The Eighth Tribe, 1977 (4. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1977-05-01 / 5. szám
May, 1977 THE EIGHTH TRIBE Page 9 However interesting or amusing, Horvát’s work made little impact on contemporary Hungarian scholarship. What made an impact, however, was the related work of a number of prominent Western scholars of Near Eastern Studies, such as the French J. Oppert, F. Lenormont and E. Sayous, the British E. Hincks, G. Rawlinson and A. H. Sayce, the German R. Gosche, E. Schrader and F. Delitsch, and many others (Cf. Érdy: Rokonság, pp. 274-275). Having discovered through archeological excavations the existence of the ancient and forgotten Sumerian civilization, and having studied its remains, these scholars have come to the conclusion that the Sumerian language belongs to the category of the “agglutinitive” languages, and thus to the so-called “Turanian” (Ural-Altaic) family. In light of the above, they also mentioned that Sumerian may very well be related to the language of the Magyars. Simultaneously with these discoveries and contentions, however, there were also those who regarded the Sumerian simply as an artificial language of the ancient Semitic Akkadians (e.g. J. Halévy of France, and I. Goldziher of Hungary). But this view soon proved to be untenable, and the separate identity of the Sumerian language was firmly established. The attempt to find its place in the family of languages, however, continued. In Hungary, the attempt to prove Sumerian-Magyar linguistic affinity was continued by scores of individuals on various levels of scholarship. Of necessity, they were working almost exclusively in the area of linguistic relationship. But the ultimate goal was to find a direct historical link between the Sumerians and the Magyars. The most significant milestones in this search during the half century prior to World War II were the Works of Zs. Torma, G. Ferenczy, G. Nagy, J. Galgóczy, E. Somogyi and Zs. Varga, all of whom wrote extensively on this question. But simultaneously there were also those who went far beyond simple Sumerian-Magyar relationship, and tried to find related peoples with agglutinitive languages in various far-off sections of the world. While it is impossible to list them all, some of the most widely known of these self-proclaimed apostles of Magyar antiquity included S. Pongrácz, M. Depreczenyi, J. Cserép, B. Baráthosi- Balogh, F. Zajti, and numerous others. During the same period, international Sumerian studies also continued. The works of such internationally known scholars as C. L. Wooley, A. Deimel, S. Falkenstein, S. N. Kramer, M. Lambert and others extended our knowledge about the Sumerian culture considerably. Their 29 not ignore the exiled Hungarian historians such as Tibor Baráth and Ferenc Somogyi, nor the Marxist historiography. He incorporates evidence of first glimpses of the Marxist School from the period between the two World Wars into his work and presents some new and interesting information. For example he states that the communist historian Erik Molnár was already publishing major works in 1942 and in 1943 under various pseudonyms. He also presents documenting evidence of how and why Ferenc Eckhart, György Bónis and others came to be regarded as the “pioneer” Marxist historians. Professor Béla Várdy has written a highly stimulating, enlightening and scholarly synthesis of Hungarian historiography. His work will undoubtedly remain an indispensible source reference for research scholars for a very long time. However, the work is also a valuable guide for all interested individuals, while remaining a useful handbook for even the most demanding historian. In structure, content, detail and style, the work clearly fulfills the most stringent needs and meets the critical scholarly requirement of any professional historian. Ferenc Somogyi, Ph.D., LL.D. Eastern European Folklife Photoexhibit of Peter Korniss OPENING PROGRAM WITH KODÁLY CHORUS, APRIL 11, 1977 Rutgers University Student Center New Brunswick, New Jersey Placed on display, for observation throughout most of the week, were some 60 black-and-white photographs of rural people and their ways of life in Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Romania, and Moldavia. Preliminary arrangements were coordinated via the endeavors of Professor Joseph Held among numerous others; Dr. Held is Chairman of the Department of History, Hungarian Studies, Rutgers University College. Mrs. Held, an artist with multiple capabilities, graciously chatted with the viewing visitors, before the program and afterwards. Professor Ivan Völgyes, representing the State Department, affiliated with the University of Nebraska, extended greetings and provided introductory commentary on the personal background of the photographer-exhibitor. Born in 1938 in Kolozsvár (i.e., Cluj, Romania), Peter Korniss later obtained his education in Hungary, where he and his returning Hungarian parents went after the War. The photographs capture moments out of time on faces, forms, and involvements of Eastern European rural human beings in the common elements of everyday existence in their folklives. The visual context of the prints is an attempt to preserve a record about Eastern Europe heritage in which interest is widening over much of Europe and currently in the United States as well as elsewhere. The exhibition here was made possible by a grant from the Department of State. Dr. Edward J. Bloustein, President of Rutgers University, welcomed the visitors from afar and lesser distances. He expressly appreciated the opportunity in getting to know more of the local Hungarian community members plus the unique contribution of their culture. President Bloustein mentioned that his own parents also were from Eastern Europe, and so he, too, shared sentiments and interests somewhat imparted by ethnic Lineage. He further stated that higher education is an aid toward reaching out, broadly, to other
