Evangelical Gypsies in Bulgaria: Way of Life and Performance of Identity

Summary

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The Evangelical conversion of Gypsy groups worldwide has attracted the attention of ethnologists, anthropologists, ethnomusicologists, historians and sociologists. The problems discussed in the literature are connected with the influence of the 'new' religion on the way of life and identity of the converts. What are the changes that the believers undergo in their everyday lives? How do they celebrate holidays and festive occasions like weddings? What is happening with the group and the religious and ethnic self-awareness of individuals? Does Evangelism lead to a kind of unification of the culture of separate Gypsy groups, which in turn results in the loss of part of the identity of the communities? Bulgaria is an interesting example of the spread of Evangelical Christianity among Gypsy groups, much intensified since 1990. The article addresses these questions, looking for concrete exemplification at the situation of the Evangelical Gypsies in Bulgaria, and it traces the process from the early twentieth century down to the present, exploring some of the major changes in the way of life of the Gypsies after undergoing evangelical baptism, using their own ideas and concepts of the surrounding world.

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Evangelical Gypsies in Bulgaria: Way of Life and Performance of Identity

Introduction

In Bulgaria, as elsewhere, the Gypsies1 adhere to different religions and, depending on their religious affiliations, perform various customs and practices. The acceptance of a certain religion depends on the social environment in which the Gypsy groups live or used to live. In Bulgaria, there are Christian Orthodox Gypsies, Muslims, Catholics and 'new' Protestants (Evangelists).2 Evangelists accept a type of religion, Protestantism, different from the traditional ones (Islam or Orthodox Christianity) and start a cnew life, reborn in the name of Jesus Christ. The newly baptised Gypsies belong to several religious groups, depending on which congregation they are members of, or if they have not become members yet, which church they attend. In Bulgaria, there are Methodists, Congregationalists (also called simply 'Evangelists'), Baptists, Adventists (or Sabbatarians), Pentecostals, Jehovah's Witnesses, and other groups. There is an ongoing process of emancipation of the Evangelical Gypsies under the influence of Protestantism. It is bound up with the formation of homogenous religious communities, the construction of new churches, the ever growing role of church leaders from within the Gypsy community, and the holding of services and singing hymns in their mother tongue. This article presents an outline of the way of life of the Evangelists and seeks to examine in what way the change in their daily and festivity customs after baptism influences their group identity. The process of Evangelical conversion is analysed for different Gypsy groups in regard to its ensuing results and consequences.

According to the national official census 2001 in Bulgaria, the number of Protestants is 42,308 (www.nsi.bg, census 2001). Information about the number of Gypsy Evangelists in the country is not provided in the official statistics. According to Boncho Assenov, even though based on uncertain data, the estimated number of Gypsy Evangelists is 3 per cent of the total number of Protestants (Assenov 1998: 4). Estimating the total number of the Gypsy churches is also a hard task, due to the constant processes of segmentation of the religious communities and the formation of new churches. Different Gypsy pastors come up with varying information about the number of converts and houses of prayer in Bulgaria. According to pastor Assen Khristov, former President of 'Association of Romany Pastors, Churches and Societies' (ARPChS) there are about 800 Gypsy churches in Bulgaria.3 Totally different information is provided by René Zanellato, leader of the 'Gypsies and Travelers International Evangelical Fellowship' (GATIEF). In his report about the missionary activity among the Gypsies worldwide in 2004,4 he states that there are about 80,000 new Gypsy converts and 100 Gypsy pastors in Bulgaria.

For the present study, ethnographic field research was carried out among the Evangelical Gypsies between 2003 and 2006. The main purpose of the research was to provide a comparatively even coverage of the whole territory and also study the different types of settlements. The choice of the regions for field research was mainly motivated by the aim to observe the influence of different Protestant churches among the different Gypsy groups-former Muslims and former Orthodox Christians, with their diverse traditional ways of life. The research was conducted in different towns and villages in western Bulgaria (the capital-Sofia-and the towns of Lorn, Kyustendil and Sandanski, together with nearby villages), northern Bulgaria (the Pleven, Rousse, and Silistra regions), eastern Bulgaria (the regions of Balchik, Bourgas, Yambol, the town of Kotel), and central-southern Bulgaria (the town of Nova Zagora and adjoining villages). The methods of participant observation and the lifestory interviews were employed during fieldwork. The linguistic data in this study was gained by brief linguistic questionnaires, prepared by Birgit Igla. The method of visual anthropology was used as well.

The informants have different educational backgrounds and belong to different social categories, age and gender groups. During the field research, conversations were held with Evangelical Gypsies who only have primary education or who have never been to school; with Gypsies who have secondary education or people who have graduated from colleges and universities or are still students there. The target participants in these interviews were individuals drawn from different age groups, extending from school pupils to the elderly cohort of person...

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