottish Traveller groups have never been involved in studies using the power of modern genetics."
https://www.ed.ac.uk/news/2021/study-see...er-heritag
