Karikázó, 1983. július - 1984. április (9. évfolyam, 1-4. szám)

1983-07-01 / 1. szám

Bekevar Identities Presented by Prof. MARTIN KOVAiCS University of Regina at the AHEA Eighth Annual Conference, May 13, 1983, Toronto (published with the permission of the author) Békevár, Located some 15 Km south of Kipling, Saskatchewan, not only constituted a "cultural centre" for settlers of Hungarian descent scattered over some 500 Km sq. around, but also served for decades as a major cultural nucleus, the identity of a Magyar community for all Hungarian Canadians. One of the most important external characteristics of this settlement was that it formed an almost exclusively Protestant-in paricular, Calvinist Reformed- congregation. IMMIGRATION One reason for the preponderantly Protestant character of Békevár was the fact that the early core of the population came from one particular village with long and strong Protestant-Calvinist traditions. The village of Botrágy, in Bereg county (at that stage in northeastern Hungary) had an existence comparatively sheltered from marauding invaders who, over the centuries, had devastated almost the whole of the Hungarian Plains. In this manner, religious convictions, a religious identity, could be passed on - together with folk traditions - uninterruptedly from one generation to another. János Szabó, the founder of Békevár and a chief contributor to the formation of its identity, was thouroughly rooted both in the religious and folk ways of his community. None the less, owing to personal reasons, he made up his mind in the early 1890's to emigrate to the United States, and did not return to his native community until 1897, the year his wife died, leaving their young children unattended. His comparatively long stay in America gave him opportunity to do much reading, particularly of Hungarian newspapers, including the American National Guard. Szabó. much ■■■ --- ■ --- 1 f impressed by the Rev. John Kovacs's articles and arguments for transmigration to Canada and by his subsequent accounts of life at Otthon, soon made up his mind to emigrate, after his homecoming, to Canada. (1.) While at Botrágy, Szabó married a widow with adolescent and older children. One of them, Gabriel Szakács, accompanied the Szabó-s. Later, he became one of the most effective leading identities of Békevár. Szabó actually would have liked to join Kaposvár, one of the two already existing Hungarian settlements, but after renting farms for two years, he was advised about the availability of good land southwest of Whitewood and north of the Moose Mountains. On July 20, 1900, Szabó located his homestead in the company of two of his relatives who had selected their quarter-sections at the same time, thus laying the foundations for a new sett lement.(2.) Thus, John Szabó was neither an immigration nor a settlement agent, that is a person who occupationally promoted the peopling of the land. None the less, removed from the existing Magyar settlements, there was no other choice for him than to attempt to form a sociocultural environment congenial to him and his family: if Botrágy could not be there it had to be recreated on the virgin prairie. Indeed, the new settlement's identity was to reflect that of Botrágy in many respects. SETTLING By this stage, John Szabó had already become an anchorage person who had succeeded in attracting several relatives and some "földi"~s (home folks) from Bereg and Szabolcs counties. Still others came from the Kunság and Transdanubia. These early representatives of various regions in Hungary tended later to become just so many anchorage persons in respect of their areas of origin, and in the years to come their relatives and "földi"-s began to select neighbouring quarter-sections to achieve some degree of security through the hope of mutual help.(3.) Nevertheless, it was János Szabó, who, in the first couple of years, also proved to be the main resource person of the colony for newcomers in need of accommodation, food, transport and, later, a suitable quarter-section.(4.) Naturally, the settlers chose a name that would generate some favourable impression and reflect the identity of the group. The receiving of as many settlers as possible appeared to be essential from the economic standpoint, because such a trend would not only augment land prices, but would also foster demands for animals and services. They also wished to see an increase in the region's Magyar element, with particular reference to those of Reformed origin. The choice of the future name of the settlement seemed a fortunate solution for the underscoring of both the Magyar-ness and the Protestant nature of the colony. It was again Szabó who instinctively condensed into Békevár ("Fortress of Peace") the essence, the principal aim and the self-image of the community.(5.) THE MOVING OF THE FRONTIER There was a definite, although not quite clearly recognizable, movement of the marginal area that seemed to distinguish the settled areas from the virgin prairie in the Canadian West. In fact, this "frontier" was characterized by the arrival of waves of certain special types of settlers. These "identities" followed each other at irregular intervals, depending on such external circumstances as the economic and political climate, the availability of settlers and the progress of railway building. Thus, the village of Whitewood, founded in 1883 on the main CPR line, came to be regarded in the later 1880s and even for some time afterwards as the landmark of the frontier. For the newcomers in Békevár, Whitewood constituted a final stop after a long journey on the way to future happiness. For the settlers of the area it was for a long time the nearest marketplace and centre of civilization. It also had a flourishing newspaper that, amongst other things, described the identitiy of the "real" pioneer of the western frontier: continued on p.4.

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