A Móra Ferenc Múzeum Évkönyve: Studia Historica 4. (Szeged, 2001)

KÜRTI Béla: Jaksa János és Móra Ferenc levelezése

BÉLA KÜRTI CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN JÁNOS JAKSA AND FERENC MÓRA During the many decades of his activity, Ferenc Móra worked with numerous different people, whom he commemorates diversely in his writings. There were three teachers who played a unique roll among his contemporaries, and who assisted his activities as an archaeologist. Ferenc Móra mentioned these three teachers by name many times in his writings. Our dissertation introduces documentation regarding the relationship between János Jaksa, the one-time teacher of Felsőpusztaszer, and Ferenc Móra. On the one hand, their correspondence gives us a glimpse into new details of the archaeological activities of Ferenc Móra, and on the other hand, it introduces the human relationship that existed between them. In addition to the above, several notable figures in the cultural life of Szeged appear from time to time in the text of the correspondence, including the personal relationship between Ferenc Móra and the Minister of Culture (Kúnó Klebelsberg), and we also acquire some information about the national educational role played by the Szeged Museum, in the life of the city during the 1930's (more specifically, in connection with the performance of the "Passion Plays" of 70 years ago, which count as forerunners of the Szeged Open-Air Theatre). In 1931 János Jaksa (1904-1981), the partner in correspondence with Ferenc Móra, informed him of the archaeological sites on the outskirts of the village of his birth (Tömörkény) and those of his workplace at that time (Pusztaszer). The excavations that were carried out at the site marked Felsőpusztaszer-B, research work at the Tömörkény dunes and the collection of folk-traditions acquired at the same location were all a consequence of the above. As a result of his relationship with Ferenc Móra, János Jaksa became a true "collector" who at a later period in his life established the Szegvár Village Museum, of which he was Director from 1954 until the time of his death. With respect to the fact that the archaeologist and author of the study was a personal acquaintance of János Jaksa, the correspondence is supplemented by a collection of personal memories, the identification of archaeological sites, and also the identification of those discoveries housed in the Museum, which are all mentioned in the correspondence.