Agria 42. (Az Egri Múzeum Évkönyve - Annales Musei Agriensis, 2006)

Bathó Edit: A jász viselet újjászületése

Edit Bathó The Rebirth of Jász Costume The formal peasant costume characteristic of the Jász (=Jazygian) people accompanied the positive economic and social effects of the redemption of 1745, remaining in use until the beginning of the 20th century. A manifestation of improving fortunes, the Jász costume of the 18th and 19th century also expressed its wearer's feeling of ethnic identity. The rediscovery of old Jász costumes was first seen in the folk dance groups. In November 1971 Imre Papp, a Chemistry-Biology teacher at the Lehel Vezér Grammar School in Jászberény, founded the now much-respected Jászság Folk Group. In their choice of costume the group benefited from the expertise of János Tóth, director of the Jász Museum, who supplied them with images of Jász costumes dating from the 19th century. Following the political changes of 1989 the Jászság experienced a growth in interest in its local heritage on a scale never seen before. A series of civil organisations came into being (The Jász Association, equestrian societies, social circles, The Heritage Folk Group), who, together with those groups already in existence, made serious efforts to bring back the old folk and civic traditions to life. László Szabó has termed this period, the age of historical and cultural consciousness, in which one-time privileges have been replaced by a respect for one's historical and cultural traditions. It is a period which, with its own particular image and agenda, continues in a number of guises right up to the present day. 121