The Kalderash are a subgroup of the
Romani people
The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sig ...
. They were traditionally
coppersmith
A coppersmith, also known as a brazier, is a person who makes artifacts from copper and brass. Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc. The term "redsmith" is used for a tinsmith that uses tinsmithing tools and techniques to make copper items.
Hi ...
s and
metal workers and speak a number of Romani dialects grouped together under the term
Kalderash Romani, a sub-group of
Vlax Romani
Vlax Romani is a dialect group of the Romani language. Vlax Romani varieties are spoken mainly in Southeastern Europe by the Romani people.Norbert Boretzky and Birgit Igla. Kommentierter Dialektatlas des Romani. Wiesbaden:
Harrassowitz Verlag 200 ...
.
[
]
The Kalderash of the Balkans
The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...
and Central Europe
Central Europe is an area of Europe between Western Europe and Eastern Europe, based on a common historical, social and cultural identity. The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) between Catholicism and Protestantism significantly shaped the area' ...
, in addition to the Gitanos
The Romani in Spain, generally known by the exonym () or the endonym ''Calé'', belong to the Iberian Cale Romani subgroup, with smaller populations in Portugal (known as ) and in Southern France. Their sense of identity and cohesion stems f ...
and Manouche
Romani people in France, generally known in spoken French as ''gitans'', ''tsiganes'' or ''manouches'', are an ethnic group that originated in Northern India. The exact number of Romani people in France is unknown; estimates vary from 500,000 ...
/Sinti
The Sinti (also ''Sinta'' or ''Sinte''; masc. sing. ''Sinto''; fem. sing. ''Sintesa'') are a subgroup of Romani people mostly found in Germany and Central Europe that number around 200,000 people. They were traditionally itinerant, but today o ...
, are seen as one of the three main confederations ( rom, natsiya) of Romani people in Europe by certain ethnographers. The Kalderash are recognized as the most numerous confederation of the three. Each main confederation is further split up into two or more subgroups ( rom, vitsa) based on a combination of factors such as occupation, ancestry, or territorial origin. Although originally referring to a specific vitsa
Vitsa ( el, Βίτσα) is one of the largest villages of central Zagori. It is situated at an altitude of 955m on a mountain slope near the Vikos gorge with roads linking it to Greek National Road 6. Vitsa is famous for its old double-arched b ...
of traditional coppersmiths, the name Kalderash is now applied to several Vlax-Speaking Roma groups. Because of this, significant differences in speech and culture can be seen in Western and Eastern Kalderash populations; as evidenced in the differences between the eastern Kalderash of 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 ...
and the western Kalderash of Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...
. Certain scholars have suggested a connection between occupational Romani subgroups and the Caste System
Caste is a form of social stratification characterised by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultura ...
of India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
; with the Kalderash being described as an ancestral stock of the Lohar caste.
Etymology
The name ''Kalderash'' (''kalderash'' in Romani
Romani may refer to:
Ethnicities
* Romani people, an ethnic group of Northern Indian origin, living dispersed in Europe, the Americas and Asia
** Romani genocide, under Nazi rule
* Romani language, any of several Indo-Aryan languages of the Roma ...
, ''căldărari'' in Romanian
Romanian may refer to:
*anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania
**Romanians, an ethnic group
**Romanian language, a Romance language
*** Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language
** Romanian cuisine, tradition ...
, ''kalderás'' in Hungarian, калдараш (''kaldarash'') in Bulgarian
Bulgarian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria
* Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group
* Bulgarian language, a Slavic language
* Bulgarian alphabet
* A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria
* Bul ...
, ''kalderaš'' in Serbo-Croatian
Serbo-Croatian () – also called Serbo-Croat (), Serbo-Croat-Bosnian (SCB), Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian (BCS), and Bosnian-Croatian-Montenegrin-Serbian (BCMS) – is a South Slavic language and the primary language of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and ...
, 'котляри (''Kotlyary'') in Ukrainian
Ukrainian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Ukraine
* Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe
* Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine
* So ...
, and кэлдэрары (''kelderary'') in Russian
Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including:
*Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
) is an occupational ethnonym which descends ultimately from the Romanian word ''căldăraș'' (coppersmith) derived from Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
''caldāria'', in effect describing their trade as tinker
Tinker or tinkerer is an archaic term for an itinerant tinsmith who mends household utensils.
Description
''Tinker'' for metal-worker is attested from the thirteenth century as ''tyckner'' or ''tinkler''. Some travelling groups and Romani p ...
s.[
]
History and Distribution
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
The Kalderash Roma are hypothesized to originate in the territory of modern-day Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
and to have migrated to different parts of the world following the abolition of Slavery in Romania Slavery existed on the territory of present-day Romania from the founding of the principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia in 13th–14th century, until it was abolished in stages during the 1840s and 1850s before the independence of the United ...
in the late 1800s in a phenomenon known as the ''great Kalderash migration''. There are estimated to be about 200,000 ''Căldărari'' still living in Romania, although the exact number is unknown. The region of 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 ...
is a major center of Kalderash settlement, as well as, Wallachia
Wallachia or Walachia (; ro, Țara Românească, lit=The Romanian Land' or 'The Romanian Country, ; archaic: ', Romanian Cyrillic alphabet: ) is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and so ...
and the Romanian-Bulgarian border regions. Bilingualism of Kalderash Romani and Romanian
Romanian may refer to:
*anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania
**Romanians, an ethnic group
**Romanian language, a Romance language
*** Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language
** Romanian cuisine, tradition ...
is prevalent among the Kalderash of Romania. Traditional societal traits of the Kalderash of Romania include endogamy, cross-cousin marriage, and customary courts known as ''Kris
The kris, or ''keris'' in the Indonesian language, is an asymmetrical dagger with distinctive blade-patterning achieved through alternating laminations of iron and nickelous iron (''pamor''). Of Javanese origin, the kris is famous for its disti ...
'' in Southern Transylvania and Wallachia. As revealed by their traditional ethnonym of ''Căldărari'', the Kalderash are associated with a tradition of artisans especially that of copper and tin smithing. The head of Kalderash communities in Romania is associated with a chief known as a ''Bulibasha'' that has varying degrees of authority based on their locality. The Kalderash of Romania are further broken down into many different subgroups(''vitsi'') such as the ''Pletoshi (Kalaydzii)'' and ''Chori (Grebenari, Pieptenari)'' in Northern Dobruja, as well as in ''Militari'', ''Tasmanari'' and ''Zhaplesh'', in Southern Dobruja. Intra-ethnic marriages have united various subgroups such as ''Grastari'', ''Niculešti'', ''Dudulani'', ''Tasmanari'', ''Žapleš'', ''Lajneš'', ''Njamcurja'' under a common Kalderash identity.
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
The Kalderash are one of the 5 main Romani subgroups living in Bulgaria along with the Daskane Roma, Horahane 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 ...
, Kalaydji, and Boyash
Boyash or ''Bayash'' (endonym: ''Bȯjáṡ'', Romanian: ''Băieși'', Hungarian: ''Beás'', Slovak: ''Bojáš'', South Slavic: ''Bojaši'') refers to a Romani ethnic group living in Romania, southern Hungary, northeastern and northwestern ...
. During the 18th and especially during the 19th centuries following the abolition of Slavery in Romania, Roma from the Romanian principalities of Wallachia
Wallachia or Walachia (; ro, Țara Românească, lit=The Romanian Land' or 'The Romanian Country, ; archaic: ', Romanian Cyrillic alphabet: ) is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and so ...
and Moldavia
Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and former principality in Centr ...
entered the Bulgarian territory in an event coined by certain ethnographers as the "Kalderash Invasion." In addition, a large part of the Kalderash migrated from Romania to Bulgaria through the Austro-Hungarian Empire
Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
passing through Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...
before finally reaching Bulgaria. The Kalderash are the second largest Romani confederation in Bulgaria and are split up into 2 main subgroups: 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 ...
and Kalaydji, as well as, further branches within these subgroups such as "Grebenari", "Bakarjii", "Reshetari", etc. The Kalderash of Bulgaria mostly practice Eastern Orthodox Christianity
Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism.
Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or "canonical") ...
and are bilingual in Kalderash Romani and Bulgarian
Bulgarian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria
* Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group
* Bulgarian language, a Slavic language
* Bulgarian alphabet
* A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria
* Bul ...
. The customary courts of the Bulgarian Kalderash are known as the ''meshere''.[
]
Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...
and Bosnia
Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and He ...
The ''Chergashe'' Roma are a primarily Kalderash subgroup living mostly in Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...
and Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...
. During the late 19th century, large migrations of the former Kalderash slaves of Romania to the neighboring countries of Serbia and then Bosnia occurred. They speak Kalderash Romani and are mostly concentrated around Banja Luca and Sarajevo
Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its a ...
. Since the dissolution of Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
, many Serbian and Bosnian Kalderash have immigrated to the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
to escape the economic and social oppression that Balkan Roma face in their home countries.
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 ...
and 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 approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
The Kalderash Roma are one of the most populous Romani groups in Russia following the 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 ...
. The Kalderash migrated from the territory of the Romanian principalities
The Danubian Principalities ( ro, Principatele Dunărene, sr, Дунавске кнежевине, translit=Dunavske kneževine) was a conventional name given to the Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia, which emerged in the early 14th c ...
and other parts of Southeast Europe
Southeast Europe or Southeastern Europe (SEE) is a geographical subregion of Europe, consisting primarily of the Balkans. Sovereign states and territories that are included in the region are Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia (al ...
to Russia and Ukraine between the end of the 19th and the first 30 years of the 20th century following the abolition of Slavery in Romania. They spread throughout Ukraine and Russia migrating from Bessarabia
Bessarabia (; Gagauz: ''Besarabiya''; Romanian: ''Basarabia''; Ukrainian: ''Бессара́бія'') is a historical region in Eastern Europe, bounded by the Dniester river on the east and the Prut river on the west. About two thirds of Be ...
to the north and east.[ They soon became a relatively numerous group in Russia and their traditional occupations of ]tinning
Tinning is the process of thinly coating sheets of wrought iron or steel with tin, and the resulting product is known as tinplate. The term is also widely used for the different process of coating a metal with solder before soldering.
It is most ...
and cauldron making led them to initial prosperity. At the end of the 1920s and the beginning of the 1930s, the state took on a policy of industrialization
Industrialisation ( alternatively spelled industrialization) is the period of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an industrial society. This involves an extensive re-organisation of an econo ...
that aimed at bringing a settled way of life to the nomadic Kalderash Roma. This resulted in the Kalderash becoming actively involved in cooperatives and establishing their own Romani production cooperative
A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-control ...
s called ''artels''. These industrial artels helped the Kalderash successfully adapt their traditional craft to the new economic reality of the 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 ...
. The artels lasted until the 1980s and became a vibrant part of the oral history of the Kalderash families. During the artel period, most Kalderash camps were located in Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
, however, after the dissolution of the artels, the Kalderash migrated all over Russia and other parts of Northern Europe
The northern region of Europe has several definitions. A restrictive definition may describe Northern Europe as being roughly north of the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, which is about 54th parallel north, 54°N, or may be based on other g ...
.[ The Kalderash of Russia are mostly bilingual in Kalderash Romani and ]Russian
Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including:
*Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
.
Romani diaspora
The Roma people have several distinct populations, the largest being the Roma and the Iberian Calé or Caló, who reached Anatolia and the Balkans in the early 12th century, from a migration out of the Indian subcontinent beginning about 1s ...
In France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, the Kalderash Roma are concentrated in the eastern suburbs of Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
. It is estimated that they have been gradually settling there since at least the 1940s. Montreuil is a town in the fringe of Paris with the largest Kalderash settlement in France. The Kalderash of Montreuil first arrived in France in 1941 following the German occupation of Paris
Paris started mobilizing for war in September 1939, when Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union
attacked Poland, but the war seemed far away until May 10, 1940, when the Germans attacked France and quickly defeated the French army. The French governme ...
. They still practice their traditional trade as coppersmiths and metal workers. Some Kalderash still travel around the French provinces although most are now sedentary. Despite frequent contact with non-Roma throughout their daily lives and economic activity, the Kalderash have managed to keep a degree of invisibility within French society that allows them to practice their traditional culture without fear of assimilation. In 2005, there was estimated to be about 8,000 Kalderash Roma living in France.
The Kalderash are the largest subgroup of Romani people and comprise a majority of the urban Roma population in the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. The Kalderash are generally less wealthy than other Roma groups in the U.S. such as the ''Machwaya''. However, there is considerable variability in the status of the various Kalderash subgroups ( rom, vitsi) in terms of wealth and prosperity. Certain wealthy Kalderash vitsi in the U.S. have been able to achieve a higher level of wealth and consider themselves to be cleaner than lower class Kalderash vitsi. Unlike the more nationalistic Kalderash in Eastern Europe, American Kalderash are reluctant to take up any public political roles or bring attention to themselves; benefiting off of the relative invisibility they experience in the west. According to studies done on the Kalderash clans of Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
, Kalderash Roma generally stick to traditional itinerant
An itinerant is a person who travels habitually. Itinerant may refer to:
*"Travellers" or itinerant groups in Europe
* Itinerant preacher, also known as itinerant minister
*Travelling salespeople, see door-to-door, hawker, and peddler
*Travelli ...
jobs such as automobile body repair, roofing, stove cleaning, and other short term jobs that allows them to maintain their traditional lifestyle
Lifestyle often refers to:
* Lifestyle (sociology), the way a person lives
* ''Otium'', ancient Roman concept of a lifestyle
* Style of life (german: Lebensstil, link=no), dealing with the dynamics of personality
Lifestyle may also refer to:
Bu ...
.[ The Kalderash are one of the more traditional groups of Roma and have resisted ]Americanization
Americanization or Americanisation (see American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), spelling differences) is the influence of American culture and business on other countries outside the America, United ...
more rigorously than other Roma subgroups such as the Sinti
The Sinti (also ''Sinta'' or ''Sinte''; masc. sing. ''Sinto''; fem. sing. ''Sintesa'') are a subgroup of Romani people mostly found in Germany and Central Europe that number around 200,000 people. They were traditionally itinerant, but today o ...
.
The Kalderash form one of the largest Romani communities in Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
. During the late 19th and early 20th century, many Kalderash Roma from Russia migrated to Sweden. The Kalderash were the first and most numerous foreign Romani group to migrate and settle in the country. The most common occupations of the Kalderash of Sweden were tinning and coppersmithing. One of the most prominent Kalderash clans of Sweden were the ''Taikon''. Johan Taikon was a highly skilled copper and silversmith who would make elaborate metal craft at night in the makeshift workshops of the camps, primarily for use within the Swedish Roma community. He also derived part of his income from mending and tinning copper pots all over Sweden, which gave him brief and momentary access to the exclusionary Swedish society that was being shaped along the particular lines of Swedish national identity. Johan Taikon's daughter, Rosa Taikon, was the first Roma silversmith in Sweden, who pursued a formal jewellery education. Katarina Taikon, also a daughter of Johan Taikon, was a prominent Romani activist and leader in the civil rights movement. The dialect of Kalderash Romani spoken in Sweden is commonly referred to as ''Taikon Kalderash''.
Culture
Folklore
Saint Sarah
Saint Sarah, also known as Sara-la-Kâli ("Sara the Black", rom, Sara e Kali), is the patron saint of the Romani people. The center of her veneration is Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, a place of pilgrimage for Roma in the Camargue, in Southern Franc ...
, commonly known as ''Kali Sara'' among the Vlax Roma, is an important saint in the traditional religion of the Kalderash. The traditional Kalderash Roma religion involves a syncretism of Shaktism
Shaktism ( sa, शाक्त, , ) is one of several major Hindu denominations, wherein the metaphysical reality is considered metaphorically a woman and Shakti ( Mahadevi) is regarded as the supreme godhead. It includes many goddesses, al ...
and Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
. Kali Sara comes from the Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
Goddess Kali
Kali (; sa, काली, ), also referred to as Mahakali, Bhadrakali, and Kalika ( sa, कालिका), is a Hinduism, Hindu goddess who is considered to be the goddess of ultimate power, time, destruction and change in Shaktism. In t ...
and became a saint as a way for Roma to practice their religion without fear of persecution
Persecution is the systematic mistreatment of an individual or group by another individual or group. The most common forms are religious persecution, racism, and political persecution, though there is naturally some overlap between these term ...
. Many traditional Roma still pray to God through Kali Sara in the Shakta tradition. During communist times, many Balkan Kalderash were barred from attending the sacred pilgrimage of Kali Sara, known to them as ''santana'', that occurs in Southern France
Southern France, also known as the South of France or colloquially in French language, French as , is a defined geographical area consisting of the regions of France that border the Atlantic Ocean south of the Marais Poitevin,Louis Papy, ''Le midi ...
each year during May. Now, the Kalderash Roma of Canada, Latin America, and the Balkans all have their own traditions on how they venerate the saint Kali Sara.[
''Mam'orry'' is a human like ]myth
Myth is a folklore genre consisting of Narrative, narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or Origin myth, origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not Objectivity (philosophy), ...
ological character that almost always appears in Kalderash folklore as an old woman. She fulfills certain character forming activities based on Romani law and society such as visiting a person in order to ask for some water. This is related to the prohibition of lack of water in a tent or at a house at night in Romani law. The absence of water, "dryness", has negative connotations in Romani culture. After having visited the house this character can also vomit out some "pulp" which usually turns to be a luck bringing blessing by Mam'orry. This "pulp" could be used as a basis for a "mascot" which brings luck and happiness to its possessor.
Religion
The majority of Kalderash Roma follow Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
, practicing the Eastern Orthodox
Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism.
Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or "canonical") ...
, Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
, or Pentecostal
Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement denominations. Historically the Kalderash have followed the majority religion of their host country such as Eastern Orthodoxy in Romania and Roman Catholicism in Hungary.[ However, there has been a rising Pentecostal movement among Kalderash Roma of all countries since at least the 20th century.]
Notable Kalderash
* Ronald Lee
Ronald Lee (1934January 25, 2020) was a Romani Canadian writer, linguist, professor, folk musician, and activist. He studied Romani society and culture and worked to foster intercultural dialogue between Roma and Non-Roma.
Early life and educa ...
, Canadian writer
* Matéo Maximoff
Matéo Maximoff (; 17 January 1917 – 24 November 1999) was a French writer and Evangelicalism, Evangelical pastor of Romani people, Romani ethnicity. His eleven books have been translated into fourteen languages. Born in Spain, he had parents who ...
, Romani-French writer[
* Florin Cioabă, Romanian Romani activist, Pentecostal minister, and self-proclaimed " King of Roma Everywhere."]
* Anton Pann
Anton Pann (; born Antonie Pantoleon-Petroveanu , and also mentioned as ''Anton Pantoleon'' or ''Petrovici''; 1790s—2 November 1854) was an Ottoman-born Wallachian composer, musicologist, and Romanian-language poet, also noted for his act ...
, Romanian writer, musician (of the Wallachia region); theorized to have had a Romani father of the ''Căldărari'' clan by Romani and certain non-Romani sources.
* Katarina Taikon, Swedish Romani activist and author of books for children[
* Rosa Taikon, sister of Katarina, Swedish Romani jeweller]
See also
* 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 ...
* 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 ...
References
Further reading
* Ronald Lee, ''Romani Dictionary: Kalderash-English'', Magoria Books, 2010.
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Romani groups
Romani in Romania
Romani in Ukraine
Romani in Russia
Romani in Bulgaria
Romani in the United States