Sunday, August 9, 2009

Hungary -- Tamas Cseh RIP

An encampment of Hungary's Bakony Indians. Photo from Tamas Cseh web site.

The Hungarian singer-songwriter Tamas Cseh, an important figure in Europe's Imaginary Wild West, died on Friday after a long battle with lung cancer at the age of 66. Cseh was a founder and driving force within a group known as the Bakonyi Indians -- a group of Hungarians who, since the early 1960s, have spent holiday time living like Native Americans in the hilly Bakony region of northwestern Hungary. The group (which still exists) takes part in an elaborate warrior game, in addition to learning and carrying out Native American crafts and traditions. Cseh also published a novel, Hadiösvény (Warpath), in 1997, and a book containing Native American tales, Csillagokkal táncoló Kojot (Coyote Dancing with Stars), in 2006.

Bakonyi Indians -- picture from Tamas Cseh web site.

Here is a YouTube video of Cseh singing an American Indian chant.

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