The oldest settled group are the Kovači (Blacksmiths), a subgroup of the Arlije, who have lived there since the Middle Ages and who converted to Islam during the Ottoman period, they do not speak Balkan Romani, but rather Montenegrin language or Albanian language, they live especially in the towns of Bar, Montenegro and Ulcinj. They do not want to be called Roma and distance themselves from other Roma groups. They have no roma traditions. They call themselves only as Muslims (ethnic group).[2]
There are also the Gurbeti who belong to the Čergarja group, they were once nomadic. In the 1960s they became sedentary. Most of them have the Christian faith of the Eastern Orthodox Church.[3][4]
^Zahova, Sofiya (January 2013). "Gypsies/Roma in Montenegro: Group identity and the role of language". In: Schrammel-Leber, Barbara and Tiefenbacher, Barbara, Eds. Grazer Romani Publikationen 02: Romani V. Papers from the Annual Meeting of the Gypsy Lore Society – via www.academia.edu.
