43rd National Táncház Festival & Fair • 5–7 April 2024
Issue:
Starting page: 16
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Nyisztor Tinka’s struggles Part II. (Part I. can be found in folkMAGazin 2013/6.) Nyisztor Tinka is woman from the village of Pusztina (Pustiana) in Romanian Moldavia. She was born into a Hungarian Csángó family and into the traditional rural village life. Before communism her family had been one of the more well off (owned more land, etc) families in the village. Th e family upheld some tradition of educating members of the family. She was a good student and went abroad to study in Hungary, then in Switzerland – always on scholarships. After receiving her doctorate she returned to her village, where she still lives. The Csángó people of Moldavia are Roman Catholic. She has been fighting for Hungarian language mass in the village and her quest has taken her all the way to the Vatican. Because this ethnic group – the Csángó people – are a minority in Romania, it is difficult to avoid the ongoing pressure to assimilate. Nyisztor Tinka vigilantly works toward preserving her mother tongue and traditions. As told to Kóka Rozália.