In The Golden Compass, Lyra works closely with people from a marginalized ethnic group called “gyptians.” This ethnic group has many similarities to a people that exist in our world, called Roma or Romani people. The Romani people originated in India. Yet many people mistakenly thought they came from Egypt, resulting in the popular name “gypsies.” Later the Romani migrated through most countries in Europe and arrived to the United Kingdom. The Romani culture is likely Pullman’s inspiration for the gyptians in The Golden Compass.
Most scholars agree that the Romani people left North-Central India about 1,000 years ago. They settled for three centuries in Persia before traveling to Europe in the 1400s. When the Romani arrived in England in the 1500s, they faced significant legal and social discrimination. The British government passed many laws to restrict their movement and sometimes tried to deport them. In popular British culture, racist stereotypes depicted the Romani people as tricksters and con-artists. In reality, the Romani simply did jobs that were compatible with their nomadic lifestyle. Many were musicians, potion sellers or itinerant traders.
Everywhere the Romani have settled—including Eastern Europe, Italy, Spain and England, —they have adapted to local conditions and formed new groups. Due to their exclusion from dominant society, Romani groups have often relied on their own legal systems based on family, or kinship structures. One such group is called the Romanichal, who have lived in England for over five centuries. They even developed their own dialect of the Romani language called Angloromani. While some lived on dry land, many Romanichal lived and worked on their boats, as the gyptians do in The Golden Compass.
Today, fewer countries explicitly discriminate against the Romani people. However, they still face many challenges to their traditional way of life. In England, one challenge comes from efforts to regulate canals and waterways or to make them private. This would affect the Romanichals’ tradition of living and working on boats. For this reason, organizations like the National Bargee Travelers Association and Friends Families and Travelers have led activist campaigns in solidarity with the Romani.
While cultural awareness is slowly increasing, in recent years the Romani have faced renewed discrimination. Recent waves of racist political organizing throughout Europe have led to an increase in hate crimes against the Romani people. The European Parliament has even recognized hatred of or discrimination against Romani—called antiziganism—as a major social problem.
