Szabadfalvi József szerk.: Néprajzi tanulmányok a Zempléni-hegyvidékről (A miskolci Herman Ottó Múzeum néprajzi kiadványai 10. Miskolc, 1965)

Szabó László: Család és rokonság a Zempléni-hegyvidék középső részén

FAMILY AND KINSHIP IN THE CENTRAL PART OF ZEMPLÉN MOUNTAINS (Abstract) The author examined nine settlements in the central part of the Zemplén mountains, containing montainous and river-valley territories as well. This territory could be caracterised by the small families as early as the middle of the 17th c. contrary to other parts of Hungary, where the joint families determined the social setting of communities even at later times. The proportion of family types is changing from age to age. A development leading towards the appearance of the joint families and the complex households at the turn of the 18th—19th cc. can be supposed here too. The population, however, has been decreasing gradually since 1820, falling back to the 40% of the original population in 1941. This caused the universal spreading of the small family system, becoming to our days the only form in the villages examined. It is devergent from the other parts of the country, and it becomes especially striking when considering that communities with similar geographical setting and estate circumstances show different tendencies in the other parts of the country. The author will uncover the peculiarities of this development, and tries to find the reason for the exclusive character of the small family system. The kinship terminology system is linear, characteristic of the small family, similar to the kinship terminology of the Hungarian towns. The number of the actually accepted relatives is much smaller than among the peasants. The kinship is kept in mind till two generations on the ascending line and to the second grade on the side line. On the other hand, the pseudo relatives, i.e. the godparents are also considered. According to the kinship terminologies a rather restricted small family contact can be depicted with grandparents, and first cousins, together with pseudo relatives. Kinship institutions, connecting the small or joint families and! determining the place of the families in the whole community of the village are missing here. Usually in Hungary either nemzetség (clan), had (joint family with servants) or szer (settlement of a clan) can be found, but all these forms are missing here. The small families attach to the community of the village indirectly, through the mediatory role of a set action community containing the parents, grandparents, brothers and sisters, pseudo relatives and neighbours of 4-6 families. This little community is local, based on kindred tes, more variable than the clan, had or szer, its structure is weaker and its social function is rather limited. Its main task is to make the daily life of the family sooth. The author, based on historical-statistical data and on the collected material, gives a sketch of the characteristics of the nine communities throughout the last one and a half centuries. He observes that communities living in the Hernád-valley, though they are more differentiated than the ones in the mountains, are not really proportioned owing to the forcing impact of the large estates and the infavourable natural setting. If compared to other parts of the country (Hegyalja, Alföld), we find homogenious communities here. This homogenious character is underlined by the collective use of the undivided forests, fields, pastures, up till the recent past. The rotation system of agriculture and the sowing 186