Course offered on Carpatho-Rusyns, Slovaks
CALIFORNIA – Standing in front of a cutout of a tree with the words “Strengthen Our Roots 2005 Campaign” fixed above, John Righetti led 105 eager participants on a journey exploring the similarities and differences of two ethnic groups with deep roots in southwestern Pennsylvania. Expanding Horizons, an educational program of the Center in the Woods, offered the class “Carpatho-Rusyns and Slovaks: Similarities and Differences” last week.
The Washington County Chamber of Commerce sponsored the class.
Righetti, National Carpatho-Rusyn Society president who graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in 1979 with degrees in English Writing and Russian and East European Studies, hosted the class.
Neighbors in Europe and here, Carpatho-Rusyns and Slovaks have been intertwined for centuries, Righetti explained. And with such close ties, the two groups share more traditions and culture than not.
Carpatho-Rusyns, a small East Slavic ethnic group indigenous to the Carpathian Mountains region of East Central Europe, and Slovaks often struggle to understand their heritage thanks to the changing borders of Europe during World War I and II.
For much of their history, Capatho-Rusyns lived within the borders of Austria-Hungary, but at the close of World War I, they, along with Czechs and Slovaks, founded Czechoslovakia. However, the government forced Capatho-Rusyns to deny their ethnicity and claim Ukrainian descent. Righetti said Hungarian, Slovak and Capatho-Rusyn was the pecking order of the time and the latter group remained in the shadows until the fall of communism in the late 1980s.
Approximately 700,000 Americans are of Carpatho-Rusyn descent, and 60,000 of those reside in this part of the state. Pittsburgh holds the second largest settlement of Slovaks in the United States at 150,000.
Righetti said the dramatic differences found between the two ethnic groups are the grammar of the language and their religions.
But similarities between the two run deeper. Like close-knit sisters, they share words, traditions and struggles. Because of their link to Hungary, the two often use the same “cool words,” Righetti said, like huntsut, parobok and betyar. They also agree on the Csardas dance as the foot-mover of choice.
“They all dance it in a slightly different way,” he said, “but it’s their favorite dance.”
The groups also united in their struggle against poverty in Europe where a two-room home often housed 15 people.
Dorothy Rossini of Uniontown, who said she is 100 percent Carpatho-Rusyn, has attended several of Righetti’s classes and discovered a pride in her heritage.
“I learn more and more about my people every time,” she said. “The more I hear, the more proud I am. We’re very powerful and we accomplished a lot.”
She also traveled with the society to Europe to explore her heritage.
“I feel like a reborn person,” she said. “You have to know where you come from.”
Dan Sochko of Mount Pleasant agreed.
“My interest is my heritage,” he said. “There’s an old saying, how do you know where you’re going if you don’t know where you came from.”
Righetti said identity answers wait in roots.
“The concept of being a citizen of state is starting to wane,” he said. “So, how do you identify yourself? With the blood that’s running through your veins.”
And the possibility of discovering the depths of one’s heritage attracts a crowd.
“Any time we do something ethnic we have a good turnout,” said Mary Elaine Lozosky, Expanding Horizons coordinator. “Everybody wants to know their roots – where they came from, where they belong.”
For more information on the National Carpatho-Rusyn Society, visit the Web site www.c-rs.org. The 24th Annual Carpatho-Rusyn Celebration will be held Oct. 30, 12 to 7 p.m. at St. John the Baptist Byzantine Catholic Church, 201 E. Main Street, Uniontown.