A Debreceni Déri Múzeum Évkönyve 1987 (Debrecen, 1988)

Néprajz - Marjai Márton: The Incorporation of Classical Mythic Elements in the Folklore of Hortobágy and Environs

Márton Marjai THE INCORPORATION OF CLASSICAL MYTHIC ELEMENTS IN THE FOLKLORE OF HORTOBÁGY AND ENVIRONS Over the course of the history of Hungary the Hortobágy puszta gradually became depopulated. This study shall attempt to isolate the ancient origin of certain phenomena identifiable in the local folklore, or point out several related parallels where appropriate. Ancient motifs are present in two main sources, appearing in the form of oral tradition, as well as in folk tradition which has been handed down to the present. Some of the more salient examples include the following: 1. Rhymed epitaph by Kürosz on a wooden peasant gravemarker, written in imitation of Plutarch: "Wanderer.

.. do not begrudge me this place to lay my head." This same text appears in German in the Swabian cemeteries in the Buda area, as well as on headstones of more recent origin in Zólyom (Zvolen) cemeteries in Slovakia, attesting to the existence of a uniform culture shared by inhabitants of the Carpathian basin. 2. The legend of ancestral descent from a dog. Recognized the world over -for example, among the Eskimos

—this legend is today confined to village mocking songs in Hungary. It is for all intents an example of the folklorization of the legend of Danaus. The author identifies the dog with the constellation Sirius; thus, the legend is one of celestial, astral descent. See the instance of ancestral descent from a dog, appearing in Italian, in the epic of Attila. 3. The miraculous infant who rescues the Haiduks from the Servian peril. This legend, dating from the seventeenth century, is the mirror opposite of the story of the safeguarding of the baby Jesus. 4. The Böszörmény Bandit in the Wheat Threshing Couch. The memory of this popular figure still survives among his acquaintances. The legend cited from those surrounding him is derived from the story in the Bible where David's soldiers take cover in a pit of wheat. 5. The legend of how the stream was filled up. To keep several springs "from flooding the countryside", they were filled up with "three sides of bacon, three bags wool, and three millstones". Such legends are found in Hajdúböszörmény, Hajdúdorog, Hajdúhadház, and Hajdúszovát. One of the families has an epitheton ornans: in Hajdúdorog to this very day they are known as "stopper" Kovács, since one of their forebears supposedly "stopped" the mouth of the spring, to keep it from overflowing. The origin of these legends and fables can be attributed to readings and romances dating back to the seventeenth century. This section of the country was on the convergence of influences generated by the old College of Debrecen, the College of Sárospatak, and the Theological College of Eger. 6. The land-taking legend told by shepherds of Balmazújváros, undisputedly derived from classical readings, concerns the acquiring of territory the size of an ox-hide. Queen Dido acquired the land for the founding of Carthage in a similar manner. Contributing to the folklorization of ancient elements was the resettlement of the countryside in the year 1605, and the bestowal of collective nobility on the newly settled serfs to reward their military service Bocskay, the prince is represented on the charter of collective nobility as a leopard, a fact which was inspired by the natural history of the Byzantine Physiologus. The production of the coatof-arms for the seven (subsequently six) Hajdú towns was was similarly influenced, and these still appear on administrative buildings and official documents. 7. Furthermore, we know that the parable of cranes who expose the murderer was disseminated from the church pulpit

—a story which also survived in the somewhat less festive, everyday adage: "The hen will have out the truth." The following none too intriguing series of examples concerns customs which were not taken from readings, and have gone on being practiced down to the present day. a) The combats between Anu and Kumarbi are recalled in the gelding of young rams with a tooth. This practice is carried out in the west in certain areas of Germany, and extends eastward throughout Asia to the Pacific Ocean. b

) The Shepherd and Crook Initiated in Animal Manure. The productive value of manure had been recognized by the time of the Sumerians. In the Greek myth the sword of Peleus (earth) is 258