Hungarian Heritage Review, 1991 (20. évfolyam, 1-11. szám)
1991-01-01 / 1. szám
South, and the East was symbolised by blue, the color of the ocean eternally washing China's eastern shores. Based on these color symbols, the White Magyars ("white ugurs") represented the Western branch of their race. According to ancient Russian chronicals, the White Magyars appeared in the Carpathian Basin as early as 670-680 A.D., first with the Bulgars, and later with the Avars. The second branch of Magyar tribes—called Black Magyars in ancient Russian chronicals—took a different route. The direction that route took are still debated by Finno-Ugrian and orientalist theorists, but the final outcome is that the Black Magyars became connected with peoples belonging to the Ural-Altaic groups. These included a range of peoples from Manchuria to Turkey. Among these groups the Finno- Ugrian/Magyars drew closest to the Turks, who were fierce warriors with a talent for statecraft. This association with the Turks created a new blend of Magyar: Finno-Ugrian in language but Ural-Altaic in culture. This was the breed of Magyars that in 895 A.D. would ride into the Carpathian Basin under Arpad-following the footsteps of the White Magyars who appeared in the Carpathian Basin in the 670s A.D. But for now, Arpad's Magyars were still many hundreds of miles away form that area, engaged in a struggle for survival among warlike nomads. In a protracted scramble for living space, the Magyars were pushed closer to the West by their powerful enemies, the Petchenegs (bessenyok), until they settled in what was called Lebedia, named after their leader, Lebed. But the relentless onslaught of their enemies continued and finally, breaking under the strain, a small group of Magyars split from the main body and moved back to their former homeland in the Volga region, Baskiria (later dubbed Magna Hungária). The main group moved farther west and attempted to settle an area known as Etelköz, between several rivers, not far from the foothills of the Carpathians. Even here, in Etelköz, Bulgarian and Petcheneg harassment continued. About this time, in the eighth and ninth centuries, Christian missionaries frequently travelled over the Carpathian Mountains, bringing with them news of Pannónia, the western part of the Carpathian Basin beyond the Danube. Their tales rekindled memories of the Hun-Avar-Magyar kinship and must surely have played a major role in pushing the leaders of the Magyar tribes to a fateful decision: they must find a new homeland defensible against present and future enemies. What followed was the Hungarian equivalent of "Westward, ho!" Sweepbacking hunter. Painting found in Mogao Cave Temple, Tunhuang-Gansu Province of China. A Covenant of Blood—with a "Flaw" By the time their chieftains had decided to go west and cross over into the Carpathian Basin, the Magyars were a well organized tribal alliance. Their society was clearly divided into social strata, administered by councils on the clan and tribal levels. However, their leaders were empowered to take arbitrary measures in cases of emergency. They formed a democratic society which was constantly on military alert. Knowing that difficult and dangerous times lay ahead, the tribal chieftains decided to unite under a single Supreme Chief. (There were 108 clans represented by the seven Magyar tribes and the three Kabar tribes that had recently joined with the Magyars. The chiefs assembled under a —continued next page 28 HUNGARIAN HERITAGE REVIEW JANUARY 1991
