Moldavian Hungarians in Csíksomlyó at Pentecost

extract, Tamás Mohay (Budapest)

After decades of prohibition and hindrances, now every year hundreds of thousands of people are coming from every corner of the Hungarian-speaking world to take part in the Pentecost pilgrimage in Csíksomlyó (»umuleu-Ciuc, Romania) a village at the eastern edge of the Hungarian-speaking territory. The majority of the visitors come from regions where their Hungarian mother tongue and ethnic identity are well-known and widely acknowledged, whether they are members of the majority or an ethnic minority group. However, there is one group among the participants whose language, nationality, cultural identity, and minority status is officially questioned in their homeland, and they are forced by peremptory orders to use the language of the majority, i.e. Romanian. This is the group of Moldavian Hungarians.

The first rays of the sun on Little Somlyó Hill (1996).