Gypsies (Roma) in Bulgaria

The Authors: Elene Marushiakova, PhD and Vesselin Popov, Ph.D. work at the Institute of Ethnography and Museum of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. They started their research of Bulgarian Gypsies in the mid 70s but were not able to publish any of their works before the changes in 1989. After 1989 they founded the Minority Studies Society Studii romani. Elena Marushiakova and Vesselin Popov have published a series of Collections on Roma folklore and initiated the first museum exhibition about Gypsies in Bulgaria.

Contents: History of the Gypsies in Bulgarian lands - Ethnic and ethnocultural characteristic of Gypsies in Bulgaria - Ethnic names and ethnic self-consciousness - Classification - Geographical distribution - Way of life and traditional occupations - Religion - Calendar festivals and holidays - Family customs and rites - Potestary institutions and forms of self-government - Coexistence and correlations of Gypsies and Bulgarians.

'The book is thorough, meticulous in detail, and bold in comparative analysis ø.! it is a social scientific investigation into social structure, history, and classification; in this, it is superb.' (Carol Silverman, Journal of the Gypsy Lore Society) 'Das Buch von Elena Marushiakova und Vesselin Popov kann als sorgfältig zusammengestellte, verlässliche und fachlich ausgereifte Studie über die Roma in Bulgarien aufgefasst werden.' (M. Miklusáková, Romano Dzaniben)