Barsi Ernő: Sály : egy bükkalji falu a hagyományos gazdálkodás idején (A miskolci Herman Ottó Múzeum néprajzi kiadványai 17. Miskolc, 1965)

Numerous famous personalities were born or lived in the village. Beside N. Szepessy Pál already mentioned above we have to refer to Terhes Sámual, poet, born here in 1783, to Ballá Károly, actoreditor, born at the village in 1803. There lived and worked Eötvös József, writer and reformer between 1838 and 1841, there attended school Gárdonyi Géza, writer in 1870/72 and there spent her girlhood Szederkényi Anna, writer. The village built in the valley beside the brook had originally the form of a typical „village in the valley". Towards the end of 19th century it is getting to be changed iitfo a „village alongside the road". The ancient technique can be observed at cellar shewed in calc tuff on hills surrounding the village. Some of these cellars were applied for habitation during the period between the two World Wars. Houses constructed at Sály before 194S show a „block -form", i.e. all premises of various function are located under the same roof, also the stall is placed under roof of the dwelling, as a continuation of it. Living houses were situated more or less perpendicularly to the roads with 1-4 meter wide beds of vegetables and flowers in front of them. Various materials were used for masonry but log wall unknown. That is the interesting about it, since the woods extended to the village still not a long time ago. The poors built their houses with pile-frame, mud-and-daub wall. Well-to-do people prefered stone walls, for which stone was delivered from the nearby quarry. Technique of cob wall was known as well. After the World War II. people in need built adobe huts and houses. Use of bricks forbuilding began In the forties of this century. Thatch was prefered for roofing. Shingle was used for roofing at houses of better-to-do families. Tiled roof came into fashion in the twenties. Ground arrangement of houses was in accordance with principal form of Hungarian volks building, i.e. so-called monoline arrangement. Majority of houses in Sály were devided into three parts, while the poorer ones into two. The so-called clcanroom - big house - looked out on the road, the porch with frecchimney was in the middle. Entrance into the house was found through its door. Then followed the „small house" that served for living after all. The first room was used merely to put holiday clothes on and lay out the death's body in it. No house without smoke-piping has been recorded at Sály. Houses of this kind were built at Lator (Váralja( in age of Árpád. Towards the beginning of this century the furnaces were heated prevailingly from outside and the smoke was piped into the free-chimney of the porch. The furnace was used only for baking. Besides a joined-fireplace was placed into the living room, it served for cooking and heating of the room. Because of its free-chimney the porch was cold, it served mainly for piping of smoke (also smoke-curing of pork was performed in the chimney) and storing of kitchen utensils. According to technical development the fireplaces were replaced by kitchen ranges produced in blacksmith shops of factories. The furnaces were pulled down and put on the yard or beside the summer-kitchen. From point of view of outward appearance the walls were decorated and importance was attached to formation of eaves and portico. In the overwhelming majority of cases the furnishment of the room consisted of traditional rectangular interior. Opposite to the fireplace there was a large wooden table in the corner with an armbench and a chest for storing food. Besides bed, commode flow chest of drawers), trunk, wall-mirror, some armchairs belonged to the furnishment. The wardrobe (chiffonier) got into the flats only during period between the two World Wars. In rooms of catholic families the wall was decorated with devotional pictures hanging above the bed, while historical or scriptural scenes served for decoration of Presbyterians' rooms, also earthenware plates with flower paintings on them were used for ornament on the wall, mostly in the porch. Most important raw material for clothing was the homespun linen made of hemp. Watermill driven hemp-breakers are mentioned already in 1711. Men wore wide white linen trousers and skirts as outerwear still in the twenties. Women used painted homespun linen for outerwear still in time of the World War II. Underear was made of homespun linen both for women and men till the end of World War II. No footwear was worn from spring to autumn except for harvest-work when homemade sandals of special kind were worn on the stubble. Top-boots were dommon wear also for women in muddy autumn-time and winter. Shoes kept spreading only at the beginning of this century. Girls, women tied shawl on the head and put it on the shoulder when weather turned cool. Wear of overcoat became general around the end of twenties. Instead of white linen trousers men wore sack-trousers in winter, the flap was seamed with blue broad-cloth. Over shirt they put sack-vest on. In autumn and winter they threw long embroidered felt cloak over their shoulder, the sleeve was not poked out but sewed up. Long sleeveless frieze cape was worn in winter, better-to-do men put wide sheepfur-coat on reaching down to the heels. After World War I. knee-breeches sewed out of broad-cloth, vest - for men - and factory-tailored dresses for women came into fashion. Gothing depended also upon age. Girls prefered light colours and tied white apron before their dress, while women wore dresses in darker colours and coloured head shawl. They wore thinner, occasionally laced head shawl. Elderly 202