Impediment-, Absence-, and Silence-Based Methodology and the Study of Romani and Sinti Musicians in North Slovenia

The author’s research on Romani and Sinti musicians from north Slovenia has revealed several methodological obstacles. The author dealt mainly with deceased Romani and Sinti musicians, their absence from the archives, silence among their descendants, and anecdotal information. This paper therefore addresses methodological approaches to fragmented data, and the silence, absence, and distortion in the archival and ethnographic sources, exploring how to turn these impediments into a productive scholarly endeavour.