Torsello, Davide - Pappová, Melinda: Social Networks in Movement. Time, interaction and interethnic spaces in Central Eastern Europe - Nostra Tempora 8. (Somorja-Dunaszerdahely, 2003)
Time and social networks
Managing instability 81 roles in the celebration: the priest, the altar boys, the group of elderly men, the young girls, the group of elderly women and the villagers. The first ritual takes place outside, in front of the entrance. Here the priest, surrounded by the altar boys and the elderly men, passes the cross around a large white and red candle. This will be put on the altar and used intermittently for the year to come. The blessing of the candle follows and then the purification with incense. After the mass the procession (körmenet) starts. The young girls in white dress go ahead, covering the road with colourful rose petals, followed by the priest and his altar boys. They hold a green and golden canopy, under which the priest stands with the golden crucifix in his hands. After him the group of elderly men follow, bearing the three paraphernalia which portray the symbol of the village, the image of St. Elisabeth (the patron saint) and the symbols of the crafts. The scouts follow with their own flags, one of which is the Hungarian flag, the village crest and their association symbol. The group of elderly women have no symbols; they sing and pray accompanying the remainder of the procession. The first attendants are the mayor (who joined the procession but not the mass), the clerk and members of the Pensioners' Club. As a rule elderly villagers should go before the younger ones in the row, but this order is not strictly followed. The procession first circles the church, then it crosses the village according to a pre-determined pattern. The procession makes four stops at four point where altars have erected, symbolizing the four cardinal points. Each altar contains a sacred image of Christ and the Madonna, with a red carpet leading to the inside where four big candles stand. Because the position of the altars is not fixed - they can be moved some hundred meters but they mainly stay on the same roads each year, the care dedicated to building and decorating them is shared by villagers in turn. Men from the Pensioners’ Club and some from the village unemployed, led by the vice-mayor, build the altars and women decorate them. The house which is situated behind the altar provides flowers and the sacred picture; candles and external decorations are
