Swiss, Jewish, and Gypsy immigrants to America
Swiss, Jewish, and Gypsy
This story gets a little complicated. I wish I could make it simpler but its just not possible.
In the first instance Switzerland has been home to nomadic people, both Sinti Roma and Jenish since the earliest day. While these are two distinct ethnic groups, their non-sedentary, nomadic lifestyle and shared occupations meant they had something in common in Switzerland.
But, to keep things clean, there were two groups of wandering people in Switzerland, the Swiss Sinti and the Swiss Jenish. The Sinti Roma were "Gypsies" that took up residence in German speaking countries early in history.
The Jenish are more poorly known and even more poorly understood. Sandrine Zwarch wrote an excellent article about them and I will present it here.
"The Yenish — a Little-Known Language with a Fascinating History
A journey into the Yenish world to discover a forgotten language that contains Hebraisms and is spoken by an ethnic group whose origins remain the subject of debate.
In the course of their wanderings,Jewish populations absorbed the languages of the world. The diversity of Jewish speech forms illustrates both the richness and the complexity of their culture.
Throughout history, the tradition of study required knowledge of the Hebrew of the sacred texts, alongside the mother tongue (a “Judeo-something” language). Added to this was the language of the country in which Jews lived, and, as borders shifted, their mastery of languages increased. Trade, or any other occupation that required travel, further enhanced their linguistic practice.
Thus, Jews often became polyglots, both in the Ashkenazi and Sephardic worlds. Speaking several languages was a means of exchange, an economic advantage, and often a matter of survival. Whatever their profession or social standing—whether small merchant or intellectual—multilingualism was commonplace.
As Jews moved, the languages they used traveled with them. Consequently, certain languages came to be used within professional contexts, and Yenishwas one of them. Among the trades practiced in the Ashkenazi world—peddling, dealing in secondhand goods, selling used clothing, and trading metals—these were all widespread occupations.
Since Jews were often prohibited from owning land or purchasing official positions due to their legal status, many turned to such trades. The Yenish language was used by Jewish scrap metal merchants, spreading across Europe in rhythm with their commercial travels. Very little studied, this language has yet to reveal all its mysteries.
So where did it come from? Various conjectures offer partial answers. Some believe it was adopted by Gypsy (Romani), Ashkenazi, and even Sephardic Marrano communities. In any case, it became the language of the Yenish nomads, an ethnic group found mainly in Western Europe, whose origin remains uncertain.
Thus, Yenish is the sociolect or cryptolect of the Yenish—meaning, the secret or group-specific language of marginalized communitieswho, since the early eighteenth century, have led a nomadic or semi-nomadic life in Germany and neighboring countries. Their descendants, who still exist today, are now striving to learn more about their mysterious origins and history, questioning what makes them distinct both from settled populations and from the Roma. They also seek to preserve the remnants of their secret language.
Though the Yenish were often basket makers and haberdashers, there were also scrap dealers among them. They roamed from village to village, loudly offering to sell baskets, sharpen knives, or collect rabbit skins—their speech marked by a unique, recognizable rhythm and tone. "
So, the origins of the Swiss Jenish is largely a mystery. The origins of the Swiss Sinti less remote. However what they had in common was they were prevented from immigrating to the American colonies. However, they did immigrate to Pennsylvania and once there, it seems the lines blurred between the Swiss Sinti and the Swiss Jenish.
Between 1720 and 1780, at least 40,000 immigrants made their way to Pennsylvania from the Southern Germany, Switzerland, northern France. A rag tag band of impoverished folks leaving oppression and poverty, they made their way to the new world. However, this group was not monochromatic. Amongst this group of immigrants were the so called "Black Dutch". Historians suspect they were Swiss Sinti or Jenish from Germany, Switzerland, and France or both. They were called Black Dutch because they were dark complected and had dark eyes, and did not look like your classic Northern European. Though not permitted to immigrate, they did.
In addition to this early migration, there was a later migration of Nomadic people from Switzerland. In the 1850's, the Swiss enacted a series of anti-vagrancy acts that made nomadic living difficult. Many Jenish familes immigrated to America at that time. And these families often married into the "Swiss Families" that had arrived before them.
Today, many people are discovering a surprise in their ancestry DNA report. They carry both Jewish and Romani(Gypsy) heritage. They are descendants of the of the "Black Dutch" that came from Switzerland between 1720 and 1780 or after 1850.
20 descendants of the Swiss Sinti or Swiss Jenish that made their way to the colonies have been DNA tested and the result has been the same. They carry both Romani and Jewish ancestry. They are part of the Gypsy-Jewish family.
