The continuity of village traditions depends on the stability and cohesion of village communities. Since the opening of Transylvania after the fall of Nicolae Ceauşescu, there has been a sort of revival of Hungarian village dance and music, on the one hand, but, on the longer term, the communities themselves are threatened by economic challenges and by consequent demographic changes. This essay is based on field research conducted in Kalotaszentkirály (Sincraiu) from 1995 to 2010.
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Instruction at Kalotaszeg dance camp in Kalotaszentkirály (1995).
Video: Wayne Kraft and Ildikó Kalapács.
Welcome Sign, 2010.
Photo: Wayne Kraft and Ildikó Kalapács.
Water buffalo returning from pasture (2000).
Video: Wayne Kraft and Ildikó Kalapács.
Signage 1, 2007.
Photo: Wayne Kraft and Ildikó Kalapács.
Signage 2, 2007.
Photo: Wayne Kraft and Ildikó Kalapács.
Path marker, 2010.
Photo: Wayne Kraft and Ildikó Kalapács.
Decorative well 1, 2007.
Photo: Wayne Kraft and Ildikó Kalapács.
Decorative well 2, 2007.
Photo: Wayne Kraft and Ildikó Kalapács.
Decorative well 3, 2007.
Photo: Wayne Kraft and Ildikó Kalapács.
Guesthouse kitsch 1, 2010.
Photo: Wayne Kraft and Ildikó Kalapács.
Guesthouse kitsch 2, 2010.
Photo: Wayne Kraft and Ildikó Kalapács.
Main school building and gate, 2010.
Photo: Wayne Kraft and Ildikó Kalapács.
Bench in the style of Szeklerland, 2010.
Photo: Wayne Kraft and Ildikó Kalapács.
Bench and social interaction, 2010.
Photo: Wayne Kraft and Ildikó Kalapács.
Trouser-belt fields 1, 2010.
Photo: Wayne Kraft and Ildikó Kalapács.
Trouser-belt fields 2, 2010.
Photo: Wayne Kraft and Ildikó Kalapács.
Potato harvest work party, 2007.
Photo: Wayne Kraft and Ildikó Kalapács.
First day of potato harvest, 2007.
Photo: Wayne Kraft and Ildikó Kalapács.
Herd and combine, 2010.
Photo: Wayne Kraft and Ildikó Kalapács.
Herds return from pasture, 2007.
Photo: Wayne Kraft and Ildikó Kalapács.
Herds return from pasture 2, 2007.
Photo: Wayne Kraft and Ildikó Kalapács.
Part of the herd at dusk, 2007.
Photo: Wayne Kraft and Ildikó Kalapács.
Walking the milk can to the collection point, 2000.
Video: Wayne Kraft and Ildikó Kalapács.
Márton and Anna Bálint, dancing in heritage dance group, 1995.
Video: Wayne Kraft and Ildikó Kalapács.
Márton and Anna Bálint, demonstrating Kalotaszentkirály’s couples’ dance.
1/26: Instruction at Kalotaszeg dance camp in Kalotaszentkirály, 1995: András “Cucus” and Tekla Tötszegi from Méra are the best-known village dance teachers.
Video: Wayne Kraft and Ildikó Kalapács.
2/26: Welcome Sign, 2010.
Photo: Wayne Kraft and Ildikó Kalapács.
3/26: Water buffalo returning from pasture, 2000: As the herd returns to the village, the buffalos and cows enter their own yards/barns for the night. By the time the sizable herd reaches the further end of the village, its numbers are already greatly diminished.
Video: Wayne Kraft and Ildikó Kalapács.
4/26: Signage 1, 2007.
Photo: Wayne Kraft and Ildikó Kalapács.
5/26: Signage 2, 2007.
Photo: Wayne Kraft and Ildikó Kalapács.
6/26: Path marker, 2010.
Photo: Wayne Kraft and Ildikó Kalapács.
7/26: Decorative well 1, 2007.
Photo: Wayne Kraft and Ildikó Kalapács.
8/26: Decorative well 2, 2007.
Photo: Wayne Kraft and Ildikó Kalapács.
9/26: Decorative well 3, 2007.
Photo: Wayne Kraft and Ildikó Kalapács.
10/26: Guesthouse kitsch 1, 2010.
Photo: Wayne Kraft and Ildikó Kalapács.
11/26: Guesthouse kitsch 2, 2010.
Photo: Wayne Kraft and Ildikó Kalapács.
12/26: Main school building and gate, 2010.
Photo: Wayne Kraft and Ildikó Kalapács.
13/26: Bench in the style of Szeklerland, 2010.
Photo: Wayne Kraft and Ildikó Kalapács.
14/26: Bench and social interaction, 2010.
Photo: Wayne Kraft and Ildikó Kalapács.
15/26: Trouser-belt fields 1, 2010.
Photo: Wayne Kraft and Ildikó Kalapács.
16/26: Trouser-belt fields 2, 2010.
Photo: Wayne Kraft and Ildikó Kalapács.
17/26: Potato harvest work party, 2007.
Photo: Wayne Kraft and Ildikó Kalapács.
18/26: First day of potato harvest, 2007.
Photo: Wayne Kraft and Ildikó Kalapács.
19/26: Herd and combine, 2010.
Photo: Wayne Kraft and Ildikó Kalapács.
20/26: Herds return from pasture, 2007.
Photo: Wayne Kraft and Ildikó Kalapács.
21/26: Herds return from pasture 2, 2007.
Photo: Wayne Kraft and Ildikó Kalapács.
22/26: Part of the herd at dusk, 2007.
Photo: Wayne Kraft and Ildikó Kalapács.
23/26: Walking the milk can to the collection point, 2000: This ritual ended as Romania began to conform to EU guidelines that do not allow for the pooling of milk from individual households.
Video: Wayne Kraft and Ildikó Kalapács.
24/26: Márton and Anna Bálint, dancing in heritage dance group, 1995; the center couple are Márton and Anna Bálint.
Video: Wayne Kraft and Ildikó Kalapács.
25/26: Márton and Anna Bálint, demonstrating Kalotaszentkirály’s couples’ dance.
