Bárkányi Ildikó szerk.: A Móra Ferenc Múzeum Évkönyve: Studia Ethnographica 7. (Szeged, 2011)
Vincze Klára: Adatok a csongrádi betlehemezéshez
9. Palásti István 74.é., ny. kubikos, Tanya majd Külváros, r.kat. 10. Palástiné Donka Luca Piroska 69.é., ny.szakács, Tanya majd Külváros, r.kat. 11. Sági Ferenc 69.é., ny. műszerész, Külváros, r.kat. 12. Sági Ferencné 63.é., ny. földműves, Külváros, r.kat. 13. Sándor Ferencné 71.é., földműves, módosabb, Külváros, r.kat. IRODALOM DÖMÖTÖR Tekla 1986 Régi és mai magyar népszokások. Néprajz Mindenkinek 3. Budapest 99-103. KATONA Imre 1943 Karácsonyi betlehemes, pünkösdölés, gyermekjátszó. Kézirat 1974 Jeles napok és ünnepi szokások maradványai Észak-Bánátban. Hungarológiai Intézet Tudományos Közleményei 19-20. Újvidék. 38^45. TÁTRAI Zsuzsanna 1990 Jeles napok - ünnepi szokások. Magyar Néprajz VII. Budapest 233-236. TÁTRAI Zsuzsanna - KARÁCSONY MOLNÁR Erika 1997 Jeles napok, ünnepi szokások. Budapest. 197-224. VLNCZE Klára 1997 Téli ünnepi szokások Csongrádon a XIX. században. Szakdolgozat, Kecskeméti Tanítóképző Főiskola, 1997. MFM-NA. 1318-2007. Data on the History of Nativity Plays in Csongrád by KLÁRA VINCZE Drawing on both secondary written sources and own empirical data, present study discusses Nativity plays in Csongrád in the 19 , h-20 , h centuries. In the first part of the paper Nativity plays are described. In the second part Gellért Váry's description of the custom is provided adapted to present-day Hungarian language, and completed with parallel data from the Vojvodina region (today in Serbia). Finally, a part of a Nativity play collected in Csongrád in the 20 l h century is presented. The history of Nativity plays goes back to medieval mystery plays and to religious school dramas. The play presents the story of the Bible with a pastoral play in its focus. An angel tries to wake up the shepherds sleeping in the field to tell them that the Messiah has been born. The shepherds not being able to understand Latin misunderstand the message. They visit the infant and give him their presents. The main character is an old and deaf shepherd, whose misunderstandings provide the humour in the play. Gellért Váry's manuscript describing the folk customs of Csongrád in 1862 may be considered as the first document presenting a Nativity play performed in Csongrád. In the manuscript three shepherds and an angel is mentioned. The angel carries the paper model of the church. The shepherds and the angel sing and tell their parts, at points distorting the Latin text. Some lines in the text of the play recorded in Csongrád are identical to lines of Nativity plays collected in other parts of Hungarian inhabited regions. The part of a Nativity play presented in this study was recorded in Csongrád, performed by László Lévai (90 years old), who himself played in a Nativity play. Mrs Ferenc Sági (63 years old), once a viewer of a play, could also perform some lines of the text. The custom of performing Nativity plays nowadays is revived by school teachers and teachers of religion. Children enjoy taking part in these costume plays in the same way as their ancestors used to. 269
