Nagy Gyula: Parasztélet a vásárhelyi pusztán (A Békés Megyei Múzeumok Közleményei 4. Békéscsaba, 1975)

Idegennyelvű kivonatok, képaláírások, képek

villages formerly. Three denominations lived here (Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Calvinistic) but they went to more churches and their clergymen frequently akernated each other. Neither lively religious life, nor social event concentrated in this circle. After 1950 social role of churches has specially decreased. The 8

th chapter deals with condition of children, how they are accustomed to work, with children's games and with going to school. In traditionally living families children spent most of their time with their parents they saw their works and thus they learned a lot about it imperceptibly. At the beginning their game is nothing else but playful imitation of the adults' work. It was an important effort of home training to make the child honour his parents and behave politely towards the older ones. At schooling age they tought him easier works gave him easier tasks, mostly looking after the animals. From the age of 6—8 he helped regularly in family-work, though only with easier works : house cleaning, going for drinking-water and buying smaller things in the shop. A 10 years old child had already grazed, lead the animals, leid rope, brought water. The girls helped not only in house-works but in agricultural work too, they raked and haked. Leaving the pupil-age the girls and boys were theoretically clear about their important tasks. As soon as their strength became enough for these tasks they did try them even without encouragement because society's scale of values esteemed the man who was well up in everything. The first schools on the "puszta" were organized by the peasants themselves not a long time after settling down. For a few decades there worked such schools in living-rooms with so called peasant-teachers and not professional teachers, who could write, read and count. There was no school-book, they learned to read from the calendar. Yet at the end of the last century there worked schools with professional teachers but the school was supported by the parents. Sometimes the whole equipment of these schools was a black-board and the children sat on beams or on benches without back. In the 1890-ies the village organized the schools then soon the state took it over, built convenient buildings and the level became higher as well. School-masters were usually popular but they didn't have special social rank. Beginning of school year was in September and in springtime as soon as good weather had come the number of children going to the school decreased. Children took their school-equipment in satchels ; writing slate, writing utensils, books, copy-books. Stick was a common disciplinary tool. The author reviews circumstantially the games of children who had finished school, especially the parlour games which contain many ball-games and profiteering games. The 9

th chapter deals with those ideas of the "puszta's" inhabitants which arose from false belief. These are not special superstitions but roughly they correspond to the conception known in the country-side. These can be observed in connection with many phenomenons of life with nearly everything what can be explained for "mysterious" things by a low level of scientific knowledge. Though inhabitants of the "puszta" had quite a rational world view but irrational elements were not missing from their explanations and beliefs in existence of supernatural beings and powers had some importance as well. They explained different dreams in variable ways. The analogical ideas are strong. Dreaming about died person meant death. New moon helped human renewal. Weather of great holydays indicated weather of the future. They concluded weather from many things especially from the animals' behaviour. Formerly they thought things put under Christmas table having magic power. It is dangerous to throw away hair and nail because malific ghosts have power over the owner by these. It was possible to foretell the future from different signs on New Year's Day on the last day of carnival time and especially on St. Lucy's day (13

th of December). If a cow stops giving milk, popular belief thinks it to be the result of malific ghosts' action, usually inspired by an angry man. This is one of the most persistently living belief. A part of illnesses arise in the same way, therefore their effect has to 640