Ikvainé Sándor Ildikó szerk.: Néprajzi, történeti és múzeumszociológiai tanulmányok a Ferenczy Múzeumból (Szentendrei Múzeumi Füzetek 1. Szentendre, 1996)

Soós Sándor: Székesfehérvár-Felsőváros népének gyalogos búcsújárása Kiscelbe (Celldömölkre)

SÁNDOR SOÓS THE PILGRIMAGE OF THE PEOPLE OF SZÉKESFEHÉRVÁRUPPER TOWN TO KISCELL (CELLDÖMÖLK) The Benedictine abbey of Celldömölk has become a popular place of pilgrimage since the middle of the 18th century. It was in 1739 that Ottó Koptik came to be the abbot. He brought the copy of the famous devotional statue with him from Marizell, Austria. Koptik had a small chapel built for the statue outside the monastery and had a well dug beside the chapel as well. The miracle which made Kiscell a famous place of pilgrimage is related to the well-digging. During the work a big stone happened to fall on one of the well-maker's head and broke it badly. Koptik was praying for help in front of the statue. The well-maker got better and soon recovered. At the news of the miraculous recovery a pilgrimage to the statue started immediately. In 1745 further miracles happened after which the bishop fo Győr declared the small wooden statue devotional. It was carried ceremoniously to the church under construction in 1748. The new church followed the model of that of Mariazell. Székesfehérvár was the sacral centre of the Árpád-dynasty; several Hungarian kings were buried there from Stephen I. After the Turkish age (1688) the ethnical composition of the inhabitants and the structure of the habitation changed. The majority of the local peasants, who have preserved their traditions most of all up to the present, settled in the Upper Town. In 1750 an epidemic of cholera and an invasion of locusts devastated the town. Tradition has it that after destroying the fields the locusts overswarmed even the thatched roofs of the houses. To avoid further epidemics and any other perils, the inhabitants of the Upper Town made a vow and went on a pilgrimage to Kiscell, the tradition of which has been maintained up to this day. The writer of this treatise has attempted to elaborate the subject from an ethnographic point of view. The treatise was written in 1984. The traditional pilgrimage lasted for a week: three days there, three days bake and one day spent at the place. The treatise gives a detailed description of the pilgrims' preparations before the journey. The procession started outside the church in the Upper Town on Monday morning. The pilgrims had a fixed itinerary with breakfasts, lunches, dinners and accomodation-always at the same places. During the journey they stopped at every crucifix and statue and turned in every catholic church. The chosen chiefs always kept discipline and order. The home-comers were always waited for by many a people for whom they brought the blessing of the holy place. From the 1950s the pilgrimage has altered. The walking, spectacular religious processions were banned. Since then pilgrims have paid a visit to Kiscell either by train or by car. (Translated by Beatrix Szepesi) 30