Converting identities and moralities: pentecostal christianity among the Roma in Estonia and Latvia
Date
2023-12-07
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Abstract
Antud doktoritöö põhineb etnograafilistel välitöödel romade seas Eestis ja Läti Vidzeme piirkonnas Eesti piiri lähedal. Alates 1990. aastate algusest, mis oli ka üldine Nõukogude Liidu lagunemisega kaasnenud nn usubuumi periood, on Eestis tegutsenud Soome roma nelipühi misjonärid, kes hakkasid tähelepanu pöörama just vaatluse all oleva regiooni roma vähemusele. Tänapäeval toimub suurem osa nende misjonitööst Lätis, kus roma kogukond on oluliselt suurem, kuid jätkub ka Eestis, kuivõrd romad elavad mõlemal pool riigipiiri ning suhtlevad ka oma sugulastega teises riigis. Nelipühilusse pöördumisega kaasneb vajadus seada esiplaanile uskliku identiteet ja sellega kaasnev moraalikoodeks, kuid samas tunnevad uskuvahetanud vajadust säilitada roma kogukonda kuulumiseks vajalikud suhted ja väärtused. Doktoritöös uurin, kuidas pöördunud romad Eestis ja üle piiri Lätis Vidzeme piirkonnas loovad end eetiliste subjektidena kahe vastandliku moraalikoodeksi vahele sattununa. Doktoritöö näitab ka, et Soome roma misjonärid ja romad Eestis ja Lätis loovad uusi võrgustikke ning otsivad ühist etnilist identiteeti vaatamata roma gruppide sisemistele erinevustele. Etnilisusel on oluline roll mitte üksnes misjonitöös, vaid ka usu kogemises kehaliste sensoorsete praktikate kaudu. Selgub, et misjonil on sügavam mõju just tänu neile roma päritolu misjonäridele, kes kombineerivad roma kultuurilist identiteeti nelipühilusega ning kasutavad kultuurispetsiifilist lähenemist. Näitan, et on mitmeid lähenemisi, mida nelipühilusse pöördunud roma indiviidid kasutavad, leidmaks viise konfliktsete moraalinormide ja -süsteemide ühildamiseks, kujundades nõnda oma moraalset mina nelipühi kristlasena. Näiteks ennustamine, mis on traditsiooniline roma naiste lisateenistus, kuid mis pöördumise järel on üldiselt taunitud ja millest tuleb loobuda, ei pruugi olla kõigi nelipühilastest roma naiste jaoks üksüheselt hukka mõistetud, mitte ainult selle majandusliku tähtsuse tõttu romade jaoks, vaid ka seetõttu, et suhted teiste romadega ja oma kultuurilise identiteedi säilitamine jäävad neile jätkuvalt oluliseks. See näitab kuidas pöördunud romad peavad pidevalt otsima tasakaalu erinevate moraalikoodeksite vahel.
This doctoral thesis is based on ethnographic fieldwork among the Roma in Estonia and in the Vidzeme region of Latvia near the Estonian border. Since the beginning of the 1990s, which was also the general period of the so-called religious boom that accompanied the collapse of the Soviet Union, Roma Pentecostal missionaries from Finland, who paid particular attention to the Roma minority in the region, have been active in Estonia. Today, most of their missionary work takes place in Latvia, where the Roma community is significantly larger, but also continues in Estonia, as Roma live on both sides of the border and communicate with their relatives across the border. Conversion entails the need to prioritise the identity of believer and to accommodate the accompanying moral code. At the same time, Roma converts must maintain the relationships and values necessary to belonging to the wider Roma community. In the doctoral thesis, I examine how the converted Roma in Estonia and across the border in the Latvian Vidzeme region create themselves as ethical subjects, caught between two opposing moral codes. The work also shows that Roma missionaries from Finland and Roma in Estonia and Latvia’s Vidzeme region create new networks and a search for a common ethnic identity despite the internal differences among Roma groups. Ethnicity plays an important role both in missionary work and in the sensory and embodied practices of experiencing faith. It is shown that mission has a deeper impact when the missionaries of Roma origin combine Roma cultural identity with Pentecostalism and use a culture-specific approach. I show that there are a number of approaches that converted Roma individuals use to find ways of combining conflicting moral norms and systems, thus shaping their Pentecostal moral selves. For example, fortune-telling, which has been a traditional way of earning extra income for Roma women, is generally condemned after conversion and must be abandoned, may not be condemned fully by all converted Roma women, not only because of its economic importance for Roma but also because relationships with other Roma and the preservation of their cultural identity remain important to the converts. This demonstrates how the converted Roma must constantly find a balance between the different moral codes.
This doctoral thesis is based on ethnographic fieldwork among the Roma in Estonia and in the Vidzeme region of Latvia near the Estonian border. Since the beginning of the 1990s, which was also the general period of the so-called religious boom that accompanied the collapse of the Soviet Union, Roma Pentecostal missionaries from Finland, who paid particular attention to the Roma minority in the region, have been active in Estonia. Today, most of their missionary work takes place in Latvia, where the Roma community is significantly larger, but also continues in Estonia, as Roma live on both sides of the border and communicate with their relatives across the border. Conversion entails the need to prioritise the identity of believer and to accommodate the accompanying moral code. At the same time, Roma converts must maintain the relationships and values necessary to belonging to the wider Roma community. In the doctoral thesis, I examine how the converted Roma in Estonia and across the border in the Latvian Vidzeme region create themselves as ethical subjects, caught between two opposing moral codes. The work also shows that Roma missionaries from Finland and Roma in Estonia and Latvia’s Vidzeme region create new networks and a search for a common ethnic identity despite the internal differences among Roma groups. Ethnicity plays an important role both in missionary work and in the sensory and embodied practices of experiencing faith. It is shown that mission has a deeper impact when the missionaries of Roma origin combine Roma cultural identity with Pentecostalism and use a culture-specific approach. I show that there are a number of approaches that converted Roma individuals use to find ways of combining conflicting moral norms and systems, thus shaping their Pentecostal moral selves. For example, fortune-telling, which has been a traditional way of earning extra income for Roma women, is generally condemned after conversion and must be abandoned, may not be condemned fully by all converted Roma women, not only because of its economic importance for Roma but also because relationships with other Roma and the preservation of their cultural identity remain important to the converts. This demonstrates how the converted Roma must constantly find a balance between the different moral codes.
Description
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Keywords
Estonia, Latvia, Gypsies, identity, Pentecostalism, Christian mission, moral, Christianity, Christian ethics