Sedentary Roma (Gypsies): The case of Serres (Greece)

This article attempts to shed light on the sedentary Roma, exploring the history of the Roma communities of the Serres district in Greece. In the first part, I attempt critically to present the main theoretical approaches in Romani Studies, the "ethnocultural" and the "anti-racist"/"deprivation" approaches, and consider the use of the terms 'Roma group' and 'Roma groups' as more precise and more (scientifically) valid. I then turn to the historical traces of the Roma communities of the Serres prefecture and, particularly, to the reasons that led to most of them settling permanently in this particular region. In the last part I investigate the relations of the Serres basin Roma groups with the Greek state and with its various administrative bodies, local society (local and state politicians and the public), as well as the region's religious and cultural events.