Oblekloto Na Tsiganite/roma V Bulgaria. Me Bala Sukar, Mo Diklo Lolo. [Gypsy/Roma Dress in Bulgaria]
2006; Liverpool University Press; Volume: 16; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês
ISSN
1757-2274
Autores Tópico(s)Balkans: History, Politics, Society
ResumoOblekloto na tsiganite/roma v Bulgaria. Me bala sukar, mo diklo lolo. [Gypsy/Roma dress in Bulgaria]. Mirella Decheva. Sofia (no publisher). 2004, 180 pp., 51 photographs, isbn 954-91503-2-1. The monograph of Mirella Decheva 'Gypsy/Roma dress in Bulgaria' is dedicated to Gypsy costumes, a subject which has hardly been touched on by researchers in the past. In two hundred years of Gypsy studies there have been very few publications on this topic, despite the presence in the literature of anecdotal descriptions of Gypsy dress. Detailed classifications by region do not exist, either. In fact, this part of the research is quite interesting. There is some truth behind the assumption that Gypsies constitute a mirror of the peoples among whom they live. Local traditions leave their mark on the complexity of Gypsy dress and so the differences in the appearance of Gypsies in different countries are not entirely accidental. Mirella Decheva's research is dedicated to the Bulgarian Gypsies. For the first time we are presented with a detailed picture. I accept Decheva's main thesis, that Gypsy costumes in Bulgaria have evolved under the strong influence of traditional Bulgarian village costumes. This is not universally the case. In Russia, Gypsies have been involved mostly in horse trade in the past. The male dress of the ethnic group 'Ruska Roma' is an exact copy of the dress of the relevant trading class. The author convincingly dethrones the stereotype that Gypsies are always inclined toward the bright and colorful. Drawing on her local research she shows that Gypsies can also be drawn by darker colors, without avoiding black and brown materials. It is noteworthy that the monograph examines the sharp differences between costumes among different Gypsy groups. Unfortunately not all authors differentiate between the groups observed in different countries. The Gypsy people are not homogeneous. There are numerous Gypsy groups in the world, which differ in their history, dialects, way of life and of course appearance. Of great interest are the pages where Mirella Decheva describes the groups living in Bulgaria (Burgudzi, Kalajdzi, Xoraxane Roma, Rudari and others). In contrast to other authors who rely on compilations from written sources, the author draws on material from her own fieldwork, exemplifies Gypsy folklore, and presents photos from archives. Decheva has not neglected family photo albums, either. Pages 97-101 are beautifully developed, based on old and recent pictures of a Lingura family. …
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