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Matrilineal Composition of the Reconstructed Stock of the Szekler Horse Breed

by András Gáspárdy, Zsombor Wagenhoffer, Dóra Fürlinger, Maja Halmágyi, Imre Bodó, Hovirag Lancioni and Ákos Maróti-Agóts

Agriculture 2023, 13(2), 456; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture13020456 - 15 Feb 2023

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2423

Abstract

The Szekler horse was a small-sized mountain horse of the Carpathian Mountains whose official stud book ceased to exist after WWII. Despite that, individual horses preserving all the characteristics of the Szekler horse remained scattered in remote areas. This study aims to evaluate the mitochondrial D-loop sequence (608 bp) of the founder population (n = 59) in 2021 of a breed reconstruction project started in 2012. D-loop showed 68 polymorphic sites. The number of haplotypes was 34, with haplotype diversity (Hd) 0.966 and nucleotide diversity (π) 0.02232. The value of Fu’s Fs statistic (−6.566) was significant (p < 0.001), which rejects a stable population status. Thirteen haplogroups (HG) were found with a nearly equal number of representatives (HG(n)—A (5), D (1), E (2), G (4), I (4), J–K (1), M (4), N (2), O’P (4), and R (1)). In contrast, the Q, L, and B HGs occurred in more horses (15, 9, and 7, respectively). Based on a large number of polymorphic sites and haplotypes, the founder stock is considered diverse. Since the HG Q is characteristic of Asian horses, the examined stock haplotype distribution reflects the eastern origin of the Hungarian horses brought from the East in 896 AD. It is complemented by the gene pool of horses from Europe (e.g., L) and the Middle East (e.g., B). Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Molecular Genetics in Domestic Animals)

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24 pages, 3720 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Secularism and Ethnic Minorities: Comparative Case Studies on Ethnic, Religious, and Political Cognitions in Pakistani-Controlled Kashmir, Central Russia, Romania, and Northern Scandinavia

by László Koppány Csáji

Religions 2023, 14(1), 117; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14010117 - 13 Jan 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 4231

Abstract

According to my study, “political secularism” means the separation of political power from religious institutions, while “social secularism” is a theory and endeavor to eliminate religiosity from not only public but also private life, considering it an obsolete way of thinking. I examine four case studies based on my ethnological fieldwork in Hunza (in the Pakistani-controlled Kashmir), the Middle Ural (Russia), Transylvania (Romania), and Sápmi (northern Scandinavia). I outline and compare ethnic minorities (Hunzakuts, Tatars, Szeklers, Samis) according to their historical background, contemporary social environment, relation to the majority, their political endeavors, and the role of religion(s) among them. Based on my fieldwork notes, interviews, and sociological data, I analyze the similarities and differences of ethnic complexity, terminological confusions, problems of “lived religion,” and the impact of social and political secularism. Since their religiosity differs from the majorities’ ones, I found that secularism has a complex role and reception. Political secularism is essential for defending these minorities from assimilation, but most of these minorities reject social secularism since religion is part of their multifunctional ethnic discourse space. Religiosity is part of their survival strategy. Notwithstanding, ethnic minorities’ religious institutions participate in political activity and propagate their claims for self-governance. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Political Secularism and Religion)

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18 pages, 323 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Eco-Discourses in a Virtual Rural Community

by Rozália Klára Bakó, László Attila Hubbes and Dénes Tamás

Sustainability 2021, 13(6), 3082; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13063082 - 11 Mar 2021

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3171

Abstract

This case study explores social media discourses of a virtual ecovillage community based in Central Romania, in a Hungarian speaking region of Transylvania. The investigated virtual community embraces the idea of ecovillage as a local constructive answer to the challenges of the global ecological crisis, based on strategies of revitalizing local ethnic traditions, promoting sustainable development solutions, and innovations. Our key question is the relationship between tradition and innovation—as revealed by the discursive practices of the ecovillage Facebook group’s most active members. Using ecolinguistic discourse analysis as a frame of reference, the investigation unveiled the role social media played in fostering the formation of a virtual intentional community, and in clarifying the shared values of the group. We found that the local ecovillage is part of a larger regional and global movement, unfolding the organic connection between the Hungarian and the Romanian intentional communities, and the reframing of traditional values within innovative, sustainable everyday practices. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mediatization of Social Sustainability: Paradigm of Explication and Understanding of the Environment, Society and the Economy)

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