ode1299
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It said to be exist an ethnical root called "Melungeons" in America. Who are "melungeons" really ?
If anyone who believes having this root or have knowledge about them, please share your opinions..
Encyclopedias define Melungeons as:
Melungeon is a term used for an estimated 200 or more ethnically mixed populations east of the Missouri River in the United States that are of uncertain origin, perhaps a combination of various European, Eastern Mediterranean, African, and Native American strains.
"Melungeon" was an obscure racial pejorative in the early 1800s. The earliest reliable evidence of anyone self-identifying as Melungeon comes in the 1960s. According to folklorist Saundra Ivey, the emergence of this new identity was spurred by the presentation of an outdoor drama about Melungeons.
And it is also believed that the Melungeons in America rooted from about 400 Ottoman Levends ( a group of naval soldiers and explorers in Ottoman military). In 1500's in a naval war between Ottoman navy and Portuguese, these people were taken as captives, and were brought to America by Spanish. It is said that there are 1 million Melungeons in United States today.
Even the origin of the term "Melungeon" is highly controversial. Some argue that it originates from the Turkish "Meluncan" (deriving from the Arabic "melun jinn") which means "cursed soul" or "lost soul." Another theory is that it derives from the French "Mélangien," meaning a person produced by a mélange, or mixture. A third theory traces the word to "malungu," a Luso-African root from Angola meaning "shipmate." However, "melungeon" is also an archaic English word meaning scoundrel.
Researcher Brent Kennedy believes that Abraham Lincoln, Elvis Presley and Ava Gardner may have had Melungeon roots.
"Melungeon" has been applied to group members living in:
* eastern Kentucky
* south-western Virginia
* eastern Tennessee
* southern West Virginia
* southern Ohio
* southern Indiana
Melungeons have variously claimed to be of the following ethnic origin:
* Portuguese
* Turkish
* Moorish
* Arabic
* Jewish
* Native Americans particularly Cherokee
* Scottish
If anyone who believes having this root or have knowledge about them, please share your opinions..
Encyclopedias define Melungeons as:
Melungeon is a term used for an estimated 200 or more ethnically mixed populations east of the Missouri River in the United States that are of uncertain origin, perhaps a combination of various European, Eastern Mediterranean, African, and Native American strains.
"Melungeon" was an obscure racial pejorative in the early 1800s. The earliest reliable evidence of anyone self-identifying as Melungeon comes in the 1960s. According to folklorist Saundra Ivey, the emergence of this new identity was spurred by the presentation of an outdoor drama about Melungeons.
And it is also believed that the Melungeons in America rooted from about 400 Ottoman Levends ( a group of naval soldiers and explorers in Ottoman military). In 1500's in a naval war between Ottoman navy and Portuguese, these people were taken as captives, and were brought to America by Spanish. It is said that there are 1 million Melungeons in United States today.
Even the origin of the term "Melungeon" is highly controversial. Some argue that it originates from the Turkish "Meluncan" (deriving from the Arabic "melun jinn") which means "cursed soul" or "lost soul." Another theory is that it derives from the French "Mélangien," meaning a person produced by a mélange, or mixture. A third theory traces the word to "malungu," a Luso-African root from Angola meaning "shipmate." However, "melungeon" is also an archaic English word meaning scoundrel.
Researcher Brent Kennedy believes that Abraham Lincoln, Elvis Presley and Ava Gardner may have had Melungeon roots.
"Melungeon" has been applied to group members living in:
* eastern Kentucky
* south-western Virginia
* eastern Tennessee
* southern West Virginia
* southern Ohio
* southern Indiana
Melungeons have variously claimed to be of the following ethnic origin:
* Portuguese
* Turkish
* Moorish
* Arabic
* Jewish
* Native Americans particularly Cherokee
* Scottish
