A Debreceni Déri Múzeum Évkönyve 1969-1970 (Debrecen, 1971)

Néprajz - Ujváry Zoltán: Rain-Making Fertility Rituals

Zoltán Ujváry RAIN-MAKING FERTILITY RITUALS In popular tradition concerning agrarian life the customs and magical ceremonies to control the weather and especially to ensure an adequate fall of rain are of especial importance. The purpose of such rituals is to procure rain in time of drought, to invoke clouds in the sky and bring the rain down on the fields and making them fertile. A great number of variant rites were practised in Rumania and among the Southern Slavs and also in neighbouring Hungarian territories. Various methods of rain-making are known. According to a spectacular custom a person is stripped of all his garments, then adorned with green leaves and boughs, then the troop goes from house to house and the figure is occasionally drenched with water. The rain-makers were peasant women in territories inhabited by Serbians. Later on their function was taken over by gypsies. In time of drought they go from house to house lamenting for rain. One of them is stripped to the skin and clothed from head to foot in grass, herbs and flowers. He dances and his companions sing an invocation for rain. In every yard they are drenched with water, especially the leaf-clad dancing person. In the popular tradition of Rumania the ceremonies of making rain were also observed all over the country. Concerning the Rumanian rain-making rite called Scaloian, we think that M. Vulpesco's observations are highly interesting. He finds connections between this custom and the cult of Adonis. He proves that Scaloian is the same as Adonis, i.e. the cult of Adonis has been preserved in Rumania in the custom called Scaloian. He compared the various motifs of Scaloian with the myth of Adonis, i.e. Greek celebrations held in memory of Adonis and he found similarities in all main points. One of these points deserves some attention, because it refers to the connection between Paparudä and Scaloian. Paparudä and Scaloian are two forms of rain-making; in Rumania the rain-maker is mainly called Paparudä and they observe this custom when they want to have rain. The Scaloian also had a rain-making function, but while the custom of Paparudä was observed whenever the need arose, the Scaloian was always held on the first Thursday after St. George's Day, irrespective of the amount of rainfall they had. The similarities with the cult of Adonis are surprising indeed. The question of historical continuity however is a more complicated problem, especially if M. Vulpesco considers the Dacien culture as an intervallic period. A similarity between two customs does not necessarily involve connection or even less common origin. A variant form of rain-making in Bulgaria, similar to Scaloian, is of considerable interest. They make a clay figure of about 50 cm, deck it with flowers, light a candle beside it and a lamentation like at funeral begins, and they say that the figure died because of the drought. Then it is buried in the sand on the riverbank. In the Rumanian variant a little clay figure is made, it is placed in a coffin, lamentation is made over it and then it is buried. Three days later they dig it out and throw it into the river or lake while lamentations for rain fill the air. Among the rain-making fertility rituals, dramatic customs and processions a peculiar custom connected with St. George's Day among the Southern Slavs and Rumanians deserves particular attention. This custom is observed especially in Croatian and Slovenian territories. The custom is known as Zeleni Juraj, called so after the central figure named Green George. A detailed description of this custom was written about the Croatian Zeleni Juraj by V. Huzjak. He pointed out the following main points: on St. George's Day or on the days preceding or following it, several young men go about the village. Occasionally there are also girls in the group. One of them is called Green George. His garment is considerably different from the attire of the others, it is decked with green bough. The leaves cover him completely so that nothing can be seen of him. The others carry green boughs in their hands. Zeleni Juraj is led from house to house and they sing about the advent of 473