Finding My Gypsy Soul

Gypsy. You've all heard the word. Some of you may even think you know a thing or two about gypsies. You probably don't. I used to think I did...until now.

I've been attempting to research my family for years. A major stumbling block was always my great-grandfather Albert. He came to the US in the late 19th century. One would think that finding a ship passenger registry with his family listed would be relatively easy in this day and age. Not so.

Here's the problem. My great-grandfather used an assumed name in the US until just prior to his marriage to my great-grandmother Lizzie Nauman. The story I was always told by my grandmother and great aunts was that just before their wedding, Albert told Lizzie he had to confess something to her. Meyer, the name he had been living under, was not his real name. His reasons for using it were never clear. He informed her that his true name was Zigan and he would understand if she didn't want to marry a Zigan.

OK, I never understood that. I don't think that my grandmother and/or her siblings understood it either. However, in doing my research, I think I've solved the mystery. In my research I kept coming upon a term: antiziganism. In short, it means anti-gypsy. The story of my great-grandfather's surname started to make sense!

Gypsies (or the Romani people) have been despised for centuries. One legend has it that they were cursed for harboring the baby Jesus. Another has it that they made the nails used to crucify him. Both can be pretty much discounted as the true Rom most likely came from India (very likely of the Jat people...traceable via a rare form of glaucoma that seems to effect only the Jat and the Rom). No...we're not Egyptian either.

The Rom are nomadic. My family has a long history of it's members being reticent to settle anywhere. Even I, having lived in my home for 22 years now...I often feel drawn to move on. The Rom have always been outcasts...outsiders...another feeling that I'm all too familiar with. Even among my peers, I always come across as the odd man out. Could this just be my natural state? If so, I'm happy to finally have a reason!

In my research, I've found that the family name, Zigan, probably comes from Hungary (who knew? I was always told I was German through and through!). Coming from Hungary, this means that we come from the Sinti people of Europe, most probably from the Estraxarja ("from Austria").

In short, to most, I am still just an American. Fat, uncouth, uncultured & classless like the rest. That said, the more I research this probably branch of the family, the more I recognize. The music feels familiar to me. My own music has often had some of the qualities of Romani music. My song "The Nightstalker" in particular has a very "gypsy" feel.  When in the UK, I spent a brief bit of time with the Travellers, who are yet another branch of the Romani tree.

The Rom live their own way. I, too, have always lived my own way. I can hear many now arguing that many do this...but in my case, it has always just been how I am. I've never felt the need to "fit in" or to conform. Perhaps this is an inborn trait I share with my distant Romani bloodlines.

You may call us what you will. Be it Zigan, Cigan, Ijito, Gitano, Cikán, Sigøjner, Zigeuner, Mustlane, Dyipsi, Mustalainen, Gitan, Xitano, Cigány, Sígauni, Gipsi, Zingaro, čigānu, čigonų, żingara, Sigøyner, Cygan, Cigano, țigan, Ciganka, Zigenare, Çingene, Sipsiwn, Sinti or "gypsy", we are who we are. Time has not erased us. No culture has erased us. Even Hitler could not erase us.

I find great comfort in finding this missing piece to my own personal puzzle. Thank you to my great-grandfather, Albert J. Zigan, for coming forward to his bride-to-be and asking her acceptance...and an even greater thank you to my great-grandmother Lizzie for accepting him. In that time, to marry a man who was for all intents and purposes, a gypsy...and outsider...took great courage...and love. Those are two traits I like to believe that I share.

I have much more research to do on this subject. Each answer I find opens up more questions. The journey for this knowledge is fascinating and self-fulfilling. I hope that each person reading this can find the same fascination with their own blood.



For anyone interested, here's a photo of my great-grandfather Albert J. Zigan (center) with his father-in-law Michael Nauman, my great-grandmother Elizabeth (Lizzie) Zigan, and one of their 13 children. It's great to finally have some history to go with these faces that I've viewed for 46 years and recognize as family!