Abstract:

Due to the late access of Rromani to written literature (after WWII in the Balkan), only oral accounts can provide illustrative material for research about such and such character in Rromani cosmovision. This is true among others for the Rroms' views on the Turks' character.  After explaining the various names given to the Turks in Rromani folk songs, the presentation attempts to define the main features of this character, as mirrored in these songs: mercilessness, fierceness, even sadism in playing with their victim's life and sufferings. Similar views are encountered in Rromani folk songs from Rumania as well. A passage of the article is devoted to Turkish proper names used among Rroms and another to Turkish phrases and expressions embodied in the songs. The study encloses the bilingual edition of 11 Rromani songs from Bulgaria and one from Rumania, in which the character of the Turk is depicted.

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