Petercsák Tivadar: Várak és múzeumok - Studia Agriensia 29. (Eger, 2010)

A palóckutatás célkitűzései, megvalósulása és eredményei

PALÓC RESEARCH: INTENTIONS, ATTAINMENTS AND RESULTS

Research into the largest Magyar ethnic group in present-day Hungary was initiated by the Eger museum at an academic conference organised in 1967. The aim of the research, which was initially planned to last for a period of ten years and involve a wide range of study workshops, was the publication of a complex ethnographical monograph. The research was helped by the twenty-one sets of collection guides and questionaires that appeared between 1968 and 1979.

The initial exploratory questionnaire, which covered 500 settlements, made it abundantly clear that it would be impossible to analyse the Palóc area in its entirety. It was for this reason that the decision was made to concentrate on the twenty core settlements. Findings were published regularly between 1973 and 1982, and most of the fieldwork was completed by 1980. The topics covered in the planned monograph were determined for the most part by the authors and the overall complexion of the team. The leader of the research programme from its inception was Ferenc Bakó.

The manuscripts, written between 1980 and 1985, resulted in a four-volume study containing thirty-seven studies written by 33 authors. The volumes trace the development of the present Palóc ethnographical group, while at the same time establishing the geographical extent of the Palócföld. With the help of the studies it is possible not only to establish those traits which characterize the Palóc population's material culture and attitudes, but to understand their social structures. Apart from the published studies another important result of the research project was the creation of the István Dobó Palóc Database, whose 700 filled-in questionnaires and 700 manuscripts cover 60,000 pages. The manuscripts, together with the archived photos and drawings, continue to form a useful basis for research.

182