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The Turkish Roma, also referred to asTurkish Gypsy, Türk Çingeneler, Turski Tsigani (турски цигани), Turkogifti (τουρκο-γύφτοι), Țigani turci, Török Cigányok, Turci Cigani[1] are self-Turkified and assimilatedMuslim Roma (Horahane) who have adoptedTurkish culture over the centuries,[2] including adopting theTurkish language and used to speak theRumelian Romani language. They adopted Turkish culture in order to establish aTurkish identity to become more recognized by the host population[3] and have denied their Romani background[4] to express theirTurkishness. During a population census, they declared themselves as Turks instead of Roma. While they have always been allowed to live in Turkish communities as Turks, they face economic discrimination and have conflicting views among Turks while Christian Romani do not consider themselves as part of Romani society.[5][6] They arecultural Muslims who adoptedSunni Islam ofHanafimadhab andreligious male circumcision at the time of theAnatolian Seljuk Sultanate andOttoman Empire.
Their legendary leader was Mansur ibn Yakub Han, called Çingene Han. He built hiskaravansaray inMalatya in 1224. Today it can still be seen as a ruin. Mansur bin Yakup Han is buried in the Ulu Mosque in Malatya.[7]
Hamza al-Isfahani wrote about 12,000 musicians from India who was taken byBahram Gur to Persia,[8] also didFerdowsi.[9]Evliya Çelebi told thatMehmed II take after 1453 from Balat, Muslim Gypsies to Istanbul, their descendants became musicians.[10] They spoke only Turkish with very few Romani words in their jargon.[11] They migrated fromAnatolia toMarmara Region and finally settled in theBalkans at the time of theOttoman Empire. The Greek Doctor A. G. Paspati made the statement in his book from 1860, that Turks married often Roma women and theRumelian Romani dialect is nearly lost by the Muslim Turkish Roma, who speak entirely Turkish.[12]Ernest Gilliat-Smith, explained in 1915, that this Turkish Roma in Bulgaria can not speak Romani language, and compared them with very poor Turks rather than Romani people. The French orientalist Henri Bourgeois referred to the Turkish Roma as Pseudo Chingiane, especially the newspaper Laço who was published in 1910 by Emin Resa.[13] Indeed, there are people in Edirne who are not Romani people at all but are still said to beÇingene (Gypsies) Their story is as follows: In theOttoman Empire, some families who saw military service as risky and did not want to send their sons as Soldiers, saw no problem to take a Gypsy (Coptic) identity for registration their population, because they knew that Gypsies were not recruited as combatants, until 1874 when equal rights with other Muslims was given forMuslim Roma. These families still continued to appear as Gypsies in the records.[14] In the past, there were also classified groups of Turks as "Gypsies" or "Tatars" in Bulgaria.[15]
The majority of Turkish Roma live inTurkey, but also significant Turkish Roma communities live inBulgaria, Greece (Western Thrace),North Macedonia,Northern Cyprus, in lesser case Romania (Dobruja) andKosovo.[16] InEast Thrace -Turkey, they are called Şopar. The meaning of the name comes from the Rumelian Romani and has different meanings.[17][18]
A small Muslim Turkish Roma community live inDobruja in Romania. They are the descendants of Muslim Roma who intermingled with Turks at the time ofOttoman Empire[19]Romanian Christian Roma Groups regard them simply asTurks (term for Muslims) and are distinct from them.[20][21]
InWestern Thrace, Greece, in cities like Alexandroupoli (Dedeağaç) – Komotini (Gümülcine) – Xanthi (İskeçe), Muslim Roma called Turko-Gifti, (i.e. such as Sepečides or Sevljara and Kalpazaja who are Turkish speaking.[22][23]
InNorthern Cyprus there are Turkish speaking Gypsies, who are very close to them in Turkey and West Thrace in Greece.[24][25]
InKosovo lives a Turkish Roma community namedDivanjoldjije. They are named after there original settlement where they once came from, theDivanyolu Street inIstanbul, and settled inPristina at the time of theOttoman Kosovo.[26]
Romanlar in Turkey came to Germany and Austria and other European Countries asGastarbeiter but they are fully assimilated within theTurks in Europe.[27][28]
InNorth Macedonia, in the cities ofSkopje,Kočani,Štip, andVeles, North Macedonia, there live Turkish Gypsies. They do not live in Roma quarters but together with the host population. Several families emigrated to Turkey in 1953–1968. They and there descendants are accepted fully as Turks.[29]
SinceBulgaria became Member in theEuropean Union, Turkish Roma who call themselvesUsta Millet and Mehter from Bulgaria went to West Europe as Workers, many of this Turkish Roma men married Polish women.[30] This Offsprings called Melezi (Halfblood), a Turkish Loanword.[31] Self-Identification of Bulgarian Muslim Roma Youth in Berlin shows to pretend to be Turkish 97%, while only 3% to be Romani.[32]
At theGreek War of Independence,Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) andBalkan Wars (1912–1913), Muslim Roma flee together with other different Muslim Groups to Istanbul and East Thrace, asMuhacir.[33]
At thepopulation exchange between Greece and Turkey, Muslim Turkish Roma from Greece have also been resettled in Turkey. In Turkish, they are called Mübadil Romanlar.[34][35][36][37][38]
According to the 1925 Convention, between Bulgaria and Turkey, Muslims allowed to leave Bulgaria. A special characteristic example of this are the Turkish gypsies of the Veliko Tarnovo district, whoentered in the Bulgarian registers by nationality, "Turks" emigrated to Turkey.In 1950–1951 Muslim Turkish Roma from Bulgaria came to Turkey and settled in Çanakkale and surroundings.[39]
From 1953 -1968, Muslim Turkish Roma from Yugoslavia emigrated to Turkey.[40][41]
The Xoraxaya, (X as ch in German Achtung), or Muslim Roma from Turkey and southeastern Europe, also came to the USA, where they founded mainly Turkish Roma dance (Roman Havasi) clubs, also they named Turkish Romany.[42][43]
The following Y-Dna haplogroups were found in Turkey, while 26.5% indicates theHaplogroup M (mtDNA). The few % of Y-DNA L and H indicate Proto Romani paternal line because the other Y-DNA are all also found in Non-Roma Men. Since there was a mixture of peoples from different backgrounds in the Ottoman Empire. This confirms Paspati's statement, see above.[44]
'Romani cuisine' in Turkey is an important proof that Turkish Romani have lived inAnatolia since ancient times, the culinary culture of the Turkish Romanis has seriously affected the rich cuisine of Anatolia.[45]
TheirTurkish music (style) is known for its special 9/8 rhythm andBelly dance performance.[46][47]
In Turkey, the festival ofKakava is hold inEdirne and the belief in a savior named Baba fingo are part of the Roma culture.[48]Turkish Roma usually marry their relatives at a young age, boys usually between 15 and 19 years old and girls between 13 and 17 years old. Polygamy is also widespread. It is not uncommon for a man to have up to 7-11 wives. The morality of the behavior deps on the social standing of the partner, not gender per se. Both women and young men are considered normal objects of desire, but outside marriage a man was supposed to act on his desires with only non-romani woman.[49][50].Homosexual sex is fine as long as you were the penetrator or 'active' partner.[51] However, only the penetrated by another man is seen as Gay and calledBujashi. This view was adopted by Turkish culture.[52] Likewise, the pederasty of an older man to a younger one was adopted from the Ottoman period.[53] It is not uncommon for oil wrestlers to be of Turkish Roma descent and they hope to escape from their misery by doing so.[54] Boys are circumcised between the ages of 3-7, and a festival called bijav sunet is held. A so-called kirvo (godfather) is also very important[55][56].The kirvo is the person who will support the boy during the circumcision ceremony.[57]
In the Western Balkans, a unique so-called Romani Islam has developed over time.[58] In Turkey at Üsküdar an own Romani Sufi Order was established the so called Gulsheni Sezai order.[59]
In Bulgaria since the 1990, Through evangelical Christian missionaries, a few Turkish Roma have become evangelical Christians.[60]