Kunt Ernő szerk.: Kép-hagyomány – Nép-hagyomány (Miskolc, 1990)

I. RÉSZTANULMÁNYOK - Novák László: Figurális kommunikáció a népéletben

use definitiv for women. In this point of view ornamentation in villages and in country towns hardly differ.

12 Sexual symbols express love or sexual desire, first of all. It can be seen on carved razor case. In the 18 th c. Magistracy of Kecskemét made a decision: sheperds had to shave! They, having been separated in the „puszta", had great stimulating power in carving their objects in everyday use, e.g. rasor-cases (now in the collection of the museums of Nagykőrös and Kecskemét). They carved geometrical ornamentation on them, tulips, hearts - slipped them intő each other and these motives as sexual symbols expressed their sexual desire.

13 These kinds of objects cannot be found in use. The sheperds themselves made these ornamentation and as they lived alone without women for weeks, their desires for women, for love, for love-making are natural. The symbols used by them are unambiguous. Heart, heart-foliation are phallos-symbols, plumstone and heart are for vulva, plant-foliation is for the concrete function of the phallos; production of life. (In the collection of the János Arany Museum Nagykőrös beautiful razor-cases can be found made in 1801, with heart-motives meeting at their tips on them. These two hearts symbolize man and woman just like heart and tulip (1-2 fig.). Ornaments, fancy-work or elaborate-carvings on these objects have deep informations: sexual ornamental elements or symbol - system refer to sexual, sensual connection - or to the longing for it. This kind of presentation was in custom not only in Szilágyság but also in other parts of Hungary. Most important elements of sexual ornamentation were the „wheeling-roses" the „plan-stone", tulip, heart motives; they were erotic symbol-systems, mentioned before as decorations or carvings on presented objects as e.g. distaffs or mangles. In the rich distaff-collection of the János Arany Museum Nagykőrös there are some richly decorated, carved ones with heart, plumstone ornamental elements (5-8 fig.)

. They are phallos-symbols, their meanings become clear when we think of the woman who sits on them using this article (3-4 fig.). On some distaffs there is only one phallos-symbol, on others are more. One is figurative the other is concrete, sometimes they express a concrete sexual connection: heart symbolizes the man, more exactly the phallos, tulip symbolizes the woman, the vulva itself. A heart-tulip motive together as a very common ornamental element symbolizes a concrete sexual connection [mentioned by Malonyai as a „tökös"-motive (having big balls?) from Magyarvalkó]. It's not only a supposition: and can easily be proved by the heart-tulip motives with foliation and leaves on the sole of the distaff demonstrating not only eroticism but also its social function: race preservation and founding of a family (9-10 fig.). The mangles are also special women-articles and they are also suitable for presenting as the symbol of love or sexual desire. Our example mangle also belongs to the collection of the János Arany Museum made by József Virág for Erzsébet Koroknyai in 1827. The handle of this mangle is a snake (symbolizing a phallos) connecting to the heart-tulip pair-motives and the foliation coming out of them, on its two leaves there are two little birds - this is a figurative demonstration of sexual attraction, erotic connection and a marriage based on love-life. The snake on the mangle is the symbol of fertility (an other mangle can also be mentioned from Kecskemét made in the 1850-ies) (11-14. fig.). Snake symbols are on distaffs and on hope chests (15. fig.)14 In this study we cannot agree or disagree with Gábor Lükő's supposition in connection with the timber-blocked hope chests,

15 we only want to underline that the carved ornamentations on them are sexual symbols as Klára K. Csilléry pointed it out.

16 In the 19 th c. in the „Three Towns" thegenerally known and used hope chests were made of deals on short feet, with covering. On the front side of it an ornamentation of concentric circles are carved with three foliatios coming out of it at the top ending in tulips. The concentric circles with a plum-stove in the middle symbolize the vulva or pregnancy,