Sepečides Romani

Sepečides Romani, (also known as Sepeči)[1] is a Romani dialect, with many Greek, Slavic and Turkish loanwords, which was once spoken by the Roma basket makers from Greece.[2] It belongs to the Southern Balkan group of Romani language dialects.[3] The Sepečides latter settled in Mersin and Adana where there are still settlements of at least several hundred speakers,[3] although the RomArchive claims the language is practically extinct.[4] The loanword verb markers in Romani "are often Greek derived markers, maintained even when contact with Greek has ceased."[5] Linguist Petra Cech published a monograph codifying this dialect in 1996.[6] Most of the Sepečides from Greece live in Izmir, where there descendants speak only Turkish.[7]

The Sepečides Roma people, also known as Sevlengere Roma, are Roma people of Greek/Turkish origin.[8] Up until about 1920 the traditional profession of these Roma people was the making and selling of baskets. According to the Rombase of the University of Graz, "they all spoke Greek, some of them also Turkish, fluently."[9][10] The Sepečides/Sevlengere Roma people lived in communities in Greece (primarily the Chalkidike peninsula) and later lived in Turkey - they share a specific variation of Balkan Romani.[11]. Their ancestors were from the area that is now Saloniki, Greece during the Ottoman Empire. The Sepečides dialect is considered to be non-Vlach.[8]

During the population exchange between Greece and Turkey, members of this group of Roma who were willing to adapt to the Orthodox religion of the majority stayed in Greece. Others who were more inclined towards the Muslim religion resettled in Turkey, and today speak only Turkish as Mothertongue. At Evreşe a Belde in Gelibolu, they are Sepetçiler (Basketmakers), who made Baskets like there Ancestors, who once came from Greece.[12]

Prior to 1920 all of the Sepečides Roma spoke Greek; some also spoke Turkish. Some of the Greek Romani settlements where they lived include Tralangere (Trala, a village near Saloniki) and Kardičakere (also known as Karditsa, in northern Greece). In 1920, migrants wishing to avoid the Greco-Turkish war, presented themselves as either Greeks or Turks and alternated between using two flags to identify themselves.[3]

Of the Sepečides Romani that remain in Greece after 1923, many families moved south to settle in Volos. The majority of these families are Greek-orthodox, and they primarily speak a Greek dialect with some Turkish words. These Romani tend to call themselves Sevlengere Roma ("basket(weaving) Roma"). The younger generation's first language is Romani, followed by Greek.[8]

Basketweavers (Sepečides) group on the island of Skyros, are the descendants of the Muslim Roma from the former Ottoman Empire, who stayed in Greece after 1923 and adopted the Christian Orthodox faith.[13]