The Tuatha'an are a play on the real life Roma (or Gypsies as they've been called in the past) who travel in wagons and who were unjustly looked down upon by societies of the time. They are also a reference to the Tuatha De Danann in Irish legend, who were a race of people who settled in Ireland.
The Tuatha'an also directly reference the Irish Travellers, who were commonly called Tinkers by the settled population.
In the episode Dana makes an implication that Rand and Mat are in a sexual relationship. However in the books this is not the case at all and no such implication is made by any characters.