2012

English Table of Contents 2012/1  

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New CD: Mátraalja a hazám [My Home the Mátra]. Shepherd’s music from Hungary’s Mátra region. Novák Pál – voice, wooden flute, clarinet, tarogato. Dsupin Pál – voice, wooden flute, flota, zither. Novak Pál (1940) is a traditional musician born into a Hungarian shepherd’s family.This is a recording of music he learned from his family. Includes archival recordings of Novák Pál Sr. Produced and released by Dsupin Pál, 2011.

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Novák Ferenc Tata’s Letter to leaders of the Hungarian Alliance of Dancers. This letter addresses the issue of dwindling support for independent contemporary dance troupes in Hungary. Tata urges: "Do not accept a situation wherein the work of talented artists who think differently cannot appear on stage! I simply don’t believe that art can develop [in a vacume] - without something to compare with." Tata cites previous choreographic work of Györgyfalvi, Foltin, Szigeti, Timár, Kricskovics and Galambos. He also urges the Hungarian Academy of Dance to strengthen its curriculum in general artistic knowledge and foreign languages. Budapest. July 4, 2024

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Kóka Rozália’s children’s column: Two tales from Pétër László’s book of Hungarian Székely stories from Voivodina. The Szekeli Outlaws – is about two mischievous boys that were always getting into trouble. One day they decided to run away and become outlaws. They spent a fine day doing this until it began to get dark and they realized that they wanted to go home... The Bread Trick – about a clever, playful boy who was sent to the bakery every morning to get bread for the family. He devised a spectacular trick of throwing up the loaf bread and then running in the gate in time to catch it. He would perform this trick for the passers-by until one day when rival children fixed it so he couldn’t get in the gate. The bread fell into the mud and he got a whipping when he got home. The moral: don’t make a plaything of Christ’s body, God’s gift.

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New publication Pétër László: Kërësztapám nadrágja [My Godfather’s Trousers]. Voivodina Hungarian Cultural Institute. 2011 Zenta [Senta], Serbia. In Hungarian. A book of Hungarian Székely folk tales and stories remembered and illustrated by Pétër László, who grew up in the Voivodina region of Serbia. This review provides historical information on Hungarian Székely people who settled in the Voivodina in the late 1800s. Review by Kóka Rozália.

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What Is The Dance House? “…the answer is simple: it’s when a band plays, and the audience dances folk dances. That’s all.’ If it could only be that simple [...] for once and for all the last forty years should be analyzed [...] to establish clear, understandable ideas that would be understood by everyone in the same way. [...] Since Hungary’s dance house teaching method got onto UNESCO’s list of intangible world heritage it has become clear that something is wrong in the dance house movement here at home. [...] We must turn to [the disciplines of ] anthropology and psychology for help in understanding what it is we are doing at the dance houses [...] the dance house movement is in a marketing, professional and leadership crisis...” Excerpts from a book in progress by Németh György.

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New Publication: Magyar Néprajz [Hungarian Ethnography] I. 1. The region, people, history Editor: Paládi-Kovács Attila Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest 2011. This book completes the 9 volume Hungarian ethnography series published between 1988 and 2011. A total of 8330 pages/the work of 115 authors. In Hungarian. ISBN 978 963 05 9184 3 (I.1.)

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Collection work in Arad / Bihar Counties – Western Romania Inspired at first by family ties in the area, this Hungarian collector has been documenting traditional dancing in villages in the region for 10 years. This article deals with the Romanian dances. See article in Hungarian for names of dances and Hungarian names of villages where he has done filming. Also includes information on music and musicians. By Farkas Tamás, reporting on his own work.

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Novák Ferenc Tata Has Died "…the public Novák Tata never spared himself, or his environment…He believed that if folk dance is put on stage then it must change the world - from the begining he insisted that it wouldn’t work without a message …I saw him as a European citizen…with colleagues from Slovakia or Romania he considered this region to be OUR Carpathian basin….He was an ethnographer, did field collection work; he was the analytical type, he formed opinions, he moved people to action, he was a dancer and a contemporary - and perhaps even the best choreographer til now." Excerpts from the obituary by Grecsó Krisztián. First published in "Élet és Irodalom" 34. 2024 Aug 23.

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Novák Ferenc Tata Has Died "…the public Novák Tata never spared himself, or his environment…He believed that if folk dance is put on stage then it must change the world - from the begining he insisted that it wouldn’t work without a message …I saw him as a European citizen…with colleagues from Slovakia or Romania he considered this region to be OUR Carpathian basin….He was an ethnographer, did field collection work; he was the analytical type, he formed opinions, he moved people to action, he was a dancer and a contemporary - and perhaps even the best choreographer til now." Excerpts from the obituary by Grecsó Krisztián. First published in "Élet és Irodalom" 34. 2024 Aug 23.

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Letters from Rome As post script to the three part series on the life of Szőnyi Zsuzsanna, here are excerpts from, and announcement for a new book: Levelek Rómából. Pest County Museum Directorate (PMMI) publishes letters written by Szőnyi Zsuzsanna and her husband (Triznya Mátyás) from Rome, to their parents in Hungary between 1949 and 1956. Announcement by Kóka Rozália.

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New Publication: Intangible Cultural Heritage in Hungary Editor: Hoppál Mihály. Guest editor: Gebauer Hanga. European Folklore Institute, 2011, Budapest. ISBN: HU ISSN 1585–9924 In English. Includes articles on: falconry, Matyó folkart, mutton stew, pottery of Mezőtúr pottery, lace making, folk arts of Kalocsa region, winter carnival tradition in Mohács. Announcement by Halák Emese.

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Hungarian folk kitchen: Cultural history and tips on preparation and preservation of homemade Hungarian sausages, head cheese, and liverwurst. The piece begins: “During my childhood in Békes County [...] our family slaughtered a pig only once a year...” By Juhász Katalin (includes bibliography).

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Székely traditions – Part 1. The inspiration for this college diploma project towards a degree in the department of education, sociology, and Rom language at the Apor Catholic College in Hungary has been this student’s desire to explore her own Székely heritage. In this section of the paper we read about: Székelyföld’s location within Transylvania and Romania; Székelyföld as an ethnographic region; who the Székely people are (…Hungarian speaking Hungarians who are not willing to deny their Hungarianness…whose main lifestyles are traditional alpine animal husbandry, forestry, farming); and about traditional Székely celebrations of the fall season. To be continued. Includes bibliography, list of sources. By Simó Ilona 2024.

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Széki Soós János’ literary column: Encounters With Folk Music. Excerpts from Fodor András: Futárposta. Szépirodalmi könyvkiadó, Budapest.1980. Fodor András (Kaposmérő, 1929 – Fonyód, 1997) was a Kossuth award winning poet, writer, literary translator. He was also a music critic. Born in a tiny village in Hungary’s Somogy County, he went to school in Kaposvár, then to university in Budapest. He travelled the country and abroad. Excerpts here touch on folk music, the zither, the work of Vujicsics Tihamér, and many other things.

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Report on an intensive workshop on dance research held December 5–9, 2011 in Szeged, Hungary. Organized by the ethnography and Hungarian ethnochoreology departments of Szeged University, the dance research department of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, and the Hungarian Ethnochoreology Association. This was an intensive course offered to Hungarian BA, MA and PhD students in dance research and dance education as an opportunity for intensive work on current problems and tasks in those areas. The workshop was an outgrowth of a similar course attended by ERASMUS program participants in Trondheim, Norway. See report in Hungarian for names of those who gave presentations. There were more than fifty participants. By Kukár Barnabás Manó.

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Short stories of a folk dance teacher. By Gőbölös Gábor.

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Beliefs and Superstitions of Szék (Sic), Transylvania. From the writings of Kocsis Rózsi, published by Juhos Kiss Sándor, Juhos-Kiss János. Kocsis Rózsi (born in Szék 1932, died 1999) began writing down memories of her life in her old age. This time we read about beliefs surrounding prayers before going to bed at night and getting up in the morning, Saint Bartholomew’s Day (the day when the Tartars invaded Szék) and what Rózsi imagined about the evil “dog-headed Tartars” as a little girl.

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Photographer Kása Béla – Exhibition: 40 years of Legendary Transylvanian Musicians - 2024 August at Budapest’s Kobuci Kert in Óbuda. This is an interview done at the opening of the exhibiton. Kása Béla talks about travelling to Transylvania to photograph since 1973. This exhibition presented mainly photos of 3 generations of the famous Kodoba family dynasty of traditional Roma musicians in the village of Magyarpalatka/Pălatca, in Kolozs/Cluj County, Tranyslvania (Romania). Quoted here are the words of Hungarian filmmaker Szomjas György: "Béla’s photographs are not just about the exotic or the poverty, he is capable of seeing the nobility in this lifestyle…He raises these people and places to a new kind of aesthetic". Interview by Nagy Krisztián - first published in "Papageno" 2024 July 30.

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Programme of House of Music.

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A short story about a bagpipe player from 1881. – Part I. By Mikszáth Kálmán.

English Table of Contents 2012/2  

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On January 22, 2012 Sebestyén Márta received this year’s Kölcsey Society Award. The society is dedicated to furthering the legacy and culture of Kölcsey Ferenc, the composer who wrote the Hungarian national anthem. Márta, her voice and personality have brought Hungarian folk song into the hearts of people not only in Hungary – but all over the world. Printed here is the award speech given by Jánosi Zoltán, president of the Kölcsey Society.

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The 16th Csángó Ball was held on February 10th at the Petőfi Csarnok in Budapest. The event was sponsored by the Pro Minoritate Foundation and Moldvahon Csángó Cultural Association. Traditional Csángó musicians, dancers, singers from Moldavia and Transylvania are brought to Budapest to perform in a gala performance celebrating the culture of this ethnic sub-group of Hungarians. A ball follows the gala performance. This year the Csángó Ball also honored the poetry of Lakatos Demeter (1911–1974) – a naive Csángó poet from the Moldavian village of Szabófalva/Săbăoani. This poet’s work was first published in 1935 in the Kolozsvár/Cluj publication Keleti Újság, and has since appeared in several volumes. He wrote his poems in Hungarian with Romanian phonetics. Report by Iancu Laura.

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New publication: Hoppa Enikő: [We speak csángó. The dialect spoken by the Csángó Hungarians of Moldavia]. Pro Pannonia. 2012. Pécs, Hungary. In Hungarian. This book introduces the dialect spoken today by the Csángó people of Moldavia. Hoppa Enikő did collection work on language in seven different villages in Moldavia between 2000 and 2007. She is presently working on her PhD in linguistics at the Pécs University.

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Hungarian food and tradition: Ottoman Turkish influences in Hungarian cuisine. This article is based mainly on the research and writings of Bartha Judit from ["The Turkish heritage. Common ground in Turkish and Hungarian eating habits"] published by European Folklore Institute. Budapest, 2017. During the Turkish occupation [1541-1699] some 50 to 80 thousand Turks (from various regions of the vast multicultural Ottoman empire) lived in Hungarian territory and left their mark on Hungarian cuisine. Peppers, tomatoes, eggplants and corn came to Hungary via the Turks, as did the sour cherry and apricot. The Turks brought the use of parsely, caraway, anise and horseradish as well as dishes like stuffed peppers and stuffed cabbage, strudel and also sweets made from fruit including ’pekmez’ (a molasses-like syrup made from boiling down fruit). Hungary’s coffee drinking culture also arrived with the Turks. Recipes included here: eggplant cream (vinete), 2 versions of stuffed cabbage, Turkish delight with almonds. By ethnographer Juhász Katalin.

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Past and present of the dance house movement – By Diószegi László (dancer, choreographer, organizer, teacher). As the dance house movement celebrates 40 years since the first Budapest event in the spring of 1972, more and more accounts come forth – each one bringing new insights and information on a movement that has nearly become an institution. The táncház has been dedicated to, and based on, preserving and popularizing traditional village music, dance and folk arts of this region. Its teaching methods have gained world-wide recognition. Today there are two large-scale yearly events in Budapest that have grown out of the movement: the National Dance House Festival (Táncháztalálkozó) at the end of March, and a traditional crafts fair held in the Buda Castle Area every August 20th. Departments at the Hungarian Academy of Dance and Liszt Academy of Music train talented young people to be professionals in folk dance and music. There are scores of camps, workshops, dance groups and bands that have grown out of, or embraced, this movement and provide social life and events including folk music and dance all over the region.

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Székely Traditions – Part 2. The inspiration for this college diploma project towards a degree in the department of education, sociology, and Rom language at the Apor Catholic College in Hungary – has been this student’s desire to explore her own Székely heritage. This section of the paper continues a kind of survey of Székely folk traditions. We read about customs of the late fall and winter seasons: the "fonó" – parties where the village youth once gathered to do their spinning or other handwork, November 25th Katalin name day, November 30th András name day, December 6th Miklós name day, December 13th Luca name day, December 21st Tamás name day, the Advent period, and pig slaughtering (traditionally done between András day and end of carnival). Includes bibliography, list of sources. By Simó Ilona 2024.

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New CD: Village Music from Kalotaszeg – Csűrös Band With Lengyel László „Türei” (voice) and Varga István „Kicsi Csipás” (violin). 2012. Hungarian Heritage House, Győr Foundation. Members of the Csűrös Band are natives of Transylvania’s Kalotaszeg region and they play music of that area – especially from the villages of Türe and Méra. There will be a record release concert on March 31st during the National Táncház Festival in Budapest.

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New CD: Tüzet viszek; Fonó 2012 FA-274-2 Singer Herczku Ágnes has gathered some great musicians together for her new record. Two traditional singers from Transylvania, as well as a talented eleven year-old from Debrecen also join her on this recording. See announcement in Hungarian for list of musicians.

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Interview with Sikentánz Szilveszter – President of the Heritage Association of Hungarian Children’s and Youth Folk Dance Groups. This association organizes a wide variety of programs, conferences, courses, festivals and talent competitions that successfully support the work, quality and community of Hungarian folk dance groups for children and young people all over Hungary. Recently Sikentánz has also been communicating with the Ministry of Education in an effort to reverse a ruling that says folk dance classes in Hungarian elementary schools no longer satisfy physical education requirements. On another matter, he voices his opinion that presently Hungary’s adult folk dance movement seems to be floundering without appropriate leadership to pull it together. He urges more cooperation and communication between organizing associations. He celebrates the generation of Hungarian children and young people now coming up, who in 20-25 years will be the next folk dance movement leaders, choreographers, folk dancers, researchers. Interview by Darabos Eszter.

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How long have they been playing Tambura music in Baja? Baja is a town in Southern Hungary in the Bácska/Bačka Region. This article states that tambura music has been present in the area since the second half of the 18th century. Today the town of Baja is considered the center of Hungarian tambura music. There is mention of a particularly famous band known as the Petrőczi-Petrovác Band who played tambura music as far back as 1896. The Hungarian musicologist Volly István wrote about the Petrőczi-Petrovác band in the 1960s. Like other bands in the area they played not only Serbian music but also the music of the other ethnic groups of the region. By Barvich Iván.

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The CD series Talpalávaló (for teaching folk dance and folk music), announces release of two CDs – the Zagyva Band: 1. Music of the Sárköz–Bogyiszló region and, 2. Music of the Kalocsa region. Produced by the Folk Dance Accessories Shop (Néptáncosok kellékboltja), which has already released DVDs on couple dances of the Mezőség region and the Molnár technique. There are plans for two more CDs on music from the Galga and Szatmár–Nyírség regions. See www.neptanckellek.hu.

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Photo Gallery – Dance house enthusiast  Nemes Zoltán ’mettor’ of Győr took these photographs in the Transylvanian village of Szék/Sic in the late 1970s. Commentary by writer Széki Soós János (born and raised in Szék) accompanies the photos.

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Kóka Rozália’s series: Moldavian Csángó Hungarian tales. Her first trip to Moldavia to collect ethnographic material was in 1969. After that she went every year to do field work, but in 1995 she went to Moldavia to collect tales for the first time. In the village of Pusztina/Pustiana she collected tales from two woman: Barta Mihályné and László Istvánné. She published the tales collected in her 2019 book: "Aranytojás". This series presents the tales from her book.

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Beliefs and customs of Spain – Part IV. The wedding. A survey of Spanish wedding customs of the past. By Valter Linda.

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Food and Tradition Beans in Hungarian Cusine. Traditional cooking in Hungary uses beans in a variety of ways. Hungarian bean soups are amazing! Today many different kinds and colors of beans are grown here and used in Hungarian cooking. It is good luck to eat beans or lentils at the New Year. Bean dishes without meat are part of the diet during lent. Recipes here are for: bean and prune soup, bean salad, beans and cabbage, mashed beans. By Juhász Katalin.

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Part 2 – Collecting traditional music and dance in Turkmenistan. In April 2011 Hungarian ethnomusicologist Sipos János set out from the capital of Turkmenistan for his goal: villages in Balkan Province in the western part of the country along the Caspian Sea. He spent several weeks in this desert region and collected 400 melodies, 20 hours of video, with information on the region and customs – from 16 villages and 150 informants. Sipos’ field research along with other publications acquired on his trip provide a good basis for a detailed description of the traditional music of the Yomud tribe. He is already planning his next trip there to do more field work.

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Kiss Ferenc (June 27, 1954 – October 15, 2024). Kiss Feri has passed away. Prolific composer, record label founder, publisher, folk music collector, festival organizer, writer, thinker. Father, grandfather, friend; “one of the last Mohicans”. Frequent contributor to folkMAGazin. He was born in Debrecen, finished secondary school in Budapest, then studied Hungarian and ethnography at ELTE University in Budapest. From 1973 on, he worked mainly as a musician, composer, folk music collector; after the political changes of 1990 he founded a record label and publishing company while continued composing and producing his many musical projects. Printed here are ethnomusicologist/bagpipe player Szabó Zoltán’s memories of travelling with Feri to Transcarpathia to do collection work (Feri’s father was from there; he had relatives there) and working and playing music on numerous projects with Kiss Feri. October 16th, 2024.

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Kiss Ferenc (June 27, 1954 – October 15, 2024). Kiss Feri has passed away. Prolific composer, record label founder, publisher, folk music collector, festival organizer, writer, thinker. Father, grandfather, friend; “one of the last Mohicans”. Frequent contributor to folkMAGazin. He was born in Debrecen, finished secondary school in Budapest, then studied Hungarian and ethnography at ELTE University in Budapest. From 1973 on, he worked mainly as a musician, composer, folk music collector; after the political changes of 1990 he founded a record label and publishing company while continued composing and producing his many musical projects. Printed here are ethnomusicologist/bagpipe player Szabó Zoltán’s memories of travelling with Feri to Transcarpathia to do collection work (Feri’s father was from there; he had relatives there) and working and playing music on numerous projects with Kiss Feri. October 16th, 2024.

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Online folk dance instruction at www.tanctar.hu. This article describes and encourages use of this online Hungarian folk dance learning tool [other dance forms are also addressed on the website. S.F.] The developers of this website say, “Naturally we don’t argue the importance of in-person dance instruction… but would like to extend a helping hand to those folk dance teachers who are open and ready for something new, and would like to teach and learn comfortably.” Developed by two numerous award-winning dancers and experienced Hungarian folk dance teachers, choreographers based in Northeastern Hungary: Antal Dóra and Antal Roland. The website is in Hungarian.

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A short story about ayoung couple's excursion in the forest by Burgyán Attila.

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Listing of 2012 summer camps and workshops in Hungary and surrounding countries.

English Table of Contents 2012/3  

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Conversation with singer Herczku Ágnes. Upon release of her second solo record, Tüzek viszek, Ági talks about her work, her career, the meaning of folk music in her life and modern life. “...Hungarian folk music fundamentally changed my life and my perceptions and that’s why I am involved and work with it. But at the same time, I have to accept the fact that it leaves some people totally cold...” By Rónai András – appeared at quart.hu on Februrary 24, 2012.

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Master of Folk Arts – traditional dancer Fülöp Ferenc (1885–1962). Hungarian Heritage House’s folk dance research group has commissioned Taba Csaba (aka: Benji) to write a book on Fülöp Ferenc – the exceptional traditional dancer from Decs in Hungary’s Sárköz region. The book will be released in 2025. Taba Csaba is well acquainted with the heritage of this traditional dancer – his diploma paper for the Hungarian Academy of Dance’s department of dance education was written on him, he has studied Fülöp’s verbunk and beautiful peasant dancing since 1980 – this material has influenced his own dance life and career. Here Taba Csaba tells about his search for Fülöp Ferenc’s grave and his mission to eventually move Fülöp’s remains to his native town of Decs with a grave site appropriately commemorating this traditional master of folk dance. By Taba Csaba ‘Benji’.

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Programmes of National Dance Theatre in November and December 2024.

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Celebrating traditional dancer of Hungary’s Kalocsa-Sárköz region: Cselik Mária on her 80th birthday. Mária recieved the title ’Master of Folk Arts’ in 1995. Her beautiful dancing and life story have been well documented and can be found in the national folk dance archives, a book by Tamás László, a documentary film by Sztanó Hédi and numerous interviews and papers. Born into a farming family in Felsőerek, Hungary in 1944, she inherited her love of dance and dance experience from her mother’s family and dancing in the Drágszél Folk Dance Group. Before retirement she was a mathematics and physics teacher in an elementary school in Kalocsa. For decades her dancing partner was well-known local traditional dancer Vén Ferenc. Printed here is dance ethnographer Felföldi László’s greeting at her birthday celebration on September 1, 2024 in the town of Kalocsa – more information about Cselik Mária: www.nepmuveszetmereserei.hu.

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Photography exhibit at Budapest’s Hungarian Heritage House: "Pixel and Folklore – Hungarian folk art and photography in the 21st century". The exhibition will be up until December 18th, 2024. Curated by photo historian Szarka Klára it displays photographs of Hungarian tradition as portrayed by 24 Hungarian photographers – ranging from esteemed masters of Hungarian ethnographic-style photography to a younger generation. Printed here the speech by Transylvanian writer, poet and literary translator Szabó T. Anna that offically opened the exhibition and exhibiting photographer Korniss Péter’s speech from the opening ceremonies. Quotes from Korniss Péter’s speech: "…. I read recently that artifical intelligence generates 43 million pictures every day…a frightening number…so, let’s stick with this exhibition where we see pictures by living-breathing photographers – the kind that are looking for the truth – reality – because they believe in it… photography doesn’t just record (immortalize), it also confronts and helps us to see our own time more clearly…".

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Two folk tales: Kóka Rozália’s children’s column. The Happy Man’s Shirt – A tale from Somogy County. And a gypsy folk tale collected by Vekerdi József.

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Interview with Kőrösi Csoma Program grant recipients – under this grant program young folk dance educators from Hungary are placed in New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA for nine months of service in the Hungarian community there, teaching folk dance in a number of groups, assisting at cultural events and in the work of Hungarian cultural organizations. The New Brunswick Hungarian community in New Jersey has been hosting young Kőrösi Csoma Program grant recipients for years in order to bring new energy directly from Hungary into the Hungarian diaspora. This interview was with educators Balogh Lili and Molnár István Dániel from Budapest’s Angyalföldi Vadrózsa Folk Dance Ensemble (and other groups). They spent the past year in New Jersey under support from this program. Interview by Antal-Ferencz Ildikó – first published in English at: hungarianconservative.com

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New recording: Vegyes Gyümölcs – Album by Koncz Gergely

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Five new exhibits at Budapest’s Museum of Ethnography. The new permanent exhibition opened on October 11th displays 3600 original objects and 1600 photos from the museum’s collections. Then on October 15th a special exhibit on Transylvania’s Székely people opened. Further special exhibitions are: an exhibition on the history of China’s ancient cuisines (opened on October 16th); an ’international exhibition’ addressing questions of world hunger will open on November 15th; and an exhibition celebrating the memory and work of Hungarian zoologist, ethnographer, archaeologist, and politician Herman Ottó (1835–1914) opens on December 13th, 2024. Announcement from the museum.

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New CD: Arany János daloskönyve [Arany János’ Songbook]. From the poet’s collection of songs. Dsupin Pál: voice, flutes, bagpipe, etc.; Csergő-Herczeg László: voice, guitar, hurdy-gurdy; Tinódi Public School Chorus – Eger. Produced and released by Dsupin Pál, 2012.

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Hortobágyi Gyöngyvér’s account of her own life as a professional folk dancer in Hungary starting in the early years of the dance house movement, through the various changes Hungary has seen from the 1970s to the present. Gyöngyvér is now head of the department of folk dance at the Hungarian Academy of Dance, the same place where she completed her dance studies in 1979. She danced in the State Folk Dance Ensemble for 10 years, then worked at the Hungarian Institute of Culture organizing courses for folk dance teachers, also taught college courses for primary school teachers on teaching folk dance, and directed an amateur dance ensemble. The next phase of her career was working as assistant to Novák Ferenc, director of the professional folk dance theatre the Honvéd Ensemble. Coming full circle, she is now back at the Dance Academy. By Grozdits Károly.

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Part II – the story of Bogdán Klára’s life – a Hungarian woman born in the village of Magyarfalu (Arini) in Moldavia in 1949. As told to Kóka Rozália – part of her series on the lives of Hungarian women.

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Orbán Balázs: (1830–1890) writer, ethnographer, baron from the Székely village of Lengyelfalva (Poloniţa) in Transylvania. In celebration the 140th anniversary of this revered Hungarian’s election to the Hungarian House of Parliament and 125th anniversary of when he became member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, on April 28th, 2012 a plaque in his honour was unveiled at the Calvinist Church in Budapest’s Kálvin square. Following the unveiling, lectures were given in the church remembering his life and work. Excerpts of the lectures are printed here. By Balázsi László

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Reports with photos on two September concerts in Vienna: Söndörgő: September 7, 2024 at Theater am Spittelberg – Upon recent release and success of their new album "GYEZZ" (with American saxophonist Chris Potter) the band played material from the new recording as well as their well-loved Southern Slav repertoire. Ferenczi György and the 1st Pest Rackas: September 13, 2024 at AchtUngarn Festival – Collegium Hungaricum – this band plays their own very popular mix of Hungarian traditional music and rock. "…Both Söndörgő and the Rackas…bravely treading the risky turf between genres...are capable of moving toward a completely borderless musical approach, and thus may be able to reach different kinds of audiences, while placing the universality our own musical culture in that same context..." – by Henics Tamás.

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Sára Tímár & Band Presented by Liszt Academy – 15th anniversary concert
Sára Tímár, an award-winning folk singer, founded her ensemble in 2009, which performs both traditional folk music and world music. The colorful program, selected from their released albums, authentically reflects their artistic journey, from original folk music sounds to reinterpreted sacred music arrangements and all the way to songwriter expressions. Their latest album, titled “Ének a határtalanról” (Song of the Boundless), features musical adaptations of poems and folk music arrangements. The “Népdallá vált Petőfi versek” (Petőfi Poems Turned into Folk Songs) album contains music set to the poet’s folklorized verses. “Református hálaének népzenével” (Reformed Hymn with Folk Music) showcases folk songs and hymns closely tied to church holidays, while the album “Minek nevezzelek...” (What Shall I Call You...) was inspired by Sára Tímár’s experiences collecting music in Transylvania. Finally, the album “Feljött immár az a csillag” (That Star Has Now Risen) reflects on notable days of the year.

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Report on the 2012 Spring gala program of the Muharay Elemér Folkarts Association held on March 17 at the MOM Cultural Center in Budapest, featuring tradition preserving dance groups from communities in Western Hungary. By Antal László.

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Hungarian folk kitchen: Edible roots, greens, nuts, mushrooms, fruits found in Hungarian forests and meadowlands. Some of the edible things found in the forest are common in Hungarian cuisine today: various wild mushrooms, chestnuts, sorrel and other greens. Other things mentioned here are more obscure and were eaten by shepherds or others whose traditional occupations caused them to spend considerable time in the wilds. Recipes are for wild pear soup and fruit vinegar. By Juhász Katalin.

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Part I – A discussion of the various artistic directions of the Hungarian folk dance movement. Begins with some background on folk movements that led to the 1970s, then discusses the “pure source”, and differentiates between folk dance choreographies that stress authentic presentation of folk dance and choreographies that use folk dance as a basis but (for example) use other creative ideas to tell a story. An essay written by choreographer Novák Ferenc in 1979.

Page 36
A report on the 25th Zala Folk Dance Festival for small, so-called “chamber”, dance groups. First prize for authentic choregraphy went to Varga János for his Gyimesbükk Dances danced by the Zalai Dance Ensemble. First prize for a folk dance theatre choreography went to Mr and Mrs Dudás Dániel for their piece danced by the Jászság Folk Dance Ensemble. Report by Kutszegi Csaba.

Page 38
Szászcsávás Band (ROM), Šukovci (SLO) – Programme of House of Music
At this event, two still-active village Gypsy bands with very similar energy will take the stage. One hails from the settlement of Szászcsávás (Ceuaș) in Transylvania, the other from Feketebalog (Čierny Balog) in the heart of Slovakia – the former is the Szászcsávás Band and the latter Šukovci. Another shared quality between the two is that they are both marked by a dynasty-like structure, with musical knowledge passed down from father to son. Though the Szászcsávás Band has established a name in Hungarian circles through the revival scene in the Carpathian Basin, they have also conquered stages around the world – one of their best-known albums is a recording of a concert in Chicago. They are guaranteed to wow the audience with their irresistible, pioneering stage presence as they perform the repertoire of the region as part of our Landscapes and Music programme series. The Concert Hall will have a mix of seated and standing areas, so we are especially looking forward to welcoming people in the mood to dance – though everyone is sure to get that way sooner or later!

Page 40
Traditional Dances of Hungary’s Békés County. Research and collection work on the dance culture of Békés County began after WW II. A new wave of collection work and research is underway. Dances were documented on film in various communities in the region between 1948 and 1957. Present research is aimed towards publication of a monograph on the dances and popularizing local dances in schools in the region. The project is supported by the National Cultural Fund, Békés County and the Békés County Folk Dancers Association. Report by Mahovics Tamás (includes list of sources).

Page 43
Beliefs and Superstitions of Szék (Sic), Transylvania. Another selection from the writings of Kocsis Rózsi (born in Szék 1932/died 1999), published by Juhos Kiss Sándor, Juhos-Kiss János.

English Table of Contents 2012/4  

Page 3
In the spring of 2012 a new center for local culture and ethnography opened in the town of Várasfenes/Finiş located in Western Romania’s Bihor County. The center is named after the Hungarian ethnographer Györffy István who did extensive and groundbreaking research in the region 100 years ago. An exhibition of 100 of Györffy’s archival photographs was organized in celebration of the event. Report by Gebauer Hanga.

Page 4
Erdélyi Tibor celebrates his 80th birthday. Erdélyi grew up in the village of Uszka, up in the northeastern corner of Hungary. He moved to Budapest at the age of 16. Accompanying a dance group on his zither, he also started dancing with the group, and in 1951 was discovered by director of the State Folk Ensemble, Rábai Miklós who invited him to join the Ensemble. Erdélyi has been soloist in the State Ensemble, leader of the Duna, Vadrózsa and Tisza Ensembles. He has taught dance, choreographed, is also well-known for his wood carvings and holds numerous state awards in recognition of his artistry in all these areas. Congratulatory speech by Mihályi Gábor (current artistic director of the State Folkdance Ensemble).

Page 5
Dances of the Sóvidék region (Székelyföld, Transylvania). Lőrincz Lajos – former director of the Maros Dance Ensemble (the National Székely Folk Ensemble) and also native of the village of Korond – gives a beautiful description of the dancing in his village – mentioning not only steps, figures, posture, improvisation and relationship to the music, but the local customs, village people, various age groups, the relationships between people and much more. As told to Sebő Ferenc.

Page 8
A short story about a bagpipe player from 1881 – Part II. By Mikszáth Kálmán.

Page 10
Food and Hungarian tradition – old and new roles of traditional wood burning bread baking ovens. An examination of changes in culture around bread baking ovens in the village of Cserépfalu, Borsod County, Hungary. Until the 1960s traditional baking ovens were still in regular use in homes in this village. Since then a variety of social and economic life-style changes caused them to fall out of use and fashion, and people began to forget or never learned how to use wood burning bread baking ovens. For example kitchens there existed with an old bread baking oven, a smaller wood burning stove, a gas stove, and a microwave – all in use. After the political changes of 1990 a renewed interest in peasant foods and lifestyle brought however a shift in use of the old style bread baking oven. Today in Cserépfalu with a population of 1100 there are 11 working bread ovens – some of which were built by Transylvanian oven-building masters, others by their owners. Due to the expense of building a new wood burning oven (about two months wages) and then fueling it, they have become an elite home furnishing for example often connected to barbecue/grill culture of outdoor cooking and presentational hospitality. Includes recipes for: yeasted poppyseed cake, cottage cheese pastry. By Báti Anikó – researcher at the Hungarian Institute of Ethnography.

Page 12
Message to the past In the form of a letter to the Transylvanian village musicians that have already passed away, this is a report on the 7th Meeting of Transylvanian Dance House Musicians. It was held on May 17–20, 2012 at the village skanzen (museum) in Borospataka in the Gyimes Valley, Eastern Transylvania. By Szász Lőrinc of the Üsztürü Band.

Page 13
Kóka Rozália’s series: Moldavian Csángó Hungarian tales. Her first trip to Moldavia to collect ethnographic material was in 1969. After that she went every year to do field work, but in 1995 she went to Moldavia to collect tales for the first time. In the village of Pusztina/Pustiana she collected tales from two woman: Barta Mihályné and László Istvánné. She published the tales collected in her 2019 book: "Aranytojás". This series presents the tales from her book.

Page 14
On the village of Tavankút/Tavankut, located in the northern Bácska region of Vojvodina in Serbia, and the culture of the Bunyevác ethnic group that still lives there.Report following a dance workshop there attended by Szávai József.

Page 15
In memory of Kiss Ferenc. Henics Tamás thinks back over his 25 year friendship with the recently passed Kiss Ferenc (1954–Oct. 2024): the musician, composer, publisher, festival organizer, writer, thinker. Speaking to Kiss Feri in a letter format, Henics remembers his first contact with him in 1999 upon discovering Kiss’s recording “Nagyvárosi Bujdosók”. Tamás also muses over the Héttorony Festival that Kiss founded and organized for years which celebrated music and the architecture of Makovecz Imre. He finishes by remembering one of Kiss’s music projects – “Szerelem hava” [Month of love]: as Henich puts it, Kiss’s “wondrous woman period - when he would have liked to ‘write through’, or ‘write himself out’ of his preoccupation with the finer sex”. By Henics Tamás.

Page 15
New recording – Tükrös Band: Archív (Folk Europa, 2024). Tükrös Band was formed 38 years ago. From the beginning, this group of musicians from the urban táncház movement has been dedicated to learning and presenting authentic style traditional string music of the Carpathian Basin. Their quest has been to understand and learn in detail the characteristic repertoire and playing style of selected traditional village musicians. They have personally sought out and learned directly from the village musicians themselves and then from archive recordings. This record presents music from five regions of Transylvania reconstructed from 80, 100, 120 year old archival recordings and transcriptions. Notes by Árendás Péter.

Page 16
Part II of Artistic directions of the Hungarian folk dance movement – Continues with an engaging discussion of folk dance choreography that draws on the “pure source” or those two categories Novák refers to as “dramatic” dances and “symphonic” folk dance choreographies. “Our choreographers (...) never wanted to resign themselves to having folk dance serve merely as a curiosity to indulge (...) tourists”. An essay by choreographer Novák Ferenc – published in 1979.

Page 18
Traditional houses of Rajasthan The Rajasthani Langa musicians live in the Thar Desert in northwestern India. This is a description of the traditional houses there. The houses are made of mud and are used primarily for cooking and sleeping. Photos and descriptions by Ábrahám Judit.

Page 19
The life story of Cseresnyés Magdolna whose parents were Hungarians from the town of Verbász/Vrbas, today in the Vojvodina region of Serbia. Her grandfather was one of more than 300 Hungarians that were executed there in 1944–45. Kóka Rozália’s series on fates of Hungarian women

Page 22
Village Cain. This story is prefaced by a quote from the bible: Genesis 4, 10.– 11: “And he said, What hast thou done? The voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground. And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand.” Grozdits Károly

Page 27
New Publication: Sipos János – Csáki Éva: [Turkish connections to Hungarian Culture – folk music, ehtnography, language] Erdélyi Szalon, Budapest, 2024. ISBN: 9786156502285. Ethnomusicologist Sipos János and Turkologist/linguist Csáki Éva have both been doing fieldwork in the Turkic world for decades. This publication brings together several articles previously published (in English, Turkish, and Hungarian) – now all in Hungarian. The first section deals with folk music, the second section with ethnography and language. The announcement published here includes the authors’ forward from the book.

Page 28
“New Style” Folk Songs. An academic article that briefly discusses what Hungarian folk music researchers refer to as “old style” Hungarian folk songs, then goes on to describe the “new style” folk songs, their development, structure and two locations in Transylvania where the new style caught on later. Definitions of these two categories of folk song were developed by Bartók in the first half of the 20th century and based on his folk music research. In past years the focus of Hungarian folk music research has been mainly on the old style songs. Includes resources. By Almási István.

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New recording – Maczkó Mária: Édesanyám rózsafája – kedves dalaim… 2024 "...a true work from the soul”. Folk singer Maczkó Mária – solo singer with the Hungarian State Folk Ensemble for a decade, recognized with numerous awards – performs her favorite songs with students, colleagues, fellow ensemble members from forty years of her career. Included on the recording are religious prayers, love songs and wedding tunes from Hungary’s Galga region, wine drinking songs from Zala and Somogy counties, songs collected by Bartók Béla in her native town of Tura, with other folk and religious selections. Recommendation by writer, journalist Lőrincz Sándor – first published in “Mértékadó” 2024. November 17.

Page 33
List of dance houses, courses, folk clubs for the 2012–2013 season.

Page 36
Traditional Hungarian Foods. Three foods described in 1908 by Count Zichy István (1879–1951) on a trip to the herds in Bugac Puszta (Central Hungary): tarhó – a kind of yoghurt made usually from cow’s milk and eaten for breakfast by the herders; lebbencs is pasta made in flat sheets then broken, rather than cut, into smaller leaves. It is often used in soups. Kása is a polenta-like dish made with barley, millet, wheat, buckwheat or corn – depending on what was customary in the region. It was eaten either as a side-dish with meat, or as a main dish. By Juhász Katalin

Page 38
The Girl Who Was Taken to Heaven published in the form of a book and CD, with illustrations by Andrea Kürti and the accompanying music by Kollár-Klemencz László and Csernovszky Márk, by Gutenberg Kiadó in Miercurea Ciuc (Csíkszereda). Recommendation by Sebő Ferenc.

Page 40
New recording – Magonc ensemble: Ez van, s más nincs! – Recommendation by Lányi György

Page 43
When young men in Szék were called into the military... Kocsis Rózsi, born in Szék/Sic on August 7, 1932, remembers the events leading up to the moment when boys her age left for the army, how they looked, what they wore, what they sang, how they sounded, how they danced, what people said and how she felt... From her memoires in celebration of the 80th anniversary of her birth.

English Table of Contents 2012/5  

Page 3
Once upon a time there was the TÉKA News – remembering back to when and why they started the so-called Téka News. Forerunner to folkMAGazin, the Téka Újság was Budapest’s dance house movement periodical in the 1980s – a time when each issue had to be approved by the state censors. By Beszprémy Kata.

Page 6
Interview with Róka Szabolcs – folk musician, awarded bard, high-school teacher of geography and biology, embassador of nature protection. By Török Máté.

Page 7
Széll Jenő’s (1912–1994) memories of Hungary’s brilliant folk dance researcher Martin György (1932–1983). Széll, who had known Martin since 1951, describes Martin’s brilliant work in folk dance research, his affable and humble personality and the fact that Martin’s death was an incredible loss to international dance research. Appeared in Téka Újság 4. Budapest. 1985.

Page 8
Practical considerations in preparing music for Hungarian folk dance choreographies. 1.) Be careful in choosing melodies – know the difference between the real folk tunes and folk-like composed tunes; 2.) Be careful to use full melodies. Melodies recorded from traditional musicians are sometimes just fragments of melodies....; 3.) For choreographies that include singing by the dancers, be careful to choose keys that are comfortable for the men singers and comfortable for the women singers. Be careful of key changes in the music for a choreography; 4.) Consider the decorative interludes traditionally used in the music; 5.) The tempo of the music and the dance is an important aspect... By Árendás Péter – folk music instructor – Liszt Academy of Music.

Page 9
Thoughts following the qualifying rounds for the 27th national solo folk dance competition. Included in the regulations for competing in this national competition: "…The solo folk dance competition gives [Hungary’s] best folk dancers the opportunity to demonstrate not only their knowledge of a given authentic folk dance; but also their own performance style. While helping to preserve and pass on the wealth of Hungarian folk dance." Some tips on performance are offered here for the competing dancers mainly in the form of where on the internet to look for original archive films of dances included in the competition material. Selected studies are recommended for reading, especially four articles (by Martin György, Karácsony Zoltán, Andrásfalvy Bertalan) on improvisation in Hungarian folk dance. There are also a number of quotes from informant interviews with traditional village dancers (most born between the two world wars) mainly addressing the good dancers in a village, the joy of dancing, who they inherited their dancing ability from, and learning and being inspired to dance by watching older generations and/or family members dance. By Busai Norbert.

Page 10
Poems by Bágyi Bencze Jakab.

Page 12
Szék Village Museum and dance house – Csipkeszeg 349. [Sic, Romania]. Dutch resident of Szék, Michel van Langeveld, took on the project of restoring an old house in this famous Transylvanian village. The restored house is a museum and dance house which opened in August 2012 with a permanent exhibition of Korniss Péter’s photographs of Szék. Choreographer Novák Ferenc opened the exhibition and museum on August 25th; his speech is printed here.

Page 14
The BorFolk Band – Four wellknown and well-seasoned folk musicians from the revival movement have gathered into this formation to concentrate on authentic style folk tunes and songs on their favourite theme: wine. This summer Borfolk Band released a CD: Kell ilyen bor! [We need this kind of wine!]. Members of the band: Szűcs Sándor, Olasz György, Kovács Géza, Nagymarosy András. Conversation with Nagymarosy András by Grozdits Károly.

Page 16
Announcement: new publication. Bolya Mátyás: Magyar citerás antológia II. [Hungarian Zither Anthology II.]. Available at www.dialekton.hu, and at A.Folk and Rózsavölgyi (stores) in Budapest. Bolya is both an active professional musician and an employee of the Folk Music Archive at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. The volume (and recording) is meant for use as a resource for musicians, music teachers and students. It is a collection of traditional zither tunes collected in three areas of Hungary between the years 1916 and 1995.

Page 18
Lifestory of Mrs. Nyeste Zoltán (Bolyky Magda) – excerpts. Mrs. Nyeste’s husband, a Hungarian military officer who sympathized neither with the Nazis, nor the Communists, was one of those who was suddenly arrested by the Hungarian State Security Services (the „ÁVO”) in the dark period following WWII. This is an account of what it cost a wife to find her husband at all, and then to be able to see him. As told to Kóka Rozália – part of her series on the lives of Hungarian women.

Page 22
The ETNOFOLK Project has been established to develop a website that will make information on folk traditions of Central Europe available to the public. The project combines eff orts of: Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Austria and Hungary; and five scientific institutions: Czech Academy of Sciences, Mátyás Bél University, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, with AiP Beroun s.r.o. The project began work in May 2011 and will finish in spring 2014. The severallanguage website is to be launched in spring 2014.

Page 27
Hungarian cultural anthropologist Vargyas Gábor turns sixty. Honoring this revered professor and researcher (main area of research: Southeast Asia), a volume of writings by his colleagues and students has been published (L’Harmattan, Budapest. 2012). Printed here is the volume’s introduction, summarizing Vargyas Gábor’s impact on this discipline in Hungary. He quotes Vargyas on the fate of an anthropologist: „...As he gets to know, understand and love another culture, he changes and realizes the relativity of values”. By Dr. Nagy Zoltán associate professor – Department of Ethnography and Cultural Anthrology, University of Pécs.

Page 32
New Publication: Balogh Sándor – Berta Alexandra: [Hungarian Zither Instruction for Beginning and Advanced Students] Published by Hungarian Heritage House (HHH), 2024. This is the newest addition to HHH’s series on folk instrument instruction. Includes two volumes: one handling playing technique; the other contains transciptions of traditional melodies from all over the Hungarian language area – including melodies especially for zither and melodies for other instruments adapted for zither. Contains also information collected from traditional zither player informants about their instrument and lives. Avaliable through HHH webshop. Announcement from Hungarian Heritage House

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Book review: Erdélyi magyar népművészek [Transylvanian Hungarian Folk Artists]. Ed: Szatmári Ferenc. Association of Romanian Hungarian Folk Artists. Csíkszereda [Miercurea Ciuc, Romania]. 2012. Available at the Hungarian Heritage House in Budapest. This is a beautiful presentation of 103 active Transylvanian folk artists and their work. Review by Halász Péter.

Page 36
Programmes of National Dance Theatre in January and February 2025.

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Székely Traditions – Part 3. Christmas and winter. The inspiration for this college diploma project towards a degree in the department of education, sociology, and Rom language at the Apor Catholic College in Hungary – has been this student’s desire to explore her own Székely heritage. Part 3 of this paper continues the survey of Transylvanian Székely folk traditions providing descriptions of customs of the Christmas week, carolling, Nativity plays, sending out the Old Year-welcoming the New Year, Epiphany, and name days through Feb 24th. Includes bibliography, list of sources. By Simó Ilona.

Page 40
The Concert Hall of the House of Music Hungary will host arguably the most punchy, Balkan atmosphere ball of the carnival season on 26 January. Participation is a must not only for fans of Moldavian dances, but also for everyone who is interested in the joint concert of one of Romania's most respected wedding brass bands and one of the most popular ensembles of Hungarian Moldavian dance houses. It is a telling fact that Cristi Tractor from Vaslui, along with his son Alexandru Cantea and their band, could not commit to the concert after this date, as they will be playing at weddings throughout Romania every weekend until the end of 2025. In addition to guests from Romania and members of Fanfara Complexa, Ion Curteanu, a Moldovan cimbalom player living in Budapest, will also take to the stage.

Page 44
Stories of Szék – Kocsis Rózsi (born Szék/Sic, Romania 1932 – died 1999), published by Juhos Kiss Sándor, Juhos-Kiss János. Rózsi remembers back to her childhood and practicing dancing in a barn with her friends.

English Table of Contents 2012/6  

Page 3
The Sebő Klub in Budapest’s 14th district was a key site of the early dance house movement. This is a conversation from 1976 with Selmeczi Olga the director of the small recreation center – the Kassák Klub – where the Sebő band’s dance house was held until sometime in the 1980s. This interview provides history on the beginning of the dance house movement, information on atmosphere of the time and the venue, and mentions Budapest intellectuals and artists that were key figures. By ethnographic researcher Hála József.

Page 8
Csányi Mátyás was the bass player of the band from Szászcsávás (Ciavaşu săsesc), a traditional Transylvanian village band well-known and embraced in dance house circles. This is a story about a time when Csányi Mátyás, who had been to Budapest countless times to play with the band, came to Budapest to play instead with some other musicians in a completely different style and in different attire. The writer here is aghast with the ‘modern Mátyás’ and his change of style and the lack of cohesion in the music – cohesion being one of the things that makes the traditional band from ‘Csávás’ so amazing. When playing with the traditional band Csányi’s music “…. ran through every particle of him, then resonated in his spirit, into his arms and arrived to his instrument with a blasting double-bass sound…He was inseparable from, and one with the music of the band…” By Szász Lőrinc

Page 9
New publication: Molnár Zoltán: Fényerdők – Forests of Light. Budapest. 2012. ISBN 978 963 08 4729 2. Album of stunning photography by Molnár Zoltán – photos taken in Transylvania and Moldavia between 1996 and 2012.

Page 10
Discussions about the contemporary folk dance life. New programme of the Hungarian Heritage House starting in 2025 February.

Page 12
More on the history of the TÉKA news. The editor tells the story of this dance house movement magazine of the 1980s – from the beginning to the end. One of the main reasons it didn’t survive was that they weren’t able to break into the book distribution network, and therefore there was no way to get national distribution for the periodical. Téka újság was a ’labor of love’ since neither the contributors, nor the publication staff were paid. The printing expenses for the magazine were funded through sales of previous issues and inevitably also by the Téka Ensemble. Selfinterview by Téka újság editor and painter – Molnár János.

Page 12
Like quicksilver... Memories of Martin György (1932–1983), Hungary’s brilliant, prolific folk dance researcher. Martin’s dancing and quality of movement is likened here to ’devil’s quicksilver’. This unique, giving, inspiring personality’s life was too short. Here described are three collection trips Martin organized – together with students of his – during the last three months of his life: to the Gorale people in the Polish Tatra Mountains, and to Inaktelke (Inucu) and Györgyfalva (Gheorghieni) in Transylvania. By Zsuráfszki Zoltán – dancer, choreographer, artistic director of the Honvéd Ensemble (appeared first in May 1992 in Téka újság, Budapest).

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New CD: Bárdosi Ildikó: Megjövendölve volt régen. Produced by: Dsupin Pál 2012 (DP4) A collection of traditional songs from all over the Hungarian language region for the Christmas season – including songs for advent, carolling, Christmas, seasonal name-day greetings, bidding farewell to the old, and welcoming the New Year. Announcements by Bárdosi Ildik

Page 16
CD recommendation. Oj, gajdašu... The Misina Band with guests: The Jasen Trio, Mohács Sokadija Band, Horváth Zsombor. Artistic direction: Csonka-Takács Eszter. Released by the City of Mohács, 2012. Sokác and Serbian music for a host of local customs, holidays and celebrations. Highly recommended by Eredics Gábor – director of the Vujicsics Band and teacher at the Folk Music Department of the Liszt Academy of Music.

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Dankó Music Awards of 2024

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New Year’s Greeting
This will be the Hungarian Heritage House’s tenth time ringing in the New Year with a festive gala programme. Taking the stage at Müpa Budapest once again will be a host of outstanding folk musicians and folk dancers here to share with the audience moments both intimate and elevated, once again proving that the beauty and meaning of our folk traditions, refined over the centuries, can also provide people of today with the strength they need to get through everyday life. The show draws not only from the lovely melodies of the Christmas season, from the songs of the various regions of Transylvania, name day greetings, as well as the carols sung around Zala County, but also evokes the artistic work of János Seprődi and Ferenc Farkas, in the 150th and 120th, respectively, anniversary year of their birth. The festive atmosphere we create will be one of heartfelt folk music compilations, Hungarian choral works and the most beautiful dances from our folk tradition. The chief patron of the evening is Dr Tamás Sulyok, President of Hungary.

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Interview with professional folk dancer Kakuk Pál – more than active at age 75. Born and lived in a tiny mining community in Hungary’s Borsod County until the age of 13, this is also where Kakuk Pál started dancing. When his family moved to Miskolc, he continued dancing there with the Avas Ensemble. In 1967 he successfully auditioned for the Hungarian State Folk Ensemble, but then had to do his 26 months of military service, where he also danced. Over the years he has danced in/worked with many folk dance ensembles including the Hungarian State Ensemble where he was assistant to the director – Rábai Miklós. Then after Rábai’s death he was witness to changes there with the incoming effects of the dance house movement. Following his retirement from the State Ensemble, he talks about his work with Forrás, Vadrózsa, Kéve, Forr-más, Tököli, Sziget, Rőzse, Szerinda ensembles and also with KÖTESZ (Association of Old Dancers’ Ensembles of the Carpathian Basin). He is the recipient a number of awards and of special significance for him was 2006 when he was named ‘Eternal Member of the Hungarian State Folk Ensemble’. Interview by Grozdits Károly.

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Ecce Homo – a dance theatre piece based on the works and life story of Hungarian painter Munkácsy Mihály was performed by Háromszék Dance Theatre at Budapest’s Palace of the Arts October 12th, 2024. Director: Tapasztó Ernő; Choreographer/co-director: Farkas Tamás. Háromszék Dance Theatre is a professional group from Sepsiszentgyörgy/Sfântu Gheorghe, Romania, known also for their folk repertoire. The performance uses several of Munkácsy’s paintings as points of departure for a series of “pictures” or scenes performed by the dancers using theatre, dance and mime to tell the story. Review by folk dancer, ethnographer, documentary filmmaker Sztanó Hédi.

Page 28
Girls’ spinning parties in Szék (Sic), Transylvania. Girls who had already been confirmed could go to the winter spinnning parties held every night of the week at a house in the village. A fee was paid ’in kind’ (beans, flax, helping the hostess) to the owner of the house where the spinning bees were held and money was pooled for lamp oil. Once married, a girl no longer went to these girls’ spinning parties. This writing has a wealth of information on flirtation, courtship, games, rhymes related to this custom. Another selection from the writings of Kocsis Rózsi (born in Szék 1932/died 1999), published by Juhos Kiss Sándor, Juhos-Kiss János.

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"The present of Litlle Jesus" – A short story by Kincs István.

Page 36
Traditional Hungarian Cuisine: Christmas Kalács is a sweet yeast-leavened egg bread – like the Jewish challah, or sometimes called brioche or milk-loaf in English. Traditionally Hungarians make kalács at Christmas, Easter, for weddings and other big celebrations. It is often a braided loaf and may have raisins or candied fruit in it. This article provides us with some history and regional differences, along with choreographer Foltin Jolán’s famous kalács recipe. By Juhász Katalin.

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Remembering Almási István folk music researcher who was born 90 years ago. By Domokos Mária.

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A Celebration of Folk Music – from dance house to world music
Since 2008, Müpa Budapest has organised a gala event that celebrates Hungarian folk music and world music, featuring an introductory show that presents the diversity of the two genres through the dance house style. Kale Lulugyi, a dynastic Gypsy band from the town of Oroszlány, will set the mood with a dance house performance held in the Atrium. Juhász, a band from Subotica, will then kick off the concert hall event with authentic and energetic songs from the Serbian region of Vojvodina. One of Hungary’s oldest string ensembles, Dűvő, are celebrating their 45th anniversary, while Makám will perform songs from Endre Ady. Anna Sőregi will open the second half of the concert as she reveals the countless faces of the Szék collections. The most virtuoso tambura band in Szentendre, ViGaD, play melodies with Serbian roots, while the Kálmán Balogh Gypsy Cimbalom Band will get your blood stirring as they close out the gala event, accompanied by Branka Básits and the percussionist Szabolcs Mohai.

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Exhibition: Herman Ottó at Budapest’s Museum of Ethnography. Opening on 2024 December 13th, this exhibition brings materials from collections of the Ethnographic Museum and the Hungarian Parliamentary Museum. Herman Ottó, born 1835 in Breznóbánya/Brezno (today in Central Slovakia) – died in Budapest in 1914; was a Hungarian zoologist, ethnographer, archaeologist, and politician. A polymath recognized as a pioneer of Hungarian natural history research. The exhibition presents his collection methods, ’museum thinking’, activities, unique style of speaking, and his career in Hungarian politics. In Herman Ottó’s time the field of ethnography was just forming. He is known for his collection work on traditional fishing and shepherding/animal husbandry; and his collections of series of traditional objects. Included in the exhibiton are field work diaries and drawings. Announcement from the Hungarian Museum of Ethnography.

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Closing concert of the jubilee year of the 50-year-old Vujicsics Ensemble at the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music with a selection of the most popular, emblematic songs of 50 years.

English Table of Contents 2012/x  

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Kóka Rozália: History of the Bukovina Székely Hungarians from Madéfalva to today
The complex story of the Bukovina Székely Hungarians begins in the Transylvanian village of Madéfalva (Siculeni, Harghita County, Romania) in December 1763 when under the reign of Maria Teresa, the Vienna Court changed laws that had until then given the Székely Hungarian people of this region certain rights and freedoms. Angry with the changes, in December of 1763 the Székely Hungarians revolted. Then in January of 1764 the Austrians attacked the Hungarians. Many people died in the massacre. Some 10,000 Székely Hungarians then fled east to Moldavia to hide. By 1774 the Hungarians were pardoned and invited to settle in Bukovina. As a result, in 1776-77 one hundred Székely Hungarian families moved from Moldavia to Bukovina and founded five villages, living there until 1941. Simplifying the story, when life in Bukovina and the political situation became very unfavorable because of WWII, the Hungarian government decided to relocate these Hungarian speaking people to Hungary’s Bácka region (today in northern Serbia). As mentioned above these Hungarians were eventually settled in Hungary’s Tolna, Baranya and Bács-Kiskun counties.
Includes bibliography

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Kóka Rozália: Reverend Bognóczky Géza (Szászváros/ Orăștie, Romania 1901 - 1963 Hidas, Hungary) - was the Calvinist minister who took many of the photographs in this publication. Kóka Rozália provides us with information on his life. He was Calvinist minister in Andrásfalva, Bukovina from 1931 until he left in 1941 with his congregation for resettlement in Hungary. It was amongst his duties as a village leader to document the residents going to Hungary, and…he had a camera. Includes entries from his journal and quote about his death in 1963 from the newspaper Presbiter 2008 Nov, Dec.

Pages 12-30 Black and white photographs taken between 1940 and 1943 by Bognóczy Géza, Horváth József, and dr Kaiser József. They portray Székely Bukovina residents in Bukovina before departure, the route to Hungary, arrival in Bácska and follow-up propoganda/documentation/proof of successful resettlement photos.