Gyökerek • A Dráva Múzeum tanulmánykötete, 2007

Kardos Ferenc: „Mit hoztál?” – „Aranybárányt!” Adalék a dél-zalai beás cigányok keresztelési szokásaihoz

Kardos Ferenc: „Mit hoztál? " - „Aranybárányt" Adalék a dél-zalai beás cigányok keresztelési szokásaihoz FERENC KARDOS "WHAT DD) YOU BRING?" - "A GOLDEN LAMB!" CONTRIBUTION TO THE TRADITIONS OF CHRISTENING OF THE BOYASH GYPSIES IN SOUTFIERN ZALA COUNTY SUMMARY The author consciously have gathered the christening traditions of the southern Zala boyash communities from 1994. He was present on 17 christening ceremonies after which family parties were held. From the 17 cases in six times a typical dialogue appeared where the christened child was named 'golden lamb'. Baptism is a very important ceremony for the members of gypsy community, in gypsy families there are only few unchristened children. The first child's christening ceremony counts as a very important celebration in the family. The examined dialogue expresses the child's receiving into the community. The doorstep symbolizes the community's threshold. The traditional dialogue on the first hand belongs to the Christian 'lamb' symbol on the second hand it shows a relationship with the dialogues of traditional proposal rhymes. Here the bride is the golden lamb who is asked out from her parents. The parents hide the bride and tell the suitor they have no golden lamb. Then the young man seeks for the girl, the golden lamb. This baptizing ceremony is a very interesting phenomenon because we have no data that other gypsy communities apart from the southern Zala boyash gypsy community which has it. 86