THE NEW HUNGARIAN VOICE FALL 2008

The New
Fall 2008 - Volume VII, Issue 4 - Free
HUNGARIAN VOICE
©
A QUARTERLY PUBLICATION DEDICATED TO THE PROMOTION OF HUNGARIAN CULTURE
Honorary
Hungarian
CANADIAN RED CROSS
Nyugat
Film & Book
Review
Folk Tale
Budapest
Chronicles II
Scottish School
Balaton
v. Aba-Novák
Zenta
Attila the Bun
Who Are We?
The Urban
Fakanál
SOLVES
MAGYAR
MYSTERY
shop online: www.cafepress.com/thenhv
ALICE LAM PHOTO
Szaloncukor
EDITOR
A NOTE FROM THE
EDITOR
ART DIRECTOR
Peter Czink VRNT
CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
WEBMASTER
MARKETING AND
SUBSCRIPTIONS
Lorraine Weideman
CONTRIBUTING EDITORS
Anita Bedo˝
Greg Csiszár
Angus MacDonald
Ágnes Vashegyi MacDonald
Magda Sasvári
Andrea Szilágyi
Kristina Tanner
Eddi Wagner
ACCOUNTING
Mária Vajna
DISTRIBUTION
Csaba Tanner
CONTRIBUTOR
Jordy Starling
P.O. Box 74527
Kitsilano PO, Vancouver, BC
V6K 4P4 Canada
604 733-9948
[email protected]
www.newhungarianvoice.com
Published by
The New Hungarian Voice
Editorial Committee
© 2008
I originally intended this page to be reserved for letters-to-the-editor when I called it “Our
Forum – Points of View from the Hungarian-Canadian Community.” We receive a pretty
regular stream of mail that is for the most part very positive and encouraging. So much so, I
have always felt a little uneasy about reproducing it here, in fear of mirroring some of the
established Hungarian immigrant periodicals by printing only unbelievably glowing reports of
how wonderful we are. For the record, however, I would like to thank all of you who have sent
us such nice comments – and assure you that your kindness is one of the main driving forces
behind our entering our 8th year of publication!
The very small amount of negative feedback has consistently been of two varieties. The most
common has been letters, usually type-written, demanding to know why we produce the New
Hungarian Voice in English. Coming a close second are type-written condemnations of us for
not including more articles about the evils of communism.
“...if history was reversed, and a
large group of North American ex-pats
settled in Hungary in the 1950s –
would we still be wearing bobby-socks
and beehive hairdos?”
Reaching a wider audience, which includes Hungarian immigrant offspring and
non-Hungarians, is difficult. For our parents, attempting to do such a thing in English was a
mind-bomb, yet I have always been quite confident that trying new methods is the only way to
pull ourselves out of our immigrant community’s xenophobic quagmire.
The people of Hungary have enjoyed some heady ups and have braved their fair share of
downs, but they move on – through experience, keeping what’s good (for the most part) and
casting aside what has held them back. Those of us involved with the Hungarian community
outside of the homeland could learn from their example. Sometimes I like to imagine what it
would be like if history was reversed, and a large group of North American ex-pats settled in
Hungary in the 1950s – would we still be wearing bobby-socks and beehive hairdos?
This issue of the New Hungarian Voice is very inspiring, I think, for any Hungarian. We’ve
got a new Honorary Hungarian, a fascinating story of the Canadian Red Cross helping one of
our own, and we are introduced to an obscure church with a Scottish-Hungarian connection.
That’s on top of the usual Hungarian goodies we like to offer. I’d like to dedicate it to all of
you who have taken the time to encourage us, on behalf of myself and the very hard-working
New Hungarian Voice team. It’s always nice to be buoyed up on a new and exciting
consciousness.
P.Cz.
PROMOTE
THE NHV!
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2
Jack Keir
HONORARY HUNGARIAN
Our 2008 New Hungarian Voice Honorary Hungarian is Scottish born
Jack Keir, of Kirkcaldy in Fife. People who have been touched by
Hungarian culture can be found the world over – and Jack is a fine representative of the kind of friend who can make any Hungarian proud.
Like our Honorary Hungarians of the past, he comes from another
culture rich in history and tradition, but has opened his mind and heart to
experience and promote ours as well. For people like Jack there is no
need for us to beat our chests, or to list off how many Nobel Prize winners
our nation has – he has discovered on his own that the Hungarian people
are rich enough to share their historical wealth, and are always willing to
offer their hands in friendship.
Jack Keir was born in Glasgow, Scotland in 1961, and after the normal state education was
admitted to the Edinburgh University Faculty of Law in 1978. He graduated with an Honours Degree
in 1982, and after a post graduate year he commenced his training as a solicitor. After many years in
private practice, Keir entered the Procurator Fiscal Service (the Scottish public prosecution and death
investigation service) in 1999 and is now a Senior Procurator Fiscal Depute assigned to a specialist
post at Crown Office in Edinburgh.
Jack first visited Hungary in 1981 when “Interrailling” and fell in love with the country and the
people, and has returned to Hungary many times since. In 1998, his interest in military history
blossomed into a passion for collecting Hungarian military antiques, and his search for information
and artefacts led him to join the Vancouver Chapter of World Federation of Hungarian Veterans
(MHBK) in 2004. He kindly loaned a piece from his personal collection to the Rise Up! 50th
anniversary of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution commemorative exhibition in Vancouver, and was able
to take part in the event. Jack Keir received the MHBK 1956-2006 Commemorative Medal for his
participation, and this year was awarded the MHBK Gold Medal of Merit for his exemplary service to
the organization. Currently, he is the UK Vice-President of the International Hungarian Military
History Preservation Society.
In addition to his interest in collecting Hungarian military items, he maintains a
keen interest in general Hungarian history and culture, and when in Budapest,
almost becomes a resident at the State Opera House.
Mr. Jack Keir has been declared an Honorary Hungarian by the
Editorial Committee of the New Hungarian Voice!
As an Honorary Hungarian, Jack gets a lovely Hungarian pin, official
documents and ceremonial salami, and the very best wishes from
the Vancouver-Hungarian community!
‫־ ־‬
‫־ ־‬
3
FATE OF A LOVED ONE ANSWERED AFTER 63 YEARS OF WAITING
...THANKS TO THE CANADIAN RED CROSS
It’s taken more than six agonizing decades,
but with the recent discovery of Ágnes
Matula’s (pictured at left) fate, a lingering mystery has
been solved and a family’s worst fears can at last be
peacefully laid to rest. “I’m happy to know the truth
about my grandmother,” says Magda Sasvári, wiping away tears of both
grief and relief as she realizes that the Canadian Red Cross Society’s
Restoring Family Links program has finally answered the questions that
have troubled her family for so long.
Now at the age of 78, Magda still remembers her grandmother, Ágnes,
as a sweet and loving person who cared for her and her sister Luizi during
their childhood in Hungary. Ágnes had a beautiful singing voice, she
recalls, was an amazing cook and treated her grandchildren with love and
kindness. But one day, that gentle, loving spirit simply disappeared from
their lives.
It was early 1945, and in the waning days of the Second World War,
the Wintermantel family — Magda, Lujzi, their parents Jóska and Aranka,
and Aranka’s mother, Ágnes - was caught in the chaos and conflict
between three super-powers: the German army in retreat, the Allied
Forces on the attack and the Russian army invading Hungary. The
Wintermantels decided to beat a retreat of their own, and so the family
packed what they could and made their way to their summer home in
Balatonalmádi. Even that proved not to be safe enough. When the first
Russian soldiers arrived in February, the Wintermantels packed up again,
and began moving further west, first by car and then by foot when the car broke down. At the end of March, the family was near the
Austrian border, hoping to find refuge in that country. By then, the walk had become too painful for the frail, elderly Ágnes.
Luckily, it seemed, they were walking alongside a Hungarian army convoy of horse-drawn carriages, and Jóska negotiated to have
his mother-in-law carried so she wouldn’t have to walk any further. With a sigh of relief, she climbed into the carriage. And then
the Allied air raids hit. The bombs dropped on the army convoy, again and again, scattering the traveling group as they marched so
determinedly towards hope. The last they saw of Ágnes, she was waving from the back of a carriage.
Magda, Lujzi, Jóska and Aranka all arrived safely at the camp in Austria. But there was no sign of Ágnes. The carriage she had
travelled in had simply disappeared, and no one could tell them what had happened to it. For days they searched for her, Magda and
Lujzi even travelled to the border until they were told to turn back for safety. Ágnes was just gone.
Soon after that, the family was captured and returned to a very different Hungary under Soviet domination. The following years
were difficult ones, made more difficult by their puzzling loss. When the Hungarian Revolution broke out in October 1956, the
family fled again, this time for good, to Canada. They had at last found safety, but were still troubled by the mystery of what had
happened to Ágnes, haunted by the fear that she had died alone, in pain, in a strange place, and without her loving family around her.
Finally, Magda, who has been living in Vancouver since 1983, decided to try the Red Cross to see if there was anything the
organization could do to find out what had happened to her grandmother. In September 2007, Magda recounted her situation with
the Restoring Family Links program. Through the tracing services of the Red Cross, the Restoring Family Links program was able
to process the necessary paperwork to the International Tracing Service of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) for
the whereabouts of Magda’s grandmother. Four months later, Magda received the news that she had been seeking for over 63 years.
She finally had the answer to what happened to her beloved grandmother.
On that long ago day, amid all the fear and confusion of the air raids, the convoy had split into two groups, one carrying Ágnes to
Passau, Austria, the other taking the rest of the family to a camp only a few kilometres away. In Passau, already weakened by the
long journey, Ágnes became ill. Two weeks later, surrounded not by her loving family, but by the caring and attentive staff of a
local hospital, she died peacefully of natural causes.
Though Aranka and her twin brother Nandi back in Hungary did not live to know what really happened to their mother, her
grandchildren are able to put their own anxiety to rest. It gives them comfort to know their grandmother’s final resting spot and that
she did not have to suffer a long time without knowing the whereabouts of her family.
Next spring, the Wintermantel family plans to hold a reunion in Budapest, and as part of the event, Magda, Lujzi and Joanne plan
to visit Ágnes’ gravesite in Austria. They hope the rest of the family will join them on their bittersweet pilgrimage.
Working with the ICRC and 186 Red Cross and Red Crescent National Societies around the world, the Restoring Family Links
program helps people re-establish contact with immediate family members after separation due to war, internal conflict, natural
disaster and other humanitarian crises. For more information on this program or to trace a family member, contact Erlinda Lintag,
Coordinator of the Restoring Family Links program, at 604-709-6667 or [email protected].
Written in collaboration with Magda Sasvári and daughters Joanne and Frances
4
NYUGAT
100 Years of
by Ágnes Vashegyi MacDonald
One hundred years ago, in 1908 an
enthusiastic group founded the Nyugat
journal in one of the many coffee houses
across Budapest. Nyugat proved to be
one of the most important and longestliving literary periodicals in Hungary. At
the turn of the 20th century, the bustling
cultural atmosphere of dual-monarchic
Hungary had spawned numerous journals, as well as daily, weekly and
monthly periodicals concerned with
culture, politics, and literature, such as A
Hét (The Week or The Seven), Figyelő
(Observer), and Huszadik Század
(Twentieth Century). Several other journals had a brief life-span, but the efforts
of their editors and writers did not go to
waste. Oszkár Gellért, Ernő Osvát and
Hugo Veigelsberg - known by the penname, Ignotus - edited the progressive
albeit short-lived Magyar Géniusz
(Hungarian
Genius)
and
Szerda
(Wednesday) journals between 1902 and
1906. Szerda had first introduced Endre
Ady’s poems.
These intellectually-driven journals
attracted many of Hungary’s talents at
that time: writers, social scientists,
historians, and progressive thinkers, who
were spread across the country. Endre
Ady was among the fresh-faced Hungarian poets and writers who represented
something radically new on the artistic
scene, conveying a more Western worldview of modernism with an increasingly
Hungarian undertone. Zsigmond Móricz,
Mihály Babits and Dezső Kosztolányi
embodied the core of the talented coffeehouse writers, and they did not delay in
putting their ideas to action. They had in
their company businessmen and aristocrats who wore their hearts on their
sleeves for the arts and upheld the
advancement of Hungarian culture. In
turn, they supported the financial needs
of many of these writers. And then there
were the visionary journalists, whose
gifts lay more in spotting other talents
and making sure that their works gained
attention. Ignotus and Osvát wanted to
pursue a journal that would attract these
new artists and would unite the cause of
Hungarian literature and culture, raising it
to the level of the Parisian artists. Titles
for such a journal were to be selected;
should it be Kelet Népe (People of the
East or People of the Orient), Kelet (East
or Orient) or Csillag (Star)? At last,
Osvát proposed the name Nyugat.
Nyugat, which means “West,” reflected
the kind of orientation the editors and
writers looked to. They were inspired by
the Western European, particularly the
French artistic and literary movements,
and wanted to create and uphold the
twentieth century Hungarian culture to
such models.
Nyugat prompted an aesthetic revolution in Hungarian culture, paying tribute
to the interrelation of the arts, from literature to music, painting, architecture and
more. It was on the Nyugat pages that the
young composers Béla Bartók and Zoltán
Kodály published their early scores. It
was Nyugat that praised photography and
its cousin, the innovative art form of the
moving picture. Intellectually, it promoted new philosophical and sociotheoretical turns from György Lukács’s
and Béla Balázs’s pens, among others. It
was also on the pages of Nyugat that
women writers’ works appeared in
abundance, including those belonging to
Margit Kaffka, Anna Lesznai, Kosáryné
Lola Réz, and Sophie Török, to name a
few. Sándor Márai, Antal Szerb, Frigyes
Karinthy, Árpád Tóth and Gyula Juhász
were among the writers and poets whose
works the Nyugat supported. Over a
hundred and twenty Hungarian artists of
the first part of the 20th century were
associated with Nyugat.
From its inception, the journal did not
have a smooth ride. Hungary’s conservative and nationalistic groups attacked the
Continued on page 20...
Issue 1, January 1st, 1908
February 1st, 1911
5
The last issue, August 1st, 1941
NHV FILM REVIEW
“A REWARDING AND INTIMATE JOURNEY.”
Örökbefogadás (Adoption) - 1975 Directed by Márta Mészáros
by Angus MacDonald
Famed director Márta Mészáros was born in the
Kispest neighbourhood of Budapest on September
19th 1931, however, she grew up in the Soviet Union.
Her left-leaning father, the renowned sculptor László
Mészáros decided to move there in 1936 because he
was infatuated with the political ideology. László
Mészáros later became a victim of
Stalin’s agenda and was imprisoned, and Márta’s mother fell ill
and died. The two sisters were left
orphans but the town banded together to raise the children until a
sympathetic woman rescued them.
Undoubtedly, this experience later
inspired Mészáros to write and direct Örökbefogadás (Adoption).
Mészáros attended the oldest
film school in the world, Moscow’s
VGIK (The All-Russian State Institute of Cinematography named
after S. A. Gerasimov) with a
scholarship, and later worked temporarily in the Romanian cinema
industry after graduating in 1956.
Three years later she returned to
Budapest to make documentary shorts, thirty of them,
before directing her first feature film in 1968 entitled
Eltávozott nap (translated to English as The Girl)
which heralded both the style and theme of her subsequent features – a documentary-like presentation
merged with a reflective and undeviating concern for
the situation of women and children within contemporary Hungarian culture and society. Mészáros has become one of the world’s most prodigious female filmmakers with over 60 credits to her name.
Many of Mészáros’s works involve independent
women who find themselves faced with making important decisions and must rely on their unwavering
self-respect and emotional strength to get them
through. In 1975 Mészáros made the realist Örökbefogadás (Adoption) and won the Grand Prix at Berlin.
Foreign critics generally considered the film to be her
most aesthetically and psychologically satisfying
work, while the Hungarian reception was less welcoming because it went against the well-established melodramatic characterization of submissive female roles.
Mészáros’s award-winning Adoption reveals the
story of a lonely and restrained widow named Kata,
played by Katalin Berek. The 43-year-old Kata, a factory worker at the village’s wood processing plant,
wants to have a child with co-worker Jóska, her married lover. When this doesn’t happen she makes the
acquaintance of a confident and energetic teenaged
girl, Anna (Gyöngyvér Vigh), who lives in the nearby
state-run orphanage. Together they embark on a
rewarding and intimate journey of spiritual exploration, mutual contemplation and empathic respect.
6
Acting on her intrinsic motherly instincts, Kata helps
the under-aged firebrand Anna get out of the institute
and marry her doting boyfriend. In the story’s conclusion we see that Kata becomes interested in neglected
children and decides to finally adopt a baby girl from
the same orphanage.
On a symbolic level the film can
be read as a criticism of the socialist
state that sought to control citizens
and legitimize itself in the face of
essential human values. Fundamentally, people are simply lonely beings looking for comfort – political
will and the nation-state should play
no part in governing relationships
or individual contact. Mészáros
seeks to instruct us with her parable
of compassionate humanism, and to
exemplify the characters’ pathos
and unwavering hope found in
meaningful interaction. The film
poignantly and reverentially explores female relationships in a
cruel world of male patriarchy
while embodying a subtle sense of
hope for the future.
Mészáros’s work bears witness to Hungarian society from a deliberately female perspective to confront
issues typically ignored by Eastern European, as well
as most other, cinematic industries. Her film challenges the patriarchal system, the eroded traditional
structures of family, women’s subjugation and a growing despondency exhibited by modern children that are
raised without parental affection or control. On another level though, an overall theme of her work is
principally to search and find the “…human warmth
and companionship in a present-day, industrialized
society”. (Derek Elley, World Film Directors Vol. II,
1988). Something we could all do with more of.
I found Adoption to be a compelling, hopeful and
redemptive tale that seems even more significant given
the plight of today’s splintering and noncommunicative family that seems to be emotionally
challenged. The weakened family model, a societal
problem, is not directly confronted by the film’s characters but lingers in the background, contextualizing
the individual as more important than the structure.
The rich black and white tones of the film lend an austerity to the story, supporting the characters’ desperate
quest for emotion and colour in an otherwise drab
world. Mészáros suggests that the traditional model of
family needn’t be adhered to anymore and that any
relationship where people respect and nurture one another should be celebrated.
Adoption (in Hungarian with English subtitles) is
available for rent on DVD at Videomatica, 1855 West
4th Avenue, Vancouver, BC 604 734-0411.
Zsuzsanna Ardó. Culture Shock! Hungary: A Guide to Customs and Etiquette.
Portland: Graphic Arts Centre Publishing Company, 2003. $18.95
by Anita Bedő
If you are a Hungarian, be prepared to laugh at
yourself! If you are a non-Hungarian, steel yourself to
enter the high-intensity world of the Magyars! Ardó,
self-described as “Hungarian by birth, English by
existence, human by inclination, and humorous by
nature,” presents a comprehensive and often hilarious - exposé of the
Hungarian psyche, culture, language, and generally everything
you always wanted to know about
Hungary, but were afraid to ask.
The entire book is written with a
wry humour; she is merciless and
leaves no stone unturned. On the
practical side, the book is also a
valuable resource for any aspiring
Hungarian, or at least for those
interested in visiting the country.
Ardó begins with a brutally
honest jab at the Hungarian ego.
The opening quote from István
Őrkény sets the tone for the rest of
the book: “Hungary. A mania with
a population of ten million. It is
now generally regarded as curable, though this would
take away much of its charm.” Having grown up
around Hungarian immigrants, I can attest to the fact
that Ardó’s description, however sarcastic and
exaggerated it may sound, is actually spot-on. The
quintessential Hungarian is a drama queen, dripping in
patriotism, a feeling of uniqueness, sense of loss, selfpity, and a “soupçon of superiority.” They are everready to rattle-off Hungary’s accomplishments, list her
brilliant and famous actors, scientists, athletes, poets,
and composers, and to revel to excess in their food,
music, and dance. On the other hand, she goes on to
discuss the Hungarian phobia for, and stereotypes of,
the “other,” meaning, Jews, Slavs, Germans, Turks,
and Scots, for example. She does go into the historical
context of where these phobias and stereotypes come
from, so the reader can at least decide whether they are
justified or unfounded. In either case, Hungarians
have a long memory and hard feelings die hard.
Our next lesson involves traditions and values:
everything from gender relations to politics to family
values to the unfortunate trends involving alcoholism
and suicide. While even the Hungarian propensity for
alcoholism and suicide are presented with irony and
humour, Ardó does have the sense and sensitivity to
provide contact information for supportive agencies,
should the reader or an acquaintance be suffering or be
in need of assistance. In line with the irreverence for
such personal matters, Ardó warns about the
Hungarian penchant for gossip and an apparent
disregard for one’s privacy, except, of course, when it
comes to their own!
The bulk of the rest of the book provides some very
practical information, still peppered with humour. Her
rudimentary magyar language lesson is useful and
encouraging, and helps to demystify the language.
Be careful, though, some of the explanations
for pronunciation are actually inaccurate - a small editorial glitch,
perhaps. If you are a serious student
of Hungarian, Ardó provides a list
of Hungarian language schools,
mostly in Budapest. Throughout
the book, Ardó repeatedly reminds
us of the love and protectiveness
Hungarians feel towards their
beloved language. If you’re going
to be heading to Hungary any time
soon, or know of any Hungarians in
your own country, be sure to make
an effort to learn a bit, and not just
the standard “hello” and “thank
you!” The Hungarian attitude is
“go big or go home:” a half-hearted
attempt will just be seen as
insulting. If you are planning to
make a permanent move to Hungary, Ardó’s book is a
great resource for things such as looking for a home,
understanding the school system, becoming acquainted
with the social and entertainment scene, obtaining
important documents such as citizenship or medical
papers, finding a job, or starting a business.
Probably one of the most valuable aspects of the
book is the information on how to interact with
Hungarians - what topics of conversation are taboo,
what sort of behaviour is expected under certain
circumstances, and general dos and don’ts of etiquette.
The last chapter is a cultural quiz that lays out a
number of scenarios and poses problems to be solved.
It is a multiple-choice exam designed to help you
avoid any social faux pas, each option discussed with
reasons for why you should or shouldn’t do each of
them. It is very insightful and should give you some
confidence in a wide variety of social situations.
The book is a delight to read and often had me
laughing out loud. My favourite part was her
discussion of the demystification of the patikus
(pharmacist). In days past, when entering a patika or
pharmacy, customers could not simply walk down the
aisles and obtain whatever they were after; they would
have to ask the patikus for the items. Such is no
longer the case. Ardó, however, laments the loss of
the free entertainment of watching a hapless fellow,
speaking not a word of Hungarian, trying to convey to
the patikus in sign language that what he was after was
a box of condoms! Culture Shock! Hungary is an easy
read, informative, and a wealth of amusement for
Hungarians and non-Hungarians alike.
7
NHV BOOK REVIEW
HOLD ON TO YOUR HATS, WE’RE GOING TO HUNGARY!
by
Rosika
Schwimmer
HUNGARIAN FOLK TALES
The Resonant Cave
Among the peaked mountains of lovely Torna there is one
particularly famous elevation. In its
wooded slope is hidden a cave from the
dark corners of which sonorous sounds reverberate.
The hollow rocks seem to be filled with their own music,
as the sounds ring from one wall to the other.
The hillside around the resonant cave was once, long, long
ago, the place of a romance. When the good people of Torna
get together for corn-husking or a spinning feast or for any of
the occasions when stories are told, the old romance is sure to
be one of the legends the young people will clamour for,
because they never tire of hearing the story of lovely Juliska.
Ages and ages ago, one mellow autumn day, a lovely
maiden went with her basket into the woods to gather the last
berries ripening on bushes of many-coloured foliage. The
young girl sang softly as she went along, picking here a berry
for her basket and there one for her own berry-like red-lipped
mouth. She sang sad melodies and gay tunes like the
Hungarians do, and skipped from bush to bush where they
invited her with tempting ripe fruit.
Climbing higher and higher on the mountain side, Juliska
stopped with a cry of delight before a bush clustered with
deep-red, fully ripened berries. When she reached out to pick
them a voice from nowhere startled her:
“Pretty little girl, are the berries ripe?” asked the mysterious voice. Juliska dropped the basket. The berries she had
previously picked rolled all around her while she was
scanning the scene for the source of the voice.
She looked up and down and to both sides. She looked up
to the sky, but there was nobody visible. The scene was quiet
and not a soul was around. There were trees and bushes and
grass and rocks, but not a living soul. Yet the voice asked
again:
“Pretty little girl, are the berries ripe?”
Juliska did not know what to think. But before she could
move a kindly looking man stepped out of the cave. The
entrance was hidden behind the rich foliage of the bushes,
from which Juliska had been about to pick the ripe berries.
“Are the berries ripe, good girl?” the kind-looking man
asked her again. A friendly smile lighted his serious face.
“They are, sir,” answered Juliska, picking up her empty
basket. “They are, and I will be glad to pick some for you; I
know how to reach for them between the thorns.”
The kind-faced serious man followed Juliska as she
mounted higher and higher searching for berries. On the top of
the mountain they sat down for a rest.
“I heard your sweet voice, good girl,” said the stranger.
“Won’t you sing for me one of your sad and one of your gay
songs?”
“Gladly, good stranger. But if you don’t mind I should
like to fill my basket with berries before it grows dark. Won’t
you hold the basket while I pick the fruit?”
The kind-faced, serious man held the basket, and Juliska
sang for him while she moved from bush to bush gathering the
last fruits.
The tinkling sound of the evening bells came faintly up
from the valley. It was hardly more than a noiseless sound,
but enough to remind Juliska that she should turn home before
darkness fell.
She took her basket, drew her gay handkerchief closer
around her curly head, and took leave of the friendly stranger.
The mysterious stranger thanked her warmly for the berries
she had picked for his delectation and the melodies she had
sung for his pleasure. Drawing a beautiful ring from his
pocket he put it on Juliska’s finger and said: “Take this ring,
good girl, and take good care of it. It might bring you help if
you are in trouble and give you happiness. Take good care of
it.”
Juliska thanked the mysterious stranger for his gift and
light-heartedly started home. With winged feet did she hurry,
anxious to show the gift of the stranger to her sweetheart
whom she loved with all her heart and soul. But what was her
amazement when Jóska answered her radiant greeting with
savage scowl. Juliska had extended her hand with the
sparkling ring in joyous greeting, but Jóska seized the hand as
if it were leprous.
“Who gave you this precious ring?” he hissed viciously.
“You faithless - you deceitful - “
The startled girl looked horrified at her beloved Jóska. The
boy, however, was in such a frenzy of jealousy that he would
not listen to Juliska’s explanation. He tore himself away and
flung insults at her. Poor Juliska thought she must die at her
sweetheart’s savage outbreak. In vain did she try to speak.
Jóska continued pouring out insulting accusations like a
torrent.
“You false creature, the sparkling ring speaks more truthContinued on page 19...
“The Resonant Cave” was published in 1928. This literary folktale appears in the collection
of tales entitled Tisza Tales, written by Rosika Schwimmer and illustrated by Willy Pogány.
8
...continued from our last issue:
BUDAPEST CHRONICLES II
The man, his wife, their three sons. Like the TV show. Him: small, muscular forearms,
moustache, combed hair, slight but strong, nice smile, caring father. Her: buck teeth, overweight,
blouse, gold chain, thick glasses, smiling. The sons: oldest sharing an MP3 player with middle
brother, no fighting, eating chocolate, cellphone chat, brotherly love. Youngest: cute, looks like me
(?) in those old pictures. My life as a metaphor of world history – western history.
The lost recipe for cement. The tie that binds – civilization. Middle ages – a blank of memories
from 4 to 9, small minute microscopic details. The digital, full colour womb pictures of a fetus in
the Bazilika. A baby carriage half filled with sand, little crucifixes in the desert pram. What to
think? The church can tell you. Rich sooted gild, baroque death, a holy trinity: producer, director,
actor/ father, son, holy ghost / ghost of machinations.
Gypsy steak, octopus pork fat ring, a little waving flag, the waiter’s knowing smile, beer,
cabbage, pickles, grease. The wound-up tram, de-accelerating past Sunday’s grace.
A day for civil servants, blue wristbands, bathtubs of meat soup, plastic bowls, lattice pastries,
pepper slices. A bowl of blood, bull’s blood, a tired mass, recognized. Egri Bikavér, Eger’s minaret,
gyros, 46M tall, more theological enticements.
Terror House, Gellért steam bath, Great Market, villamos and metró, architecture, Ráday street
and Liszt square, the outdoor swimming complex (for sure) on Margitsziget, West End Mall,
Nyugati for the faces, the hill, the Citadella, museum, the stares, look both ways, then again.
The Haver’s misery. He smiled for pizza. In his office a ransacking was taking place. Perhaps
out of anger or spite, jealous rage, indifference; not for us to know. She wore a blue track suit and
anger, turning over his suitcases, flinging them, flyers flying, gruff grunts, wild and tired, she threw
his stuff around. The street mess. He would return to this chaos, would he restore it or just start a
new collection? This morning he said “hi.”
The buildings of Hungary’s capital are filled with ghosts. History is not kind to them.
Went to the castle for a boo. Live guitar, tourists, churches and a falcon for rent. Pay the
falconer. Took in the museum of war, free to get in, 600 HUF to take pictures, the cashier couldn’t
make change for a thousand. One of those semi-exasperating head scratchers, “you can’t make
change?” You’re not kidding? Admonishing us, she dug into her own purse to retrieve 400 forint.
These moments are… whatever. They are what they are. Why should I assume that a tourist
destination in a city of two million would have the equivalent of two dollars in the till? Let it go.
Sometimes I think they do it just to give you a bit of a headache for bothering them with your
existence. The museum had a lot of uniforms, decorations, weapons and glorified violence. I can’t
get excited by these symbols of a nation’s desire to kill with technology any more.
A Spanish woman on tram #2 licks a tissue and wipes grime from her cheek. She uses a small
mirror to study the progress. She rubs hard at the dirt. Her face and neck become red and blotchy.
In her mind she has achieved a closer approximation of beauty.
Auchan, the French Wal-Mart, a clearing house for Chinese disposable house-wares. A great
selection of unnecessary crap. Over caffeineated security guards demand the film from our camera
for attempting to take a photograph of the exodus of temporarily sated consumers. A firm “NO!”
does the trick. Power is hard to come by. We laugh and learn.
There’s a Russian “arbat.” A freezer full of freezer-burnt seafood. All expensive – all ready for
the dumpster. Russian writing with Deutsch GMBH. Pseudorusskya. The shopgirl seems
authentically ticked that we even came in; she has been trained well.
Went to Hungary’s biggest cemetery today. Kereszturi Temető. The kremo smoke was rising.
Gray and thick. Walked past an endless succession of tombstones, at least 4K’s worth, before we
arrived in the furthest corner at marker 301 where Imre Nagy’s bones rest. 1956’s biggest political
star and scapegoat, he was “reburied” after the Soviets left in ’89. The memorial is surrounded by
dark carved gravesticks of other fallen martyrs. Hungarian totems.
I ask a teenager to take our picture. He seemed intrigued and clumsily held the camera at arm’s
length and looked at the back of it as if it were a digital with an LCD screen. He didn’t look through
the viewfinder, he didn’t know how: seemed like a monkey imitating what he had seen. He held the
shutter button down for one second, I hear two frames click off. Like most things you do here with
others, surprise comes. Cellphones, digital cameras, cars, shopping, fast phood, computerized
lifestyles, all contribute to the creation of the planet’s expanding youth demographic; a melting
brain for a pixilated universe.
Continued in our next issue...
9
by Angus MacDonald
PHOTO: ANGUS MacDONALD
A literary junket through the streets of Hungary’s Capital
NEWS
FROM HUNGARY
GOOD HARVEST EXPECTED
2008.VII.17.
A quarterly report on Hungarian
agriculture indicates a good harvest is
expected this year. Following the very
poor year of 2007, AgrárMonitor
2008/2 says in its quarterly report that
wheat will surpass last year’s harvest by
a quarter, also sunflower and rape seed
as well. However, the EU’s common
agricultural policy reform damages the
Hungarian food industry - imports are
overtaking the domestic sales by a
considerable percentage.
HUNGARY GRAND PRIX
EXTENDED UNTIL 2016
2008.VIII.08.
The ticket sales at the Mogyoród
racetrack reached a record of 27 billion
HUF in August, prompting Formula
One boss Bernie Ecclestone and Minister István Gyenesei to extend the event
until 2016. Gyenesei said in an interview: “Hungary acted in a timely
fashion, as the number of Formula One
races in Europe might be reduced to five
from the current ten.” Heikki
Kovalainen of Finland won the race
after Spain’s Felipe Massa’s Ferrari
broke down.
REFUGEES RIOT IN DEBRECEN
2008.VIII.06.
A fight broke out between two
groups of refugees in the Debrecen
Refugee Centre over access to use of
internet. The fight became serious and
police had to intervene. Lloyd Dakin,
the local head of UNHCR (UN Agency
Representation in Central Europe) puts
the blame on government’s funding
cuts, which resulted in in adequate
staffing at the centre. Dakin said:
“Most of the people are sitting idle in
the camp, many of them single males.
No wonder their frustrations are piling
up. There are only four social workers
for 400 people and they find it hard to
cope. The ERF (European Refugee
Fund) may or may not be granted, and
basic assistance require government
funding to be sustainable,” said Dakin.
HUNGARIAN AND
CROATIAN TOWNS TO BUILD
BRIDGE TOGETHER
2008.VIII.27.
The towns of Kerkaszentkirály, Hungary and Podturen in Croatia signed an
agreement on August 25, 2008 about
building a bridge over the Mura River,
as well as a 3km road connecting the
two towns. The mayor of Kerkaszentkirály, Zoltán Pál, told MTI that
Slovenia would also join the project to
include the small area which is wedged
between the Hungarian and Croatian
towns.
HUNGARIANS AT
OLYMPICS IN BEIJING
2008.VIII. 27.
Attila Vajda, canoeist, won the first
gold medal for Hungary in the C1
1000m, when he clocked 3:50:52.
László Cseh, swimmer, won a silver
medal for Hungary in the men’s 400m
medley. Cseh, who set a European
record of 4:06:16 in the final, finished
in second place.
The Hungarian water polo team won
their third consecutive Olympic gold
medal beating the US team 14-10. Six
members of the team participated in all
three victories: Tibor Benedek, Péter
Biros, Tamás Kásás, Gergely Kiss,
Tamás Molnár and Zoltán Szécsi.
HUNGARIAN DEVELOPER
PLANS NEW AIRPORT
2008.IX.23.
Real estate developer Biggeorge’sNV plans to build a new international
airport to compete with the Hungarian
capital's main airport, Ferihegy, Reuters
reported. The new facility, Alba
Airport, will be built near the city of
Székesfehérvár, 60 kilometres southwest of Budapest.
The airport is set to open for international traffic in the first half of 2010.
Biggeorge’s-NV, owned by private
individuals in Hungary, claims it has a
portfolio of development projects
valued at more than US $914 million, it
said.
10
by Magda Sasvári
HUNGARIAN PENSIONER
DONATES LIFE SAVINGS TO
CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL
2008.IX.24.
89-year-old pensioner József Csarmaz donated his life savings of
€125,000 to a Budapest children's
hospital. Csarmaz was able to make the
unusually large gift because he had been
saving money throughout his 70 years
of work.
With an additional HUF 5 million
supplied by the hospital, Csarmaz's gift
will be used to purchase an echocardiography machine. Csarmaz had made
his bequest after hearing of the
hospital’s struggle to purchase the
American made device, which uses
ultrasound to view the inner workings
of a patient’s heart.
BUDAPEST TO CLOSE
ANOTHER BRIDGE TO TRAFFIC
EARLY NEXT YEAR
2008.IX.24.
Renovation of the Margit (Margaret)
Bridge will start early next year, before
the Szabadság (Liberty) Bridge is
opened to car traffic at the end of May,
writes Népszabadság, based on information from the press department of the
mayor of Budapest. Earlier, it was
reported that city leaders may rethink
closing off two bridges at the same
time.
During renovations to the Margit
Bridge, tram traffic will not be interrupted, but it will be closed to cars. The
exact launch date of the project will be
announced at the end of this year, after
contracts with constructor companies
are signed.
Tram traffic can restart on the
Szabadság Bridge on December 20th,
and the bridge will be reopened to cars
at the end of May. Renovation of the
Margit Bridge cannot be put off until
the end of spring, because it is an EU
project with strict deadlines, and work
has to be completed in 2010, the press
department said.
Sources: Budapest Online,
Magyar Nemzet, Hir TV.
www.mindandmatterart.com
September 22nd is World Car-Free Day - a
day meant to encourage the people to leave
their cars at home and use alternatives like
public transportation and bicycles. About
12,000 people participated in Budapest’s
second Critical Mass bike ride this year on
Car-Free Day (about 80,000 cyclists took part
in the earlier one in April). The ride started at
Hősök tere (Heroes’ Square) with a “bike-lift”
– the cyclists’ symbol of solidarity; at 6:30pm,
and ended at Moszkva tér (Moscow Square)
with another bike-lift at 8:00pm. The goals of
Critical Mass Budapest are to raise awareness
of the benefits of bicycling and other
alternative means of transportation,
and to assert cyclists’ right to the
road. They would also like to see
a separate lane marked out for
cyclists on Rákóczi Street.
The first Critical Mass ride in
Budapest was organised on CarFree Day, September 22nd, 2004,
and drew 4,000 participants. By
Earth Day 2005, the number rose
to 10,000 and doubled for the
September 2005 event. On Earth
Day 2006 they made an international record with 32,000 participants. In 2007, 50,000 people
turned out and by April 2008 they
CRITICAL MASS
had 80,000. They organize the event twice a year for Earth Day
in April and for Car-Free Day. They have received an award
from Budapest City Council for their efforts in promoting
cycling as an alternative transport and improving the transportation culture in the capital city. They are also proud that for
three years running the number of people using their bicycles on
a daily basis in Budapest has doubled each year, a growth rate
unmatched anywhere else in the world.
Lorraine Weideman
Photos courtesy of Gergely Pál Sallay
MIND
AND
MATTER
HUNGARIAN
LANGUAGE LINK
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11
SKÓT ISKOLA
the South-West of Scotland was appointed Matron of
the school, which at that time had about 400 pupils,
mainly girls. The 1930s saw the rise of anti-Semitism
throughout Europe, and Hungary was no exception.
Anti-Semitism was institutionalized in a number of
laws between 1938 and 1941 beginning with the
Numerus Clauses Act restricting the numbers of Jews who
could occupy positions in the civil service, business and the
professions. It was not a comfortable time to be Jewish and it
would not get any better for some time.
Haining had returned to the UK for a visit in September of
1939, when war broke out. Being familiar with the political
climate in Hungary and wartime sentiment against the foreign
Church of Scotland, she made the journey back to Budapest to
be with her charges at the school. That alone was an act of
great courage considering the circumstances, but greater fortitude was yet to be displayed.
In 1941, Hungary declared war on the USSR and joined
Germany in the invasion of that country. Consequently, war
was soon declared against the British Empire and once again,
nations far apart from one another found themselves in conflict
due to alliances. Strangely, however, the school and church
remained and continued to function. Why that was, I have no
idea, given that the Church of Scotland is not just a Scottish
Church but the established church with the king as its protector
– a part of the British state. Joan Haining and possibly the
minister were subjects of the same king who was at war with
Hungary.
Conditions for Jews in Hungary continued to deteriorate, and
became particularly bad from March of 1944 when the Germans
occupied the country and later engineered the coup which
deposed Regent Admiral Horthy and saw the installation of the
pro-Nazi Arrow Cross government under Ferenc Szálasi. The
school attempted to hide Jewish citizens and aid their escape.
Notwithstanding an attempt to bring the school under the
protection of the Swedish Embassy, the Gestapo arrested Joan
Haining in April of 1944 and she was sent to the Auschwitz
concentration camp where she died on July 17th of that year.
The school, at least, seems to have stopped functioning around
that time and when the Soviet Army entered Budapest, it was
used by the Red Army as a stable.
After the war ended, both school and church started
functioning again but were closed in 1950 when education, and
pretty much everything else, was monopolized by the state.
While occasional services continued, they were conducted by
Hungarian Protestant clergy. The church reopened under
Church of Scotland auspices in 1989, but the school remained
within the state system.
The story of Joan Haining and her pupils illustrates both the
good and the tragic in the human condition. Love and self
sacrifice on one hand – brutality and prejudice on the other.
Joan Haining was a remarkable woman – I feel fortunate to
have learned about her and her story.
This connection between Scotland and Hungary is one of
many, I am sure, that are there to be found. I have read about
Lajos Kossuth being cheered through the streets of the town
where I work. Connections. Some will endure and others will
not, but finding them can bring us closer to our history and can
draw us nearer to foreign places. Even old Lenin had a good
saying about this - he once remarked that everything is
connected to everything else. Good hunting!
A LESSON FROM SCOTTISH
SCHOOL TEACHES US THAT
WE’RE ALL CONNECTED
by Jack Keir
Connecting is a human thing. Finding connections and exploring them is very appealing, and to find affiliations between
one’s homeland and beloved far-off places can be thrilling.
It was while I was in Budapest in 1998 that I discovered a
Scottish church there, and a few years later, while surfing one
of my favourite internet haunts – eBay, I came across and
bought a very curious little antique lapel pin. It immediately
attracted me because it was emblazoned with the flag of my
homeland, Scotland, along with a representation of the
Hungarian flag. It bore whar looked like the initials “SJ” and an
apostolic cross. Through my connections with Hungarians in
Canada, I have, in a roundabout way, gained new connections
in Hungary. A recent new chum is Budapest museum curator
Gergely Sallay, and I asked him if he was familiar with my
mysterious badge, and he kindly solved my conundrum brought forth more questions.
The initials were not “SJ” but “SI” and stood for Skót Iskola,
or Scottish School. So not only was there a Scottish church, but
a school as well. I made contact with the present minister, and
he confirmed that the badge was indeed that of the school. He
also confirmed that it was situated next to the church and that
both buildings were at 51 Vörösmarty Street in the VI District,
and still stand today (I was also invited for tea and scones or, if
I prefer, coffee and dobos cake when next I visit Budapest). In
the meanwhile, Gergely found out that there is a soon to be published book on Hungarian school badges of the inter-war period
and the author had never seen this one!
In 1839, while travelling home to Scotland from the Middle
East, Dr. Dunlop, a Minister of the Church of Scotland, stopped
in Buda. He encountered the Archduchess Maria Dorothea who
was, unusually for a member of Europe’s principal Catholic
monarchy, a Calvinist. He heard of the woeful condition of the
Calvinist church in Hungary, and listened to the pleas of the
Archduchess for him to help breathe life into the Protestant
movement in Hungary. At about the same time, Scots engineer
Adam Clark, who was then busy with the construction of the
Chain Bridge sent a request for some hellfire and damnation
from his native land so that English language services could be
held for him and his workers. Having heard these two calls for
help, in 1841, a Scottish Mission was dispatched to Budapest
with the multi-task of invigorating the local Protestants, converting the Jews to Christianity and to help the poor. In 1846
the school was established with funds from converted Jews.
In addition to offering Christianity to the Jews, the school
became a popular place for the education of the developing
middle class. Scotland had proud education traditions and had
one of the highest levels of literacy in Europe (the word
education derives from the Latin ex duco – to draw out, and my
Scottish education more often than not involved a beating in!).
During the First World War, the church and school closed as
the British and the Austro-Hungarian Empire were sadly at war.
Afterwards they reopened and once again flourished. In 1932
Joan Haining, a young woman from Dumfries and Galloway in
12
LAKE BALATON:
THE BATTLE TO PRESERVE
A NATIONAL TREASURE
If you have been to Hungary, chances are that you have at
least caught a glimpse of the famous Lake Balaton, or simply
“the Balaton.” Also known as the “Hungarian Sea,” Lake
Balaton is the largest freshwater lake in Central Europe, with a
surface area of 593 km2, a length of 78 km, and a width of 7.6
km. Once a summer retreat for the Austro-Hungarian empire's
elite, it was a favoured meeting point for East and West
Germans when communism restricted international travel.
Known for its warm, shallow waters, abundant wildlife, thermal
spas, and picturesque scenery, it is a mecca for tourists, with up
to two million people descending upon the resort area during
the summer months It is also home to a quarter-million people
throughout the year in the 164 municipalities that comprise the
resort area. The Lake Balaton region’s importance to the
Hungarian tourism sector is second only to that of the capital,
Budapest: about one-third of the national income from tourism
is generated in the region.
Those warm, shallow waters, however, are problematic.
With an average depth of 3.2 m, it is one of the shallowest large
lakes in the world, and is in danger of becoming even
shallower. Balaton is fed by rainwater and the Zala River in the
south - home to unique bird life that would be under threat if the
lake continues to dry up. In 2003, The Scotsman (a Scottish
news service) reported, “For the first time since records began
in 1865, four consecutive hot summers and low annual rainfall
have sucked millions of gallons of water from the lake,
exposing large mudflats and forcing holiday makers to walk far
out into the lake before they can swim.” Ironically, three years
before, 1.2 billion cubic metres of water had been drained from
the lake because the water levels were too high, while in 2003,
the water levels had receded to such an extent that boat
launches, board walks and waterslides hovered over mudflats,
rather than water. Some scientists blame global warming, but
there are other factors, as we will see.
A warm environment is a haven for nutrient growth, which
might sound like a good thing, but the result is that the lake fills
up with excessive plant and algae growth in a process called
eutrophication - a process that could eventually spell the
demise of the lake, as it slowly turns from a lake into a marsh.
Most of the area surrounding the lake is agricultural land that
drains into it, taking all manner of fertilizers with it, which adds
to the nutrient problem. In fact, agrofertilizers are identified as
one of the main environmental threats to the lake.
On top of that, the Kis-Balaton region receives a great deal
of precipitation, which causes soil erosion, sending that soil
down into the lake, further contributing to the increasing
shallowness of it. Removal of vegetation for construction of
buildings, infrastructure, and other development destabilizes the
soil so that it is more prone to erosion. This is always a
problem, but more so with high levels of precipitation.
Suddenly that nice warm water doesn’t seem so welcoming.
As is often the case, the beauty of the area is both a blessing and
a curse, drawing flocking tourists and home buyers to the lake
to enjoy the peace and tranquility. Those people need places to
stay, however, necessitating all kinds of development: houses,
cottages, hotels, roads, sewers, places of employment, services,
all of which wreak havoc on the environment if not done
sustainably.
While shallow water may seem like a fairly simple problem,
it has all kinds of ramifications: loss of wildlife habitat;
decrease, or even loss of fish catch as the waters become too
warm for the fish to survive; increased benthic primary
productivity (growth of algae and other aquatic plants, that is);
changing water chemistry; loss of tourism-related income due to
aesthetic concerns and difficult access for commercial or
recreational watercraft as a result of the increased plant growth
and shallow water; as well as decreasing water resources for
irrigation for the agricultural sector. As a consequence, in
addition to the environmental issues, the degradation of the lake
could threaten the economy of the entire region, which accounts
for about 5% of Hungary’s GDP. According to official
statistics, tourism-related income in the region is about US$1.5
billion per year, but the actual figure may be up to two to three
times higher - loss of that much income could be catastrophic
indeed.
All this is not to say, however, that there is no hope. The
13
Continued on page 18...
front, and later to the Italian Front where he took part in many
battles. It’s remarkable how this combination of artist and soldier ended up serving 31 weeks on the front lines. He returned
bristling with medals – including the famous Austro-Hungarian
Signum Laudis and the 1st Class Silver Bravery Medal.
After the war he continued following his artistic passions,
studying with Viktor Olgyai at the Department of Graphics at
the Hungarian College of Fine Arts. He spent the summers of
1921 through 1923 at the Nagybánya artists’ colony. The
colony was established in 1896 by Simon Hollósy and at the
beginning of the 20th century represented the most important
movement in the artistic life of Hungary. The studios there
provided homes for many of Hungary’s great artists - Tibor
Pólya, István Nagy, László Bokros, Magdolna Fazekas, Ferenc
Simon, Ferenc Berényi, László Meggyes, Sándor Baranyó all
spent considerable time there.
From 1921, Aba-Novák’s life partner (and later wife) Katalin (Kató) Vulkovics, was the model for many of his paintings.
Her robust full-figure represented his ideal of monumental form
rather than the conventional concept of female beauty at the
time. He held his first graphics exhibition at the Ernst Museum
in 1922 and his style was characterized by geometric forms,
neo-classicism tendencies and detailed compositions with
strong colours. In 1925, his copper plate engraving Savonarola
won the graphic prize of the Szinyei Society. In 1928 their
daughter Judit was born (who was later captured in his 1935
painting The Artist's Wife and Daughter).
By this time the Hungarian state established a new scholarship for young artists at the Hungarian Academy in Rome – the
government even went as far as purchasing the Falconieri Palace (which houses the academy to this day). Aba-Novák was
one of the first recipients of this scholarship and studied there
by Lorraine Weideman
Vilmos v. Aba-Novák
from 1928 to 1930 - along with his contemporaries Károly
Patkó, István Szőnyi and Pál Pátzay, who became known as the
“Roman School.” Their monumental neo-classicist work had
influences of expressionism and cubism with a strong use of
light and shadow. His experience in Rome developed his work
not only in style, but in medium also - switching from thick oil
to tempera. In 1931 he exhibited his pieces created in Rome
and organised a group exhibition in Milano, where many
Italians purchased his artwork.
Aba-Novák was prolific during his three years in Italy, and
developed his own distinctive style. Now exhibiting his work
internationally, in 1932 he won the Grand Golden Medal of the
Padua International Ecclesiastic Art Exhibition. After his return
to Hungary he was frequently commissioned for his large,
monumental paintings. He painted the frescos for the Roman
Catholic Church in Jászszentandrás in 1933, the Szeged Heroes’
Gate in 1936, and in 1938, the St Stephen Mausoleum in
Székesfehérvár and the Városmajor church in Budapest.
He produced both unique and thought-provoking images that
gained him strong international recognition with major
exhibitions of his paintings in London (1934), New York and
Pittsburgh (1935) and Chicago (1936). He won the Grand Prix
at the World Exhibition in Paris in 1937 and the Venice
The art work of Vilmos v. Aba-Novák first came to my
attention when a friend in Hungary sent me photographs of the
monumental paintings at Hősök Kapuja (Heroes’ Gate) in
Szeged. This remarkable and massive archway was erected in
1936 as a memorial to the 12,000 citizens of the town who died
during the First World War. The fresco is painted on the inside
of the arches and depicts soldiers being led in to battle,
surrounded by saints and trumpeting angels with Christ as the
central figure.
What makes this work even more fascinating is that it was
hidden behind a layer of plaster for the last half-century – the
subject matter being contrary to communist ideology, yet for
some reason carefully preserved. It has been restored and was
re-opened to the public in 2000, highlighting Aba-Novák’s
place as one of Hungary’s leading modern painters.
Vilmos v. Aba-Novák was born in Budapest on March 15th,
1894. He studied at the College of Fine Arts in Budapest
between 1912 and 1914 and for a year he apprenticed with
Adolf Fényes. At the outbreak of World War I, he joined the
Royal Hungarian 29th Infantry Regiment, and as a reserve 1st
Lieutenant he took part in battles at Golichia and Bukovina. On
June 29th, 1915, at Jakimon he was severely wounded. After he
recovered, on August 1st, 1916, he was sent to the Russian
14
artistic periods - the early work
Biennale in 1940.
from when he was developing his
The panels he painted for the
unique style, including his nudes,
1937 Paris World Exhibition
portraits, landscapes from Trandepict Hungarian - French hissylvania, his works from his time
toric relations. It was extremely
in Rome, as well as the pieces
significant because it was the first
done during the summers spent at
time for Hungary to appear at a
the Nagybánya School. Many of
world exhibition since the signing
these paintings were on loan from
of the Treaty of Trianon. The
some fifty private collectors, as
seven monumental panels were
well as public collections in
780cm x 200cm, and illustrated
Hungary, Rome, Latvia, Lithuania
Hungarian and French history and Slovakia. There was also a
the Battle of Nándorfehérvár, the
photographic display with images
history of church bells sounding
of him taken by his friend André
at noon, the Parliament of Torda
Kertész along with a digitized
in 1557 (where the freedom of
film of Aba-Novák during a trip
conscience was declared), the
to New York in 1935. Also
construction of the Royal Palace
included were some forgeries of
of Esztergom, and the Hungarian
his work.
hussars of Bercsényi and La
Vilmos v. Aba-Novák is one of
Fayette. It was a great success
Hungary's most esteemed artists
and when Picasso saw Abaof the early twentieth century.
Novák’s panels he asked, “Who
His unique and thought provoking
is this barbaric genius?”
art, portraying stylized figures,
This summer, with help from
heroic portraits, religious imagery
his grandson Kristóf Kováts,
and calm allegorical landscapes,
there was a major exhibition of
all reflect his genius.
his work at the Modern and ConHe secured a teaching position
temporary Art Centre (MODEM)
The artist’s wife and daughter, 1936
at the College of Fine Arts in
in Debrecen. The retrospective
Budapest in 1939, and worked almost until his last breath, sadly
was entitled The Barbarian Genius and included 150 of his
dying at 47 from lung cancer on September 29th, 1941.
paintings and 100 drawings. The exhibition covered all of his
Magyar-francia kapcsolatok (Hungarian-French Connections), 1936
15
by Eddi Wagner
schools - or professionally engaging in sports - is very high in
Zenta. This town rightfully prides itself for its very long and
rich sport traditions too. Many professional athletes who have
represented Hungary and later Yugoslavia and Serbia in the
Olympic Games come from Zenta.
As anywhere else in Délvidék, bicycling is very significant
in Zenta. Straight, wide streets, or the Tisza bank lined with
wild chestnut trees, or the Népkert (people’s park, built in
1866), offer a pleasant experience for cyclists. It’s a fantastic
way to explore the town
and see the jewels of old
Hungarian architecture
Riverbank in Zenta
along the way.
As in every other
town it passes through,
“her majesty,” the river
Tisza in Zenta is very
important. That is especially true in September
when it flows quickly
but its surface is rather
calm and quiet. The
Tisza also floods quite
often, especially in
March and April, but
people still love it – it’s
a part of their lives.
Local fishermen prepare their wooden boats
for winter hibernation,
and it is quite an
extraordinary experience to watch them re-tar the bottoms of
their craft just to make them ready for winter storage. But
please keep in mind: when you see the fishermen, never ask
them where they are going or if they have caught something that would surely bring them bad luck and greatly reduce their
chances of catching fish!
We know that this area has been populated since ancient
times. Long before our Hungarian ancestors arrived to the
Carpathian basin from central Asia, these areas had been
populated with many different peoples from many different
cultures: Sarmatians, Gepides, Avars, Visigoths, Huns, Romans,
Jews, Bulgarians, Dacians, Slavs and Saxons. Early documents
refer to Zenta and the year 1216 (during the reign of Hungarian
King András II), where it is mentioned that the town was known
as the settlement of Szintarév. There were numerous
Mongolian and Tartar invasions in Pannonia at the time, which
didn’t spare the town of Zenta. By 1246, Zenta belonged to
Csanád County.
In the early XVI century, a bitter rivalry and hostilities were
mentioned between the towns of Zenta and Szeged. Appar-
Zenta, a beautiful and charming town of 40,000 in the
historical Hungarian Délvidék (the southern lands) is now
known as Senta, in the Bácska region of the Serbian province of
Vojvodina, today the Republic of Serbia. Even today, ethnic
Hungarians make up over 80% of the inhabitants of Zenta - they
are predominantly Roman Catholics, and Hungarian is still the
first language of most of them.
Tourists can drink the renowned local wine, snack on delicious home-made pastry, dance the csárdás in the street with
locals to the music of
the tárogató, taste delicious hot - hot - hot
halászlé (fish-soup), or
take a walking tour of
this beautiful town.
But most foreigners
who know of Zenta
heard of it thanks to the
famous Battle of Zenta
(against the Ottoman
Turks) that took place
there in the year 1697.
Zenta feels exceptionally special in September.
The
slow
breeze carries the smell
of leaves and grass
over to the other bank,
on the Bánát side. The
old iron bridge over the
river Tisza looks mystical on a foggy morning, and the Tisza’s banks have a special
charm when the leaves on the trees get dark yellow tones. A
nice morning stroll or a jog along the right side bank of Tisza is
highly recommended. My usual visits to this town mostly
happened in early autumn, when I was exposed to all those
unforgettable smells. I was most impressed with the smell of
roasted Hungarian peppers throughout town in September and
October. Locals would take advantage of freshly picked seasonal autumn fruits and vegetables, sold at open air markets and
corner stores. True gifts of God, (wax-free) apples and
(definitely organic) grapes not only look charming and smell
fantastic, they have some stories to tell, believe me. To
discover them, all you need to do is to indulge your senses.
If you genuinely appreciate live classical music, just take a
walk through the town on a Sunday morning, and chances are
good that through the open windows of most houses and
apartments, you will hear people of all ages playing music, most
commonly the violin, piano or the tárogató. Listening to
younger students practicing so very hard is precious. The
percentage of children and young people attending music
16
ently, the main reason was the practice of the government of
Zenta charging high taxes on wine that was sold to Szeged. In
1506, Zenta became a Free Royal town, and the next twenty
years were marked by great cultural and economical success. In
1526, Ottoman Turks besieged Zenta and completely destroyed
the town. Most Hungarians were either massacred or taken as
slaves, while the very few who survived the initial attacks fled
to the north towards the Tátra Mountains, in present day Slovakia. The Turks then built a fort on the ruins of the old town and
later settled thousands of Serbian peasants there. Zenta soon
became known for its minarets and Turkish mosques.
Turkish occupation only ended in 1697 when the united
European armies led by Eugene of Savoy fought the famous
Battle of Zenta. This battle,
a catastrophic defeat for
Ottoman Turks, marked the
end of their aspirations for
advancement in Europe.
The Treaty of Karlowitz in
1699 finally regulated the
end of Turkish rule in the
southern Hungarian lands,
and until 1751 established a
military frontier as a buffer
zone between the Turkish
dominated Balkans and Central Europe. At that time,
most of the Serbs who lived
in Zenta moved to the
Ukraine (to New Serbia and
Slavo-Serbia), while many
Ukrainian Cossacks settled
in Zenta. Repopulation of
Zenta continued throughout
the XVIII and XIX centuries, when many Hungarians
(mainly from Jász, Heves,
and Hont), Slovaks, Germans and Jews settled in
Zenta
and
surrounding
towns.
Zenta is the birthplace of
many great personalities Zenta City Hall
some of the most famous are
Lajos Thurzó (author, journalist); Géza Habri (musician); Gyula Dudás (writer and poet); Ferenc Bozsó (engineer);
Dr. István Bugarszky (chemist) and Mihály Schwarcz
(mathematician). Lajos Kóssuth also spent some time in Zenta.
In 1760, a catastrophic fire spread throughout town burning
down 729 houses. Many Zentans died, and many moved away.
During the Hungarian War of Independence of 1848-1849,
Zenta suffered a lot. Sadly, local Serbs sided with the Austrians
who promised them more freedom. Many historians believe
that during this tragic event, Serbs and Hungarians became bitter enemies for the first time in history. It is said that at this
time many proud Zentans publicly played the tárogató, despite
it being outlawed by Imperial Habsburg authorities for being
“too nationalistic.”
Soon after the war, Zenta prospered again. In 1855, Tisza
river banks were regulated, and in 1873 a wooden bridge over
Tisza was built. The town got its first river port in 1880. Electrification started in 1895 as a part of the overall development,
just before the official visit of Emperor Franz Joseph I. The
first railway tracks connected Zenta to Szabadka and Budapest
in 1895, just in time to bring the Emperor to town. The first
telephone bell in Zenta was heard in 1899. The first kindergarten was established in 1867, and the first Hungarian High
School in Zenta was built in 1870. This prestigious school
nurtured generations of intellectuals who left very important
impressions in Hungarian culture.
By 1910, Zenta had about 30,000 inhabitants. The town then
belonged to Bács-Bodrog County of the Kingdom of Hungary.
Fortunately, the First World War did not leave much of a mark
on the town. On the 16th of
November, 1918, the Serbian army marched into
Zenta, marking the end of
the Kingdom of Hungary.
An economic and cultural
stagnation of Zenta had
begun. In 1941, the Hungarian Army entered Zenta and
re-claimed it. Toward the
end of World War II its
citizens fell victim to the
Nazis and after to the
Soviets. Following the war,
Serbian partisans took revenge on ethnic Hungarians.
With the rise of Serbian
nationalism in the 1990s,
many Zentans moved away
to the Republic of Hungary
or elsewhere in Europe,
Australia or North America.
Even though they form a
strong ethnic majority in
town, Hungarians did not
feel safe in Zenta in those
years. After 2001, however,
the
situation
improved
somewhat.
The
current
President of the Executive
Council of the Autonomous
Province of Vojvodina,
Bojan Pajtić, was born in
Zenta. This young intellectual pro-Western ethnic Serb
politician is fluent in English and Hungarian, and while
respected and admired by most people in Vojvodina and
throughout Europe, he is disliked by Serbian nationalists. He is
a true example of the multicultural spirit of today’s Vojvodina
society.
The Zentans of today keep very close ties with Hungary.
Many of them are being educated in universities throughout
Hungary, and Zenta hosts many international competitions, art
exhibitions, and other cultural and sporting events.
The location of the famous Battle of Zenta, with its modest
monument is definitely worth visiting. It is rather quiet today.
No fears, no worries. No battles. All quiet. But we may still
hear a tárogató in Zenta reminding us all that Hungarians are
still around and that Hungarian culture is there to stay.
17
...Balaton continued from page 13
fund, which will be the first regional source of financial
assistance aimed at civil society organisations involved in
environmental protection. LBCDA Director Gábor Molnár
explained that the area was in poor environmental condition in
the 1980s, but thanks to environmental infrastructure projects,
such as water treatment and waste management systems,
improvements are now becoming highly visible in the region.
A call for proposals was held in January 2008 with the intent of
funding about 30 projects, such as increasing green spaces
through planting flowers and trees, eradicating ragweed,
maintaining bicycle paths, eliminating illegal waste disposal
sites and organising waste collection campaigns in the nearby
communities.
In 2005, LBDC and the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) launched the “Lake Balaton
Integrated Vulnerability Assessment, Early Warning and
Adaptation Strategies” project to develop a better understanding
of Lake Balaton’s ecological and socio-economic vulnerability
and resilience in response to global and local change, including
land use, and demographic, economic and climatic change. The
project also builds capacity for more effective policy-making
and adaptation measures in response to all these changes.
In addition to these projects, a quick internet search will
reveal all manner of academic symposia relating to the lake,
projects being undertaken by graduate students internationally,
as well as recognition internationally that Lake Balaton, given
its uniqueness, is not only a Hungarian national treasure, but a
world treasure worthy of extensive efforts to preserve it.
Lake Balaton region has a long-standing tradition of scientific
research - the first large-scale research program took place over
the years 1891-1918, resulting in a series of monographs on the
geology, geography, meteorology, hydrology, zoology and
botany of Lake Balaton and its surroundings. The Balaton
Limnological Research Institute of the Hungarian Academy of
Sciences was established in 1927 to study the ecology of the
lake. During the last decades, tourism research and tourism
development measures have focused mainly on water quality,
with a view to ensuring the long-term stability of the tourism
sector, as well as improving the residents’ quality of life.
Recent research and adaptation efforts (proactive measures
to counteract climate change effects) are attempting to reconcile
the traditional paradox between economic development and
environmental protection. For example, through the Lake Balaton Development Council (LBDC) and other partners, Lake
Balaton has been included in the international CLIME project
that is investigating the impact of climate change on the ecology
of a number of lakes in Europe. The Hungarian Academy of
Sciences and the Ministry of Environment and Water are also
looking at adaptation issues, primarily agriculture at the national level, which will have implications for land use in the
Lake Balaton region.
At the local level, the region has established a €1.6 million
fund to preserve and improve the environment through
small-scale projects carried out in partnership between
municipalities and public benefit companies, private citizens,
NGOs and other civil society organisations. The Lake Balaton
Development Coordination Agency (LBDCA) is managing the
Anita Bedő
18
ATTILA THE BUN
I stopped at the Broadway and Macdonald COBS Bread store on Sunday July
6th, 2008 and to my surprise they had a new product: The Continental Hungarian
Roll. I eagerly ordered one and asked the counterperson if he knew what makes
it Hungarian. The fellow consulted his computer screen and responded, “I’m not
sure, but speaking from my experience, it’s based on our Continental dough so
it’s chewier and denser than our regular breads.” I wondered, is this what
epitomizes Hungarian-ness in the 21st century: a tough exterior and impenetrable
Composite
core? The bun looked like an oversized dinner roll, and upon trial, it was indeed
illustration of bun
chewy and dense. It had a sweetish flavour, and it was a workout to finish one by
myself. Better for sharing I thought. Get a few friends together, slather some körözött (cheese spread) on one, or layer a few
slices of magyar szalámi és erős paprika (Hungarian salami and hot pepper), serve with a hideg sőr (cold beer) and Csaba’s your
uncle. Hungary yet?
I emailed COBS headquarters my query about The Continental Hungarian Roll, and received this response: “I'm delighted to
inform you that the Hungarian selection was named after one of our Delightful Bakers who has a Hungarian background and
worked at creating this product.”
Not much to go on really. Who was this “Delightful Baker?” What is he/she all about? What inspired them to create the
bun? Better still, what makes the roll Hungarian?
I returned a week later to the Broadway outlet to see if the Roll was still available. It wasn’t. I asked the staff member if it
would be in the future. He yelled to the back, “What about those Hungarians?” A baker named Melisio came forward. “You
like the Hungarians? I make 30 of them and at the end of the day I have 29 left.” Hmm, not overly popular with the average
consumer it would seem. “We all love them though,” he went on, “but at 90 cents each they don’t seem to be selling.” He
offered to make a fresh batch for me. “But I only want two, don’t make 30 of them,” I said. He said he’d make four: I’d get two
and he’d take two, “come in next Saturday and I’ll have them for you.”
Unfortunately I wasn’t in town to collect the custom order of two Hungarian buns. I encourage interested readers to track
down the elusive roll and try it for themselves.
Angus MacDonald
...folktale continued from page 11
The gentle-faced, serious man smiled at the unhappy young
pair. He took the boy’s and the girl’s hand and started with
them toward the near-by village. With kindly words he scolded
the young lover for his mistrust in lovely Juliska, and by the
time they arrived at the village Jóska realized the mistake he
had made in his fit of jealousy.
But what was the astonishment of Juliska and Jóska when
they saw young and old curtseying to the mysterious stranger.
The people bowed respectfully as the stranger passed them
holding Juliska’s hand with his right and Jóska’s with his left
hand.
“You silly boy,” King Béla said to Jóska. “Be careful not to
hurt this lovely girl with rash accusations. She has been faithful
to you, and you should be humbly grateful for her love. I will
ask her to forget how you hurt her pride and to forgive you for
once.”
The King then turned to Juliska: “And you, good girl, were
also rash throwing the ring your king gave you in a passion into
the well. Hadn’t I told you to take good care of it?”
“Now, my children, you will forgive and forget and be
happy in mutual love and trust.”
The King knighted Jóska, and Juliska realized that the
King’s ring had brought her luck and happiness, as he had said
when he presented it to her.
Juliska and Jóska married and lived happily ever after,
loving and trusting each other all their lives.
And the berries around the resonant cave are today as fragrant and delicious as they were ages ago when lovely Juliska
picked them for King Béla, the kind-faced, serious stranger.
fully than your deceitful tongue. I leave you to be happy with
your new sweetheart. I leave you - you will never see me
again.” Jóska started to leave her, but Juliska, with the strength
of her hurt pride, caught hold of his sleeve.
“Stop and listen to me!” she cried. “I have loved you dearly
and I love you still, though you have cut my heart. See - “ she
said, and with a swift gesture drew the ring from her finger and
flung it into a near-by well.
The diamond glittered brilliantly as the ring flew high up
into the air before dropping into the well.
But jealousy had gripped the unreasonable Jóska. He
sulkily looked at the unhappy girl and started again to leave her.
Juliska’s pride filled the slender young girl with mature
dignity. “I won’t let you go with the cruel thoughts in your
mind and the injustice in your heart.”
“Follow me!” Juliska commanded. And against his will
under the force of her injured love the young man followed
Juliska. She did not speak to him. In sad silence she led him
through the quiet landscape to the bushes behind which the cave
was hidden.
Into its dark hollow the proud young girl called:
“Kind stranger who gave me the ring, come and help me!”
At her appeal the man appeared. Kind-faced and serious he
looked, questioning.
“Your ring, O stranger, had brought me no luck. It has made
me very unhappy. Very unhappy indeed! My sweetheart
suspects me. He has lost faith in me and accuses me of having
accepted a gift from another sweetheart. He is breaking my
heart, and I want him to know how cruelly he is wronging me.”
19
...Nyugat continued from page 5
Nyugat constantly, accusing it of
“indecency” and anti-national sentiments.
Perhaps it was these open attacks that
actually made the publication even more
attractive to curious and talented artists.
Its ideological support also came from
people who envisioned the answer to
Hungary’s escape from its feudal legacy
and entry to modern 20th century Europe
in and through the ideas of the Nyugat
contributors. Despite low printing numbers, sometimes as low as 300 copies per
issue, Nyugat gained interest not only in
certain artistic and intellectual circles, but
became known across the country. By the
early 1930s, under Babits’s editorship,
the journal established itself with a run of
2000 copies per issue.
While the main driving force for
Ignotus and the editors was the nurturing
of talents regardless of any political influences, the course of Nyugat was not
without difficulties: financial, political,
and personal. Following World War I,
the social turmoil in Hungary left its
mark on the staff of the journal as well.
A new generation of writers and artists
wanted, rightly so, to voice their views
and carve out a space for themselves.
The ensuing crises had resulted in
Ignotus abandoning the editorial post.
However, Ignotus’s legacy of maintaining the highest aesthetic, intellectual and
artistic capacities above any political
commitments remained. Zsigmond Móricz took over as editor-in-chief, and he
also financed the journal from his own
pocket as much as he could. Another
artistic battle in the early 1930s sent
Móricz away and brought Babits to the
journal’s editorial post. Babits bravely
maintained Nyugat with a relentless
artistic and ideology-free integrity until
the first years of World War II, however,
his death in August 1941 also signalled
the end of Nyugat. The exclusive licence
of the journal for him alone, could not be
renewed, at least not under the title
Nyugat. The youngest generation of
Nyugat writers wanted to rescue and
resurrect the journal. With Gyula Illyés’s
leadership, the publication, if only for a
short time, reinvented itself under a new
name - Magyar Csillag (Hungarian
Star). The post-war turmoil did not yield
to the propagation and continuation of
free flowing intellectualism and Magyar
Csillag soon disintegrated.
This year several institutions in Hungary have been commemorating Nyugat,
the journal that created modern
Hungarian culture. The Országos
Széchenyi Könyvtár (National Széchenyi
Library) created a website to celebrate the
100 year anniversary of the founding of
Nyugat, with images, photo galleries and
texts of the journal, accompanied by
events in connection with the anniversary
celebrations that take place in Hungary
during 2008. This website can be
accessed at:
http://nyugat.oszk.hu
The OSZK also has a database that
contains most of the articles that had
appeared in Nyugat. This digital version
is an invaluable resource organized by
year and issue. You can find it at:
http://epa.oszk.hu/00000/00022/nyugat.htm
In addition, the Petőfi Irodalmi
Múzeum (Petőfi Literary Museum) in
Budapest opened a year-long exhibit of
Nyugat. The commemorative exposé
spreads over four rooms and includes
never-before seen photographs of its
figures, documents, manuscripts,
Móricz’s and Babits’s typewriters, old
archival films of Kosztolányi and his
family, and other related mementos. The
Petőfi Literary Museum has also created
their own website about the Nyugat anniversary at: www.pim.hu - click on the
Nyugat-kiállitás (Nyugat Exhibit) icon.
It includes information regarding Nyugat
events and the Nyugat-busz (Nyugat Bus)
and the Nyugat-játék (Nyugat Contest) an exhibit on a bus that tours across Hungary bringing a mini version of the exhibit to remote locations of the country,
and a contest whereby the public can
create their own version of Nyugat.
There are also numerous theatrical and
music events along with television and
radio documentaries that engage Nyugat
and its era. The year of the Nyugat is a
most poignant opportunity to refamiliarize ourselves with Hungary’s
literary and cultural wealth. It must be
noted, however, that most of the events,
exhibits, and websites regarding Nyugat
and its centennial are available only in
Hungarian.
Fortunately, on the other hand, several
of the authors’ works associated with
Nyugat are now available in English
translations. Here is a list to start you off:
Endre Ady: Selected Poems
(in Judith Szöllössy’s translation)
Mihály Babits: 21 Poems
(in István Tóthfalusi’s translation)
Milán Füst. Story of My Wife: The
Reminiscences of Captain Störr
(Feleségem története)
20
Gyula Illyés: People of the Puszta
(Puszták népe)
Attila József: A for Attila:
An ABC of Poems by Attia József
(Tamás Kabdebó translation)
Margit Kaffka:
Antheap (Hangyaboly)
Dezső Kosztolányi: Skylark (Pacsirta)
Frigyes Karinthy:
A Journey round My Skull
(Utazás a koponyám körül)
Zsigmond Móricz: Relations
(Rokonok)
Miklós Radnóti:
The Complete Poetry
And lastly, let me remind you of
Sándor Márai’s Embers and Antal
Szerb’s Journey by Moonlight, and many
of the poets from the Lost Rider anthology we explored in previous New
Hungarian Voice book reviews. Although
this selection is far from complete, hopefully it offers a generous introduction to
the fascinating works of the Nyugat
creators.
This summer I went to Budapest and
saw the Nyugat exhibit at the Petőfi
Literary Museum. It was well worth my
time, and so were my repeated visits to
the National Széchenyi Library, as I was
able to access bound Nyugat copies from
the open shelves. Carefully turning the
fragile and yellowed pages of the different issues was a special experience that
offered me a historical presence of
Hungarian literary culture. Thanks to the
generosity and help of historian Peter v.
Laborc, I also now own an original copy
of Nyugat - the October 16th issue from
1925. On its cover it reads that their
publishing house is at Andrássy út 6, and
their telephone number is J. 71-46. The
cost of this single issue is 20 korona.
Among the authors featured in it are
Zsigmond Móricz, Ernő Szép, Aladár
Schöpflin and Mihály Babits. There are
also names I do not recognize, such as
Zoltán Béky, Antal Pogonyi or János
Hammerschlag, and so I have to do my
own research. On the back cover advertisements call out telling me to use
Franck kávépótlékot (a “coffee substance”), Szent István gyógymaláta
cukorkát (malt cough-drops), Malátapezsgő-sör (malt champagne-beer); that
the Nyugat bookstore carries all the international fashion magazines, and it is best
to buy Minimax against fire damage. I
would tell you what is inside this issue in
more detail, but it is perhaps best if you
make your own exploration of Nyugat.
WHO ARE WE
ANYWAY?
Part III
Depending on whom you ask, Attila the Hun
is either the “Scourge of God” - or more
precisely, the leader of the “scourges of God’s
fury,” as they were branded by Bishop Isidore of
Seville who died in AD 636 - or, he is an early
hero and benefactor of the modern Hungarian
people. During Attila’s short life (dying at
approximately 50 years of age), he managed to
unite the many tribes of Huns, conquer
several ethnic minorities, and build a
reputation as a feared and respected leader,
even posing a serious threat to the powerful
Roman Empire.
But was he, in fact, Hungarian?
That also depends on whom you ask, and
how you define “Hungarian.” Legend has it,
as we have noted before, that the Hungarians
are the descendants of Hunor and Magor, being
the fathers of the Huns and the Magyars,
respectively; the blend of the two peoples who
eventually became the modern Hungarians. If your idea of a
Hungarian equates to the original Magyars, and assuming that
the legend is true, no, Attila was not a Hungarian, (Magyar), he
was a Hun. No surprise there. If, however, you are happy to
include the Huns in the more general definition of Hungarian,
as they later became, (that is, one of the ethnicities that became
blended into the Hungarians), then it would seem clear that he is
a distant relative of today’s Hungarian people. Well, maybe.
Let’s examine a brief history of Attila’s Huns. The Huns
were Turkic nomads - hunters and herdsmen - from the central
Asian steppes, who began migrating westward around AD 370,
launching a series of attacks on the Germanic Goths. They
crossed the Danube in AD 395 and “vanished” in the 7th
century. What exactly happened during that time and what
happened to them afterwards is difficult to say with any
certainty because we have to rely on the accounts of the
Christian and Graeco-Romans, who generally had a less than
savoury opinion of the Huns, seeing them as pagan, devilish,
and sent by God to punish other peoples for their sins. The
Huns themselves were illiterate, and therefore, no written record
of the Huns according to the Huns themselves exists.
Attila is believed to have been born around AD 406. He and
his brother Bleda (also written as Bléda or Buda) succeeded
their uncle Rua (or Ruga) as leader of the Huns in AD 434.
During the late AD 430s, the brothers conquered territories
from the Rhine to the edge of eastern Europe, and beyond the
Caucasus Mountains and the Caspian Sea. Attila and Bleda
united previously separated Hun groups, as well as those of
by Anita Bedo˝
other ethnic origins, such as Germanic, Slavic, and Turkic
peoples. One author even describes one of these Turkic tribes
as the “early Magyars,” which is at odds with other accounts
that claim that the Magyars did not even enter the region until
AD 896 with their conquest of the Carpathians. Is it possible
that they had been part of Attila’s empire centuries before, but
settled back into their nomadic lifestyle along with the Hunnic
tribes after Attila’s death, and returned 440 years later? Does
that make any sense chronologically if we accept the legend of
Hunor and Magor? It boggles the mind.
The brothers are believed to have established a capital for
their new empire somewhere around the middle reaches of a
river named the Tigas, which may be the present-day Tisza
River in the Hungarian puszta. Some Hungarian chroniclers
believe that the capital was known as Budavár, being named
after Bleda (Buda), but it was not (necessarily) in the same
location as Budapest. With Bleda’s death in AD 445, Attila
became the sole leader of the Huns. After Attila’s death in AD
453, the Hun empire fell apart, being deprived of his forceful
personality holding it together without any real government to
speak of. The tribes simply scattered and a number of them
returned to a nomadic lifestyle, never returning to the greatness
that had threatened the Roman Empire.
Another account of the events after Attila’s death goes like
this: his youngest son Irnák, or Prince Csaba in the Hungarian
chronicles, is said to have taken the remnants of the Huns back
to the region between the Black and Caspian seas, joined with
the ancestors of the Magyars, together becoming the Hungarian
21
Continued on next page...
...Who Are We continued from last page
people who later conquered the heartland of the old Hunnic
empire. This version of history doesn’t quite jibe with the
Legend of the White Stag, of course, which is interesting, since
both the legend and the story of Prince Csaba are Hungarian.
Perhaps Hunor and Magor’s progeny were separated for a time
before they were reunited to become the Hungarians?
Some may question whether the Huns had anything at all to
do with Hungarians. Is the name just
coincidentally similar? The name
“Hungary” is believed to be derived
from the name of a Hunnic tribe called
the Onogur Huns (also On-Ogur, or a
variety of other spellings), which is
believed to mean “ten arrows,” referring
to ten tribes of Huns and their skill in
archery. If the Huns did truly vanish in
the 7th century, who would have come up
with the name? Is it a misnomer and the
Hungarians are just the Magyars and the
peoples they conquered, with no
connection to the Huns?
Well, assuming we are all distant
relatives of Attila the Hun, just what sort
of man was “Uncle Atti?” Once again,
that depends on who is telling the story.
According to Attila’s contemporary, the
scholar and future saint Jerome, “the
Roman army is terrified by the sight of
them,” and the Romans distrusted the
Huns immediately due to their
“loathsome appearance.” He represented
barbarism,
terror,
conquest,
and
destruction. Attila was described as
sullen, capricious, arrogant - different in
physical appearance, cultural background, and attitude towards
urban civilization. He detested the Roman luxuries and
preferred to live an austere life, wearing simple clothing, and
eating simple food off wooden plates, despite his accumulated
wealth. Attila would extract vast sums of gold from the
Romans as blackmail - a “tribute” to stave off the advances of
Attila’s army, which is, incidentally, identical to the later
Magyar practice of demanding tribute in return for not invading
the lands of neighbouring peoples.
Contrary to Roman accounts, Hungarian accounts claim that
Attila was a great man, known for his courage and heroism, and
his followers simultaneously displayed extreme grief and joy at
his death, just like the Hungarian practice of sírva vigadás
(“tearful merrymaking”) - more evidence, apparently, for the
genealogical connection between our peoples. “Attila was as
famed for his generosity to nations who accepted Hunnic
vassalage as he was for his harshness to those who fought
against him.”
One author claims that many submitted
voluntarily and even happily to Attila’s overlordship - that they
were not exploited, but only had to pay
an annual tribute of an undisclosed sum
(which sounds suspiciously like the
tribute the Romans were forced to pay),
and were obligated to provide military
support during major campaigns (which
they presumably also did “happily”).
According to this same author, both Hun
tradition and Hungarian folklore state
that Attila was buried under the waters of
the Tisza River, accompanied, of course,
by the sound of his people’s sírva
vigadás.
It is difficult to know whether the
Roman account is simply exaggeration,
repugnance and prejudice in response to
a fundamentally different culture, or
whether the Hungarian account is
exaggerated in its possibly misplaced
patriotic love for this man whom they
regard as a national hero. In any case, it
is clear that despite the fact that most
scholars reject a direct link between the
Huns and the Hungarians, the
Hungarians have happily claimed him as
their forefather and conquering hero.
In
Tápiószentmárton’s
Kincsem
Horse Park is displayed a bust of Attila, portrayed as a fierce
but handsome warrior, described as “A Magyarok első királya,
Bendeguznak fia, nagy Nimrod unokája” - the Magyars’ first
king, son of Bendeguz (named in the Hungarian national
anthem), and grandson of Nimrod the Great. (However,
apparently Attila is actually the son of King Mundzuk and
grandson of Khan Balambér. But it seems that that is of no
consequence here.) The bust stands on Attila Hill, believed (by
the Hungarians) to be the site of Attila’s wooden palace during
his reign. Clearly the controversy of Attila’s connection to the
Hungarians is irrelevant here. So here I stand beside Uncle
Atti. Can you see the family resemblance?
TRADITIONAL HUNGARIAN DESIGNS
470 CRISP, BLACK AND WHITE HUNGARIAN
MOTIFS FOR DESIGNERS AND ARTISANS
JSP SPECIALIZED TRAINING
J. Paul Ballard, Master Instructor
Canadian Firearms Safety Course Instruction
[email protected] 778 772-9730
68 pages, spiral bound
$24.95 (plus postage)
Are you Interested in obtaining a Firearms License or need to
upgrade to acquisition status? Do you need to take the safety
training course before license renewal?
HUNGARO ENTERPRISES
PO BOX 74527 • KITSILANO PO
VANCOUVER, BC
V6K 4P4 • CANADA
604 733-9948 • [email protected]
JSP Specialized Training offers monthly prerequisite
Canadian Firearms Safety and the Canadian Restricted
Firearms Safety Courses.
Call or e-mail for rates and upcoming dates.
22
The Christmas season in Hungary begins with Advent on the
fourth Sunday before Christmas Day and ends on December 24th,
Christmas Eve. On December 5th, houses are cleaned from top to
bottom, and in the evening children put out a pair of their shoes in
preparation for the annual visit from Szent Mikulás (St. Nicholas).
In the morning they wake up to find their shoes filled with candies,
fruit, nuts, chocolate and small presents… for good children.
Naughty children receive a switch or wooden spoon - but most
kids get some of each (due to the difficulty involved with being
good all year-round).
On Christmas Eve, families begin preparing dinner (often dinner
will include fish and sweets like poppy-seed and nut beigli) and
wrapping presents before decorating the Christmas tree with
“salon candy” or szaloncukor and lights. The tree is set up
without the children present, who join in when they hear the
ringing of the bells that tells them the angels have brought
them their tree. The family gathers around to sing songs and
open presents, which is followed later in the evening by attending
midnight mass.
The tradition of putting up a tree with decorations, lights
and szaloncukor, has been a Hungarian tradition since the
1800s, when Baron Miklós Jósika married Júlia Podmaniczky in Aszód. Júlia is said to be the first person to set up a
Christmas tree in Hungary, and by the 19th century, the custom
of the festive Christmas tree spread all over the country.
Szaloncukor is a chocolate covered fondant that originally was
made by hand in one or two flavours, and later the product of
famous Hungarian confectionery shops. By 1891 there is mention of seventeen types including pineapple and pistachio. These sweet
treats are wrapped in fringed paper and colourful shiny foil, and are hung on the tree from string or small metal hooks. The habit of
decorating the Christmas tree with szaloncukor became so popular that by the end of the century, special machinery was developed
to mass produce this exquisite holiday treat.
Szaloncukor Ingredients:
At the end of the First World War, families returned to preparing their
2 1/2 cups sugar
own szaloncukor using traditional ingredients instead of purchasing the
6 Tbsp milk
expensive shop made bonbons. Today, a wide assortment of flavours are
6 Tbsp water
produced and sold in Hungary and exported all over the world.
2 1/2 Tbsp unsalted butter
Every Hungarian will try to cleverly un-wrap the candies without leaving
Flavourings or essences
evidence of the missing candy and then feign surprise when it was
(raspberry, lemon, rum, vanilla, etc.)
discovered that the candy wrappers are empty!
Lorraine Weideman
Melted chocolate to cover candy pieces
OLD
FASHIONED
SZALON
CUKOR
Combine the sugar, milk and water in a ceramic pot. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring slowly.
When it begins to boil, reduce the heat to low and let it simmer without stirring for 3 minutes. Pour into a heat-proof
glass dish (don't scrape the pot - it will cause the sugar to crystallize). Add 2 1/2 Tbsp of unsalted butter, and the
desired flavouring. Stir with a wooden spoon until it turns white and stiff. Then pour the mass onto a damp cotton
kitchen towel, and form into a rectangle about 3 inches thick. Let it stiffen a bit more, but before it becomes completely
hard, cut into rectangles with a wet knife.
BECOMING CANADIAN
A CELEBRATION OF REFUGEE AND IMMIGRANT EXPERIENCES IN CANADA
Competition for secondary and post-secondary students: CHEF is announcing a Canada-wide essay and video
competition on the immigrant experience in Canada - for secondary and postsecondary students under the age of 25.
Go to www.hungarianpresence.ca, and click on “youth” (from there you’ll find links to the detailed
guidelines as well as the entry form in English and French). The entry form can be downloaded in PDF format.
You need to fill in the entry form and send it with your entry to:
CHEF/FECH
PO Box 74083 5 Beechwood Avenue, Ottawa, Ontario, K1M 2H9
The deadline for receiving entries is October 31st, 2008. There will be two categories of prizes:
secondary and post-secondary. In each category the following awards will be made:
1st place: $1000.00 2nd place: $500.00 3rd place: $250.00
23
The Urban Fakanál*
by Mária Vajna
Ingredients
MUSHROOM AND
PAPRIKA SAUCE
1 lb. fresh mushrooms
1 large onion
2 tbsp. butter
1 tsp. paprika
1 tbsp. flour
1 1/2 c. sour cream
salt to taste
1 green pepper
Method for best results
Cut each mushroom into four pieces. Heat the butter in a saucepan and add finely chopped onion,
fry until golden. Sprinkle with the paprika. Add the mushrooms and green peppers, lastly the salt.
Cover and cook slowly until water evaporates. Add flour, stir for 1 or 2 minutes, and then add sour
cream. Stir constantly, bring the sauce to simmer but do not boil. Serve with boiled potatoes.
oy!
Enj
at!
ágy
v
t
!
É
Jó
etit
p
p
A
Bon
*Fakanál is Hungarian for wooden spoon. It’s an essential word for your gastronomic vocabulary, and
can also serve as a very naughty sounding expletive for you to use on your non-Hungarian speaking guests.
24
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bus: 604 277-7797
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cell: 778 668-9736
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25
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Living Foods
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26
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604-988-4372
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Certified translator
831 East Georgia Street
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Phone: 604-430-1651 ▪ Fax: 604-430-1625
Email: [email protected]
www.gardenoflanguages.com
Uber-kool Hungarian
inspired t-shirts
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www.paprika-press.com
26
HUNGARIAN ORGANIZATIONS
THE NEW HUNGARIAN VOICE
FORRÁS FOLK ENSEMBLE
1133 Beach Avenue • Vancouver, BC • V6E 1V1
604 788-1772 • [email protected]
ABC INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL LTD.
HUMAN RIGHTS FOR MINORITIES
VANCOUVER SOCIETY
606 - 1640 Esquimalt Avenue • West Vancouver, BC • V7V 1R6
604 922-0783 • [email protected]
9523 Cameron Street, Burnaby, BC
is available at:
1224 Granville Street, Vancouver, BC 604 684-5019
BURNABY PUBLIC LIBRARY
DAN’S BIKE SHOP
3424 West Broadway, Vancouver, BC 604 739-3424
GVC CREDIT UNION
VANCOUVER
100-4088 Cambie Street, Vancouver, BC 604 876-7101
BRENTWOOD
1801 Willingdon Avenue, Burnaby, BC 604 298-3344
LOUGHEED PLAZA
9608 Cameron Street, Burnaby, BC 604 421-3456
NEW WESTMINSTER
25B-800 McBride Boulevard, New Westminster, BC 604 525 1414
SURREY
1 - 9989 152nd Street, Surrey, BC 604 584-4434
HUNGARIAN CANADIAN CULTURAL ALLIANCE
PO Box 74527 • Kitsilano PO • Vancouver, BC • V6K 4P4
604 733-9948
HUNGARIAN CONSULATE
306 - 1770 West 7th Avenue • Vancouver, BC • V6J 4Y6
604 730-7321
MAGGIE’S PHARMACY
HUNGARIAN EMBASSY
299 Waverly Street • Ottawa, Ontario • K2P 0V9
613 230-2717
2591 Commercial Drive, Vancouver, B C 778 371-8721
METRO TRAVEL & TOURS LTD.
450-555 W. 12th Avenue, Vancouver, BC 604 879-5321
HUNGARIAN REFORMED CHURCH
OF VANCOUVER
900 East 19th Avenue • Vancouver, BC • V5V 1K7
Mail: 7159 McKay Avenue • Burnaby, BC • V5J 3S6
604 321-4226
(KALVIN) FIRST HUNGARIAN
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
2791 East 27th Avenue • Vancouver, BC • V5R 1N4
604 437-3442
NANAIMO HUNGARIAN CULTURAL SOCIETY
Box 85 • Nanaimo, BC • V9R 5K4
250 756-2410
OKANAGAN HUNGARIAN SOCIETY
1670 Ross Road • Kelowna, BC • V1Z 1L9
250 769-1609
OUR LADY OF HUNGARY CHURCH
1810 East 7th Avenue • Vancouver, BC • V5N 1S2
604 253-2577
CANADIAN HUNGARIAN HOUSING SOCIETY
OF BRITISH COLUMBIA
1564 S.W. Marine Drive • Vancouver, BC • V6P 6R6
604 264-1064
359 West Georgia Street, Vancouver, BC
TV
LANGUAGE
HUNGARIAN VETERANS’ ASSOCIATION
P.O. Box 74527 • Kitsilano PO • Vancouver, BC • V6K 4P4
604 733-9948 • [email protected]
VANCOUVER PUBLIC LIBRARY:
HUNGARIAN
HUNGARIAN SOCIETY OF VICTORIA
476 Bay Street • Victoria, BC • V8T 5H2
250 388-5004 • [email protected]
MOTHER’S HERBS & VITAMINS
117 East 14th Street North Vancouver, BC 604 988-4372
27
MAGYAR VILÁG
Two Weekly
Documentaries
Sundays at
3:00 pm
and
3:30 pm
On SHAW
Multicultural
(channel 109 in
Vancouver)
OCTOBEROKTÓBER
Sunday
Vasárnap
Monday
Hétfő
Tuesday
Kedd
Wednesday
Szerda
Thursday
Csütörtök
1
2
Malvin
5
6
7
Aurél
12
Brúnó, Renáta
13
THANKSGIVING DAY
Miksa
19
20
October 23
Anniversary of the
1956 Revolution
This national holiday
commemorates the outbreak
of the 1956 Hungarian
Revolution. The country
also celebrates its new
constitutional status (1989)
on this day.
November 11
Remembrance Day
December 25
Christmas Day
“Name-days are very
popularly celebrated in
Hungary, often as much as
a person’s birthday.
A woman is typically given
flowers on her name-day
by acquaintances, including
friends in the workplace, causing the price of flowers to rise
around the dates
of popular names.”
This calendar page,
complete with the
unique Hungarian
Name-days, or
névnapok, is
sponsored by the
Hungarian-Canadian
Cultural Alliance
26
14
21
Vendel
29
28
27
Dömötör
Szabina
Előd
Brigitta, Gitta
18
24
Gyöngyi
Nárcisz
11
Hedvig
1956 REVOLUTION
30
Simon, Szimonetta
Ferenc
Gedeon
Gál
23
Orsolya
Helga
17
Teréz
22
4
Dénes
16
Helén
3
10
Koppány
15
Saturday
Szombat
Petra
9
Amália
Kálmán, Ede
Nándor
October 13
Thanksgiving Day
8
Friday
Péntek
Lukács
25
Salamon
Blanka, Bianka
31
Alfonz
Farkas
NOVEMBERNOVEMBER
Sunday
Vasárnap
Monday
Hétfő
Tuesday
Kedd
Wednesday
Szerda
Thursday
Csütörtök
Friday
Péntek
Saturday
Szombat
1
Marianna
2
3
4
Achilles
9
Győző
10
Tivadar
16
Ödön
23
11
REMEMBRANCE DAY
Kelemen
Andor,
András 30
12
Jenő
25
Emma
Lénárd
13
Jolán
27
15
Albert, Lipót
22
Olivér
28
Virág
Zsombor
Alíz
21
Erzsébet, Zsóka
Katalin, Katinka
Rezső
Szilvia
20
26
8
14
Jónás, Renátó
19
Hortenzia, Gergő
24
Imre
Márton
18
7
6
Károly
Réka
17
Klementina
5
Virgil
Cecília
29
Stefánia
Taksony
DECEMBERDECEMBER
Sunday
Vasárnap
Monday
Hétfő
Tuesday
Kedd
Wednesday
Szerda
Thursday
Csütörtök
Friday
Péntek
1
2
3
4
5
Melinda, Vivien
Elza
7
8
Ambrus
14
9
Mária
15
Szilárda
21
Valér
Tamás
28
Kamilla
Etelka, Aletta
Zénó
29
Lázár, Olimpia
Viktória
31
Dávid
NEW YEAR’S EVE
Szilveszter
Gabriella
Auguszta
Viola
26
Eugénia
Luca, Otília
20
19
CHRISTMAS DAY
Miklós
13
12
25
Ádám, Éva
6
Vilma
Árpád
18
24
30
Tamás, Tamara
Judit
17
23
Borbála, Barbara
11
10
Natália
16
22
Ferenc, Olívia
Saturday
Szombat
Teofil
27
István
János