Ikvainé Sándor Ildikó szerk.: Néprajzi, történeti és múzeumszociológiai tanulmányok a Ferenczy Múzeumból (Szentendrei Múzeumi Füzetek 1. Szentendre, 1996)

Bódi Zsuzsanna: Lakodalmi szokások Ipolytölgyesen

ZSUZSANNA BÓDI WEDDING CUSTOMS IN IPOLYTÖLGYES Wedding customs in Ipolytölgyes, incorporating elements from the culture of different ages, have identical features with the system of marital customs among the Western Palóc people. From the turn of the century until the 1960s the order of the wedding remained unchanged. Then, as a result of the changes of profession among young people, the replacement of the folk costumes with ordinary clothes, permanent employment and income, wedding customs began to change. In the 1970s a significant part of the village youth moved away after marriage. This was the period when a new order of the wedding evolved marked by the changes of the venue and function of the wedding. As exogamy became well spread, the wedding was held in the cultural centre, since the inlaws had no relatives in the village. Thus those customs which were related to the house of the bride's or the bridegroom's family were omitted from the order of events. The purpose of the traditional wedding was to accept the young couple into the village community, while from the 1970s on the participants of weddings tried to promote the start of the young couple elsewhere. Therefore the function of the wedding has changed which is best represented by the change of the customs concerning wedding presents. The reason why most traditional wedding customs survive is that they provide a ceremonial framework for the start of the new life of the young couple and for the assistance the relatives give them on a reciprocal basis. (Translated by Beatrix Szepesi) 84