H. Bathó Edit – Kertész Róbert – Tolnay Gábor – Vadász István szerk.: Tisicum - A Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok Megyei Múzeumok Évkönyve 11. (1999)

The Role of Water in the World of Beliefs of Körösszegapáti

MAGDOLNA KÓKAI THE ROLE OF WATER IN THE WORLD OF BELIEFS OF KÖRÖSSZEGAPATI I carried out my collections with relation to the topic described in the title in the summer of 1993, in Körösszegapáti, in Hajdú-Bihar county. I studied the role of water in the world of beliefs and in the peasant household of the Apáti people. In my Körösszegapáti is already mentioned in a document as early as 1421, by the name Apáthi. It also appears in works by András Vályi and Elek Fényes at the end of the 18 and in the middle of the 19* centuries, by the name of Keresztszeg-Apáti. Both authors refer to the religious dividedness of the inhabitants. Accordingly, at the end of the 18* century, most of the population was Greek orthodox, and only a few are Calvinist by religion. In the middle of the 19 century, however, Elek Fényes mentions as many as 614 Calvinist, 610 Greek orthodox and 10 1С Roman Catholic people. The village was rather mixed in nationality and religion at the time of my research, too. Roumanians are Greek orthodox, Hungarians are mostly Calvinists. The third religious denomination is Baptist faith, which had both Roumanian and Hungarian followers. These three religious denominations differ in their religious practices and in their world of beliefs. I compare the two dominating denominations in this respect in somewhat more detail. In the world of beliefs of Apáti the water taken from a river at Good-Friday dawn played an important role - mainly among the Greek orthodox people. It was held that the person who took water from river „Körözs" then, and washed himself or even had a bath in it, „would never have tinea". It also made birthmarks disappear and the sick recover. „The small child in the neighbourhood had mortal disease. His parents brought some water from the Körözs at Good-Friday dawn, gave the child drink, bathed him in it, and he recovered." present paper I am going to discuss the former aspect. Magic power was attributed not only to the Good-Friday water, but also to water with coal or embers, wich was said to be a productive means of stopping and curing mainly the effects of a curse. Related stories were narrated by my Greek orthodox informers mainly, but I also collected data from a Calvinist woman. „Our child was crying hard, my husband told me to take him to the faith-curing woman. While praying, she threw 9 small pieces of a broom formerly set on fire into a glass of water. If any of the pieces sank the child had already been cursed. After arriving home, we had to make the sign of the cross on his tiny forehead, palms and soles. We also made his mouth wet with this coaly water. He did not cry any more. Then, at home, we prepared coaly water ourselves. The difference was that we threw 9 burning matches into the water while praying Our Father - as we did not know the prayer which the faith-curing woman was saying. If the ember sank, we made the child drink some of it, we crossed his soles, palms and forehead." This was told by a Calvinist woman. Consecrating with water is a tradition of the Greek orthodox religion. However, the curing effect of the holy water is accepted also by the Calvinists. My studies prove that the beliefs related to water were present mainly among the Greek orthodox people. The Calvinists, however, were similarly familiar with them, and occasionally - if they believed in their curing power-, they even adopted them. This is also, among other things, the consequence of these two nationalities living together. 16 S. Borovszky, é.n. 106. p.; A. Vályi, I. 42. p.; E. Fényes, 1851. I. 34. p. 17 Piroska Madarász, Calvinist, 84 years old. Körösszegapáti. 18 Julianna Hánis, Calvinist, 70 years old. Körösszegapáti. 86