[WSMDiscuss] The Vibrant Romani Culture and Music across Europe

Wed May 20 03:48:24 CEST 2020

I had a facebook post if you saw it

Sent from my iPhone

> On May 19, 2020, at 4:37 PM, Jai Sen <jai.sen at cacim.net> wrote:
> 
> 
> Apologies for this Postscript, but two friends have written in to me to strongly recommend a wonderful film on the Roma – some say ‘One of the best ten such films of all time’ !  Here are some details for you :
> 
> Latcho Drom
> 
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latcho_Drom
> 
> Latcho Drom ("safe journey") is a 1993 French film directed and written by Tony Gatlif. The movie is about the Romani people's journey from north-west India to Spain, consisting primarily of music. The film was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1993 Cannes Film Festival.
> 
> The film contains very little dialogue and captions; only what is required to grasp the essential meaning of a song or conversation is translated. The film begins in the Thar Desert in Northern India and ends in Spain, passing through Egypt, Turkey, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, and France. All of the Romani portrayed are actual members of the Romani community.
> 
> Preview @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzXV89ze1k4
> 
> Latcho Drom (rom for "safe journey") describes the travels, singing and dancing of Romany groups from Rajastan (India), Egypt, Turkey, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, France, and Spain. Some scenes are acted, but there is no dialogue or narration--only partial translation of some songs. The film illustrates the variety of conditions in which the Romany people live--earthbound nomads in the hot deserts of Asia, ironsmiths and abjectly poor tree-dwellers in the frozen plains of Eastern Europe, and craftspeople and traders in the hills and seasides of north Africa and western Europe. It also illustrates the similarities in travel habits, musical tones (spoons, open drums, and string-based rhythms) and song themes (celebration of travel and perceived rejection by sedentary locals).
> 
> www.rollingfilm.org www.rollinginternnews.wordpress.com www.facebook.com/pages/Rolling-Film-Festival/194205320598831
> 
> 
> 
> Thanks Joanie, thanks Aroop !
> 
>             Jai
> 
> 
>>> On May 19, 2020, at 3:35 PM, Jai Sen <jai.sen at cacim.net> wrote:
>>> 
>>> Tuesday, May 19, 2020
>>> 
>>>  
>>> 
>>> Greetings, Umakant !
>>> 
>>>             I can't thank you enough to putting together and posting this marvellous collection of articles and videos on the contributions the Roma have made (and continue to make) to Europe.  (Just to give a little background to my saying this, after Umakant posted an article on WSMDiscuss a while ago on the structural discrimination – and violence - that the Roma continue to face in Europe, I requested him to consider doing a post that showed us the contributions of the Roma to Europe – just to put in context the dissemination and invisibilisation they face, and in order to also develop a more complete picture of them, and to visibilise and celebrate them.  I think that Umakant’s compilation definitely does this !)
>>> 
>>>             Having so far looked at just one item though, I want to take the liberty to now extend my request to you, Umakant.  This collection focuses in the Roma in Europe, but the Roma of course live widely across the world, and where as far as I know, the generally accepted history is that they originated in India and then spread across the world.  I’d therefore like to ask you Umakant, whether you would consider doing a similar compilation on the Roma in India, and on their cultural and other contributions ?  Such as of the Banjara ‘tribe’, that lives in central and western India, and that historically at least, cyclically migrates across the country ?
>>> 
>>>             From my side, I would like to add to what you have given us and contribute a short list of links to articles on the Roma ‘in the world’, as below.  Which shows - among other things – that they also exist and live widely across the US !  But also that as with the Dalits, the Hindutva state in India is keen to appropriate the Roma as ‘lost Hindus’ – and therefore also, I would assume, lay some claim to the global diaspora ?  So even as they continue to be discriminated against, they are also the subject of cultural and political appropriation…
>>> 
>>>             Once again, thank you, Umakant, for contributing to our beginning to make visible - if only at this moment to ourselves - this section of the so far invisibilised but who live in societies across the world.  But where I am taking the liberty of therefore also posing this reply on some other listserves where I think there are many who would be interested in this subject.
>>> 
>>>             In celebration and solidarity,
>>> 
>>>             Jai
>>> 
>>>            
>>> 
>>> History of the Romani people
>>> 
>>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Romani_people
>>> 
>>>  
>>> 
>>> European Roma descended from Indian 'untouchables', genetic study shows
>>> 
>>> https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/9719058/European-Roma-descended-from-Indian-untouchables-genetic-study-shows.html
>>> 
>>>  
>>> 
>>> Roma (Gypsies) in Prewar Europe
>>> 
>>> https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/roma-gypsies-in-prewar-europe
>>> 
>>>  
>>> 
>>> Romani Americans
>>> 
>>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romani_Americans
>>> 
>>>  
>>> 
>>> International Roma Conference to commemorate the millenium of migration of Roma from India, 28.11.2018-02.12.2018 (on the site of the ‘Romani International Union’)
>>> 
>>> http://iru2020.org/the-indian-government-is-ready-to-recognize-20-million-gypsies-as-part-of-the-indian-world-diaspora/
>>> 
>>>  
>>> 
>>> The Modi Government, and RSS, Are Keen to Claim the Roma as Indians, and Hindus
>>> 
>>> https://thewire.in/diplomacy/the-modi-government-and-rss-are-keen-to-claim-the-roma-as-indians-and-hindus
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> On May 19, 2020, at 1:18 PM, Umakant via WSM-Discuss <wsm-discuss at lists.openspaceforum.net> wrote:
>>> 
>>> Dear Friends
>>> Greetings! On the links given below you could read and also watch some videos about the vibrant Romani culture and music across Europe. It has a long history and it is also quite diverse and across genre from traditional folk songs to modern hip-hop and reggae style. Romani singers and musicians made a rich contribution in not only keeping their art alive but also passed them over to the future generations.
>>>  
>>> It may not be possible to compile everything in such a small post like this but an attempt has been made to give a preview of what lies beneath the rich history of Roma people in Europe through archival and contemporary resource materials.
>>>  
>>> Do pass it on to others in your circle/network.
>>>  
>>> -------------------------
>>>  
>>> “Gelem, Gelem”, The Roma Anthem was composed by Zarko Jovanovic and adopted at the First Romani Congress held in 1971. It has been adapted in several orthography and local dialects of Romani language across Europe. It was titles as “Opre Roma (Arise, Roma)”
>>>  
>>> I went, I went on long roads
>>> I met happy Roma
>>> O Roma, where do you come from,
>>> With tents happy on the road?
>>>  
>>> O Roma, O Romani youths!
>>>  
>>> I once had a great family,
>>> The Black Legion murdered them
>>> Come with me, Roma from all the world
>>> For the Roma, roads have opened
>>> Now is the time, rise up Roma now,
>>> We will rise high if we act
>>>  
>>> O Roma, O Romani youths!
>>>  
>>> Open, God, White doors
>>> So I can see where are my people.
>>> Come back to tour the roads
>>> And walk with happy Roma
>>>  
>>> O Roma, O Romani youths!
>>>  
>>> Up, Romani people! Now is the time
>>> Come with me, Roma from all the world
>>> Dark face and dark eyes,
>>> I want them like dark grapes
>>>  
>>> O Roma, O Romani youths!
>>>  
>>> (Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romani_anthem)
>>>  
>>> ----------------------------
>>>  
>>> Gipsy Groove - Xhellem Xhellem - Çaje Shukarie, Kartolinë nga Kosova
>>> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxma46rDK6E
>>>  
>>> ----------------------------
>>>  
>>> Kosovo’s Bob Marley
>>> Egzon Avdullahi, Balkan Insight, July 25, 2012
>>> https://balkaninsight.com/2012/07/25/kosovo-s-bob-marley/
>>>  
>>> Kafu earned his reputation from singing Qur’anic verses. But then he found Bob Marley and was inspired to created a new music band , Gypsy Groove, fusing Balkans Roma music, mixed with jazz and reggae.
>>>  
>>> ----------------------------
>>>  
>>> Gipsy Kings - Live at The Royal Albert Hall in London
>>> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x076bAjLo14
>>>  
>>> ----------------------------
>>>  
>>> Djelem Djelem - Barcelona Gipsy Klezmer Orchestra
>>> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23dW3H9yFSU
>>>  
>>> ----------------------------
>>>  
>>> RomArchive
>>> https://www.romarchive.eu/en/
>>>  
>>> Available in English, German and Romani Language
>>>  
>>> ----------------------------
>>>  
>>> A new digital archive of the Roma reflects diverse cultures
>>> DW, January 24, 2019
>>> https://www.dw.com/en/a-new-digital-archive-of-the-roma-reflects-diverse-cultures/a-47208910
>>>  
>>> The Roma have contributed to European cultural history in unexpected ways. The new RomArchive is designed to raise awareness of Romani cultures and arts — and aims to counter stereotypical presentations.
>>>  
>>> ----------------------------
>>>  
>>> Kálmán Balogh: Hungarian Folk And Gypsy Music
>>> Andrew Kingsford-Smith, Culture trip, December 07, 2016
>>> https://theculturetrip.com/europe/hungary/articles/hungarian-folk-and-gypsy-music-an-interview-with-k-lm-n-balogh/
>>>  
>>> Renowned as one of the greatest cimbalom players in the world, Kálmán Balogh is an iconic figure in the Hungarian folk and Gypsy music scenes. We interviewed this virtuoso musician, asking him about his influences and what it is like fusing this age-old genre with other styles from different cultures.
>>>  
>>> ----------------------------
>>>  
>>> Gypsy Songs from Hungary
>>> Traditional Music Channel, November 22, 2016
>>> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0-IAD9kNKk
>>>  
>>> ----------------------------
>>>  
>>> Gypsy melody
>>> Al Jazeera, July 30, 2014
>>> Gypsy melody
>>> 
>>> Gypsy melody
>>> Two Serbian Gypsies celebrate Roma culture through music.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>>  
>>> Two Serbian Gypsies celebrate Roma culture through music.
>>>  
>>> ----------------------------
>>>  
>>> With Regards
>>> Umakant, Ph. D
>>> New Delhi
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>>  
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> My final words of advice to you are educate, agitate and organize; have faith in yourself. With justice on our side I do not see how we can lose our battle. The battle to me is a matter of joy. The battle is in the fullest sense spiritual. There is nothing material or social in it. For ours is a battle not for wealth or for power. It is battle for freedom. It is the battle of reclamation of human personality. 
>>> B.R.Ambedkar
>>> ________________________________________
>>> ** Inspired by the World Social Forum, WSMDiscuss – the successor to a list named ‘WSFDiscuss’ started in 2005 - is an open, unmoderated, and self-organising forum for the exchange of information and views on the experience, practice, and theory of social and political movement at any level (local, national, regional, and global), including the World Social Forum.  Join in ! **
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>> 
>> 
>> 
> 
> ____________________________
> 
> Jai Sen
> 
> Independent researcher, editor; Senior Fellow at the School of International Development and Globalisation Studies at the University of Ottawa
> 
> jai.sen at cacim.net
> 
> Now based in New Delhi, India (+91-98189 11325) and in Ottawa, Canada, on unceded and unsurrendered Anishinaabe territory (+1-613-282 2900) 
> 
> CURRENT / RECENT publications :
> 
> Jai Sen, ed, 2018a – The Movements of Movements, Part 2 : Rethinking Our Dance. Ebook and hard copy available at PM Press
> 
> Jai Sen, ed, 2018b – The Movements of Movements, Part 1 : What Makes Us Move ? (Indian edition). New Delhi : AuthorsUpfront, in collaboration with OpenWord and PM Press.  Hard copy available at MOM1AmazonIN, MOM1Flipkart, and MOM1AUpFront
> 
> Jai Sen, ed, 2017 – The Movements of Movements, Part 1 : What Makes Us Move ?.  New Delhi : OpenWord and Oakland, CA : PM Press.  Ebook and hard copy available at PM Press
> 
> SUBSCRIBE TO World Social Movement Discuss, an open, unmoderated, and self-organising forum on social and political movement at any level (local, national, regional, and global).  To subscribe, simply send an empty email to wsm-discuss-subscribe at lists.openspaceforum.net
> 
> 
> ________________________________________
> ** Inspired by the World Social Forum, WSMDiscuss – the successor to a list named ‘WSFDiscuss’ started in 2005 - is an open, unmoderated, and self-organising forum for the exchange of information and views on the experience, practice, and theory of social and political movement at any level (local, national, regional, and global), including the World Social Forum.  Join in ! **
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