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Kakasd Revisited: The Szekely Come Back to Hungary
| Article
# : |
10536 |
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Section : |
CULTURE
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| Issue
Date : |
2 / 1986 |
4,964 Words |
| Author
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Linda Degh
Linda Degh is Distinguished Professor of Folklore at the
Folklore Institute at Indian University, Bloomington, Indian.
Her Ph.D is from Budapest University, Hungary. A Guggenheim
Fellow, she is the author of twenty-four books. This article
was originally published in 1982 by Indian University in the
Uralic and Atlantic Series, Volume 141, edited by Dr. Denies
Sinor. It is reprinted by permission, authorized by Dr.
Sinor. |
In the summer of 1980 I returned to Kakasd, Hungary. I had done fieldwork in this village from 1949 to 1961, surveying the history, ethnic identity, values, worldview and lifestyle of the Szekely community through its most characteristic folkloric activity at that time - storytelling.
In the late eighteenth century, Szekely refugees had settled in Bukovina, forming a language island in a multiethnic province. The Szekely people had been driven out of their Hungarian homeland following the bloody and infamous battle of Madefalva in 1764. They were a proud people of independent noblemen and privileged border soldiers who had defended Hungary's borders for many years. However, the Haps Queen Maria Theresa (1740-1780) insisted that they be forced to join the military and become common soldiers. The Szekely could not tolerate this violation of their rights and refused to serve under direct military command.
In 1761 the Austrian Quartermaster Buccow led a guard of 15,000 men against this stubborn resistance. Finally, on the morning of January 6, 1764, the soldiers surrounded the tiny village of Madefalva and fired on the 2,500 people gathered there. The Szekely had no further option but to flee and find a new home elsewhere. The battle site is marked by a monument, and even today the Szekely engage in a yearly pilgrimage to remember that tragic morning.
The people were given amnesty and remained free on the condition that they settle in the north Moldavian water lands of Bukovina. Here they remained until the end of the second World War, at which time the five Bukovina-Hungarian villages were vacated and the people returned to Hungary where the majority were accommodated at Kakasd.
The Bukovina region provided the people with a unique home that greatly enriched their distinctive folklore and traditions. Here they became part of a remarkable cross-cultural community. Ukrainians, Romanian, Germans, Poles, Jews, Turks and many others, including many itinerant Gypsies, lived here freely, engaging in the barter and exchange of goods and supplies.
Intermarriage, primarily with the more civilized Germans and Romanians, was a frequent occurrence and a rare admixture formed. The Szekely maintained their own sense of identity, but it cannot be denied that they embraced much from this environment. Their modern character is a composite that clearly shows this integration.
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