By: Christelle MarambaThe Kalaidzhi is a gypsy clan from Bulgaria, and a subgroup of Roma people, who are constantly discriminated all throughout Europe. Every spring, in the town of Stara Zagora in Central Bulgaria, they hold the annual Bride Market. The Bride Market is an event wherein poor families of the said clan are able to sell their daughters to the highest bidders. The young women are usually dressed in provocative outfits, full-blown make-up, and sky high heels. They also dance around flirtatiously, hoping to attract high bids from other gypsy men. The annual Bride Market is actually a tradition of the Kalaidzhi and despite the event’s negative connotations, the Kalaidzhi are actually devout Orthodox Christians and are known to remove girls from school at 14 or 15 to keep them from mingling with boys. The Bride Market is like any event, with the girls in one group and boys in another and they check each other out and occasionally shake hands, while the parents stand discreetly in the background. The cost of a bride used to be between 3,000 – 5,000 U.S dollars but has since dropped due to the worsening of the economy.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Archives
October 2016
Categories |