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INTRODUCTION.

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　The Gipsy dialects considered in the ensuing pages can be divided into two groups, ordinary dialects and argots. The former group comprises Bldr, Bham, L, k and Pehr, the latter m, Gr, Gulguli, Kanjar, Klh, Malr, Mynwl, Na, Qa, Ss and Sikalgr . The former group is of the same character as the Gipsy languages described under the head of Bhl in Vol. IX, Part iii, the latter can be compared with argots such as those used by the Panjab gamblers, the Chhs, etc. See Authorities, above.

　Within the first of our two groups the Pehrs in some respects occupy a position apart, being composed of various elements without any common race or religion. Their dialect shows that they have lived for some time in Eastern Rajputana, and history corroborates this inference. Both the Pehrs and some of the Bhams speak dialects which can be described as a mixture of Dakhi Hindstn and Jaipur. Most Bhams, however, speak Telugu. L is in all essentials a form of Jaipur. The s are probably related to the Vaars, who speak a dialect of Telugu, and they are probably originally Dravidians. Their dialect, however, points towards Malwa or perhaps farther west. The Bldrs are described as a Dravidian caste. They usually state that they are Rjpts, and Dr. Crooke thinks that they are related to the s. The traditions and dialects of all these tribes point to the conclusion that they belong to the same stock as the Banjrs, Habs, and other tribes who now use a form of Bhl. The traditions of both Banjrs and Habs point towards Rajputana. Ethnologists are, however, agreed that all these tribes are originally Dravidian, i. e. belong to the so-called Dravidian race. Their original home has perhaps been situated farther south. They have, however, become Aryanized at a comparatively early date, and philological considerations point to the conclusion that this occurred somewhere in Rajputana. Dr. Crooke is of opinion that these tribes are branches of one great nomadic race, which also comprises tribes such as the Sss, Kanjars, Nas, and so on, I. E. such Indian Gipsies as possess an argot. Also here we find traditions which point towards Rajputana. Thus the Sss were, according to one tradition, originally bards with the Chauhn Rjpts. Their first ancestor was, they say, Ss Ml, and his brother Mallanr was again the ancestor of the Klhs, who seem to be very closely connected with the Sss. They are also related to the Kanjars, whose traditions only point towards the jungle, and the Nas, who sometimes, likewise, maintain that they have come from Rajputana. The Saiqalgars of Benares assert that they were originally Rjpts from Marwar. The ms are, according to their traditions, Nishdas, and their first ancestor is said to have sprung from the thigh of King Vna. Now Bnbans is the name of a modern Rjpt sept, which, according to Dr. Crooke, is of obvious Kherwar origin, and the country of the Nishdas is stated in the Mahbhrata (iii, 10538) to begin where the Sarasvat disappears in the sands. The Nishdas were, according to the Aitarya Brhmaa, forest robbers, and Mahdhara identifies them with the Bhillas. In the Agnipura they are mentioned together with "other dwellers in the Vindhyas." It will be seen that these traditions point towards Rajputana or Central India. It will now be of interest to see how far an examination of the dialects spoken by these tribes, i. e. of the dialects on which their argots are based, corroborates these indica- tions. We cannot of course expect to find anything more than indications. The tribes in question are migratory, and, if they spend a long time in any district, they are likely to adopt its current vernacular.