A helynevek szerepe az alternatív ideologikus gondolkodásban I. A Pilis-kultusz esete [The role of place names in an alternative ideological mindset I. The case of the Pilis Cult]

• Main Author: Imreh, Réka
• Format: Article
• Language: Hungarian
• Published: Society of Hungarian Linguistics; Institute of Hungarian Linguistics and Finno-Ugric Studies of ELTE University 2014-12-01
• Series: Névtani Értesítő
• Subjects: helynév; nyelvi ideológia; szubkultúra; Pilis-kultusz; Pilis; Dobogó-kő; magyar; place names; linguistic ideologies; subculture; Pilis Cult; alternative ideological mindset; Hungarian
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10831/11852
• ISSN: 0139-2190; 2064-7484

This paper focuses on the role of place names in defining and legitimizing the identity of a subculture through the example of a complex contemporary alternative social phenomenon known as the Pilis Cult. The Pilis Cult, which is also linked with some other alternative theories (Sumerian–Hungarian linguistic affinity, root linguistics, The Holy Crown Doctrine), claims that the Pilis Mountains as a spiritual space have a special role in Hungarian history. In the specific attitude to language and place names adopted by this subculture, one can recognize elements similar to those of ancient and medieval magical thinking. These can be observed in the interpretation of place names of the mountains, in which associations connected to the phonetic forms or the semantics of the place names may turn these toponyms into “telling names”, proving 120 Imreh Réka the antiquity and spirituality of the area. This etymological-associative narration is illustrated in the paper with the examples of the place names Pilis and Dobogó-kő. The interpretations of these names commingling with the alternative ideas connected to the denotata themselves (e.g. heart chakra theory; Proto-Buda Theories) establish a unified argumentation framework. The paper argues that even a linguistically unorthodox subculture – alongside its specific ideology – may emphasize aspects of the study of place names through which our knowledge can be expanded with respect, for instance, to the functional logic behind place names.