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Journal of Undergraduate Research

Keywords

folklore, nationality, Transylvania, Romanian, Hungarian, politics

College

Humanities

Department

Comparative Arts and Letters

Abstract

Our purpose in collecting folklore was to examine what happens to a society when the people can no longer identify themselves by nationality. Transylvania is a particularly good case study, because the borders have been disputed between Hungarians and Romanians essentially for as long as both nations have existed—so you’ve had plenty of time for national borders to sink deep into the social consciousness and subconscious. There have been generations of tradition, folklore, and education to instill a strong sense of nation-and-boundary-based identity. Within the borders of Hungary, there was a real sense of “Being Hungarian,” and a real sense that while Romanians may claim a historical attachment to the land—the key thing was that Transylvania was, by political consent, Hungarian—was part of “Being Hungarian.” To be Transylvanian was to be Hungarian. Then, suddenly, you have the traumatic rupture—the loss of WWI. In an instant, the colors on the map changed—to be Transylvanian was, according to the world, to be Romanian. Sure, for a while, you can call it a scandal—you can say, “the Truth is still the Truth—we’re Hungarians—there’s no changing that.” But that’s where the influence of dominant culture comes into play: economics comes into play—as well as politics, education, etc. This happens on both sides of the border.

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