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Egyptian Romany: The Essence of Hispania
Book Excerpts
Preface
It has been said that history is written by the winner(s) of the latest conflict. This is very true in the case of Hispania (Spain and Portugal), where the history books are tailored by the descendants of the northern winners of the Reconquest. The true builders of the Hispanic society were pushed out of their land by the northern winners. Subsequently, these homeless people of non-European stock were called nomadic and uncultured. This silent and peaceful majoritythe truly civilizedwere called by many namesMossarabs (Mozarabs), Gypsies (Gitanos), Romany, Moriscos, Mudehars (Mudejars), . . .etc. The true voices of Hispaniasuch as the poet Federico Garcia Lorcahighlighted and celebrated these people of non-European stock as the true people of culture in Hispania. Lorca wrote in his book, Gitano Ballads [1928],
. . . . .the gitano is the most distinguished, profound and aristocratic element in my country, the one that most represents its way of being and best preserves the fire, the blood and the alphabet of Andalusian and universal truth. . .
The Romany (Gypsy) Essence of Hispania
The Egipcianos of Iberia
The people commonly referred to as Romany (Gypsy, Gitano, Bohemian, etc) are consistently found in (or near to) ancient settlement sites of the Iberian Peninsula, especially in the southern and central regions. Their Egyptian heritage is clearly recognized in the furthermost areas of Iberia, such as the Basque provinces, where they are called Egipcioac, or Egyptians. The Egipcioac/Egipcianos of Iberia are proud of their heritage as the descendants of the Egyptian Pharaohs. They were/are fond of talking of Egypt and its former greatness. Unfortunately, the spirit of a post-Reconquest purified Spain lingers on, and as a result, the Romany of Hispanias insistence of Egyptian heritage has been arbitrarily and capriciously denied by most of academia.
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It is interesting to note that the word gypsy/gipsy is derived from the Spanish word Egipci-anos. All other names that describe the Egipcianos are, as expected, Ancient Egyptian names. The Hispanic Egipcianos are known as Roma-ny, Bohem-ian, Gitanos, etc. All such terms are Ancient Egyptian.
- Roma is an Ancient Egyptian word meaning (Egyptian) men. The Egyptian people alone were termed romat; other nations were Negroes, Asiatics, or Libyans, but never romat. In the Egyptian and most Semitic tongues, the letter t at the end of the word is silent. Hence, Roma.
Rom is a recognizable Hispanic Gitano word meaning man. The word man in Sanskrit is domba. This is a strong linguistic confirmation of the falsehood publicized by western academia that the Roma-ny are of Indian origin, despite the Hispanic Romany insistence of their Egyptian heritage. - The word Bohem-ian is also an Egyptian word. The verb-stem of this word is Bohem/Bahm, which means to be/make obscure or dark/black/mysterious/mystical. Bohem-ian will thus mean mystical, which describes the mystical nature of the Hispanic Romany religious practices.
- The word Gitano is also of Egyptian origin. Ghit/Git means tillable land, in the Egyptian tongue. The term, La Tina also means fertile soil/land in Egypt. The Ancient Egyptian word Kemet also means black (fertile) soil. The conservatism of the Egyptians and Iberians is rooted in the earth/land. As such, these above-mentioned terms that are associated with the (Egipcianos) Gitanos are likewise related to the earth/land.
The Gitano Dancers of Cdiz
Early Roman historians were impressed by the music and dance of the people at Cdiz.
The (Egyptian) Romany populate the areas of Cdiz, Jerez, and Sevilla (and beyond), since ancient times. Federico Garcia Lorca, in a 1933 interview, stated,
From Jerez to Cadiz, ten (Egipciano) Gitana extended families of absolutely pure blood are guarding the glorious tradition of flamenco.
The (Egyptian) Romany have always been connected with music and dance. The Egyptian origin of the Romany of Hispania was noted by Voltaire, who could easily see the figurative relationship between the ancient dancers at Cdiz and the modern (Egyptian) Romany of Hispania. In his Essai sur les moeurs, Voltaire maintained that the Romany (of Hispania) were the descendants of the priests and priestesses of Auset (Isis), whose castanets and tambourines derived directly from antiquity. [Vaux de Foletier pgs. 25 and 238]. Richard Ford [1845] was totally convinced that the dances of antiquity and those of the (Egyptian) Romany of Hispania were virtually identical.
From time immemorial, dance has been considered a religious activity, as numerous Ancient Egyptian works illustrate. Ecstatic dancing formed an integral part of the rites of Auset (Isis) and Ausar (Osiris). The Ancient Egyptian goddess of song and dance was Het-Heru (Hathor), known also as Aphrodite (Venus). [More about the Egyptian-Hispanic musical heritage in chapter 14.]
Flamenco
In Ancient Egypt. there were priestess-dancers who bear a quite striking resemblance to flamenco dancers. The upraised arms, the evident grace and movement, and the long, flounced skirts of these four Egyptian dancers remind us strongly of their modern counterparts. The famous snake priestess from Ancient Egypt wears a similarly flounced skirt, holds her snake-extended arms aloft as a dancer does, and wears a transfixed expression on her face. The sinuosity of snakes and the sinuosity of the arms and hands in flamenco are analogous.
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