The Csángós (; ) are
ethnic Hungarians of
Roman Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
faith living mostly in the
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
n region of
Moldavia
Moldavia (, or ; in Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Romanian Cyrillic: or ) is a historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester River. An initially in ...
, especially in
Bacău County
Bacău County () is a county (județ) of Romania, in Western Moldavia, with its capital city at Bacău. It has one commune, Ghimeș-Făget, in Transylvania.
Geography
This county has a total area of .
In the western part of the county there a ...
. The region where the Csángós live in Moldavia is known as
Csángó Land
Csángó Land (; , or ) is the name given to the region in Western Moldavia, in turn a region of Romania, where most of the Csángós, a small subgroup of the Hungarians, live. Csángó Land is located close to the Divisions of the Carpathians, ...
. Their traditional language, Csángó, a
Hungarian dialect, is currently used by only a minority of the Csángó population group.
Some Csángós also live in
Transylvania
Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...
(around the
Ghimeș-Palanca Pass and in the so-called
Seven Villages) and in the village of
Oituz
Oituz (formerly ''Grozești''; ) is a commune in Bacău County, Western Moldavia, Romania. It is composed of six villages: Călcâi (''Zöldlonka''), Ferestrău-Oituz (''Fűrészfalva''), Hârja (''Herzsa''), Marginea, Oituz and Poiana Sărată (' ...
in
Northern Dobruja
Northern Dobruja ( or simply ; , ''Severna Dobrudzha'') is the part of Dobruja within the borders of Romania. It lies between the lower Danube, Danube River and the Black Sea, bordered in the south by Southern Dobruja, which is a part of Bulgaria.
...
.
Etymology
It has been suggested that the name ''Csángó'' is the present participle of a Hungarian verb meaning ; purportedly by
sibilation, in the pronunciation of some Hungarian consonants by ''Csángó'' people.
Alternative explanations include the Hungarian word , meaning , or the phrase .
The Finnish researcher
Yrjö Wichmann
Yrjö Jooseppi Wichmann (8 September 1868 – 3 May 1932) was a Finnish linguist. He was a professor of Finno-Ugric language studies at the University of Helsinki in 1920–1932.
Wichmann's parents were Vicar Emil August Wichmann (1831–1886) a ...
believed that probably the name of ceangău (csángó) did not come from a certain Hungarian tribe, but they were called those Transylvanian Szeklers who moved away from their comrades and settled in areas inhabited by Romanians, where they were, both materially and ideologically influenced by them and even Romanianized to a certain level. Ion Podea in the "Monograph of Brașov County" of 1938 mentioned that the ethnonym derives from the verb or and means . This was used by the Szeklers in the case of other Romanianized Szeklers from the Ciuc area.
In some Hungarian dialects (the one from
Transylvanian Plain
The Transylvanian Plain (; , ) is an ethnogeographical area in Transylvania, Romania, located between the Someșul Mare and the Someșul Mic rivers to the north and west and the Mureș River Mureș may refer to:
* Mureș County, Romania
* Mure ...
and the Upper Tisza) , means . In connection with this etymological interpretation, the linguist made an analogy between the verb "to wander" with the ethnonyms "
kabars
The Kabars (), also known as Qavars (Qabars) or Khavars, were Khazar rebels who joined Magyar tribes and the Rus' Khaganate confederations in the 9th century CE.
Sources
The Byzantine Emperor Constantine VII is the principal source of the Kaba ...
" and "
khazars
The Khazars ; 突厥可薩 ''Tūjué Kěsà'', () were a nomadic Turkic people who, in the late 6th century CE, established a major commercial empire covering the southeastern section of modern European Russia, southern Ukraine, Crimea, a ...
", which means the same thing.
According to the "Dictionary of the Hungarian Language", 1862; '' The etymological dictionary of the Hungarian language '',
Budapest
Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...
1967; '' The historical dictionary of the Hungarian lexicon from
Transylvania
Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...
'',
Bucharest
Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...
, 1978; '' The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language '', Hungarian Academy Publishing House, Budapest, 1972; '' The new dictionary of regionalisms '', Hungarian Academy Publishing House, Budapest, 1979, the terms , are translated in , .
The historian
Nicolae Iorga
Nicolae Iorga (17 January 1871 – 27 November 1940) was a historian, politician, literary critic, memoirist, Albanologist, poet and playwright. Co-founder (in 1910) of the Democratic Nationalist Party (PND), he served as a member of Parliament ...
stated that the term comes from (,
[Nicolae Iorga; ''Privilegiile șangăilor de la Târgu Ocna'', Librăriile Socec & Comp. și C. Sfetea București, 1915, pag. 3/247] with the variants derived from the Hungarian meaning ), name given to the
Szekler workers at
Târgu Ocna mine.
A theory of the historian Antal Horger relates that the comes from , which refers to a shepherd who walks with the bludgeon after the herds. Another hypothesis of
Bernát Munkácsi explains that the term comes from the verb which in
Ciuc County
Ciuc County is a historical county ( Romanian: ''județ'') in the Kingdom of Romania. Its capital was Miercurea Ciuc. Its name was derived from the former county of the Kingdom of Hungary, Csík.
History
Prior to World War I, the territory of th ...
means .
[Iosf Petru M Pal; ''Originea catolicilor din Moldova și Franciscanii păstorii lor de veacuri'', Tipografia ''Serafica'' Săbăoani, Roman, 1941, pag. 96]
Origins

The Hungarian and the international literature in this subject unanimously agree that the Csángós are of
Hungarian origin, with varying assimilated elements of Romanian, German, Polish, Italian and Gypsy ancestry.
The Hungarians originated on the
Asian Steppe, as a tribal federation composed of
Ugric and
Turkic peoples.
The Csángós had historically been a rural and agricultural people, raising stock like sheep and cows and farmed crops such as corn, potatoes, and hemp. They were also often called for military service, protecting the Eastern borders of the Kingdom of Hungary in the Middle Ages. Before the Communist era and the collectivization efforts, the Csángós were structured in a traditional society until the introduction of
civil code
A civil code is a codification of private law relating to property law, property, family law, family, and law of obligations, obligations.
A jurisdiction that has a civil code generally also has a code of civil procedure. In some jurisdiction ...
. Village elders were well respected and could be pointed out by their traditionally long hair and beards. Notably, some Csángós also participated in the
1907 Romanian Peasants' Revolt and fought on behalf of Romania in both world wars.
Population structure
Csángós from Moldavia
File:A Rab család Szabófalváról.jpg, Family from Săbăoani
File:Moldvai csangok (1).jpg, Galbeni, Bacău
File:Femeie din Targu Trotus, Bacau.jpg, Târgu Trotuș
Târgu Trotuș () is a Commune in Romania, commune in Bacău County, Western Moldavia, Romania. It is composed of three villages: Târgu Trotuș, Tuta (''Diószeg''), and Viișoara (''Viszóra'').
At the 2021 Romanian census, 2021 census, the com ...
File:Idős csángó férfi (Somoska, Moldva).jpg, Somușca
File:Ceangai Sabaoani, jud. Roman.jpg, Săbăoani
Csángós from the Seven Villages (Hétfalu)
File:Barcasági csango.jpg, Csángós from Săcele ( Burzenland)
File:Adler - Grup de ceangăi din Săcele, jud. Braşov.jpg, Csángó group from Săcele
File:Adler - Familie de ceangăi din Săcele, jud. Braşov.jpg, Csángó family from Săcele
File:Adler - Ceangăi din Săcele, jud. Braşov 2.jpg, Csángós from Săcele
= Csángós from around the Ghimeș-Palanca Pass (Gyimesi-szoros)
=
File:Gyimes csángó magyar leány.jpg
File:Adler - Pereche de ceangăi din Ghimeş, jud. Bacău.jpg
File:Gyimesi csángók.jpg
History, culture and identity
Middle Age sources
Perugia, 14 November 1234:
Pope Gregory IX
Pope Gregory IX (; born Ugolino di Conti; 1145 – 22 August 1241) was head of the Catholic Church and the ruler of the Papal States from 19 March 1227 until his death in 1241. He is known for issuing the '' Decretales'' and instituting the Pa ...
to
Béla IV
Béla may refer to:
* Béla (crater), an elongated lunar crater
* Béla (given name), a common Hungarian male given name
See also
* Bela (disambiguation)
* Belá (disambiguation)
* Bělá (disambiguation) Bělá may refer to:
Places in the Cze ...
, king of Hungary
"In the
Cuman
The Cumans or Kumans were a Turkic nomadic people from Central Asia comprising the western branch of the Cuman–Kipchak confederation who spoke the Cuman language. They are referred to as Polovtsians (''Polovtsy'') in Rus' chronicles, as " ...
bishopric – as we were informed – is living a people called Vallah and others, Hungarians and Germans as well, who came here from the Hungarian Kingdom."
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of Roman civilization
*Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...
, 13 April 1562: Report of the Habsburg Agent, John Belsius, to the Emperor Ferdinand the First
"On the day of the 10th of April, Despot Vodă left Hîrlău (Horlo) to
Tîrgul Frumos (Zeplak = Széplak) finally on the 12th to the fortress of Roman (Románváros)"
Despot Vodă ordered me to write these: Alexandru Moldoveanul forced all the nations, with no exceptions, to be baptized again and to follow the religion of the Moldavians, taking them away from their own religion, he appointed a bishop of the Saxons and the Hungarians, to rebuild the confiscated churches and to strengthen their souls in their beliefs, and his name is Ian Lusenius, and is Polish."
After 1562: Notes of the Humanist Johann Sommer about Saxons in Moldavia, from his work about the Life of Jacob-Despot, the Ruler of Moldavia
"Despot was unyielding in punishment, especially against the ones who don't respect the sanctity of marriage, -according to the habit of those people-: this habit was copied by the Hungarians and Saxons living here, in this country (Moldavia). He started to build a school in Cotnari, which is mostly inhabited by
Hungarians
Hungarians, also known as Magyars, are an Ethnicity, ethnic group native to Hungary (), who share a common Culture of Hungary, culture, Hungarian language, language and History of Hungary, history. They also have a notable presence in former pa ...
and
Saxons
The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...
."
Iași, 14 January 1587: Bartolomeo Brutti's letter to Annibal de Capua
"These Franciscans are very few and they speak neither German, nor Hungarian, so they can't take spiritual care of these Catholics, 15000 in number."
Roman 1588: The First Jesuit Mission in Moldavia: Written by Stanislaw Warszewicki
"In the whole region in 15 towns and in all the neighborhood villages there are
Hungarians
Hungarians, also known as Magyars, are an Ethnicity, ethnic group native to Hungary (), who share a common Culture of Hungary, culture, Hungarian language, language and History of Hungary, history. They also have a notable presence in former pa ...
and
Saxons
The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...
, but most of them don't know how to read, don't even recognize the letters."
Munich Codex:
Hussite
file:Hussitenkriege.tif, upright=1.2, Battle between Hussites (left) and Crusades#Campaigns against heretics and schismatics, Catholic crusaders in the 15th century
file:The Bohemian Realm during the Hussite Wars.png, upright=1.2, The Lands of the ...
translation of the
New Testament
The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...
to Hungarian dated in the text in 1466 in
Moldavia
Moldavia (, or ; in Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Romanian Cyrillic: or ) is a historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester River. An initially in ...
Hungarian edition (text original Old Hungarian with modernized script, foreword, introduction in modern Hungarian, dictionary in German and Hungarian).
2001 Report of the Council of Europe

The Council of Europe has expressed its concerns about the situation of the Csángó minority culture,
and discussed that the Csángós speak an early form of Hungarian and are associated with ancient traditions, and a great diversity of folk art and culture, which is of exceptional value for Europe. The council also mentioned that (although not everybody agrees on this number) it is thought that between 60,000 and 70,000 people speak the Csángó Hungarian dialect. It has also expressed concerns that despite the provisions of the Romanian law on education, and repeated requests from parents there is no teaching of the Csángó language in the Csángó villages, and, as a consequence, very few Csángós are able to write in their mother tongue. The document also discussed that the Csángós make no political demands, but merely want to be recognized as a distinct culture and demand education and church services in the Csángó dialect.
At the time of this report's release, the
Vatican
Vatican may refer to:
Geography
* Vatican City, an independent city-state surrounded by Rome, Italy
* Vatican Hill, in Rome, namesake of Vatican City
* Ager Vaticanus, an alluvial plain in Rome
* Vatican, an unincorporated community in the ...
expressed hope that the Csángós would be able to celebrate Catholic masses in their
liturgical
Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and participation in the sacred through activities reflecting praise, thanksgiving, remembra ...
language, Csángó.
Comments of the government of Romania, dissenting opinion on behalf of the Romanian delegation
The situation of the Csángó community may be understood by taking into consideration the results of the
2002 census. 1,370 persons declared themselves Csángó.
Most of them live in
Bacău County
Bacău County () is a county (județ) of Romania, in Western Moldavia, with its capital city at Bacău. It has one commune, Ghimeș-Făget, in Transylvania.
Geography
This county has a total area of .
In the western part of the county there a ...
, Romania, and belong to the
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
. During the last years, some statements identified all
Catholics
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
in Bacău County (119.618 persons according to 2002 census) as Csángó. This identification is rejected by most of them, who did identify themselves as Romanians.
The name ''Csángó'' appeared relatively recently, being used for the first time, in 1780 by Péter Zöld.
The name Csángó is used to describe two different ethnic groups:
*those concentrated in the county of Bacău (the southern group) and in the area surrounding the city of Roman (the northern group). We know for certain that these people are not Szeklers. They are Romanian in appearance, and the majority of them speak a Transylvanian dialect of Romanian and live according to Romanian traditions and customs. These characteristics suggest that they are Romanians from Transylvania who have joined the Romanian Catholic population of Moldavia.
*those of Szekler origin, most of whom settled in the valleys of the Trotuş and the Tazlău and, to a lesser extent, of the Siret. Their mother tongue is the same as that spoken by the Szeklers, and they live side by side with Romanians.
Hungarian sources
Their music shows the characteristic features of
Hungarian music and the words of their songs are mostly Hungarian, with some dialect differences.
The anthem of the Csángós refers to Csángó Hungarians multiple times.
The Csángós did not take part in the language reforms of the Age of Enlightenment, or the bourgeois transformation that created the modern consciousness of nationhood (cf. Halász 1992, Kósa 1998). They did not have a noble stratum or intelligentsia (cf. Kósa 1981) that could have fashioned their consciousness as Hungarians (Halász 1992: 11). They were "saved" (Kósa 1998: 339) from "assimilation" with the Romanians by virtue of their Roman Catholic religion, which distinguished them from the majority Greek Orthodox society.
Romanian sources
Official Romanian censuses in Moldavia indicate the following:
Controversy
Hungarian sources
In 2001 the Romanian authorities banned the teaching of the Hungarian language in private houses in the village of
Cleja, despite the recommendation of the Council of Europe. From 1990, parents in
Cleja,
Pustiana and
Lespezi
Lespezi is a commune in Iași County, Western Moldavia, Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to t ...
requested several times that their children have the opportunity of learning the Hungarian language at school, either as an optional language, or as their native language, in 1-4 lessons a week. At best their petition was registered, but in most cases it was ignored. Seeing the possibility of organizing Hungarian courses outside school, they gave up the humiliating process of writing requests without results. The MCSMSZ maintains its standpoint according to which the community should claim their legal rights, but the population is not so determined. Leaders of the school inspectorate in Bacău County, as well as the authorities and church, declared at a meeting that they were opposed to the official instruction of Hungarian in Csángó villages. In their opinion the Csángós are of Romanian origin, and sporadic requests for teaching Hungarian at schools reflect not a real parental demand, but Hungarian nationalist ambitions.
In the village of Arini (Magyarfalu in Hungarian) the village mayor and the Romanian-only teachers of the state school, filed a complaint with the local police about the "unlawful teaching activities" of Gergely Csoma. Csoma teaches Hungarian as an extracurricular activity to the children of Arini. Following the complaint, the local police started what Csángó activists have described as an intimidation campaign among the mothers of those children who are studying their maternal language with the said teacher.
In 2008 members of the
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...
sent a petition to the
European Commission
The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...
regarding the obstruction of Hungarian language education and the alleged intimidation of Csángó-Hungarian pupils in Valea Mare (Nagypatak).
The leader of the High Commission on Minority Affairs responded to the petition of
László Tőkés MEP in a written notice that they would warn Romania to secure education in the mother tongue for the Csángós of Moldavia.
Romanian sources
According to the final report of the
in 2006, the policy of assimilation of the communist regime had serious consequences on the situation of the Csángós in Moldavia. The report noted that the first attempts at forced assimilation of the Csángós date back to the interwar period, with the Catholic Church taking on an important role in this process. Facilitating the loss of the linguistic identity of the Csángós allowed the Catholic Church to stop their assimilation into the Orthodox Church, and as a result of these policies, the Csángós did not benefit from religious services and education in their mother tongue.
Population
It is difficult to estimate the exact number of the Csángós because of the elusive nature and multiple factors (ethnicity, religion and language) of Csángó identity.
As far as ''ethnic identification'' is concerned, in the census of 2002, 4,317 declared themselves
Hungarians
Hungarians, also known as Magyars, are an Ethnicity, ethnic group native to Hungary (), who share a common Culture of Hungary, culture, Hungarian language, language and History of Hungary, history. They also have a notable presence in former pa ...
and 796 declared themselves Csángó in Bacău County, reaching a total of 5,794 out of the county's total population of 706,623. The report of the Council of Europe estimates a Csángó population ranging from 20,000 to as many as 260,000, based in the total Catholic population in the area, which may be an exaggeration as there also are Catholic ethnic Romanians.
One plausible explanation for this discrepancy is that many Csángó hide or disguise their true ethnicity.
The Council of Europe had in 2001 estimates that put the total number of Csángó-speaking people between 60,000 and 70,000.
According to the most recent research executed between 2008 and 2010 by Vilmos Tánczos, famous Hungarian folklorist, there has been a sharp decline in the total number of Csángó-speaking people in Eastern Romania. Tánczos set their number to roughly 43,000 people. Moreover, he found out that the most archaic version of Csángó language, the Northern Csángó was known and regularly used by only some 4,000 people, exclusively the older generation above the age of 50. It can be said, therefore, that the Csángó Hungarian dialect is at high risk of extinction. In fact, when applying the UNESCO Framework to measure language vitality, this dialect fits the category of "Severely Endangered".
Notable people
*
Ludovic Antal, Romanian actor
*
Ștefan Foriș
Ștefan Foriș (; born István Fóris, also known as Marius; 9 May 1892 – summer 1946) was a Hungarian and Romanian communist journalist who served as general secretary of the Romanian Communist Party (PCR or PCdR) between December 1940 and Ap ...
, communist militant and journalist
See also
*
Csángó Land
Csángó Land (; , or ) is the name given to the region in Western Moldavia, in turn a region of Romania, where most of the Csángós, a small subgroup of the Hungarians, live. Csángó Land is located close to the Divisions of the Carpathians, ...
*
Székelys
The Székelys (, Old Hungarian script, Székely runes: ), also referred to as Szeklers, are a Hungarians, Hungarian subgroup living mostly in the Székely Land in Romania. In addition to their native villages in Suceava County in Bukovina, a ...
References
External links
Situation of the Csángó dialect in RomaniaCeangaii, the Roman Catholic from Moldavia*
ttps://web.archive.org/web/20061114060001/http://www7.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0506/feature4/ Song of the Csangos — National Geographic Magazine*
Fundaţia culturală Siret*
{{Uralic peoples
Csangos
Ethnic groups in Romania
Csangos