Magyar Hírek, 1988 (41. évfolyam, 1-22. szám)
1988-01-22 / 2. szám
IN THE INSTITUTE FOR HUNGARIAN STUDIES The secret of the Valley of Anniviers Some eighteen months ago I went to see Gyula Juhász, in the Széchényi Library, of which he is the Director- General, — to talk to him about the aims of the Institute for Hungarian Studies, which had been established not long before with him in charge. "What hau been realized of the plans since?” “Work has started. Our objective is the comprehensive study of the social life and culture of Hungarians beyond the borders of the country. We succeeded in obtaining the necessary finances and in assembling a team of scholars. They are easy to work with, being enthusiastic young people.” “We began work in four fields. One of these is the study of national minorities in Hungary, the other the study of blocks and fragments of Hungarian national minorities beyond the borders of the country. Besides that we study changes of the Hungarian national consciusness in the 20th century as well as the national situation of Hungary and its reflection in minds in the same period.” “Our research fellows have already published much on these subjects. Professor Jenő Sziics, for instance, examined how long an ethnic group could sm vive under particularly strong external pressure on the basis of studying medieval documents.” “What was the answer?” “He has proved that they could survive for long, indeed for centuries. Rudolf Joó studied the theoretical aspects of the national minorities problem.” “And what is your particular subject?” “The Second Vienna Arbitration. The fact that they asked for arbitration concerning Hungarian territorial claims is denied in Rumania. Nevertheless, the sources show that this is what happened. This can be demonstrated by the documents sine ira et studio.” “ What happens to this work?” “The Year-book of the Institute, which also contains the papers mentioned, is already in the press.” “How can one obtain a copy?” “Anyone can order it, and will be supplied on publication.” "In connection with your subject allow me to remark that apparently the year 1987 produced much news in the national minorities field, particularly as far as public discussion is concerned. Articles, papers and statements on this subject proliferated in Hungary. How do you explain this change?” “I do not believe the cause of the national minorities was neglected earlier either. In the last quarter of century public opinion in Hungary showed an ever-increasing interest about the future of Hungarian national minorities and in general of Hungarians living beyond the borders of the country. What is new is the dimension of this interest. The examination of how the Hungarian national minorities are shaping up in the various countries has become one of the dominant themes in Hungarian public thinking.” “Scholarly research can, naturally, produce results of note only in the longer term. But we have now arrived at a point, where the world of scholarship can meet this increased interest. The three-volume History of Transylvania to considerable acclaim within the country and without, not to mention a certain hostility in some quarters. The latter made feelings run high in Hungary. Much was published in Rumania, which we do not merely object to but which we can also refute by argument.” “According to the founding charter the objective of the Institute of Hungarian studies is also the coordination of Hungarian studies in Hungarian institutions. What has been done?” “A scholarly coimcil was set up to control this coordination. The task of this coimcil is to review and coordinate the various research projects. Hungarian studies are proceeding in very many places here, in almost all of the social science institutes as well as at numerous universities.” “Numerous individual scholars have been commissioned by the Institute for Hungarian Studies to carry out particular projects. We commissioned more than one hundred such projects last year.” “ Were connections established with institutions abroad engaged in similar work?” “We entered into an agreement with the Zagreb Institute for Research into Emigration and National Minorities. We are going to study a Hungarian village in Yugoslavia, and they will study a Croat village in Hungary. There are close and apparently good contacts also with Slovensky Matica in Pozsony (Bratislava). An exchange programme may soon start. We had visitors from Sub-Oarpathia Ruthenia a number of times this year, scholars from the Ungvár (Uzhgorod) university came to see us. We also discussed preliminary plans of cooperation. As far as the Burgenland is concerned, our contacts there are conventionally good.” “ You have not so far mentioned one of the neighbouring countries. . .” “Unfortunately, no contacts exist yet with Rumanian scholars for wellknown reasons. We are ready for that, however. I should like to add, that we would prefer to cooperate with scholars in Rumania.” “How about overseas contacts?” “They are developing with various institutions as well as with various scholars. Thus contacts with a Canadian institute engaged in the study of national minority groups are promising. I must add that we are looking for contacts not only with Hungarian institutions, but also with scholars of other nations. Our plan is to hold an international conference in Budapest in 1989 or 1990 on the theoretical and practical problems of national minorities.” GY. H. The inhabitants of Vissoie, a village in Southern Switzerland, just as the citizens of four other villages of the romantic valley that opens South of the town of Sierre (Pinsec, St. Luc, St-Jean and Grimentz), all in all some two thousand people profess to be descendents of the Huns. The 19th century carvings of the wooden porch of the rectory of Vissoise are somehow reminiscent of the motives of gates of the Székelye. Mihály Horváth, bishop and historian, an 1849 exile, spent more than a year in this house in 1868 — 1869 studying the origin of the people of the valley. He was not the first Hungarian, however, who became interested in the secret of the Anniviers Valley. Ferenc Toldy, the father of the history of Hungarian literature, already published a paper in 1834 under the title of “Hun descendants in the Swiss Alps.” He pointed out that these valley-dwellers were of Asian origin and professed themselves to be descendants of Hun warriours, who became isolated from the defeated host after the battle of the Catalaunian Plains and sought refuge in this remote valley in the Alps. My local guide, Dr Bernard Savioz, Medical Superintendent of the hospital at Sion, was himself also born in the valley. He first heard about the Hun origin of his family in his childhood, during the forties, from his uncle. His book, “The People of Valiz are descendants of Attila” published in French in 1985 was the fruit of decades of research. Family signs After driving up neck-breaking winding roads we left the car to visit the Stone of Martyrs at an altitude of 1,700 meters above the village of Grimentz. The name—just as the ancient signs carved into the steep rock wall — is a memento of pagan beliefs just as the ruins of Bálványosvár are in the land of the Székelys — as the Swiss French professor pointed out. Both peoples preserved elements of their pagan beliefs centuries after embracing Christianity. Dr. Bernard Savioz From the Stone of Martyrs our way lead to an abandoned stable. My guide showed me a curious figure on one of the main beams. The same was carved on the tombstones, on trees in the forests, and branded on the necks of animals. Bernard Savioz drew and photographed these family signs: the sound value of a number of them corresponds with signs know from the Hun — Székely runic writing! Are they descendants of Hungarian raiders? I visited Szabolcs Vajay, the noted historian, who lives in nearby Vevey, and who published several papers concerning ancient Hungarian history in Hungara as well. Vajay does not believe that the Hun origin of the valley people can be proven, but pointed out that it was not at all unlikely that the forebears of the inhabitants of Anniviers Valley were Hungarian raiders of the time of the conquest who are known to have reached Sankt Gallen. Be that as it may, the Asian facial features of the local people differ strongly from the characteristics of the surrounding people as does their dialect, which is still spoken by some of the old. Ethnographers must study the carvings, runic characters, which could be related to the motives of the Székelys. István Kiszely, an anthropologist also visited the Anniviers Valley recentlv. He sent blood samples to one of his Japanese colleagues in Osaka. The biological examination of the protein content of blood may provide essential evidence concerning the relation of groups of people living a long way from each other. And if all of it is nothing, but a legend? The thoughts of Gyula Illyés come to mind. He also posed the same questions, when he visited an allegedly Hungarian village in Provence, whose inhabitants could have been descendants of Hungarian prisoners carried off at the time of the Turkish occupation. Tn his “The Capillaries of Nat ional Feeling” Illyés wrote: “But in fact it is preciselv the legendary part of the question that occupies my mind even more than the facts. That odd thirst of the soul, which would even produce legends in order to be sated. What interests me is what this thirst is. . . We came here, for we believed we wanted to visit some orphans, kin of ours, who drifted out into the world. And they received us gladly because they believed they could get a step closer to the most mysterious question of their existence: from where we descend, who we are.” ÄDÄM BALÁZS 30 I
