PERHAPS it is ironic to speak of a "Decade of Roma Inclusion" when Roma have been part of Bulgaria and its history for about 800 years.
But perhaps it is ironic too that, while the successive generations of inhabitants and conquerors that have traversed and dwelt in what was to become today's Bulgaria all are represented somewhere in the national gene pool, the Roma remain largely a distinctly separate community. And even then, not a single community. And even then, while every person born in Bulgaria has a constitutional right to citizenship, some Roma define themselves as part of a trans-national nation. Yet, for all this, it must be borne in mind that one is looking at a group that does not wholly fit the stereotype of rootless wanderers.
Most historians agree that the first large-scale settlement of Roma in Bulgaria took place during the 13th and 14th centuries CE, mainly through Byzantium and Greece. There were Roma in Constantinople by the 11th century, while there was a general spread in south-eastern Europe throughout the 14th to 15th centuries. This was followed by a succession of further Roma arrivals in Bulgaria during the time of Ottoman rule, with some Roma arriving as part of the military and others as part of those who followed the military, in various capacities.
Going by tax and law records from the Ottoman empire, historians, including specialist ethnologists Elena Marushiakova and Vesselin Popov, have identified what is termed a process of "sedentarisation" in some towns and villages, as some Roma changed from nomadism to semi-nomadism or even settling down to take up farming or various crafts.
According to 16th century records, occupations taken up by Roma included working as goldsmiths, farriers, sword-makers, shoemakers, butchers, guards, blacksmiths, musicians, and servants.
Marushiakova and Popov said that while records were incomplete, there was an "obvious" tendency among Roma to change their religion. While in the 15th and 16th century Roma were mainly Christian, the ratio changed dramatically in the 19th century, by which time most were Muslim.
Unusually for the Ottoman Empire, Roma were subject to special categorisation on the basis of their ethnicity, rather than being classified according to religion, as was the usual practice. Roma were a third category, separate and dual, outside the usual two categories of Muslim and non-Muslim. The only distinction was that Muslim Roma, and those in the military, were accorded some minor privileges.
In the 17th and 18th centuries, during the period of wars between Austria and the Ottoman Empire, a second wave of Roma migration into Serbia and Bulgaria took place, apparently because the position of Roma in the Ottoman Empire was better than that to the west in Europe. In the second half of the 19th century, there was a further, third wave of Roma migration into Bulgaria. Subsequent arrivals in the 19th and 20th centuries tended to be linked to periods of war and disruption.
The post-1944 communist period in Bulgaria brought a significant change, when the state attempted to pin down all residents of the country to specific cities and towns. This brought many Roma into a structured, formal economy, while bringing to an end much of the practicing of crafts and, to a large extent, nomadism, although the latter re-asserted itself to some degree after the iron hand of communism had rusted and finally disintegrated at the beginning of the 1990s.
Today, according to a summary published by Bulgarian news agency BTA, the Roma belong to two main groups, based on their way of living: nomadic (Kalderashi) and sedentary (Yerlii). The Yerlii community is the most numerous and varied one. It is divided into two main subdivisions - Dassikane Roma (Christian or Bulgarian Gypsies) and Horohane Roma (Muslim or Turkish Gypsies). Within these subdivisions, there are some well-preserved groups, some of which have preserved their semi-nomadic way of life and often their traditional occupations: gimlet-makers, basket-makers, horse dealers, musicians, basket-makers and bell-makers, among others.
Among these, there are large communities who remember the old-time occupations and group divisions, but no longer practise them - typically the big city dwellers. Sometimes the memory of old occupations and group division is completely absent.
The second major metagroup, the Kalderashi/ Kardarashi, are former nomads who were forced to become sedentary in 1958 by a special government decree. They live mostly in villages and small towns in small family groups. They are descendants of groups who spread to the world from Wallachia, Moldova and Transylvania.
The "Thracean" Kalaidzii (Thracean tinsmiths) have a very specific place between the two major metagroup societies (Yerlia and Kardarasha). They are rigorously closed in their own group and keep their distance from the two major subdivisions of the Roma community.
Rather a different example is the one of the third major Roma community in Bulgaria - Rudara (called "Vlasi" or "Vlach Gypsies" by the surrounding population). Its members speak an old dialect of Romanian. They identify themselves as Vlachs or old Romanians and differentiate themselves distinctly from Roma, although they are aware of a certain relationship. This community consists of two main subdivisions: Spoon-makers (who make wooden goods) and Bear and Monkey Handlers. Until recently Rudara were nomads and they have preserved the nomadic lifestyle with seasonal travellings.
The biggest Roma communites in Bulgaria live in the Montana District (12.5 per cent of the population) and Sliven (12.3 per cent); the smallest in Smolyan. According to the 2001 census, there are about 370 908 Roma in Bulgaria, just less than five per cent of the population. However, many people describe themselves as Bulgarian or Turkish, or sometimes Romanian, rather than Roma, so figures are difficult to establish with accuracy. Customarily, Roma lobby groups claim that the population is much higher, with political pressure group Evroroma claiming that the figure is as high as 1.2 million.