Bárth János szerk.: Cumania 17. (A Bács-Kiskun Megyei Önkormányzat Múzeumi Szervezetének Évkönyve, Kecskemét, 2001)
Kürti László–Hajdrik Sándor: Lajosmizsei keresztek és szakrális szobrok
290 László Kürti - Sándor Hajdrik ROADSIDE CROSSES AND SACRAL OBJECTS IN LAJOSMIZSE - Summary This article describes one aspect of the sacral material culture of the community Lajosmizse, Bács-Kiskun county, about 68 kilometres south of Budapest. It deals with 46 roadside crosses and religious statues that were erected in the last hundredfifty years. Many of the crosses are of unknown origin, but most are known to locals according to the names of the people who erected them. Archival research revealed that crosses were already erected by the late eighteenth early nineteenth century but, unfortunately, none survived. The crosses are analyzed according to a simple typology: their materials, locations, directions, ornamentations and inscriptions are described. All in all there are 46 sacral objects. Specific among them are the statue of St. Wendelin (from 1862), and the two small statues of Mary, made by a local artist in the 1930s. There are a few crosses, known as „crosses of death" that tell of horrible roadside car accidents. Wooden crosses since the begining of the twentieth century are noted for their beautiful carvings and ornamentation. Some are inscribed with Biblical, others with more profane texts. It is suggested that, although the crosses are seemingly inanimate material objects, they do exist as living beings in the locals' consciousness: most have names, are constantly tended and „dressed," and many have been moved several times over their existence. One particular aspect of our research was to collect all the folk stories about each crosses. Our theory is also supported by the fact that the practice of erecting crosses - originally for a vow, gift, or thanking God - has not stopped during Stalinism and state socialism for several crosses were erected during that time. Similarly, since 1990 there is a new spirit among the locals and many new stone crosses have been erected and blessed. In 2000 the town of Lajosmizse also erected five new wooden crosses to replace older ones. László Kürti is a social anthropologist and currently chair of the political science department at the University of Miskolc ( lkurti@helka.iif.hu ). He was born and lives in Lajosmizse. Sándor Hajdrik is a craftsman whose hobby is photography and local history. He is also a native of Lajosmizse.
