Magyar News, 1998. szeptember-1999. augusztus (9. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1999-07-01 / 11-12. szám
terity has an inscription of Gudea (one of the rulers of Sumer. Ed.) to explain that in Sumerian ideology the totality of 'mountains and rivers' (the latter meaning the irrigated lowlands) meant 'the country.” • According to Dr. Bobula, the defeat of the Sumerian nation in the second millennium B.C. did not spell the extermination of the Sumerian people or of their language and culture. Many groups left Mesopotamia, and keeping their religious and cultural traditions alive, migrated in different directions, usually seeking refuge in high mountains. One of the places they settled was Persia. They then became known under different names, such as the Chalds, Chaldeans, and Magians (or Magi). The three "wise men" of the Bible presumably were Sumerian descendants, who were known for being well-versed in the art of astrology. According to Dr. Bobula, "It was an old Christian tradition that they came from the mountains of Persia". She quotes Arab writers of later years who describe a great trading center north of the Caucasus, named Madzar, with beautiful stone houses, orchards and irrigated fields, whose inhabitants buried their dead in brick or stone-lined chambers, just as the Sumerians had. Especially noted by these Arab writers was the freedom and high position enjoyed by the unveiled, luxuriously dressed women in the city, while their husbands seemed being their servants, dressed simply, wearing a high hat and a sheepskin (presumably a “guba” or “suba”). Later, the migrant descendants of the Sumerians, together with other nomadic peoples such as the Huns and Unogors, were called "Scythians". Traces of their presence are found from the Kuban and the Volga Rivers in Russia to the Azov Sea. In the Caucasus Mountains, a number of peoples have traditions of relationship with the Magyars, and Russian and Byzantine writers called the Caucasus the "Magyar Mountains." The wandering nation tried to settle in various places, but were prevented by attacks from other tribes. They finally entered the Carpathian Basin in 896 A.D., a land that had been occupied before them by various Scythian, and therefore related, tribes. It is extremely interesting to note that "karpatu" means "vessel, water pot" in Accadian, a later version of the Sumerian language, and "balatu", from which the name of Lake Balaton is derived, means "life". These are just a few crumbs of the evidence compiled by Dr. Ida Bobula to show that the Hungarian language and culture are direct descendants of the Sumerian language and culture. These are roots worth exploring, roots of which we can be very proud! Erika Papp Faber Harpist fron the 2nd milleneum B.C. could inherit her father's property as well as his name. (It was also known as "fiúsítás.") The Hungarian national coat of arms is divided in half: on the left hand side are four white and four red stripes, on the right, three mountains topped with the apostolic cross. The popular explanation is that the bars represent four rivers: the Duna, Tisza, Dráva and Száva; and the three mountains are the Mátra, Tátra and Fátra. Since Hungary had two major rivers and dozens of smaller ones. Why were these four selected? And what about the three mountains? Dr. Bobula offers an answer: "May not the 'four rivers' preserve the memoiy of an eastern Paradise, the 'Land of the Four Rivers' and the three mountains recall those 'mountains of the East' which were expressed in Sumerian pictographs by three triangles, this sign meaning 'land, field, country, mountain', and pronounced MAD? "The parallel lines expressed in Sumerian the idea 'water'. The name of the flood sounded AR. Aria meant to inundate, 'invade', but also 'posterity'. A posterity like a mighty river. "The signs of the two sides of the Hungarian coat of arms if read in Sumerian, sound as MAD-AR (since they wrote from right to left. Ed.) Should we see in this coat of arms a message — a hint about origins? Hidden there by wise men, until posterity may understand? Until posDescribing the laws enacted under one mler, a Sumerian inscription reads: “The house that had no son, its daughter entered into its heritage." This is a concise description of the legal institution, peculiar to Hungarian law, known as "fiu-leányság", by which a daughter who had no brothers A wealthy Sumerian lady of the court dressed up with a stole Page 5
