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Ursari

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For the village inCălărași District,Moldova,seeBuda, Călărași.
The Ursar,drawing byTheodor Aman
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TheUrsari(generally read as "bear leaders"or" bear handlers "; from theRomanian:urs,meaning "bear";singular:ursar;Bulgarian:урсари,ursari) orRichinaraare the traditionallynomadicoccupational group ofanimal trainersamong theRomani people.

Anendogamouscategory originally drawing the bulk of its income frombuskingperformances in which they useddancing bears,usuallybrown bearsand, in several instances,Old world monkeys.They have largely become settled after the 1850s. The Ursari form an important part of theRoma communityinRomania,where they are one of the 40 tribal groups,[1]as well as notable segments of theBulgarianRoma populationand of the one inMoldova.They also form a sizable part of the Roma present inSerbiaand inWestern Europeancountries such as theNetherlandsandItaly.

The wordUrsarimay also refer to adialectofBalkan Romani,as spoken in Romania and Moldova,[2][3]although it is estimated that most Ursari, like theBoyash,speak Romanian as their native language.[4]There is no scholarly consensus on whether Ursari belong to theSintisubgroup of the Roma people or to the other half of the Roma population.[5]A Romanian poll conducted in 2004 among 347 Roma found that 150 referred to themselves as "Ursari" (or 43.2%, and the largest single group).[6]

The Romanian-speaking Roma bear or monkey handlers in Bulgaria, calledmechkari(мечкари),maymunari,orursari,are occasionally seen as a separate community[3]or as a distinct part of the Boyash population,[7]as are persons identified as Ursari in Italy.[8]TheCoşniţari(orkoshnichari) group, present on both sides of theDanube(in both Romania and Bulgaria), is believed to be a segment of the Ursari.[9]Other suchEastern Europeangroups, although linked by profession, speak different languages and dialects, and are considered to be not a part of the Ursari; they include theMedvedarainGreece,RičkarainSlovakia,The MuslimArixhinjin Albania and the MuslimAyjidesin theIstanbularea ofTurkey.[10]

History

[edit]
Main articles:Roma minority in RomaniaandRoma in Bulgaria

Early migrations and slavery

[edit]
Print showing of a dancing bear and its handlers inHesse,ca. 1810

Groups of bear-handlers are known to have existed during the population's transit through theByzantine Empire,as early as the 12th century, when they are mentioned in connection with theAthinganoi(Roma people) byTheodore Balsamon.[4]In later decades, they were probably among the people collectively referred to as "Egyptians".[4]

The Ursari formed part of theslavepopulation in theDanubian Principalities(MoldaviaandWallachia) before theabolitionsof the 1840s and 1850s. With the Boyash (including the gold-prospectingZlătari), theKalderash,and groups of Romasmiths,Ursari formed the category oflăieşi,who, unlikevătraşislaves, were allowed to carry on with a nomadic lifestyle (being required by theirboyarmasters to pay various benefits in exchange for the permission).[11][12]

By the early decades of the 19th century, most of the state-owned Roma werelăieşi,as opposed to private-owned ones.[9][11][13]Thelăieşiwere required to contribute an annual sum to the treasuries of Wallachia and Moldavia;[12][13]Édouard Antoine Thouvenel, aFrenchdiplomat who visited Wallachia during the period, indicated that, for Ursari families, this sum amounted to between twenty and thirtypiasters,[13]and it is documented that the Boyash and the Ursari paid equivalent fees.[12]

Like other nomadic Roma, Ursari are known to have travelled in large tribal groups during the 20th century,[14]although other sources indicate that they preferred to organize themselves on a tight and selective family-based structure.[15]Ursari people and the Boyash-proper traditionally accompanied the Kalderash on their travels toRumelia,contributing to the birth of theMechkaracommunity.[7]

Thouvenel described the group's "miserable condition", and, in reference to their handling of brown bears, wrote: "[...] they reunite to give chase to [the bears], whom theydomesticateafter capturing them in their youth, or whom they render unable to harm them. Bears in theCarpathiansare, after all, much smaller and of a less ferocious nature than those in the "North"; their leaders train them with relative ease and run around from village to village in order to collect a fewparaas a result of peasant curiosity ".[13]

Also according to Thouvenel, Ursari were known for "veterinaryskills ", which, he argued," thesuperstitionof people in the countryside attributes to the possession of amagicart ".[13]In addition to bear handling, the community would occasionally trade in wild animals (specifically bear cubs),[9]and was known for keeping and training monkeys.[7][16]Female members of the community were known for their practice offortune-telling.[14][15]

Emancipation

[edit]
Ursari inTransylvania,1869 engraving

Speaking during the late 1880s, the historian and politicianMihail Kogălniceanu,who was responsible for the 1855 abolition of slavery in Moldavia underPrinceGrigore Alexandru Ghica,claimed that: "aside from the [other]lăieşiGypsies, who still live in part in Gypsy camps, and Ursari, who are presently working in the taming of wild beasts, but are nevertheless involved in working the land, almost all of the other classes of Gypsies have blended into the larger mass of the nation, and are only told apart by their swarthy andAsian-like faces and the vividness of their imagination ".[17]

Following the creation of aRomanian Principality,Ursari nonetheless remained a presence associated withbuskingandfairs,especially with those held inBucharestand provincial cities such asBacău.[14][18]As early as the rule ofDomnitorAlexandru Ioan Cuza,they formed a staple of such spectacles, alongside the music-playingLăutari,theCălușari,andfreak shows.[18]At around the same time, they included a section ofzavragii,smiths who worked asday laborers.[9]Also during the late 19th century, the Ursari came to be attested inImperial Russian-ruledBessarabia,where the local population referred to them and to thelăieșiin general asșătrași( "people living on campsites" ).[9]

Sometime after 1850, groups of Ursari, Kalderash and Lovari, most likely coming fromAustro-Hungarianregions andBosnia,moved westwards, and were mentioned for the first time as present in theNorth Brabantand other areas in theNetherlands(where their descendants still live).[19][20]A similar move originated inSerbia,aroundKragujevac,with Boyash and Ursari moving into northern and centralItaly.[8]In the Netherlands, central authorities reacted vehemently to the presence of Roma, labeling Ursari and the others with the loaded term "Gypsies"; the reaction of local authorities was more calm, and allowed Ursari to blend into Dutch society, even though most members of the latter community intended to settle in other areas.[21]

Before and after the Porajmos

[edit]

In time, a significant number of Ursari joinedcircuses,[8][22]while many others began manufacturing and trading bone objects and leather (as, respectively,PieptănariandCiurari), or associating with theLăutari.[9][23]The bears were taught to make dancing moves to atambourine,[22][18][23]or trained to walk upright and perform tricks such as leaning on canes and rolling over.[22][14]The use of iron rods andnose ringsin the taming process, as well as other such practices, rose attention fromanimal welfareadvocates, and have been the subject of criticism from as early as the 1920s, whenGermanyforbade the Ursari's trade.[22]It has been reported that bear training involved burning the paws of cubs to the rhythm of music.[24]

During the early stages ofWorld War II,as part of the repressive measures ordered by theIron Guard,theMinister of the Interiorof theRomanian Legionary Government,Constantin Petrovicescu,passed an order preventing Ursari from performing with bears in cities, towns, or villages.[25]The official explanation for the measure was that such patterns of movement were helping to spreadtyphus.[25]Over the following years, underIon Antonescu's regime, members of the Ursari community were among the Roma people deported toTransnistria,as part ofRomania's share in the Holocaust(see alsoRomania during World War IIandPorajmos).[1][25][26]

After World War II, interdictions on performing with bears were legislated throughout theEastern Bloc.[22]InCommunist Romania,large groups of Ursari performers were prevented from entering cities,[14]and, under bothGheorghe Gheorghiu-DejandNicolae Ceaușescu,nomadic Roma were subject to settlement policies[1][27][28](many were reportedly resettled as early as their return from Transnistria).[28]

Post-Communism

[edit]
Romas travelling with a chained bear in Bulgaria, 1990
Photograph of a boy in a bear costume,Budapest

In April–June 1991, following theRevolution of 1989,Ursari in several localities of Romania'sGiurgiu County—Bolintin Deal,OgrezeniandBolintin Vale— were the target of ethnic violence. Ursari people were chased away, and many of their lodgings were burned to the ground.[27][29]In Bolintin Deal, where the first such actions took place, this came in retaliation for the murder of a Romanian student, Cristian Melinte, by a young Ursarhitchhikerwho was later sentenced to 20 years in prison.[1][27][30][31]

Thearsonswere carried out by large groups of local inhabitants, who, according toAmericanauthorIsabel Fonseca,acted methodically (they are alleged to have cut down the electrical wires leading to each Ursari house, so that the fire would be contained).[32]In Ogrezeni, inter-communal violence was caused by the stabbing of a Romanian during a bar fight.[1][27]In contrast, the violent acts in Bolintin Vale were unprovoked, and probably came as an effect of the Ogrezeni incident.[27]

Commentators have attributed these outbursts to the failure of settlement measures,[27][33]with the perception that former nomads were among the privileged class during Communist times.[33]It was reported that many Romanians in Bolintin Deal believed the Ursari were stealing property and even, in Fonseca's account, that they had been organizingphoto opsfor Ceauşescu.[34]

At the same time, criminal acts among the Ursari have been independently reported: among the Roma present in Bolintin Deal, the largelyunemployedUrsari were not fully integrated; it was indicated that houses of non-Ursari Roma were not targeted during the 1991 events, and that, of the 27 criminal files instrumented in Bolintin between 1989 and 1991, 18 implicated Ursari people (with similar ratios in Ogrezeni).[27]It was also noted that the Bolintin Deal and Bolintin Vale mobs comprised not only Romanians, but also Roma belonging to traditionally settled communities.[27]

Romanian Policewas criticized for its failure to intervene and prevent violence, despite being made aware of the potential for conflict[27]— in Bolintin Deal, 22 out of 26 Ursari houses were burned before theJandarmeriaand fire service dispersed the mob.[1][27]However, in Ogrezeni and Bolintin Vale, Police forces were themselves faced with violence from the mob, after allegations that they had vested interest in supporting the Roma community at large;[27]in Ogrezeni, 13 or 14 out of 15 Ursari houses were set on fire, and 11 were devastated in Bolintin Vale.[1][27]

All members of the Ursari community in Bolintin Deal settled in eitherBucharestorGiurgiu,many of them after selling their plots of land; a group attempted to return in May 1991, but was chased away by the locals.[1][27]Reportedly, authorities informed the Ursari that they had better to run away.[1]By 2005, several Ursari who had taken residence inBucharest Sector 4requested to be issueddeedsfor formerly state-owned land in Bolintin Deal, which was then being allocated to residents; the local authorities denied their request, arguing that ownership of the land in question was still subject to dispute, and indicating that the Ursari could purchase other plots if they chose to do so.[30]

Ursari were a seasonal presence on theBlack Sea Coastunder theBulgarian Communist regime.[24]Though much rarer, bear leading is still practiced by nomadic groups of Ursari in various areas of Eastern Europe.[7][22][24]

Culture

[edit]
Main article:Roma society and culture

Identity

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The Ursari are among the groups of Roma to practiceendogamy,alongside theKalderash,theLovariand the Gabori;[7][9][23]manyMechkarabelieve refer to themselves as "Vlachs"or"Romanians",and tend to consider themselves distinct from other Roma.[7]For the Ursari community at large, the rules upheld specifically prevent sexual contact with thegadjoand favorarranged marriages,[9]but seem to have allowed for intermarriage inside the Boyash community at large.[7]They are also among the few Roma groups to allow themarriage of young teenagers,although this custom is falling out of use.[6][9][23]

Eastern Orthodoxby tradition (belonging to either theRomanian OrthodoxorBulgarian Orthodoxchurches),[7][23]many Ursari are adhering toProtestantmovements such asPentecostalism.[23]The Ursari inSerbiaandItalyare members of theSerbian Orthodox Church.[8]Days of the calendar traditionally upheld as holidays by the Ursari include February 1, the first day of fair seasons, and theOrthodox CalendarNovember 30 feastofSaint Andrew(whom the Ursari people regard as apatron saint).[23]In the early first decade of the 21st century, theNew Testamentwas being translated into the Ursari form of theBalkan Romani language.[3]

Ursari and bears

[edit]
Further information:Dancing bear
Paul Wayland Bartlett,Bohemian Bear Tamer(1888 cast)

As an aspect of their trade, the Ursari have established and encouraged various folk beliefs and customs involving the bear; these include displaying bears in the courtyards of village houses as a means to protect livestock from attack by smaller wild animals, andcălcătura ursului( "the bear step" ) orcălcătura lui Moş Martin( "Old Boy Martin's step", based on a common nickname for the animal), which involves allowing bears to tread on a person's back (in the belief that it can ensure the fertility of young people or chase away evil spirits).[9][23][35]

The latter custom was very popular among Romanians, who viewed it as afolk remedyforback pain;welcoming Ursari into one's household to perform the task formed part of a string of events leading to the celebration ofEaster,or part of customs ushering inChristmasand theNew Year's Eve.[14][36]

Among the members of the Ursari community who manufactured objects of bone, it became widespread to treat the material withbear fat,aluxury goodwhich, they believed, helped make the products in question more durable.[9]The fat was also being sold to Romanians as medicine to combatrheumatismandskeletal disorders,together with bear hairs that were a popularamulet.[14]

The practices associated with bear training have again been the focus ofanimal welfaregroups ever since the 1990s, and were subject to an adverse campaign inThe International Herald Tribune.[37]While noting the use of crude methods of training,Isabel Fonseca,who visited the Ursari in places such asBolintin DealandStara Zagora Province,argued that, as the main bread-winners for Ursari families, bears were also the recipients of care, attention, and proper feeding.[24]

Several artists have portrayed Romani bear trainers and their animals in their work. Among them are the Romanian painter and graphic artistTheodor Amanand theAmericansculptorPaul Wayland Bartlett(whose 1888Bohemian Bear Tamerbronzeis on display at theMetropolitan Museum of ArtinNew York City).

Music

[edit]
Main article:Romani music

While, ever since the 1850s, many Ursari musicians have contributed toLăutariculture to the point where they have grown separated from their original environment,[9]traditional Ursari music survived as a separate genre; fused withelectronic music,was popularized in early 21st century Romania by theShukar Collectiveproject.[38]

A chant used by Ursari trainers has passed into Romanian folklore as anursery rhyme.It includes the lyrics:

Joacă, joacă Moș Martine,
Că-ți dau pâine cu măsline![14]

Dance, dance Old Boy Martin,
And I shall give you bread and olives!

A longer version of it was still being sung by the Ursari inBacău Countyby 2007:

Foaie verde pădureț,
Urcă ursule pe băț,
Urcă, urcă tot mai sus,
Că și miere ți-am adus.
Joacă, joacă Moș Martine,
Că-ți dau miere de albine.
Joacă, joacă frumușel,
Și pășește mărunțel.
Saltă, saltă cât mai sus,
Căci stăpânu' ți s-a dus![14]

Green leaf ofcrabapple,
Climb, bear on the stick,
Climb higher and higher still,
For I brought you honey, too.
Dance, dance Old Boy Martin,
For I give you the honey of bees.
Dance, dance nicely,
And take little steps.
Jump, jump, higher and higher,
For your master has gone away!

Belarusian rock-bandHair Peace Salondedicated its song "Gypsy" from the albumSplit Before, Together Nowto all "gypsies and bears."[39]

References

[edit]
  1. ^abcdefghi(in Romanian)Centrul de Documentare şi Informare despre Minorităţile din Europa de Sud-Est,Romii din România,at theErdélyi Magyar Adatbank,retrieved June 25, 2007
  2. ^Balkan Romaniat Ethnologue.com,retrieved June 23, 2007
  3. ^abc"Roma – Sub Ethnic Groups", at Rombase,retrieved June 23, 2007
  4. ^abcAngus M. Fraser,The Gypsies,Blackwell Publishing,Oxford,1995, p.45-48, 226.ISBN0-631-19605-6
  5. ^Lucassen, p.84, 86, 90
  6. ^ab(in Romanian)Mihai Surdu,Sarcina şi căsătoria timpurie în cazul tinerelor romaArchived2007-09-26 at theWayback Machine,atUNICEFRomania, retrieved June 24, 2007
  7. ^abcdefghElena Marushiakova, Vesselin Popov,"Ethnosocial Structure of the Roma of Bulgaria",inThe Patrin Web Journal: Romani Culture and History,retrieved June 24, 2007
  8. ^abcd(in Italian)Scheda progetto per l'impiego di volontari in Servizio Civile in Italia. Pijats RomanòArchived2007-09-26 at theWayback Machine,at theCentro Servizi per il Volontariato,retrieved June 24, 2007
  9. ^abcdefghijkl(in Romanian)Delia Grigore,Curs de antropologie şi folclor rromArchived2008-04-23 at theWayback Machine,hosted by Romanothan, retrieved June 24, 2007
  10. ^"Ayjides".
  11. ^abNeagu Djuvara,Între Orient şi Occident. Ţările române la începutul epocii moderne,Humanitas,Bucharest, 1995, p.267-269.ISBN973-28-0523-4
  12. ^abc(in Romanian)Emmanuelle Pons,De la robie la asimilare,p.18-19, at theErdélyi Magyar Adatbank,retrieved June 23, 2007
  13. ^abcdeÉdouard Antoine Thouvenel,La Hongrie et la Valachie,Arthus Betrand, Paris, 1840, p.242-243
  14. ^abcdefghi(in Romanian)Eugen Şendrea,"Distracţii de tîrgoveţi",inZiarul de Bacău,May 26, 2007; retrieved June 24, 2007
  15. ^abHenry Baerlein (ed.),Romanian Oasis: A Further Anthology on Romania and Her People,Frederick Muller Ltd., London, 1948, p.202
  16. ^Fonseca, p.181
  17. ^(in Romanian)Mihail Kogălniceanu,Dezrobirea ţiganilor, ştergerea privilegiilor boiereşti, emanciparea ţăranilor(wikisource)
  18. ^abcConstantin C. Giurescu,Istoria Bucureștilor. Din cele mai vechi timpuri pînă în zilele noastre,Editura Pentru Literatură, Bucharest, 1966, p.380.OCLC1279610
  19. ^Lucassen, p.81-82, 89
  20. ^Nikola Rašić,Romanies in NetherlandsArchived2007-09-28 at theWayback Machine,at theKPC GroepArchived2018-06-28 at theWayback Machine,retrieved June 23, 2007
  21. ^Lucassen, p.82, 83
  22. ^abcdef"Carneys and Street Artists", at Rombase,retrieved June 23, 2007
  23. ^abcdefghImproving Education for Roma ChildrenArchived2007-09-26 at theWayback Machine,hosted by theCenter Education 2000+Archived2007-08-27 at theWayback Machine,retrieved June 23, 2007
  24. ^abcdFonseca, p.182
  25. ^abc(in Romanian)Petre Petcuț,Samudaripenul (Holocaustul) rromilor în RomâniaArchived2007-07-10 at theWayback Machine,atIdee CommunicationArchived2012-02-06 at theWayback Machine,retrieved June 24, 2007
  26. ^Fonseca, p.149
  27. ^abcdefghijklm(in Romanian)Margareta Fleșner, Ioaneta Vintileanu,"Conflictele locale din județul Giurgiu și implicarea forțelor de poliție",in Ioaneta Vintileanu, Gábor Ádám,Poliția și comunitățile multiculturale din România,hosted byCentrul de Resurse pentru Diversitate Etnoculturală,retrieved June 25, 2007
  28. ^abFonseca, p.150
  29. ^Fonseca, p.148-155
  30. ^ab(in Romanian)Magda Bărăscu,"Romii din Bolintin vînează fondurile UE",inEvenimentul Zilei,April 20, 2005, hosted byEuractiv.roArchived2007-06-22 at theWayback Machine;retrieved June 25, 2007
  31. ^Fonseca, p.150-151
  32. ^Fonseca, p.152
  33. ^abFonseca, p.154
  34. ^Fonseca, p.153-154
  35. ^călcáin Alexandru Ciorănescu,Dicţionarul etimologic român,Universidad de la Laguna,Tenerife, 1958-1966; retrieved September 11, 2007
  36. ^(in Romanian)Costin Anghel,"Vechi datini populare"[permanent dead link],inJurnalul Naţional,March 6, 2006; retrieved June 24, 2007
  37. ^Fonseca, p.180
  38. ^Shukar Collective siteArchived2007-06-30 at theWayback Machine,retrieved June 23, 2007
  39. ^Вітушка, Воля; Сідун, Юра (2009-01-29)."Завершаны музычны конкурс Bandscan:Belarus: з канцэртамі ў Стакгольм едзе менскі The Toobes"[The music competition Bandscan:Belarus has been finished: The Toobes is going to travel with concerts in Stockholm] (in Belarusian). generation.by.Archivedfrom the original on 2018-10-17.Retrieved2018-12-24.
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