Janus Pannonius Múzeum Évkönyve 17-18 (1972-1973) (Pécs, 1975)

Néprajztudomány - Zentai, Tünde: Az ormánsági „szépasszony” helye a magyar néphitben

236 ZENTAI TÜNDE STRAUSZ, Adolf 1897 Bolgár néphit. — Budapest. SZENDREY, Zsigmond 1938 A nép élő hitvilága. Ethn. XLIX. 257—273. SZILÁGYI, Gyula 1926 Székely emlékek. Ethn. XXXVII. 91 SZINNYEI, József 1894—1901 Magyar tájszótár I—II. _ Budapest. TÉGLÁS, Gábor 1927 Népmondák a Firtos aljáról. Ethn. XXXVIII. 48. The belief cycle of the mythical being known in the Hungarian folk belief by the name of beautiful lady, is analysed by this study in three chapters. Chapter 1. deals with the content and limiting of the beautiful lady conception. Reducing to its elements it makes a comparison among the conceptions of other supernatural beings. It carries on a detailed investigation in the similarities and differences on the basis of field of activity, the form of appearance, the relations of man-white lady, white lady-other persons in the belief, the popular judgement and the linquistic formulae. It makes a statement that the category of beautiful lady is a collective term, the heart of wich elements is characteristic of witch, fairy and demons. The most peculair elements of the conception of beautiful witch is pointed out in some objects characteristic only of it. (e. g. the dish, apron, grass and spitting etc. of the white ladies). The belief in the beautiful witches in generally known in the southern and western area of Transdanubia, in the southern parts of the Great Hungarian Plain and in Transylvania. The European parallels of its form is listed, laying a stress on its close relation with the Southern Slaw folk belief. Chapter 2. gives a detailed characterisation of the form of white lady in the folk belief of Ormánság (an ethnic group in county Baranya). The white ladies generally act in plural, they are THOMPSON, St. 1955—1957 Motif Index of Folk-Literature. I—VI. — Copenhagen. WIG AND, Ede 1914 A magyar csillagos ég. NÉ. XV. 270—285. WLISLOCKI, Henrik 1893 Volksglaube und religiöser Brauch der Magyaren. — Münster. ZENTAI, Tünde 1969—1970 A kísértet és a visszajáró halott epikus megjelenítése az Ormánságban. JPMÉ. 14— 15. (Pécs, 1974) 235—248. invisible or female figures wearing white dresses. They are going about mostly in a whirlwind. In regard to the man, they are not malevolent advance, but to meet them causes generally illness, first of all the illness of limbs. They are dancing, singing, bathing, washing; cajoling, catching the mortals playing jokes on them, they are cooking, having their lunch, bewichting, riding on horses etc. The time of their appearance is mainly at twelve '-clock at noon, their most characteristic places are under the eaves, the footway, woodcutting place, dunghill, besides the wood and riverside in the night. The most repeated element of the domain of the belief cycle is the phrase: „He stepped into the dish of the beautiful ladies", which relates to the illness caused by the meeting white ladies. In its characteristic feature, the variant of Ormánság is corresponding to the conceptions from other areas of the country. A deviation can be seen in the fact that the place of appearance, the correlation of place-time-action is outlined more sharply and exactly, furthermore that the beautiful witch took even the place of fairies in Ormánság. It shows the closest relationship to the folk belief of the Szeged country and that of the Southern Slaws. Chapter 3. is a chrestomathy. It contains thirteen folk-legends and publications of data. Moreover it tells about the beautiful ladies that they are one of the conceptions of the Hungarian folk belief sinking especially into oblivion, The Place of the Beautiful Witch of Ormánság in the Hungarian Folk Belief T. ZENTAI