Székelységtudat - mítoszokkal és mítosztalanul
Szekler-Consciousness – with and without Myths

Summary/Abstract: After geographically localizing the Hungarian-speaking Szeklers, living as an ethnic block in the south-eastern part of Transylvania, the author lists the misbeliefs associated with this area and group of people. In the past the group was held together primarily by the privileges received in return for their military services, in the present only by their history and myths. The most persistent of these historical myths is the belief in the descent from the huns of Attila. The science of history contests this categorically. This tradition is known to be present already in writings of Hungarian annalists in the Middle Ages, but, according to the author’s opinion and data, provincial clerics and later teachers also played an important role in spreading this belief amongst people. These myths lived on and spread further in our days, in variants adapted for children, in newly published books and via electronic media, fact to which the author does not take objection. However, he considers the efforts aiming to the area’s economic recovery, inner cohesion and image creation more important.

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