2025 Gypsy Lore Society Annual Meeting and
Conference on Romani Studies – Conference Book

Aurore Tirard

► To cite this version:

Aurore Tirard. 2025 Gypsy Lore Society Annual Meeting and Conference on Romani Studies – Conference Book. Gypsy Lore Society Annual Meeting and Conference on Romani Studies, Sep 2025, Campus Condorcet - Auberviliers, France. Paris: Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales; Bratislava: Institute of Ethnology and Social Anthropology SAS, 2025, 978-80-69127-07-4. 10.31577/2025.9788069127074. hal-05510812

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Distributed under a Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 - Attribution - International License
CONFERENCE BOOK

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ANNUAL MEETING OF THE GYPSY LORE SOCIETY
CONFERENCE ON ROMANI STUDIES
PARIS, 2025

24-25-26, SEPTEMBER 2025
CAMPUS CONDORCET (AUBERVILLIERS)

© Photo Matéo Maximoff
2025 GYPSY LORE SOCIETY ANNUAL MEETING AND
CONFERENCE ON ROMANI STUDIES – CONFERENCE BOOK

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2025 Gypsy Lore Society Annual Meeting and Conference on
Romani Studies – Conference Book

Published and printed by © Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales

65 rue des Grands Moulins, 75013 Paris, France

https://www.inalco.fr/

And by © Institute of Ethnology and Social Anthropology, Slovak Academy of Sciences

Klemensova 19, Bratislava, 813 64, Slovak Republic

www.uesa.sav.sk

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). This publication is open access and cannot be sold in any form.

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Edited and laid-out by © Aurore TIRARD

Reviewed by © Elena MARUSHIAKOVA and Juraj MAJO

Cover illustration designed by © Leny MAUDUIT, Adèle SUTRE and Aurore TIRARD

Logo designed by © Vincent DEVILLARD

Abstracts peer-reviewed by Elena MARUSHIAKOVA, Tatiana ZACHAR PODOLINSKÁ, Julieta ROTARU, Aurore TIRARD and Adèle SUTRE

© October 2025, Paris

ISBN 978-80-69127-07-4 (online: pdf)

DOI: https://doi.org/10.31577/2025.9788069127074
THE GYPSY LORE SOCIETY

CAMPUS
CONDORCET

PARIS - AUBERVILLIERS

أصريت национален شبه文化 شرقية
inalco

Institut national
des langues
et civilisations orientales

FNASSAI GENS DU VOYAGE

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Institut Convergences
Migrations

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**Institute of Ethnology**
**and Social Anthropology**
Slovak Academy of Sciences

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**Médiathèque**
**Matéo Maximoff**
Table of contents

<table><tr><td>Organisers</td><td>13</td></tr><tr><td>Academic Committee</td><td>13</td></tr><tr><td>Conference Organising Committee</td><td>13</td></tr><tr><td>Institutions</td><td>14</td></tr><tr><td>Introduction</td><td>15</td></tr><tr><td>Gypsy Lore Society, its Annual Meetings and Conferences</td><td>15</td></tr><tr><td>Previous GLS Conferences 1979–2025</td><td>16</td></tr><tr><td>Programme</td><td>17</td></tr><tr><td>Opening word</td><td>27</td></tr><tr><td>ZACHAR PODOLINSKÁ Tatiana</td><td>27</td></tr><tr><td>Keynote speakers</td><td>33</td></tr><tr><td>HORVÁTHOVÁ Jana</td><td>33</td></tr><tr><td>OLIVERA Martin</td><td>34</td></tr><tr><td>VITALE Tommaso</td><td>35</td></tr><tr><td>Pre-Arranged Panels</td><td>37</td></tr><tr><td>Pre-Arranged Panel 1: RomIs: History and Ethnography of Roma in Iceland</td><td>37</td></tr><tr><td>HÁLFDÁNARSON Guðmundur</td><td>38</td></tr><tr><td>SOLIMENE Marco</td><td>39</td></tr><tr><td>KRISTJÁNSDÓTTIR Jasmín</td><td>40</td></tr><tr><td>SUIU Adriana</td><td>41</td></tr><tr><td>ZAHOVA Sofiya</td><td>42</td></tr><tr><td>Pre-Arranged Panel 2: Re-ethnicization of Roma religious culture: navigating between heritage and innovation</td><td>43</td></tr><tr><td>POVEDÁK Kinga &amp; Helena Mária VARGA</td><td>44</td></tr><tr><td>POVEDÁK István</td><td>45</td></tr><tr><td>KRISTON Lili</td><td>46</td></tr><tr><td>Pre-Arranged Panel 3: Historicity, Migration and Origin of Roma: Indian and Iranian Perspective</td><td>47</td></tr><tr><td>ANWAR Mohammad Zameer</td><td>48</td></tr><tr><td>SINHA Rimjhim</td><td>49</td></tr><tr><td>Open Panels</td><td>51</td></tr><tr><td>Open Panel 1: Roma in and from Ukraine</td><td>51</td></tr></table>
<table><tbody><tr><td>DREWS-SYLLA Gesine</td><td>53</td></tr><tr><td>HAJSKÁ Markéta</td><td>54</td></tr><tr><td>MARUSHIAKOVA Elena & Veselin POPOV</td><td>56</td></tr><tr><td>McDONAGH Mary Leonie, Karin WHITE & Grainne KETELAAR</td><td>57</td></tr><tr><td>Open Panel 2: Religiosity, Spirituality and Non-religiosity among the Roma</td><td>58</td></tr><tr><td>CHERNYKH Aleksandr V.</td><td>60</td></tr><tr><td>CLANET DIT LAMANIT Elisabeth</td><td>61</td></tr><tr><td>CLANET DIT LAMANIT Elisabeth & Aurore TIRARD</td><td>62</td></tr><tr><td>MAJO Juraj & Tatiana ZACHAR PODOLINSKÁ</td><td>63</td></tr><tr><td>ROHT-YILMAZ Eva-Liisa</td><td>64</td></tr><tr><td>SLAVKOVA Magdalena</td><td>65</td></tr><tr><td>VAIMAN Dmitry I.</td><td>66</td></tr><tr><td>ZACHAR PODOLINSKÁ Tatiana</td><td>67</td></tr><tr><td>Open Panel 3: Roma Slavery in the Romanian Principalities: New Contributions and Perspectives on Historical Dependencies, Emancipation, and Legacy</td><td>69</td></tr><tr><td>ACHIM Viorel</td><td>71</td></tr><tr><td>ACTON Thomas</td><td>72</td></tr><tr><td>BEISSINGER Margaret H.</td><td>73</td></tr><tr><td>MOCANU George D.</td><td>74</td></tr><tr><td>MATEI Petre</td><td>75</td></tr><tr><td>PETCUȚ Petre</td><td>76</td></tr><tr><td>ROTARU Julieta</td><td>77</td></tr><tr><td>SÍRBU Tatiana</td><td>78</td></tr><tr><td>Open Panel 4: Book/Book Series/Journal Panel Discussion</td><td>79</td></tr><tr><td>HAJSKÁ Markéta</td><td>80</td></tr><tr><td>MARUSHIAKOVA Elena & Magdalena SLAVKOVA</td><td>81</td></tr><tr><td>MATEI Petre & Julieta ROTARU</td><td>82</td></tr><tr><td>MAUDUIT Leny</td><td>83</td></tr><tr><td>SADÍLKOVÁ Helena & Lada VIKOVÁ</td><td>84</td></tr><tr><td>TIRARD Aurore – with Elisabeth WILLENZ (Notes de Nuit Publisher)</td><td>85</td></tr><tr><td>Open Panel 5: Romaňi čhib the literatura (Romani language and literature)</td><td>86</td></tr><tr><td>AHMED Ibram & Huseyin KYUCHUK</td><td>87</td></tr><tr><td>ČERVENKA Jan</td><td>88</td></tr><tr><td>HILAIRE Chantal</td><td>89</td></tr></tbody></table>
<table>
  <tbody>
    <tr>
      <td>OSLON Mihail</td>
      <td>91</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Open Panel 6: Le Rom ando historickivo taj ando antropologickivo rodimo (Roma in historical and anthropological research)</td>
      <td>92</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>HRUŠKOVÁ Dana E.</td>
      <td>93</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>KOKYOVÁ Iveta</td>
      <td>94</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>PANCHENKO Janush</td>
      <td>95</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>ZBYNĚK Andrš</td>
      <td>97</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Open Panel 7: Teaching Romani literature</td>
      <td>99</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>FRENCH Lorely</td>
      <td>100</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>SKOVAJSA Ondrej &amp; Martin GÁLIS</td>
      <td>101</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>TARNAI Anita</td>
      <td>102</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Individual submissions</td>
      <td>104</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>ÅBERG Kai Viljami</td>
      <td>104</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>ACKOVIĆ Dragoljub †</td>
      <td>105</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>ANDRŠOVÁ Kateřina</td>
      <td>106</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>ANGEBAULT Christophe</td>
      <td>107</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>ANWAR Mohammad Zameer</td>
      <td>108</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>BICZÓ Gábor</td>
      <td>109</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>BLOMQVIST Anders</td>
      <td>110</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>BÓDI Barbara</td>
      <td>111</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>BODNÁROVÁ Zuzana &amp; Márton A. BALÓ</td>
      <td>112</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>BOYCE Melanie, Sophie COKER, Dada FELJA, Margaret GREENFIELDS, Joanna KOSTKA &amp; Chantal RADLEY</td>
      <td>113</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>CALLAHAN Courtney</td>
      <td>114</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>CASA-NOVA Maria José, Maria Alfredo MOREIRA &amp; Daniela SILVA</td>
      <td>115</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>CLARK Colin</td>
      <td>116</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>CLARK Colin, Margaret GREENFIELDS &amp; David SMITH</td>
      <td>117</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>DELIĆ Vesna</td>
      <td>118</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>DEUTSCH James</td>
      <td>119</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>DE VILLIERS Jill</td>
      <td>120</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>DUNAJEVA Jekatyerina</td>
      <td>121</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>EGI Ali</td>
      <td>122</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>GÁLIS Martin</td>
      <td>123</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>GAMELLA Juan</td>
      <td>124</td>
    </tr>
  </tbody>
</table>
<table>
  <tbody>
    <tr>
      <td>GERBERY Daniel &amp; Tomáš MIKLOŠOVIČ</td>
      <td>125</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>GREENFIELDS Margaret, Ryan WOOLRYCH, Judith SIXSMITH, Rosa CISNEROS, Aleksandar MARINOV, Crina MORTEANU, Petr TORAK, Ann HYDE &amp; Gaba SMOLINSKA-POFFLEY</td>
      <td>126</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>HAJNÁCZKY Tamás Attila</td>
      <td>127</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>HOOKER Lynn M.</td>
      <td>128</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>HORVÁTH Nándor Zsolt</td>
      <td>129</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>IWATANI Ayako</td>
      <td>130</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>JOUANNIGOT Isabelle</td>
      <td>131</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>JOUANNIGOT Isabelle &amp; Aurore TIRARD</td>
      <td>133</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>KALININ Valdemar</td>
      <td>135</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>KAMUSELLA Tomasz</td>
      <td>136</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>KEHYA Rahime Özgün</td>
      <td>137</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>KOVATCHEVA Lilyana</td>
      <td>138</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>KYUCHUK Huseyin &amp; Ali EGI</td>
      <td>139</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>LENGYEL Emese</td>
      <td>140</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>MAGANO Olga</td>
      <td>141</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>MAGANO Olga &amp; Fernanda LOPES</td>
      <td>143</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>RICHTÁRIKOVÁ Tereza</td>
      <td>145</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>SILVERMAN Carol</td>
      <td>146</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>SINGH Punita G.</td>
      <td>147</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>ŠKOBLA Daniel &amp; Richard FILČÁK</td>
      <td>148</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>SMITH David, Miranda MILLAN &amp; Sophie COOK</td>
      <td>149</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>STOYANOVA Plamena</td>
      <td>150</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>THEVENIN Candéla</td>
      <td>151</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>TOSI CAMBINI Sabrina</td>
      <td>154</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>TÓTH Norbert</td>
      <td>155</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>VIKOVÁ Lada</td>
      <td>156</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>VOJAK Danijel</td>
      <td>157</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>WAMSIEDEL Marius</td>
      <td>158</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>WATABE Masako</td>
      <td>159</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>WITKOWSKI Maciej &amp; Ewa NOWICKA</td>
      <td>160</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>YILGÜR Egemen</td>
      <td>161</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>ZÁVODSKÁ Milada</td>
      <td>162</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>List of contributors</td>
      <td>164</td>
    </tr>
  </tbody>
</table>
<table><tr><td>Social events</td><td>182</td></tr><tr><td>Book stand</td><td>182</td></tr><tr><td>Exhibition about Matéo Maximoff: A lifetime dedicated to creation and transmission</td><td>186</td></tr><tr><td>Exhibition about the French Travelers</td><td>187</td></tr><tr><td>Screening of Super 8 films by Matéo Maximoff</td><td>188</td></tr><tr><td>Concert</td><td>189</td></tr><tr><td>Practical information</td><td>190</td></tr><tr><td>Conference details</td><td>190</td></tr><tr><td>Condorcet Campus</td><td>190</td></tr><tr><td>City of Aubervilliers and tourism in Paris</td><td>193</td></tr><tr><td>Transportation network</td><td>195</td></tr><tr><td>Where to eat next to the campus</td><td>197</td></tr><tr><td>Accommodation next to the campus</td><td>198</td></tr><tr><td>Médiathèque Matéo Maximoff</td><td>200</td></tr></table>
ORGANISERS

The 2025 Meeting of the Gypsy Lore Society and Conference on Romani Studies are held at the Campus Condorcet in Paris - Aubervilliers, France, from 24 to 27 September 2025.

The meeting and the conference are organised on behalf of the Gypsy Lore Society by the Institut des Langues et Civilisations Orientales (INALCO) in Paris, the Institut Convergences Migrations (ICM) at the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), and the FNASAT Gens du Voyage - Médiathèque “Matéo Maximoff” in Paris.

Contact address: gypsyloreconference2025@gmail.com

Academic Committee

Elena MARUSHIAKOVA, Institute of Ethnology and Social Anthropology at Slovak Academy of Sciences, Slovakia

Tatiana ZACHAR PODOLINSKÁ, President of the Gypsy Lore Society, Institute of Ethnology and Social Anthropology at Slovak Academy of Sciences, Slovakia

Julieta ROTARU - Gypsy Lore Society General Secretary and Managing Editor Romani studies, Institut des Langues et Civilisations Orientales (INALCO), France

Aurore TIRARD - Institut des Langues et Civilisations Orientales (INALCO), France

Adèle SUTRE - Institut Convergences Migrations (ICM) at National Centre for Scientific Research, France

Conference Organising Committee

Aurore TIRARD - Institut des Langues et Civilisations Orientales (INALCO), France

Julieta ROTARU - Gypsy Lore Society General Secretary and Managing Editor of Romani studies, Institut des Langues et Civilisations Orientales (INALCO), France

Leny MAUDUIT - Médiathèque Matéo Maximoff, France

Magdalena SLAVKOVA - Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Studies with Ethnographic Museum at Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Bulgaria

Adèle SUTRE - Institut Convergences Migrations (ICM) at National Centre for Scientific Research, France

Rodica Elena TUDOR - University of Bucharest, Romania
Institutions

The GLS annual meeting and conference on Romani studies are organised on behalf of the Gypsy Lore Society by INALCO, ICM-CNRS, the FNASAT and the Médiathèque “Matéo Maximoff”, Paris.

Founded in 1795 during the French Revolution, the **Institut national des langues et civilisations orientales** (National Institute for Oriental Languages and Cultures), located in Paris, is a public university teaching languages and cultures worldwide. Covering regions from Central Europe Africa, Asia, America, and Oceania, INALCO is the world's largest language training provider with 104 languages as of today, wherein Romani is taught since 1968.

The **Institut Convergences Migrations** (ICM), located in Aubervilliers near Paris, brings together nearly 800 researchers from various disciplines and institutions around the issue of migration, combining social sciences and health sciences. Structured into five thematic departments and a training department, the ICM organizes joint research activities (seminars, scientific days, publications, etc.), funds emerging research projects, and young researchers. Since 2020, it has offered an innovative master's degree that combines teaching in the humanities, social sciences and life sciences. ICM is part of the French **National Centre for Scientific Research** (CNRS).

The Fédération nationale des associations solidaires d'action avec les Tsiganes et les Gens du voyage (**Fnasat-Gens du voyage**) is committed to the recognition of the full citizenship of "Gens du voyage" (Travelers) and their access to rights. As a network facilitator and driving force behind proposals, Fnasat runs the Matéo Maximoff media library in Paris and publishes the journal Études tsiganes.

Created in 1949 by the association Études Tsiganes and managed since 2004 by the Fnasat-Gens du Voyage, the **Médiathèque Matéo Maximoff** (media library) brings together a library of books and as well as documentary archives, visual and audio archives on the Roma worlds. Since 2014, it has been named after one of its founders, the Romani writer Matéo Maximoff whose handwritten archives it houses, photographic and film archives
# INTRODUCTION

## Gypsy Lore Society, its Annual Meetings and Conferences

The Gypsy Lore Society, an international association of persons interested in Gypsy and Traveler Studies, was founded in Great Britain in 1888. Its conferences are among the most significant annual scholarly events devoted to Romani Studies worldwide. Each year the event takes place in a different country, and is organised by the Gypsy Lore Society in cooperation with local academic institutions.

The research field of the Gypsy Lore Society has traditionally included many different communities which, regardless of their origins and self-appellations in various languages, have been referred to in English as Gypsies. These communities include the descendants of migrants from the Indian subcontinent which have been considered as falling into three large subdivisions, Dom, Lom, and Rom. The field has also included communities of other origins which practice, or in the past have practiced, a specific type of service nomadism. The breadth of the Society's interests is reflected in the articles published in its journal and papers presented at its conferences.

The goals of the Gypsy Lore Society include promotion of the study of these communities, their history and cultures worldwide; dissemination of accurate information aimed at increasing understanding of them in their diverse forms; and establishment of closer contacts among scholars studying any aspects of these cultures.

The Society sponsors programs and conferences and publishes the twice-yearly Romani Studies (continuing Journal of the Gypsy Lore Society) and other occasional publications.

The Society established the Victor Weybright Archives of Gypsy Studies, a research collection specializing in recent scholarly work on Gypsy, Travellers and related studies, for the benefit of researchers and students. This collection, compiled from 1978 to 2012, is now the Gypsy Lore Society *Victor Weybright Archives of Gypsy Studies* collection within the Special Collections division of the Michigan State University Libraries. Earlier collections of the Gypsy Lore Society, 1888-1974, can be found at the *University of Liverpool*.

Gypsy Lore Society meetings are held on an annual basis and are rotated among different countries. Meetings typically include presentations of recent research, discussion sessions, exhibits and films. Gypsy Lore Society members receive discounts on meeting registration fees.
Previous GLS Conferences 1979–2025

<table><thead><tr><td>Year</td><td>Dates</td><td>Location</td></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>1979</td><td>3 February</td><td>Montclair State College, Montclair NJ, USA</td></tr><tr><td>1980</td><td>2 February</td><td>Montclair State College, Montclair NJ, USA</td></tr><tr><td>1981</td><td>7-8 February</td><td>Wagner College, Staten Island NY, USA</td></tr><tr><td>1982</td><td>6-7 February</td><td>Wagner College, Staten Island NY, USA</td></tr><tr><td>1983</td><td>11-13 March</td><td>University of Michigan, Ann Arbor MI, USA</td></tr><tr><td>1984</td><td>24-26 February</td><td>Wagner College, Staten Island NY, USA</td></tr><tr><td>1985</td><td>15-17 February</td><td>National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC</td></tr><tr><td>1986</td><td>21-23 February</td><td>Graduate Center, City University of New York, USA</td></tr><tr><td>1987</td><td>26-28 March</td><td>University of California, Los Angeles, USA</td></tr><tr><td>1988</td><td>25-27 March</td><td>Wagner College, Staten Island NY, USA</td></tr><tr><td>1989</td><td>7-9 April</td><td>University of Toronto, Canada</td></tr><tr><td>1990</td><td>30 March - 1 April</td><td>Wagner College, Staten Island NY, USA</td></tr><tr><td>1991</td><td>19-21 July</td><td>Leicester Polytechnic, Leicester, United Kingdom</td></tr><tr><td>1992</td><td>13-15 March</td><td>Harvard University, Boston MA, USA</td></tr><tr><td>1993</td><td>28-30 May</td><td>Catholic University of America, Washington DC, USA</td></tr><tr><td>1994</td><td>1-2 April</td><td>University of California, Los Angeles, USA</td></tr><tr><td>1995</td><td>29-31 May</td><td>National Museum of Ethnology, Leiden, The Netherlands</td></tr><tr><td>1996</td><td>28-30 March</td><td>New School for Social Research, New York NY, USA</td></tr><tr><td>1997</td><td>25-27 April</td><td>Boston University, Boston MA, USA</td></tr><tr><td>1998</td><td>27-28 March</td><td>University of Texas - Arlington, USA</td></tr><tr><td>1999</td><td>28-29 June</td><td>University of Florence, Italy</td></tr><tr><td>2000</td><td>11-12 August</td><td>Georgetown University, Washington DC, USA</td></tr><tr><td>2001</td><td>no meeting</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2002</td><td>6-7 September</td><td>Minority Research Institute at Hungarian Academy, Budapest, Hungary</td></tr><tr><td>2003</td><td>30-31 May</td><td>University of Michigan, Ann Arbor MI, USA</td></tr><tr><td>2004</td><td>3-4 September</td><td>University of Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom</td></tr><tr><td>2005</td><td>9-10 September</td><td>Universidad de Granada, Spain</td></tr><tr><td>2006</td><td>2-3 June</td><td>University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA</td></tr><tr><td>2007</td><td>6-8 September</td><td>University of Manchester, United Kingdom</td></tr><tr><td>2008</td><td>28-30 August</td><td>Georgetown University, Washington DC, USA</td></tr><tr><td>2009</td><td>27-29 August</td><td>University of Helsinki, Finland</td></tr><tr><td>2010</td><td>8-10 September</td><td>Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Portugal</td></tr><tr><td>2011</td><td>1-3 September</td><td>European Centre for Modern Languages, Graz, Austria</td></tr><tr><td>2012</td><td>19-22 September</td><td>Istanbul, Turkey</td></tr><tr><td>2013</td><td>11-12 September</td><td>University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, United Kingdom</td></tr><tr><td>2014</td><td>11-13 September</td><td>Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovakia</td></tr><tr><td>2015</td><td>10-12 September</td><td>Academy of Sciences of Moldova, Chisinau, Moldova</td></tr><tr><td>2016</td><td>14-16 September</td><td>Södertörn University, Stockholm, Sweden</td></tr><tr><td>2017</td><td>30 August - 1 Sept</td><td>University of Cyprus, Nicosia</td></tr><tr><td>2018</td><td>4-7 September</td><td>Bucharest, Romania</td></tr><tr><td>2019</td><td>15-17 August</td><td>Reykjavík, Iceland</td></tr><tr><td>2020</td><td>no meeting</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2021</td><td>8-10 September</td><td>Prague, Czech Republic</td></tr><tr><td>2022</td><td>28-30 September</td><td>Belgrade, Serbia</td></tr><tr><td>2023</td><td>3-6 October</td><td>São Paulo, Brazil</td></tr><tr><td>2024</td><td>25-27 September</td><td>Sofia, Bulgaria</td></tr><tr><td>2025</td><td>23-26 September</td><td>Paris, France</td></tr></tbody></table>
# PROGRAMME

Tuesday, 23 September 2025

16.00 – 18.00 Meeting of the Board of Directors of the Gypsy Lore Society

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room 1.023 (Recherche Sud building)

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Wednesday, 24 September 2025

<table><thead><tr><th></th><th></th><th></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>9.00 – 10.00</td><td>Registration</td><td>FOYER (Centre des Colloques building)</td></tr><tr><td>10.00 – 11.00</td><td>Official Opening: Organisers, Condorcet Campus, Maison des Langues et des Cultures, Gypsy Lore Society, INALCO, Institut Convergences Migrations, Médiathèque Maximoff-FNASAT</td><td>Auditorium 250 (Centre des Colloques)</td></tr><tr><td>11.00 – 11.30</td><td>Coffee break<br>Exhibitions about the Gens du Voyage (© MRAP) and about Matéo Maximoff (© FNASAT)</td><td>FOYER</td></tr><tr><td>11.30 – 12.30</td><td>Plenary session (lecture): Jana HORVÁTHOVÁ<br>Moderator: Tereza RICHTÁRIKOVÁ<br>The Museum of Romani Culture (1991–2025): The Result of Many Years of Efforts by the Roma in Czechoslovakia — Building, Challenges, Achievements, and Visions for the Future</td><td>Auditorium 250</td></tr><tr><td>12.30 – 14.00</td><td>Lunch break<br>Book stand,<br>Exhibitions about the Gens du Voyage (© MRAP) and about Matéo Maximoff (© FNASAT)</td><td>FOYER</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Working sessions:</td></tr><tr><td></td><td><strong>History (1)</strong><br>Moderator: Elena MARUSHIAKOVA</td><td><strong>Open Panel 5: Romaňi čhib the literatura (Romani language and literature, panel in Romani)</strong><br>Moderator: Magdalena SLAVKOVA<br>Convenor: Jan ČERVENKA</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>room Salle 100</td><td>room 3.08</td></tr><tr><td>14.00 – 14.30</td><td>Tamás Attila HAJNÁCZKY<br>Era changes or cycle changes? Reflections and measures related to Gypsy settlements through the prism of the conjunctural time in 20th century Hungary</td><td>Emese LENGYEL<br>Roma civic engagement through the example of the first Roma theatre in Hungary</td><td>Ibram AHMED &amp; Huseyin KYUCHUK<br>I historija katar o Fikri Šukriev thaj o zorasa paruvipe anava e xoraxane Romengo andi Bugaria ko komunistikano vahti</td><td>Lilyana KOVATCHEVA<br>Customary and rite system of the Roma from Central West Bulgaria</td></tr><tr><td>14.30 – 15.00</td><td>Lada VIKOVÁ<br>The right of domicile for the Romani family in the municipalities Lety by Písek and Hlavečník?</td><td>Candéla THEVENIN<br>Humour rromani, une voie pour la connaissance</td><td>Mihail OSLON<br>Le vokalongo lunźimos ande řomaji</td><td>Vesna DELIĆ<br>The „Eternal House' - Death Cult Among Roma in Montenegro: Typology and Mapping of Roma Cemeteries</td></tr><tr><td>15.00 – 15.30</td><td>Milada ZÁVODSKÁ<br>Historical personality of Anna Danielová (1921-1999)</td><td></td><td>Jan ČERVENKA<br>Čhibakero uzus andre lekhadī romaňi čhib</td><td>Juan GAMELLA<br>Solax and armaja. A typology of Roma oaths as speech events</td></tr><tr><td>15.30 – 16.00</td><td>Zsolt Nándor HORVÁTH<br>Regulation and registration of individuals labelled as “stray Gypsies” in Hungary</td><td></td><td>Chantal HILAIRE<br>E feljastra ando historickivo le Kalderasko: le paramici le Parisoske aj le Torontoske Romenge</td><td></td></tr></tbody></table>
16.00 – 16.30 Coffee break
Book stand
Exhibition about the *Gens du Voyage* (© MRAP)
Exhibition about Matéo Maximoff (© FNASAT)

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Foyer

Working sessions:

**History (2)**

Moderator: Tatiana SÎRBU

**Arts: Music**

Moderator: Margaret BEISSINGER

**Pre-arranged Panel: Historicity, Migration and Origin of Roma: Indian and Iranian Perspective**

Convenor: Mohammad Zameer ANWAR &
Mojgan ZARGAR

**Health issues**

Moderator: Olga MAGANO

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room Salle 100

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room 3.08

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room 3.09

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room 3.10

16.30 – 17.00 **Egemen YILGÜR**
The Other Nomads through the Lens of the
1858 Ottoman Tax Reform

**Carol SILVERMAN**
Transnational Balkan Romani Music:
Global Audiences, Local Trends

**Mohammad Zameer ANWAR**
Roma as A Historical Diaspora of India:
Historiographical Analysis

**Marius WAMSIEDEL**
Informal payments for health as a
racialized project

17.00 – 17.30 **Plamena STOYANOVA**
Reclaiming Birth Names for Roma Muslims
in Bulgaria after 1989

**Lynn HOOKER**
Romani Entertainment Musicians and
Hungary's Heritage Institutions

**Rimjhim SINHA**
Revisiting the Affinity of Romani Dance with
Indian Folk Dance

**Maciej WITKOWSKI & Ewa NOWICKA**
Mental well-being and living in, off or on
the borderlines of ethnic community: four
case studies

17.30 – 18.00 **David SMITH, Miranda MILLAN & Sophie COOK**
Local Approaches towards implementing
the 1960s Caravan Acts in the UK: three
case studies from southeast England

**Kateřina ANDRŠOVÁ**
"E mašina zapiskind'as..." – musicological
reflection on varieties of the song from a
set of field recordings by photographer
Josef Koudelka from the 1960s

20.30 – 22.00 Screening of Super 8 films by Matéo Maximoff, and discussion with **Jonathan LARCHER**

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Médiathèque Matéo Maximoff
Thursday, 25 September 2025

<table><thead><tr><th></th><th></th><th></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>9.00 – 10.00</td><td>Obituary: Tribute to departed members of GLS and academics working in Romani Studies<br>Tribute to Dragoljub Acković (1952–2025)<br>Zlatomir JOVANOVIĆ, Sofiya ZAHOVA, Huseyin KYUCHUK<br><br>Tribute to Judith Okely (1941–2025)<br>Colin CLARK, Margaret GREENFIELDS & David SMITH<br>“A deeply embodied anthropological praxis”: The contribution of the late Professor Judith Okely to Romani Studies</td><td>Auditorium 250 (Centre des Colloques)</td></tr><tr><td>10.00</td><td>– Plenary session (lecture): Tommaso VITALE</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>11.00</td><td>Moderator: Julieta ROTARU<br>Living with Antigypsyism: Contentious Embeddedness and the Struggle for Recognition in France</td><td>Auditorium 250</td></tr><tr><td>11.00</td><td>– Coffee break</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>11.30</td><td>Book stand<br>Exhibition about the Gens du Voyage (© MRAP)<br>Exhibition about Matéo Maximoff (© FNASAT)</td><td>Foyer</td></tr><tr><td>11.30</td><td>– Open Panel 4: Book/Book Series/Journal Panel Discussion</td><td>Auditorium 250</td></tr><tr><td>12.30</td><td>Convenor: Raluca ROMAN</td><td></td></tr><tr><td></td><td>Petre MATEI & Julieta ROTARU<br>Romani Studies (Continuing the Journal of the Gypsy Lore Society)</td><td></td></tr><tr><td></td><td>Helena SADÍLKOVÁ & Lada VIKOVÁ<br>Romano džaniben, Czech Romani studies journal (since 1994)</td><td></td></tr><tr><td></td><td>Leny MAUDUIT<br>Revue Etudes Tsiganes</td><td></td></tr><tr><td></td><td>Elena MARUSHIAKOVA & Magdalena SLAVKOVA<br>The newly published books in the Brill Series Roma History and Culture<br>- Papusza / Bronisława Wajs. Tears of Blood: A Poet's Witness Account of the Nazi Genocide of Roma.<br>- Magdalena Slavkova. Conversion, Leadership, and Identity of the Evangelical Roma in Bulgaria.<br>- Raluca Bianca Roman. Kaale Belongings and Evangelical Becomings: An Ethnography of Finnish Roma.</td><td></td></tr><tr><td></td><td>Markéta HAJSKÁ<br>Markéta Hajská, The Stojka family. Spatial mobility and territorial anchoredness of Lovara Vlax Roms in the former Czechoslovakia.</td><td></td></tr><tr><td></td><td>Aurore TIRARD – with Elisabeth WILLENZ (Notes de Nuit Publisher)<br>- Hans Hesse, Les Yeux d'Auschwitz.<br>- Hans Hesse, Ich will, dass die Wahrheit siegt.</td><td></td></tr></tbody></table>

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12.30 – Lunch break

14.00
Book stand
Exhibition about the *Gens du Voyage* (© MRAP)
Exhibition about Matéo Maximoff (© FNASAT)

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Foyer

Working sessions:

**History (3)**
Moderator: Petre MATEI

**Social exclusion**
Moderator: Thomas ACTON

**Pre-arranged Panel: RomIs: History and Ethnography of Roma in Iceland (1)**
Convenor: Sofiya ZAHOVA

**Anthropology (2)**
Moderator: Lynn HOOKER

**Pre-arranged Panel: Re-ethnicization of Roma religious culture: navigating between heritage and innovation**
Convenor: Kinga POVEDÁK

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room 3.07

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room Salle 100

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room 3.08

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room 3.09

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room 3.10

14.00 – **Ayako IWATANI**
Bodies as Archival Sites:
Remembering the Past for the
Romanian Roma

14.30 – **Margaret GREENFIELDS, Ryan WOOLRYCH, Judith SIXSMITH, Rosa CISNEROS, Aleksandar MARINOV, Crina MORTEANU, Petr TORAK, Ann HYDE, Gaba SMOLINSKA-POFFLEY**
Navigating Places and Spaces in Old Age: Exploring the Rights of Older Roma to Age Well in Urban Environments

15.00 –

15.30 – Coffee break
16.00
Book stand
Exhibition about the *Gens du Voyage* (© MRAP)
Exhibition about Matéo Maximoff (© FNASAT)

**Daniel GERBERY & Tomáš MIKLOŠOVIČ**
When Work Does Not Pay: In-Work Poverty in Marginalised Roma Communities

**Daniel ŠKOBLA & Richard FILČAK**
Roma poverty and marginalization amid the decline of mining towns in eastern Slovakia

**Guðmundur HÁLFDÁNARSON**
“Famous Vagrant Mob”: Discourses on ‘Gypsies’, ‘Tramps’ and other ‘Begging Vagrants’ in Early 20th-Century Iceland

**Marco SOLIMENE**
The ghost of the Gypsy: Sígaunar, Romafólk and exceptionalism in contemporary Iceland

**Jasmín KRISTJÁNSDÓTTIR**
How gender and upbringing shaped the Icelandic school and welfare system's reception and perception of Romanian Roma families

**Tereza RICHTÁRIKOVÁ**
Hobo marks, criminal signs and patrin: from pop-culture to criminology

**Jekatyerina DUNAJEVA**
Examining the Interplay of Social Cohesion, Belonging, and Urban Poverty: Case Study of Roma in Budapest’s Hős utca neighborhood

**Sabrina TOSI CAMBINI**
Engaging life: the ability to “cross borders” and “change in the continuity” among a network of Romanian Rudari families

**Kinga POVEDÁK & Helena Mária VARGA**
Sonic traditions and innovations: music and identity in Hungarian Roma religiosity

**István POVEDÁK**
The politics of the “Roma pilgrimage” of Csatka

**Lili KRISTON**
The multilateral Mary: Marian devotion in contemporary Roma art & design

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Foyer
Working sessions:

<table><thead><tr><th></th><th>Linguistics (2)<br>Moderator: Mihail OSLON</th><th>Open Panel 1: Roma in and from Ukraine<br>Convenors: Elena MARUSHIAKOVA &amp; Veselin POPOV</th><th>Pre-arranged Panel: Romis: History and Ethnography of Roma in Iceland (2)<br>Convenor: Sofiya ZAHOVA</th><th>Pedagogy (1)<br>Moderator: Maria José CASA-NOVA</th><th>Open Panel 7: Teaching Romani literature<br>Convenor: Anita TARNAI</th></tr><tr><th></th><th>room 3.07</th><th>room Salle 100</th><th>room 3.08</th><th>room 3.09</th><th>room 3.10</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>16.00<br>16.30</td><td>– Huseyin KYUCHUK &amp; Ali EGI<br>Language Use And Identity Of Lom People Of Cankiri, Turkey</td><td>Elena MARUSHIAKOVA &amp; Veselin POPOV<br>The Phenomenon of the Roma Women's Court: Overcoming or Modifying Traditions in Postmodern Society</td><td>Adriana SUIU<br>From Romania to Reykjavík: Roma Identities and Religious Expressions</td><td>Valdemar KALININ<br>Features of teaching the Romani language as a native language (Advanced Level)</td><td>Anita TARNAI<br>Teaching Romani Literatures in the Global Classroom: A Case Study</td></tr><tr><td>16.30<br>17.00</td><td>– Isabelle JOUANNIGOT &amp; Aurore TIRARD<br>Les pratiques langagières des personnes se présentant comme « Voyageurs » en France</td><td>Mary Leonie McDONAGH, Karin WHITE &amp; Grainne KETELAAR<br>From the Ukraine to the Green Isle: Roma Experiences in the North West of Ireland</td><td>Sofiya ZAHOVA<br>The (dis)connected history of Romani presence in Iceland in the context of Romani Studies</td><td>Norbert TÓTH<br>Examination of Hungarian Roma Students' School Performance from the Perspective of Anthropology of Education</td><td>Lorely FRENCH<br>"Hope: That Was What Strengthened Us": Workshops for School Children with Ceija Stojka's Art and Texts</td></tr><tr><td>17.00<br>17.30</td><td>– Gábor Biczó<br>Language shift in isolated Vlach Roma local communities in Hungary and the issue of social integration</td><td>Gesine DREWS-SYLLA<br>Who's the Victim? Narrating Hierarchies of Exclusion in Michal Blaško's Obet' (2022)</td><td>Racism<br>Moderator: Marco SOLIMENE<br>Mohammad Zameer ANWAR<br>Transnational Mobility of Roma Diaspora in Europe: Addressing Racial Paradigms</td><td>Jill DE VILLIERS<br>The Development of Roma children in Turkey: Language and Reasoning about Others' Minds</td><td>Ondrej SKOVAJSA &amp; Martin GÁLIS<br>Gil'ora: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Romani Song Heritage</td></tr><tr><td>17.30<br>18.00</td><td>– Zuzana BODNÁROVÁ &amp; Márton BALÓ<br>Historical reconstruction and media representation of the earliest known demand for Romani linguistic rights</td><td>Markéta HAJSKÁ<br>The Roma from Ukraine in detention centres in the Czech Republic</td><td>Colin CLARK<br>The Resource Gathering Strategies of Romanian Roma in Oslo, Norway in the face of Everyday Anti-Gypsyism</td><td></td><td></td></tr></tbody></table>

<table><tr><td>20.30<br>22.00</td><td>– Aperitif / drinks<br>Concert: Trio Jazz Manouche (Dawson REINHARDT, Simba BAUMGARTNER, Tom GUILLOIS)</td><td>Médiathèque Matéo Maximoff</td></tr></table>
Friday, 26 September 2025

<table><tr><td>9.30 – 10.30</td><td>Plenary session (lecture): Martin OLIVERA<br/>Moderator: Sabrina TOSI CAMBINI<br/>A Fieldwork and Its Changes: Reflections on the Ethnography of the Gabori Roma, 1999-2025</td><td>Auditorium 250 (Centre des Colloques)</td></tr><tr><td>10.30</td><td>Coffee break</td><td rowspan="2">Foyer</td></tr><tr><td>11.00</td><td>Book stand<br/>Exhibition about the Gens du Voyage (© MRAP)</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Working sessions:</td></tr><tr><td>History: Holocaust<br/>Moderator: Plamena STOYANOVA</td><td>Open Panel 2: Religiosity, Spirituality and Non-religiosity among the Roma (1)<br/>Convenors: Tatiana ZACHAR<br/>PODOLINSKÁ & Juraj MAJO</td><td>Open Panel 3: Roma Slavery in the Romanian Principalities: New Contributions and Perspectives on Historical Dependencies, Emancipation, and Legacy (1)<br/>Convenors: Viorel ACHIM, Petre MATEI & Julieta ROTARU</td><td>Anthropology (3)<br/>Moderator: Elena MARUSHIAKOVA</td><td>Social inclusion and democracy<br/>Moderator: Daniel GERBERY</td></tr><tr><td>room 3.07</td><td>room 3.08</td><td>room Salle 100</td><td>room 3.09</td><td>room 3.10</td></tr><tr><td>11.00 – 11.30</td><td>Danijel VOJAK<br/>Forgotten places of mass crimes against Roma in the Independent State of Croatia</td><td>Dmitry Igorevich VAIMAN<br/>Religious Practices of Russian Roma in Russia in the 21st Century</td><td>Viorel ACHIM<br/>Changes in the institution of slavery in the Romanian principalities from the mid-18th century to the mid-19th century</td><td>Kai Viljami ÅBERG<br/>Finnish Roma and culture - the change and development of the media landscape due to digitalization</td><td>Olga MAGANO<br/>Could be intercultural mediation the solution to Ciganos/ Roma integration? The Portuguese case and the example of Porto city</td></tr><tr><td>11.30 – 12.00</td><td>Anders BLOMQVIST<br/>Towards a Genocide: The Persecution of Roma in Sub-Carpathia during World War II</td><td>Aleksandr Vasilievich CHERNYKH<br/>Contemporary religiousness of the Kalderash Gypsies of Russia</td><td>Julieta ROTARU<br/>Slavery in Eastern Europe: Status and Particularities in the Romanian Principalities. Ştefan Răzvan</td><td>Punita SINGH<br/>Quota-Unquota: Is the affirmative action framework in India a viable model for Roma emancipation?</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>12.00 – 12.30</td><td>Maria José CASA-NOVA, Maria ALFREDO MOREIRA & Daniela SILVA<br/>Samudaripen - European Remembrance: voices of young Roma and non-Roma students</td><td>Magdalena SLAVKOVA<br/>The feminine spiritual authority in the Romani evangelical 'home' churches</td><td>George MOCANU<br/>The origins of Roma slavery in Romanian medieval principalities – a framework for a regional approach</td><td>Olga MAGANO & Fernanda LOPES<br/>The implementation of a democratic system and citizenship of Ciganos/ Roma people in Portugal: the paradigmatic case of Zebreira, Idanha-a-Nova, Castelo Branco District</td><td></td></tr></table>

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12.30 – Lunch break

14.00 Book stand, Exhibition about the *Gens du Voyage* (© MRAP)

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Foyer

Working sessions:

**Open Panel 6: Le Rom ando historickivo taj ando antropologickivo rodimo (Roma in historical and anthropological research)**

Convenors: Markéta HAJSKÁ & Lada VIKOVÁ

**Open Panel 2: Religiosity, Spirituality and Non-religiosity among the Roma (2)**

Convenors: Tatiana ZACHAR PODOLINSKÁ & Juraj MAJO

**Open Panel 3: Roma Slavery in the Romanian Principalities: New Contributions and Perspectives on Historical Dependencies, Emancipation, and Legacy (2)**

Convenors: Viorel ACHIM, Petre MATEI & Julieta ROTARU

Pedagogy (2)

Moderator: Huseyin KYUCHUK

Arts: Literature

Moderator: Sofiya ZAHOVA

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room 3.07

<figure><img src="image_33.png" /></figure>

room 3.08

<figure><img src="image_34.png" /></figure>

room Salle 100

<figure><img src="image_35.png" /></figure>

room 3.09

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room 3.10

14.00 – Ivoča KOKYOVÁ

14.30 Le šavoura, so či dičhon: So kerelas pe le šavourenca andaj Ukrajina andej čechicka školi

**Juraj MAJO & Tatiana ZACHAR PODOLINSKÁ**

Some Current Aspects of Romani Religiosity, Spirituality, and Non-Religiosity in Slovakia – First Results from the RELIROMA Project

**Thomas ACTON**

Matéo Maximoff and his representation of the ending of Roma slavery in Romania as a foundational event in international Roma history of the last two centuries.

**Christophe ANGEBAULT**

« Les maisons, elles seront collées comme des classes ! » Relogement contraint, acculturation et jeu avec les institutions dans une pratique d'improvisation théâtrale avec des élèves Voyageurs

**Courtney CALLAHAN**

Roma as a Symbol of Nuevomexicano Resistance in Eusebio Chacón's The Son of the Storm

14.30 – Janush PANCHENKO

15.00 La Ukrajinatire Rrom ande la Ukrainatiri vojska: Identiteto taj Transformacyja ando Rusycko-Ukrajinicko Marimasko Končeksto.

**Elisabeth CLANET DIT LAMANIT & Aurore TIRARD**

From Gypsy to צוען-יברית Gypsy-Hebrew: A "passing" phenomenon in the Romani world

**Petre MATEI**

Echoes of the Past: Discourses on Roma Slavery in Romania and Their Role in Identity Construction (20th Century)

**Isabelle JOUANNIGOT**

Les pratiques langagières des élèves voyageurs, fantômes scolaires

**Tomasz KAMUSELLA**

Tears of Blood: Making Papusza's Witness Account Available to the Global Public

15.00 – Andrš ZBYNĚK

15.30 Gilja anda e kolekcia, kaj cirdja tele o portretaši Josef Koudelka: So amenge dašti te phenen avri pala o 2. marimos hai palamarimosko vramja ande Čexoslovakia

**Eva-Liisa ROHT-YILMAZ**

Converting identities and moralities: Pentecostal Christianity among the Roma in Estonia and Latvia

**Petre PETCUȚ**

L'esclavage des Roms dans l'historiographie roumaine : une mémoire refoulée

**James DEUTSCH**

A Cultural History of Misleading Terminology: The Case of Les Bohémiens/Bohemians

15.30 – Dana Ema HRUŠKOVÁ

16.00 O Romano zaačhado pro maškarthemutno levelos

**Tatiana ZACHAR PODOLINSKÁ**

Anti-Maryism and Pentecostal Peripheralisation of Virgin Mary among the Roma in Slovakia (findings from the project RELIROMA)
16.00 – Coffee break

16.30 Book stand
Exhibition about the *Gens du Voyage* (© MRAP)

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Foyer

Working sessions:

**Social resilience**
Moderator: Daniel ŠKOBLA

**Open Panel 2: Religiosity, Spirituality and Non-religiosity among the Roma (3)**
Convenors: Tatiana ZACHAR
PODOLINSKÁ & Juraj MAJO

**Open Panel 3: Roma Slavery in the Romanian Principalities: New Contributions and Perspectives on Historical Dependencies, Emancipation, and Legacy (3)**
Convenors: Viorel ACHIM, Petre MATEI & Julieta ROTARU

**Linguistics (2)**
Moderator: Huseyin KYUCHUK

**Arts: Visual Arts**
Moderator: Gesine DREWS-SYLLA

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room 3.07

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room 3.08

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room Salle 100

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room 3.09

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room 3.10

16.30

– **Ali EGI**

17.00

Beyond Stereotypes: Raising Middle- and Upper-Class Roma through Social Mobility in Türkiye

**Elisabeth CLANET DIT LAMANIT**
“Spirituals Gypsies” in the Afro-Brazilian religion of Umbanda

**Tatiana SÎRBU**
(Re)defining statuses: the impact of the 1847 decree on the Roma of Bessarabia

**Martin GÁLIS**
Lexical Layering, Derivational Strategies, and Semantics in Slovak–Romani Romani-Slovak Lexicography

**Rahime Özgün KEHYA**
A Review of Film Studies on Roma in the Turkish Context

17.00

– **Melanie BOYCE, Sophie COKER,**

17.30

**Dada FELIA, Margaret GREENFIELDS,**
**Joanna KOSTKA, Chantal RADLEY**

Improving the experiences of Roma families in contact with children's welfare services in England: findings from a mixed methods research study

**Margaret BEISSINGER**
Slavery among Romani Musicians (Lăutari) in the Romanian Principalities

**Masako WATABE**
Formalizing Rromani lexicon and grammar with the NooJ platform as linguistic resources

**Barbara BÓDI**
Identity interpretations in visual art in the dimensions of Hungarian Roma/Gypsy fine art

17.45

– **Conference Closing**

18.30

**Annual Meeting of the Gypsy Lore Society**

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Auditorium 250
# OPENING WORD

ZACHAR PODOLINSKÁ Tatiana

President of the Gypsy Lore Society

## Centering Roma Voices in digital future<fnref n="1" />

Dear esteemed colleagues, scholars, friends, and honoured guests,

It is my deepest privilege, as President of the Gypsy Lore Society, to welcome you to Paris for our Annual Meeting and Conference on Romani Studies. In this magnificent city renowned for its artistic and intellectual traditions, we gather from all corners of the world, united by our commitment to advance knowledge, dialogue, and justice for Roma, Sinti, Gypsy, Traveller, and allied communities.

In our past gatherings, we have focused on urgent matters: the social impacts and lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic, the possibilities of digital anthropology for re-imagining research methods in Romani studies and—most recently—the importance of rigorous ethical frameworks when researching minority, or “non-mainstream” communities, that are usually addressed as excluded, marginalized, peripherical or vulnerable.

This year, as we convene in Paris amid rapid technological transformation, I ask you to join me in spotlighting a challenge and an opportunity of historic proportions—a theme moving quickly from the margins to the center of our field: the entwined futures of Artificial Intelligence and Romani Studies.

## Why AI? Why Now?

Artificial Intelligence is already remaking economies, politics, language, education, and even our perceptions of human identity. As scholars and advocates for communities often pushed to the peripheries, we must confront AI not as a distant abstraction, but as a phenomenon shaping the lived realities, rights, and futures of all people, including Roma, across Europe and worldwide. Evidence is mounting, for example, that discriminatory bias in artificial intelligence (Noble 2018) systematically impacts Roma, with AI-powered systems already having led to denial of access or exclusion from essential services in some cases.<fnref n="2" />

<footnote n="1">¹ Opening speech for the Annual conference of Gypsy Lore Society, 24th September, 2025 (Paris, France).</footnote>

<footnote n="2">² The Fundación Secretariado Gitano (FSG) in its 18th Annual Report Discrimination and the Roma Community (FSG 2022) stated the discriminatory bias in the use of artificial intelligence and its impact on the Roma community: “The increasing use of algorithms for decision-making and systems based on artificial intelligence in many sectors of society, economy and everyday life, may entail risks for the exercise of fundamental rights, given the different biases (ethnic, gender, etc.) that occur, directly or indirectly, in their design, due to the</footnote>
Our societies face a “digital divide”<fnref n="3" /> that increasingly becomes a new axis of social exclusion—AI, with its transformative promise and risk of hidden bias, amplifies this divide. In this regard, we have to have in mind, that many Roma are an inherent part of the digital world and consume all its benefits and privileges, but we are specifically referring to those who are threatened by the rise of technologies due to structural inequalities and who do not have equal or have only limited access to digital rights. Some Roma and other racialized minorities—already underrepresented in digital infrastructure and education—now risk being further marginalized as algorithmic decision-making grows across predictive policing, welfare allocation, and housing. Recent studies have documented, for instance, how Roma kids, but also elderly people are disproportionately affected by digital poverty,<fnref n="4" /> which links directly to algorithmic bias and new forms of invisibility in policy design (FRA 2022).

Honestly, in Romani studies, we do not know, what kind of “digital divide” we face in our particular research focus—is it predominantly a gender, generational, disability, educational or geographic digital divide? (Munté-Pascual et al. 2025).

In this context, I would like to draw the attention of Romani studies scholars to the need to identify in which Romani communities we encounter the digital divide, and whether this divide has the same or different characteristics compared to neighbouring non-Romani local communities. It is not uncommon for even poor Romani households to pay for satellite connections, internet and mobile phones, thus participation in social networks is a routine part of life for at least the young and middle generations in vast majority of Romani communities.

It seems that the digital divide does not always correspond with a “marginalized position” or social deprivation. However, this does not mean that exclusion from potential opportunities and benefits cannot occur on an ethnic or racial basis. In addition to the mentioned threat of biased algorithmic decisions made by AI, there is a lack of research in Romani Studies to identify what extent Roma being inherent part of a digital world do not make full use of its possibilities and do not benefit from its potential, for example, by regularly consulting some type of AI. Similarly, there are no studies that determine the ability to critically assess the content of news published online or ability to understand the pitfalls of information provided by AI (such as inaccurate, incomplete, or entirely fabricated information and data).

use of big data that reproduce existing stereotypes and prejudices in society” (See: https://informesdiscriminacion.gitanos.org/informes/2022-english, accessed on July 30, 2025).

<footnote n="3">³ The digital divide is a multifaceted phenomenon that highlights disparities in the access to, usage of, and ability to benefit from information and communication technologies between disadvantaged groups and others. At present, multiple forms of digital divides exist, including (a) the gender digital divide, (b) the generational digital divide, (c) the disability digital divide, (d) the educational digital divide, and (e) the geographic digital divide (Peláez-Sánchez & Glasserman-Morales 2023).</footnote>

<footnote n="4">⁴ Particularly, during the pandemic it was found that Roma children were disadvantaged by a move to online distance learning, while Roma communities and the elderly were disadvantaged by the lack of non-digital alternatives (DFG; Munté-Pascual et al. 2025).</footnote>
## The Dangers: Bias, Exclusion, and “Ethics Dumping”

Contemporary research makes clear that AI and algorithmic systems have an alarming tendency to reproduce—and sometimes exacerbate—existing social biases present in their training data and design processes. Systemic antigypsyism is being perpetuated by opaque algorithmic decision systems, leading to new risks for already marginalized groups, including the Roma.

Societies, communities, groups and individuals who live beyond or below the threshold of the digital divide are underrepresented in digital worlds—not speaking about the various types of metaverses. Paradoxically, it is precisely the metaverses—virtual 3D spaces, avatar worlds, AR/VR experiences—that could offer them an escape from or a substitute for their lived, disadvantaged, or unprivileged realities. Individuals without access to the digital world, do not acquire digital skills, they cannot make use of its possibilities and potentials. Thus, they are excluded from yet another type of privilege that is becoming part of mainstream standards. Exclusion from the digital world today relegates a person to a substandard position, which has a decisive effect on the quality and length of the life—influencing everything from the fundamentals such as education, employment, housing, health, and social inclusion, to subtler aspects like the sense of purpose, inner fulfilment, and happiness.

Another phenomenon, recently discussed by academics and EU is so-called “ethics dumping”—where social and ethical risks are displaced onto vulnerable communities (Schroeder et al. 2021).

Ethics dumping is a worldwide issue characterized by the relocation of research projects. Studies that would be forbidden, heavily limited, or considered highly condescending in wealthy regions are conducted instead in low-resource environments. Based on the viewpoints of researchers from affluent regions, six main categories were detected: condescending behaviour, unjust allocation of benefits and burdens, culturally insensitive practices, application of double standards, insufficient due diligence, and a lack of transparency (Schroeder et al. 2021).

Romani communities are sometimes the targets of various kind of research projects, yet the ethical standards of such studies are not always sensitively developed, for instance, written informed consent is not always culturally sensitive and “fully informed”, the data are only rarely discussed with participants or targeted communities, etc. Similarly, the duration, extent, and frequency of these studies are often not evaluated, which can be burdensome or disruptive to the normal functioning of the communities. This is not to mention the asymmetry of benefits, which most often do not flow back to the researched communities, even in cases of so-called participatory-designed research.

In sum, Romani communities frequently face a lack of transparency and recourse; they struggle with digital under-representation, asymmetrical access to the digital world, and unequal consumption of its opportunities and benefits. Moreover, they bear the consequences of AI errors or biases without adequate resources or institutional support. As our field critically asks: Who bears the cost of technological innovations, and who is silenced in the process?
## The Promise: Empowerment, Agency, and Participation

Yet our vision must not be limited to critique and risk. We should take also opportunity to call to reimagine AI and digital technologies as tools of resistance, empowerment, and epistemic justice.

* **Language and Culture:** Roma communities, with rich oral traditions and endangered languages, are uniquely positioned to benefit from AI-driven language preservation, translation, and multimedia archiving.

* **Civic Participation:** Digital platforms and AI have enabled new forms of Roma activism, advocacy, and organizing. But such benefits only materialize if Roma themselves are empowered as creators, not just subjects, of these tools.

* **Research Renewal:** Leading Romani studies scholars now suggest that the intelligent application of AI can renew oral history research, open new archives, and even help decolonize knowledge production if anchored in participatory and community-driven frameworks (Oylupinar 2025). The path forward is ethics-aware, narrative-sensitive AI pipelines co-created with Roma communities (Zachar Podolinská 2024).

## The Challenge: AI Literacy, Community Leadership, and Policy

Our task, therefore, is threefold:

1. To **interrogate and challenge** the ways AI can threaten rights and reinforce exclusion.

2. To **innovate and empower**—equipping Roma scholars, students, and community leaders with digital and AI literacy, ensuring active participation in research, advocacy, and policy design.

3. To **insist on accountability**—demanding transparency, ethics, and Roma participation from the institutions and companies whose technologies shape our communities’ destinies.

Let this conference mark our advocacy for a new generation of Romani, Sinti, Gypsy and Travellers scholars to flourish in digital humanities, data science, and ethical technology governance. Roma voices should participate in co-designing, not merely responding to, the AI revolution.

## A Roadmap for Romani Studies

In its *Path to the Digital Decade* Policy Programme (EC 2021), Europe has set out to drive a digital transformation of public services and the economy with the aim of securing the EU's leadership in digital innovation. This initiative seeks to promote digital policies that are human-centered, inclusive, and sustainable, thereby empowering citizens. Consequently, the European Parliament, the Council, and the Commission have jointly established shared values, rights, and principles for the digital decade, as outlined in the *European Declaration on Digital Rights and Principles* (2022). This declaration represents a significant opportunity, particularly for any people living in a *digital poverty*, as it holds transformative potential to enhance their well-being, enable them to pursue their aspirations, and support informed decision-making within the digital environment. In this context, digital transformation has
demonstrated its capacity to empower underrepresented groups and open new paths for self-sovereignty and agency (Qureshi 2022), provided that meaningful inclusion is ensured and the digital divide is addressed (Mehra et al. 2004).<fnref n="5" />

As we embark on this conference, let me propose a headline for Romani Studies in the era of AI:

> *From algorithmic marginalization to algorithmic justice: Centering Roma voices in the digital future.*

Let us interrogate the politics of data—who counts, who is represented, whose stories are told. Let us share best practices for participatory digital research, support Roma-led tech and advocacy initiatives, and build interdisciplinary bridges with AI ethics, critical race theory, digital anthropology, and media studies. As front-line advocates have shown, universal and equitable access to digital tools is a necessary precondition for real participation and for contesting discriminatory digital policies.

## In Closing

Let me close by invoking not only the challenges, but the possibilities. May this conference inspire rigorous debate, critical self-reflection, and collaborative strategy. Let us listen deeply to those most affected by technological change, and let us amplify their agency and creativity. Let our scholarship not merely analyze, but help invent, a more just and inclusive digital world for Roma and all marginalized peoples.

Welcome to Paris, welcome to the Gypsy Lore Society Annual Conference, and welcome to a new chapter in Romani studies.<fnref n="6" />

## References

DFG. Digital Freedom Fund (n.d.). *Discriminatory Digital Policies that Marginalise Roma Communities*. Available online at: https://digitalfreedomfund.org/discriminatory-digital-policies-that-marginalise-roma-communities/. Accessed on August 01, 2024.

EC 2021. European Commission (2021). Proposal for a decision of the European Parliament and of the council establishing the 2030 policy Programme “path to the digital decade”. COM(2021) 574 final. Available online at: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/resource.html?uri=cellar:6785f365-1627-11ec-b4fe-01aa75ed71a1.0001.02/DOC_1&format=PDF. Accessed on August 1, 2025.

European declaration on digital rights and principles (2022). Available online at: https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/library/european-declaration-digital-rights-and-principles. Accessed August 1, 2025.

<footnote n="5">⁵ “The internet has tremendous potential to achieve greater social equity and empowerment and improve everyday life for those on the margins of society” (Mehra et al. 2004).</footnote>

<footnote n="6">⁶ The author thanks the AI assistant Perplexity for support in finding relevant literature and resources during the preparation of the manuscript. All sources and information found by the AI were verified by the author and, if necessary, corrected to meet the requirements of a scientifically rigorous work.</footnote>
FSG 2022. Fundación Secretariado Gitano. (2022). Discriminatory bias in the use of artificial intelligence and its impact on the Roma community. Available online at: https://informesdiscriminacion.gitanos.org/informes/2022-english. Accessed on July 30, 2025.

FRA 2022. European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights. (2022). Bias in algorithms: Artificial intelligence and discrimination. Available online at: https://fra.europa.eu/en/publication/2022/bias-algorithm. Accessed on July 29, 2025.

GUPTA, A., DE MOYA, C., & VOSS, G. (2021). Questioning racial and gender bias in AI-based recommendations. *Journal of Artificial Intelligence Research*, 72, 837–861.
https://doi.org/10.1613/jair.1.11924.

Digital Freedom Fund & Poradňa pre občianske a ľudské práva. (2024). *Discriminatory digital policies that marginalise Roma communities*.

MEHRA, B., MERKEL, C., & BISHOP, A. P. (2004). The internet for empowerment of minority and marginalized users. *New Media & Society*, 6(6), 781–802.
https://doi.org/10.1177/146144804047513.

MIRANDA D. E., TERÁN-TINEDO V., BORGES BENTO J. H., DE JONG T., & DE FRUTOS-LUCAS J. (2025). European digital transformation for Roma girls' health: the case of Spain. *Frontiers in Sociology*, 22 July 2025, Sec. Medical Sociology, Vol. 10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fsoc.2025.1562088.

MUNTE-PASCUAL, A., LOPEZ DE AGUILETA, A., OLABARRIA, A. & et al. (2025) Overcoming the digital divide: Roma communities' digital empowerment strategies and actions during COVID-19 in Spain. *Humanit Soc Sci Commun*, 12, 674. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-025-04898-6.

NOBLE, S. U. (2018). “Algorithms of oppression: how search engines reinforce racism” in *Algorithms of oppression*. New York: New York University Press.

PELAEZ-SANCHEZ, I., & GLASSERMAN-MORALES, L. (2023). Gender digital divide and women's digital inclusion: a systematic mapping. *Multidiscip. J. Gend. Stud.* 12:10555.
https://doi.org/10.17583/generos.10555

QURESHI, S. (2022). Digital transformation at the margins: a battle for the soul of self-sovereignty. *Inf. Technol. Dev.*, 28, 215–229. https://doi.org/10.1080/02681102.2022.2062291.

OYLUPINAR, H. (2025). Introducing Artificial Intelligence into Romani Studies: Risks, possibilities, and a new model for oral history research (Lecture at webinar organised by Institute for `Russian and Eurasian Studies (IRES), The Rroma Foundation (Zurich, Switzerland) and Uppsala Forum (May 28, 2025). Info available at: https://www.uu.se/en/department/russian-and-eurasian-studies/events/archive/2025-05-28-introducing-artificial-intelligence-into-romani-studies-risks-possibilities-and-a-new-model-for-oral-history-research. Accessed on August 1, 2025.

SCHROEDER, D., CHATFIELD, K., MUTHUSWAMY, V., & KUMAR, N. K. (2021). Ethics dumping – How not to do research in resource-poor settings. *Academics Stand Against Poverty*, 1(1), 32–55.
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8089799.

ZACHAR PODOLINSKÁ, T. (2024). *Ethical Challenges in Ethnology and Anthropology: The Case of Slovakia* (Late 20th and 21st Centuries). Bratislava: Institute of Ethnology and Social Anthropology of the Slovak Academy of Sciences. https://doi.org/10.31577/2024.9788097443474.

Acknowledgement: The contribution was prepared within the Project APVV-22-0389 (RELIROMA) “Research of Religiosity, Spirituality and Non-Religiosity among the Roma in Slovakia”. See https://uesa.sav.sk/en/projects/national/research-of-religiosity-spirituality-and-irreligiosity-among-the-roma-in-slovakia/.
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

HORVÁTHOVÁ Jana

The Museum of Romani Culture (1991–2025): The Result of Many Years of Efforts
by the Roma in Czechoslovakia — Building, Challenges, Achievements, and
Visions for the Future

The Roma in Czechoslovakia had been striving to establish a museum dedicated to their own culture since the political liberalization following the Prague Spring of 1968. During this period, the communist regime briefly permitted the creation of the first Roma organization in Czechoslovakia—the Union of Gypsies-Roma (1969–1973). This Union, operating in the Czech Republic, was based in the city of Brno, which remains the seat of the Museum of Romani Culture. In addition to its goals of political representation, enhancing educational standards, and compensating Holocaust victims, the Union also pursued cultural objectives, including the establishment of a museum, specifically the Cabinet of Romani Culture. Collections were being assembled for this future museum. However, as the communist regime tightened its grip during the period of "Normalization" following the Prague Spring, it dissolved the Union, forcing those involved in both the Czech and Slovak Republics to shut it down. Consequently, from April 1973 until the Velvet Revolution, efforts to establish a Romani museum were suppressed for a long time.

Yet, shortly after the November Revolution (1989), these ambitions quickly resurfaced. In the early post-revolution years, only political parties emerged as Roma organizations in Czechoslovakia. They clearly expressed the Roma's desire to gain a share in state power—representation in legislative bodies, such as Parliament. Even these early post-1989 Roma political organizations—the political parties—included in their platforms the goal of establishing a Romani museum.

At that time, I had just graduated with a degree in history and was a member of the Central Committee of the largest and best-known Roma political party—the Romani Civic Initiative. When I left the party at the end of 1990, disillusioned with many of the ideals I had once held about working in such a party, the idea of founding a Romani museum remained firmly planted in my mind.

However, political parties at that time had more pressing matters to address, and none of them took up the task of founding the museum. So, in Brno, a small group of former Union members—Roma—came together and decided to take on the challenge of establishing the museum themselves.

Our original wish to establish the Museum of Romani Culture as a state institution was not feasible, so we founded it as an association-based museum. For the first eight years, the legal entity representing the Museum was its founding association, composed of experts and friends of the Museum of Romani Culture. In its first 14 years, the institution underwent a challenging experience working in the non-profit sector, initially operating as a civic association and later as a public benefit organization. However, without significant state support, it would not have survived to this day. By 2005, such support had become essential, leading to the Museum becoming a state-subsidized organization and joining the ranks of around twenty nationwide museums established by the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic.

The lecture will present the composition of the Museum's collection funds as well as its public activities beyond the creation, preservation, and exhibition of collection items. It will also cover the most recent period, which began in 2018, when the Museum was entrusted by the state with establishing additional branches, particularly Memorials to the Holocaust of Roma and Sinti at sites of their wartime suffering. The lecture will be accompanied by a presentation featuring extensive visual material.
A Fieldwork and Its Changes: Reflections on the Ethnography of the Gabori Roma, 1999-2025

Between 1999, the date of my first fieldwork among the Gabori in Transylvania, and today, many things have changed: in Romania and, more generally, in Europe, but also in anthropology, in the field of Romani studies, and, beyond that, in the social sciences, at various levels. I propose to revisit these evolutions, their impact on the field, on the Roma and their neighbors, but also on the ethnographer, his practices and analyses. This reflective perspective may help identify the weaknesses and blind spots, as well as the strengths and value of the ethnological approach, based on long-term relationships and intertwined subjectivities.

Un terrain et ses mutations : réflexions sur l'ethnographie des Roms Gabori, 1999-2025

Entre 1999, date de mon premier terrain chez les Gabori en Transylvanie, et aujourd'hui,
bien des choses ont changé : en Roumanie et, plus globalement, en Europe, mais aussi en
anthropologie, dans le champ des Romani studies et, au-delà, dans le milieu des sciences
sociales, à divers niveaux. Je propose de revenir sur ces évolutions, leur impact sur le
terrain, sur les Roms et leurs voisins, mais aussi sur l'ethnographe, ses pratiques et ses
analyses. Ce retour réflexif pourra aider à identifier les faiblesses, les points aveugles
comme les forces et la valeur de l'approche ethnologique, fondée sur des relations de
longue durée et des subjectivités entremêlées.
# Living with Antigypsyism: Contentious Embeddedness and the Struggle for Recognition in France

This keynote explores how antigypsyism structures social life in France, not only as prejudice but as a condition of living marked by stigma, contentious embeddedness, and dissonant recognition. Drawing on the CNCDH barometer, I show that hostility towards Roma and Traveller groups remains structurally higher than towards any other minority, sustaining a perception of radical otherness. Yet antigypsyism is more than a statistical pattern: it is reproduced and contested through public discourse, political agendas, media campaigns, and everyday encounters. Ethnographic and network studies reveal that Roma lives are deeply interwoven with neighborhoods, schools, workplaces, and associations, where solidarity, hostility, and indifference coexist in fragile balance. Mobilizations—whether civic, religious, or school-based—demonstrate both the limits of inclusion and the generative role of conflict in reshaping boundaries and claims to dignity. At the same time, the emerging struggle over the memory of the Roma genocide illustrates how recognition unfolds in dissonant ways, simultaneously denied, affirmed, and politicized. Antigypsyism, I argue, is not a fixed legacy but a dynamic and contested process: it exposes the contradictions of plural democracy, while opening unexpected spaces for solidarity and new forms of recognition.

# Vivre avec l'antitsiganisme : enracinement conflictuel et lutte pour la reconnaissance en France

Cette conférence plénière analyse la manière dont l'antitsiganisme structure la vie sociale en France, non seulement comme un préjugé, mais comme une condition d'existence marquée par la stigmatisation, l« enracinement conflictuel » et la « reconnaissance dissonante ». À partir des données du baromètre de la CNCDH, j'expose que l'hostilité envers les Roms et les Gens du voyage demeure structurellement plus forte que pour tout autre groupe minoritaire, nourrissant une perception persistante d'altérité radicale. Mais l'antitsiganisme dépasse le registre statistique : il se reproduit et se conteste à travers les discours publics, les agendas politiques, les campagnes médiatiques et les interactions quotidiennes. Les études ethnographiques et de réseaux montrent que les vies roms sont profondément liées aux quartiers, aux écoles, aux lieux de travail et aux associations, où solidarité, hostilité et indifférence coexistent dans un équilibre fragile. Les mobilisations – qu'elles soient citoyennes, religieuses ou scolaires – illustrent à la fois les limites de l'inclusion et le rôle génératif du conflit dans la redéfinition des frontières et des revendications de dignité. Parallèlement, l'émergence d'une lutte autour de la mémoire du génocide des Roms montre comment la reconnaissance se déploie de manière dissonante, à la fois niée, affirmée et politisée. L'antitsiganisme, soutiendrai-je, n'est pas un héritage figé mais un processus dynamique et contesté : il révèle les contradictions de la démocratie pluraliste, tout en ouvrant des espaces inattendus de solidarité et de nouvelles formes de reconnaissance
# PRE-ARRANGED PANELS

## Pre-Arranged Panel 1: RomIs: History and Ethnography of Roma in Iceland

### Convenor: Sofiya ZAHOVA

Until recently, Icelandic academics and researchers of Romani Studies alike believed Iceland to be a Roma-less territory with a rather homogeneous and isolated population in which Roma people were unseen until the late twentieth century. Despite this lack of actual contact, an image of the “Gypsies” (“sígaunar” and “tatarar”) has still been present in Iceland, and – similar to everywhere in the Western world – has been shaped by literature, art and folk narratives portraying the Gypsies/Roma between two interrelated extremes: an exotic one and a marginal one.

RomIs: History and Ethnography of Roma in Iceland (RomIs) is a multi-disciplinary research project with two overarching goals: first, to provide the first historical account of Romani presence in Iceland, and second, to look ethnographically into the contemporary Roma community in Iceland.

The participants in the session will present the final results of the project inquiry into the presence and reception of Roma/Gypsies in Iceland as well as groups and individuals believed to be “Gypsies” in different historical periods from the early twentieth century until today. We will provide an overview of the research questions, outcomes and methodologies in the broader context of Romani Studies and the history of the Nordic region, demonstrating that Romani presence in Iceland is part of the connected histories of Roma as a transnational ethnic community.
“Famous Vagrant Mob”: Discourses on ‘Gypsies’, ‘Tramps’ and other ‘Begging Vagrants’ in Early 20th-Century Iceland

During the first half of the 20th century, a new type of foreign travellers began to frequent Iceland, using increased communications to the distant island in the North Atlantic and relatively open borders in the years before the First World War. Unlike ordinary foreign tourists, these vagabonds – to use Zygmunt Bauman’s expression – did not come to the island to observe Icelandic nature or to visit historical sites. Rather, their intention was to collect money for their destitute families at home or to entertain the Icelanders with variety shows. The majority of these visitors maintained they were Armenian victims of persecution, while others claimed to be “Norwegian Lapps”, but in the Icelandic press they were all branded as “Gypsies”. To judge from numerous comments in Icelandic newspapers, the visiting vagabonds caused considerable concern among the Icelandic public, because people feared that the travellers intended to settle in country, and thus to replace domestic vagrants who had disappeared by the end of the 19th century. In the presentation, I intend to scrutinise the public discourses in Iceland on the “foreign vagrant mob”, as they were called in the media, discussing where the Icelandic commentators learned the terms to describe and classify the visitors. What did the term “Gypsy” (Sígauni) mean in Iceland at the time and why was it used for various groups of people ostensibly of diverse backgrounds? Moreover, why were these stray travellers, who stayed only for a few weeks in the country, so badly received and how do the discourses on them fit into the history of Icelandic immigration debates.
# The ghost of the Gypsy: Sígaunar, Romafólk and exceptionalism in contemporary Iceland

This paper reflects on some paradoxes emerged from the project *Romls: History and Ethnography of Roma in Iceland* and concerning how Icelandic society has responded to the presence of Roma families in contemporary Iceland.

The formation of a Roma community in the Reykjavík area is a relatively recent development and, so far, has not attracted societal attention, being generally downplayed in media and political debates. Besides, the few institutional actors that approached the Roma have demonstrated an unusual and genuine openness to the cultural diversity represented by the figure of the Roma/Gypsies (Romafólk/Sígaunar).

Nonetheless, despite the historical absence of virulent forms of anti-Gypsyism, the ghost of the exotic Gypsy has constantly influenced Icelandic collective imagery to the point of giving rise to urban legends that, upon closer examination, proved to be unfounded. Nowadays, it risks haunting certain encounters between Icelandic institutions and Roma families.

This paper proposes analyzing this situation through the lens of Icelandic exceptionalism. I will argue that the idealized image of Iceland as an anti-racist and tolerant country whose past is free from the stain of colonialism has positively influenced institutional approaches to Roma families. However, while preventing Roma from being framed within the blatantly anti-Gypsy rhetoric that characterizes many European countries, this idealized image is rooted in a national discourse shaped by (neo)colonial premises. These premises risk subtly resurfacing in the form of exoticization processes that construct the Roma as a radical alterity, which Iceland's professed multiculturalism may struggle to engage with and integrate fully.
How gender and upbringing shaped the Icelandic school and welfare system's reception and perception of Romanian Roma families

This presentation delves into findings from 15 ethnographic interviews with staff from the Icelandic school and welfare systems who have worked with Romanian Roma families. This research, conducted as part of the project *Romís: History and ethnography of Roma people in Iceland*, emerged in response to the significant challenges experienced by school and welfare staff in relation to the new and unfamiliar presence of Roma families in Icelandic society. The data from the research indicates that school and welfare staff working with Romanian Roma families had specific concerns over the welfare of Roma women and children. The staff and Roma families held differing expectations regarding the system's role in children's upbringing and women's empowerment, with the staff upholding the Western feminist perspective prevalent in Icelandic society. Problems identified by interviewees, such as living conditions, non-compliance, and student absenteeism, led school and welfare staff to question their biases and approach their work in a reflexive way. The unsuccessful attempts to integrate Roma people into Icelandic society on the institutions' terms resulted in dilemmas among the staff about their level of acceptance towards perceived Roma culture. The tension between working towards institutional objectives in education and welfare, on the one hand, and collaborating to build trust with Romanian Roma families, on the other, reflects broader issues encountered by staff who work with vulnerable groups. The influence of migration patterns on Roma transnational experiences and the reinforcement of negative cultural depictions by Western societies are also discussed. The increasing influence of neoliberalism on welfare states like Iceland, with its impacts on migrant reception and depreciation of female-dominated professions, are other key aspects that will be tackled.

This presentation, therefore, explores the current dilemmas that Icelandic school and welfare systems staff experience when working with Romanian Roma families in their attempt to implement integration policies effectively.
From Romania to Reykjavík: Roma Identities and Religious Expressions

This paper examines the religious practices of Romanian Roma communities living in Reykjavík, focusing on how migration influences their spiritual and social lives. Most Romanian Roma living in the city follow Pentecostal Christianity, while a smaller number continue to maintain Orthodox traditions. Pentecostal gatherings are central to community life and are marked by passionate prayer, lively singing, and a strong sense of togetherness. These meetings often take place in private homes or rented garages, turning everyday spaces into important community places of worship and social connection.

Religious gatherings serve not only as moments of faith but also as spaces where people find support, share advice, and strengthen community ties. In the country of migration, these meetings help individuals deal with daily challenges while also maintaining a shared cultural and ethnic identity. Religion, in this context, becomes a way to feel at home and stay connected to one's roots. These gatherings also create informal networks of care, where members exchange practical help, emotional comfort, and spiritual guidance.

Based on ethnographic research, including interviews and observation, this paper explores how migration has led to changes in the religious expression of Ursari Roma migrants living in Reykjavík. It discusses how worship styles and group dynamics have adapted to life in Iceland. For example, the use of rented garages as worship spaces or outdoor spaces for baptism highlights the flexibility and resourcefulness of the community in creating sacred environments in new surroundings. These adaptations reflect both continuity with religious traditions in Romania and innovation in response to the challenges of migration.

By looking at these evolving practices, the study sheds light on the role of religion in helping migrant communities cope with displacement, build solidarity, and maintain identity. It also contributes to broader discussions on the intersection of religion, ethnicity, and mobility in Europe. The case of the Romanian Roma in Reykjavík illustrates how faith serves as both a spiritual anchor and a practical tool for community building in diasporic life.
# The (dis)connected history of Romani presence in Iceland in the context of Romani Studies

This paper discusses the methodology and findings of the research project *RomIs: History and Ethnography of Roma in Iceland*, which explores the historical presence, everyday experiences, and representations of Roma in Iceland. Drawing on archival research, media analysis, and ethnographic fieldwork, RomIs has been an opportunity to engage with findings, data and paradigms within the field of Romani Studies.

While Iceland has been largely absent from Romani Studies, we argue that Roma who have resided across the Nordic region, have also been present in Iceland, both historically and in recent decades. We reflect on how our findings challenge dominant historiographies that have excluded Roma from historical memory in Iceland. We view Roma as historical agents and knowledge producers on the examples of the extensive epistolary archive of the Bersico/Bersikof/Demetri family who were among the first Roma to venture into Iceland.

Regarding contemporary Romani migrations, our research diverges from the focus on Roma often involved in street economies or defined as “traditional”. Our analysis confirms that while the experiences of Roma living in Iceland align with patterns observed among Eastern European migrants in Iceland and among Roma in other Nordic and Western European contexts, there is still relative public invisibility. At the same time, Romani families’ encounters with the education and welfare systems often reinforce existing stereotypes. These findings open a broader discussion about the complexities of the institutional awareness about Romani presence and the role of academic research as the one produced within the RomIs project.
## Pre-Arranged Panel 2: Re-ethnicization of Roma religious culture: navigating between heritage and innovation

### Convenor: Kinga POVEDÁK

This panel investigates processes of re-ethnicization—specifically those that involve a renewed turn towards tradition—through various aspects of Roma religious culture in Hungary. For a long time, the religious life of Hungarian Roma communities appeared only sporadically in scholarly discourse. This lacuna can be attributed to two interrelated factors: (1) the religious policy of the socialist regime prior to 1989, which placed significant constraints on research in this area, and (2) the diverging strategies of the churches themselves.

Census data show that the predominantly Roman Catholic Roma population has long had to navigate the colonizing attitudes historically embedded in their church's engagement with Roma communities. At the same time, the growing number of Roma affiliated with Pentecostal congregations encountered a different challenge: the tendency of these communities to privilege universal Christian values over expressions of Roma ethnic identity. As a result, the incorporation of traditional Roma cultural elements into religious life—beyond the ritual expressions of folk belief—was significantly impeded.

Over the past fifteen years, however, there has been a noticeable resurgence in the visibility of ethnic markers. The phenomena of folklorism and the folkloresque have become increasingly evident in reconstructed traditions of dress, in the religious soundscape, and in the praxis of ritual. Yet this resurgence resists any straightforward interpretation. It cannot be viewed solely as a grassroots phenomenon or as an instinctive return to tradition; nor does an emphasis on individual innovation sufficiently account for its complexities.

Our panel seeks to explore this multifaceted phenomenon through the perspectives of various agents, including Romani Design, representatives of Christian churches, Roma religious communities and participants in the pilgrimage to Csatka.
POVEDÁK Kinga & Helena Mária VARGA

Sonic traditions and innovations: music and identity in Hungarian Roma religiosity

In Roma culture and within Roma religiosity, music holds undeniable significance. While acknowledging that this observation might risk reinforcing stereotypes, our intention is not to do so. Rather, this study examines the underexplored subject of religious Roma musicking. In this paper, I investigate how various churches and denominations in Hungary perceive the role of music in Roma missions aimed at converting individuals to Catholic, Pentecostal, Calvinist, or Baptist communities. Is it seen as an emotive pathway into spiritual narratives, a medium for cultural dialogue and negotiation, or is its strategic value underemphasized?

Who values the preservation of the Roma musical tradition within the framework of Christianity? Is it the community itself, or is it rather the missionary leaders who consider it a pivotal tool for representation? In this paper, I will analyze the narratives of leading figures in the Roma missions in Hungary, while also showcasing my understanding of the various Roma religious communities and investigating local initiatives to examine whether they cultivate a distinct Roma religious repertoire or predominantly rely on mainstream Christian (non-Roma) repertoires.

This paper shows how roma religious musicking functions as a rich cultural text that not only narrates the complex interplay between indigenous identity and Christian spirituality but also reveals key processes of cultural negotiation and self-identification. By examining musical style, lyrical content, and performance practices, the research sheds light on how Roma communities assert authenticity and resilience, and negotiate their spiritual belonging in diverse socio-religious contexts.
# POVEDÁK István

## The politics of the “Roma pilgrimage” of Csatka

The largest "Roma pilgrimage" in Central and Eastern Europe is organized every September in the small Hungarian village of Csatka. Around 30000 pilgrims arrive, of whom roughly 90% are Roma. The presence of the Roma has always provoked controversy among the authorities, the police, church people, the locals, and non-Roma pilgrims. One of the reasons for the disputes is that the vernacular religiosity and the behaviour of the Roma is considered “unusual” by members of the majority society. Roma have always dressed in their own festive costumes, spending money at the vendors on kitsch, bringing huge bouquets of flowers, enormous candles, and even making dozens of dresses for the Virgin Mary statue. All this is accompanied by ambiguity among the non-Roma pilgrims. The conflict between Roma and non-Roma is further intensified by the Roma “turbofolk” music party in the meadow near the church.

The ethnic pilgrimage is an excellent opportunity to analyze 1) Roma vernacular religiosity, 2) contemporary Roma folk art, 3) how Roma pilgrims connect and use religious images, including religious kitsch purchased from the vendors, and 4) the visual representation of the pilgrimage in various media.

In addition, the visual representation of the pilgrimage reveals strong colonisation strategies and mentality on the part of non-Roma pilgrims, the Catholic Church and clergy, and in media representations.
# The multilateral Mary: Marian devotion in contemporary Roma art & design

Marian devotion holds a significant place in Roma culture, intertwining spiritual, communal, and artistic expressions. This presentation explores how contemporary art and design reinterpret Marian iconography within Roma cultural narratives, focusing on Romani Design's artistic practice. Romani Design is the world's first Roma fashion studio and activist art initiative, founded by Erika and Helena Varga in 2010. The studio was founded with the purpose of using fashion and art as tools for empowerment, cultural representation, and social change. The founders' goal has been to challenge stereotypes, elevate Roma cultural heritage, and foster social equity by using art-based activism as a catalyst for change.

Through the *Gypsy Madonna* motif and the *Romani Madonna* collection, the panel details how traditional religious imagery is transformed into a medium for cultural advocacy, representation, and activism.

The key case studies are the *Körforgásban – In Circulation and Romani Design Fashion Art* exhibitions, which included a video artwork depicting statue of the Virgin Mary of Csatka (one of the most significant locations of Roma Pilgrimage in Europe) adorned with a Romani Design dress. This act, rich in iconographic and conceptual significance, reflects the Roma community's deep-rooted Marian devotion while reshaping its contemporary visual and spiritual interpretations. By personalizing and embodying Virgin Mary, these artistic interventions navigate between heritage and modernity, faith and cultural identity, while also exploring the role of Roma artistic expressions in contemporary art.

Analysing these works through the lens of design paradigms, their conceptual foundations, adaptation of religious traditions into contemporary aesthetics, and their role in cultural memory and advocacy are discussed. The presentation highlights the intersections of spirituality and activism, questioning how Marian imagery functions in secular and non-religious contexts, pop culture, and digital spaces. Ultimately, this paper contributes to broader discussions on religious iconography's evolving relevance.
Pre-Arranged Panel 3: Historicity, Migration and Origin of
Roma: Indian and Iranian Perspective

Convenors: Mohammad Zameer ANWAR and Mojgan ZARGAR

The research paper chiefly intends to evince the reliable account of historical occurrences
as well as substitute legends and myths with facts and findings besides phasing out the
unexamined assumptions. The paper aims at reflecting Roma's historical, cultural and
civilizational affinity with India, drawing on historical, cultural and anthropological studies.
The research paper employs the empirical and multidisciplinary approach in dealing with
historical dislocation and origin of the Romani people (or community) from India and the
reality of their present-day links with India. The presentation provides an illuminating
perspective on the origin and migration of Romani population from India by dint of
exploring the both classical and modern historical accounts and documents. It intends to
answer the questions about India - the cradle of Roma that is treated as an axiomatic truth
in the narratives concerning the origin of Roma. Piecing through myriad hypothesis and
findings is to feed to the narrative of "the long road of the Roma" over 1,000 years since
the migration from the Indian territories.
Roma as A Historical Diaspora of India: Historiographical Analysis

The research paper is a scholarly endeavour to navigate historical journey of Roma out of
India to Afghanistan as well as to demonstrate their arrival to Persia (Iran), Asia Minor,
Balkan and Europe. The history of Roma is part of shared history of India, as Roma and
Indians shared the same fate. Roma were displaced by Sultan Mahmud, whereas numerous
Indian villages and towns were burnt and desolated as well as a multitude of Indians were
killed by the same sultan. Despite an elapse of more than thousand years of Roma's
dislocation, Indians and Roma are knit together by a sense of shared culture and values.
This is not only a historical and civilizational kinship but also a physical and genetic
symmetry.
Revisiting the Affinity of Romani Dance with Indian Folk Dance

Dance is an important vehicle of social and cultural identity. As a cultural symbol, it conveys the traditions, beliefs, customs and experiences of a particular community. In different cultures, the style of dance, its structure, and modes of performance reflect how a community expresses its collective memories and identity through artistic form. For the proposed research paper, the dance performed by the Roma community—Indian folk dancers—has been comparatively studied and analysed.

Because of their origin in India, music and dance of the Roma community have evolved from Indian musical and dance traditions, integrating different folk dance schools and styles. Even after nearly ten centuries of migration, the influence of Indian dance traditions remains prominent in Romani dance. The research paper examines the influence of Indian dance traditions on Romani (Gypsy) dance, besides analysing elegance, energy, rhythm, fluidity and styles between Indian folk dance and Romani dance.

The paper looks into the Romani folk dance in a historical context as well as demonstrates the cultural connections between Rajasthan's Kalbelia folk dance and European Gypsy dance. It illustrates the parallels between Romani dance and Indian Kalbelia dance with the focus on forms, movement, expression, technicality of dance, complex footwork, spins, etc.
# OPEN PANELS

## Open Panel 1: Roma in and from Ukraine

**Convenors: Elena MARUSHIAKOVA and Veselin POPOV**

Since the onset of the Russia-Ukraine war in 2022, millions of refugees from Ukraine have sought asylum abroad. Among these refugees is a significant number of Ukrainian Roma, who face unique challenges due to the lack of recognition of their history and culture, as well as issues related to adaptation, integration, and social inclusion in their host countries. Historically and presently, the experiences of Ukrainian Roma have been largely overlooked in academic discourse, leaving critical gaps in our understanding of their ethno-cultural identity and responses to contemporary upheavals.

This panel seeks to address these gaps by examining the historical, cultural, and social aspects of the Roma community in Ukraine and its internal diversity. It will also explore the current challenges they face both within Ukraine and across the broader European context.

This panel aims to highlight key areas of Roma life in Ukraine, including their history, internal community structures, self-governance, ethnic and national identity developments, and the transformation of their social position. We welcome a wide range of contributions that explore the Roma experience before and after the war and the circumstances of Ukrainian Roma in other European countries today.

We encourage submissions from scholars across disciplines, including history, anthropology, sociology, political science, cultural studies, and others addressing the following and similar themes:

* **Historical Perspectives:** The history of the Roma in Ukraine, with an emphasis on their experiences before, during, and after the current armed conflict. Topics may include migration patterns, historical marginalisation, and resilience.

* **Ethnic and Cultural Practices:** Exploration of Roma cultural traditions, language, and the complexities of ethnic identity within a rapidly changing political landscape.

* **Social and Economic Conditions:** An analysis of the social position of Roma in Ukraine, including issues concerning poverty, access to education, healthcare, and housing, along with barriers to integration within Ukrainian society and broader European contexts.

* **Impact of the War on Roma Communities:** The specific challenges faced by Roma in the context of displacement, including the trauma of war, refugee experiences, divided families, and the ongoing struggle for social justice and recognition within the diaspora.
* **Migration and Refugee Experiences:** Examining the experiences of Ukrainian Roma refugees, with a focus on integration challenges, discrimination, and their search for belonging in host countries.

* **Policy and Activism:** The role of local and international NGOs, governmental agencies, and Roma activists in advocating for the rights of Ukrainian Roma and supporting their integration into new societies.

* **Development of Pan-Roma Identity:** The influence of international, national and local Roma organisations and individuals in fostering a sense of belonging to the global Roma community through the use of symbols and collective actions.

This panel aims to foster interdisciplinary dialogue and provide a platform for research that illuminates the lived realities of Roma in Ukraine and abroad—historically and in the present day. We encourage researchers whose work focuses on Roma issues in Ukraine before the war, as well as those addressing the contemporary struggles of Ukrainian Roma in Europe, to submit proposals. We look forward to receiving diverse, thought-provoking contributions that will enhance our understanding of the Roma community in and from Ukraine, shedding light on both their unique experiences and shared struggles in the context of war, migration, and social change.

The panel is output of the project "Identity of Roma in Transcarpathian Ukraine: past and present" (VEGA, Project No. 2/0057/24).
# DREWS-SYLLA Gesine

## Who's the Victim? Narrating Hierarchies of Exclusion in Michal Blaško's Obet' (2022)

Using the case study of the Slovak-Czech-German film *Obet' (Victim)* (2022), the proposed paper approaches the dynamics between different minority groups in the Czech Republic as the film analyzes them and translates them into a narrative and visual form. The film is based on an event that took place in 2012. In a false testimony, a young Ukrainian who hurt himself seriously by his own fault, accused Roma of having attacked him. The incident created public unrest and was used by right-wing forces to rally against the Romani minority in the Czech Republic. The film reapproaches the incident narratively and reframes it. In the film, which was shot before the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine, both Ukrainians and Roma represent different minority groups that are struggling for their rights in Czech society. While in the film the lie is still a lie, its causes and consequences are presented as a chain of structural mechanisms of exclusion that both groups are subjected to, yet very differently and with different outcomes in each case. Evidently, the film does not comment on the situation of Roma refugees in the Czech Republic today, it rather analyzes how social deprivation creates hierarchies of exclusion.

The film is not the only instance in which the event from 2012 was addressed in cultural memory. While the paper concentrates on the film as one of the voices, it also approaches different instances in which the event was addressed in public discourse, among them incidents that are knit into the dynamics set off by the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the ensuing situation of Roma as war refugees.
## The Roma from Ukraine in detention centres in the Czech Republic

At the time of the centralized assistance to people from Ukraine, from the very beginning of the War in 2022, the Czech Republic was taking a dual approach to Romani and non-Romani refugees. While ethnic Ukrainians were sent from Regional assistance centres for Ukrainians (KACPU) to various types of housing, including dormitories, hotels, and private accommodation, often with prices set in solidarity, Roma were systematically sent to former detention facilities, most often in Vyšní Lhoty or Bělá pod Bezdězem. The so-called detention centres, operated by the Refugee Facilities Administration of the Ministry of the Interior, have long served primarily to detain non-EU foreigners who have been issued administrative expulsion by foreign police officers or who have entered the Czech Republic in violation of Czech law, often without valid documents. When the war in Ukraine begun, the purpose of these facilities was modified by a government resolution, which decided refugees defined as being from "a socio-culturally different background" would be sent here. This designation was introduced by Czech politics for Roma refugees, without direct reference to their ethnicity. Thus, the original clientele of the detention centres was temporarily transferred to other centres and the capacity was freed up for the Roma from Ukraine. Both these two centres are situated outside the village, in the middle of the woods, very far from shops, school or work. They are surrounded by barbed wire, with bars on the windows and the regime is closed, so, for the Roma, all of this evoked the feeling that they were send to a prison, thus, they didn't want to stay there. A lot of Roma, who were sent here, refused to disembark from buses and stated to cry, and they asked for other housing. This, however, made them ineligible for further State housing assistance, as they refused the housing allocated by the State. Several non-profit organisations, volunteers and activists assisting Roma have protested against the accommodation of Roma from Ukraine in these facilities, but still, several hundreds of Romani families have been treated in this way. Roma from Ukraine were treated in these centres as second-class citizens, as illegal migrants, without documents, without any rights in European Union, and all of it happened in the time of raising solidarity with the Ukrainians – but only with the white ones.
## Le Rom andaj Ukrajina andej detenčíva centrura po Čecho

Kana kezdijas o marimo pi Ukrajina ando berš 2022, o Čecho phuterdas ávri žutori le manušenge andaj Ukrajina duje fejlicka dromenca: áveršandes sas inkerde le Rom taj áversar le gáže andaj Ukrajina. Ande Regionálníva centrura la žutoráke le Ukrajinconge (KACPU) le gážen bišavenas andej hotelura, penziónura vaj andej privátníva khera, ká šaj bešenas jive vaj ká či potřinas but. Le Romen bišavenas ande detekčníva centrura, maj but ando gav Vyšní Lhoty taj Bělá pod Bezdězem. Kadala detenčníva centrura si kerde telaj Andrune Ministeresko Ofiso perdal migratura, taj aba but berš si puterde le žejnenge, so naj andaj europskíva thema, so sas našade ávri anda them vaj so sas le bajura le šingálenca po Čecho vaj so nás le dokumentura/ liťa. Kana kezdijas o marimo pi Ukrajina ando berš 2022, o maj báro ofiso po Čecho das avri, hoď ande kadala dúj centrumura aba bešena fere kecave migratura, so áven avri anda "áver sociálno taj kulturno situácija". Kadele dromesa le politikura kezdinde te akharen le Romen, bi kodolesko te phenen direct avri lengi etnicita. Le migrantura andaj áver/ trinte thema sas šudine perdal ande ávera centrura, taj intrégi kapacita kadale kherengi sas phuterdi fere le Romenge andaj Ukrajina. Sej dúj centrura torďon ávri andaj fóro/gav, maškar le veša taj le bolti, le školi, le búťa, sa si khotar naďon dúr. Sej dúj si phandade le sastrune kucime bárenca, le sástri si vi pej fejastri, o režimo si phandado, taj kado sa dičholas le Romenge sar phanglimo, taj azír či kamenas khote te bešen. But Rom, kana ingerde le khote le autobusonca, či kamenas ávri te žan andaj autobusi taj rovenas, hoď kamen te den áver kher. But kadalendar, so ášiline, apal nášle tar taj rodenas o drom palpále andi Prága vaj ando áver maj báro fouro. De o sistémo sas kerdo káde, hoď kana vareko či las o kher, so das leske/lake o them, aba nás les/la áver šanca pi themeski žutóri vaj louve. Maj but organizácii taj le aktivistura, so žutinenas le Ukrajinconge, márnas pe anda lenge čačimátura taj phenenas, hoď o them náštik bišavel le Romen ande kadal centrura, de vi kade vaj ketťi šela Rom sas khate bišade. Le Rom sas káde inkerde sar le migrantura, co nášen andaj trinta thema, so naj le či soske čačimátura andi Europskívo unija, taj kado sa ášilas pe andi kecavi vráma, kana sako sikhavelas peski solidarita le Ukrajinconca – de fere le párnenca.
The Phenomenon of the Roma Women's Court: Overcoming or Modifying Traditions in Postmodern Society

The phenomenon of the so-called "Gypsy Court" (Romani Kris, Sendo/Syndo, Davia, etc.) has long attracted the attention of researchers in the field of Romani Studies, and the number of publications on this topic continues to grow. However, significant issues still remain under-researched or have received minimal attention. One of these issues concerns the role of Roma women in autonomous lawmaking and internal politics, as well as the extent to which they can protect their rights within this system. This research gap is puzzling, particularly given the widespread contemporary interest in Gender and Feminist Studies. Despite the popularity of these fields, scholars working in this area have largely overlooked the role of Roma women in traditional justice systems.

An intriguing contrast emerges when examining the status of Roma women through the lens of the community-society dichotomy. On one hand, there is broad consensus among researchers and human rights advocates regarding the position of Roma women in wider society. However, the situation is entirely different regarding their status within the Roma community. The dominant discourse on multiple discrimination portrays Roma women as victims of double discrimination—both as women and as members of an ethnic minority.

In this paper, we present an unexpected finding from our recent research among the Roma in and from Ukraine, which surprised even us. Our research has uncovered a previously unknown phenomenon: the existence of an all-female Roma court.

We will discuss the following issues: the reasons for the emergence of all-female Roma courts over the past two to three decades, their role within the Roma community, and the attitudes of Roma men toward their operation and legitimacy. Additionally, we will provide a detailed analysis of their organisation, procedures, types of cases handled, decision-making processes, and the use of magical practices within this framework. Finally, we will pay special attention to how the Roma Women's Court functions during the war in Ukraine and in the context of war-related displacement and refugee resettlement.

The presentation is output of the project "Identity of Roma in Transcarpathian Ukraine: past and present" (VEGA, Project No. 2/0057/24).
From the Ukraine to the Green Isle: Roma Experiences in the North West of Ireland

In 2021, Human Rights Watch expressed concerns about the violence faced by Roma in the Ukraine and the lack of accountability for this violence (https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/11/29/radicals-target-roma-people-ukraine).

Previously, Amnesty International had warned that attacks on Roma in the Ukraine were becoming increasingly vicious, while Stephen Mueller, advisor on international affairs with the Central Council of German Sinti and Roma refers to ‘strong Anti-Gypsysm in the Ukraine. He also fears a repetition of the practice of expelling Roma and excluding them from reconstruction after the war as happened in places such as Kosovo (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/apr/29/roma-postwar-ukraine#:~:text=In%20the%20years%20before%20Russia's,perpetrators%20be%20brought%20to%20justice).

The discrimination against Roma in the Ukraine seems to have transferred to Ireland where resistance has been noted by settled Ukrainian refugees to share a neighbourhood with Roma families. This resistance, additional to prejudice against Roma and Travellers among the settled Irish and other populations, has led to the segregation of Roma from the Ukraine and increased disadvantage. A different layer of complexity has been added by the diversity of the different Roma groups and languages, such as Servi, Vlachs, Crimean, TransCarpathian or Ruska Roma.

As part of a wider study, ethnographic research is being conducted among Roma refugees from the Ukraine living in County Donegal, Ireland engaging in conversations with Roma from the Ukraine and participating in activities such as artist led workshops making use of ‘the common third’ approach. Mindful of the political, historical and cultural context, this research is concerned with people’s experiences of segregation, their perceived identity, their endeavour to make sense in a new and different culture, their struggles to maintain and pass on their own and their hopes and fears of a life in post-war Ukraine.
# Open Panel 2: Religiosity, Spirituality and Non-religiosity among the Roma

## Convenors: Tatiana ZACHAR PODOLINSKÁ and Juraj MAJO

The main goal of the panel is to investigate and document manifestations of church and non-church religiosity among the Roma, including manifestations of modern and postmodern spirituality and hitherto unexplored phenomena of religious experimenting, de-conversion, non-religiosity and secularism.

Research on religious change and the exploration of its social impacts on Roma communities in different countries of the world is highly topical in the current academic research. However, it should be noted that the European research on Roma religiousness is still dominated by partial case studies that focus almost exclusively on Pentecostal, neo-Protestant and Charismatic movements (e.g. Thurffjell, Marsh, Eds., 2014; Zachar Podolinská 2021b, etc.). By all accounts, Pentecostalism, neo-Protestant and related Charismatic movements (so-called Renewalist movements) represent one of the fastest-growing segments of global Christianity in general, which is particularly true also in the context of Roma/Gypsy communities around the globe. In many national contexts (Central, Eastern, and South-Eastern Europe, as well as UK), the twentieth and twenty-first century faced the phenomena of new emerging churches and assemblies, particularly among Romani communities (see e.g. Acton 1979). Currently these have been raising the second or even third generation of followers, being firmly rooted in respective national contexts and local Romani communities. In academic studies, their impact on Romani communities in terms of changing the value system, cultural and ethnic unwritten community rules (e. g. Cantón Delgádo 2010; Slavkova 2014; etc.), primary and secondary social networking (e. g. Podolinská 2017; Podolinská and Hrustič 2010, 2011), economic behaviour (e.g. Slavkova 2018), social and space mobility (e. g. Ort and Dobruská 2018; Slavkova 2018), group cohesion, family and community morale (Podolinská and Hrustič 2010, 2011) etc., has been traced.

Despite the prevailing trend of research focused on Pentecostal, neo-Protestant and Charismatic churches and movements, we can find equally vibrant religious manifestations of what we call "Romani Christianity" (for Slovakia see Zachar Podolinská 2021b), or manifestations of modern and postmodern forms of religiosity and spirituality (e. g. Zachar Podolinská 2021a) Similarly, the study of such phenomena as deconversion and religious indifference among the Roma is present but rather rare (Hrustič 2014) As has been stated in the introductory paper of the monothematic issue of Romani Studies (2021, Ser. 5, Vol. 31, No. 2) focused on religiosity among the Roma worldwide, (Zachar Podolinská and Hrustič 2021), despite the majority of scholarly articles and books focus on Roma religiosity (traditional and non-traditional), we should bear in mind that many Roma live in environments where they are in daily contact with postmodern types of religiosity/spirituality, as well as with secularized and globalized culture. Among the Roma living in urban (and rural environments as well), a variety of phenomena of experimental religiosity has been documented (Zachar Podolinská 2021). The project proposes, that in academic research we should approach Roma in the same way as mainstream society, where we recognize varieties of experimental and composite faiths, privatized beliefs, and individualized practicing (Podolinská 2010), etc. In this regard, we should also note that not all Roma are believers. Particularly this topic brings great potential for research on so-called "nones" and "dones" (never and former religious people) (Schwadel 2021). In
current religious studies in Europe the research of non-religious people, nonbelievers, or believers without a fixed affiliation has increasing tendencies (e.g. Zachar Podolinská et al. 2019; Zachar Podolinská and Majo 2022). In European religious studies the research of non-religion and secularism is carried out by separate research teams and projects of international networks, while in Romani studies, such focused research has not yet taken place.

## References

ACTON, T. (1979). The Gypsy Evangelical Church. *The Ecumenical Review* 31 (3): 289–95.

CANTÓN DELGÁDO, Manuela (2010). Gypsy Pentecostalism, ethnopolitical uses and construction of belonging in the south of Spain. *Social Compass*, 57 (2), 253–67.

HRUSTIČ, T. (2014). The rise and fall of Romani Pentecostal revivals in Eastern Slovakia: A case study of one mission. In: Thurfjell, D., Marsh, A. R., (Eds.), *Romani Pentecostalism. Gypsies and Charismatic Christianity*. Frankfurt a/M: Peter Lang. (pp. 193–214).

ORT, J – DOBRUSKÁ, P. (2018). Kontinuity a diskontinuity v transnacionálním sociálním poli. Na příkladu margovanských Romú. *Český Lid*, 105 (2), 31–58.

PODOLINSKÁ, T. (2010). The Religious Landscape in ost-communist Slovakia. *Anthropological Journal of European Cultures*, 19(1), 58–101.

PODOLINSKÁ, T. (2017). Roma in Slovakia – Silent and nvisible Minority: Social Networking and astoral entecostal Discourse as a Case of Giving Voice and positive Visibility. *Slovenský národopis*, 65(2), 35–57.

PODOLINSKÁ, T., HRUSTIČ, T. (2010). *Boh medzi bariérami. Sociálna inklúzia Rómov náboženskou cestou*. Bratislava: ÚEt SAV

----- (2011). Vedie náboženská zmena k sociálnej inklúzii Rómov?. *Slovenský národopis*, 59(4), 4–31.

SCHWADEL, P., HARDY, S. A., VAN TONGEREN, D. R., DeWALL, C. N. (2021). The values of religious nones, dones, and sacralized Americans: Links between changes in religious affiliation and Schwarz values. *Journal of Personality*, 89, 867–82.

SLAVKOVA, M. (2014). Prestige and identity construction among Pentecostal Roma in Bulgaria. In: Thurfjell, D., Marsh, A. R., (Eds.), *Romani Pentecostalism: Gypsies and Charismatic Christianity*. Frankfurt a/M: Peter Lang AR. (pp. 57–75).

----- 2018. Religious and social commitment of the Bulgarian Roma migrants in Spain. *Local Economy*, 3(2), 224–41.

THURFJELL, D., MARSH, A. (Eds.) (2014). *Romani Pentecostalism: Gypsies and Charismatic Christianity*. Frankfurt a/M: P. Lang.

ZACHAR PODOLINSKÁ, T. (2019). 'From eriphery to the Centre': Private Apparition of the Virgin Mary (An In-depth Qualitative Analysis of the Apparition's Narrative with Field Journal Notes. In: T. Zachar Podolinská (Ed.), *Traces of the Virgin Mary in Post-Communist Europe*. Bratislava: VEDA. (pp. 284–326). DOI: https://doi.org/10.31577/2019.9788022417822.284-326.

----- (2021a). Marian Devotion Among the Roma in Slovakia: A Post-Modern Religious Response to Marginality. London/New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-56364-6.

----- (2021b). Traditional Romani Christianity vs Pentecostal and neo-Protestant Christianity: A grounded picture of religiosity and spirituality among the Roma in the twenty-first century in Slovakia. *Romani Studies*, 5, 31(2) No. 2, 155–88. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3828/rs.2021.9.

ZACHAR PODOLINSKÁ, T. – HRUSTIČ, T. (2021): Religiosity and spirituality among the Gypsy/Roma in twenty-first-century Europe: Theoretical framing and ethnographic perspectives. *Romani Studies*, 5, 31 (2), 143–54. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3828/rs.2021.8.

The panel is output of the project APVV-22-0389 "Research of religiosity, spirituality, and irreligiosity among the Roma in Slovakia".
Contemporary religiousness of the Kalderash Gypsies of Russia

Nowadays the Kalderash Gypsies are one of the largest Gypsy groups in Russia. Their faith is Orthodox Christianity. In recent years the field studies of Gypsy camps allowed to observe their contemporary confessional practices. Despite the anti-religious policy of the Soviet period, their commitment to traditionalism allowed them to preserve religious identity, Orthodox attributes and rituals till present day. But this very period of history when the temples were closed strengthened the regulation of the religious sphere by oral tradition and customs of norms that is also preserved nowadays. Among Orthodox rituals they still stick to wearing pectoral crosses and the shaping of the iconostasis at home that is related to norms, orders and prohibitions. Custom made festive golden decorations with religious plots of crucification and the image of Saint Mary are of special interest. In family life church rituals are used only during baby christening and funeral rites. In wedding traditions we haven't observed the performance of necessary religious rituals including church weddings. For the Kalderash Gypsies the collective character of religiousness is typical. The rituals and representations characteristic of the community are performed and maintained. Due to this reason the frequency of addressing to priests, visiting temples, the performance of certain religious rituals have a lot of different variants in each community. For example, in some cases it is a tradition to go to church and consecrate dishes on Easter, in other cases they don't practice this.
# CLANET DIT LAMANIT Elisabeth

## “Spirituals Gypsies” in the Afro-Brazilian religion of Umbanda

The Umbanda, born in the beginning of the 20th century in Rio de Janeiro, is a syncretic religion blending elements of Bantu cults, Catholicism, indigenous shamanism and Kardecist spiritism. Souls of certain deceased people are considered “entidades espirituais” (spirituals guides). They are invoked during ritual sessions and incorporate by mediums to assist the faithful attending the ceremonies.

Among this “entidades espirituais” we can find a representation of all the popular segments who have shaped the Brazilian society: souls of former African slaves, Native Americans, catholic folk saints, sailors, cow-boys, climate refugees from northeastern Brazil and ... Gypsies who are present in the country since the very beginning of the Portuguese colonization.

These countless Gypsies entities, organized in Phalanges, are simply “spirituals Gypsies” and not “Gypsies by blood”. The mediums who incorporate them have no connection with ethnic Gypsies, but exhibit during the rituals the most common clichés: clothing, jewelry, attitudes, even in the language to express themselves, using “portunhol” a mixt of Portuguese and Spanish and some words supposed to be Romani.

## References

* CLANET DIT LAMANIT, Elisabeth. 2014. « Entre ruptures et permanences, cinq siècles de présence Cigana au Brésil », *Etudes Tsiganes*, n° 51, Paris.

* JORGE FERREIRA DA CUNHA, Érica. « Umbanda: a problemática questão de suas origens, o arranjo de sua cosmovisão », Vivência 41, Revista de antropologia.

* LOISEAU, Gaëlla. 2018. « Globalizing Romani Culture: The Pilgrimage to the Sea in Les-Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer (France) ». *Local Identities and Transnational Cults within Europe*.

* MACEDO, Alves dos Santos Lívia – Bairrão, Miguel Henriques José Francisco. 2021. O Oriente Cigano na Umbanda, Universidade de São Paulo.

* MAIA, Machado Cleiton. 2014. *Posso ler a sua mão?: uma análise da Tenda Cigana Espiritualista Tzara Ramirez*. 113 p. Dissertação (Mestrado em Ciências Sociais), Instituto de Ciências Humanas e Sociais/Instituto Multidisciplinar/Instituto de Três Rios, Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro, Seropédica.

* 2014. Salamandra? Onde os ciganos se encontram. *Revista Intratextos*, v. 6, p. 106-118.

* 2015. Por baixo da saia da cigana – uma analise sobre gênero, incorporação, performance e emoção na tenda cigana Tzara Ramirez. *Revista Ludere*.

* 2019. "Espíritos ciganos" e "Ciganos de espírito" - o caso da Tenda Cigana Espiritualista Tzara Ramirez. In: Maria Patrícia Lopes Goldfarb, Marcos Toyasnk, Luciana de Oliveira Chianca. (Org.). *Ciganos - Olhares e perspectivas*. 1ed. João Pessoa: Editora UFPB, v. 1, p. 229-254.

* MACEDO, Alves dos Santos Lívia, BAIRRÃO, Miguel Henriques José Francisco. 2014. Estrada sem fim: a linha dio Oriente e o povo cigano na Umbanda, Ribeirão Preto – SP.

* MELLO, M.A. da S. and VEIGA, F.B. 2012. Le ‘Jour national du Tsigane’, au Brésil. Espaces symboliques, stéréotypes et conflits autour d’un nouveau rite du calendrier officiel. *Brésil(s)* 2, 41-78.

* VIEIRA MARSICANO, Alberto – CAMPOS, Lurdes de 2013- Os Ciganos na Umbanda (Com CD), Editora.
CLANET DIT LAMANIT Elisabeth & Aurore TIRARD

From Gypsy to צוען-יברית Gypsy-Hebrew: A “passing” phenomenon in the Romani world

Since the birth and development of the evangelical movement around the world, a significant proportion of followers are Christian-Zionists who believe that the condition of the Second Coming of Christ is the return of all the Jewish people and the Lost Tribes of Israel in the Holy Land.

For some time, the thesis of a Hebrew origin is spreading around in some evangelical Romani groups who are getting closer to Messianic Jews and even to conversion. Biblical Hebrew study among some of them is increasing as well as questioning the etymology and the real origin of the Romani language.
Some Current Aspects of Romani Religiosity, Spirituality, and Non-Religiosity
in Slovakia – First Results from the RELIROMA Project

This paper presents the initial results of an interdisciplinary project focused on religiosity, spirituality, and non-religiosity among the Roma in Slovakia (RELIROMA). In collaboration with colleagues from three institutes, we have gathered valuable material over two years from numerous Romani communities across the country. These communities are diverse not only in their social and economic conditions, but also in their religious affiliations, levels of devotion, patterns of religious practice, degrees of acceptance by local religious leaders and majority communities, and their capacity to form independent groups with their own spiritual leaders.

Many of these aspects are compared with findings from the earlier SIRONA research project, which was conducted several years ago and focused on the social inclusion of Romani people through religious pathways. This comparison highlights both the stability and continuity of mission work and religious activities within the communities.

We offer a brief overview of preliminary findings on various aspects of faith, comparing Roman Catholic, Byzantine Catholic, mainline Protestant, and Pentecostal Romani communities across different regions of Slovakia. Most of the data (including photographs, interviews, and video recordings) collected so far comes from Eastern Slovakia, where communities display a wide range of religious identities.

A special focus of this project is the sophisticated and inspiring process of archiving the collected data, including the meticulous structuring and storage of metadata and research materials. This unusually careful archival approach is a unique feature of the RELIROMA project and is expected to set a new standard and routine for future research projects.

This paper is an outcome of SRDA project APVV-22-0389 "Research of religiosity, spirituality and irreligiosity among the Roma in Slovakia".
Converting identities and moralities: Pentecostal Christianity among the Roma in
Estonia and Latvia

In Estonia the mission among the Russian Orthodox, Lutheran and Catholic Roma by the Roma (Kaale) Pentecostal missionaries from Finland began in the beginning of 1990s, which was also the general period of the so-called religious boom that accompanied the collapse of the Soviet Union. Today their missionary work takes place both in Latvia, where the Roma community is significantly larger, and continues in Estonia, as the Roma live on both sides of the border and communicate with their relatives across the border.

The presentation is based on the results of my doctoral thesis, which I defended in 2024 at the University of Tartu. My research is based on ethnographic fieldwork among the Roma in Estonia and in the Vidzeme region of Latvia. It discusses the interplay of cultural and religious identifications of the Roma in the region during and after their conversion to Pentecostal Christianity.

I examine how the converted Roma create themselves as ethical subjects, caught between two opposing moral codes. For the analysis I draw from the distinction made between moral codes and ethics made by Foucault ([1985] 1990; 1997). Conversion to Pentecostal Christianity entails the need to prioritise the identity of believer and to accommodate the accompanying moral code. At the same time, Roma converts must maintain the relationships and values necessary to belonging to the wider Roma community.

I demonstrate that ethnicity plays an important role both in missionary work and in the sensory and embodied practices of experiencing faith. I point out that Roma missionaries from Finland and Roma in Estonia and Latvia's Vidzeme region create new networks and search for a common ethnic identity despite the internal differences among Roma groups. I conclude that the mission has a deeper impact when the missionaries of Roma origin combine Roma cultural identity with Pentecostalism and use a culture-specific approach. I demonstrate that there are a number of approaches that converted Roma individuals use to find ways of combining the conflicting moral norms and systems, thus shaping their Pentecostal moral selves. For instance, the condemnation of fortune telling by converted Roma is not always straightforward not only because of its economic importance, but also because of the need to maintain relationships with non-converted Roma and because of the need to preserve their cultural identity. This demonstrates how the converted Roma individuals must constantly find a balance between the different moral codes.

References

Foucault, Michel. 1990. [1985] History of Sexuality, vol. 2: The Use of Pleasure. New York: Vintage Books.

Foucault, Michel. 1997. Ethics, Subjectivity, and Truth: Essential works of Foucault, 1954–1980. Vol. 1, edited by Paul Rabinow. New York: New Press.
The feminine spiritual authority in the Romani evangelical ‘home’ churches

With the advance of Romani Studies, a growing number of publications have focused on evangelical
believers from different denominations, particularly on Pentecostal groups and born-again
individuals. Researchers analyse how Romani churches exercise their multiple influences on the
socialisation of the Roma within mainstream society, changing of the value system and cultural
models of Roma. Also, the authors pay attention to the empowerment of Roma women within
evangelicalism (Podolinská and Hrustič 2010; Gay y Bladco 2012; Thurffjell and Marsh 2014; Podolinská
2017; Marushiakova and Popov 2021; Slavkova 2021; Slavkova 2025). The core of the evangelizing
efforts among Romani groups all around the world is the services in the home or the so-called ‘home
churches’. Among the Romani Christian believers in Bulgaria nowadays, the evangelical form of
religious mobilization often leads to the creation of individual churches consisting of members with
Roma identities, which, together with visits to a main church building, maintain religious services in
the home. They are held at varying times and in range of locations during the week. It is usually the
case that women take on responsibility of leading the prayers, Bible reading, hymn singing and
visiting sick people. This technique of religious mobilization is a brilliant use of primary resources
available to the religious society. The activities of female members along with their communication,
interpersonal and prayer skills in favor of evangelization develop well in such a favorable
environment. There is something specific in the Bulgarian case, and it is that these domestic churches
are shaped as the most important cohesive faith units that often unite not only Roma but also
Bulgarians together to hold domestic services in the Roma neighborhoods, because they are away
from the view and the concrete interests of the communist authority, and thus survive during the
communist regime, when the practicing of religious rituals was not possible. Thus they were able to
withstand political pressure and economic problems. Women from those groups were often the first
to convert; later, they brought their husbands or children to the congregation. Domestic (secret)
religious gatherings during the communist non-religious context are a very important subject of
study because then women could use their leadership skills and abilities and to serve people with it,
and this paper will pay special attention to this topic, and it is also interested in whether these
domestic gatherings have changed the religious role of women today.

References

GAY Y BLASCO, P. (2012). Gender and Pentecostalism among the Gitanos of Madrid: Combining approaches. *Romani Studies* 22 (1): 1–18.

MARUSHIAKOVA, E. and POPOV, V. (eds) (2021) *Roma Voices in History. A Sourcebook. Roma Civic Emancipation in Central, South-Eastern and Eastern Europe from the 19th Century until World War II*. Paderborn: Brill & Schöningh.

PODOLINSKÁ, T, HRUSTIČ, T. (2010). *Boh medzi bariérami. Sociálna inklúzia Rómov náboženskou cestou*. Bratislava: ÚEt SAV

PODOLINSKÁ, T. (2017). Roma in Slovakia – Silent and Invisible Minority: Social Networking and Pastoral Pentecostal Discourse as a Case of Giving Voice and positive Visibility. *Slovenský národopis* 65(2), 35–57.

THURFJELL, D., MARSH, A. (Eds.) (2014). Romani Pentecostalism: Gypsies and Charismatic Christianity. Frankfurt a/M: P. Lang.

SLAVKOVA, M. (2021). Evangelical transformations of empowerment and female Romani pastors. *Romani Studies* 31 (2).

(2025). *Conversion, Leadership and Identity of the Evangelical Roma in Bulgaria*. Paderborn: Brill & Schöningh.
Religious Practices of Russian Roma in Russia in the 21st Century

According to field research data from 2015-2022, the communities of Russian Roma in the Ural region, regardless of their rural or urban residence, maintain a relatively high level of religious beliefs. At the same time, Russian Roma preserve a communal nature in celebrating Christian holidays. For example, in rural areas, traditions of visiting and greeting each other during Christmas have long been maintained. The holiday calendar of the Russian Roma is centered around major Christian holidays such as Easter, Trinity, Christmas, Epiphany, the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, and Elijah's Day. The main prayers are dedicated to Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary, and Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker. Christian traditions also underpin family rituals. For instance, after baptisms, it is customary to lay out tables and gather guests, and wedding traditions are associated with the church ceremony of marriage. Visiting the church during major Christian holidays such as Christmas, Epiphany, Easter, and others is considered mandatory. In addition to Orthodox faith, elements of folk beliefs and representations continue to exist in their culture, intricately woven into their religious worldview and remaining relevant to this day. Thus, high religiosity, the preservation of certain communal forms of celebration, and the characteristics of their religious worldview today define this group.
Anti-Maryism and Pentecostal Peripheralisation of Virgin Mary among the Roma in Slovakia (findings from the project RELIROMA)

Until recently, a variety of Neo-Protestant, Baptist, Pentecostal, and Charismatic denominations have been active among the Roma in Slovakia (for numbers and localities, see Podolinská and Hrustič 2010, 2011) and their number is still growing.

The new Evangelical denominations come with an attractive programme, promising the Roma people not only to get out of the vicious circle of poverty but offering them also ethnic emancipation on a religious principle. In this respect, particularly Pentecostals provide an alternative, that is, Biblical ethnogenesis, offering the Roma a substitution of their ethnic identity for a religious one, appealing on the breaking away from the old ‘Gypsy story’ with a negative track record (Podolinská 2009, 2015, 2017b).

In terms of religion, the new faith comes with radical rewriting and ‘correction’ of the religious architecture of traditional Romani Christianity: (a) it brings a different concept of miracles, which is newly interpreted as ‘gifts of the Holy Spirit’; (b) it also comes with a competitive offer of a health programme for Roma families (attaching hands, group prayers for miraculous healing through the Holy Spirit, etc.); (c) it offers as well an alternative type of protection against the *mulos* and magical attacks. However, the main attack by Pentecostals is directed against the Virgin Mary. When addressing their new converts and their pre-conversion spiritual life, leaders repeatedly attack three pillars of traditional Romani Christianity: (a) the cult of the Virgin Mary; (b) anthropomorphism (‘idolatry’)—expressed in Roma household’s religious decorativism (holy corners, domestic altars, and devotion of holy pictures); and (c) strong belief in revenants—*mulos* (Podolinská 2014, p. 161). Moreover, Neo-Protestant and Pentecostal movements operating among the Roma in Slovakia come with an offer that strongly competes with the traditional competencies of the Virgin Mary (miracles, healing, and protection). By depriving Mary of her divine face, they remove her from the position of an unwritten, yet recognised member of the Holy Trinity, while rehabilitating the originally excluded member of the Holy Trinity—the Holy Spirit. Mary thus finds herself in religious isolation and is set aside to the periphery as a human figure of only marginal importance (Podolinská 2014, p. 162; Zachar Podolinská 2021, pp. 142-143).

The contribution examines cases of peripheralization or functional substitution of the Virgin Mary in Pentecostal Romani environment in Slovakia, including anti-Marian pastoral discourse and corresponding collective responses of Romani groups and communities. The author also works with individual testimonies of converts, documenting various types of polarities and doubts concerning the figure of the Virgin Mary before and after conversion. Additionally, the author refers to her longitudinal, multi-sited local research, which maps the visual forms of domestic devotion and the phenomenon she calls ‘empty spaces’—that is, the visual remnants of the cult following the previous veneration of the Virgin Mary (empty picture frames, vacant home altars, etc.).
## References

PODOLINSKÁ, T. (2009). „Nová“ rómska duchovná identita. Charizmatické hnutia medzi Rómami na Slovensku. In G. Kiliánová, E. Kowalská, E. Krekovičová (Eds.), *My a tí druhí. Konštrukcie a transformácie kolektívnych identít v modernej spoločnosti*. Región strednej Európy (pp. 175–216). Bratislava: VEDA, HI SAS, IE SAS.

----- (2014). Whose Mary? The Virgin Mary as an Ethnic, Cultural and Religious Marker Among the Roma in Slovakia. In A. Gaşzior, A. Halemba, & S. Troebst (Eds.), *Gebrochene Kontinuitäten. Transnationalität in den Erinnerungskulturen Ostmitteleuropas im 20. Jahrhundert* (pp. 146–165). Köln/Wien/Weimar: Böhlau Verlag GmbH & Cie.

----- (2015). „Si Róm a môžeš byť kým chceš!“. Redefinícia romipen v pentekostálnom pastoračnom diskurze. In T. Podolinská, T. Hrustič (Eds.), *Čierno-biele svety. Rómovia v majoritnej spoločnosti* (pp. 480–522). Bratislava: VEDA, IE SAS.

----- (2017b). ‘Roma’ Label: The Deconstructed and Reconceptualized Category within the Pentecostal and Charismatic Pastoral Discourse in Contemporary Slovakia. *Journal of Nationalism, Memory & Language Politics*, 11(2), 146–180.

PODOLINSKÁ, T., – HRUSTIČ, T. (2010). Boh medzi bariérami: sociálna inklúzia Rómov náboženskou cestou. Bratislava: IE SAS. https://uesa.sav.sk/files/socialna_inkluzia_romov_nabozenskou_cestou.pdf.

----- (2011). *Religion as a Path to Change. The Possibilities of Social Inclusion of the Roma in Slovakia*. Bratislava: Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, e. V., IE SAS.

SLAVKOVA, M. (2007). Evangelical Gypsies in Bulgaria: Way of life and performance of identity. *Romani Studies* 17 (2).

----- (2021). Evangelical transformations of empowerment and female Romani pastors. *Romani Studies* 31 (2).

----- (2024). Conversion, Leadership and Identity of the Evangelical Roma in Bulgaria. Leiden: Brill, Ferdinand Schöningh (forthcoming).

ZACHAR PODOLINSKÁ, T. (2021). *Marian Devotion Among the Roma in Slovakia: A Post-Modern Religious Response to Marginality*. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-56364-6.

The contribution is output of the project APVV-22-0389 (RELIROMA) “Research of Religiosity, Spirituality, and Irreligiosity Among the Roma in Slovakia” and the project VEGA2/0104/23 “Marian devotion in Slovakia in the 21st century as a part of the enchantment of post-modern post-socialistic Europe” (Ethnographic perspective).
**Open Panel 3: Roma Slavery in the Romanian Principalities: New Contributions and Perspectives on Historical Dependencies, Emancipation, and Legacy**

**Convenors: Viorel ACHIM, Petre MATEI, and Julieta ROTARU**

While scholarly research on Roma slavery in Wallachia and Moldavia has advanced in recent decades, this significant historical infringement on human rights warrants further academic investigation. The topic has only recently begun to appear in encyclopedias and handbooks in Slavery Studies, though still sporadically. Reputable works such as the French-led encyclopedia *Les Mondes de l'esclavage. Une histoire comparée* (2021), edited by Paulin Ismard (Paris: Seuil), continue to omit Roma slavery from their analyses. Comparative studies are particularly lacking, and much work remains to be done to internationalize this subject.

Slavery is crucial for studying Roma history in Romania and beyond, given the almost total equivalence between Roma and slaves in Romanian territories over a long period (from the 14th century until their emancipation in the mid-19th century). While not the first or only slaves in these two Romanian principalities, the Roma came to constitute the largest part of the slave population. In administrative language, the term “gypsy” (in Romanian, țigan) became synonymous with “slave” (rob). Before the abolition of slavery in the 1840s-1850s, approximately 7% of the country’s population had the status of slaves or “gypsies.”

Slavery in the Romanian principalities proved to be dynamic, undergoing numerous adaptations and modifications while presenting similarities and differences compared to other contemporary forms of slavery. It was hereditary slavery, but especially in certain periods, there were entries into and exits from this socio-legal condition. Moreover, slavery continued to have a powerful impact on Roma and their integration even after emancipation.

Therefore, we propose an open panel dedicated to Roma slavery in the Romanian principalities for the 2025 Gypsy Lore Society Conference. The panel welcomes papers from all fields of research on Gypsy/Romani Studies and Slavery Studies, including but not limited to the following topics:

* The current state of research on Roma slavery, including the context of why interest in Roma slavery resurged in the 1990s

* The origins and challenges in defining Roma slavery

* The nature of Roma slavery and slave conditions
* The legal status of Gypsies in the Romanian Principalities, Transylvania, Bukovina, and Bessarabia – a comparative perspective

* Comparisons between Gypsy slavery and other types of slavery in various geographical spaces

* The abolition of serfdom and robia in the Romanian Principalities– a comparative perspective

* The intersection of racism and slavery and its impact on Roma segregation and exclusion

* The legacy of slavery in Romania– understanding modern Roma society

* Roma slavery in Roma political projects from approximately 1980 to the present

* The memory of slavery among Roma and non-Roma

* Roma slavery as historical trauma

We encourage submissions that explore new perspectives, case studies, and methodological approaches beyond the suggested themes.
Changes in the institution of slavery in the Romanian principalities from the
mid-18th century to the mid-19th century

Slavery accompanied the history of Wallachia and Moldavia from the founding of the two
principalities at the beginning and the middle of the 14th century, respectively, until their
disappearance, through their unification into a single state called Romania (1859). Over the
six centuries, slavery in the Romanian lands experienced numerous changes that referred
not only to the ethnicity of the slave population, the demographic size of this group or the
territorial aspects of slavery, but, among other things, also to the status of the slave and
the way in which slavery functioned. Most of the changes took place between the middle
of the 18th century and the middle of the 19th century, initially for fiscal reasons, and
towards 1800 and under the influence of the Enlightenment, so that after 1831 (the age of
the Organic Regulation or the age of emancipation) the modernizing current in the country
and the pressures from abolitionists intervened.

This paper deals with these changes, the most important of which in terms of their
implications for the life of slaves concerned slave marriage (several regulations between
mid-18th century and mid-19th century) and the status of the slaves. The partial
modification of the slave status, made in Moldavia by the new code of laws entered into
force in 1817 and in Wallachia in the following years, established that henceforth in relation
to his master the slave is a thing, and in relation to others besides his master he has the
status of a person. This new view on slaves governed the legislation regarding gypsies
(slaves) from the Romanian principalities in the age of emancipation. Now the state
intervened in master-slave relations in a way never seen before. The changes that slavery
experienced after 1831 will be discussed in the context of the policy of improving the
situation of slaves and of the laws of emancipation from 1843-1856.
Matéo Maximoff and his representation of the ending of Roma slavery in Romania as a foundational event in international Roma history of the last two centuries.

The late Sir Angus Fraser drew attention to Matéo Maximoff’s early denials that his Kalderash people had ever been slaves. This paper will consider how and why Maximoff moved in a few years from this public stance to publishing a novel in 1955 loosely based on family traditions of his own grandfather’s escape from slavery. It will particularly draw on Maximoff’s own Romani translation of his 1955 novel, completed in 1982, but only now about to be published by Francis Boutle Ltd. The nuanced contrast of the Kalderash Romani words “esklavuria” and “rhobimos” together with the vocabulary used to discuss both the struggle for, and the machinery of, justice, show how Maximoff sought to redefine the history of slavery from the shameful to the heroic. It is not intended to compete with the welcome growth of archival research evident in this conference which is delivering us ever more nuanced pictures of the complexity and variety of the institutions of slavery and servitude. Rather it seeks to show how Maximoff, ahead of his time, contributes an essential new starting point to constructing a new popular narrative re-inserting Romani history into general human history in the age of imperialism.
Slavery among Romani Musicians (Lăutari) in the Romanian Principalities

This paper explores the nature of slavery and slave conditions as well as performance and legacy among *lăutari* (traditional Romani musicians) in the Romanian Principalities, a topic that has generally received little attention. *Lăutari*, along with other slaves, the majority of whom were craftsmen whose services were key to the running of institutions and privileged households (such as various types of *fierari* [smiths], *zidari* [brick layers], etc.), were termed “țigani căsași or de curte”: house or court “Gypsies” (Achim 1998: 37). *Lăutari* provided “services” for elite Romanians as well, however of a somewhat different nature from those of their fellow slaves. They performed music, song, and other forms of entertainment for members of the nobility, landowning class, and clergy. Little is known about *lăutari* in the early days of bondage in the Romanian Principalities. By the nineteenth century, however, historical accounts of what services, where, and for whom enslaved Romani musicians performed began to emerge. What are the earliest accounts of *lăutari* in service to the elite? What was the nature of the bondage that they endured? Under what conditions did they live? Was *lăutărie* [being *lăutari*] historically (i.e., in the context of enslavement) a hereditary “occupation”? What instruments did *lăutari* play, and which genres of music and song did they perform? To what extent did matters of performance reflect conditions of bondage? How did *lăutari* transition after the abolition of slavery in the mid-nineteenth century? What legacies of enslavement remain among the *lăutari* of twentieth- and twenty-first-century Romania? This paper represents a preliminary exploration of how Romani musicians have endured and performed bondage over the centuries as well as an attempt to situate the *lăutar* slave experience more fully within both Romani as well as Romanian history.
The origins of Roma slavery in Romanian medieval principalities – a
framework for a regional approach

The origins of Roma slavery in Romanian countries in the medieval period are considered obscure and often almost impossible to explain. Over the years, several hypotheses have been put forward to explain this social condition of the Roma, apparently unique in Europe. Most of these hypotheses lack a documentary basis and are in fact speculations of circumstantial evidence, being unable to provide a coherent explanation for the Roma enslavement. We will propose an exploration of the historiography dedicated to the origins of Roma slavery beginning with the 18th century up to the most recent attempts to explain how Roma came to be slaves in the Romanian principalities.

Next we will try to extend the scope of our approach and analyze the slavery system
in the Byzantine Empire, Serbia and Bulgaria during the 13th to 14th centuries. The
existence of slavery in the Byzantine and Constantinopolitan-influenced states of the
Balkan Peninsula is often overlooked, with most attention focused on the slave trade in the
Black Sea and Mediterranean Basin in the medieval period. As a starting point in an attempt
to establish the origin of Roma slavery in the Romanian countries I would propose an
overview of the legal regime of slavery in the Byzantine civilizational space.

I will try to specify the framing of the phenomenon of slavery in the wider area of
the immediate neighborhood of Romanian countries, especially in the area of influence of
the Byzantine Empire, whose social and legal structures were the foundation upon which
the Romanian countries in the Middle Ages based their legal system. The uniqueness of the
phenomenon of slavery in Romanian countries is usually asserted without documentary
evidence or valid arguments to this effect – while a focused look at the contemporary legal
systems of Serbia and Bulgaria may reveal that slavery was legally accepted in these states.

As a final step I will compare the oldest medieval documents from Romanian
principalities referring to the Roma slavery with those referring to the slavery in the
Byzantine commonwealth of the Balkan Peninsula. There is a strong possibility that this
approach would yield a different perspective on the origins of Roma slavery.
Echoes of the Past: Discourses on Roma Slavery in Romania and Their Role in Identity Construction (20th Century)

Roma slavery in the Romanian Principalities (approximately 14th-19th centuries) represents an important chapter in Romanian history, although long marginalized in official historiography. The way this historical experience has been interpreted, acknowledged, or denied has evolved significantly throughout the 20th century, depending on Romania's social and political transformations. This paper aims to fill a gap by comparatively analyzing discourses about Roma slavery, as they were articulated throughout the 20th century, from the Roma perspective. The study follows how these discourses transformed according to the political and social context, as well as their role in identity construction. The analysis approaches three distinct periods: the interwar Roma movement period, the communist regime (focusing on the 1980s), and the post-communist period, highlighting the differences and similarities between discourses in each of these stages.

1. **The interwar Roma movement period (1919-1940).** After briefly capturing the historical context, I use Roma press and archives to analyze Roma discourses and address the differences between the discourses of Transylvanian Roma and those from the Old Kingdom, the extent to which Roma slavery was related to other servitude experiences (such as serfdom), and the relationship with the Romanian Orthodox Church.

2. **The communist period (1945-1989).** After a brief analysis of the broader context (communist ideology and the framing of slavery in the paradigm of class struggle, with the diminishing of ethnic perspectives), I focus particularly on the 1980s, when some Roma activists and intellectuals became exposed, also through the International Romani Union and other international contacts, to new ideas and discourses (such as the African American one) about slavery.

3. **The post-communist period (1990-present).** I analyze the new, more critical and radical approaches in the new democratic context, focusing on the analysis of ideas related to historical responsibility and victimization, the growing influence of African American models, and demands for official recognition and reparations.

In essence, the paper aims to provide a diachronic perspective on the evolution of discourses about slavery depending on the political and social context and an exploration of how the memory of slavery has been instrumentalized in Roma identity constructions.
PETCUȚ Petre

L'esclavage des Roms dans l'historiographie roumaine : une mémoire refoulée

L'historiographie roumaine a longtemps évité d'aborder l'esclavage des Roms, une institution pourtant centrale dans les structures sociales, économiques et juridiques des Principautés roumaines pendant plus de cinq siècles. À travers une analyse critique des textes historiques, des sources juridiques et des récits de voyageurs étrangers, cette communication retrace les différentes phases de traitement – ou d'évitement – de cette thématique dans l'histoire intellectuelle roumaine, du XIXe siècle à nos jours.

L'étude met en évidence les mécanismes linguistiques (préférence pour le terme « servitude »), idéologiques (construction nationale par exclusion) et politiques (censure, assimilation, marginalisation post-abolition) qui ont contribué à une forme de silence institutionnalisé autour de cette mémoire. En confrontant les récits nationaux aux archives et aux travaux historiographiques contemporains, elle démontre que l'esclavage des Roms ne peut être compris uniquement comme un épisode localisé, mais comme un phénomène structurant, comparable dans ses logiques à d'autres formes d'esclavage étudiées au niveau mondial.

Ce travail s'inscrit dans une démarche de réécriture inclusive de l'histoire roumaine, en réaffirmant la nécessité d'intégrer la voix des Roms et la reconnaissance de leur passé dans la mémoire collective.
Slavery in Eastern Europe: Status and Particularities in the Romanian Principalities. Ștefan Răzvan

This paper reconstructs and reinterprets the history of the only voivode of Roma origin in the Romanian Principalities. Based on existing documents, this is the reconstructed history of Ștefan Răzvan, an ephemeral voivode of Moldova (26 Mars[20 April] 1595- 17/27 august[25 August/4 September] 1595). He was born in a Wallachian village owned by Michael the Brave, to a Muslim Roma father and an Orthodox Romanian mother. His origins are documented in a July 1595 dialogue between Michael the Brave and Polish diplomat Lubienecki, later confirmed by Polish chroniclers: "his mother was Romanian (matre Valacha), and his father was among those 'commonly called Gypsies' (quos Ciganos vulgo vocant)" (Reinhold Heidenstein).

His father, a Muslim gardener from the Ottoman Empire, settled in a village along the Olt Valley. While he had been a free man in the Ottoman Empire, in Wallachia he became a state-owned Roma subject to princely taxation. Religious differences prevented his parents' marriage. His father raised him in the Muslim faith and taught him Turkish. His mother, though the daughter of a bound peasant (rumâni), held the status of a free person. As their only child, Răzvan inherited the status of state-owned țigan turcit.

Distinguished by his abilities and knowledge of Turkish, Răzvan was sent by his master Michael the Brave to Constantinople with 6,000 gold pieces. There, he joined the entourage of Aron Vodă, who was seeking the Moldavian throne. Răzvan apparently lent Aron the money received from Michael the Brave—an act later probably referred to as “theft” in the voivode’s dialogue with the Polish diplomat. Facing death threats over this alleged theft, Răzvan fled to Moldova. There, he purchased from Aron a position in the Princely Council as “captain general of cavalry and infantry” or hatman. Required to convert to Christianity, he took the name Ștefan—an act that provoked the sultan’s fury and demands for his return to Constantinople for execution.

During the anti-Ottoman campaigns in Moldova and Wallachia, Ștefan Răzvan joined Aron Vodă in negotiations with the Christian League and led anti-Ottoman campaigns. He later fought alongside Michael the Brave against the Turks in October 1595, commanding 1,500 lancers.

In December 1595, following a decisive battle at Areni, Moldova, against Jeremiah Movilă's army, he attempted to escape to Transylvania. Disguised as a peasant, he was betrayed, captured, and executed by impalement at Suceava, with his head displayed at the fortress entrance.

This history illuminates the multiple dimensions of slavery in this European region: the status of Muslim Roma in the Romanian principalities, mixed marriages between Roma and Romanians, marriages between couples of different faiths (in this case, where neither would renounce their religion), children's status and religious freedom, cross-border professional mobility of Muslim Roma, traditional profession practice, and possibilities for social advancement.
SÎRBU Tatiana

(Re)defining statuses: the impact of the 1847 decree on the Roma of Bessarabia

In 1847, the Russian imperial administration issued a decree regulating the estate rights of the inhabitants of Bessarabia, a region marked by a complex ethnic composition and social hierarchies. While the decree was formally intended to clarify the administrative and fiscal classification of the population, it also marked an important change in redefining legal and social statuses for the population of this region. Of particular significance is its impact on the Roma population, who constituted most of the landlord-owned serfs in Bessarabia at the time. This presentation discusses the administrative challenges to implement the 1847 decree, which represents a precursor to the 1861 Emancipation Manifesto of Alexander II. The research examines how the local authorities dealt with implementing de facto the 1847 decree, with a special attention to the category known as “landlord's Gypsies” (помещичьи цыгане). Based on a close reading of administrative archives and official correspondence produced by local civil authorities, the study analyzes the ineffectiveness of the decree and the perpetuation of the rights of the landowners over their Roma dependents. The archives records, most of them never published, offer valuable insights into how the imperial officials were trapped in their double positions – noble landlord and imperial civil or military servant – and the difficulty of moving toward broader emancipation policies.
# Open Panel 4: Book/Book Series/Journal Panel Discussion

## Convenor: Raluca ROMAN

Over the past years, there has been a flourishing of books, book series and journals within the field of Romani Studies, broadly defined, bringing together scholars from various other disciplines and offering a focused approach on topics related to Roma/Gypsy/Traveller communities. The aim of this panel is to bring together presentations of books/book series/journals in our field, with the aim of fostering discussion, debate and constructive criticism across different subjects/themes. We therefore invite submissions of individual book presentations, of book series presentations or journal presentations in the field, with the goal of exploring common themes as well as distinctive points of view. Through it, the aim is to promote not only a knowledge of recent long-form publications in the field of Romani Studies but also cross-disciplinary dialogue and collaboration between scholars. The focus of the panel will thus be not only on the presentation of the books/series/journals themselves, but on discussing the common themes emerging from recent scholarship in the field.
Markéta Hajská, The Stojka family. Spatial mobility and territorial anchoredness of Lovara Vlax Roms in the former Czechoslovakia

The book reconstructs the stories of the Lovara community and their legal, economic and social ties to the territory of the Czech lands and Slovakia from the end of the 19th century to the end of the 1960s. The primary focus is on trajectories and spatial mobility of a family with the surname Stojka, reconstructed from archival records, respondent testimonies and other sources. Using a diachronic perspective, I trace the stories of descendants of the Stojka family who, in the final decades of the 19th century, were granted the right of domicile in the western Slovak municipality of Trenčianska Teplá, a family who gradually grew in each following generation through new descendants, their partners, and those couples' children. The story of the Stojka family is placed in two historical arenas: the history of Czechoslovakia, as an example of a newly-emerging Central European nation-state during a highly turbulent period of complex political changes, and, on the other hand, the history of Roms in Central Europe as a heterogeneous ethnic group that has historically formed part of local multi-ethnic societies.

The Stojka family belonged to a particular group of Roms, a minority within the diverse Slovak Romani population, self-identifying today as Lovara or Vlax Roms. The Lovara economies were based on regular trade routes of varying lengths across today's Czech and Slovak Republics, Austria, Poland and Hungary. At the same time, contrary to the popular misconception of "travelling Gypsies" as "non-belonging nomads", and notwithstanding the continuity of policing practices and securitisation of varying intensity directed at the people subsumed under this term by the changing state authorities, the Stojka family was also residentially and socially anchored in a particular local rural community through a network of diverse social relations including house ownership.
MARUSHIAKOVA Elena & Magdalena SLAVKOVA

* Papusza / Bronisława Wajs. *Tears of Blood: A Poet's Witness Account of the Nazi Genocide of Roma*.

* Magdalena Slavkova. *Conversion, Leadership, and Identity of the Evangelical Roma in Bulgaria*.

* Raluca Bianca Roman. *Kaale Belongings and Evangelical Becomings: An Ethnography of Finnish Roma*.

During the presentation of these books, the authors will specifically discuss the challenges encountered in researching their topics and describe the issues that arose during their work on them.

Additionally, we plan to have a representative from Brill present who will introduce the future format of the publishing house and the guidelines for publishing books in the Roma History and Culture series.
*Romani Studies* (Continuing the Journal of the Gypsy Lore Society)

*Romani Studies* (Continuing the Journal of the Gypsy Lore Society) is the leading journal in the field, being abstracted and indexed in major scholarly databases, publishing biannual issues with approximately 5 articles and book reviews.

Founded in 1888 in the UK as the Journal of the Gypsy Lore Society (JGLS) by David MacRitchie and H.T. Crofton, it was initially printed at Edinburgh University Press by the renowned Scottish publisher T[homas] & A[rchibald] Constable—who became His Majesty's Printer and Publisher in Edinburgh in 1835 and the Printer to the University of Edinburgh in 1836.

The journal's publication history includes several interruptions and revivals: a new series in 1907 under David MacRitchie; third series in 1922 under E.O. Winstedt; and fourth series in 1974 under David J. Smith. From 1991 to 1999, the journal was printed in the U.S.A. In 2000, under editor Yaron Matras, it was renamed *Romani Studies* and printing moved to Liverpool University Press.

Since 2020, the journal has expanded to 320 pages annually, with one issue per year being thematic. The special issues have covered topics such as: “Romani literature from its emergence in the 19th century to the digital age”: 30/2 (2020), edited by Sofiya Zahova, Lorely French, and Marina Ortrud M. Hertrampf; 31/2 (2021), “Religiosity and spirituality among the Gypsy/Roma in 21st century Europe: Theoretical framing and ethnographic perspectives”, edited by Tatiana Zachar Podolinská; 33/1 (2023), “Roma women and civic emancipation in the interwar period”, edited by Raluca Bianca Roman and Sofiya Zahova, and 34/1 (2024), “Epistemologies in Romani studies: Moving beyond othering otherness”, edited by Victoria Shmidt and Bernadette Nadya Jaworsky). The upcoming volume addresses “Religion and Roma social inclusion” with Stefan Tobler and Marius Parno as guest editors.

The journal provides authoritative content accessible to both academic professionals and general readers interested in Romani studies.

The two editors will invite authors to discuss their contributions to the journal and future opportunities for publication.
# MAUDUIT Leny

## Revue Etudes Tsiganes

Qui sont les Roms, les Manouches, les Sinti, les Gitans, les Voyageurs ? Pourquoi les désigne-t-on comme Tsiganes ou Gens du Voyage ? Sont-ils tous nomades ? Que signifie la sédentarisation pour eux ? En dehors de la France, dans quelles régions du monde les rencontre-t-on ? Quelles y sont leurs conditions d'existence en termes de travail, d'habitat, de santé, d'éducation des enfants ? Sont-ils des citoyens à part entière des pays où ils vivent ? Quel avenir peuvent-ils espérer ?

Depuis 1955, la revue " Etudes Tsiganes " répond à ces diverses questions en faisant appel aux meilleurs spécialistes issus de la recherche ou du travail social. Si, dans un premier temps, elle adopte plutôt la forme d'un modeste bulletin d'association paraissant trois à quatre fois par an, elle s'étoffe très vite, notamment en faisant une place de plus en plus grande à la photographie. A partir de 1993, elle devient semestrielle et s'organise autour de numéros thématiques : Europe, identité, musique, femmes, mémoire, communication, école, nomadisme... Aujourd'hui, la revue propose une structure plus élaborée avec, autour d'un dossier central, des témoignages, un courrier des lecteurs, des rubriques permanentes apportant des informations diverses sur l'actualité des Tsiganes en Europe et dans le monde, leur musique, les publications scientifiques et la documentation audiovisuelle.

Reconnue, notamment sur le plan international, comme seule revue de référence en langue française dans son domaine de prédilection, " Etudes Tsiganes " se développe plus que jamais comme instrument indispensable d'information rigoureuse et de réflexion à destination des chercheurs, des acteurs sociaux et du public plus vaste des citoyens curieux et engagés.

https://www.fnasat.asso.fr/etudes-tsiganes/

http://www.etudestsiganes.asso.fr/nouvelleserie.html
The journal *Romano džaniben* (ww.dzaniben.cz) is a Czech peer-reviewed open access journal. It is multidisciplinary (covering history, anthropology, linguistics, but also other humanities and social sciences). Texts by authors from all over the world are accepted and published in Czech translation, regardless of the language of the original texts, except for texts written in Slovak and Romani that are published in the language of the original text. The current issue and the entire archive (since 1994) are available online. The journal primarily serves the area of former Czechoslovakia and the surrounding Central European states, in the sense of presenting research and current events related to Roma living in this area, but also presenting the language, history and culture of Roma from other areas to a local audience (see issues 1 and 2/2021 which focused on the Roma and Romani Studies in Latin America).

The first editor-in-chief, Milena Hübschmannová, presented its mission as a platform where
a) knowledge about Roma and the Romani life experience can meet, and
b) texts by Romani and non-Romani authors can be published for c) Romani and non-Romani readers.
We are trying to address this legacy in a completely different context of the current
demands on academic publishing. The journal is divided into a peer-reviewed and a non-
peer-reviewed section. The peer-reviewed part of the journal tends to be thematically
focused. In choosing the focus, the journal seeks to contribute to the debate on current
issues in contemporary Romani studies research and the current situation and public
position of the Roma (recent monothematic issues concentrated on the Romani struggle
for their rights, securitisation, decolonisation, etc.). In addition to reviews of Romani
publications and artistic literature written by Romani authors, the non-reviewed section
also includes texts presenting Romani artists of various genres and their work, Romani
literary texts, as well as memoirs, interviews, archival materials and photographs, etc. The
aim is to design the review section in such a way that it works with the topic(s) presented
in the reviewed section. It is important for the editors of the journal to emphasise the
participation of Roma in the management of the journal (including among the members of
the executive editorial board, the editorial board, authors and reviewers) and to publish
texts that are empirically grounded and use methodologies that take into account Romani
perspectives and agency.

In what ways and at what levels should the Romani voice be represented in an academic
Romani studies journal? Is there an audience that the journal does not address but could?
We would like to discuss these and related questions during the panel.
TIRARD Aurore – with Elisabeth WILLENZ (Notes de Nuit
Publisher)

* Hans Hesse, Les Yeux d'Auschwitz.

• Hans Hesse, *Ich will, dass die Wahrheit siegt*

Within the panel, I present a research about the torture inflicted on a Sinti family in Auschwitz by Joseph Mengele and Karin Magnussen. The first book devoted to this topic is Augen aus Auschwitz: Ein Lehrstück über nationalsozialistischen Rassenwahn und medizinische Forschung - der Fall Dr. Karin Magnussen, by Hans Hesse, Klartext Verlag, Essen, 2001.

The second edition, revised and expanded, was published in 2023 in French: Les Yeux d'Auschwitz. Trois familles sinti victimes des recherches médicales dévoyées de la scientifique nazie Karin Magnussen by Hans Hesse, translated by Aurore Tirard, Notes de Nuit, Paris, 2023.

A third edition, revised and expanded so that it is now a new book with a new title, has just been published: *Ich will, dass die Wahrheit siegt* by Hans Hesse, Falkenberg, Bremen, 2025.
# Open Panel 5: Romaňi čhib the literatura (Romani language and literature)

## Convenor: Jan ČERVENKA

Imar le panelenca andre romaňi čhib pro konferenciji GLS andro berša 2021 (Praha) the 2022 (Beogrados) kamahas la kolegiňaha te sikhavel, hoj pal e romaňi tematika šaj diskutinas pro džanibnaskero levelos andre romaňi čhib. Šaj dikhen pro streamos romaňa televizijatar le beršestar 2021:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMqTHSSqo2o

Amen kamahas te džal dureder, le eksperimentostar ko regulerna tematicka paneli. U imar pre konferencija andro berš 2024 (Sofija) pes sgejle andro „romano“ panelos ajci referata, hoj les ulaďam andro duj tematicka paneli u sako amendar organizinlas jekh. Kole dromeha kamas te džal the adaberš. Andro panelos Romaňi čhib the literatura avena akceptimen referata ča pal o duj disciplini: lingvistika the literarno džaniben. O subdisciplini ole duje džanibnendar nane limitimen.

O abstrakti bičhaven the andre romaňi romaňi čhib the angliciko (kampel soduj verziji). O kompletna referati ena ča romanes. The o diskusiji avena ča romanes u užaras the ppt (vaj aver vizualna) prezentaciji andre romaňi čhib! Ma daran te chasňarel aver dijalekti sar hin o centralno (so hin ande leste lekhaďi kadi propozicija). E praksija imar sikhaďas, hoj peske šaj achaľuvas mištes.

It was within the GLS in 2021 (Prague) and 2022 (Beograd) when my colleague and I introduced panels in Romani to prove the possibility of Romani language use in speaking about any topics on scientific level. See the Romani TV's stream from the 2021 conference here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMqTHSSqo2o

We wanted to go further, from the experiment towards standard panels on particular themes. And already in 2024 (conference in Sofia) so many paper proposals came for the panel in Romani, that we were able to split it into two different panels, one organized by my colleague a one by myself. The same way will be followed this year: Only papers in linguistics and literary science will be accepted for the panel Romani language and literature. Subdisciplines of these sciences are not limited.

Contributors are asked to send their abstract in two language versions, both English and Romani. The language of their papers will be only Romani. Also the discussions will be held in Romany and if ppt or other visual presentations are used, the participant are asked to prepare them in Romani, too! Please feel free also to use other Romani dialects than Central Romani (which is used in this proposal). Previous conferences' practice proved that we can understand each other quite well.
## I historija katar o Fikri Šukriev thaj o zorasa paruvipe anava e xoraxane Romengo andi Bugaria ko komunistikano vahti

Ando 1982-to berš o Bulgarikano gavermento las te paruvel e anava e muslimansko Romengo. Gasave zumavimata sas kerde vi maj anglal - ko agor e 1950-tone beršengo thaj ko angluno kotor e 1960-tone beršengo, ko 1930-to berša thaj ko 1940-to berša. Paluno proceso e paruvipnasko e anavengo e muslimansko Romengo andas maj palal jekh nevo proceso e paruvipnasko e anavengo zorasa e Bugarikane Xoraxanengo/Turkengo ande breša 1984-1985.

I prezentacija ka sikhavel i historija katar o Fikri Šukriev – jek muslimansko Rom katar jekh gavoro paš o foro Dolni Čiflik kaj arakhel pes andi uprini kotor ki Bulgaria, naj but dur katar o foro Varna. O Fikri Šukriev sas e xoraxane Romendar kaj vorbisarelas numa turkikani čhib - akale Romendar, kaj sas asimilirime ko Osmansko Imperato, kana i Bulgaria sas jekh kotor katar o Osmansko Imperato. Ko 1982 berš buteder muslimansko Roma zorasa paruvde pe anava thaj o gavermento prezentirinela odova sar voluntarno proceso, kerdo katar e Roma. O Fikri Šukriev savo sas intelektualco thaj poeto – vov ramosardas thaj publicisardas poezije ande bulgarikane gazete thaj žurnalja, na paruvdas pesko anav ando 1982-to berš thaj e themeski sekretna policija ingerde les ande policija thaj marde les, thaj mangle lestar te lel nevo bulgarikano anav. Vov ni manglja te kerel kodo thaj kerdas suicido – umbaldas pes.

I prezentacija ka sikhavel vi e forme sar barjarel pes lesko anav avdives aj sar i poesija e Fikri Šukrievesko sikhavel pes aj nakhavel pes pe xoraxani čhib andi Bulgaria aj andi Turkija.

## The story of Fikri Shukriev and the forced name change of Muslim Roma in Bulgaria during the communist era

In 1982 the Bulgarian government starts the change of the names of Muslim Roma. Such attempts were done earlier as well – in late 1950-s and early 1960-s, in 1930-s and in 1940-s. The last process of the change of the names of Muslim Roma brought later a new process of the change of names by force in 1984-1985 with Bulgarian Turks.

The paper is going to present the story of Fikri Shukriev – a Muslim Roma from the tow of Dolni Chiflik in Northeast part of Bulgaria. Close to the city of Varna. Fikri Shukriev belonged to the Turkish speaking Muslim Roma, who were assimilated in the Ottoman Empire, when Bulgaria was part of the Ottoman Empire. In 1982 most of the Muslim Roma were forced to change their names and the government presented it as a voluntary act form the side of Roma. Fikri Shukriev who was an intellectual and poet – he was writing and publishing poems in the Bulgarian newspapers and journals, did not change his name in 1982 and the secret services continued to oppress him, take him to police and beat him, humiliate him, and ask him to take a new Bulgarian name. He refused to doo that and he committed a suicide.

The paper also will present the forms of commemoration of Fikri Shukriev nowadays and popularising his poetry.
## Čhibakero uzus andre lekhađ'i romaňi čhib

Andre lekhađ'i romaňi čhib hin adro varesave thema relativnones bari tradicija, no the avka hin angle late baro drom kijo stabilizimen lekhađ'i čhib. Šaj avel hoj ňikhaj pre luma nane konsenzualno standardos so les chasňarďahas romaňi elita andro sikhľariben (edukacija), mediji, literarna ediciji vaj – phenas – the korespondencija. Pre jekh sera kada anel kreativita, pre aver sera e čhib nane stabilno.

Andre nastabilno čhib hin buter metakomunikacija, komunikacija pal e čhib. The o autoris the o genutno (adresatos) den adre kada but energija. Vašoda kampel andro partikularna romane dijalekti buter te stabilizinel o lavengere varijanti the frazi u mek buter kampel stabilno ortografija, te „automatizinas“ o drom so leha džal e informacija le autoristar ko genutno.

Andro referatos rodaha, či andro upruno centralno dialektos, so pes lekhavel andre Čechiko the pre Slovensko, imar egzistinel o čhibakero uzus u rodaha metoda, sar les te arakhel.

O phandľipen (relacija) maškar o čhibakero uzus, e čhibakeri norma the o džanibnaskero rodipen andro čhibakere vaj ortograficka varianti avela sikhado pro trin konkretna egzempli:

a) Sar pes lekhavel epenteticko „j“ andre grupa i (+j) + vokalos.

b) Sar pes lekhavel o morfemos sik-/sikh-.

c) Sar ačhiľas e apozicija phandľi andro manušengere nava.

## Language Usage in Written Romani

There is quite a long tradition of written Romani in some countries but there still is a long way to stable written language. Probably there is no country where we could find consensual standard used by the Romani elite in education, media, editing of literary publications and also for example in correspondence. On the one hand this brings creativity, on the other hand – inconstancy.

Metacommunication, communication about language, is more present in a non-stabilised language. Both the author and the reader (addressee) spent too much energy on this. That is why it is necessary to stabilize the word variants and phrases in the individual Romani dialects and even more so to have a stable spelling in order to "automate" the path of information from the author to the addressee.

In this paper, we will investigate whether a language usage already exists in North Central Romani written in Czech Republic and Slovakia and we will look for a method how to detect it.

The interrelations between linguistic usage, linguistic norm and scientific research of linguistic or orthographic variations will be demonstrated on three particular examples:

a) Notation of the epenthetic „j“ in the group i (+j) + vowel

b) Notation of the morpheme sik-/sikh-.

c) Development of the tight restrictive appositive in personal names.
## HILAIRE Chantal

E feljastra ando historickivo le Kalderasko: le paramici le Parisoske aj le Torontoske Romenge.

Le Rom Kalderas respisajile ande sa e lumia. Saj te roden le ande Europa, ande Merika, ande Australia aj ande Africa (George Calvet: 1993). La ma te sicuvav romanes le parisoske Romenca kaj sas Kalderas kana simas student ande ethnologie ande 1976. Maj palal, kana maladilem lenge njamurienca ande Toronto ande 1982, sicilem maj but lendar. Avav te dikhav le zi adzes i ande Toronto aj i ande Paris.

Le paramici kaj asundem le phurendar azutisarde ma te dav duma maj misto romanes. Von ingerde ma dur ande kavrja vrjamja aj ande kavrja thema. Atunci alardem ke le paramici sas e mandzin ke trobulas te sicuvav. Gindisardem ke le paramici saj te sikaven ma maj but buci kaj garade. Kamava te zanav kana sas ande kavrja ljumja, kana le rom geletar katar e Russia aj avile ande kavrja thema. Manglem te zanav maj but pa le phurano zakonoske. Maladilem ekhe drabarniaca, Ava Stanley Mitchell. Voj gindisard'a ekhe model khere te drabarel. Voj phend'a ma ke lako model saj te azutil ma te alarav le paramici maj feder. Tolmacisardem lako model ekhe structuralist perspektivasa (Bremond:1973, Chantal Hilaire: 1989).

O pervo, divinisava pa le droma kaj le Rom phirde ande Russia zi ande Merika jek sel bers maj anglal. Lava ma te dikhav le divano pa le vici po dat aj pe de. Pomeniva Eric Windstedt (1914-1915) aj Mateo Maximoff (1993) ke von ramosarde pa le historickivo le familienge kaj zanav. O dujto, sikavava e structura le zakonoske kaj garade ande le phurane paramici.
A window on the Kalderas history: The paramici told by the Rom of Paris and
Toronto

The Rom Kalderas are very widespread through the world. We can find them in Europe, the Americas, Australia and South Africa (George Calvet:1993). I started working with them as a student in ethnology in 1976 and have continued my work with their relatives in Toronto in the early eighties. I have been in contact with these families on both sides of the continents till today.

As I started using the paramici to improve my knowledge of romanes in Paris, I found out that the paramici were a primary source to understand the Rom's perceptions of their history and their society. I started to systematically collect these narratives when I came to Toronto. I analyzed some of them using Ava's Mitchell model, a member of the Romani community of Toronto (Chantal Hilaire: 1989). Ava Stanley Mitchell was a diviner. She told me that her model that she was using in her practises of fortune-teller would help me to understand the paramici. I translated her model using a structuralist approach (Brémond: 1973; Chantal Hilaire 1989). This translation did help me to gain more insight into their history and society.

I will discuss first the trajectories that these different families followed since they
left the Russian Empire in 1917 using the paramici and genealogies which I collected. I will
compared these data with what has been published by Eric Windstedt (1914-1915) and the
Romano writer Mateo Maximoff (1993) as they wrote on the families whom I have known.
Afterwards I will give some results of analysis on the rules of the Romani society as revealed
in the paramici.

References

BREMOND Claude. 1973. *La logique du récit*. Paris: Editions du Seuil.

CALVET George. 1993. *Dictionnaire Tsigane-Français : dialecte Kalderas*. Paris: L'Asiathèque.

HILAIRE Chantal. 1989. "Sémiotique de la divination chez les Rom de Toronto". *Semiotica*. *Journal of the International association for Semiotic Studies*. Volume 77-4 pages 481-489. Berlin-New York: Mouton de Gruyter.

HILAIRE Chantal avec la collaboration d'Ava STANLEY MITCHELL. 1989. "Les relations homme-femme dans les paramici". Québec: *Musée de la Civilisation*. Actes du CELAT No 5, novembre, pages 57-64.

MAXIMOFF Matéo.1993. *Routes sans roulottes*. Paris: Service Concordia

WINDSTEDT Eric. 1914-1915. "Coppersmith Gypsy Notes". *Journal of the Gypsy Lore Society*. New Series vol VIII, no 4 p. 246-282
## Le vokalongo lunzimos ande romaji

Ande-l řomane dijalekturi le vokalongo lunzimos naj khê buti pr’a-mišto haťardi. Ande muřo referato kam dav krujal-dikhlimos le teorijengo kaj sî pa-j tema. Analiza le dinengi anda-l dijalekturi šaj šorêl êk cîřa udud pe-l lunzimatangi distribucîja. Sîkavav kê ando romungro (haj o vendicko) o lunzimos sas maj-anglal sar o kontakto le ungronca, so dićol ande-l unzilimata (kroatizmuri) anda Burgenlando. Bušol kê o lunzimos, sar fenomeno la fonologijako, nas lino (numa) anda-j ungriko śib. Maj-in’ta, dikhav pe but alava kaj sî ande lende lunzimos haj zumavav te-haťarav sar sas ê situacîja ande purani-řomani. O gîndo sî kê uni lunzimata sî purane haj amborim phangle le purane akcêntosa (sar ande-l dardicko śiba śina vaj dameli), haj aver lunzimata (maj-)neve le, makar uni maškar lende sî sa-řomane. But nadumultane procêsuri garaven ê distribucîja ê purani, anda koďa êk laśi rekonstrukcîja sî phari.

## Vowel length in Romani

Vowel length in Romani dialects is not a very well understood matter. In my talk, I will provide an overview of theories that exist on the topic. Analysis of data from dialects may shed some light on the distribution of vowel length. I show that in Romungro (and Vend), existence of vowel length pre-dates contact with Hungarians, as seen in loanwords (Croatisms) from Burgenland. This means that vowel length, as a phonological phenomenon, was not taken (only) from Hungarian. Besides, I examine many words that contain long vowels, trying to understand the Common-Romani situation. The idea is that some instances of vowel length are old and possibly connected to old stress (as in Dardic languages like Shina or Dameli), while others are new(er), although some of them are Common-Romani. Numerous recent processes conceal the original distribution, which is why a good reconstruction is difficult.
# Open Panel 6: Le Rom ando historickívo taj ando antropologickívo rodimo (Roma in historical and anthropological research)

## Convenors: Markéta HAJSKÁ and Lada VIKOVÁ

O Romano paneli sas aba kerdo trival pe GLS konferencija (2021 andi Prága, 2022 ando Beograd, 2024 andi Sofija). Kado berš ame kamasas te žas maj dúr taj kamas te keras na feri jejkh paneli, ká šaj vorbij pe romanes pa akársoske akademickíva búťa, de kado berš ame phutras ávri dúj fejlicka panelura. Ande kado paneli avna akceptime fere referáta vaj búťa, so aven avri andaj historickívo vaj antrologickívo rodimo. Le subdisciplíni vaj tématika kadale duje disciplínendar naj limitime.

Le ánava taj abstraktura bišaven vi andi romani šib, vi englišicka, trobuj te bišaven sel dúj verziji. De i vorba ando paneli žala fere romanes. Vi i diskusija avla fere romanes taj ame lešinas vi tumare prezetáciji (ppt) vaj áver vizuálníva búťa fere romanes. Na daran te vorbin vi ávre dijalektonca, na fere Lováricka (so si ande leste iskirime kadi propozícija). I praksija aba sikhadas, hoj ame šaj peske haťáras šukares.

O panelís andre romaňi čhib sas pro programos kije GLS konferencija imar buterval, sar trival (2021 Prahate, 2022 andro Beograd, 2024 andre Sofija). Mek oka berš, kana has andro planos ča jekh panelís u savore šaj lenas peskere temi (a palís sas duj paneli – lingvisticko the historicko-etnograficko), kada berš amen kamas te džal imar dureder u phundravas imar duj špecijalna tematicka paneli. Andre kada panelís avena akceptimen ča ajse referati the ajse temi, so avena andral historicko vaj antropologicko akademicko butí. O subdisciplini vaj temi kale duje disciplinendar nane limitimen.

O tituli the o abstrakti bičhavena the andre romaňi čhib, the andre angľiciko čhib: sakoneske kampel te bičhavel so duj verziji. Sakoneskero vakeriben andro panelos ela imar ča romanes. The e diskusija ela ča andre romaňi čhib. Vaš oda kampela, kaj the e prezentacija andro kompjutros (ppt) ela žužes romanes. Ma daran te vakerel andre aver dijalektos, vakerela pes na ča andre upruno centralno dijalektos (sar hin irimen kada tekstos). E praksija imar sikhadźas, hoj šaj amenge achaľuvas lačhes.

The panel in Romani has been realized already more than three times within the GLS (2021 in Prague, 2022 in Beograd and 2024 in Sofia). On the contrary to the last years, when the panels in Romani presented the possibility of Romani language use in speaking about any topics on scientific level (and then the contributions were separated into two panels - linguistic and historical-ethnographic), this year we will split the Romani panel thematically. This panel will only accept papers that focus on historical or anthropological research on Roma. Subdisciplines of these sciences are not limited.

Contributors are asked to send their title and abstract in two language versions, both English and Romani. The language of their papers on the conference will be only Romani. Also the discussions will be held in Romany and if ppt or other visual presentations are used, the participants are asked to prepare them in Romani! Please feel free also to use any Romani dialect, not only Vlax/Lovari Romani (which is used in this proposal). Previous conferences' practice proved that we can understand each other quite well.
## O Romano zaačhado pro maškarthemutno levelos

Andre aktualna geopoliticka nalačhipena, the andro kontekstos kana barol e dar andre Evropa, mušinas te gondoľinel pal o inkluzivno zaačhipen savore minoritengero, the andre upreder nacionalna sekuritna strukturi, sar hin o NATO vaj e Organizacija vaš o manušengero jekhetaňiben (UNO). Kada so kamav te phenel, hoj akana le Romenge kampel lengero romano zaačhado andre kola strukturi. Kada romano zaačhado, andre situacija kana bi avlas le maribnaskro konfliktos andre Evropa, mušinel te zaačhel so le Romenge kampel, the le Romengere čačipena. Dži do akana, so dikhl'am le maribnastar pre Ukrajina, sikhađas amenge savi diskriminacija has pro Roma - ča so dikhas so kerenas le Romenca andre evakuačna droma, humanitarno šegetišagos, the andre azilovo protekcija andro aver themi. Te le Romen avela o zaačhado pre maškarthemutno levelos, kada šaj avel e prevencija savore kajse problemendar, the šaj keraha čačikane zaačhipena andro krizova situaciji. Kada pal soste kamav te del duma hin bari tema andro svetos, kola lava hin pal e diverzita andro sekuritno struktura the kamen te sikhavel, kaj mušinas te zaačhel marginalizimen komuniti andre kala procesi.

## Roma representation at the international level

In the context of current geopolitical threats and growing insecurity in Europe, it is essential to ensure the inclusive representation of all minority groups, including within supranational security structures such as the NATO or UNO. This text highlights the need for the presence of a Roma representative within NATO who could advocate for the specific needs and rights of the Roma population in the event of armed conflict on the European continent. Past experiences, such as the war in Ukraine, have demonstrated that Roma communities face systematic discrimination—whether in access to evacuation routes, humanitarian aid, or asylum protection abroad. Ensuring Roma representation at the international level could help prevent such issues and promote more equitable and just access to assistance during crises. The text underscores the importance of diversity in security structures and calls for the inclusion of marginalised communities in decision-making processes.
## Le šavoura, so či dičhon: So kerelas pe le šavourenca andaj Ukrajina andej čechicka školi

O rodimo sikhavel pe románe šavoura andaj Ukrajina, so minďár kana kezdindas o márimo pi Ukrajina ando berš 2022 avile po Čecho, taj sas šute pe jejkh rig andaj sikhavimo. Sikhavas pe kado, so vorbinas amenge le žejne, so kerenas le Romenca andaj Ukrajina búťi, hoď o maj báre raja andej čechicka gava, či kamenas te iskirij le románe šavouren andej školi.

Maj báro bajo sas, kana maj but sar 150 románe šavoura andaj Ukrajina si te phírenas sako ďejs talam tranda kilométeri andi áver škola, ando áver fouro, ajke le raja ando lengo gav, ká bešenas, či kamenas le šavouren te mukhen ande školi.

O rodimo sikhavel po bajo la šibasa, ke khonik le šavourendar či žanelas te vorbij čechicka, khonik len či kamelas te žutisárel te aven integrujime taj te phíren andej školi. Buterval sikhadas pe, hoď khonik či dikhelas sar bajo, ká le šavoura či phírnas andi škola varikana intrego berš, vaď vi maj dúr. Anda amaro rodimo avel avri, hoď o sistémo či terejdij prá le. Naj anda kodo, so rakhlam ande amáro rodimo, phuteras ávri i diskusija pa kado, hoď trobuj te keras maj inklúzivno politika taj maj láši žutóri le románe šavourenge andaj Ukrajina, so nášle tar ande ávera thema.

## Invisible Students: Ukrainian Romani Children's Struggles in the Czech Educational System

This presentation explores the systemic exclusion of Ukrainian Romani children from the Czech educational system following their arrival after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine in 2022. Drawing on field recordings and testimonies—he study reveals how some municipalities explicitly refused to enroll Romani children in local schools. In one documented case, over 150 children had to commute approximately 30 kilometers daily because they were denied access to schooling in their place of residence.

The paper also highlights the linguistic barriers these children face and the lack of structural support for their educational integration. In many instances, the fact that children were absent from school for an entire year went unnoticed or unaddressed by authorities, raising serious concerns about institutional neglect. By presenting these testimonies, the paper calls for urgent reforms and the implementation of inclusive educational practices that take into account the specific challenges faced by Romani children in exile.
## La Ukrajinatire Rrom ande la Ukrainatiri vojska: Identiteto taj Transformacyja ando Rusycko-Ukrajinicko Marimasko Kont'eksto

Kadeja prizentacyja sykavela vaso la ukrajinatire rrom želetar po fronto te marenpe la Rusyjasa. Ander late šolpe bari sama kolesti, kaj te haťaras, sar la Rusyjako marimos parruvel o rromanimos — rromano identiteto taj rromano zakono ande Ukrajina. Ande prezintacyja sykaďola, so gindon i rrom, pala koda so aver rrom želetar po marimos, taj sar parrudiľa o gindo pala la ukrajinatire xalavde žy kav 2022 berš taj pala leste. Ink'e avela systome situacyja sar akharenas le rromen ande Sov'ecki xalavde ando Dujto Ľumako Marimos.

Somaj-baro amino ande kadeva rodimos — te haťaras sar koda so rrom žan ande xalavde parruvel le rromengo gindo pala lengo than maškar savorre manuša ande Ukrajina, ći dikhen vone per peste maj-but sar pe hraždanorur'a la Ukrajinatire ali na, i sar vone korkone pes prilen jekhatar.

Vaš o rodimos ame linesas panž intervju le rromendar, save želetar ande xalavde, panž manuša save naj ande vojska, taj trin fokus-grupe (katar trin dži kaj šov manuš ande jekh grupa). O intervju lelaspe kaj rrom andaj razni grupe: Servur'a, Vlaxur'a, Ruski Rroma taj Slovacki Rroma. Kala manuša andaj kacave la Ukrajinatire regionur'a: Transkarpatija, Xersono, Zaporoža, Dnipro taj Odesa.

Okrim kada, katar ijuni 2023 dži jak ijuni 2025 ame t'erasas la maľako dikhimos, ande saveste me šavas sama taj pistrosaravas, sar žuven jekhatar rrom, so phenen taj so gindoj pala marimos.

## Ukrainian Roma as Military Personnel: Identity Transformation in the Context of the Russian-Ukrainian War

This presentation will feature a report on the motivation of Ukrainian Roma to participate in hostilities during the Russian-Ukrainian war. Special attention is paid to how the Russian invasion has affected Romanipe — the ethnic identity and self-awareness of Roma in Ukraine. The views of civilian Roma on the participation of their compatriots in hostilities are examined, as well as the changing attitudes toward the Ukrainian army before and after 2022. Additionally, a comparative analysis with the experience of Roma conscription into the Soviet army during World War II is conducted.

The aim of the research is to analyze how participation in military actions affects the perception of national belonging, civic engagement, and internal self-identification of Ukrainian Roma.

The empirical basis of the research includes semi-structured interviews with ten individual participants — five Ukrainian Roma military personnel and five civilians — along
with three group interviews conducted in the form of focus groups, each involving
between 3 and 6 participants. Representatives of various sub-ethnic groups participated in
the study: Servur'a, Vlaxur'a, Ruska Roma, and Slovak Roma. The geography covered the
Zakarpattia, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipropetrovsk and Odesa regions.

Furthermore, ethnographic observations were conducted in the field from June 2023 to June 2025, making it possible to document everyday practices, discourses, and the dynamics of war perception within Roma communities.
ZBYNĚK Andrš

## Gilja anda e kolekcia, kaj cirdja tele o portretaši Josef Koudelka: So amenge dašti te phenen avri pala o 2. marimos hai palamarimosko vramja ande Čexoslovakia

Ando referato kado del pe duma pala istorikani refleksia ande rromane gilja, kaj penge giljabenas le Rom ande purani Čexoslovakija, ando esto la Slovakiako. Le vlašike Rom len prasan Rumungri, le kalderaricka Rrom Poljača, ke lengi kultura hai duma ek cirra aver si. Kana o ašundo čexicko portretaši, o Josef Koudelka, phirelas beršende 1962-1970 maškar le slovakike Rrom, angle kodo sar vov teljardjas ando thema, atunča či kerelas numa portretura - sas les vi magnetofono hai cirdelas tele le rromane gilja. Maškar kadala gilja sas uni, kaj amenge phenen pala o trajo le Rromengo ando dujto lumako marimos hai vi pala kodo, sar le Rom teljarenas pala o marimos la Slovakiatar hai avenas ando Čexo. Lenge gilja či phenen pe, kodola gilja naj divanura, da dašti arakhas maškar lende nište istorikane leperimata. Kana arakhadilo ek baro njamo, gilabenas penge hai vi rovenas paša kodo. Kadja sitjile kadala brigake gilja vi lenge ternimata. Maj baro sas, kaj atunča ando šovardešte berša numa xanci Rrom čitisarenas vaj ramonas, dar saorre žanenas te gilabal. O autori kadale referatosko alosardja maj but teksti le giljenge - le Koudelkoske hai vi peske, save cirdja vov korkouro ando ochtovardešte hai enjavardešte berša hai inke kak aver teksti le laše lilendar. Phenas o lil, savo ramosarde D. Holý hai C. Nečas pala ek brigaki gjili „Aušvicate hi kher baro“. Kadi gilji astardja vi o Koudelka. O prezentatori kamel te sikavel le motivura, kaj mothon pala o holokausto hai pala o trajo ande komuniscicko vramja ando maj buchlo istorikano konteksto. Ando referato lela sama vi pe la šibaki simbolika hai pe le šibake averimata.

## Collection of sound recordings by photographer Josef Koudelka: Echoes of the Second World War and the post-war period in Czechoslovakia in the lyrics of Romani songs

The paper deals with the reflection of the events of the Second World War and the post-war period in Czechoslovakia, as it appears in the songs of the so-called Slovak Roma, who are referred to by the Lovara as Rumungri and by the Kalderasha as Polyacha. The source material for the analysis of the lyrics are songs recorded by photographer Josef Koudelka in Roma settlements in Slovakia before his departure into exile. This collection of his from the 1960s contains several songs whose lyrics refer to historical events – the Holocaust and the post-war migration from Slovakia to Bohemia. The language of the songs is the north-central dialect of Romani spoken by the Roma in Eastern Slovakia. Although these are not purely epic songs of a balladic type, but lyrical-epic songs, they were an important part of collective memory, as they preserved and transmitted memories. This was done by passing on emotional experiences to the younger generation during family gatherings, when they were sung and played. An important condition for the creation and transmission of these