Cserhalmi Zoltán - Kelemen István: Arrabona - Regionális Tudományos Évkönyv 53-56. (Győr, 2018)
Tanulmányok - Csiszár Attila: A Rábaköz parasztságának anyagi kultúrája (18-19. század)
ARRABONA 2015-2018. 53-56. TANULMÁNYOK The MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE PEASANTRY OF THE RÁBAKÖZ REGION (18-19TM CENTURIES) This study endeavours to outline the changes of the material world of the peasantry and the curial nobility living at about the same cultural level as the peasants of the Rábaköz Region from the last third of the 18th century until the end of the 19th century using historical-ethnographical sources: mainly testaments and asset-inventories. Written sources, which would become more numerous from the end of the 18th century, reflect the process of the villains’ abandonment of their self-supporting way of life, of their embourgeoisement which was speeded up with the abolishment of serfdom and of the changes of their material goods, the way of their farming and culture. Functional objects without ornaments such as carpentered furniture would hardly be the decorations of the homes. This function was fulfilled by the woven and embroidered textiles. Only the most necessary useful articles could be found in their simple homes. However, the process of accumulating objects beyond their needs started with the peasants’ joining to the commodity production and with it the separation between the objects of the daily life and those of the festive ones also commenced. Compared to the material world of the previous epoch this process is conspicuous at the end of the 18th century and at the beginning of the 19th century. The number of pieces of furniture serving clearly representational purposes grew. With the enlargement of the single row structured house with an additional room, there appeared the so called “clean- or parade-room” which had only representational purpose. In addition to the linen clothes, which were the typical dress of villains in the medieval world, the amount of textiles made by the smaller and manufacturing industry grew rapidly. With the development of the manufacturing industry a series of handicrafts that used to serve the needs of the peasantry would become non-competitive. The farming engines such as the steam-threshers of such kitchen utensil, as the cooking-stove having appeared at the second half of the 19th century would make old traditional working methods and processes obsolete. The manual threshing, the grain pressing with animal labour, the cooking on top of the oven on open fire all became obsolete and with it their toolkit slowly also disappeared. On the other hand, this time, especially the second half of the 19th century, was a blossoming period of the folk art. The colourful, western-like group of attires of the Rábaköz region developed this time which preserved the traditional traits, but they were also different to some extent from village to village. The characteristics of the cabinet making and popular architecture determining the picture of the villages and the interior design of the houses of the Rábaköz until the middle of the 20th century also developed in the second half of the 19th century. Attila Csiszár 268
