I've spent a lot of time in Macedonia the past few years, working with dozens of civil society organizations, including Romani Sukaripa (the Roma Goodness Citizens' Association) profiled in this recent Economist.Com article.
The Green Man, Gunfire and a Giant Toad
“AROUND midnight a big toad will appear—no-one knows where from—and then healing water will flow from the spring, only to dry up a couple of minutes later," said Iso, a 53-year old hodja fresh from reciting the Koran to sanctify the slaughter of six sheep. A volley of gunfire would then be needed to summon three angels to restart the flow, so the 200 pilgrims could take a bottle home.
Looking round it seemed it would be easy enough to muster the necessary fire-power. “It’s like Afghanistan,” said Iso, smiling as he surveyed the steadily growing encampment of gun-toting pilgrims. Even Almir, his 19-year-old pupil, had a pistol grip sticking out of his tracksuit’s waistband, and took an unsettling delight in brandishing a murderous-looking axe. Thankfully the guns were only there to satisfy the Balkan-wide custom of loosing off a joyous shot or two in high spirits, and the axe to lop wood for the fire.
I had made the two-hour climb up this mountain near the town of Prilep in western Macedonia with a group of Roma to witness “Herdelezi”, a two-day celebration common to Roma living in south-east Europe, which starts on the eve of St George’s day. "For non-Roma Christians St George’s day is just another name day. For the Roma it is much more," Iso said. While the Roma population in this area are almost all Muslim, Orthodox Roma elsewhere in the region mark the day with equal enthusiasm.
For Muslims the stock theological explanation is a ninth century meeting between the Green Man, an enigmatic figure known as “Al-Khidr” in Arabic, and Elijah, an Old Testament prophet. But Iso links Al-Khidr back to the miraculous blooming of nature which took place after Buddha had spent time meditating under a tree. "Our bible, the Koran, is the umbrella for all religions," he said.
This particular ritual near Prilep can be traced back around 200 years, when the great-grandfather of Nuri Uzereoski, a bespectacled man in his fifties who has inherited the role of keeper of the spring, was led to the spring, reportedly by the Archangel Gabriel.
But Iso did not need a precise religious pedigree. “It is not really a holy day. It is the end of spring and the start of summer. It is an international day celebrated by Roma in Afghanistan, Kazakhstan and Turkey.” The gathering here had its own modest international contingent. Each of the six metal shelters were named after the places whence friends and neighbours had sent back the money to construct them. I was offered space to lay down on some corrugated cardboard in the Switzerland shelter, which was adjacent to Austria, Denmark and Italy.
“Almost all of the food is donated," according to Tahir Selemoski, president of the Roma Goodness citizens’ association.
“There are almost no jobs and most of the Roma people are illiterate, although Jesus and Mohammed were illiterate too.” The only good thing, he says, is that the level of hatred towards Roma is not as strong in Macedonia as it is in places like the Czech Republic. The main source of income for the community is growing tobacco. But this offers slim pickings. A farmer might earn 250 denar ($5.50) per kilogram, but a typical tobacco patch would deliver a yearly crop of just ten kilograms."
[Read More The Roma in Macedonia: Miracle hour | The Economist]
