Everything about Boyash totally explained
Boyash (or
Bayash;
Romanian:
Băeşi,
Hungarian:
Beás,
Slovak:
Bojáš,
South Slavic:
Bojaši) refers to a
Roma ethnic group living in
Romania, southern
Hungary, northeastern
Croatia, western
Vojvodina,
Slovakia, the
Balkans, but also in the
Americas and
Australia. Alternative names are
Rudari (
Ludari),
Lingurari and
Zlătari.
History
The Boyash are a branch/
caste of the Roma people who were held as
slaves in
Wallachia and
Moldavia together with other Roma castes, up until the latter half of the
19th century; such slavery was abolished in
Romanian states in
1864.
In particular, the Boyash were forced to settle in the
14th century and work in
mining (a regionalism for
mine in Romanian: "baie," from the Hungarian "bánya."). Due to their close proximity with
Romanian-speaking people, they lost the use of the
Romani language. Some groups relearned Romani when they came in contact with other Romani-speaking Roma, after they emigrated from Romania (for example, in
Ecuador).
Another name for the Boyash,
Rudari, comes from the
Slavic ruda ("metal", "ore"). However, a few centuries later, the mines became inefficient and the Boyash people were forced to readjust by earning their living making
wood utensils (
Lingurari means "
spoon-makers" in Romanian). The nickname
Kashtale ("wood-workers") was also given to them by the Romani-speaking Roma and it has remained in Romani as a more general word for a Romani person who doesn't speak Romani.
After the point at which they began to make wood tools they scattered themselves in isolated communities. The consequence of this is that nowadays they speak a distinct archaic dialect of Romanian (from the
15th century), with Romani and
Hungarian borrowings.
Population
After the liberation of Roma from slavery (by the middle of the
19th century), many
emigrated in other countries, especially in
Hungary and
the Balkans, but also as far as the
Americas,
South Africa or
Australia.
In
1993, about 14,000 of the 280,000 recorded Hungarian Roma were Boyash.
In
Croatia, the Boyash are settled in several small communities along the Hungarian border in the regions of
Međimurje, the Podravina,
Slavonija and
Baranja with an overflow of settlers living in the
Apatin county of
Vojvodina,
Serbia.
2005 saw the Boyash language of Croatia published in its own
alphabet for the first time in the
Catholic Catechism, published by the HBK Glas Konica in Zagreb. In 2007, the first Bible--a children's Bible--was published through the work of Bob and Nancy Hitching and Bayash that they used to assist (Natasha and Daniel).
Names in other languages
In English, the commonly accepted name for the ethnic group is
Boyash, however in contemporary
Bulgaria the terms
Ludari and
Rudari are in common use, while in
Romania both terms are present in some form:
Rudari and
Băeşi.
For the same ethnic group in
Hungary and
Croatia the terms
Beyash and
Boyash are now officially used. The ethnonym
Banyash in
Serbia is known only among the group settled in
Bačka region, living along the river
Danube, near the border with
Croatia and
Hungary. This term is only sporadically understood, and not used among some other
Banyash groups in the
Serbian Banat region, for example the village of
Uljma. Among
South Slavs, the names
Karavlasi (from
Turkish kara vlah - "black Romanian") or
Vlach Roma were also used for this specific Romani group.
They are also known by many appellations based on trades; in addition to Rudari/Ludari (possibly from Bulgarian "rudar," "miner") they're known as
Kopanari ("cradle-makers"),
Koritari ("trough-makers"),
Lingurara ("spoon-makers") and
Ursara or
Mechkara ("bear-trainers").
Community
The Boyash community in certain parts of Croatia have their own internal
justice system. This system deals with interpersonal conflicts that arise at the
village level. In many senses the system enforces the
social norms and expectations of the culture but has little authority at the inter-village relational level.
Most larger villages - 300 people or more - have a village chief, called a
Predsjednik, who is assisted by a group of elders. A
plaintiff or person pursuing justice appeals to the Predsjednik of the village for assistance or a judgement over an issue or conflict. A
Globa, or court, is called and the elders of the village interview the parties and other witnesses. A judgement is arrived at and is communicated to both the plaintiff and the defendant. The judgement is final and binding. The judgement usually involves the payment of
money by the defendant to the plaintiff in the event of a verdict in the plaintiff's favour and then in the villages of North Western Croatia the purchase of several cases of beer, to be paid for by the defendant, is then ordered for distribution to the whole village.
The majority of
Banyash Romanians in Serbia today live in mixed communities with different
South Slav groups along the rivers:
Danube,
Sava,
Tisa and
Morava, but they can also be found in some villages cohabiting with the
Romanian language speaking
Vlachs.
The estimated figure of Banyash settlements (also obtained during recent fieldwork) in central
Serbia is about 140, plus 30 in
Banat and 7 in
Bačka region (the province of
Vojvodina). However, the approximate dimensions of the Banyash population can't be estimated (it is impossible to determine their exact number, not even with the help of most recent extensive demographic study about
Roma in
Serbia).
Education
Education in the
Romanian language is available only for the Banyash living in
Romanian villages in the Serbian
Banat. During the last few years there have been several attempts on behalf of local non-governmental organizations in East Bačka region to introduce optional classes in
Romanian. At the moment (2004 field research data) only two such projects are still going on: optional classes in
Romanian in the village of
Vajska, and kindergarten in the local Ardeal dialect in
Bački Monoštor, attended by 20 pupils altogether.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Boyash'.
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