Hungary's National Identity

National identify defines the elements of a country that bind them; they are elements of belonging. They are the elements of a nation and its people, the common language, religion, flag, history, ethnicity, attitudes, and policies. Othering encompasses the common processes that separate groups, causing inequality and often marginality (Powell & Menendian, 2018). In an article on Hungary, Kende (2018) quoted this view of otherness, “Only when there is an Other can you know who you are. To discover this fact is to discover and unlock the whole enormous history of nationalism and racism. Racism is a structure of discourse and representation that tries to expel the Other symbolically – blot it out at the margin.” Hungary is arguably the country most clearly facing this duality verbally, politically, and ethically. There is justification of a return to defending “national identity and its cultural, ethnic, and constitutional components are now regularly used to justify and shape policy and political decision-making” (Council for European Studies, 2017). Hungary exemplifies a country that has a national identity that includes an otherness both internally and externally that reveals itself as xenophobia and a conflict in its own culture.

The core identity of Hungary consists of a ethnocentric Hungarian population of ten million that speaks a common Hungarian language of the Uralic family. Over a third of the population is Roman Catholic, about a fifth of the country does not affiliate with a formal religion, and another third does not specify a particular religion. However, a source of identity and pride that is particularly strong is in its music and dance.

Historically, Hungary began the process of building its national identity in the early nineteenth century. The political impetus for this came from Count Islvan Szechenyi (1790-1860) as a hope of finding a national identity within the Habsburg Empire. The result was the establishment of national symbols, “including folk costumes, cuisine, and music” (Piotrowska, 2013, P. 396). Dances called verbunkos or csardas were said to express the Hungarian soul, particularly because dancing allowed the aristocracy to perform in public to show their nationalism. The dances were accompanied by Romani music groups called Zigeunerkapellen. They became part of the culture, “In 1846 the French composer Hector Berlioz, when visiting Hungary, wrote to his sister Nanci about ‘those great Hungarian balls to which only noble Hungarians were admitted, and where they only performed national dances on national themes played by the Zingari’. These dances were immediately associated with so-called ‘Gypsy music’” (Piotrowska, 2013, P. 397). At this point in history, Hungary established its national identity through the use of music, singing, and dancing.

    The famous composer, Franz Liszt’s publication Des Bohémiens et de leur musique en Hongrie (1859) was a study on Hungarian Gypsy music. This major work was considered a scholarly breakthrough on the subject and inspired contributions of others in performing arts (Piotrowska, 2013, P. 396). Liszt’s hope was to create a distinct musical style for Hungary. He not only cared for Hungary but was also aware of the situation in Europe at the time. Incorporating some folk elements in musical compositions made them successful; it also brought a positive response from Paris. Both Chopin and Liszt were in agreement on this point.  

    However, there existed, even at the time, an irony that originated from within the very identity that was the hope of at least some Hungarians: “At the same time as the position of Gypsy music was being negotiated as an element of national discourse in the nineteenth century, discrimination against Roma was widespread. Gypsy music, as belonging to an ostracized rather than welcomed Other, was described in academic writings and presented in musical productions for the stage” (Piotrowska, 2013, 399). According to Anna G. Piotrowska, whose research focus is on the sociological and cultural aspects of music, Hungary’s Gypsy music could not be assimilated. Both within the country and in Europe, Gypsy music was “Music by the Other, admired and/or despised, longed for and/or rejected, but never viewed indifferently” (Piotrowska, 2013, 408). Perhaps the strongest element of national identity is the Othering that created separation.

Bigazzi and Scerto (2016) examined the challenge of gypsies in the twenty-first century in Hungary. Gypsies are Hungary’s largest minority population. Statistics are not accurate because the gypsy or Romani people prefer not to declare themselves as such for fear of discrimination. In fact, racism has been on the rise over the last five years and includes health, employment, education, and access to housing discrimination. Unfortunately, not declaring ethnicity is not always effective because of skin color, forcing them to address a minority identity. This minority identity is a contributing factor in the Otherness Hungary faces despite being a country of almost ten million ethnic Hungarian and the fact that the majority of Romani people were killed in World War II.    

In Hungary there has been rising tension about the immigration policy. Hungary used to be fairly lenient about immigrants, but recently the government has been trying to keep Serbian immigrants out. Laura King, a seasoned journalist, followed Hungary’s current immigration proposals (2018). Today, Hungary has become notoriously stereotyped as hostile towards immigrants, partly because of its negative attitude regarding Syrian war refugees a few years earlier. While many human rights activist attempts to help the Serbian immigrants, Hungary is attempting to change the law to prosecute anyone helping an immigrant. The law would be so fiercely strict that helping immigrants fill out forms would be illegal. For example, an immigration lawyer who helps someone fill out a complicated form that is not in the immigrant’s native language is at risk. Hungary has even created a barrier between its neighboring countries Serbia and Croatia to keep out immigrants. The Hungarian media slanders Muslims from these countries, alleging that they are toxic to their Christian way of life: “‘We want to keep Hungary a Hungarian country, and we don’t think that multiculturalism is by definition good,’ Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto told the BBC this week” (King, 2018).

Hungary has a long history of developing its national identity through cultural practices like dance and music. However, it is also a dynamic country, changing as the world around it changes. With a severe stance on immigration policy, it is becoming a people increasingly defined by their concept of Otherness.

Citations

'Gypsy music' as music of the Other in European culture. (2013, October 18). Retrieved             January 27, 2019, from             https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0031322X.2013.846615

Bigazzi, S., & Csertő, I. (2015, July 31). Minority Identity Strategies Bound by       Prejudice: Restricted Perspectives of People Categorized as Gypsies in Hungary. Retrieved January 27, 2019, from       https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/casp.2241

Kende, Á. (2010, August 2). The Hungary of Otherness: The Roma (Gypsies) of Hungary. Retrieved January 27, 2019, from             https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14608460020014167

King, L. (2018, June 28). The European country that makes the U.S. look lenient on        immigration. Retrieved January 27, 2019, from    https://www.latimes.com/world/la-fg-hungary-europe-immigration-20180628-story.html

Lutz, & Davis, B. (1995, December 01). Gypsies as Victims of the Holocaust. Retrieved January 27, 2019, from https://academic.oup.com/hgs/article-      abstract/9/3/346/603917

Poverty, Ethnicity, and Gender in Eastern Europe During the Market Transition. (n.d.).    Retrieved January 27, 2019, from             https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=O_tXHTK2kQUC&oi=fnd&pg=PA 67&dq=Hungary Gypsy World War             I&ots=fUs3kNmAQy&sig=_cohf_wg_e38NjambG51kLKTLjM#v=onepage&q=eth  nic issue&f=false

The "In Defense of National Identity" Argument: Comparing the UK and Hungarian          Referendums of 2016. (2017, February 1). Retrieved January 27, 2019, from            https://www.europenowjournal.org/2017/01/31/the-defence-of-national-identity-            comparing-the-uk-and-hungarian-referendums-of-2016/

Website of the Hungarian Goverment. (n.d.). Retrieved January 27, 2019, from    http://www.kormany.hu/en/doc

Örkény, A. (2005). Hungarian National Identity: Old and New Challenges. International   Journal of Sociology, 35(4), 28-48. doi:10.2753/ijs0020-7659350402