Somogyi Múzeumok Közleményei 17/C. - Társadalomtudományi tanulmányok (2006)

Szapu Magda: Vajda az, aki annak mondja magát. Rendhagyó vajdaavatás egy kaposvári romungró cigány csoportnál - Voivod is who claims to be voivod. Irregular voivod initiation at a Romungro Gipsy group of Kaposvár

34 SZAPU MAGDA Voivod is who claims to be voivod. irregular voivod initiation at a Romungro Gipsy group of Kaposvári MAGDA SZAPU My descriptive analyzing work is centered on the inauguration of the crypt erected to the memory of one of the most prestigious members of the Romungro Gipsy group living at Ka-posvár, at Southern Transdanubia, in comparatively low number, as well as on the public election and initiation of the new voivod associated with that outstanding event. For the pur-pose of evaluating the significance, novelty and tradition creating character of the events ! outline the antecedents which serve for the better understanding of the plot: the vigil-keeping and burial after the death of the previous voivod, István Horváth. I present the specific fea-tures of the culture different from that of the environs of the said family and group, as well as the person and living conditions of the "new voivod", Dezső Balogh. The outstanding events associated with the turning-points of the family's life - wedding, burial - are occasions, which receive, by rising above the everydayness, a special, emphatic and symbolical significance. We possess comparatively few data on the internal structure, activity, family, kindred and neighborhood connections of this Romungro group of Kaposvár. Merely the more spectacu-lar elements of their traditions and culture have been described, those which they show about themselves to the outsiders, they consider to be essential or the intend/are forced to disclose during certain public events. The cause of all this can be the reservedness, distrust and the conduct full of mutual prejudices against the other party. The clothing, jewels, living and housing conditions, eating habits and lavish feasts suggesting idyll and extremity of the Romungro family presented derive from their activities, that is from trading in metals, primarily in precious metals. The accumulation entails the revaluation of the changing system of values and the world of tastes, it witnesses to their temporary mate-rial security. The transitory luck, the wornout glamour, the wasted wealth can turn into con-trast with all this. They force the family to support the relatives, to abandon the leading statuses. An example of this is the wealth of the deceased voivod diminished in conse-quence of his passion for playing at cards or the crypt abandoned and neglected during these days of one member of a family so well-to-do in the past decade. At this group the work and rest, entertainment are sharply separated, the imitation of those setting a model - should they be the members of another group, the representatives of a dif-ferent cultures or media stars - intersperses their cultures with strange elements. The dilution of the human relations, the lessening of the solidarity with one another reduce the strength of the community as well, the temptation at the luck renders their material security unstable. The position of the individual occupied in his group, his recognition and prestige are deter-mined by his "luck", dexterity, abilities and capabilities in addition to his health condition and financial situation, which can vary over the years. The quickly growing, rising families are threatened by the chance and danger of debasement, which may make the members of the group wounded, uncooperative and excluded. Their financial symbols can become empty, the forms of manifestation of those handling the conflicts with difficulty inside and outside the group can cause tensions and general indignation. The size of the family, its extended kin-dred connections, the relations among its members determine the place and role occupied by the individual in the group structure, have an impact on the acquisition and maintenance of the more advantageous positions. Only those can feel themselves in a relative security who are able to accommodate themselves to the changes and the current situation.