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The popular word for Gypsey in Sebia is 'Ciganin'. It apparently has the commotation of 'unwanted foreigner'. It is close to the Hungarian name--Cigányok. Since Gypseys first appeared in numbers in Romania and Hungary, we suspect it was an imported word from Hungary which was based on an original Greek word appearing in the Byzantine Empire. Gypseys first appeared in Serbia before the Ottoman invasion (14th century). The first confirmed historical reference to the Gypsey people in Serbia is in a document in which Stefan Uroš IV Dušan of Serbia, Emperor of Serbs and Greeks, donated Gypsy slaves to the Monastery of Prizren located in Kosovo. The Gypseys settling in central Serbia are predominantly Serbian Orthodox. Many of those settling in Kosovo converted to Islam, especially in southern Kosovo. There is more evidence od Gyseys in Serbia (16th century). By this time Serbia was an Ottoman province. The Gypseys tended to live in the towns and cities, but there some in rural villages. They tended to live in separate areas which became known as 'cigan-mala'. They made a living by foraging as they rarely owned land. They also worked as occasional laborers and most famously as musicians. Large number of Gypseys settled in Serbia (17th and 18th centuries). This may have been the result of Austrian authorities taking actions against Gypseys. Austrian authorities issued several regultions about Gypseys (1761, 1767, and 1783). The often diorderly and unsettled Gypsey lifestyle appears to have offended the Austrians.
During the Liberal Revolutions (1848/1849), the Gyseys as a result tended to support the Serbs. World War II was a terrible time for Gypseys and Serbia/Yugoslavia became a killing field. The Jewish minority was desroyed in the NAZI World War II Holocaust. Large numbers of Gypseys were also killed along with many Serbs, primarly by the Fascist Croatian Ustachi. There is still a Gypsey population in the country which appears to be increasing.
The popular word for Gypsey in Sebia is 'Ciganin'. It apparently has the commotation of 'unwanted foreigner'. It is close to the Hungarian name--Cigányok. Since Gypseys first appeared in numbers in Romania and Hungary, we suspect it was an imported word from Hungary which was based on an original Greek word appearing in the Byzantine Empire.
Gypseys first appeared in Serbia before the Ottoman invasion (14th century). The first confirmed historical reference to the Gypsey people in Serbia is in a document in which Stefan Uroš IV Dušan of Serbia, Emperor of Serbs and Greeks, donated Gypsy slaves to the Monastery of Prizren located in Kosovo. The Gypseys settling in central Serbia are predominantly Serbian Orthodox. Many of those settling in Kosovo converted to Islam, especially in southern Kosovo. There is more evidence of Gypseys in Serbia (16th century). By this time Serbia was an Ottoman province. The Gypseys tended to live in the towns and cities, but there some in rural villages. They tended to live in separate areas which became known as 'cigan-mala'. They made a living by foraging as they rarely owned land to farm. They also worked as occasional laborers and most famously as musicians. Large number of Gypseys settled in Serbia (17th and 18th centuries). This may have been the result of Austrian authorities taking actions against Gypseys. Austrian authorities issued several regulations about Gypseys (1761, 1767, and 1783). The often diorderly and unsettled Gypsey lifestyle appears to have offended the Austrians. During the Liberal Revolutions (1848/1849), the Gypseys as a result tended to support the Serbs. World War II was a terrible time for Gypseys and Serbia/Yugoslavia became a killing field. The Jewish minority was desroyed in the NAZI World War II Holocaust. Large numbers of Gypseys were also killed along with many Serbs, primarly by the Fascist Croatian Ustachi.
There is still a Gypsey population in Serbia which appears to be increasing. The number of Gypseys in Serbia is unknown Officials statistics estimare some 0.1-0.2 million people, but as a migrant population, the actual numbers are probably larger. Some estimares are as high as 0.5 million people.
The photograph here is of a blind gypsy boy (figure 1). He was around the corner from the stree football tournament. He was sitting on cardboard with a begging bowl. He is being exploited by a sub culture that sees him as an money earning. No time for him to enjoy being in a team playing street football. Somewhere was the adult charge-hand waiting to collect the boys and their takings.
A reader in Serbia writes, "There is a Gypsey problem here in Serbia. Many Gypsies during the 1990s fleeing the fighting came from Kosovo and settled in Belgrade. Th ey built cardboard cities. City authorities are re-locating them to settlement camps were they have provided homes. These are converted Container trucks. The Gypsis claim these the areas are isolated, far from where there is work. One newspaper story told of one Gypsy who had fled Kosovo and had lived in a cardboard city camp for 10 years."
Serbian Gypseys are among the people who migrated to America (late-19th century). One source notes Serbian Gypsies in Chicago. They arrived during the influx of immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe (1880s-1910s). This ended with World War I and the passage of strict immogration quota by Congress. The Gypsies were following Serbian and Hungarian immigrants who came to America seeking work. Many were from rural backgrounds, but wanted jobs in the booming steel mills and factories of the industrial Midwest, especially Chicago. The Gypsies had, however, little interest in this type of work. They found employment playing music for the immigrants rom their home countries. They were hired to play at weddings, fairs, saint-days, birthdays, and other joyous occasions where the immigrants wanted a flavor of the home country. These Gypsy orchestras included instruments from the mone countries, including the cimbalom, which were not common in America..
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