Campaigns

Describe your District

Tekirdag Hayrabolu Cukur Mahala District

One of our website viewers from Tekirdag Hayrabolu reports their district “Cukur” for our ”tell us your district” initiative. In every sense it is a traditional Romani district. Here we present Hayrabolu Cukur district.

The residents of Cukur district are the Romani Gypsies identified with different group names. Mango’s and Kalayci’s (tn: tin makers) generates the largest groups among them. The district was established by the placement of families evacuated from various other areas.

The wedding traditions have been preserved throughout time. Wedding ceremonies lasts for 2 days and 2 nights. The first day, the bride is accompanied by a group of young people from the family house to the groom’s house where the couple will be left in a private room. They would stay alone in this room for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, the groom gives gold and golden accessories to the bride. Following this ceremony, the bride and the groom leave the room and attend the wedding party where everyone dances together.

The traditional craftsmanships of the neighbourhood are basket weaving and tin crafting. Unemployment has become widespread due to the fact that the demand for these crafts had significantly decreased. Consequently, the majority of the district’s population currently works as porters.

The district itself has many difficulties such as lack of basic infrastructure elements. The residents of the district are expecting support from the individuals or non-governmental organizations.