The Crimean Roma (also known as Crimean gypsies, Tatar gypsies, ''Ayuji'' (
Crimean Tatar for 'bear cub'), ''Krymy'', or ''Çingene,''
[; anglicized as 'Chingen'] Tajfa or Dajfa) are a sub-ethnic group of the
Muslim Roma
Xoraxane Roma in Balkan Romani language, are non-Vlax Romani people, who adopted Sunni Islam of Hanafi madhab at the time of the Ottoman Empire. Some of them are Derviş of Sufism belief, and the biggest Tariqa of Jerrahi is located at the l ...
heavily assimilated among Crimean Tatars to the point that they are often considered to be the fourth subgroup of Crimean Tatars. Currently, they live in many countries of the former
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
, including
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
. They speak the
Crimean Tatar language
Crimean Tatar () also called Crimean (), is a Kipchak Turkic language spoken in Crimea and the Crimean Tatar diasporas of Uzbekistan, Turkey, Romania, and Bulgaria, as well as small communities in the United States and Canada. It should n ...
and their own
Crimean Romani dialect. Crimean Roma traditionally practice
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
.
History and ethnogenesis
Gypsies arrived on the territory of
Crimea
Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...
with the
Golden Horde
The Golden Horde, self-designated as Ulug Ulus, 'Great State' in Turkic, was originally a Mongols, Mongol and later Turkicized khanate established in the 13th century and originating as the northwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. With the fr ...
. In the
Crimean Khanate
The Crimean Khanate ( crh, , or ), officially the Great Horde and Desht-i Kipchak () and in old European historiography and geography known as Little Tartary ( la, Tartaria Minor), was a Crimean Tatars, Crimean Tatar state existing from 1441 to ...
, the Roma, like people of other nations, were not harassed; the authorities did not persecute them and they were not treated with contempt.
In Crimea, they led a sedentary and semi-sedentary lifestyle, engage in productive labor and music.
In the 18th century,
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
became the traditional religion of the Crimean gypsies. Roma researcher Nikolai Stieber wrote in his essay on Roma in Crimea:
Settlement and migration
Crimean Roma lived in Crimea and in the
Kuban steppe, which was part of the Crimean Khanate. The Crimean Roma were the first Roma to appear in the Kuban steppe. Today, the descendants of the first Roma who settled in the Kuban do not call themselves Crimean gypsies, but Kuban gypsies, while they retain the
Crimean dialect of the
Romani language
Romani (; also Romany, Romanes , Roma; rom, rromani ćhib, links=no) is an Indo-Aryan macrolanguage of the Romani communities. According to '' Ethnologue'', seven varieties of Romani are divergent enough to be considered languages of their ...
and follow Islam and boys are
circumcised
Circumcision is a surgical procedure, procedure that removes the foreskin from the human penis. In the most common form of the operation, the foreskin is extended with forceps, then a circumcision device may be placed, after which the foreskin ...
.
From 1854 to 1862, Tatar Roma together with the Crimean Tatars were expelled to the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
. Most settled in Northern Bulgaria, especially in
Dobruja
Dobruja or Dobrudja (; bg, Добруджа, Dobrudzha or ''Dobrudža''; ro, Dobrogea, or ; tr, Dobruca) is a historical region in the Balkans that has been divided since the 19th century between the territories of Bulgaria and Romania. I ...
, near the
Danube
The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...
, and in the
Vidin region.
Crimean Tatar intervention saved the lives of many Crimean Roma from the Nazis; the estimates of what percent of Crimean Roma survived the Holocaust vary, with some estimates 30%, but there is widespread disagreement on how many survived due to the fluid identity of Crimean Roma who often self-designated themselves as Crimean Tatars.
In 1944, the Crimean Roma were
deported to Central Asia alongside their Crimean Tatar brethren, partially because many of the surviving Crimean Roma were registered as Crimean Tatars in their Soviet passports.
In 1948–1949, some of the Crimean Roma began to return to Crimea, although many remained in exile with Crimean Tatars and further assimilated into the Crimean Tatar people.
Currently, the majority of Crimean Roma live outside of Crimea in
Krasnodar Krai, Russia. There are also families living in Ukraine, namely in
Kyiv
Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...
,
Zhytomyr
Zhytomyr ( uk, Жито́мир, translit=Zhytomyr ; russian: Жито́мир, Zhitomir ; pl, Żytomierz ; yi, זשיטאָמיר, Zhitomir; german: Schytomyr ) is a city in the north of the western half of Ukraine. It is the Capital city, a ...
,
Vinnytsia
Vinnytsia ( ; uk, Вінниця, ; yi, װיניצע) is a city in west-central Ukraine, located on the banks of the Southern Bug.
It is the administrative center of Vinnytsia Oblast and the largest city in the historic region of Podillia. A ...
, and
Kherson
Kherson (, ) is a port city of Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers appr ...
.
Demographics
According to the
2014 Crimean census, the Roma were the youngest ethnic group in Crimea with an average age of 28.3 years, while the average age of the entire republic was 40.9 years.
See also
*
Kalderash
The Kalderash are a subgroup of the Romani people. They were traditionally coppersmiths and metal workers and speak a number of Romani dialects grouped together under the term Kalderash Romani, a sub-group of Vlax Romani.
The Kalderash of the ...
*
Lovari
Lovari ("horse-dealer", from Hungarian "ló", ''horse'') is a subgroup of the Romani people, who speak their own dialect, influenced by Hungarian and West Slavic dialects. They live predominantly throughout Central Europe (Hungary, Poland, Sl ...
*
Ruska Roma
The Ruska Roma (russian: Руска́ Рома́), also known as Russian Gypsies (russian: Русские цыгане) or ''Xaladitka Roma'' (russian: Халадытка Рома, translit=Khaladytka Roma, ''i.e.'' "Roma-Soldiers"),
are the ...
*
Servitka Roma
Note
References
Sources
Yanush Panchenko, Mykola Homanyuk. (2023). Servur'a and Krym'a (Crimean Roma) as indigenous peoples of Ukraine// Etnografia Polska, 67(1–2). p. 155-173.
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{{European Muslims
Romani groups
Romani in Russia
Romani in Ukraine
Crimean Tatars
Muslims
Muslim communities in Europe