Science in a Hungarian Minority Environment—From the Point of View of Ethnography

The study attempts to outline the main aspects of ethnographic research on the Hungarian minority in Slovakia and the content of the papers published during the quarter of a century of the Fórum Társadalomtudományi Szemle [Forum Social Sciences Review], and to present the results of the research on national minority culture. In conclusion, the ethnographic and cultural anthropological publications of the Forum Social Sciences Review have in many respects broadened our knowledge of the culture of the Hungarian minority. In three respects, a definitely richer and more nuanced picture emerges on the basis of the papers in the various sections: 1. First and foremost, through the theoretical and methodological aspects (especially European ethnology) of research on the Hungarian minority. As a result, we gain a more nuanced picture of interethnic relations, the interrelationships of social stratification (occupation, age, gender, etc.), in addition to the linguistic and religious determinants of ethnic identity. 2. The principle and practice of regionality is applied to the description of territorial, local and settlement examples, and, in many areas, it brings to the surface new knowledge in the field of material-factual education of Hungarian ethnic culture and folklore, and folk customs in a broader sense. (Perhaps the research of folk music and folk dance could have been given more space.) 3. Special mention should be made of the publications dealing with sacral ethnography and popular religious practice, both in terms of quantity and new approaches to analysis. It is perhaps not an exaggeration to assume that this has also played a part in the creation of the internationally esteemed database of sacral relics (Sacral Relics Archive; Sacral Relics Bibliography; Sacral Relics Resources) by the Centre for European Ethnology of the Forum Minority Research Institute. All in all, the Forum Social Sciences Review is an integral trace and document of the cultural history of the Hungarian minority in Slovakia and of (all) Hungarians, which will hopefully continue to expand.