To "hunger ... for wild sensations" : 'playing Indian' in Hungary

Karl May's Winnetou books have been available in Hungarian for a hundred and twenty years, and they are widely read even in the twenty-first century. This article, however, moves beyond the translations and innumerable publications of these books and focuses on the special cultural phenomenon of 'playing Indian' in Hungary. For nearly one hundred years, groups of Hungarian artists and their friends have been organizing 'Indian' camps in different parts of the country. Some of these camps were the targets of the communist secret service since 'Indian' meant resistance against oppression and deprivation as well as environmental consciousness for the participants of the camps. In 2021 a special exhibition was held about these camps, featuring several mentions of the 'Indian' by the best known poets and writers and accompanied by an anthology of contemporary short stories about the 'Indian experiences' of Hungarian writers and artists.