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The New Challenges and Situation of an Ethnic Minority within a Local Community in the Light of Social Changes
151-177Views:80Our memory is largely shaped by the way we look at the peoples currently living within the Carpathian Basin. Once a well-known tobacco-growing village in Historic Hungary, Torda (also known as Torontáltorda in Hungarian) is now a dispersed settlement with a Hungarian ethnic majority located in the Banat region of Vojvodina, Serbia.
The shifting of national borders, the two World Wars, the events of the Yugoslav Wars and migratory movements have collectively changed and decimated the lives of Hungarians who had found themselves outside their motherland’s borders after the 1920s.
In spite of the decline in population, the emigration of young people, and the everyday struggles resulting from hard living conditions, this village in the Central Banat district could attract further socio-ethnographic interest. In the micro-communities of rural settlements, education and religion play a key role in creating social value, maintaining Hungarian culture in the area and forming a national, local sense of identity within the community. Commemorative rituals, local traditions and national holidays often cross each others’ paths and blend together through education and religion, highlighting the reality and cultural values of the community, as well as the array of connections between community life and ethnic culture. This study discusses Torda’s present in the light of social change and the process of cultural mapping, touching on the importance of the local cultural association in the community’s life. This study also explores the events of the past few decades that have left a deep imprint on the micro-community’s life in a cultural, social and ethnic sense.
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Changing Economic Strategies in the Ecsed Marsh: An Example of Renewal in Nagyecsed
129-149Views:132The Ecsed Swamp was formed in the New Holocene Era in the lowest areas of Nyírség and Szatmár Plains. Besides the protective nature of the swamp, it was a significant source of livelihood for the local population – loach fish collecting (csikász), bird hunting and egg collecting (pákász) were the main occupations of the “swamp people”. The Ecsed Swamp, which once covered almost 432 km2 was drained at the end of the 19th century that caused significant changes in everyday life and farming. The inhabitants of the so-called “Loach land” (Csíkország) tried to dig up and cultivate marshy areas even before the drainage. Burning, cutting and cleaning were already known among the swamp people, since this was the only way to carry out farming activities in this area. In their frustration the swamp people effected by the drainage tried to obtain land for cultivation. They worked on the lands purchased by the Károlyi noble family. More prosperous ones also built farms on the border of the neighbouring villages, thus the process of homesteading began. In the 21st century, the cultivation of agricultural land in the area of former swamps is causing significant problems since water shortage is now characteristic towhole Europe. Reedfires in the former swamp areais a phenomenon that exists to this day. With the transformation of landscape and ways of farming and living, the need to apply different economic strategies arose, which I will discuss t in my research study with case studies from the 19th and 21st centuries.
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Folk Dress Revitalization as a Component of Language Revitalization: The Case of Wilamowice
179-204Views:111Although the main goal of language revitalization is keeping a language alive, the expression of ethnic identity and belonging is not exclusively limited to the linguistic phenomenon. In the case of Vilamovians – a small ethnic group living in the town of Wilamowice on the border of Upper Silesia and Lesser Poland, language revitalization has been supported by a group of people wearing the Vilamovian folk dress. This was accompanied by greater engagement of young people learning the Wymysorys language as well to other elements of Vilamovian culture, including the folk dress. In this case revitalization does not mean copying old patterns, but reviving its importance for local community. The Vilamovian folk dress is not limited to the costume of local dance ensemble, it is crucial for ethnic belonging of Vilamovians. The patterns, styles or words (in the case of the language) were less important for them. The reconstructed elements or even whole sets of dress, e.g. the mourning dress, different types of wedding dress and the whole male dress do differ from the historical ones. The ethnographers should not criticize this situation, as it used to be in the past, but focus on their choices and motivations connected to their ethnic belonging. In this text, I have tried to show that the reconstruction/revitalization of a folk dress could proceed in a specific way if combined with language revitalization.
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Ethnic Peculiarities and Inter-ethnic Parallels in the Traditional Material Culture of the Hungarians of Ugocsa
233-252Views:16The Hungarians living in the present-day Transcarpathian region have lived peacefully for centuries together with the majority Ruthenian/Ukrainian population, as well as with the Romanian, German, Roma and other ethnic groups, who live in a similar minority to the Hungarians. Ethnographers and tourists visiting the region are convinced that these nationalities have retained the characteristics of their culture to this day. At the same time, it is worth observing how this long historical coexistence is reflected in the way of life and mentality of these people. The parallels between Ruthenian and Hungarian language and folklore, folk customs are excellent examples of interethnic relations, but I have also encountered similar examples when researching the traditional material culture of the villages in Ugocsa. In the field of folk architecture, for example, the gate called tőkés kapu, as well as the abora, aszaló [the dryer] and the barn. Interethnic phenomena between Hungarians, Ruthenians and other nationalities of the region can also be observed in folk costumes (the guba, or the shoes called bochkor). Throughout history, in Transcarpathia, which belonged to different state formations, it was noticeable that culture was not strictly tied to peoples. Thanks to the tolerance shown towards each other, the nationalities of the region have preserved their ethnic and religious characteristics and identity, but we can also find many similarities in their cultures. When studying the interactions that mutually enrich each other's culture and provide a colorful and attractive image to the region, it is often impossible to find out who borrowed from whom and when. During the ethnographic research of the local communities, the main point is to take into account the ethnic interaction of the nationalities living here, as the folk culture of the local Hungarians is determined by the aggregation of the cultures of different ethnicities.
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A Case Study on Obstacles to the Social Integration Process of Young People of Roma Origin
107-127Views:84There are numerous obstacles to the advancement of Roma young people coming from disadvantaged social environments. Among these, the phenomenon that can be described by the expression köztes kitettség [verbatim: intermediate exposure] stands out. Social integration is an integration/assimilation practice complying with majority norms, which also means moving away from the values of one’s own local environment.
According to the experience gained from research conducted on this topic, there are a lot of Roma young people who are trapped between two “societies” – their own sociocultural environment and the majority environment – and, consequently, find themselves in a special situation. The aim of this study is to shed light on the general context and the social significance of the phenomenon described above through recording field experiences and applying case analyses.
