“Perverting the Taste of the People”: Lăutari and the Balkan Question in Romania
Keywords:
Balkan(s), Romania, alterity, exotic, oriental, Ottoman, manele, lăutari, “gypsy”, Turkish, Roma, Romani, “world music”, subalternAbstract
“’Perverting the Taste of the People’: Lăutari and the Balkan Question in Romania” considers the term “Balkan” in the context of Romanian Romani music-making. The expression can be used pejoratively to describe something “barbaric” or fractured. In the “world music” era, “gypsy-inspired” music from the Balkans has become highly regarded. From this perspective “Balkan” is seen as something desirable. The article uses the case of the Romanian “gypsy” band
Taraf de Haïdouks in illustration. Romania’s cultural and physical position within Europe can be difficult to locate, a discourse reflected in Romanian society itself, where many reject the description of Romania as a “Balkan” country. This conflict has been contested through manele, a Romanian popular musical genre. In contrast, manele is seen by its detractors as too “eastern” in character, an unwelcome reminder of earlier Balkan and Ottoman influences on Romanian culture.
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