Szabadfalvi József szerk.: Néprajzi tanulmányok a Zempléni-hegyvidékről (A miskolci Herman Ottó Múzeum néprajzi kiadványai 10. Miskolc, 1965)

Niedermüller Péter: A családi élet szokásai és a társadalmi viselkedés szabályai a Zempléni-hegyvidéken

CUSTOMS OF FAMILY LIFE AND REGULATIONS OF SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR IN THE ZEMPLÉN MOUNTAINS (Abstract) The study describes the customs of christening, wedding and funerals of populations in the central part of the Zemplén mountains and compares them with data collected from the surrounding territories. The author holds, that the most important task of family life customs is to tell, to express the place of a small group (the family) inside the society, the local community. This gives the basis of the paper, of the description, and the method of presenting the data was also based on this principle. The custom circle of birth and christening is similar in the whole area. The most significant aim of beliefs conserning birth is the protection of the newborn infant and its mother from the wicked, harmful forces. That is why christening followed after the birth as soon as it was possible. The god-parents were usually a couple, for one child from the mother's family, for the other from the father's family. A great feast followed after the birth, especially of the first child, that was called christening feast (compaternity). After christening the godmother used to take food to the young mother two or three times a day for some days (godmother's basket). The christening circle ended in the initiation. The description of marriage and wedding customs is opened with the presentation of the events when young people could get acquainted. Afterwards follows the enlisting of customs preceding the wedding (asking, courting, engagement). The wedding circle itself begins with the asking of bridesmaid and bridesman. The different maskura, mórika, the disturbing of the wedding procession (shooting, blockage on the road, riddle asking, etc.) are special features of the wedding. The hair-knotting and the bride's dance are the two most important event of the wedding supper. The wedding is ended by hőrészés. The most important event of the death and funeral custom circle is the vigil by the dead from the moment of the death till the funeral. The funeral is followed by the feast, but its importance has been decreasing. There are many beliefs and events in coordance with this circle. The last part of the study tries to give an analysis of the empirical material. The author points out that three different event types, beliefs, costom events and behaviour regulations can be found in the material. These three particles appear as a unit in the course of everyday life. The so called „customs" underline, stress a certain aspect of everyday life characterised by these features. The inner price system appears indirectly in the custom events through symbols. These custom events have two main functions: first they are important means of social development, and second they are the leaders of the „transitional positions" of the individual - and group-life. From this follows, that it is more worth-while to deal with the analysis of the custom events inside the process of everyday life than to examine them one by one in the family life. Thus we can gain a better picture not only of the „custom" itself but of the population it characterises, as well. Péter Niedermüller 310