Gipsies' Hamlets in Shumen Scince the Beginning of the 19th Century till Our Days

Abstract

The first historical references for Gipsies and their hamlets in Shumen(also Shumla, Shumna) were found in the short story of Barbié du Bocage, back at the beginning of the 19th century. In 1810 Gipsies not only live in Shumen but they have settled. Listing the 27 hamlets in Shumen Barbié du Bocage makes a specific reference to the Gipsy colony- Chingjane mahalesi, located in the north-west part of the city and next to ,,Chiftoluka’’(The Jewish neighbourhood). The Gipsies have had an active membership in this craftsman trade. They have become Muslims. The Gipsies have been taxed with the Kaptian Vergisi (value added tax). The activities Gipsies have been mainly involved to earn a living were tinsmith’s trade, basket-making, horse-selling, begging, sorcery, thefts. Mostly they have been noted as musicians( Sazande), military staff or as ,,self- employed’’ persons. In the statistical data for population census of Bulgaria from 1st January 1888, 60 people in the town of Shumen have been specified as persons whose mother tongue was Romany. There are two Gipsy hamlets in Shumen to date. One of them ,,Bjalata prust’’(,,Mlada Gvardija’’), where representatives of ,,Horahane Roma’’(turkish Gipsies, Muslims) and a little bit of DasikaneRoma (bulgarian Gipsies, Christians) live and a second one called ,,Vitosha’’(,,Bojan Bulgaranov’’), where the so called Charale or Kjuldzhi (master chefs) live. Since the end of the Second World War till the present day the life of Gipsies in Shumen undergoes various policies of the ruling BCP(Bulgaria Communist Party). So according to both internal and external factors periods of full recognition of the national and cultural identity of Gipsies alternate with periods of their complete denial and belonging to the so called socialist nation. From both Gipsy hamlets there have been some people to stand out- the so called ,,pioneer’’ activists of the Gipsy movement in Shumen. Thanks to them a Cultural Education Roma Organization has been established two times in the same city- in 1946 and 1966. During the Seventies and the Eighties of the 20th century they have also developed contacts with the International Roma Union. Two times some ensembles have been also established in order to promote and popularize the Gipsy music and culture. Despite repressions of Gipsy activists they have used their influence over the Gipsy population in the town of Shumen and have interceded with the authority to obtain financial resources for improving the lives of people who have lived in the hamlets at that time. This leaded to the providing of water and sanitation infrastructure in ,,Bjalata prust’’; a permanently updated record system of the unemployed has been made and they have been provided with work places. New housing has been built in ,,Vitosha’’ and the whole infrastructure of this neighbourhood has been also improved. After 1989, in spite of all strategies and programmes for working with the Gipsy population the life of the people living in those hamlets has not changed a lot. Today the number of 96 Gipsies in Shumen have decreased because many of them could not stand the social and political crisis after 1989 and have left Bulgaria.

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