The A to Z of the Gypsies (Romanies) by Donald Kenrick

Author:Donald Kenrick
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Scarecrow Press
Published: 2007-03-14T16:00:00+00:00

– M –

MACCOLL, EWAN. See MILLER, JIMMIE.

MACE, JEM (1831–1910). England. Boxer. A bare-knuckle fighter known as the “Father of Modern Boxing.” At one time he also ran a fairground known as Strawberry Gardens in Liverpool. A memorial was recently erected by his grave at Anfield Cemetery in Liverpool. Nicknamed “the Gypsy,” Mace was the bare-knuckle English boxing champion in 1861.

MACEDONIA, REPUBLIC OF. (This entry deals with Macedonia from 1941 onward. Previously it was part of the Ottoman Empire and then the kingdom of Yugoslavia. There is also a province of Greece called Macedonia.) The estimated Romany population is at least 200,000, although the 1994 census listed only 42,707, a decrease from the 55,575 recorded in 1991 in spite of the availability of census forms in the Romani language.

During World War II, Macedonia was handed over by the Germans to the Bulgarians and Italians. Most of the Romanies managed to persuade the occupiers that they were Turks or Muslim Albanians. Those who were identified as Romanies had to wear yellow armbands. Some were taken as forced laborers to Bulgaria and a small number to camps in Poland. Many joined the Partisans, and it was said that Tito promised them their own state after the war. This promise—if it had been made—was not carried out, as the Yugoslav government would have seen a smaller Macedonia as a prey for Greek and Bulgarian expansionist ambitions.

The largest Gypsy community in Europe developed in Shuto Orizari on the outskirts of Skopje in the aftermath of the earthquake of 1963. About 90 percent of the inhabitants are Gypsies.

In May 1980 Naša Kniga, a publishing house in Skopje, produced the first Romani grammar written in the Romani language. The author was Shaip Jusuf. The Pralipe Theater operated until 1990 when the Communist Party forced the company to vacate its premises and the actors immigrated to Germany.

In 1990, too, the Egyptian Association of Citizens was founded in Ohrid by Nazim Arifi, consisting of some 4,000 residents of Ohrid and neighboring Struga, who—although many scholars consider them to be of Romany origin—claim to be descendants of Egyptians brought to the Balkans during the rule of the Ottoman Empire. The association claimed 20,000–30,000 adherents, and “Egyptian” was included as a separate identity in the 1994 census in Macedonia.

On 1 September 1990, the leaders of the Macedonian Romany community called on all Romanies to stop identifying themselves as Albanians simply on the basis of a common religion, Islam, and declared 11 October 1990—already a public holiday—to be a day of celebration of the cultural achievements of Romanies in Macedonia. Nevertheless, in the census of 1994, many declared themselves to be Macedonians or—if they were Muslims—Albanians or Turks.

In 1991 Macedonia became de facto independent. President Kiro Gligorov publicly acknowledged the Romanies as “full and equal citizens of the Republic of Macedonia.” They were recognized as a nationality in the new constitution. Romani-language radio and television programs from Skopje joined those already being broadcast from Tetovo. A few bilingual (Macedonian and Romani) magazines are published.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.