Fraternity-Testvériség, 2008 (86. évfolyam, 1-3. szám)
2008-07-01 / 3. szám
FEATURE HUNGARIAN MASKS BY KATHY A. MEGYERI Historical records contain more information about carnival festivities than about any other Hungarian tradition because both Church and secular authorities condemned the custom as too noisy and disturbing and forbade its practice. Despite this and maybe because of this condemnation, the carnival mask tradition still flourishes as they are used in village performances. The most striking feature of festivities in Hungary and in other European countries is the masked mummery. Documents first mentioned the exchange of clothes between men and women, the wearing of masks and the various forms of animal disguises in the 15th century. Everywhere in Hungary, the carnival was performed from the king’s court to the smallest village. During the reign of King Matthias (1458-1490), the Italian relatives of his wife, Queen Beatrix, used to send beautifully made masks as presents to their Hungarian relatives. In the 16th and 17th centuries, people in the villages, towns and the king’s court wore masks during the carnival season’s activities. In the court of King Louis II up until the battle of Mohács in 1526, when the Turks waged a decisive attack against the Hungarians and King Louis was killed, great carnivals occurred. On Shrove Tuesday in 1525, King Louis himself appeared during the festivities wearing a devil’s mask. Masked carnival parades can still be found in Hungary’s villages today, but the mummery of small masked groups is more popular than the mass processions in some parts of Europe. The most spectacular parade of the carnival season is the buso procession performed by the Southern Slavs living in Mohács. The participants appear in carved wooden masks and follow a ritual pattern of movement and behavior. The buso masks were originally worn only by Sokac men along with their heavy woolen garments, and the animal masks are particularly striking. Bear, horse, goat and stork disguises are the most popular among the mummers. The players generally perform short dialogues to accompany a performance; i.e., an owner takes his horse or goat to market, and while he is bargaining, the animal collapses and dies but is brought to life again by the sound of music. 22 FALL 2008
