The Eighth Tribe, 1977 (4. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1977-10-01 / 10. szám
October, 1977 THE EIGHTH TRIBE Page 7 A Hungarian Adventure By: Elissa Chissar The first thing that impressed me, on my recent trip to Budapest, Hungary, was the flight over the North Pole to London. It is an awe-inspiring experience. You watch the unbelievably beautiful sunset in the West, as the sun dips lower and lower on the horizon, while you are speeding North-eastward toward the top of the globe. The Eastern sky keeps getting darker and as you reach Greenland, you can see the sun gradually setting in the far West. The colors keep changing constantly and the sky is lit up with a blend of every hue in the spectrum, — from the faintest pink to fiery reds and blues and orchids, — as far as your eyes can see. Then, the Western sky gets darker, as the colors fade in the twilight, and everything is dark around you. Then, suddenly, you look out toward the East and out of the darkness, there appears a small spot of orange and you watch it grow and develop, like a blaze in the distance. Gradually, the sky lightens and the blaze of color gives way to a passing cloud; then, from behind it the majestic Sun makes its slow and mysterious appearance. First, it is only a red speck and your eyes are riveted to it. You gradually see it emerging from below the horizon, a glowing orange ball, so fiery that you cannot gaze into it any longer. A new day has been born! After a few more hours flying down to the West coast of the British Isles, we landed at London’s Heathrow Airport where I spent six hours watching the bustling travelers while I waited for my plane, which would take me to Budapest, Hungary. I was getting tired, but full of anticipation. Finally, after about two and a half hours flight, we arrived at the Beautiful City on the Danube. I was instructed to go to the local police station to check in, — they want to know your whereabouts, etc., during your stay in Hungary, — and soon, I was off to see the sights. The day after my arrival was what the Russians call “Hungarian Liberation Day”; celebrated since 1945, when they marched into Hungary. They had fireworks and an air show over the Danube, — very impressive. Almost like our Fourth of July ...., in the States. The Hungarians, being a proud and resourceful people, manage to live almost as they did before the occupation, beautifying their lifetime apartments. But, I noticed that no one takes care of the exterior or the entrances: That belongs to the State. Some even build their own country homes and villas at the lakes and mountains, near the cities. THE MAGYARS IN HISTORY by S. B. Vardy, Ph.D. Profetsor of Hittory — continued — CHAPTER X THE SPIRITUAL AND INTELLECTUAL CULTURE OF THE CONQUERING MAGYARS (Their Beliefs, Superstitions, and their Literacy) For many centuries, our knowledge about the religious beliefs and practices of the conquering Magyars was limited. Moreover, the view that had been popularized about their pre-Christian beliefs by nineteenth-century poets and artists (e.g. M. Vörösmarty, J. Arany, A. Feszty, M. Munkácsy) had little basis of facts. The reason for this was that following Hungary’s mass Christianization by King St. Stephen in the early eleventh century, the spokesmen of the new faith undertook a systematic — and in that age, natural and understandable — campaign to eradicate even the vestiges of paganism. Consequently, most of what we know about their religion has been distilled for us by ethnographers, who have collected and interpreted the meaning of the pre-Christian elements of Magyar folktales and folk traditions; and by archeologists, who have unearthed many of the material artifacts connected with Magyar pagan religious cult. The results of these examinations differ considerably from what has been portrayed about ancient Magyar religious beliefs even by some of the top medievalists of the interwar period. Thus, the conquering Magyars were certainly not monotheistic, as implied by past historians. Nor did they routinely sacrifice white stallions to Hadúr (War of God, the fictional name of their alleged chief god) as is commonly assumed by most Magyars. The unusual exception was after the death of a tribal or clan leader, or of a prominent warrior. At such times, the deceased’s war horse was sacrificed, its head and legs buried alongside his master’s remains, and its flesh eaten at the funeral feast that followed. At times his saddle and his harness were also buried. This custom, however, was not limited to white stallions — although it is likely that the latter were held in especially high regard. The pre-Christian religion of the Magyars was basically a higher form of shamanism. They shared the most important elements of this creed with many of the Turkic and Mongol peoples of Eurasia, and 55
