A Békés Megyei Múzeumok Közleményei 23. (Békéscsaba, 2002)

Grin Igor: Fairy tales from Sarkad

Grin Igor These data - almost half of them were imported from Transylvania - and the valuable legendary data remembering to the founders of the settlement, meant up till now the prosaic oral traditions of the once Heyduck-settlement. The data of the recent disclosures in Sarkad provide an other aspect for the folk-tales of the Alföld (Great Plain), and made the earlier degrading opinions groundless. János Lakatos is a real tale-teller individual, who should be regarded as one of the excellent continuer of the Hungarian folk-tale traditions. The several dozens of folk-tales told by him could be regarded by their cathegory as fairy tales. The texts of Lakatos are tale contaminations with several characters based on the Gypsy living conditions, but at the same time they show the knowledge of the Hungarian folk-tale traditions. These tale contaminations could be determined sometimes as new type. Today he is over seventyfive - he compares himself self-confidently to Andersen, the Danish tale-teller - and he was for several decades the entertainer of the Gypsy public in Sarkad. As an organizer (he liked to regard himself as „main contractor, independent group leader") of seasonal jobs - he provided job for his fellows - he got great experience in the tale-telling. The tale-creating knowledge - he learned from his two Gypsy teachers - proved to be very useful for his tale-telling. The leading characters of the two presented folk-tales, Snow-Flower and Károly Kudus are highly moral, good-natured Gypsy heros longing for truth and justice. The tale-teller describes the desire to the rise in the fate of these heros. Grin Igor Munkácsy Mihály Múzeum H-5600 Békéscsaba, Széchenyi и. 9. E-mail: igor.grin@bekesmegye.hu 406