GANEIDA'S KNOT.

Go mbeannai Dia duit.

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Quaker by conviction, mother by default, Celticst through love, Christ follower because I once was lost but now am found...

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Sailor...

'Only human beings have motives, so they alone can be cruel.' Romani quote

Sometimes I am lucky & what Ditz wants to learn runs in tandem with things that interest me but our study on the Romany has been sidetracking me more than usual.

For starters I thought Kubla Khan was a figment of Coleridge's drug induced imagination but in fact the man really existed. He was a grandson of Genghis Khan, that ferocious Mongolian tartar ~ which is important to know because at the end of his reign his troops [& those of Mahmud of Ghanzi whom I'd never even heard of {sultan of Afghanistan in the 900s}] were rabbiting about north west India at the mouth of the Indus river where an Aryan people of the Sind lived a semi~nomadic life. Aryan life being more important than other life [echos of Hitler?] the Sind emigrated east & west & up into Armenia & Turkey spreading slowly throughout Europe over the next 400 years. Ok, they aren't sure why the Sind emigrated but they do know from linguistic evidence & DNA that the present day Romany Gypsy is descended from the Sind ~ & the time frame is about right.

I could be sidetracked forever just on the first bit but Ditz, as was only to be expected, declared this fascinating insight boring. Unfortunately for Ditz I happen to think a little background knowledge is important but knowing Ditz diverted into finding out about the traditional vardo {wagon} ~ only to find it is not so traditional & has only been in use for about 150 years & is now usually replaced with motorised transport. I was mesmerized for hours clicking on all the images of gorgeous wagons. I can't help it. I'm a visual learner.

Hopefully I can find some useful stuff on Romany music as well. That is sure to interest Ditz, especially if I can show her the link to some famous composers. Nothing like studying something you know nothing about to find out how little you know about anything! And I know very little at all about music history. And this, folks, is why I love homeschooling!

10 comments:

Happy Elf Mom (Christine) said...

"replaced with motorised transport" is a fancy way of saying "trailers," right?

seekingmyLord said...

Love homeschooling...? You? Nah! ;)

Ganeida said...

Seeking, you joker, you! ☺

mrsC: Um, not sure. Not out here. A trailer is a small box on wheels; no top. More like a bus for living in rather than a caravan ~ if caravan is the term you use. Mobile home? There was a reason I chose the term I did! ☺

The HoJo's said...

In the UK gypsies have modern caravans pulled by sometimes dodgy old motors and sometimes by fancy 4by4's. Some stay on sites built by the government to stop them settling on private land, some have bought their own land and firmly plant their vans there permanently. Lots of other permutations I am sure. I have seen a couple of horsedrawn traditional vans parked on a green slip off the road, usually younger 'hippy' types in those though rather than traditional gypsies.

xc

Ganeida said...

Hojos, anything *real* you can share would be hugely appreciated.

Anonymous said...

Hi Ganeida,
Anything musical will be much appreciated by Ditz, I'm sure. ☺
Blessings,
Jillian
<><

Sandra said...

I say, you certainly do travel around in your studies! Ditz doesn't know you are schooling yourself and she is along for the ride. : )

Ganeida said...

Thanks Jillian. Ditz isn't waxing enthusiastic about any of it at present despite the fact *she* chose this.

Sandra! Would I do that to my child?! Actually it's not quite as random as it looks. We use a history spine that timelines all the major cultures so when we do something specific like this Ditz has to see how it fits into the bigger picture. She is quite good at doing this without all the school time stuff but we do have to be able to show what she's doing. *sigh* Her research skills are pretty good but this one is harder as a. not a lot of verifiable data abounds & b. Ditz was googling the wrong terms. She is better googling Romany than Gypsy so I did a lot of the initial stuff.

Sandra said...

I think I was not clear. I know Ditz's education is foremost, but her mother's unending curiosity delves in much further than normally would happen. Then Ditz gets taken along as mum goes further. In the end she will thank you!

Ganeida said...

lol Sandra ☺ I just took the opportunity to expand & I'm not holding my breath on thanks from Ditz! Pity I'm not as curious about math. Man, do I hate that subject!!!!