VISITING
AUTHOR/EDITOR ARTICLE
OCTOBER
2011
Üdvözlet
Harkany, Magyarorszag |
Erinnerung
aus Harkany, Ungarn
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Forwarded
by Carpathia Donauschwaben
In June, Rob and I had the opportunity to attend the Welttreffen
Donauschwäbischer Kulturgruppen, arranged by the Weltdachverband der
Donauschwaben e.V. Under the motto: DONAUSCHWABEN Zukunft gestalten,
Tradition gewahren, Weltweit zuhause Representatives from USA,
Germany, Austria, Brazil, Canada, and Hungary, met to learn dances,
songs, crafts, traditions, beliefs, and history - from the ‘Ulmer
Schachtel’ up to the current, worldwide existence of the
Donauschwaben.
Our ‘home’ for 2 weeks was in the town of Harkany, south of Pecs
(known to many of you as (Fünfkirchen) in southern Hungary – the
Baranya region. The location was perfect to learn about and experience
Donauschwaben life. The small towns we visited are still as they were
100 years ago... the layout of the town, houses, yards, and fields,
but now they also have modern conveniences, including a satellite dish
on the roof!
Everyone spoke Schwowisch, they all have a clubhouse/hall for their
dances, German school, and Jugend/Kulturgruppen like we do. Also, they
are able to keep the old customs and practices better than we could;
they did not have to move to new countries with different cultures and
try to recreate ‘die Heimat’…it has been around them all along.
That’s what made it so interesting to me.
We spent an afternoon with the Babarc Tanzgruppe, celebrating their
30th Anniversary. The Kulturgruppe from the town of Wemend put on a
traditional Schwowische Hochzeit (wedding) starting with dressing the
bride, then the procession through the town from the groom’s house,
to the bride’s and on to the church, all accompanied by the band. A
lively reception in evening had more dancing.
There was a Schwabenball; a visit to a wine cellar with wine tasting
– it is the wine region of Hungary; a demonstration from the very
last Blaufärber. I didn’t know what this was until I saw the
designed blue cloth. This man was the last to dye the cloth by hand,
he has now retired and the art has died out.
The last Sunday was spent in the town of Liptod. When we arrived a
fire was roaring out of the stone ovens. The morning began by
butchering a pig, making wurst, Sarma, and our lunch –
“Sau’res” (not 100% sure what all went in there, but it did
taste good).
The “gezogene Strudl” was made just like Oma used to make – the
dough was pulled over the table - but these were baked in the stone
ovens that had been cleaned of the ash and were hot enough to bake
bread until the next morning. An afternoon walk took us up the hill
behind the house to the family wine cellar. And for an old meets new
scenario: in this building there were several computers from where I
was able to send e mails to the Jugendgruppe!
No Donauschwaben Treffen would be complete without a remembrance of
those whose lives were lost. A commemorative wreath was placed in the
Donau in the city of Mohacs and later in the week we visited the
memorial marker (Denkmal) in the town of Gakowo. The memorial stands
behind the current Serbien cemetery. It is a large metal cross with a
few generic, politically correct phrases inscribed below. It may not
mean much to the casual passer-by, but it does strike a chord in the
heart of a Schwob. It’s been a part of our heritage starting with
the generation that lived through it and will be for every generation
thereafter.
A farewell evening was held at the Fülemüle Csarda. We have many
pictures of the trip and thanks to new friends and the internet, there
are even more pictures. Look for some new dances and songs we will
pass on to the Jugend and Kindergruppen. If I’ve sparked your
interest or jogged a memory I’d be very happy to talk to you about
it! It was truly a great and awesome experience!
Karin
Schwalbe
Carpathia
Sprachschule
2011
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Babarc
Tanzgruppe with their
church in background. |
From
the wedding
Dressing
the bride, who is in
black with the
headpiece. |
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Rob
& Karin
Schwalbe
in Pecs,
Hungary |
A
church in Liptod |
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