Kris (Romani court)
Encyclopedia
Kris or Kris-Romani is a traditional court
for conflict resolution in the culture of Vlax branch of the Romani people. The term derives from the Greek language
, "κρίση" (judgment). It is a key institution for enforcing the Romani Code within Romanipen
. It developed in the area of present-day Romania
, during the times of the slavery
, as a judicial institution of the local Romanies, in order to enforce the community cohesion and its internal balance. After the abolition, from the half of the 19th century onwards, many Vlax Romanies emigrated in the rest of the world, bringing with them the kris as part of their cultural luggage. More or less formal proceedings exist also among other Romani branches. Some non-Vlax Romanies adopted this institution, like the Drzara from Sweden
(originally from Serbia
), in contact with the local Kalderash
.
Although customs vary according to local tradition, the basic form of the kris involves the conflicting parties making their appeals to the krisnitorya (singular: krisnitori, also in other variants, krisnatory, krisari, krisatore), respected Romanies appointed by communal acclamation to preside over the kris. The number of krisnitorya is odd, usually between five and eleven. Other members of the group not directly involved in the conflict may participate by presenting their own statements on the nature of the conflict, or on the character of the involved parties. Formerly, only married males were allowed to argue a case or present evidence at a kris, with females' and unmarried males' interests being represented by their married male relatives. However, nowadays it is more and more common for married women to take an active part in a kris as one of the conflicting parties, or as a witness. In some areas, for example in USA, women began being employed as krisnitori. The debates are kept only in Romani language
, with a legal register, otherwise unused in the daily speech. In order to enforce the veracity of the communication, various oath
s are taken in the name of the ancestors or other culturally powerful images.
The judgements of the kris are designed to maintain the integrity of the Romani community and uphold the Romanipen. Its proceedings are oriented to reinforce the kintala (balance), an important notion of the Romanipen. Considering that there is no absolute truth (as a shame society
, in contrast with the usually local non-Romani guilt societies
) and each party has its own truth, the krisnitorya seek mainly to restore the mutual respect between the involved parties. Their final decisions should consider a future harmony, since, according to its success and durability in time, the Romani community will consider whether they keep being qualified krisnitorya. If it is concluded that an imbalance happened and its nature and gravity make very difficult restoring the balance with reconciliation, then reparations and punishments are also considered. These may range from fines paid by the guilty to the injured party, to the guilty party being declared marime ('unclean') for a period of time, and banished from the community. The period of time may be fixed, or until the guilty will pay the fine or will restore a former status quo. The most extreme sentence is for a Romani person to be declared marime for all time, and thus permanently excluded from the Romani community, a horrific fate amongst the Roma. In former times, the death sentence
was also a possible punishment in some Romani groups, although it is not known to have been practiced for a very long time. If all parties are found guilty and fines are paid, usually these are given to the poor Romanies. Also the punishment may include unpaid work for the local Romani community. The injured party, also in order to reinforce the balance and restore the harmony with the guilty, may renounce a part of the reparations they are entitled to. The decisions of the kris are definitive (there are no higher Romani courts) and they are enforced by the moral pressure of the Romani community.
, Romani activist Ronald Lee
has sought to use the kris as a way of promoting greater understanding between the Romani and non-Romani communities.
There are also references to the kris in popular culture. For example, in 1997, filmmaker Bence Gyöngyössy made the film Romani kris - Cigánytörvény, which was also Hungary
's submission for Best Foreign Language Film
at the Academy Awards
that year. In 2007, Laurenţiu Calciu produced the documentary film Judecătorul – O Krisnitori, about the life of Marin Sutǎ Constantin, a krisnitori from the Obreja neighborhood of Târgu Jiu
.
Court
A court is a form of tribunal, often a governmental institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance with the rule of law...
for conflict resolution in the culture of Vlax branch of the Romani people. The term derives from the Greek language
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
, "κρίση" (judgment). It is a key institution for enforcing the Romani Code within Romanipen
Romanipen
Romanipen is a complicated term of Romani philosophy that means totality of the Romani spirit, Romani culture, Romani Law, being a Romani, a set of Romani strains....
. It developed in the area of present-day Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
, during the times of the slavery
Slavery in Romania
Slavery existed on the territory of present-day Romania from before the founding of the principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia in 13th–14th century, until it was abolished in stages during the 1840s and 1850s. Most of the slaves were of Roma ethnicity...
, as a judicial institution of the local Romanies, in order to enforce the community cohesion and its internal balance. After the abolition, from the half of the 19th century onwards, many Vlax Romanies emigrated in the rest of the world, bringing with them the kris as part of their cultural luggage. More or less formal proceedings exist also among other Romani branches. Some non-Vlax Romanies adopted this institution, like the Drzara from Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
(originally from Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
), in contact with the local Kalderash
Kalderash
The Kalderash are a subgroup of the Romani people, from the Roma meta-group. They were traditionally smiths and metal workers and speak a number of Romani dialects grouped together under the term Kalderash Romani, a sub-group of Vlax Romani.-Etymology:The name Kalderash The Kalderash (also spelled...
.
Proceedings
The kris covers issues involving only Romani parties, since those involving also non-Romani parties are dealt by non-Romani institutions. In the Romani dispute resolution, it is used as the last resort. Many unsettled issues (if their gravity would not require a kris obviously from the start) are dealt informally through involvement of other members from the local communities. This may take the shape of a divano, an informal gathering of clan leaders of the conflicting parties and other local influential and respected Romanies (the presence of the parties themselves is optional). If they consider a certain settlement possible, this amounts only to a recommendation. If the parties still do not agree and the issue remains unsettled, the kris is convened as the formal instrument for the dispute resolutions.Although customs vary according to local tradition, the basic form of the kris involves the conflicting parties making their appeals to the krisnitorya (singular: krisnitori, also in other variants, krisnatory, krisari, krisatore), respected Romanies appointed by communal acclamation to preside over the kris. The number of krisnitorya is odd, usually between five and eleven. Other members of the group not directly involved in the conflict may participate by presenting their own statements on the nature of the conflict, or on the character of the involved parties. Formerly, only married males were allowed to argue a case or present evidence at a kris, with females' and unmarried males' interests being represented by their married male relatives. However, nowadays it is more and more common for married women to take an active part in a kris as one of the conflicting parties, or as a witness. In some areas, for example in USA, women began being employed as krisnitori. The debates are kept only in Romani language
Romani language
Romani or Romany, Gypsy or Gipsy is any of several languages of the Romani people. They are Indic, sometimes classified in the "Central" or "Northwestern" zone, and sometimes treated as a branch of their own....
, with a legal register, otherwise unused in the daily speech. In order to enforce the veracity of the communication, various oath
Oath
An oath is either a statement of fact or a promise calling upon something or someone that the oath maker considers sacred, usually God, as a witness to the binding nature of the promise or the truth of the statement of fact. To swear is to take an oath, to make a solemn vow...
s are taken in the name of the ancestors or other culturally powerful images.
The judgements of the kris are designed to maintain the integrity of the Romani community and uphold the Romanipen. Its proceedings are oriented to reinforce the kintala (balance), an important notion of the Romanipen. Considering that there is no absolute truth (as a shame society
Shame society
In cultural anthropology, a shame society is the concept that, in a given society, the primary device for gaining control over children and maintaining social order is the inculcation of shame and the complementary threat of ostracism...
, in contrast with the usually local non-Romani guilt societies
Guilt society
In cultural anthropology, a guilt society is the concept that the primary method of social control in a given society is the inculcation of feelings of guilt for behaviors that the individual believes to be undesirable...
) and each party has its own truth, the krisnitorya seek mainly to restore the mutual respect between the involved parties. Their final decisions should consider a future harmony, since, according to its success and durability in time, the Romani community will consider whether they keep being qualified krisnitorya. If it is concluded that an imbalance happened and its nature and gravity make very difficult restoring the balance with reconciliation, then reparations and punishments are also considered. These may range from fines paid by the guilty to the injured party, to the guilty party being declared marime ('unclean') for a period of time, and banished from the community. The period of time may be fixed, or until the guilty will pay the fine or will restore a former status quo. The most extreme sentence is for a Romani person to be declared marime for all time, and thus permanently excluded from the Romani community, a horrific fate amongst the Roma. In former times, the death sentence
Death Sentence
Death Sentence is a short story by the American science-fiction writer Isaac Asimov. It was first published in the November 1943 issue of Astounding Science Fiction and reprinted in the 1972 collection The Early Asimov.-Plot summary:...
was also a possible punishment in some Romani groups, although it is not known to have been practiced for a very long time. If all parties are found guilty and fines are paid, usually these are given to the poor Romanies. Also the punishment may include unpaid work for the local Romani community. The injured party, also in order to reinforce the balance and restore the harmony with the guilty, may renounce a part of the reparations they are entitled to. The decisions of the kris are definitive (there are no higher Romani courts) and they are enforced by the moral pressure of the Romani community.
Kris in non-Romani context
There are not yet recognitions of the kris from the non-Romani authorities, although there are voices that call for this, reminiscent of the Canadian approach to integrating the Aboriginal courts in its legal system. In Romania, in January 2008, about 500 krisnitorya initiated the European Committee of the Romani Krisnitorya. In CanadaCanada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, Romani activist Ronald Lee
Ronald Lee
----Ronald Lee is a Canadian Romani writer, linguist and activist.-Childhood and Youth:Lee's father was a Kalderash musician from Europe. He emigrated to Canada where he got married, taking his wife's surname, Lee....
has sought to use the kris as a way of promoting greater understanding between the Romani and non-Romani communities.
There are also references to the kris in popular culture. For example, in 1997, filmmaker Bence Gyöngyössy made the film Romani kris - Cigánytörvény, which was also Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
's submission for Best Foreign Language Film
Submissions for the 71st Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
The following 45 films, all from different countries, were submitted for the 71st Academy Awards in the category Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film . The five nominated films came from Argentina, Brazil, Iran, Italy and Spain...
at the Academy Awards
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
that year. In 2007, Laurenţiu Calciu produced the documentary film Judecătorul – O Krisnitori, about the life of Marin Sutǎ Constantin, a krisnitori from the Obreja neighborhood of Târgu Jiu
Târgu Jiu
Târgu Jiu is the capital of Gorj County, Oltenia, Romania. It is situated on the Southern Sub-Carpathians, on the banks of the river Jiu. Eight villages are administered by the city: Bârseşti, Drăgoeni, Iezureni, Polata, Preajba Mare, Româneşti, Slobozia and Ursaţi.-History:The city takes its name...
.
Further reading
- Freud, Jonathan (2006), Romer, Stockholm: Leopard förlag, ISBN 9173431079.
- Marushiakova, E., Popov, V. “The ‘Gypsy Court’ as a Concept of Consensus among Service Nomads in the Northern Black Sea Area.” - In: Leder, S., Streck, B. (Hrsg.) Shifts and Drifts in Nomad-Sedentary Relations. Wiesbaden: Reichert, 2005, 123-147.
- Marushiakova, E., Popov, V. “The Gypsy Court in Eastern Europe.” - In: Romani Studies. Vol. 17, 2007, 1: 67-101. http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-1277668871.html