The pilgrimage to the Dormition of the ‘Mother of God’ Monastery in Bachkovo: Roma Orthodox Christians

Abstract (English)

In the proposed paper, a Roma group in Bulgaria will be presented, the so-called Thracian Kalaydzhii, that until recently continued to carry on with their traditional nomadic (rather semi-nomadic) way of life. Because the community (governed by economic reasons) is not living in the same place but dispersed throughout the whole Thracian valley but usually one enlarged family in one village, among the Thracian Kalaydzhi, there is a necessity for regular meetings of the group, where the common problems of the community are solved, the marriages arranged (the group keeps strict endogamy) and the young married couples to legitimate their marriage in front of the community. For a few generations, these annual meetings of the group are conducted along with the pilgrimage to the famous Bachkovo monastery in South Bulgaria, which is made at the Assumption of the Virgin Maria day, according to the old Church Calendar Style (usual practice among different Roma groups in Bulgaria, aiming the abiding of the «old style»). This is combined with accomplishing ritual practices and rich donations to the monastery. The pilgrimage and the Mother of God of Bachkovo devotion became an ethnic marker, a cornerstone of the group identity.
After Bulgaria acceded to the European Union and the common economic space, the possibilities for preserving the traditional nomadic way of life of Thracian Kalaydzhii started to diminish. As a result, more and more of them began to orient themselves towards new forms of labour transborder mobility. Under these new conditions, the pilgrimage became even more critical for the community members. That is why they return to their places of origin and continue to hold traditional annual meetings, combined with the pilgrimage to the Bachkovo monastery.