Nation-Building and Contested Identities - MEK

BARNA ÁBRAHÁMcounty). In his article, he warmly described the activities of the local co-operativeand the self-consciousness of the inhabitants: “Hats off to these free people,who are proud of being peasants, who have never lived in serfdom, whohave been able to block the voraciousness of the council of Sibiu and who willprevent every future attempt of subjection too, implementing the idea ofa healthy, stable democracy in their wonderful rural life that is really a Romanianone.” See Zigu Ornea, Viaþa lui C. Stere (The Life of C. Stere), vol. 1(Bucharest: Cartea Româneascã, 1989), pp. 384-385.7“During the elaboration of the questionnaire, it was impossible to start fromthe romantic preconception that genuine Romanian peasants can be studiedonly in Sãliºtea,” because “unfortunately, such flourishing Romanian villages,similar to Sãliºtea, can hardly be found yet.” Róbert Braun, “A falu lélektana”(The psychology of the village), Huszadik Század 5-6 (1913), p. 548.8“It has got such an élan in its development since 1860 that today it is one of thelittle towns of our country. It has some paved streets, many large and beautifulbuildings, a district notary and a deputy sheriff, a post and telegraph office,weekly market, large shops etc. and more cultural institutions. … Eight teacherswork in the upper school, there is a reading circle or casino, an associationof firemen, another one of artisans and a savings bank.” Silvestru Moldovan,Þara nóstrã: Descrierea pãrþilor Ardélului dela Mureº spre médã-di ºi valeaMuréºului (Our land: Description of the parts of Transylvania south of riverMureº and the Mureº valley) (Sibiu: 1894), pp. 129-131.9Viktor Pãcalã, “A Nagyszeben vidéki resinárok lakóhelye és életviszonyai”(The dwelling place and living conditions of the Resinars in the Nagyszebenarea), Földrajzi Közlemények 33 (1905), pp. 319-24.10 “The inhabitants have a spirit of community and generosity, too. It has its evidencein the establishing and maintaining of relatively numerous social, culturaland charity institutions financed from the donations of some rich land-holders,some children [i.e., heirs] while sharing their heritage, some young peoplebefore their marriage, and some mourners, perpetuating the memory of theirbeloved. The ‘Mitrea Aleman,’ ‘ªaguna’ and ‘Danc㺠Emilian’ foundations, thewomen’s association, the reading society, etc. all spend thousands on clothesfor pupils, scholarships for students, aiding the poor old people, those who arenot able to work and those mentally ill. Rãºinari already possessed an ambitiousintelligentsia too, but this was not the case in the past. There wereenough rich sheep-owners living here before, who could have afforded to sendtheir children to school, but they rather sent them up to the mountains, wherethe children were growing up without care. … Thanks to the recent educationalreforms, these disadvantages disappeared, bringing the benefits of generalculture. The village has an excellently equipped and organized school withseven teachers, with the mission to spread the culture. … The younger generationof Rãºinari, brought up by rigorous religious principles in the family,once rising to higher social positions, shows self-conscious and warm patriotism,firm awareness of its duties, and an impeccable way of living.” Pãcalã,“A Nagyszeben vidéki resinárok lakóhelye és életviszonyai,” p. 325.11 It was realized, on the one hand, by parcelling some large estates (in generalHungarian), and, on the other hand, by selling at auctions some (mainlyRomanian) smaller farms. At the turn of the century, Transylvania underwent218