Symbols and Rituals in the Mobilisation of the Romani National Ideal

This article analyses recent attempts of R oma/ G ypsy organisations to construct a pan‐ R omani ethnic‐national identity. It is argued that although R oma do not fit the classical picture of a nation, in the globalised world such a project of transnational or diasporic identity may be viable in spite of the fragmentation of R omani communities. The article presents two groups of rituals employed by the R omani political movement: linguistic rituals, associated with the attempt to introduce an umbrella concept of ‘ R oma’, and rituals of remembrance, which ‘authenticate’ certain streams of R omani history to introduce among R oma a sense of a common past. The article concludes that the ritual approach may be an efficient method to study the project of R omani national identity. With functions similar to religious ritual, R omani political rituals form a bridge between empirical R oma identity and the projected national identity, although in other contexts there may be little communication between them.