Shatra
A shatra ( Romanian șatră ) denotes a group of Roma in Romanian, in Vlax-Romani and in German for Romanian Germans . The word is derived from the Hungarian sátor , which means tent . Originally this meant a group of nomadic Roma who form a fixed group and always set up a common campsite. Today, when there are practically no nomadic Roma any more, a Shatra is the smallest group in the clan system, which usually consists of several large families living together in one place or a district and is led by a Bulibascha (elder, clan chief). But Shatra can also simply designate a neighborhood where more or mainly traditional Roma live in mostly poor conditions. In this second meaning it is a rather derogatory term for a run-down corrugated iron hut settlement on the outskirts. If several Roma live together in one quarter, but in normal brick houses, one usually no longer speaks of a shatra, but simply says Ziganie ( Rum . : țigănie), i.e. Roma quarter.
A term with a similar meaning is the Turkish or Arabic word mahala (see: Machalla ), which is mainly used in the south of Romania. In Romanian it means derogatory outskirts or dilapidated settlement on the periphery.
The Soviet film The Gypsy Camp Goes to Heaven from 1975, which has become a cult film in Romania and is still known and loved by Roma and non-Roma alike, is simply called Șatră in Romanian, or in the long form “O șatră urcă la cer "(translated: A Shatra ascends into heaven)
Individual evidence
- ↑ dexonline.ro: Șatră
- ↑ Süddeutsche TV: The Kings of the Roma
- ↑ Carl Gibson: The "Gypsies" - their freedom, their nature, their culture, their music - excursus