Arrabona - Múzeumi közlemények 31-33. (Győr, 1994)

Ács Anna: Borbálázás Horvátkimlén

St. Barbara's day in Horvatkimle The winter holiday season's best-know spiritual character dressed in white is Saint Barbara (sveta Barbara) among the inhabitants of Horvatkimle in the West of Hungary, who speak "Gradistye" Croatian language. On the evening prior to St. Barbara's nameday on the 4th of December Barbara, dressed in white with her face hidden behind a white net visited the families who had little children in the village. The children prayed on bended knee in front of the woman mummer and she gave them presents. Barbara used to sound the children's teeth and, on request, the ailing bodily parts of the adults with a wooden spoon - practising magic for health. She coaxed promises from the children for good behaviour with the help of the parents. Not so long ago several young girls and even middle-aged women played the mummer of Barbara in this village. They were accompanied by their friends in order to find their way about in the darkness. This custom in Horvatkimle is unique among the ways of the Croatian people living in Hungary in connection with St. Barbara. The mummery in the custom is present only in this village. It has been discovered that in the present day the formula of opening and leaving speech with magical congratulations and the feature of wishing fruitfulness have been omitted from the tradition. It is not know whether this custom is connected with prohibitions, recommended and magical activities which were customary on St. Lucy's day in other parts of Hungary - like alongside the rivers Mura and Dráva inhabited by Croatian people. If so, they were completely extant by the first decades of our century. This custom never became a gift collecting custom and it was not adopted by the neighbouring villages as happened in the southern part of Hungary. This custom connected with St. Barbara's day is not known in the neighbouring sporadic Croatian settlements and the memories of the Croatian settlements in Slovakia and the late Moson county now called Burgenland does not preserve its presence and the part in the life of the nation. Barbara's activities in the ritual in Horvatkimle are not in connection with the personality and the legend of the Saint either. The legend of the Saint was not dramatized. The custom has a catechism element as its main point is to make the children pray. Several examples can be found of women mummeries in white veils in the Croatian and Slovenian folklore but maybe the "Barbara" mummery of the Slovakian people living alongside the river Garam is the most similar to the Barbara mummery in Horvatkimle. Though it is a fact that the Croatian people in Horvatkimle had no regular contacts with the Slovakian people, it may be a parallel. This custom might originate from the old country of the Croatian people living in Horvatkimle. The Croatian people settled in Kimle in 1547-48, escaping from the Turkish troops. The place of their old country unfortunately is not shown in the available sources and the folklore does not give a clear picture either. 359