Földessy Edina, Szűcs Alexandra, Wilhelm Gábor: Tabula 2/1 (Néprajzi Közlemények; Budapest, 1999)

SCHLEICHER VERA: „...a kik a világosságnak szemébe mernek nézni, azoknál otthonos a humor." A rátótiádák szerepe az identitás formálásban

VERA SCHLEICHER "...those who dare to look in the eyes of daylight, are at home in humour." The role of "rátótiáda" (village mockery stories) in identity information The village "Rátót" (Gyulafirátót in Veszprém county) is one of the most frequent aims of the village mockery stories ("rátótiáda") in Hungary. In the paper the reciprocal effects between these mockery texts and the self-appreciation of the inhabitants of Rátót are examined. The examination is based on interviews and the analysis of folklore texts collected in the last 1

50 years. The stories about the course of mocking make clear that the phenomenon of village-mocking was not a "good joke" at all for the inhabitants of Rátót. On the contrary it was a danger provocation (usually in form of a question or a remark referring to one of the well-known mockery stories) that had to be answered in any case. In the last 1

50 years the community of the village had several chances to reply to these provocation. Initially the provoking person - usually a transit passenger from the near villages - was certainly beaten by the peasants of Rátót. Sometimes the insult was avenged only in words: mainly women and young children made the best of this alternative. Another possibility was extending their "stupidity" on other villages, namely they told the same mockery stories which were known just about Rátót. About 30-40 years ago the economical position of the village changed significantly: the inhabitants got a little bit wealthier, so they could regard their "stupidity" as an important component of their own history. This realisation made them sensitive observer of the real abnormality of our world and gave them the opportunity becoming the best narrators of village mockery stories.