2016 Nordic Conference on
Romani Studies
Södertörn University, Huddinge, Sweden
April 13-15, 2016
Centre for Baltic and East European Studies (CBEES)
Organizing Team
Research Leader/ University Lecturer, Docent Kimmo Granqvist (SH and UH)
MA, Doctoral Candidate Lidia Gripenberg (UH)
Program Committee
Research Leader, University Lecturer, Docent Kimmo Granqvist (SH and UH)
Mgr. Tatiana Podolinská, PhD. (Slovak Academy of Sciences)
Prof. Emerita Judith Okely (Oxford University)
1
2016 Nordic Conference on Romani Studies
Program
Wednesday, April 13, MC227
11:00
Registration
11:30
Conference opening
12:00
Lunch
Panel 1: Culture and spiritual life
13:30
Tomasz Koper:
One Romani identity – two different cultural traditions. The comparison of two
Romani tribes in Poland
14:00
Lidia Gripenberg:
AME SAM ROMA! – WE ARE ROMA! Fieldwork completed
The interaction between Finnish Roma People and East-European Roma People
Visiting or Living in Finland
14:30
Samareh Safikhani & Seyed Yaghoub Mousavi:
Representation of non-Gypsies in everyday practices of Gypsies; case study of
Gypsies in Tehran
15:00
Coffee Break
15:30
Eva-Liisa Roht:
„It is not easy becoming a believer, you become poor.“ Roma in Estonia and
Latvia, finding their own way of being an Evangelical Christian
Panel 2: Politics and migration
16:00
Edyta Radzewicz:
The impact of an accommodation crisis and housing policy on the Traveller way
of life: a case study from the west of Ireland
16:30
Ildikó Asztalos Morell:
Public work as a means to overcome the marginalization of Romani
communities in rural Hungary?
Panel 3: Roma music
17:00
Anette Åkerlund:
Spanish Roma Flamenco Singers’ Voice and Singing and Performing Style and
its comparing to the Finnish Roma singers’ voice
17:30
Closing of the first day
2
Thursday April 14, room MA756
10:00
Opening of the second day
13:00
Keynote 1: Judith Okely:
‘Gypsy Intermediaries Guide the Stranger into their Familiar, bringing
Reciprocity and some Misunderstanding’
Panel 4: Roma history
11:30
Vidar Fagerheim Kalsås:
Ethnopolitics and Museology in Norway: The Representation of Romani History
at the Exhibition Latjo-Drom – The Romani/Travellersʼ Culture and History
12:00
Lotta Fernstål, Charlotte Hyltén-Cavallius, Anna Arnberg, Jenny Ask,
Nina Edström, Jonas Monié Nordin:
At the outskirts of the city – Swedish Roma life stories and camp sites from the
20th Century
12:30
Lunch
14:00
Andrej Kotljarchuk:
Roma and Travellers of Sweden during World War II: experts, networks and
racial cleansing policy-making in transnational context
14:30
Madeleine Hurd:
The Joint Production of Inter-War Eugenics: National and International
«Gypsie» Experts in the Baltic Sea Area
15:15
Jan Selling:
Changing the Narrative. Theoretical, Methodological and Political
Considerations on Romani and antigypsyism
16:00
Coffee break
Panel 5: Romani pedagogics
16:30
Kati Dimiter-Taikon, Angelina Dimiter-Taikon, Mikael Demetri, Christina
Rodell Olgaç, Patrik Dinnétz & Alla T. Alzhanova-Ericsson:
An Application of the Digitally-Mediated Model for A Primary School Education
of
Roma Students in teaching about Sustainable Development and Environmental
Protection in the Era of Anthropocene
17:00
Christina Rodell Olgaç & Angelina Dimiter-Taikon:
Some challenges of Romani mediators in higher education
17:30
Susanna Rajala & Satu Blomerus:
A review of the educational backgrounds of adult Roma in Finland
18:00
Closing of the second day
3
Friday April 15, room MA796
9:00
Opening of the third day
9:30
Keynote 2: Angelina Dimiter-Taikon:
Roma education in Sweden: past, present and future perspectives
Panel 6: Romani Linguistics
10:30
Gerd Carling & Briana van Epps:
Gender and agreement in Scandoromani
11:00
Mirkka Salo:
Functions of Romani words in Finnish Internet chat of Finnish Roma
11:30
Kimmo Granqvist:
Documenting a ‘new’ variety of Finnish Romani
12:00
Lunch
13:30
Anette Ross:
Estonian Lotfitka-type dialects' conservative features compared to Latvian
Lotfitka
14:00
Martina Koptová:
Research of a specific part of phraseology – similes of Romani language
14:30
Coffee break
15:00
Discussion:
Romani Studies in Nordic and Baltic countries: status quo and state-art-art
16:00
Closing of the conference
4
5
Abstracts for Keynote Presentations
6
Gypsy Intermediaries Guide the Stranger into their Familiar,
bringing Reciprocity and some Misunderstanding
Professor Judith Okely
Research Associate, School of Anthropology, Oxford University.
Emeritus Professor Hull University
The individual English Gypsies, with whom this anthropologist formed exceptional rapport, were
literate, whereas the majority, with whom she lived, were non-literate. Key individuals: two men,
two women, inspired understandings across space and time. Having lived both sides of the divide,
they were sensitive to ignorance of a Gypsy familiar. These key associates had experienced
schooling and ever nuanced contrasts. They welcomed the gorgio stranger, of unthreatening youth
and gender. They spontaneously articulated differences and the Gypsy taken-for-granted, familiar.
Okely’s independent research centre sought the Gypsies’ own perspectives re public policy, never
betrayal. With three Gypsy intermediaries, the ethnic divide brought reciprocity. For one Gypsy
man, the anthropologist later exploited stranger identity as Oxford graduate, successfully acting as
character witness in the central court in London when he was charged with attempted murder. For
one Gypsy woman, the stranger gorgio became de facto therapist. This Gypsy, in turn corrected the
outsider’s behaviour. The second Gypsy woman ally initiated the anthropologist into external
economic activity, even suggesting the fieldworker write a book. Concerning the second Gypsy
man, a devastating rupture was later triggered. An expensive, joint authored hardback with
individual authorship deleted, was misinterpreted as massive financial gain. Today, the
anthropologist’s publications are enthusiastically studied by Gypsy university graduates.
7
Roma education in Sweden: past, present and future perspectives
Angelina Dimiter-Taikon
Södertörn University
Almost eighty years have passed since Johan Dimitri Taikon wrote to the King of Sweden to raise
the issues of Romani education, and fifty years ago Katarina Taikon and other activists
demonstrated for the right to education for Roma in Sweden. In 2012 the Swedish government
launched at strategy for Roma inclusion that covers 20 years. The overall goal is that a Roma child
born in 2012 should have the same life options as a non-Roma person by 2032. The strategy covers
four main areas, education, employment, health and housing as well as culture, language and civil
society (empowerment). Five pilot municipalities were selected to 2012-2015 develop methods to
be spread all over the country. In my presentation I will mainly focus on education. I will discuss
educational issues concerning Roma in the past and present as well as giving my thoughts about the
future.
8
Abstracts for Oral Session Presentations
Cancelled:
Finnish Romani music as performance – Issues of musical
communication
Kai Åberg
University of Eastern Finland
Performance of music of the Finnish Roma music tradition is events rich in communicative practise.
This paper concerns the musical communications among Finnish Roma and between the Roma and
non-Roma: the often close interaction between not only the performers and audience, but the dialogue
of cultures - an interaction which consists of open and subliminal communication, ritual behaviour
and many taboos. In my paper I try to describe the different dimensions of communication in music
of the Finnish Roma, mentioning (i) identification, (ii) different status of people, (iii) interpersonal
communication, and finally, (iv) sound communicating character or mood. I argue that different
individuals with different cultural backgrounds and musical competence participate in
communication in different ways – some of these dimensions are open to all, some depend on a
general cultural competence, others relay detailed musical knowledge. The social constructivist
model of communication adopted here is one in which musical practises is seen as a tool of social
action – people are seen as being able to achieve certain personal and social ends in a social process.
This model of musical communication suggests that the meaning of music will vary according to the
context in which music is used. Because I am an ethnographer-at-heart, I will explore musical
communication among Finnish mainly through a particular ethnographic example. By doing so, I
hope to underline for the importance of ethnography in the study of musical communication (Clayton
2007: 361 – 381).
Keywords: Roma music, ethnomusicology, ethnicity, gender, musical communication and interaction
Ph.D Kai Viljami Åberg
Department of Finnish Language and Cultural Research
[email protected]
Spanish Roma Flamenco Singers’ Voice and Singing and Performing
Style and its comparing to the Finnish Roma singers’ voice
Anette Åkerlund
Sibelius Academy
My presentation is a researching and pedagogical work about the voice techniques and performing
style of the Spanish Roma flamenco singers and the Finnish Roma singers. The work is part of my
master studies in the Folk Music Department of Sibelius Academy. I have studied flamenco singing
and composing and flamenco piano and dancing in Spain and also I have sang from the childhood
the Finnish Roma songs, I am a Finnish Roma.
I have already given a speech about the work in the previous seminar of Roma studies in Södertörn
Högskola in Stockholm in April 2015. There the title was: “Finnish Roma Songs’ Singers’ and the
Spanish Roma Flamenco Singers’ Singing Voice and Style Research”. In that speech and version of
my researching of the voice techniques I focused more on the comparing of the singing styles and
the voice qualities between the Spanish Roma flamenco singers and the Finnish Roma singers.
In this newer version I focus more on the Spanish Roma flamenco singers, but from my personal
point of view, which is strongly Finnish Romani, because my voice colour and quality are very
Finnish Roma sounding.
In the presentation I make concrete flamenco singing rehearsals, where the listeners can make
singing voice treatment by themselves. There are for instance different decorating rehearsals, such
as melisma or glissando.
I also interview Spanish Roma flamenco singers and ask about their childhood singing idols and
their parents and families, because that has a big influence to the singing voice, that comes directly
from the childhood growing circumstances.
I also take classes of singing voice techniques and treatments while doing this work. I also do voice
treatment rehearsals and read litterature about the subjects.
The base of the study is in the certain voice methods, such as Complete Vocal Technique, Jo Estill
Method, the Speech Level System Method, Alexander Technique and Pilates Methods from the
point of view of singing. A big part of my study and pedagogy material is from my singing voice
techniques and treatments teachers, Ritva Eerola and Johanna Hytti, who teach voice treatment for
singers in Sibelius Academy. Also a big part of the flamenco singing technical information is from
a Spanish flamenco singer, Alba Guerrero’s researching publication about the same subject,
flamenco singer’s voice and technique.
Anette Åkerlund
Bachelor of Music, musician
Sibelius Academy
Helsinki, Finland,
email: [email protected]
Public work as a means to overcome the marginalization of Romani
communities in rural Hungary?
Ildikó Asztalos Morell
Uppsala University
In the post-socialist transition process desindustrialisation as well as decollectivisation cut rural
settlements from their key channels of integration into the dominant economic system (mode of
production) (Friedman), and integration that promoted also a household based production (form of
production). Rather, the unbedding was followed by mass unemployment and the mass decline in
household based production practices (Kovách) also exacerbating processes of impoverishment,
where Roma became the hardest hit. The reversion of state socialist work societies, where work was
not only a right but also a duty, and where the demand of work was exacerbated by the resource
driven development of soft budgets (Kornai), to a welfare dependent rural idleness is not seen
sustainable. From 1996 the Hungarian equivalent of employability strategies, public work
institution was established, which was institutionalized as a major model for turning welfare
dependency to an undesired stage on the road back to work, as the policy declaration of the
Socialist/liberal coalition in 2004 “Ùt a munkába” has signaled. A policy trend that has been
expanded and transformed by conservative/populist Fidesz government’s public work and so called
START programs (the latter targeting high unemployment ratio areas) giving employment to over
200000 people. Eligibilities to social welfare became conditioned by participation in workfare,
increasing stigmatization and deservingness discourses, which also obtained ethnified character
singling out Roma in local municipal strategies as problem holders. This paper is to scrutinize the
diverse impact on Roma communities of the utilization of public work projects in rural Hungary.
The paper is based on case studies in rural communities in Northern Hungary’s deindustrialized
“rust” valley.
Senior research fellow at Uppsala Centre for Russian and Eurasian Studies, Uppsala University
Associate professor, at Mälardalen university
[email protected]
Gender and agreement in Scandoromani
Gerd Carling, Briana van Epps
Scandoromani, a Romani dialect spoken by a couple of hundred individuals in Sweden and Norway,
is a mixed language, like Angloromani and Caló. This means, that the grammatical morphology,
like phonology, word and sentence prosody have been adapted from Swedish, Norwegian
(Bokmål/Nynorsk) or dialects of these languages. Nevertheless, Scandoromani is an autonomous
language, which can be divided into various dialects and familylects, being different in many
aspects, not just allophonic variation, but also grammatical and derivational morphology, stress, and
lexicon. The Scandoromani dialects has been documented in a couple of descriptions, e.g., Etzler
(1943), Iversen (1945), Johansson (1977), Lindell & Djerf (2008), and Carling, Lindell &
Ambrazaitis (2014).
The presentation will focus on a very interesting aspect of Scandoromani: the complete adaptation
of a Scandinavian standard two-gender system (non-neuter/ neuter) and a Scandinavian dialectal
three-gender system (masculine/ feminine/ neuter) upon lexical material of a Romani two-gender
system (masculine/ feminine). By this adaptation, which is done all throughout the language, a great
number of non-sexus lexical meanings of various types, being either masculine of feminine in
Romani, have in Scandoromani been secondarily sorted out as either non-neuter or neuter. Here,
there is also a dialectal variation within Scandoromani. Furthermore, the Scandinavian dialectal
distinction of masculine and feminine also plays a role in the morphology of Scandoromani.
We will try to focus on a number of aspects as possible sources for the selection of gender in
Scandoromani, compared to gender in Scandianvian, and in particular dialectal Scandinavian. The
casus for gender selection are outlined as: 1) the lexical meaning, 2) the morphological endings, 3)
analogy with Scandinavian lexemes, either semantically or formally. The presentation will use the
ScaRom database, which is the basis for the publication Carling, Lindell & Ambrazaitis (2014), as a
basis for a systematic and empirical study on causes for choice of gender in Scandoromani.
We will also look at the principles of agreement in attributive and predicative position, as well as
the principles of using definite and indefinite articles, in noun phrases with different genders on the
heads in Scandoromani.
Carling, Gerd, Lenny Lindell & Gilbert Ambrazaitis 2014. Scandoromani. Remnants of a Mixed
Language. Leiden-Boston: Brill.
Etzler, Allan 1944. Zigenarna och deras avkomlingar i Sverige. Historia och språk. Uppsala:
Almqvist och Wiksell.
Iversen, Ragnvald 1944. Secret Languages in Norway part I. The Romany in Norway. Oslo: A.W.
Brøggers.
Johansson, Roger 1977. Svensk Romani. Med etymologiska och grammatiska kommentarer av
Gösta Bergman och Erik Ljungberg samt förord av Adam Heymowski. Uppsala: Almquist
och Wiksell.
Lindell, Lenny & Thorbjörnsson-Djerf, Kenth 2008. Ordbok över svensk romani. Resandefolkets
språk och sånger. Inledning, Grammatik och bearbetning av Gerd Carling. Stockholm:
Podium.
An Application of the Digitally-Mediated Model for A Primary School
Education of Roma Students in teaching about Sustainable
Development and Environmental Protection in the Era of
Anthropocene
Kati Dimiter-Taikon1, Angelina Dimiter-Taikon1, Mikael Demetri1, Christina
Rodell Olgaç2, Patrik Dinnétz2 & Alla T. Alzhanova-Ericsson2*
1
Hammarby Södra Primary School, Enskededalen, Sweden
Södertörn University, Huddinge, Sweden
*Corresponding author
2
Sustainable environmental development in the age of the Anthropocene, a proposed epoch when
human activities begin to have a significant global impact on Earth's ecosystems, is one of the most
important themes of modern education about preservation of the environment. This project intends to
study the environmental knowledge development of Roma primary school students’ in Roma Culture
Class. The essential feature of the project is a Digitally-Mediated Intelligent Tutor System (ITS)
approach in combination with bilingual teaching and learning in Romani Chib and in official school
language. The project methodology is based on the development of lessons, which stimulate Roma
students’ interest towards Anthropocene and improve their intrinsic motivation for studies. Lessons
integrate school subjects of Biology, Chemistry and Mathematics with environmental awareness and
care. Teaching and learning about Anthropocene requires a new terminology in Romani Chib. One
of the project’s practical goals is to establish and implement an Anthropocene terminology in Romani
Chib and to save it in a dictionary form for further studies. Some lessons deal with environmental
pollution and possibilities for environmental protection in production and disposal of paper. While
others deal with discussions regarding Ocean Conservancy and environmental contamination brought
about by disposable plastic drinking straws. Furthermore, lessons address the connection between
Roma travelling culture and the intrinsic Roma attitude towards preservation of the environment.
Roma students use video-documented school lessons for ITS-based education. Roma students design
and create new lessons together with their teachers. ITS–based education enriches Roma teaching
and learning. For example, students can watch the video-filmed lessons several times over and receive
an explanation of the lessons’ content from the Roma teachers in a virtual form. This is important for
students who attend school irregularly or study at schools, which do not have Romani speaking
teachers. Students are also able to use ITS-based lessons in a flipped classroom form. The dictionary
will include a compilation of Romany terminology translated into the Swedish, English, Russian,
Check, Slovak and Hungarian languages. Roma students in several countries can use the dictionary.
Project results based on student’ and teachers’ interviews and participative observations about using
the ITS-based approach in studying Antropocene show that virtual lessons stimulate students’
engagement and motivation as well as positively stimulate students’ knowledge development.
At the outskirts of the city – Swedish Roma life stories and camp sites
from the 20th Century
Fernstål, Lotta1*, Hyltén-Cavallius, Charlotte2, Arnberg, Anna3, Ask, Jenny4,
Edström, Nina5, Monié Nordin, Jonas5
1
The Swedish History Museum,
2
The Institute for Language and Folklore,
3
The Cultural Heritage Foundation
4
The Multicultural Centre
5
The Multicultural Centre
6The Swedish History Museum
*Corresponding author
During a large part of the 20th Century, Roma in Sweden were forced to a nomadic lifestyle, often
being allowed to set up camp within a municipality for only a few weeks at a time. Travelling was
also necessary for subsistence through offering different sorts of services in new regions (re-tinning
of copper pots, music, tivolis, and so forth). During the late 1950’s and first half of the 1960’s
Swedish Roma were offered housing and were allowed general access to education; now the
political goal for the group was assimilation. This part of Swedish history is to many people quite
unknown and it is absent in most museum exhibitions and not represented in collections. There is
much material in the archives, but very seldom from Swedish Roma perspectives or experiences.
Most information has been collected from the majority population’s point of view.
In the project “At the outskirts of the city – Swedish Roma life stories and camp sites from the 20th
Century”, we work with ethnological and archaeological methods. Life history interviews are
performed with Swedish Roma with experiences of living in camps and for the first time an
archaeological excavation of a former Swedish Roma camp site is being conducted. We are also
searching for Swedish Roma voices within existing archive materials. Some of the questions we are
interested in are: What tactics were used for subsistence in a rapidly changing world characterized
by an escalating modernity and urbanity? How was the transition to permanent housing perceived
by Swedish Roma? How is the interaction with and relations with the majority population
portrayed? How is the self-presentation constructed and performed in the life stories? How are
experiences of living in camps being transferred to younger generations? The main objective of the
project is to highlight parts of 20th Century history with a focus on Swedish Roma lives and
experiences, and to incorporate this part of the cultural heritage into Swedish state collections.
Documenting a ‘new’ variety of Finnish Romani
Kimmo Granqvist
University of Helsinki and Södertörn University, Stockholm
Most accounts on Finnish Romani (FR) dialectology refer to a consensus genetic East-West
subdivision based on a grid of predominantly phonological and lexical features. However,
systematic data collection carried out in 2013-2014 has revealed the existence of a new subdialect
with spoken by some families currently settled in Ostrobothnia. This subdialect is distinct from the
rest of FR most markedly by exhibiting traces of the voiceless aspirated affricate /čh/,
characteristically lost in North-Western Romani (Matras 2002: 57; Sampson 1926: 12) but retained
in the extinct Estonian Lajenge Roma dialect and Russian Xaladytko (Tenser 2008: 269). In my
paper, I will document certain features and synchronic variation of this subdialect and contribute to
the ongoing debate between the genetic (e.g. Boretzky & Igla 2004) and geographical diffusion
models (Matras 2002) in Romani dialectology.
References
Boretzky, Norbert and Birgit Igla. 2004. Kommentierter Dialektatlas des Romani. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz
Verlag.
Matras, Yaron. 2002. Romani: A linguistic introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Sampson, John 1926. The Dialect of the Gypsies of Wales being the Older Form of British Romani Preserved
in the Speech of the Clan of Abram Wood. Oxford: Clarendon.
Tenser, Anton 2008. Northeastern Group of Romani dialects. PhD dissertation, University of Manchester.
AME SAM ROMA! – WE ARE ROMA! Fieldwork completed
The interaction between Finnish Roma People and East-European
Roma People Visiting or Living in Finland
Lidia Gripenberg
University of Helsinki
The subject of my presentation is the interaction between Finnish Roma people and East European
Roma people visiting or living in Finland as well as their perception about Romani identity as a part
of cultural and linguistic identity. (Marushiakova & Popov 2004; Kopsa-Schön 1996; Strand &
Marsh 2006; Granqvist & Viljanen 2002)
A considerable amount of East-European Roma people have entered Finland since the beginning of
2007, when Romania and Bulgaria became members of the European Union. (Helsingin
Diakonissalaitos 2010.) During the summer of 2015, it was estimated that about 300-400 Bulgarian
& Romanian Roma people were present in the region of Helsinki. 40-50 Bulgarian & 20-30
Romanian Roma families have been living and working in Finland for a few years. It is known that
representatives of different Romani groups are interacting with each other regardless of the
differences in Romani dialects.
The study is based on the existing research on Roma identity (Marushiakova & Popov 2004; KopsaSchön 1996; Granqvist & Viljanen 2002; Strand & Marsh 2006). The attitudes of Roma groups
towards each other are within the research scope also in the cases when the groups are reluctant to
interact with each other. The present stage of the study is working on fieldwork report. In the
presentation I will concentrate on aspects of belonging and ethnic identity and features of the
relationship.
The research is part of the project “Language, identity and authenticity among the East European
Roma” at University of Helsinki.
GRANQVIST, KIMMO & VILJANEN, ANNA MARIA 2002 Kielelliset tabut romani-identiteetin
kuvaajana. Teoksessa Laihiala-Kankainen, Sirkka,Pietikäinen, Sari & Dufva, Hannele (toim.):
Moniääninen Suomi: kieli, kulttuuri ja identiteetti. Jyväskylän yliopiston soveltavan
kielentutkimuksen keskus, Jyväskylä.
HELSINGIN DIAKONISSALAITOS 2010. ROM PO DROM – project final report 14.6.2010
http://www.hdl.fi/images/stories/liitteet/ROM_PO_DROM-loppuraportti.pdf
KOPSA-SCHÖN, TUULA 1996: Kulttuuri-identiteetin jäljillä. Suomen romanien kulttuuri-identiteetistä
1980-luvun alussa. SKS:n toimituksia 641.
MARUSHIAKOVA, E., & POPOV, V. (2004). The roma - a nation without a state? historical background
and contemporary tendencies. In Bernhard Streck (Ed.), Segmentation und komplementarität.
organisatorische, ökonomische und kulturelle aspekte der interaktion von nomaden und sesshaften.
beiträge der kolloquia am 25.10.2002 und 27.06.2003. (pp. 71-100) OWZ
STRAND, ELIN – MARSH, ADRIAN 2006: Gypsies and the problem of identities: contextual,
constructed and contested. Istanbul: Swedish Research Institute in Istanbul.
The Joint Production of Inter-War Eugenics:
National and International «Gypsie» Experts in the Baltic Sea Area
Madeleine Hurd
Södertörn University
I am interested in the inter-war activities of Baltic-area eugenicist, racial-biologist and
criminologist/police expert networks, with special attention to practices that produced knowledge
concerning and justified measures against Romani and supposed Romani / Travellor populations.
My focus is on, e.g., discourses produced by Interpol; by eugenics societies such as the
International Federation of Eugenics Organisations; as well as regularised contacts between national
universities and Race Hygiene institutions.
International networks of state experts reflected popular faith in scientists' ability to solve social
problems through social engineering and bio-politics. Experts used such networks them to establish
professional domains, strengthen group cohesion, and augment scientific legitimacy. The resultant
group profile as disinterested advocates of universal progress was very useful in "selling" policies
back to national states. Experts took knowledge home with them ("best practice" examples); while
those, in turn, best able to demonstrate domestic success had, understandably, superior international
prestige. The international network reinforced expert credibility; the expert's national power
influenced the knowledge-production of the network. National and international interacted.
Ethnopolitics and Museology in Norway: The Representation of
Romani History at the Exhibition Latjo-Drom – The
Romani/Travellersʼ Culture and History
Vidar Fagerheim Kalsås
University of Agder
The aim of this paper is to analyse the representations of Norwegian Romani history, presented in
the museum exhibition Latjo-Drom – The Romani/Travellersʼ Culture and History at Glomdal
Museum in Norway. The exhibition was financed as part of the Norwegian Government’s
reparations towards the Romani, for the harsh assimilation policies during the 19th and 20th
century. The production was done in cooperation between the Glomdal Museum and two Romani
organisations. The paper applies a constructivist representational approach in the analysis of the
historical representations at the exhibition. This is combined with Anthony D. Smithʼs concept of a
myth of origins, and the analysis finds that the exhibition displays a myth of origins of the
Norwegian Romani. The discussion centres upon how this myth of origins can be understood in
light of the ethnopolitical and museological contexts at the time of production.
One Romani identity – two different cultural traditions. The
comparison of two Romani tribes in Poland
Tomasz Koper
University of Warsaw
In Polish literature one can find a division of the Romani minority in Poland into four
fundamental tribes. Such distinction has been made on the basis of different dialects of the Romani
language, culture and lifestyle. I have chosen two tribes to exemplify two different and opposing
cultural traditions (two different sets of cultural patterns), but one common Romani identity.
The first account of Roma people in Poland dates back to the 15th century. It was mentioned
in the city records of one of today’s Krakow districts, in 1401. Some held highly respected posts
e.g. as judicial officers or servants in the royal court. It is worth mentioning that they adopted a
settled way of life. Scholars carrying out research in the Roma Studies believe that they were part of
a Roma group today called Carpathian Roma (Bergitka Roma). The second half of the 16th century
brought the arrival of a few Roma groups to the country. In historical records, those groups are
characterized by a nomadic way of live and frequent troubles with law- theft or mugging. Horse
trade and handicraft was mentioned for the first time. After some time these skills and occupations
began to be treated by non-Roma society as specific to all Roma. The groups that arrived at that
time are identified with the contemporary Romani tribe: Polish Roma (Polish Lowland Roma).
Drawing on anthropological fieldwork study in Poland as part of doctoral research, this
paper discusses differences among two gypsy tribes: Bergitka Roma and Polska Roma. I will also
describe a relation of these two groups to each other (the internal point of view).The relations
between Gypsies from Bergitka Roma and Polska Roma were always difficult in the past. The main
field of conflict among these two Romani groups (and also with other Gypsy tribes in Poland) is
situated into historical issue – in nomadic tradition. Nomadism was not only an important source for
cultural patterns, but also for establishing the internal identity status.
The dichotomous conception of the distinction within Roma minority on the between (their)
the Romani world and the (strange) world of non-Roma is based on the “romanipen” category.
Research of a specific part of phraseology – similes of Romani
language
Martina Koptová
University of Helsinki/ Charles University, Prague
The paper deals with research of a specific part of phraseology – similes of Romani language. The
aim is to show a description of collection of similes of Romany language used in nowadays
Slovakia and Czech Republic. The Paper analyzes collected material from semantic, formal and
functional point of view. It shows the variability of these units and specific metaphorical basis of
most of them. The language chosen for research is mainly varieties of Northcentral dialect of
Romani, in the past also called Slovak Romany. The corpus used for excerption of similes is based
on various available sources of Romani language - dictionaries, written texts and also recordings of
speech of native speakers. Problems with identification of similes, formal classification of similes,
expression of metaphorical meaning, process of building appropriate corpus and building of
dictionary are described in greater detail. The small Romani-Slovak dictionary of similes is
concluded.
Key words: phraseology, similes, metaphor, Romani language, language corpus, lexicography
Roma and Travellers of Sweden during World War II: experts,
networks and racial cleansing policy-making in transnational context
Andrej Kotljarchuk
Södertörn University
On the morning of Monday, 23 September 2013, the leading Swedish daily newspapers, Dagens
Nyheter, presented its main front-page story with the following headline: “The police register
thousands of Roma” revealed the existence of a computerized database stored on a server
belonging to the regional police of Scania. The database file was saved in a folder evocatively
named Kringresande (itinerants) and comprised a longstanding register of 4,029 persons of
Romani descent from all over Sweden, organized in such a way as to show family relations. This
news, understandably, led to horrified reactions by Swedish press and civil society. But how
foreign is such registration to Sweden? How historically well-insulated have, indeed, Sweden been
to anti-Romani experts? What happened with Romani community during World War II?
Since the mid-1930s, the Nazi regime concerned itself with the systematic registration and
identification of Roma. At its 1935 Copenhagen Conference, Interpol's participating states backed
the initiative proposed by representatives of the SS-dominated German police force regarding the
creation of ‘an international registry of Roma in Vienna. It had been easier to classify Jews for
records held by religious communities were readily available to the state. Many Roma in Sweden
at that time were nomadic and ID-less. On 25 September 1942, the government of Sweden ordered
personal registration of Roma and Travellers. The purpose of the registration was to solve “a
problem” by mapping both these groups. The paper is based on recently de-classified sources from
the National Archives of Sweden regarding the registration of Roma and Travellers undertaken in
the fully-sovereign Sweden in 1942-44 and the role of experts, police and census takers. The focus
is on the transnational context of registration undertaken in a comparative perspective with the
Nazi-occupied Denmark and Norway.
Cancelled:
Dialect classification of the language of Servy
Kirill Kozhanov
Institute for Slavic Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Although the first description of Servitko appeared in the 1930s, see [Barannikov 1934], scholars still
haven’t come to an agreement regarding the classification of the dialect. For example, A. Tenser in
his recent article [Tenser 2012] claimed that Servy share some features with central and northern
dialects, yet L. Cherenkov insists on the description of this dialects as belonging to the Vlax group
[Čerenkov 2013].
In my talk using the data collected by myself during the last few years I will show that the Servitko
dialect should be regarded as Vlax. First of all, Servitko has a number of Romanian loans, e.g., gráždo
‘stable’ from Rom. grajd, múlkom ‘silently’ from Rom. múlcom/mólcom, ráca ‘duck’ from Rom. ráţă
etc. It has also undergone certain phonetic changes typical for Vlax dialects: *dl > gl as in lagl’óm ‘I
traveled’ < *ladljom, cf. ládav ‘I travel’, or *aji > ej as in *daji > déj ‘mother’; *čhaji > čéj ‘daughter;
girl’. Moreover, judging by certain features found only in South Vlax, for instance, preservation of
the old -n- with -j- as in Serv. dyn’óm ‘I gave’ < *dinjom, cf. Xal. dyjom or Kald. dem; or preservation
of čh and dž, Servitko can be more specifically named a South Vlax dialect.
I will also discuss the issue of language preservation among Servuja (switch to Ukranian, Russian or
other Romani dialects) whose dialect is usually considered to be endangered.
Refererences
Barannikov A. P. (1934). The Ukrainian and South Russian Gypsy Dialects. Leningrad: Publishing
Office of the Academy.
Tenser A. (2012). A report on Romani dialects in Ukraine: Reconciling linguistic and ethnographic
data // Romani Studies 5, Vol. 22, No. 1, 1–13
Čerenkov L. N. (2013). Cyganskaja dialektologija v Rossii: sovremennoje sostojanie i zadači //
Kožanov K.A., Oskolskaja S.A., Rusakov A.Yu. Cyganskij jazyk v Rossii. Sbornik materialov
Rabočego soveščanija po cyganskomu jazyku v Rossii: Sankt-Peterburg, 5 oktjabrja 2012 g. SanktPeterburg: Nestor-Istorija, 6-24.
A review of the educational backgrounds of adult Roma in Finland
Susanna Rajala & Satu Blomerus
Finnish National Board of Education
Finland received its first National Policy on Roma in 2009. The overall objective of that policy was
to promote the participation and equal treatment of the Roma in different spheres of life. This
review of the educational backgrounds of adult Roma is one of the measures of the Policy on Roma.
It aims to survey the educational history of the adult Roma population in Finland, assess how the
Roma approach education, and determine their educational needs.
The Roma were informed of the review and the related data collection at consultation events that
were held in different parts of Finland. Four different surveys were drawn up: a survey for adult
Roma and separate surveys for vocational institutions, general upper secondary schools for adults,
and liberal adult education institutions. The survey forms were compiled in the Finnish National
Board of Education's Roma Education Group in close cooperation with a broad-based planning
group.
All of the information for the review was requested anonymously. The Roma population responded
actively to the survey, and information from a total of 327 survey forms was utilised during analysis
of the results. Based on the age structure of the respondents, the review extends from the 1950s to
the 2010s. The survey examined respondents according to six different age groups. In addition, the
form asked for the respondent's gender and current place of residence according to four geographic
regions.
A total of 110 responses were received from institutions of adult education. As Finland does not
maintain statistical data on ethnic grounds, the numbers of Roma students at the institutions were
based on estimates. The vocational institutions, general upper secondary schools for adults, and
liberal adult education institutions outlined the situation regarding students who have described
themselves as being Roma. The institutions were primarily examined for the 2013–2014 school
year.
The impact of an accommodation crisis and housing policy on the
Traveller way of life: a case study from the west of Ireland
Edyta Radzewicz
University of Warsaw
Recent research has identified issues relating to Traveller accommodation crisis in Ireland, with focus
on its effects on the Traveller way of life. Contrary to the goals of the Irish Traveller accommodation
strategy, aimed at accommodating the country’s indigenous, traditionally nomadic population and
outlined in the Housing (Traveller Accommodation) 1998 Act, living conditions of Traveller families
in Ireland have worsened significantly. Some of the consequences of the crisis are: many Travellers
living in unauthorised accommodation, overcrowding conditions on Traveller-specific
accommodation units, growing homelessness among Traveller community, shortage of culturally
appropriate accommodation, and lack of access to accommodation that would enable the practice of
nomadism. The impact of the Traveller accommodation crisis and housing policy on the Traveller
way of life will be discussed by using the example of Traveller community from Galway city, west
of Ireland. Drawing on a fifteen- month fieldwork study as part of doctoral research, which involved
a mixed method approach including: in depth interviews, focus interviews, and ethnographic
observation. The findings of this study help to examine the issues/problems faced by the Traveller
community in the context of an accommodation crisis and their further implications for Traveller
families and their way of life. Additionally, the question of how Ireland’s national Traveller
accommodation policy shaped the modern Traveller way of life will be addressed. Finally, this case
study will be evaluated as model for exploring accommodation-related issues and policies for Roma
and Travelling peoples in other European countries.
Some challenges of Romani mediators in higher education
Christina Rodell Olgaç and Angelina Dimiter-Taikon
Södertörn University
In 2015 the work in the five selected pilot municipalities within the adopted strategy for Roma
inclusion 2012-2032 launched by the Swedish Government, came to an end. These five pilot
municipalities were selected in 2012 to develop good examples of working methods during
2012-2015, to be disseminated across the country later on. One of the state measures, was the
training of Romani mediators working in schools. Concerning the school situation of Romani
pupils in the pilot municipalities in the beginning of 2013 still showed a high drop-out rate
among the pupils, a home-school relationship lacking trust and little knowledge about the history
and contemporary situation of the Romani minority among teachers and school staff (Rodell
Olgaç & Dimiter-Taikon, 2013).
This study analyses the two year training course in higher education for 15 Romani mediators
from different groups (originally16 participants) from four of the five pilot municipalities. In this
presentation we are specifically analyzing the mediators’ situation studying and working
simultaneously. The theoretical perspectives are drawn from the “toolbox” of Bourdieu &
Passeron (1990) and the theory of cultural capital. Within this “toolbox”, as Winkle-Wagner &
Locks (2014) underscore, there is however still space for upward mobility. In addition, they
highlight the emerging concept of academic capital formation, when discussing racially and
ethnically underrepresented students in higher education, in this case the Roma. The
methodology is inspired by critical ethnography and action research, where reflexivity is central.
Processes of change are in focus (Cohen, Manion & Morrison 2000). In our conclusion we will
highlight the risks the mediators face in their work, when the burden for the inclusion of Roma at
large is placed on their shoulders by the schools. We will also discuss issues concerning social
mobility in relation to the mediators.
References
Bourdieu, P., Passeron, J.-C. (1990). Reproduction in Education. Society and Culture. London:
Sage Publications.
Cohen, L., Manion, L. & Morrison, K. (2000). Research Methods in Education. 5th Ed. London:
RouthledgeFalmer.
Rodell Olgaç, C. & Dimiter Taikon, A. (2013). ”Mamma, ska jag säga att jag är rom?” En
kartläggning av romska barns och elevers skolsituation i fem pilotkommuner för Skolverket.
Bilaga i Skolverkets Delredovisning av regeringsuppdrag inom regeringens strategi för romsk
inkludering till Länsstyrelsen, Dnr A2012/1387/DISK. www.skolverket.se
„It is not easy becoming a believer, you become poor.“ Roma in
Estonia and Latvia, finding their own way of being an Evangelical
Christian
Eva-Liisa Roht
University of Tartu
Evangelical churches have reached the Roma in Estonia mostly through Finnish (both Finns
and Finnish Kaale) mission work. During the last 15 years the Finnish mission has been more
active among the Roma in Latvia. My presentation will introduce the topic of conversion into
Evangelism among the Roma in Estonia and Latvia. The study is based on anthropological
field-work during the years 2009-2010 and in 2015. It analyses conversion narratives and other
forms of materials gained by participant observation. I look at the problems Roma converts can
face while trying to reconcile different belief systems. I discuss from one side the reasons why
it can be hard for a Roma individual to convert and what kind of difficulties they face and from
another the reasons that make the mission work successful. As the groups of Roma in Estonia
and Latvia and Finnish Kaale come from different historical, socio-economical, cultural
backgrounds and conditions it influences also their process of becoming and being an
Evangelical Christian. Considering what is emphasised by the missionaries and what is
experienced by the new believers in the conversion process, how they combine their cultural
traits, traditions, habits with new religious ideology will help to open up the topic.
Cancelled:
Understanding the ‘break with the past’: faith, doubt and the social
meaning of change among Pentecostal Roma
Raluca Bianca Roman
University of St Andrews, Department of Social Anthropology/University of
Helsinki, Center for Nordic Studies
In this paper I will focus on the ways in which conversion to Pentecostalism among Roma often reassesses the status of born-again individuals in a web of clearly established social relations within
their community but also on the ways in which these individuals constantly problematize their
position in the world as a quest for social significance. Pentecostalism, as a global phenomenon, has
been defined as a religious movement that places central emphasis on the ‘break with the sinful
past’ and the clear reconfiguration of one’s life as a search for spiritual salvation. For believer
Roma however, the theological demand of a break with the past may at times require a break with
significant social ties (family, kin, friends), a move which may not only problematize the personal
journey of salvation but also the ways in which believers understand their being in the world as a
relationship with others (kin and non-kin, believers and non-believers, Roma and non-Roma) and a
relationship with their believer selves. Based on more than 18 month of ethnographic fieldwork
with Pentecostal Roma believers in Finland and Romania, and looking at the shapes and shades of
Pentecostalism encountered in the field, as well as at the interactions between different approaches
to believer life (and the contradictions within them), this paper is an analytical attempt to
understand the complexity that may make this religious movement a source of collective Roma
social mobilization while remaining a personal quest for individual salvation.
[email protected]
[email protected]
Estonian Lotfitka-type dialects' conservative features compared to
Latvian Lotfitka
Anette Ross
Tallinn University, Estonia
The presentation will focus on conservative linguistic features of Estonian Lotfitka-type dialects
compared to Latvian Lotfitka dialect. The data is collected as part of a Romani dialectology project
in University of Helsinki and is based on the RMS questionnaires (Matras & Elšík 2001).
Estonia has a Roma population of approximately 500 to 1100 people that belong to three Roma
groups – Lotfitka, Laloritka and Xaladytka. Two of them speak Lotfitka-type dialects and the
ethnonyms of these two groups refer to Latvia and Estonia respectively. Xaladytka dialect is a
Russian Romani dialect that along with Lotfitka-type dialects belongs to the Northeastern Romani
group (Matras 2002: 10; Tenser 2008: 261). Tenser (2008: 283) suggests that the Latvian Romani
and Estonian Romani dialects are a subgroup of Northeastern Romani dialects that have not taken
part of some of the changes in the group.
The Lotfitka and Laloritka dialects appeared in Estonia with Latvian Romani migration to Estonian
territory. The ties with Latvia and Latvian Roma highly depend on the speakers. There are recent
migrants and there are families that have lived in Estonia for three generations or longer. Despite
the contact on some level with Latvian Lotfitka, there are certain visible changes that have taken
place in Latvian Lotfitka dialect, but have not influenced Estonian Lotfitka-type dialects.
One type of phonological change concerns word initial aspirated consonants ph and kh, that are
present mostly in forms ph/pš and kh/kš in Estonian Lotfitka and Laloritka, but have through the
process of metathesis become šp and šk in most of lexical items in Latvian Lotfitka, e.g. phiiro >
pšiiro > špiiro 'open' and khil > kšil > škil 'butter'). Another type is the phonological change of
palatalized kh in Latvian Lotfitka, e.g dikhja > dikša 'he/she saw'.
In the Northeastern group generally Slavic aktionsart prefixes are used based on the Polish and
Russian systems (Tenser 2008: 160). In Latvian and Estonian Lotfitka dialects Latvian prefixes are
present beside the Slavic ones. In Estonian Lotfitka-type we see the prefixes from Polish, Russian
and Latvian less frequently used and rarely lexicalized.
In the lexicon the influence of Latvian has triggered the loss of inherited Romani words to be
replaced with the Latvian equivalents. In many cases we can see a Romani word more commonly
used in Estonian Lotfitka-type dialects than in Latvian Lotfitka in which the inherited word is
present by just a few speakers.
References
Matras, Yaron; Elšík, Viktor 2001. Romani Morpho-Syntax Database, University of Manchester.
Matras, Yaron 2002. Romani: A Linguistic Introduction. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.
Tenser, Anton 2008. Northeastern Group of Romani Dialects. Manchester: University of
MAchManchester dissertation.
Representation of non-Gypsies in everyday practices of Gypsies; case
study of Gypsies in Tehran [1]
Samareh Safikhani[2]
Seyed Yaghoub Mousavi[3]
In this paper, detailed consideration of the nature of semiotic relations between
Gypsies and non-Gypsies provides the framework for a discussion of representation of
non-Gypsies in everyday practices of Gypsies through a reexamination of data from a
three-year ethnographically informed study (2011-2014) of Gypsy’ (Kowli-ha) culture
and their everyday interactions with non- Gypsies (Tai-ha) in Tehran. This paper
demonstrate how the separation between Gypsies and non-Gypsies come to
characterize two pattern of interaction in everyday life in Tehran; begging and stealing
and once established in this way the dynamic interplay of activity and understanding is
capable of sustaining such moments over extended periods of time. Yet as well as
representing difference the image of non-Gypsies as a bipolar opposition also
represents hierarchy, for the difference between two groups is also a relation of power.
As much as the image is saturated with notions of hierarchy and power, so long as the
difference between the bipolar opposites can be resolved, the hierarchy can be
obscured.
Key Words: Gypsies, Representation, non-Gypsies, every day practices, Tehran.
[1] This Paper is based on one of the chapters of the doctorate dissertation in sociology, which is developing from 2013 in the
faculty of Social Sciences and Economics of Alzahra University.
[2] PhD candidate in sociology at Alzahra University ([email protected]) +989378901065
[3] Associate Professor at Faculty of Social Sciences & Economics at Alzahra University
Samar Safikhani
Iran, Tehran, Alzahra University
Ph.D. Candidate
Faculty of Social Sciences & Economics
Functions of Romani words in Finnish Internet chat of Finnish
Roma
Mirkka Salo
University of Helsinki
Romani is Indo-Arian language in Indo-European language group and has its roots in
Indian languages. Finnish Roma can still speak inflected Romani language, the Finnish
Romani dialect. Also in Finnish speech of Finnish Roma Romani words are commonly
used. Three main reasons for use of Romani words in Finnish speech are secret language
function, marking of impure words or things – kind of taboos in Finnish Roma culture by changing language when mentioning them, and expression of Roma identity. When
speaker want’s to hide some part of conversation from those who can’t Romani the hidden
words are expressed in Romani language. The purity rules of Finnish Roma culture are
connected to person’s age and gender. Recognition of the purity rules of Finnish Roma
culture by avoiding or by marking certain words by changing the language is part of
expression of Finnish Roma identity. Identity is expressed by using Romani words also
in other situations. In Hedman’s interview research from year 2009 appears that about a
half of interviewees who wanted the Romani language to be preserved to future
generations connected Romani language with Roma identity. Romani word is useful also
when Finnish translation does not equate exactly the meaning of the Romani word. In
speech of Finnish Roma appears also playful use of the two languages, in which the
Romani based word is deliberately inflected according to Finnish grammar and vice versa.
Also by these word-plays the knowledge of Romani words and thus the ethnic identity is
expressed. In Internet the Romani based words are used in same functions as previous
studies have evidenced in case of spoken language. The Internet chat of Finnish Roma
corresponds their spoken conversation.
Changing the Narrative. Theoretical, Methodological and Political
Considerations on Romani and antigypsyism
Jan Selling
Södertörn University
Contemporary Romani and antigypsyism studies, as well as cultural heritage institutions have
become increasingly aware of the importance of discourse positions: who is representing the
Romanies, in what way and what is the subtext? If the ”conceptual Gypsy” is a construct with
different meanings and functions under different social and historical circumstances, antigypsyism
researchers see as their zeal to deconstruct the concept. Both the representations of actual Romanies
and ”the conceptual Gypsy” are interwoven in identy-shaping narratives of the collective memory
(Assmann). The aim of this paper is to make some theoretical, methodological and political
considerations on how we can study the trajectory of narratives and what our role as scholars in the
change of narratives might be. I will compare minority politics imperatives and practices on this
issue in some selected cultural heritage institutions of Norway and Sweden, as representing two
historically interconnected countries: i.e. Glomdalsmuseet and HL-Senter, Norway; Living History
Forum and Svenskt Visarkiv/ the Centre for Swedish Folk Music and Jazz Research, Sweden. This
material will be discussed in relationship to the ambitious European project Digital Archive of the
Roma, which explicitly sets as its aim to ”change the narrative”, and replace biassed majority
perspectives on Romani existence with curated Romani perspectives on Romani dance, theatre,
literature, film, fotography and historiography (http://www.kulturstiftung-desbundes.de/cms/en/projekte/film_und_neue_medien/digitales_archiv_der_sinti_und_roma.html). By
this, the Scandinavian experiences will be put into a context which allows us to discuss the
influence of the ”Scandinavian exeptionalist” societies on the trajectories of Romani represenations
and antigypsyism. The project will benefit of and intensify the existing research collaboration and
contacts within the research network Roma and Resande History in the Nordic Countries, RORHIN.