The Phillipian

Dancikova ’09 experienced Rusyn culture at home and abroad. (J. Curtis/ The Phillipian)

Radka Dancikova ’09 wants people to learn about her heritage before it’s too late.

Dancikova presented her CAMD Scholar research on “Retaining Cultural Identities: A Look at the Rusyn Community” last Friday in Kemper Auditorium.

Her research addressed how the Rusyn people are trying to hold on to their culture and language.

“It is an interesting topic that [people] may never learn about again in their lives,” she said.

“The Rusyns believe the best way to retain one’s culture is through knowledge, and I agree with them,” she said. “More importantly, though, they know who they are and where they come from.”

Dancikova said this identity conflict is “something that a lot of minority groups are facing.” She said that it is much harder to retain cultural identity within a smaller, less predominant minority group because few peers share the same traditions or customs.

There are only 1.2 million Rusyns in the world, located chiefly in Eastern Slovakia, Southern Poland and Western Ukraine.

Dancikova said that the number of Rusyn language speakers has declined over the past 50 years.

Dancikova was born in Slovakia and still has family there. She said that her family retains parts of Rusyn culture in their lives, such as egg decorating, a tradition passed down through the generations from mother to daughter.

“I can connect to everything Radka said [in her presentation],” said Suzanne Torabi, International Student Coordinator. “I completely understand what it means to leave your culture behind, having experienced it first hand.”

“I didn’t even know about the Carpatho Rusyns before Radka’s presentation,” Nonye Odukwe ’10 said. “It was interesting to see her identify herself as Rusyn, especially since this culture is dying off. I think her presentation was a great example of globalization and how the world is getting smaller because of the mixing of cultures.”

Dancikova said that people are often told about immigrants but rarely hear about where they come from, and her presentation offered a different point of view.

This past summer, Dancikova spent five weeks in Eastern Slovakia where she said she was taken aback by the beauty of the land and mountains.

She also spent time gathering information from her grandmothers, whom she called her “best sources,” and representatives of several Rusyn cultural organizations.

Dancikova said she and her parents were worried about a lack of sources on Rusyn culture at first, but she was overwhelmed by the wealth of information she found in Slovakia.

Dancikova said she experienced Rusyn culture firsthand through numerous festivals like the Svidnik Folk Festival, the world’s largest Rusyn folk festival.

Dancikova also spent time in Pittsburgh, home of the largest Rusyn-American population in the United States.

In Pittsburgh, she attended the Rusyn Food Festival and met with the president and vice president of the Carpatho-Rusyn Society.

Dancikova said she is glad she learned about her heritage through her research and met members of her extended family for the first time.

Dancikova’s presentation included a faculty panel including Elly Nyamwaya, Instructor in English, from Kenya, Flavia Vidal, Instructor in English, from Brazil, Lisa Joseph, Instructor in Math, from India and Clyfe Beckwith, Instructor in Physics, from Switzerland.

The panel discussed their transitions after moving from their respective home countries to the United States.

Vidal said that she has lived in the United States longer than in Brazil and has become so immersed in American culture that she sometimes does not recognize parts of Brazilian culture around her.

The panel agreed that the food, music and language were the best ways to pass on their culture to their children.

Senior Mary Krome’s CAMD project last year on educational problems for migrant children in Florida inspired Dancikova do her own presentation.

“I have a story to share that many people would find unique and interesting even if they’ve never heard about it,” Dancikova said.

Alice Tao contributed reporting.