Gyökerek • A Dráva Múzeum tanulmánykötete, 2007

Mészáros Ádám: A beás cigányok korai története és megtelepedésük Barcson

Mészáros Ádám: A beás cigányok korai története és megtelepedésük Barcson ÁDÁM MÉSZÁROS THE EARLY HISTORY OF THE BOYASH GYPSIES AND THEIR SETTLING IN BARCS SUMMARY The boyash gypsies differ both in their language and culture from the other Hungarian gypsies a part of whom speak Hungarian and another part speak Romani. The boyash gypsies traditionally deal with trough and wooden spoon making, who stayed a longer time in Rumanian language areas, that's why they changed their language to Rumanian. In 1980 the 8% of the Hungarian Gypsies were boyash, in 2001 5% of them were part of this group. Most of the boyash gypsies live in south-western part of Hungary in Baranya, Tolna, Somogy and Zala counties. This article presents the history of boyash gypsies in Rumanian principalities (Valachia and Moldavia); seeks answer for the reasons and circumtances of their language change. According to the author this could have happened in the areas of Rumanian principalities, where their slavement's circumstances gave a reason for loosing their own language and changed it to Rumanian. Due to the Rumanian slaveholder system many gypsies escaped to Hungary and Transylvania. During the reign of Maria Theresa (1740-1780) a part of the Transylvanian and Banatian boyash gypsies wandered to the south-western part of Hungary. The author presents the settlement of the boyash gypsies next to river Drava with the help of archival sources. The article discusses the reasons and circumstances of their wanderings to the West. Bares was a market-town (oppidum) from the year of 1797 which attracted the settlers. Besides Hungarians, Croatians and Germans the first boyash gypsy families appeared in the town in these years. According to our data the first boyash families settled around 1800 in Bares. They did not live in the settleent but in the border of the town, near in forests where they made wooden equipments like troughs and spoons. The last part of this essay shows the development of the boyash gypsy community of Bares. 75