Interwar Romania was infamous for its many violent political and
social scenes. Some of these scenes represented exclusionary violence in its basic form, such as riots against Jews (and sometimes against other minorities) in 1922 and most prominently in 1927. But many other forms of violence were customary in Greater Romania. Clashes between villagers, destruction of memorials and statues, armed violence against the opposition electorate,beating up of politicians and occasional revolts against the authorities concerned an ever-growing state security apparatus that was rarely able to control these eruptions. Their persistence makes them suspicious of being a systemic phenomenon. In this article I argue that violence in this widespread form was a structural characteristic of Greater Romania, the result of systemic factors in
the new state. A loosening of moral constraint due to the preceding first world war, subsequent revolutions (and paramilitary endeavours) and the deficiencies of the state together had a decisive impact on the formation of a political culture that fostered violence from time to time. These factors on the one hand legitimized violence as a form of political action and, on the other hand, they resulted from and impeded successful nation building, and the realizationof the state’s promises for the nation. Thus, interwar Romania became a failing nation state and as such it facilitated popular forms of violence that was widely felt being justified by the legitimacy enjoyed by the ideology of the
nation-state. and Obsahuje poznámkový aparát pod čarou
Los Comanches and other cultural manifestations of the genízaro (mixed Spanish-Indian) culture of New Mexico is widely recognized and belittled as a mere hybrid of the „authentic" Spanish, Puebloan and Plains Indian cultures. The politicization of identity in contemporary America promotes traditionalist revitalization movements and the genízaros seem to be caught between a rock and a hard plače, not accepted by either of the politically well established ethnicities of New Mexico. They are denied authenticity and consequently are also denied access to funds which have become available for groups that have made successful ethnic claims and achieved state recognition. In spite of this difficult situation, the genízaro culture continues to live, representing a very unique cultural complex. The case of the genízaros of New Mexico may help us better understand the politics of (self-)identification and the process of ethnogenesis as a response to material and political opportunities created by a state reluctant to endorse a common national culture.
An intriguing element of the Pueblo and Hispanic villages of New Mexico is the Matachines Dance. It is performed on different, mostly religious occasions and requires a great personal and financial commitment on the part of the participants. Where the dance tradition disappeared in the past, it is being revived in the present, and where it continues to be danced in an uninterrupted tradition, it is becoming ever more costly and exuberant. The dance draws on European Middle-Age dance dramas, but it is heavy with indigenous layers of meaning. On face value, its key protagonists - Montezuma, Malinche, Abuelos, Montezuma’s entourage and the Bull - reenact the victory of Christianity in the New World. That is the meaning the dance has for the Hispanic villages, in addition to a number of place- and time-specific meanings. While seemingly identical, the dance often carries a different set of meanings in the Pueblos, symbolizing the banishment of foreign elements and the restoration of indigenous rule. In both the Pueblo and Hispanic villages, aside from the religious and mythical significance, the dance serves to delineate and reinforce ethnic boundaries while promoting a sense of community and solidarity. The Matachines Dance thus serves as a fascinating and paradoxical example of a shared cultural praxis which reinforces perceived cultural difference.