Roma in Serbia
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| (147,604 (2011)) | |
| Languages | |
| Romani, Serbian, Romanian, Hungarian, Albanian | |
| Religion | |
| Eastern Orthodox Christianity, Sunni Islam, Roman Catholic |
Romani people (Serbian: Роми/Romi) in Serbia, are the third largest ethnic group in Serbia, numbering 147,604 (2.1%) according to the 2011 census. Another name used for Roma in Serbia, often with a negative connotation, is Cigani (Цигани). Several migration waves of Romani to Serbia are recorded from Hungary, Romania, Turkey and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Romani people are divided into numerous subgroups, with different, although related, Romani dialects and history. The community has produced several notable musicians. Adding to a very large indigenous Roma population in Serbia which counts among the largest in the Balkans, anywhere between 46,000 to 97,000 Roma are internally displaced from Kosovo after 1999.
Main sub-groups include "Turkish Gypsies" (Turski Cigani), "White Gypsies" (Beli Cigani), "Wallachian Gypsies" (Vlaški Cigani) and "Hungarian Gypsies" (Mađarski Cigani), as studied by scholar Tihomir Đorđević (1868–1944).
Romani, or "gypsies", arrived in Serbia in several waves. The first reference to gypsies in Serbia is found in a 1348 document, by which Serbian emperor Stefan Dušan donated some gypsy slaves to a monastery in Prizren (now in Kosovo). In the 15th century, Romani migrations from Hungary are mentioned.
In 1927, a Serbian-Romani humanitarian organization was founded. In 1928, a Romani singing society was founded in Niš. In 1932, a Romani football club was founded. In 1935, a Belgrade student established the first Romani magazine, Romani Lil, and in the same year a Belgrade Romani association was founded. In 1938, an educational organization of Yugoslav Romani was founded.
The Romani people in Central Serbia are predominantly Serbian Orthodox but a minority of Muslim Roma exists (mostly Roma refugees from Kosovo), mainly in the southern Serbia.
Romani people in multi-ethnic Vojvodina are integrated with other ethnic groups, especially with Serbs, Romanians and Hungarians. For this reason, depending of the group with which they are integrated, Romani are usually referred to as Serbian Romani, Romanian Romani, Hungarian Romani, etc.
The majority of Romani people are Christian and a minority are Muslim. Đurđevdan or Ederlezi is a traditional festivity of Roma in Serbia. They speak mainly Romani and Serbian. Some also speak the language of other people they have been influenced by: Romanian, Hungarian or Albanian. In October 2005 the first text on the grammar of the Romani language in Serbia was published by linguist Rajko Đurić, titled "Gramatika e Rromane čhibaki - Граматика ромског језика".
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