The Hungarians Who Think They're Asian

Hungary is one of Europe's most infamous cultural crossroads: a Central European country whose language is unrelated to those of its neighbors, whose medieval ancestors arrived from the Eurasian steppe, and whose supposed Asian origins have fascinated Hungarian artists, scholars, mystics and cranks for centuries.

In this video, I explore the strange history of Hungarian Turanism (and Hungary itself) — from the medieval myths of the Scythians and Huns, to the 19th-century "Ugric-Turkic War," the travels of Ármin Vámbéry, the rise of Turanism, its transformation under Miklós Horthy, and its surprising survival in modern Hungary.

And, eventually, I explain how all of this led me to a Hungarian pagan festival where I ate barbecue with Mongolians, received a shamanic blessing, and got some throat-sung directed straight into my chest.

Chapters:
0:00 — The Ritual
1:55 — What Even Is Hungary?
5:51 — An Island In A Sea Called "Europe"
11:22 — The West Has Failed Us!
21:25 — Bones Beneath The Steppe

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