A trobriandi krikettől... - Magyar Elektronikus Könyvtár ...

Because of the socialisation in the Hungarian language at home and at school, and because of
the lack of the codification of the traditional dialect, the literary pantheon is generally
Hungarian. Only the highly educated German teachers and some member of the first
generation read literary German fluently. The average person is more familiar with Hungarian
writers and poets than German ones. Their knowledge is based on the Hungarian curriculum.
There is only one library with German books only in all the villages I researched The head of
this library in Nagynyárád complained that people did not visit the library. Only 12% of the
sample read regularly the Neue Zeitung (New Newspaper), the most widespread German
language newspaper.
4. Assimilation or survival
Losing the traditional mother tongue suggests a trend of ethnic assimilation. Assimilation of
language is, however, only an initial but by no means the final stage of assimilation. In this
intermediate stage, ethnic feelings as well as assimilation tendencies are simultaneously
present. In spite of the striking signs of assimilation, however, Swabians as ethnic group want
to survive. The high number of people with an attachment to German culture in the census of
2001 proves that the minority wants to regain and rebuild its German identity on cultural
basis. By German culture, it is the Swabian tradition rather than the culture of Germany that
has to be construed. This will be a hard work, since people in all the three generations have
already adjusted to their broader environment of distinct norms, requirements and other
groups. It should be mentioned that members of the oldest generation were the last whose
ethnic socialisation was continuous; the continuity of handing down the mother tongue,
habits, norms and community rites was interrupted for years, respectively they went
underground. Although they taught their children to speak Swabian, they were not fully
successful as transmitters of their whole culture. On the one hand, ethnic tendencies actually
became stronger during the years of repression, on the other hand, modernisation,
globalisation and the desire to assimilate limited this „new ethnicity” and its manifestation
more and more to the sphere of survived cultural traditions.
These traditions and language (where it is used) however, do not only mark the boundaries of
the Swabian community but their preservation they represent very important symbols of
ethnic identity for each generation. Ethnic identity is thus represented by traditional cultural
habits, customs and rites, which are predominantly connected to the Catholicism. There are
church festivals in every village honouring the patron saints of their churches or chapels, the
wedding are performed as they used to be in the days of the great-grandparents generation,
and funerals are accompanied by brass-band music in Csolnok and Dunabogdány. They love
their „sramli” music played on the accordion, the brass band music and dances as polka and
waltz, but they prefer to hear and to watch it on the stage, rather than dance or sing it
themselves.
An important event is the village festival, where orchestras, dance groups and village choirs
and invited guests from other Swabian villages perform their traditions. Choirs sing old
Swabian songs but their repertoire is supplemented with songs from Germany. The dance
groups perform artistic dances compiled by choreographers. The final event of the village
festivals is the ball, where brass band plays. Guitar, drum and synthesizer complete the
traditional music instruments. The bands do not restrict themselves to traditional music; in
several villages I heard them say that „we have to play everything, because our audience
consists of young people, who do not like polka”
Today, only these traditions are alive and have successfully been woven into the lives of the
younger generations. The reduced quantity or sometimes eroded quality of their traditions and
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