Born: 17 August 1908, Poland
Died: 8 February 1987
Country most active: Poland
Also known as: Papusza
The following bio was written by Emma Rosen, author of On This Day She Made History: 366 Days With Women Who Shaped the World and This Day In Human Ingenuity & Discovery: 366 Days of Scientific Milestones with Women in the Spotlight, and has been republished with permission.
Bronisława Wajs was widely known as Papusza, meaning “Doll” in Romani. She was a Polish-Romani poet and singer.
Growing up, Wajs and her family roamed Poland as part of a nomadic kumpania, a group of families. She was literate, uncommon for Polska Roma at that time. She learned to read by trading chickens for lessons from villagers, though this was discouraged and led to punishment when caught.
At 15, she married Dionizy Wajs, an older harpist, in a traditional ceremony. Unhappy in the marriage, she turned to singing to vent her frustrations, often with her husband accompanying her. As she honed her singing, she began creating her own songs inspired by traditional Romani storytelling.
Her talent was discovered by Polish poet Jerzy Ficowski, who appreciated her work. Many of her poems revolved around “Nostos,” expressing a longing for home. He translated her poems into a magazine called “Problemy,” along with an interview by Polish poet Julian Tuwim.
However, this led to backlash. She was accused of revealing her culture’s secrets to gadjos, individuals outside of Romanipen (the Romani way of life and culture), causing turmoil in her life.