Human-Animal Cohabitation and Biocultural Diversity: Insights from Non-Agrarian Roma Communities in the Danube Region
Human-Animal Cohabitation and Biocultural Diversity: Insights from Non-Agrarian Roma Communities in the Danube Region

Summary/Abstract: Historical non-agrarian Roma/Gypsy communities in Europe have often come into conflict with social doctrines emphasizing household living, local attachment, and dependence, characteristics typical of the agrarian adaptations of settled communities. During 2020 – 2024, anthropological fieldwork in the Roma localities of Dolinka (Slovakia) and Mahala (Bulgaria) was conducted with the aim of analysing the identity, function, and parallels between humans and animals in terms of cohabitation, perception, and the efficient distribution of small, everyday innovations. Using coding lists, we evaluated the interpretations of Roma participants of human-animal semi-adaptations in predominantly agricultural areas. Our findings included data and case studies related to (1) the coexistence of humans and animals, (2) the traditional functions of beneficial symbiosis, and (3) the potential for heritagization. This research provides qualitative and quantitative evidence of human-animal interactions, demonstrating that the cultural identity of Roma communities is intricately processed and plays an important role in the heritagization and preservation of biocultural diversity.

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