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Turkish Roma

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The Turkish Roma, also referred to as Turkish Gypsy, Türk Çingeneler, Turski Tsigani (турски цигани), Turkogifti (τουρκο-γύφτοι), Țigani turci, Török Cigányok, Turci Cigani[1] are self-Turkified and assimilated Muslim Roma (Horahane) who have adopted Turkish culture over the centuries,[2] including adopting the Turkish language and used to speak the Rumelian Romani language. They adopted Turkish culture in order to establish a Turkish identity to become more recognized by the host population[3] and have denied their Romani background[4] to express their Turkishness. During a population census, they declared themselves as Turks instead of Roma. While they have always been allowed to live in Turkish communities as Turks, they face economic discrimination and have conflicting views among Turks while Christian Romani do not consider themselves as part of Romani society.[5][6] They are cultural Muslims who adopted Sunni Islam of Hanafi madhab and religious male circumcision at the time of the Anatolian Seljuk Sultanate and Ottoman Empire.

Their legendary leader was Mansur ibn Yakub Han, called Çingene Han. He built his karavansaray in Malatya in 1224. Today it can still be seen as a ruin. Mansur bin Yakup Han is buried in the Ulu Mosque in Malatya.[7]

History

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Hamza al-Isfahani wrote about 12,000 musicians from India who was taken by Bahram Gur to Persia,[8] also did Ferdowsi.[9] Evliya Çelebi told that Mehmed II take after 1453 from Balat, Muslim Gypsies to Istanbul, their descendants became musicians.[10] They spoke only Turkish with very few Romani words in their jargon.[11] They migrated from Anatolia to Marmara Region and finally settled in the Balkans at the time of the Ottoman Empire. The Greek Doctor A. G. Paspati made the statement in his book from 1860, that Turks married often Roma women and the Rumelian Romani dialect is nearly lost by the Muslim Turkish Roma, who speak entirely Turkish.[12] Ernest Gilliat-Smith, explained in 1915, that this Turkish Roma in Bulgaria can not speak Romani language, and compared them with very poor Turks rather than Romani people. The French orientalist Henri Bourgeois referred to the Turkish Roma as Pseudo Chingiane, especially the newspaper Laço who was published in 1910 by Emin Resa.[13] Indeed, there are people in Edirne who are not Romani people at all but are still said to be Çingene (Gypsies) Their story is as follows: In the Ottoman Empire, some families who saw military service as risky and did not want to send their sons as Soldiers, saw no problem to take a Gypsy (Coptic) identity for registration their population, because they knew that Gypsies were not recruited as combatants, until 1874 when equal rights with other Muslims was given for Muslim Roma. These families still continued to appear as Gypsies in the records.[14] In the past, there were also classified groups of Turks as "Gypsies" or "Tatars" in Bulgaria.[15]

Settlements and migration

[edit]

The majority of Turkish Roma live in Turkey, but also significant Turkish Roma communities live in Bulgaria, Greece (Western Thrace), North Macedonia, Northern Cyprus, in lesser case Romania (Dobruja) and Kosovo.[16] In East Thrace -Turkey, they are called Şopar. The meaning of the name comes from the Rumelian Romani and has different meanings.[17][18]

A small Muslim Turkish Roma community live in Dobruja in Romania. They are the descendants of Muslim Roma who intermingled with Turks at the time of Ottoman Empire[19] Romanian Christian Roma Groups regard them simply as Turks (term for Muslims) and are distinct from them.[20][21]

In Western Thrace, Greece, in cities like Alexandroupoli (Dedeağaç) – Komotini (Gümülcine) – Xanthi (İskeçe), Muslim Roma called Turko-Gifti, (i.e. such as Sepečides or Sevljara and Kalpazaja who are Turkish speaking.[22][23]

In Northern Cyprus there are Turkish speaking Gypsies, who are very close to them in Turkey and West Thrace in Greece.[24][25]

In Kosovo lives a Turkish Roma community named Divanjoldjije. They are named after there original settlement where they once came from, the Divanyolu Street in Istanbul, and settled in Pristina at the time of the Ottoman Kosovo.[26]

Romanlar in Turkey came to Germany and Austria and other European Countries as Gastarbeiter but they are fully assimilated within the Turks in Europe.[27][28]

In North Macedonia, in the cities of Skopje, Kočani, Štip, and Veles, North Macedonia, there live Turkish Gypsies. They do not live in Roma quarters but together with the host population. Several families emigrated to Turkey in 1953–1968. They and there descendants are accepted fully as Turks.[29]

Since Bulgaria became Member in the European Union, Turkish Roma who call themselves Usta Millet and Mehter from Bulgaria went to West Europe as Workers, many of this Turkish Roma men married Polish women.[30] This Offsprings called Melezi (Halfblood), a Turkish Loanword.[31] Self-Identification of Bulgarian Muslim Roma Youth in Berlin shows to pretend to be Turkish 97%, while only 3% to be Romani.[32]

At the Greek War of Independence, Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) and Balkan Wars (1912–1913), Muslim Roma flee together with other different Muslim Groups to Istanbul and East Thrace, as Muhacir.[33]

At the population exchange between Greece and Turkey, Muslim Turkish Roma from Greece have also been resettled in Turkey. In Turkish, they are called Mübadil Romanlar.[34][35][36][37][38]

According to the 1925 Convention, between Bulgaria and Turkey, Muslims allowed to leave Bulgaria. A special characteristic example of this are the Turkish gypsies of the Veliko Tarnovo district, who entered in the Bulgarian registers by nationality, "Turks" emigrated to Turkey. In 1950–1951 Muslim Turkish Roma from Bulgaria came to Turkey and settled in Çanakkale and surroundings.[39]

From 1953 -1968, Muslim Turkish Roma from Yugoslavia emigrated to Turkey.[40][41]

Genetics

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The following Y-Dna haplogroups were found in Turkey, while 26.5% indicates the Haplogroup M (mtDNA). The few % of Y-DNA L and H indicate Proto Romani paternal line because the other Y-DNA are all also found in Non-Roma Men. Since there was a mixture of peoples from different backgrounds in the Ottoman Empire. This confirms Paspati's statement, see above.[42]

  • I2a (20%)
  • J2a (18.4%)
  • R2a (17.1%)
  • O3-M122 (15.6%)
  • R1b (14.9%)
  • E1b (14.3%)
  • R1a (12.1%)
  • C-RPS4Y (8.5%)
  • L-M20 (4,21%)
  • H-M82 (0,57%)

Turkish Roma cuisine

[edit]

'Romani cuisine' in Turkey is an important proof that Turkish Romani have lived in Anatolia since ancient times, the culinary culture of the Turkish Romanis has seriously affected the rich cuisine of Anatolia.[43]

Music and Dance

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Their Turkish music (style) is known for its special 8/9 rhythm and Belly dance performance.[44][45]

Culture

[edit]

In Turkey, the festival of Kakava is hold in Edirne and the belief in a savior named Baba fingo are part of the Roma culture.[46] Turkish Roma usually marry their relatives at a young age, boys usually between 15 and 19 years old and girls between 13 and 17 years old. Polygamy is also widespread. It is not uncommon for a man to have up to 7-11 wives. The morality of the behavior deps on the social standing of the partner, not gender per se. Both women and young men are considered normal objects of desire, but outside marriage a man was supposed to act on his desires with only non-romani woman.[47][48].Homosexual sex is fine as long as you were the penetrator or 'active' partner.[49] However, only the penetrated by another man is seen as Gay and called Bujashi. This view was adopted by Turkish culture.[50] Likewise, the pederasty of an older man to a younger one was adopted from the Ottoman period.[51] It is not uncommon for oil wrestlers to be of Turkish Roma descent and they hope to escape from their misery by doing so.[52] Boys are circumcised between the ages of 3-7, and a festival called bijav sunet is held. A so-called kirvo (godfather) is also very important[53][54].The kirvo is the person who will support the boy during the circumcision ceremony.[55]

Religion

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In the Western Balkans, a unique so-called Romani Islam has developed over time.[56] In Turkey at Üsküdar an own Romani Sufi Order was established the so called Gulsheni Sezai order.[57]

In Bulgaria since the 1990, Through evangelical Christian missionaries, a few Turkish Roma have become evangelical Christians.[58]

See also

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References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Muzulmán romák: "török cigányok" és "tisztátalanok"?".
  2. ^ Ülker, Erol (11 January 2008). "Assimilation of the Muslim communities in the first decade of the Turkish Republic (1923-1934)". European Journal of Turkish Studies. 36. doi:10.4000/ejts.822.
  3. ^ Yılgür, Egemen (1 January 2021). "Turcoman Gypsies in the Balkans: Just a Preferred Identity or More?". Romani History and Culture Festschrift in Honour of Prof. Dr. Veselin Popov / Hristo Kyuchukov, Sofiya Zahova, Ian Duminica. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
  4. ^ Ozatesler, G.; Özate?ler, Gül (2014). Gypsy Stigma and Exclusion in Turkey, 1970: The Social Dynamics of Exclusionary Violence. Palgrave Macmillan US. ISBN 978-1-137-38661-8.[page needed]
  5. ^ "The Muslim Gypsies in Romania". Scholarypublications.universiteitleiden.nl. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  6. ^ Ünaldı, Halime (1 January 2012). "TÜRKİYE'DE YAŞAYAN KÜLTÜREL BİR FARKLILIK: ÇİNGENELER". Batman Üniversitesi Yaşam Bilimleri Dergisi. 1 (1): 615–626.
  7. ^ "Chingene Han".
  8. ^ Bahram V. Gur
  9. ^ Bahram V. Gur
  10. ^ "THE GYPSIES OF ISTANBUL | History of Istanbul".
  11. ^ "Romani and Turkish". 'Was ich noch sagen wollte…': A multilingual Festschrift for Norbert Boretzky on occasion of his 65th birthday. 2001. pp. 303–326. doi:10.1515/9783050079851-022. ISBN 978-3-05-007985-1.
  12. ^ Paspati, A. G.; Hamlin, C. (1860). "Memoir on the Language of the Gypsies, as Now Used in the Turkish Empire". Journal of the American Oriental Society. 7: 143–270. doi:10.2307/592158. JSTOR 592158.
  13. ^ Marushiakova, Elena; Popov, Vesselin (2021). "Ottoman Empire". Roma Writings. pp. 23–33. doi:10.30965/9783657705207_004. hdl:10023/27175. ISBN 978-3-657-70520-7.
  14. ^ https://turkiyeninsesleri.com/2011/05/07/me-cingene-asaleti/
  15. ^ https://www.acarindex.com/pdfler/acarindex-1929-9174.pdf
  16. ^ Kolukirik, Suat; Toktaş, Şule (September 2007). "Turkey's Roma: Political participation and organization". Middle Eastern Studies. 43 (5): 761–777. doi:10.1080/00263200701422675. S2CID 143772218.
  17. ^ "Şopar Ne Demek, Ne Anlama Gelir? Şopar Kelimesi TDK Sözlük Anlamı Nedir?- Habertürk". 12 April 2023.
  18. ^ "Kubbealti Lugati - %C5%9Fopar kelimesi anlamı, %C5%9Fopar nedir?".
  19. ^ Grigore, George. "George Grigore. "Muslims in Romania", ISIM Newsletter (International Institute for the Study of Islam in the Modern World) no. 3, Leiden. 1999: 34".
  20. ^ Cupcea, Adriana (2020). "Remembering and being. The memories of communist life in a Turkish Muslim Roma community in Dobruja (Romania)". Balkanologie. 15. doi:10.4000/balkanologie.2497. S2CID 230699431.
  21. ^ "The Muslim Gypsies in Romania". Scholarypublications.universiteitleiden.nl. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
  22. ^ Marushiakova, Elena; Popov, Vesselin (2016). "Roma Culture: Problems and Challenges". Roma Culture: Myths and Realities. Munich: Lincom Academic Publisher. pp. 35–64. ISBN 9783862886845.
  23. ^ Popov, Vesselin; Marushiakova, Elena. "Roma Muslims in the Balkans". rm.coe.int.
  24. ^ https://www.ekathimerini.com/news/1705/the-gypsies-of-cyprus-struggle-on/
  25. ^ "Roma flee Turkish-occupied Northern Cyprus; anti-Gypsyism breaks out in the South".
  26. ^ Anderson, Bobby (September 2003). "Who We Were, Who We Are: Kosovo Roma Oral Histories".
  27. ^ Kolukırık, Suat (2007). "Köln şehri ve çevresinde yaşayan çingeneler: Genel bir değerlendirme". Çingeneler: yeryüzünün yabancıları (in Turkish). Simurg. ISBN 978-975-7172-94-9.[page needed]
  28. ^ Mihaela Zatreanu; Dieter W. Halwachs. "Romani in Europe" (PDF).
  29. ^ Kamusella, Tomasz; Nomachi, Motoki; Gibson, Catherine (29 April 2016). The Palgrave Handbook of Slavic Languages, Identities and Borders. Springer. ISBN 9781137348395.
  30. ^ "Turkish Roma from Bulgaria and their Migration to Poland by ERSTE Foundation - Issuu". 3 November 2014.
  31. ^ Hristo Kyuckuhov (1998). "Turkish and Armenian Loanwords in Bulgarian Romani". Grazer Linguistische Studien (50).
  32. ^ https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Self-Identification-of-Bulgarian-Muslim-Roma-Youth-in-Berlin_fig5_348586333
  33. ^ "Expulsion and Emigration of the Muslims from the Balkans". Ieg-ego.eu.
  34. ^ Zeynep BİLGEHAN (11 March 2019). "Mübadil Romanların az bilinen hikâyesi". Hurriyet.com.tr.
  35. ^ "Unutulan Mübadil Romanlar: 'Toprağın kovduğu insanlar'". Kronos34.news. 7 February 2021.
  36. ^ "GEÇMİŞİN AYNASINDA LOZAN ÇİNGENELERİ: GÖÇ, HATIRA VE DENEYİMLER" (PDF). Sdergi.hacettepe.edu.tr. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  37. ^ "Sepečides Romani-Project : History" (PDF). Rombase.uni-graz.at. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  38. ^ Yilgür, Egemen (December 2015). "Ethnicity, class and politicisation: Immigrant Roma tobacco workers in Turkey". Romani Studies. 25 (2): 167–196. doi:10.3828/rs.2015.7. S2CID 146293564.
  39. ^ Mithat ATABAY. "Çingene Sorunu ve 1950–1951 Yıllarında Bulgaristan'dan Çanakkale'ye Göçler" (PDF). Acarindex.com. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  40. ^ Nikolina Rajkovic. "The Post-Second World War Immigration of the Yugoslav Muslims to Turkey (1953–1968)" (PDF). Etd.ceu.edu. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  41. ^ Pezo, Edvin (2018). "Emigration and Policy in Yugoslavia: Dynamics and Constraints within the Process of Muslim Emigration to Turkey during the 1950s". European History Quarterly. 48 (2): 283–313. doi:10.1177/0265691418757391. S2CID 149846476.
  42. ^ Kars, M. Ece; Başak, A. Nazlı; Onat, O. Emre; Bilguvar, Kaya; Choi, Jungmin; Itan, Yuval; Çağlar, Caner; Palvadeau, Robin; Casanova, Jean-Laurent; Cooper, David N.; Stenson, Peter D.; Yavuz, Alper; Buluş, Hakan; Günel, Murat; Friedman, Jeffrey M.; Özçelik, Tayfun (7 September 2021). "The genetic structure of the Turkish population reveals high levels of variation and admixture". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 118 (36): e2026076118. Bibcode:2021PNAS..11826076K. doi:10.1073/pnas.2026076118. PMC 8433500. PMID 34426522.
  43. ^ https://lezzetler.com/roman-yemekleri-vf110.
  44. ^ "Istanbul – Gypsy Music – Pulse of the Planet".
  45. ^ "Turkish Gypsy Style & Belly Dance Lessons in Istanbul".
  46. ^ "Roma culture comes alive with celebration of Baba Fingo". Daily Sabah. 4 May 2018.
  47. ^ Ozkan, Ali Rafet (September 2006). "Marriage among the Gypsies of Turkey". The Social Science Journal. 43 (3): 461–470. doi:10.1016/j.soscij.2006.04.003.
  48. ^ http://phdthesis.uaic.ro/PhDThesis/Rusu%20(Moc%C4%83nasu),%20Daniela,%20Mentalities%20and%20social%20changes%20in%20the%20multiethnic%20communities%20of%20the%20Romanian%20post-communism.pdf
  49. ^ ""I Am Romani and I Am Gay: This is My Life Split Between Two Worlds" | Il Grande Colibrì". 5 May 2021.
  50. ^ "How to Prove a Turk is Gay". The Atlantic. 6 December 2010.
  51. ^ https://ozgunkabacaoglu.medium.com/pederasty-in-the-ottoman-empire-fbd28ece1ad0
  52. ^ "Weltspiegel: Türkei: Mit dem Ringkampf raus aus dem Elend - hier anschauen".
  53. ^ https://www.folklore.ee/folklore/vol80/novik.pdf
  54. ^ https://rroma.org/traditions/family-traditions/
  55. ^ https://turkishstudies.net/turkishstudies?mod=makale_ing_ozet&makale_id=19403
  56. ^ "Gypsy-Islam. Ethnographic research on religion in the Western Balkans[Henning Schwanke] – Eudora-Verlag Leipzig".
  57. ^ https://openaccess.ihu.edu.tr/entities/publication/e1a30a67-8c9b-473d-bbab-422fe0578ec2/full
  58. ^ https://rocprints.rockcentre.org/154/
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