Boyash
Encyclopedia
Boyash
Boyash (or Bayash; Romanian
: Băieşi, Hungarian
: Beás, Slovak
: Bojáš, South Slavic: Bojaši) refers to a Romani ethnic group living in Romania
, southern Hungary
, northeastern Croatia
, western Vojvodina
, Slovakia
, the Balkans
, but also in the Americas
and Australia
. They are part of Romani branch of Roma. Alternative names are Rudari (Ludari), Lingurari and Zlătari.
of the Romani people who were held as slaves in Wallachia
and Moldavia
together with other Romani castes, up until the latter half of the 19th century; such slavery was abolished in Romania
n 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 Middle Age Slavonic
.). 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 Romanis, 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; also cf. Serbian
ruda, Hungarian
rúd, Romanian
rudă meaning "staff, rod, pole, stick"). The nickname Kashtale ("wood-workers") was also given to them by the Romani-speaking Romanis and it has remained in Romani as a more general word for a Romani person who does not 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, with borrowings from other surrounding languages.
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 Romanis 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 Koncila in Zagreb. In 2007, the first Bible—a children's Bible—was published by OM Books in Austria and facilitated by The Romani Bible Union.
the terms Ludari and Rudari are in common use, while in Romania
both terms are present in some form: Rudari and Băieşi.
For the same ethnic group in Hungary
and Croatia
the terms Beyash and Bayash (Bajaši) are now officially used. The ethnonym Banyash ("miner") 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, e.g. the village of Uljma
.
They are also known by many appellations based on trades; in addition to Rudari/Ludari ("miners", from Serbian and Bulgarian ruda "ore, metal") they are known as Kopanari ("cradle-makers", from Serbian and Bulgarian kopanja "wooden box"), Koritari ("trough-makers"), Lingurara ("spoon-makers", cf. Romanian lingură "spoon") and Ursara (cf. Romanian urs "bear") or Mechkara ("bear-trainers").
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 (cf. Serbian and Bulgarian globa "penalty, punishment"), 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 Roma 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
of Croatia and Serbia.
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 cannot 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
).
is available only for the Banyash living in Romania
n villages in the Serbian Banat
, as well as in Hungary, in the beás subdialect of the Romanian language spoken by Boyash communities in (central and western) Hungary.
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
. According to 2004 field research data, only two such projects are still going on there: optional classes in Romanian
in the village of Vajska
, and kindergarten in the local Ardeal dialect in Bački Monoštor
, attended by 20 pupils altogether.
Boyash (or Bayash; Romanian
Romanian language
Romanian Romanian Romanian (or Daco-Romanian; obsolete spellings Rumanian, Roumanian; self-designation: română, limba română ("the Romanian language") or românește (lit. "in Romanian") is a Romance language spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova...
: Băieşi, Hungarian
Hungarian language
Hungarian is a Uralic language, part of the Ugric group. With some 14 million speakers, it is one of the most widely spoken non-Indo-European languages in Europe....
: Beás, Slovak
Slovak language
Slovak , is an Indo-European language that belongs to the West Slavic languages .Slovak is the official language of Slovakia, where it is spoken by 5 million people...
: Bojáš, South Slavic: Bojaši) refers to a Romani ethnic group living in Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
, southern Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
, northeastern Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
, western Vojvodina
Vojvodina
Vojvodina, officially called Autonomous Province of Vojvodina is an autonomous province of Serbia. Its capital and largest city is Novi Sad...
, Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
, the Balkans
Balkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
, but also in the Americas
Americas
The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...
and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. They are part of Romani branch of Roma. Alternative names are Rudari (Ludari), Lingurari and Zlătari.
History
The Boyash are a branch/casteCaste
Caste is an elaborate and complex social system that combines elements of endogamy, occupation, culture, social class, tribal affiliation and political power. It should not be confused with race or social class, e.g. members of different castes in one society may belong to the same race, as in India...
of the Romani people who were held as slaves in Wallachia
Wallachia
Wallachia or Walachia is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians...
and Moldavia
Moldavia
Moldavia is a geographic and historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester river...
together with other Romani castes, up until the latter half of the 19th century; such slavery was abolished in Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
n states in 1864.
In particular, the Boyash were forced to settle in the 14th century and work in mining
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
(a regionalism for mine in Romanian: "baie," from Middle Age Slavonic
Old Church Slavonic
Old Church Slavonic or Old Church Slavic was the first literary Slavic language, first developed by the 9th century Byzantine Greek missionaries Saints Cyril and Methodius who were credited with standardizing the language and using it for translating the Bible and other Ancient Greek...
.). Due to their close proximity with Romanian
Romanian language
Romanian Romanian Romanian (or Daco-Romanian; obsolete spellings Rumanian, Roumanian; self-designation: română, limba română ("the Romanian language") or românește (lit. "in Romanian") is a Romance language spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova...
-speaking people, they lost the use of the Romani language
Romani language
Romani or Romany, Gypsy or Gipsy is any of several languages of the Romani people. They are Indic, sometimes classified in the "Central" or "Northwestern" zone, and sometimes treated as a branch of their own....
. Some groups relearned Romani when they came in contact with other Romani-speaking Romanis, after they emigrated from Romania (for example, in Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
).
Another name for the Boyash, Rudari, comes from the Slavic
Slavic languages
The Slavic languages , a group of closely related languages of the Slavic peoples and a subgroup of Indo-European languages, have speakers in most of Eastern Europe, in much of the Balkans, in parts of Central Europe, and in the northern part of Asia.-Branches:Scholars traditionally divide 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
Wood
Wood is a hard, fibrous tissue found in many trees. It has been used for hundreds of thousands of years for both fuel and as a construction material. It is an organic material, a natural composite of cellulose fibers embedded in a matrix of lignin which resists compression...
utensils (Lingurari means "spoon
Spoon
A spoon is a utensil consisting of a small shallow bowl, oval or round, at the end of a handle. A type of cutlery , especially as part of a place setting, it is used primarily for serving. Spoons are also used in food preparation to measure, mix, stir and toss ingredients...
-makers" in Romanian; also cf. Serbian
Serbian language
Serbian is a form of Serbo-Croatian, a South Slavic language, spoken by Serbs in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia and neighbouring countries....
ruda, Hungarian
Hungarian language
Hungarian is a Uralic language, part of the Ugric group. With some 14 million speakers, it is one of the most widely spoken non-Indo-European languages in Europe....
rúd, Romanian
Romanian language
Romanian Romanian Romanian (or Daco-Romanian; obsolete spellings Rumanian, Roumanian; self-designation: română, limba română ("the Romanian language") or românește (lit. "in Romanian") is a Romance language spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova...
rudă meaning "staff, rod, pole, stick"). The nickname Kashtale ("wood-workers") was also given to them by the Romani-speaking Romanis and it has remained in Romani as a more general word for a Romani person who does not 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, with borrowings from other surrounding languages.
Population
After the liberation of Romani people from slavery (by the middle of the 19th century), many emigratedEmigration
Emigration is the act of leaving one's country or region to settle in another. It is the same as immigration but from the perspective of the country of origin. Human movement before the establishment of political boundaries or within one state is termed migration. There are many reasons why people...
in other countries, especially in Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
and the Balkans, but also as far as the Americas
Americas
The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
or Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
In 1993, about 14,000 of the 280,000 recorded Hungarian Romanis were Boyash.
In Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
, 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
Apatin
Apatin is a town and municipality in the Vojvodina administrative region of Serbia, located in the West Bačka District, at . The town of Apatin is the administrative, economic, cultural, educational and tourist centre of the municipality of Apatin...
county of Vojvodina
Vojvodina
Vojvodina, officially called Autonomous Province of Vojvodina is an autonomous province of Serbia. Its capital and largest city is Novi Sad...
, Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
. 2005 saw the Boyash language of Croatia published in its own alphabet
Alphabet
An alphabet is a standard set of letters—basic written symbols or graphemes—each of which represents a phoneme in a spoken language, either as it exists now or as it was in the past. There are other systems, such as logographies, in which each character represents a word, morpheme, or semantic...
for the first time in the Catholic Catechism, published by the HBK Glas Koncila in Zagreb. In 2007, the first Bible—a children's Bible—was published by OM Books in Austria and facilitated by The Romani Bible Union.
Names in other languages
In English, the commonly accepted name for the ethnic group is Boyash, however in contemporary BulgariaBulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
the terms Ludari and Rudari are in common use, while in Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
both terms are present in some form: Rudari and Băieşi.
For the same ethnic group in Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
and Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
the terms Beyash and Bayash (Bajaši) are now officially used. The ethnonym Banyash ("miner") in Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
is known only among the group settled in Bačka
Backa
Bačka is a geographical area within the Pannonian plain bordered by the river Danube to the west and south, and by the river Tisza to the east of which confluence is located near Titel...
region, living along the river Danube
Danube
The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....
, near the border with Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
and Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
. This term is only sporadically understood, and not used among some other Banyash groups in the Serbian Banat region, e.g. the village of Uljma
Uljma
Uljma is a village in Serbia. It is situated in the Vršac municipality, in the South Banat District, Vojvodina province. The village has a Serb ethnic majority and its population numbering 3,089 people .-Historical population:*1961: 4,237...
.
They are also known by many appellations based on trades; in addition to Rudari/Ludari ("miners", from Serbian and Bulgarian ruda "ore, metal") they are known as Kopanari ("cradle-makers", from Serbian and Bulgarian kopanja "wooden box"), Koritari ("trough-makers"), Lingurara ("spoon-makers", cf. Romanian lingură "spoon") and Ursara (cf. Romanian urs "bear") 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 villageVillage
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
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
Plaintiff
A plaintiff , also known as a claimant or complainant, is the term used in some jurisdictions for the party who initiates a lawsuit before a court...
or person pursuing justice appeals to the Predsjednik of the village for assistance or a judgement over an issue or conflict. A Globa (cf. Serbian and Bulgarian globa "penalty, punishment"), 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
Money
Money is any object or record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts in a given country or socio-economic context. The main functions of money are distinguished as: a medium of exchange; a unit of account; a store of value; and, occasionally in the past,...
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 Roma in Serbia today live in mixed communities with different South Slav groups along the rivers: Danube
Danube
The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....
, Sava, Tisa
Tisá
Tisá is a village and municipality in Ústí nad Labem District in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic.The municipality covers an area of , and has a population of 786 ....
and Morava
Morava
Morava is a Slavic river name. It may refer to:Rivers:* Great Morava in central Serbia** South Morava , tributary of the Great Morava** West Morava , tributary of the Great Morava...
, but they can also be found in some villages cohabiting with the Romanian language
Romanian language
Romanian Romanian Romanian (or Daco-Romanian; obsolete spellings Rumanian, Roumanian; self-designation: română, limba română ("the Romanian language") or românește (lit. "in Romanian") is a Romance language spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova...
speaking Vlachs
Vlachs
Vlach is a blanket term covering several modern Latin peoples descending from the Latinised population in Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe. English variations on the name include: Walla, Wlachs, Wallachs, Vlahs, Olahs or Ulahs...
of Croatia and Serbia.
The estimated figure of Banyash settlements (also obtained during recent fieldwork) in central Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
is about 140, plus 30 in Banat
Banat
The Banat is a geographical and historical region in Central Europe currently divided between three countries: the eastern part lies in western Romania , the western part in northeastern Serbia , and a small...
and 7 in Bačka
Backa
Bačka is a geographical area within the Pannonian plain bordered by the river Danube to the west and south, and by the river Tisza to the east of which confluence is located near Titel...
region (the province of Vojvodina
Vojvodina
Vojvodina, officially called Autonomous Province of Vojvodina is an autonomous province of Serbia. Its capital and largest city is Novi Sad...
). However, the approximate dimensions of the Banyash population cannot 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
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
).
Education
Education in the Romanian languageRomanian language
Romanian Romanian Romanian (or Daco-Romanian; obsolete spellings Rumanian, Roumanian; self-designation: română, limba română ("the Romanian language") or românește (lit. "in Romanian") is a Romance language spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova...
is available only for the Banyash living in Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
n villages in the Serbian Banat
Banat
The Banat is a geographical and historical region in Central Europe currently divided between three countries: the eastern part lies in western Romania , the western part in northeastern Serbia , and a small...
, as well as in Hungary, in the beás subdialect of the Romanian language spoken by Boyash communities in (central and western) Hungary.
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
Romanian language
Romanian Romanian Romanian (or Daco-Romanian; obsolete spellings Rumanian, Roumanian; self-designation: română, limba română ("the Romanian language") or românește (lit. "in Romanian") is a Romance language spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova...
. According to 2004 field research data, only two such projects are still going on there: optional classes in Romanian
Romanian language
Romanian Romanian Romanian (or Daco-Romanian; obsolete spellings Rumanian, Roumanian; self-designation: română, limba română ("the Romanian language") or românește (lit. "in Romanian") is a Romance language spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova...
in the village of Vajska
Vajska
Vajska is a village in Serbia. It is situated in the Bač municipality, in the South Bačka District, Vojvodina province. The population of the village numbering 3,169 people , including 1,319 Serbs, 569 Romanians, 353 Croats, 341 Hungarians, 207 Yugoslavs, and others...
, and kindergarten in the local Ardeal dialect in Bački Monoštor
Backi Monoštor
Bački Monoštor is a village located in the Sombor municipality, in the West Bačka District of Serbia. It is situated in the autonomous province of Vojvodina. The village has a Croat majority . Population of Bački Monoštor is numbering 3,920 people...
, attended by 20 pupils altogether.