PERCEPTIONS AND MEANINGS OF ARRANGED MARRIAGES IN ROMA COMMUNITIES IN ROMANIA
PERCEPTIONS AND MEANINGS OF ARRANGED MARRIAGES IN ROMA COMMUNITIES IN ROMANIA

Summary/Abstract: The article aims to present and analyse various forms of arranged marriages in Roma communities from Romania and to examine the nature and type of relations between local authorities, through their representatives, and leaders of Roma communities. The main goal is to discuss the ways in which conflicts between Roma cultural values (and decisions taken within the community and endorsed by the informal leader), on the one hand, and the legal aspects pertaining to national law, on the other, are mediated. The main hypothesis is that, despite official parallelism between the two, empirical evidence reveals cases of intense interactions at local level, which are indicative for some forms of re-interpretation, revisiting of certain Roma customs, negotiation, and re-adaptation, as exemplified by public organized weddings or engagements in some Roma communities from Romania.

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