Tibor Sekelj

Tibor Sekelj in 1983

Tibor Sekelj (Hungarian: Székely Tibor ; born February 14, 1912 in Spišská Sobota, Poprad , then Austria-Hungary, now Slovakia ; † September 23, 1988 in Subotica , Yugoslavia, now Serbia ) was an explorer , Esperantist , author and lawyer .

He made expeditions throughout South America, Asia and Africa. In addition to Hungarian and Croatian, he also spoke German, Spanish, English, French and Esperanto. He was a member of the Language Academy for Esperanto and an honorary member of the Esperanto World Federation . He wrote a number of books (short stories and novels) in Esperanto and is one of the better known Esperanto authors. His wife was Erzsébet Sekelj.

biography

Tibor Sekelj's father was a veterinarian and the family moved often. A few months after his birth, the family moved to Tschene , in what is now Romania . In 1922 she moved on to Kikinda in Vojvodina, Serbia. After Tibor Sekelj finished primary school there, the family moved to Nikšić , Montenegro , where he attended high school. After graduation, he went to Zagreb ; there he studied law .

He later worked as a journalist in Zagreb. In 1939 he traveled to Argentina to report on Yugoslav emigrants. He stayed there for 15 years as a journalist and explorer. In 1944 he managed to climb Aconcagua , the highest peak on the American continent. This experience inspired him to write his first work, Sturm am Aconcagua . In 1954 he returned to Yugoslavia, where he settled in Belgrade ; he continued to travel a lot. From 1972 on he lived in Subotica , Vojvodina, in what is now Serbia . There he was director of a museum . He died in Subotica, where he is also buried.

Works

Tibor Sekelj's works - novels and notes of his travels - contain interesting ethnographic observations. He also wrote books and essays on the international language Esperanto. Sekelj originally wrote the majority of his books in Esperanto; they have often been translated into numerous languages. Tibor Sekelj is undoubtedly the Esperanto author whose Esperanto works have been translated most often into other languages.

Travel records

• Tempestad sobre el Aconcagua . Novel about his expeditions to the Argentine massif of Aconcagua, originally written in Spanish, Ediciones Peuser, Buenos Aires 1944.
  • Oluja na Aconcagui i godinu dana kasnije. Serbo-Croatian translation by Ivo Večeřina, Zagreb 1955.
  • Burqa na aconcagui. Czechoslovak translation by Eduard V. Tvarožek, Osveta, Martin 1958.
  • Tempesto super Akonkagvo. Translation into Esperanto by Enio Hugo Garrote, Serbio Esperanto-Ligo, Belgrade 1959.
• Por tierras de Indios. About the author's experience among the Indians of Brazil, originally written in Spanish, 1946.
  • Through Brazil's primeval forests to wild Indian tribes . German translation by Rodolfo Simon, Orell Füssli, Zurich 1950.
  • Pralesmi Brazílie. Czech translation by Matilda V. Husárová, Osveta, Martin 1956.
  • V dezeli Indijancev po brazilskih rekah gozdovih. Slovenian translation by Peter Kovacic, Zalozba obzorja Maribor, Maribor 1966.
  • Tra lando de indianoj . Translation into Esperanto by Ernesto Sonnenfeld, Eldona Societo Esperanto, Malmö 1970.
• Excursion a los indios del Araguaia (Brazil) . About the Indians Karajá and Javaé in Brazil, in Spanish, 1948.
• Nepalo malfermas la pordon. Originally written in Esperanto, Régulo, La Laguna 1959.
  • Nepla otvara vrata . Serbian translation by Antonije Sekelj, Belgrade 1959.
  • Window on Nepal. English translation by Marjorie Boulton , Robert Hale, London 1959.
  • Nepal odpira vrata . Slovenian translation by Boris Grabnar, Mladinska knjiga, Ljubljana 1960.
• Ĝambo rafiki. La karavano de amikeco tra Afriko. originally written in Esperanto, Edistudio, Pisa 1991, ISBN 88-7036-041-5 .
  • Djambo rafiki. Pot karavane prijateljstva po Afriki. Slovenian translation by Tita Skerlj-Sojar, Mladinska knjiga, Ljubljana 1965.
• Ridu per Esperanto. Zagreb 1973.
• Premiitaj kaj aliaj noveloj. Seven short stories, originally written in Esperanto, Internacia Kultura Servo, Zagreb 1974.
• Kumeŭaŭa, la filo de la ĝangalo. Children's book about the life of the Indians in Brazil, originally written in Esperanto. 1st edition, Anvers, 1979, 2nd edition, UEA , Rotterdam 1994.
  • Kumeuaua djungels son. Swedish translation by Leif Nordenstorm, Boden 1987.
  • Kumevava, az őserdő fia. Hungarian translation by István Ertl, Budapest 1988.
  • Kumevava, syn ĝunhliv. Ukrainian translation by Nadija Andrianowa , Kiev, Veselka, 1989.
  • Kumevava, sin prašume . Serbian translation, 2003.
• Mondo de travivaĵoj. Autobiography and adventure across five continents. Edistudio, Pisa, 1st edition 1981, 2nd edition 1990, ISBN 88-7036-012-1 .
• Neĝhomo. Story about life during a mountain climb. Pro Esperanto, Vienna 1988.
• Kolektanto de ĉielarkoj. Novellas and poems, originally written in Esperanto, Edistudio, Pise 1992, ISBN 88-7036-052-0 .
• Temuĝino, la filo de la stepo. Novel for young people, translated from Serbian by Tereza Kapista, Belgrade 1993, ISBN 86-901073-4-7 .

Books on Esperanto

• La importancia del idioma internacional en la educación para un mundo mejor, Mexico: Meksika Esperanto-Federacio, 1953.
• The international language Esperanto, common language for Africa, common language for the world. Translated from Esperanto into English by John Christopher Wells, Rotterdam: UEA, 1962.
• The linguistic problem of being du mouvement des pays non alignés et la possibilité de le resoudre, Rotterdam: UEA, 1981 (= Esperanto-dokumentoj 10).
  • La lingva problemo de la Movado de Nealiancitaj Landoj - kaj ĝia ebla solvo, Rotterdam: UEA, 1981 (= Esperanto-dokumentoj 13).

Esperanto textbooks

• La trovita feliĉo, novella for children, Buenos Aires: Progreso, 1945.
• with Antonije Sekelj: Kurso de Esperanto, laŭ aŭdvida Struktura metodo, 1960.
• with Antonije Sekelj: Dopisni tečaj Esperanta, Belgrade: Serba Esperanto-Ligo, 1960.

Ethnographic works

During his travels in South America, Africa, Asia and Oceania he assembled an important ethnographic collection, which he donated to the Ethnographic Museum in Zagreb.

His most important ethnographic work is:

• Elpafu la sagon, el la buŝa poezio de la mondo ( Shoot the arrow, from the orally transmitted poetry of the world ), Roterdamo: UEA, 1983, ISBN 92-9017-025-5 (= Serio Oriento-Occidento 18),

in which he presents translations of notes made during his travels.

dictionary

Tibor Sekelj worked on a dictionary in 20 languages ​​on museology , which appeared in 1986 under the Latin title Dictionarium Museologicum .

Web links

Commons : Tibor Sekelj  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Tibor Sekelj (eo)
• Works by and about Tibor Sekelj in the Collection for Planned Languages ​​and Esperanto Museum (de, en)