Sepečides Romani

Sepečides Romani (also known as Sepeči)^[1] is the once more widely spoken Romani dialect of the traditionally basketweaving Sepečides Roma (Sevenglere Roma), originally from Greece. The dialect has many Greek, Slavic and Turkish loanwords.^[2] It belongs to the Southern Balkan group of Romani language dialects.^[3] The Sepečides settled in Mersin and Adana, where there are still settlements of at least several hundred speakers,^[3] although the RomArchive claims the language is practically extinct.^[4] The loanword verb markers in Romani "are often Greek derived markers, maintained even when contact with Greek has ceased."^[5] Linguist Petra Cech published a monograph codifying this dialect in 1996.^[6] Many of the Sepečides from Greece live in Izmir, where their descendants speak only Turkish.^[7] The Sepečides dialect is considered to be non-Vlach.^[8]

Origin[]

The Sepetçileri (meaning basket-makers, plural of Sepečides) originate from Sulukule. They became Muslims after the Fall of Constantinople and went to other parts of the Ottoman Empire, especially to Rumelia.^[9]

The Sepečides Roma people, also known as Sevlengere Roma, are of Greek/Turkish origin.^[8] However, this statement contrasts with genetic research, which clearly shows that the Romani people originated in the Indian subcontinent.^[10] Up until about 1920 the traditional profession of these Roma people was the making and selling of baskets. According to the Rombase of the University of Graz, "they all spoke Greek, some of them also Turkish, fluently."^[11][12] The Sevlengere Roma people lived in communities in Greece (primarily in the Chalkidike peninsula) and later lived in Turkey. They share a variation of Balkan Romani.^[13] Their ancestors were from the area that is now Saloniki during the Ottoman Empire.

During the population exchange between Greece and Turkey, members of this group of Roma who adapted to the Orthodox religion stayed in Greece. Many of the families that left Saloniki but remained in Greece settled in the Volos area and are Greek-orthodox. The children of these families speak Romani as their first language, followed by Greek. Others who were more inclined towards the Muslim religion resettled in Turkey and today speak only Turkish as their mother tongue.^[8] Some of the Greek Romani settlements where they lived include Tralangere (Trala, a village near Saloniki) and Kardičakere (also known as Karditsa, in northern Greece). In 1920, migrants wishing to avoid the Greco-Turkish war presented themselves as either Greeks or Turks and alternated between using two flags to identify themselves.^[3]

Turkey[]

In Menemen, some Sepečides still make baskets.^[14] In Anamur^[15] and Kozan, Adana^[16] the descendants of the Sepečides also weave baskets. A group of Sepetçiler still practicing their traditional craft^[17] settled in East Thrace and Evreşe in Gelibolu after 1923, when the Muslims was expelled by the Greek.^[18] The Basketmaker Association was established in Vize in 2014.^[19] In Keşan, a special cooperative was established by Sepetçi women.^[20] In Efeler, the Sepetçiler who came from the Black Sea region make baskets from the Babylon willow tree. Every year they hold the Sepetçi Bayram (Basketmaker Festival).^[21] Some descendants of the former Sepetçi in Istanbul became flower sellers^[22] or musicians.^[23] A group of Sepetçiler settled in the 1950s in Söke where they still weave baskets. Some words and phrases from the old Sepečides dialect survived, but their main language is Turkish.^[24] Although the same profession, the Sepedji (basket makers) in Shumen speak a different dialect who is not related to Sepecides langugage from Greece and Turkey.^[25]

Greece[]

The Sepečides Romani who converted to the Greek-orthodox faith and remained in Greece after 1923 moved south to settle in Volos.^[26] Their families primarily speak a Greek dialect with some Turkish words. These Romani tend to call themselves Sevlengere Roma (meaning ("basket(weaving) Roma").^[8] The younger generation's first language is Romani, followed by Greek.^[8] The Sevlengere on the island of Skyros are also the descendants of the Muslim Roma who stayed and converted.^[12] Some of the Orthodox Sevlengere settled in Volax.^[27] The Sepečides who remained in Greece at Volos took up the additional profession of carpet trade, unlike their Roma relatives in Izmir.^[8]

See also[]

• Sepetciler Palace
• Basketry Museum of the Roma

References[]