Life / Why there is always around a horrible smell of sweat in Poland [188]


Really? You should try visiting Bangkok during the hot season, and share a ride with one of the white, fat, beer-guzzling expat men who are all there to shag Thai women. You will soon understand why Asians often think it is the other way around.

Bottome line: body odor is body odor, and it is affected by bathing habits, weather, diet, and laundry habits. It could be that the older Poles live in older flats and have less money, hence cut corners on bathing water and laundry, I don't know. Surely, they are not the only people in Europe with this condition.

Genealogy / Do Polish people have big noses? [450]

I don't know, but I've been reading up on Polish history, and there seems to be an explanation for big noses as a genetic trait. I have also been reading up on Hungarian history, because I am part Polish and Hungarian.

Apparently, Poland had a Samaritian connection. Samartia was one of the ancient tribes during the time of the Scythians, with origins from the Caucasus and Iran. Their history mixed with that of the Slavics and Tartars who became part of the early settlement and kingdom of Poland. In fact, there was a belief that the Polish nobility descended from Samaritians, which is why they wore Samaritian clothing. I found a link yesterday which I can no longer find today, which is very frustrating.

Anyway, I have been researching my ethnic roots via Poland and Hungary, and it has led me on a never-ending expedition through Central Asia and Indigenous Siberia, on both sides, including Poland! Who are the Slavs, who are the Samaritians, who are the Tatars, the Huns and Magyars,with whom Poland, the Slavic nation, had a natural and unbreakable bond that exists to this day despite the surrounding hatred that other Slav nations have for Hungary? Yes, I know about the history of shared nobility and friendship, but think about that for a second. Is it possible that there was a history of tribal friendship or alliance even before the task of building a kingdom, that reached back to Central Asia? Anyway, it's interesting. Researching the history of Eastern Europe will be a life-long pursuit, because there are no easy or readily-available answers.

One thing for sure, though, that area of the world was the fault line between East and West, and no amount of denial is going to change it. It seems as if multi-ethnic tribes and mixing existed since time began in Eurasia, which is essentially what we are talking about when we discuss Eastern Europe and the ancient tribes who are still visible on the faces of the present population.

I am proud to be part Polish and Hungarian, and of the mixed ethic roots of the region from time immemorial. In terms of the Hungarian and Baltic connection, it seems impossible to figure out when precisely the first tribes in the Urals became mixed, as if they just sprang up that way. I don't know enough about the varied history of the Slavs yet, except to know that they lived side-by-side of these early tribes, and in turn subjugated and were subjugated by them.

I have been told that I have a small "polish" nose - whatever that means, but I do have a nice, s-curve round derriere, and now I know why, lol. Didn't get the heart-shaped face unfortunately. I think I have the cheekbones and small, wider face of the Urals, via the Magyars.

Genealogy / The typical Polish look, or all Eastern Europeans [656]

Hi Osiol:

Thanks for the discussion. As I understand it, distance had little to do with the migration/movement of people and tribes of the Siberian Plateau and Steppes. It certainly didn't stop the multiple tribes and confederations that rampaged from the East to challenge the West, such as Attila the Hun in Gaul and Italy, the Avars, and Genghis Khan. I know the migration of nomadic herding tribes are different, but the grassy plains of the Steppes obviously weren't a hindrance for the movement of successive waves of multiple tribes and multi-ethnic confederations from the vicinity of the Ural and Altai Mountains.

You are right about the Ob-Ugrians, who are the closest linguistic relations to the Finno-Ugric language; they are the modern indigenous Khanti-Mansi people of the Autonomous Okrug administrative region of Russia. There are various competing theories about the origins of Magyars and the beginning of their kingdom, but I have never come across any accounts which argue against their Finno-Ugric origins in the Ural Mountains, which may have later combined with other tribes from the Altais.

At any rate, there is no doubt that the original Magyars were a blend of these tribes and multi-ethnic confederations. There is also no doubt that the Slavic languages surrounding them are different. Matters of statehood and geopolitical dominance do not necessarily explain ethnic origin, although I agree that all of Central and Eastern Europe - and Western Europe for that matter - were mixed. I would also argue that your example of the shared English language between Irish and English also supports my point -geopolitical domination has very little to do with ethnic origins and identity. In the case of the origin of early Magyars, however, it wasn't about domination but migration. And the fact that the surrounding states who were once part of the Magyar Empire still speak completely different languages nullifies your example further.

Not that I doubt there are alternative and contradicting theories, I just don't think the example of distance as an argument in this case is relevant. I am still learning about the various alternative theories, but I think I am leaning toward the theory that there were two significant migrations of the original Magyars.

I have to run, but I will find some links later. Sorry if I am boring others with this discussion.

Genealogy / The typical Polish look, or all Eastern Europeans [656]

Yes, I am similar. I have Polish genes through my maternal grandmother. My maternal grandfather was Hungarian. My grandmother was short stature, slim, with very dark hair, a small face with high cheekbones, and small, deep-set eyes. She had a slight olive tone to her, and so do I. I posted a picture of myself on the "Do I look Polish" thread. I also am small stature, about 165 centimenters (5'4 and 1/2 inches), have an hour-glass figure, but am not bony, and have a good waist to hip ratio with a S-Curve and round butt. I have gathered that this is also an East European or Slavic look. I also am currently being checked for a possible hypothyroid issue and do best on a homemade diet of potatoes and meat; can't do a lot of grains. I thought I couldn't drink for years because I would get horribly hung over with just one or two beers, and then switched to Vodka and found I could drink like a fish, lol.

The Hungarians are not Slavic. And BTW, to the gentlemen a few posts back, Hungarians are most definitely related to Finns. They are called Finno-Ugric, and both originate from deep within the Ural Mountains, on the Siberian Plateau.

merriam-webster.com/dictionary/finno-ugrics

Finno-Ugric

Main Entry:
Fin·no-Ugric Listen to the pronunciation of Finno-Ugric
Pronunciation:
\ˌfi-nō-ˈ(y)ü-grik\
Function:
adjective
Date:
1879

1 : of, relating to, or constituting a subfamily of the Uralic family of languages comprising various languages spoken in Hungary, Lapland, Finland, Estonia, and parts of western Russia 2 : of or relating to any of the peoples speaking Finno-Ugric languages

- Finno-Ugric noun


I should qualify the above statement. Hungarians and Finns are co-related groups, I guess. They are both of the Finno-Ugric linguistic group of people, but Hungarians are thought to originate in lands farther east in Siberia than the Finns. The Finns first arose in the Northern areas between Norway and the Ural Mountains, whereas the Hungarians spanned beyond. But there is definitely a historical connection between them and their language, which is why linguistically they both resemble each other more than the Finns do the Scandinavians and the Hungarians do the Slavs.