The Museum of Ethnography will mark the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists with a full-day cultural programme on 25 April, offering visitors a wide range of activities from dog shows to scientific lectures and hands-on workshops.
The event, held on St George’s Day, will open with an interactive puppet and mask performance titled The Tale of the Shepherd’s Apprentice, presented by the Rozsnyói Meseszínház. Designed for children, the performance introduces audiences to traditional shepherd life through storytelling and play.
Throughout the afternoon, younger visitors will be able to step into shepherd roles themselves, creating stories, designing motifs, and exploring the everyday life of pastoral communities through engaging, playful activities.
The programme also includes a series of lectures by anthropologists Sántha István, Mészáros Csaba, and Régi Tamás, who will share insights from their fieldwork among nomadic groups. Botanist and ethnoecologist Molnár Zsolt will present the complex knowledge systems behind pastoral life, focusing on floodplain pig farming along the Sava River.
A visual lecture by Fülöp Hajnalka and Teszáry Miklós will explore the tradition of sheep counting in the Kalotaszeg region, offering insight into long-standing rural customs.
Visitors will also be able to see Hungary’s native shepherd dog breeds in action. Following introductions, the dogs will demonstrate obedience and agility exercises.
Inside the museum, thematic guided tours will highlight objects related to pastoral culture. One exhibition focuses on a richly decorated cifraszűr (traditional shepherd’s coat), revealing connections between 19th-century identity, clothing, and ethnographic collection practices. Another tour examines everyday tools and ornamented objects, showing how utility, environment, and imagination intersect in shepherd life.
Hands-on craft workshops will introduce participants to traditional techniques such as felting and wool processing, offering a tactile understanding of materials central to pastoral livelihoods.
The soundscape of the Carpathian Basin’s shepherd culture will be evoked through bagpipe music, communal singing, and instrument demonstrations. The day’s events will conclude with a performance and teaching session of a traditional swineherd dance from Somogy, inviting visitors to take part in the region’s living heritage.
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