Reference Type: Book Section
Author: Káli, Kinga
Year: 2007
Title: Vasárnapi örmények valami a pozicionális identitásról
Translated Title: [Sunday Armenians - something about positional identity]
Editor: Őze, Sándor - Kovács, Bálint
Book Title: Örmény diaszpora a Kárpát-medencében II. kötet
City: Piliscsaba
Publisher: Pázmány Péter Katolikus Egyetem Bölcsészettudományi Kar
Volume: II
Number of Volumes: 2
Language: Hungarian
Keywords: Armenian minority, sociology, history, interethnic relationships, ethnic identity, culture, religious identity, social groups, religion, self-perception, politics, traditions, Catholic Church, discrimination
Abstract: (En) The study emphasizes the peculiar nature of the Hungarian-Armenian identity in Transylvania nowadays, which is strongly tied to the Hungarian culture. In the late 18n century, many Annenian traders migrated from Transylvania to the Hungarian Plain, and the descendants of these traders constitute foundation of the Annenian community in Hungary.
Due to this, the Hungarian-Armenian community from Transylvania and Hungary shows comrnon group-characteristics: they share the same origin-story; they were not directly affected by the events in Turkey in 1915; they share a certain apology regarding the lost of the language of their ancestors; and their mother tongue is the Hungárián language. By these characteristics we can, more or less, speak about a geographically extended community, which, politically speaking, goes over the boundaries of a nation.
The Armcnian identity in Transylvania is being strongly determined by the fact that Hungarians, who have assimilated the Annenian community beginning with the end of the 18th century, are themselves in a minority status in Romania. The assimilating pressure and negative diserimination against Hungarians by the Romanian state last century has brought on that Hungarian-Armenians consider themselves first of all Hungarians. In these circumstances the fact to be Hungarians becomes much more important than their being Armenian. Yet, this sort of identity cannot be called plural, because the components of identity are not of equal magnitude: the person does not consider himself equally Hungarian and Annenian. The self-definition of the individual is relatíve, dependant on the environment, positional. An informant from Gheorgheni (Románia) put the phe-nomenon of the positional identity intő words like this: „We are Hungarians during the week, and Armenians on the weekends, in the church." Thus we can say that Annenian identity is indirectly weakened by the Hungarians' minority status; nevertheless - especially since the political changes in Románia in 1989 - there is an opposite tendency evident, too, an increased awareness in living as Armenians. The same tendency is noticeable in Hungary after the communist regime has failed: this revival can be called neoarmenism in both cases.
Positional identity means that the proportion of the components of identity is temporarily modified due to appearance of a reminder. The function of reminding is falling to the lot of the Annenian Catholic Church, the main preserver of Annenian identity. Within the framework of the Church a certain preserving system has been improved, capable of renewing the Armenians' awareness of their cultural identity regularly. For example in the case of the Annenian community from Gheorgheni this role is being fulfilled by the feast of the Red Capes, as a part-ceremony of the Annenian Catholic liturgy. Partly of secular origin, the Guild of Lads from Gheorgheni has created the fcast, and becomes liturgy due to the sacred instruments put to use in the course of it

(Hu) Hosszas mérlegelés után mégiscsak megengedtem magamnak egy rejtélyesen metaforikus címet. Clifford Geertz (akit titokban kicsit mesteremnek tekintek) ugyan mindenkit óva int a szépírói gesztusoktól - az antropológiai szöveg legyen egyértelmű, igénytelen szöveg, ne törjön irodalmi babérokra, mondja. Mivel intését, bármennyire is megszívlelendő, nem mindig lehet betartani - erre talán legjobb példa az ő munkássága, amelyben szintén nem tudott lemondani a metaforikus önkifejezés glóriájáról -, maradt részemről is a „vasárnapi örmények" szókapcsolat, mely éppen elég titkot foglal magában, hogy kellőképpen illusztrálja azt a terminológiai bizonytalanságot, amely az erdélyi magyar-örmények identitásával kapcsolatban felmerül.
URL: http://www.sulinet.hu/oroksegtar/data/magyarorszagi_nemzetisegek/ormenyek/ormeny_diaszpora_a_karpat_medenceben_II/pages/magyar/012_kali_kinga.htm