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{{Short description|Hungarian author and explorer (1912–1988)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2013}}▼
{{more citations needed|date=April 2021}}
{{Infobox writer
| name = Tibor Sekelj
| image = Tibor Sekelj 1983.jpg
| imagesize =
| alt = Tibor Sekelj in 1983
| caption = Tibor Sekelj in 1983
| pseudonym =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1912|2|14|df=yes}}
| birth_place =
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1988|9|20|1912|2|14|df=yes}}
| death_place = [[Subotica]], [[Yugoslavia]]
| occupation = writer, lawyer, explorer, Esperantist
| nationality =
| citizenship = [[Yugoslavia]]n
| education = lawyer
| alma_mater = University of Zagreb
| period = 1929–1988
| genre = [[Esperanto literature]]
| subject =
| movement =
| notableworks = ''Kumeŭaŭa, la filo de la ĝangalo'' (1979) Tempesto sur Akonkagvo, La trovita feliĉo, Tra lando de Indianoj, Nepalo malfermas la pordo (Window on Nepal), Ĝambo Rafiki, Mondmapo, Padma, Mondo de travivaĵoj, Elpafu la sagon, Neĝhomo, Kolektanto de ĉielarkoj; See [[#Works|bibliography]]
| spouse = Erzsébet
| partner =
| children =
| relatives =
| awards =
| signature =
| website =
| portaldisp =
}}
'''Tibor Sekelj''' (14 February 1912 – 20 September 1988), also known as '''''Székely Tibor''''' according to Hungarian orthography, was a Hungarian<ref>In regard to his nationality, Sekelj said that he was a world citizen with Yugoslav citizenship. He never emphasized his Hungarian citizenship although his parents were Hungarians, nor did he consider himself to be either Croatian or Serbian. That said, he lived in Croatia and Serbia for long periods as a Yugoslav (with a Yugoslav passport), though always with a declaration of being a world citizen.</ref> born [[polyglot]], [[explorer]], author, and 'citizen of the world.' In 1986 he was elected a member of the [[Academy of Esperanto]] and an honorary member of the [[World Esperanto Association]]. Among his novels, travel books and essays, his novella ''Kumeŭaŭa, la filo de la ĝangalo'' ("Kumewawa, the son of the jungle"), a children's book about the life of Brazilian Indians, was translated into seventeen languages, and in 1987 it was voted best Children's book in Japan.<ref>http://esperanto.net/literaturo/roman/sekelj.html Information about Esperanto authors.</ref> In 2011 the [[European Esperanto Union]] declared 2012 "The Year of Tibor Sekelj" to honor the
==Biography==
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[[File:Tibor Sekelj loĝlokoj en Eŭropo blank.png|thumb|400px|Consecutive places of residence of Tibor Sekelj in Europe, in youth (1912–1939) and after return from South-America (1954–1988)]]
Sekelj's father
===World traveler===
Starting in 1939, Sekelj was a tireless globetrotter, and while he always returned to Serbia in between his many journeys, his need to explore new horizons melded with an insatiable curiosity about people. His travels and expeditions yielded books that have been translated into over twenty languages.
[[File:Tibor Sekelj vojaĝceloj.png|thumb|400px|Trips goals of Tibor Sekelj in the world
{{legend-col|{{Legend|#e50000|Trips goals}}|{{Legend|#1f00e5|Themes of books}}|{{Legend|#148d16|Homeland}}|{{Legend|#e5d500|European countries}}
}}]]
=== South America 1939–1954 ===
In 1939 he left Zagreb for [[Argentina]] to write an article on Croat exiles for a Zagreb newspaper ''Hrvatski Dnevnik''. Sekelj was on the ship Teresa<ref>Maybe was the last journey of the ship Teresa to South America because of the start of the world war. In 1939 the other ships that accustomed to travel to South America from Rijeka were used then of Italy because of the war in Africa. Deal about "Isarco", "Barbargo" and "Birmania" (all perished during the world war, and Teresa is taken by Brazil)</ref> on what might have been that ship's last voyage due to the start of World War II. In 1939 the other ships that normally traveled to South America from Rijeka-Fiume were being used by Italy due to the war in Africa. Setting sail from [[Rijeka]] (then Fiume in Italy), he headed for Buenos Aires, with stops in Naples, Genoa (Italy) Santos (Brazil), and Montevideo (Uruguay). Tibor reached Buenos Aires on
Within two years
==== 1939–45: Argentina, Aconcagua ====
In 1944, with no prior mountaineering experience, Sekelj joined a crew on an ascent on [[Aconcagua]], the highest mountain ({{Formatnum:6962}}m) in the South American continent.,<ref name="Akonkagvo">In 40th years according to measure of Argentinian army one considered that Aconcagua was {{Formatnum:7021}} m high. Sekelj mentions {{Formatnum:6980}}m. Of 1989 one considers that it is {{Formatnum:6962}}m</ref> led by the Swiss German mountaineer [[Georg Link]]. Sekelj, the Austrian Zechner and the Italian Bertone reached the summit on
==== 1946–47: Mato-Grosso ====
Based on the success of his first book, Sekelj's publisher urged him to write a second, unrelated one. With a budget of two thousand dollars, Sekelj chose to explore uncharted regions of the
In the summer of 1946, Tibor traveled through Patagonia with three companions : Zechner, Mary and Dr Rosa Scolnik. During the following years he audited classes at the [[University of
==== 1948–49: Bolivia, Jivaros ====
In 1948 a failed expedition to find the [[Jivaroan peoples|Jivaros]] led Tibor and Mary to Bolivia, where they met with President [[Enrique Hertzog]]. He encouraged them to explore the unknown area of the River [[Itenez]], which abuts with Brazil. During that difficult six-month-long journey they encountered more hardships and hostile Indians, among them the [[Tupari]], a tribe that only a few years before had been practicing [[Human cannibalism|cannibals]]. In April 1949, President Hertzog of Brazil proposed that Sekelj should oversee a territory spanning one hundred thousand hectares, from the planned 4 million hectares meant to house a million European refugees. Sekelj, rather than having to wait for six months for parliament to render a decision, turned down the offer. He later regretted the missed opportunity to have a place where Esperanto could become the common language to its populace.
==== 1949–1951 Venezuela ====
After attending the [[World Congress of Esperanto]] in UK, Tibor spent seven months in Europe. He returned to South America, joining Mary in [[Venezuela]]. For the next seventeen months he wrote newspaper articles, while managing a musical instruments store in [[Maracaibo]]. After going to [[Caracas]] to oversee the creation of a series of historical murals, he began traveling through Central America on his own, as by this time he and Mary and separated. The couple
==== 1951–54: Central America ====
Tibor later wrote about being on the island of [[San Blas Islands|San Blas]] in Panama, where he engaged with the ''[[Kuna people|Kuna]]'' Indians; of an attempt to scale the volcano [[Izalko]] in El Salvador, that was cut short by a volcanic eruption; and of discovering the ruins of an ancient city in [[Honduras]], which many people knew from legends only, and that was built by
Upon Sekelj's arrival in Mexico in 1953, several alpine clubs invited him to take part in their treks. This was not unexpected, given the fact that his book ''« Tempestad sobre el Aconcagua »'' had practically become a manual for mountain climbing. He climbed [[Popocatépetl]], [[Iztaccihuatl]] and many other volcanoes and mountains, further firming up his expertise in that arena. One of many fascinating explorations at that time was the underground crossing of the river [[San Heronimo]], lying 14-km within the interior of mountain.<ref>« At the beginning of 1953, when I arrived to Mexico, the sport of mountain climbing erupted. At that time in Mexico city there were a hundred mountaineer clubs with 25 000 members. In absence of any textbook for that sport, the Mexican mountaineers used my book about Aconcagua as a foundation for that sport. In the book I wrote everything that I'd learned on the ground, since the preparation for the expedition, we used the pickaxe, how to set up a tent, until the various kinds of avalanches and the impacts of the [[altitude sickness]]. The book was published in Mexico and every Mexican mountaineer knew it. From that followed that everyone there considered me a mountain climbing master, and the members of every club wanted me to be their guest climber, especially on the most difficult climbs. In this way I climbed Popocatepetl, Iztaccihuatl and many other volcanoes, mountains and insulating rocks. So, I unwillingly became an expert mountaineer. », Sekelj T., ''Mondo de travivaĵoj'', Edistudio, 1981, p20</ref>
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====1956–57: India, China, Nepal====
In 1956 he drove through Asia as a [[World Esperanto Association]] (UEA) observer to an upcoming [[UNESCO]] talk held in New Delhi. When his car crashed in [[Tehran]] he continued on by bus and rail. During that journey he met extensively with Prime Minister [[Jawaharlal Nehru]] and his daughter, future prime minister [[Indira Gandhi]]. He also befriended the future president Dr [[Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan]]. In the Yugoslav embassy he met with [[Ljubomir Vukotić]], then president of the [[World Federation of the Deaf]] When Vukotić met with Indian and Chinese representatives to open an Asian office, Seklelj acted as interpreter, bridging a communication gap between non-hearing people of different languages. In January 1957, he accompanied Vukotić to China, which at the time was not accepting visitors. This was followed by a six-month stay
====1958–60: Vinoba Bhave, Japan, Sri Lanka====
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====1961–63: Morocco, "Caravan of Friendship" in Africa====
In 1961, Sekelj accepted the invitation of Moroccan Esperantists and traveled to [[Morocco]], where he joined a caravan of [[Tuareg people|Tuaregs]] nomads into the Sahara. In March 1962, Tibor set off for
====1965–66: Russia, Japan, Mongolia, Europe====
In 1965, on his way to the
====1970: Australia, New Zealand, New-Guinea====
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====1972–1980: North America, Russia, Uzbekistan, Nigeria, Ecuador====
In 1972, while at the international congress of ethnologists in Chicago Tibor visited eastern Canada and United States. In 1977, during the same event
What amazed many was how this tireless traveler always got funding for his travels. He famously attributed this ability to the fact that he did the work of seven: Writer; cameraman; assistant; photographer; and buyer and shipper of ethnographic artifacts. While each of these jobs is usually delegated to others, Sekelj was a one-man crew. Of course, one could have added 'Ad Man' to that list. Whenever it was possible, Tibor would wrangle advertising contracts from airlines in exchange for discounted tickets.
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In 1983, he co-founded EVA ([[Esperantist Writers Association]] and was its first president. In 1986 he was elected to be a member of the [[Akademio de Esperanto|Academy of Esperanto]].
He took every opportunity to advocate for Esperanto, particularly in the [[international PEN|international Writers association PEN]]<ref>50th PEN-Congress, Lugano 1987 [[Leon Maurice Anoma Kanie]], [[Côte d'Ivoire|Ivorian]] writer and ambassador, at table
====1972–1988: Director of museum in Subotica====
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In 1985, Sekelj met a young woman [[Erzsébet Sekelj]], a librarian, born in 1958, whom he met on a journey through [[Hungary]]. That year she learned Esperanto. Sekelj and Erzsébet married in 1987 in [[Osijek]]. Together they visited three World Congresses of Esperanto. Erzsébet Sekelj participated in the drafting of the vojvodina organ VELO. They jointly wanted to compile an Esperanto-Serbo-Croatian dictionary, which was never completed due to the death of Tibor.<ref>According to disclosures of Erzsébet Sekelj.</ref>
Tibor lived in [[Subotica]] from 1972 until his death,
{{Cquote|
TIBOR SEKELJ<br>
1912–1988<br>
VERKISTO, MONDVOJAĜANTO<ref>WRITER, WORLD TRAVELER</ref><br>
|4=Gravestone in Subotica<ref>Gravestone of Tibor Sekelj, Subotica 1988, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek [http://www.bildarchivaustria.at/Pages/ImageDetail.aspx?p_iBildID=7177179 ÖNB 7177179]</ref> }}
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=== Journalist ===
He learned about journalism during his student years in Zagreb, where he became a correspondent for Croatian newspapers : one from them, ''Hrvatski Dnevnik'', sent him as his correspondent to [[Argentina]], to do a report on Yugoslav emigrants, which is how he became a traveller. After two years
Working as a journalist for an Argentinian newspaper, he decided to
"Geografia Revuo" appeared between 1956 until 1964,<ref>[http://aleph.onb.ac.at/F?func=file&file_name=login&local_base=ESPERANTO *Trovanto]: [http://aleph.onb.ac.at/F/UNMGJA66VYQM1Q74DKDSYGH3HPDCAFSRB96DRHKREKTCEVX9VQ-08977?func=find-b&find_code=WRD&adjacent=N&request=Geografia+Revuo&x=10&y=11 Geografia Revuo]</ref> each one volume yearly, except in 1959–1960 neither in 1962. The title-pages of exclusively all six volumes are of Sekelj, only in the 4th issue he left the place of the editorial to [[Aafke Haverman]] ''("Aviadile tra Afriko")'' and laid his ''"Kun la Ajnoj de Hokajdo"'' in the central booklet. Looked at as entirety, "Geografia Revuo" is virtually personal periodical of Sekelj with some appendices of friends.<ref>[http://www.ipernity.com/doc/bernardo/4246246 Geografia Revuo, 1956]</ref>
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He lived chiefly on his work as a journalist (writing articles and stories for many various newspapers and organs) and filmmaker. There were 740 translations of his articles in newspapers and organs.<ref>In response to a question by [[Spomenka Štimec]] in [[OKO]] regarding the number of original texts he had written, he was unsure.</ref> We can say definitely that he was writing for many dozens of newspapers and magazines, mainly in Yugoslavia but also in Hungary, and various countries in South America—not to mention the periodicals in Esperanto. Of the 7500 speeches he gave, the majority centered around his journeys, although he spoke prolifically on many other topics as well.
He traveled through 90 countries and his books appeared in as many countries and a great many languages.<ref>Tibor mentioned that his books also were translated in Urdu and other Mid-Eastern languages, although that has yet to be proven. Certainly it is possible they were in fact published there, but it was impossible to track them down in those countries' libraries because of the
===Filmmaker===
Tibor's first job after getting his Degree in Zagreb was with a film company, Merkurfilm. The company sent him to learn film production in Prague, where he studied under a famous Czech director [[
Once Sekelj returned to Yugoslavia in the 1960s, he began getting TV coverage as a journalist. And because his forays into unknown areas required more than just pictures—they required film—Tibor accepted the challenge. He began using his knowledge as a filmmaker, not only directing himself but also using sound and light, camera work and more on his trips to New Guinea and Australia. For Zagreb television he filmed a series of films about those regions and their natives that became a 10-hour-long travel film series seen across Yugoslavia. Amazingly, he did everything on those films alone. In the later part of the 1970s he made films about Colombia and Ecuador where he used a professional team of filmmakers from Novi Sad Television, which promoted his travel films.
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=== Mountaineer ===
In Argentina he learned about [[mountaineering]] with barely enough time to prepare before taking part in an expedition to Aconcagua. Still he was able to survive the climb up that treacherous mountain. Later on, he climbed a number of very dangerous mountains, and on all the continents,
=== Ethnologist ===
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Sekelj learned 25 languages and countless dialects, of which he retained nine at the end of his life: Hungarian, Serbian, German, Esperanto, Italian, English, French, Spanish, Portuguese. Of these he wrote extensively in Spanish, Esperanto and the Serbo-Croatian, He was an interpreter on his travels and as part of his work for [[International Puppet Theatre Festival|PIF]]<ref>[http://public.carnet.hr/pif-festival/ International Puppet Theatre Festival]</ref> during acceptances, arrangements etc.
{{
===Esperantist===
After becoming an Esperantist in Zagreb in 1930, Sekelj remained committed to the ideals of the international language throughout his life. His contributions to the language are immense: Sekelj founded ten Esperanto-Associations in South America and Asia and Esperanto-societies in 50 of cities across the world.<ref>Josip Pleadin, ''Bibliografia leksikono de kroatiaj esperantistoj'', page 137 « in 8 lands » (but are not said in that)</ref><ref>What he said to Zlatko Tiŝlar, clarifies his position: "It may be that he sought to change the fabric of culture when he led Esperanto-courses in cities that never had them before. That said there is little concrete information about the exact places where he taught."</ref>
For over twenty years Sekelj was a committee member of UEA and he was single-handedly responsible for the second resolution where UNESCO positively addressed Esperanto in 1985. One-third of his books were originally written in Esperanto. He wrote a great many lucid and cogent articles for various Esperanto-newspapers and magazines, and he drafted ''Geografia Revuo, E-Gazeto ''and'' Velo.'' But his intense activity in the name of Esperanto related to his foundation and guide of [[International Institute for Officialization of Esperanto]] (IOE)<ref name="IEO"/> that launched the motto « better practice than 100-hours sermon » like this requiring more open activity of Esperantists. In that sense he especially engaged in diverse travel, organizing bus caravans that traveled across the world, having its greatest impact at the start
His motto for success: "Three things are essential for success: precisely define your goal, move steadily toward it, and persist until you have reached it."
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The most successful of his books is « Kumewawa – the son of jungle » (originally written in Esperanto) translated into 22 languages. In 1983 the Japanese ministry for education proclaimed in 1983 as one from the 4 best juvenile literature published in Japan. As a result, it appeared in Japanese in 300.000 copies, probably the largest printing from an Esperanto-based document. In total, over a million copies of Kumewawa were printed throughout the world.
''Tempest above Aconcagua'' was a book that appealed across generations and to all parts of the world. His stories won prizes of [[Belartaj Konkursoj]]
{{Clear}}
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** ''Kumeuaua djungels son,'' Swedish translation by [[Leif Nordenstorm]], [[Boden, Sweden|Boden]] 1987, 68 pages.
** ''Kumevava, az őserdő fia,'' Hungarian translation by [[István Ertl]], Budapest, 1988.
** ''Kumevava, syn ĝunhliv,'' Ukrainian translation by [[Nadija Hordijenko Andrianova]], [[
** ''[http://www.childrenslibrary.org/icdl/SaveBook?bookid=sekkume_00380035&lang=English Kumevava, sin prašume],'' Serbian translation, 2003.
** ''Kumewawa – Iben il-Ġungla,'' Maltese translation by [[Karmel Mallia]], [[Rabat, Malta|Rabat]], 2010
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=== Dictionary ===
Tibor Sekelj collaborated on a dictionary in 20 languages about [[museology]], ''[[Dictionarium Museologicum]]'', appearing in 1986.
==Notes and references==
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==Sources==
* Tibor Sekelj, after Zamenhof the most important esperantist in the
* [http://www.edukado.net/biblioteko/panteono?iid=89 Tibor Sekelj, after Zamenhof the most important esperantist in the non-esperantist world], [[Zlatko Tišljar]] for the Pantheon of [http://www.edukado.net/ www.edukado.net]
* Interviews appearing in MATICA and OKO in 1987
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== External links ==
* [http://esperanto.net/literaturo/roman/sekelj.html Additional information about Tibor Sekelj] {{
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110531194909/http://aleph.onb.ac.at/F?func=find-b&request=tibor+sekelj&find_code=WRD&x=17&y=11 Books of and about Tibor Sekelj] in [http://www.onb.ac.at/sammlungen/plansprachen.htm Collections for Constructed Languages and Esperantomuzeum] (de), {{
* [http://www.serbiatravelers.org/index.php/vremeplov/61-na-tragu-dozivljaja/2488-palma Palm Tree Falls At Midnight] (A short story by Tibor Sekelj, in Serbian language)
* [http://www.liberafolio.org/2011/vizagoj-la-mondvojaganto-kiu-revenis Faces: The world traveler that returned], [[Spomenka Štimec]], 27
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20150722222500/http://faraxabooks.com/2014/10/13/new-release-kumewawa-iben-il-gungla-2nd-edition/ Kumewawa: Iben il-Gungla/Kumewawa: Son of the Jungle by Tibor Sekelj, translated into Maltese by Karmenu Mallia.]
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[[Category:20th-century Hungarian male writers]]
[[Category:Serbian writers]]
[[Category:
[[Category:Writers of Esperanto literature]]
[[Category:Akademio de Esperanto members]]
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[[Category:Hungarian people of Jewish descent]]
[[Category:Serbian people of Jewish descent]]
[[Category:Croatian museologists]]
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