A Békés Megyei Múzeumok Közleményei 21. (Békéscsaba, 2000)

Nagyné Martyin Emília: Moral norms in the traditional society

Nagyné Martyin Emília Moral norms in the traditional society - Mrs. Nagy, Emilia Martyin Résumé Rules of every-day connections are determined by the behaviour norms formed in, accepted by and considered as of general force in the given community. Keeping to the behaviour customs is a condition of belonging to the community, the order formed according to the "unwritten laws" of the settlement is a regulating factor compulsory for everybody, therefore those deviating from them bring themselves under negative discrimination. Rules concerning the behaviour are strengthened by beliefs, prescriptions, prohibitions inherited from more generations, thus becoming compulsory to the total community they shape the behaviour forms of those living in the community. Therefore the examination of the inner regulating order of the rural life cannot be separated from the topic of folk religious ideas and folk customs but it has a much wider connotation, connecting to all areas and phenomena of the rural style of living. Owing to its closeness and differences in mentality the Roumanian communities in Hungary show peculiar picture in their scale of values, moral norms. The character of folk ethic is influenced by the factors affecting the relations of the given settlement such as number of population, religious and ethnic distribution, characteristic trade branches, standard of living, state of education, social relations, geographic environment of the settlement, distance from a bigger city, the property status of the population. We have defined as the objective of the research the examination of the scale of values of the Roumanians living in Méhkerék, analysis of the changing moral judgements, conventions, behaviour norms and definition of the factors raising these changes. Translated by Attila В. Kis Mrs. Nagy, Emília Martyin Erkel Ferenc Museum Gyula Kossuth Street 17. 5700 156