MATERIAL CULTURE AND ETHNIC IDENTITY OF THE
ROMA/GYPSIES
(RESEARCH IN THE DOBRUDZHA REGION – BULGARIA AND
ROMANIA)
Yelis Erolova
ILV at Babes-Bolyai University – Romania, PhD student at Ethnographical Institute with
Museum – Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, e-mail: kham@abv.bg
Objectives
Marie Curie SocAnth
Researching on:
•The correlations between material culture and ethnic identity of
the Roma/Gypsies
•The changes and continity in the Roma/Gypsy material culture
•The constructing of ethnic self-identification of the
Roma/Gypsies in the spheres of their material culture
Results
Research methodology
Area: Dobrudzha - geographical crossborder region of Southeastern Romania
and Northeastern Bulgaria; Period: 2007 April-June – in so-called South
Dobrudzha (Bulgaria), 2007 October-December – in so-called North
Dobrudzha (Romania;
Respondents: Representatives of different Gypsy groups living in Dobrudzha –
Kalderaši, Ursari, Rudari, so-called Silk Gypsies (Tsigani de matase), Turkish
and Tatar Gypsies. They are with different age, social, family, educational and
professional characteristics; Collecting of information: Methods of
ethnographical field research: intensive participant observation, formalized and
non-formalized interviews, conversations, photographing and audio recording;
Analysis of the collected information: The collected information is analyzed by
functional, typological, comparative-historical approaches. I research the labour
occupations, house, dress, food, private transport as common elements of
material culture of the different divisions and subdivisions of the Gypsy
community. The focus is mainly on their functions. Apart from the utilitarian
functions, they have social and ethnic ones or play a role as markers of
ethnocultural self-identification. I examine how the elements of material culture
are changing in the time with respect to their forms and functions. In the same
time I compare the situation of Gypsies living in both parts of Dobrudzha, and
how it is influenced by the socio-political and economy conditions in Bulgaria
and Romania.
The research project results
include presentation of:
¾Traditional and modern elements of Roma/
Gypsy material culture (labor occupations, house,
dress, food and private transport) as markers for Gypsy
and other ( prefered Romanian, Turkish and Tatar)
ethnic identity.
¾The purity, beauty and authority notions as main
values in Gypsy identity and their influence on
the material culture.
¾The Constructing of Gypsy identity on
group/subgroup level. A maintaining of
ethnic boundaries.
Conclusion
The Roma/Gypsies are using different markers in
their ethno cultural self-identification. The
construction of their identity is a dynamic process
which includes preservation of the traditions and the
spreading new elements of material culture. In future
this process will lead to changes and will create new
variable ethnic boundaries.
References
Barth, Fredrik (ed.) 1969. Ethnic Groups and Boundaries. Boston:
Little, Brown and Co.
Genchev, Stoyan. 1989. Terennoto etnografsko izsledvane.
[The Field Ethnographic Research]. Veliko Tarnovo.
Marushiakova, Elena&Popov, Vesselin. 2001. Gypsies in the Ottoman Empire.
Hatfield: University of Hertfordshire Press.
Acknowledgement
This research project has been supported by a Marie Curie Early Stage Research Training Fellowship of the
European Community’s Sixth Framework Programme under contract number MEST-CT-2005-020702
within the project European Partnership for Qualitative Research Training (Social Anthropology)
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/mariecuriesocanth/