The Eighth Tribe, 1977 (4. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1977-04-01 / 4. szám
April, 1977 THE EIGHTH TRIBE Page 5 Hungarian Heritage Celebration Free Public Library Woodbridge, New Jersey November 28-December 3, 1976 Exhibition and activities were held at the Main Library, situated at George Frederick Plaza (which location had been named after one of the area’s Hungarian-American physicians of distinction whose diverse contributions not only have benefited Woodbridge directly, where he continues his medical practice of many years’ duration, but also reach out to broader community regions of state and nation as well). A reception took place Tuesday evening (on the 30th) among other presentations of interest throughout the week. A varied selection of artifacts were lent for the event by members of the community for the display, which included embellished swords, carved trinket containers, deerfoot and leather whips, Herend porcelain plates and figurines, hand-embroidered pillows, costumed dolls whose clothing was finely embroidered, as well as other hand-crafted and sewn items such as wearing apparel or household furnishings. A varied array of paintings also were exhibited, some of which were done by a local resident, E. Kun; the works described as follows: “Parasztház” (“Farmhouse”) — a rural scene, picturing a thatched-roof structure set against a background of vernal-leafed trees; “Kalocsai Kislány” (“Girl from Kalocsa”) — a close-up portrait, showing the natural good looks of a Hungarian girl, who is wearing a beautifully embroidered white blouse with vividlycolored, hand-sewn artistry and beaded necklace plus pleated-bow head adornment of blue. Another contributor’s painting depicted women busy with their hand artcrafts — one knotting fringe on an embroidered cloth table runner, another woman making thread on a hand spindle against a background of embroidered work adorning the walls of their room, together with a display of varied painted dishes hung on the other wall. Still another, was a scene of a family gathered by the table, on which were seen the necessities for making waxeddesigns on Easter eggs: an older man was seated at the table, smoking his long-stemmed pipe and looking at the activities; a young girl is also watching the seated woman who is painting the eggs. The embroidery on the wearing THE MAGYARS IN HISTORY by S. B. Vardy, Ph.D. Professor of History — continued — CHAPTER IV THE LAND OF THE MAGYARS AND THE THEORY OF THE “DOUBLE CONQUEST” (The Carpathian Basin Before Árpád’s Conquerors) According to recent archeological finds at Vértesszőllős in the Trans-Danubian section of Hungary, the Carpathian Basin was inhabited as early as 600,000 years ago, when the so-called Homo Paleo-Hungaricus (“Old Hungarian Man”) roamed the Pannonian Hills. He was probably a transition between the so-called Homo erectus (erect man) and the Homo sapiens (thinking man). Gradually, however, he became a true Homo sapiens, and his late descendants roamed the future lands of the Magyars for well over half a million years. Not until the start of the Paleolithic Period (Old Stone Age), however, did their cultural and technological development pick up pace. In the Carpathian Basin this came around 10,000 B.C.; to be followed rapidly by such other periods as the Neolithic Age (ca. 5500-2300 B.C.), the Copper Age (ca. 3300- 1900 B.C.), and the Bronze Age (ca. 1900-800 B.C.). At the end of the Bronze Age and the beginning of the Iron Age (ca. 1000 B.C.) the hitherto peaceful life of the late descendants of the Homo Paleo-Hungaricus was disturbed by foreign invadors. These were the Illyrians, who came from the north and settled in Pannonia (Trans- Danubia). They were soon followed by the Thracians (Dacians), who came from the south, settled in Transylvania and in the Trans-Tisza region of Hungary, and subsequently established the Kingdom of Dacia. These Illyrian and Thracian (Dacians) invasions, however, were only the beginning of a series of invasions. They were followed by the Scythians (7th century B.C.), the Celts (4th century B.C.), the Romans (12 B.C.), as well as by various Sarmatian and Germanic tribes in the post-Christian period. The Romans ruled Pannonia for over four centuries, between 12 B.C. and 433 A.D. Their control over the region east of the Tisza River (Dacia), however, lasted only for 170 years (102-271 A.D.). After 271 A.D. the Roman legions withdrew to the south of the Danube, and took the region’s civilian population with them. 19
