Anthropological, linguistic and dialectological research of Roma in NRW (Germany)

Center of education, research and social care Romani emancipacija, Trajko Petrovski Beograd, Serbia

The project Anthropological, linguistic and dialectological research of Roma in NRW (Germany), will be presented. Focus of this project is on folkloristic, ethnographic and dialectological research of Roms and Sinti in North Rhine-Westphalia. The research will be realized in Berlin. The oral lore is the mother of literature. By folklore we are meaning the verbal creations of wide masses that reflect their lives in its various manifestations. The word Folklore is created by Folk= people, and Lore= meaning. In literary translation it means: peoples knowledge, peoples wisdom. Folklore is a complex subject and has many aspects. We meet folklore in the cities, the villages, in the families. The Romani folklore contains songs, stories, legends, anecdotes, musical instruments, dances, customs, children games, nicknames, traditional holidays, Romani traditional food, traditional clothes, and certain crafts, such as the blacksmiths from India to Europe.
The program activities will start with a collection of the empirical material for ethno cultural identity. We will register the Romani folklore (songs, stories, legends, anecdotes, etc.). And ethnographically, the emphasis will be on the observation and study of wedding customs, religious customs, and the structure of the families. From the field of dialectology we will register Romani dialects in North Rhine-Westphalia, that is, the Gurbetian, the Arlian, Kalderian, Lovarian, and the Sinti dialects.