Horváth Attila – Solymos Ede szerk.: Cumania 2. Ethnographia (Bács-Kiskun Megyei Múzeumok Közleményei, Kecskemét, 1974)

J. Vorák: Kolompár Kálmánné kiskunhalasi cigányasszony kézimunkái

Hare ./ 'or toise a) Zsigmond Szendrey and Akos Szendrey: — . . . the data permit conclusions on a foreign or magic adoption. — The various parts of its body are analogical magic and curing agents. — In Besenyőtelke: ... by the light of a candle made of hare's fat a young man could regard every woman as his own in olden times . . .

42 b) If walking on a road, it runs from the right to the left before us, it means good luck, but if it is the other way round we better turn back since this means evil. (LV) c) Just as it is running towards me, will it bring me luck. (LJ) )ust as the hare runs towards or away from one luck is coming as fast. It takes luck from the one in front of whom it runs across the road. (J J) 1 'rog, green frog a) Zsigmond Szendrey: Also the frog is an antidemonic creature, however, from the records it cannot be found out at all times what kind of a frog is in question, so that the roles of the tree-frog and the toad greatly mingle.

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" Peter Borncmiszsza about the demoniac ghosts: ,,If you want to accustom the daughter or son of another to yourself, put a frog into a pot in a place where there are ants and run away so that you do not hear its cry when it is bitten by the ants, or otherwise you get deaf. Afterf iftecn days have passed you will find a rake and a fork there, with the rake you just stroke the one you love and she is going to run after you. If you only push her with the fork, she will run away from you."

11 Again, in Kalotaszeg people believe it to be good to touch a child's face with a frog when the baby's first tooth has appeared, then the child never will suffer from toothache.

45 — Tornyospálca: As a medicament for shivers people bind up a small tree-frog in a rag round their neck and let it there until it rots to the bones. Just as it decays, also the disease will decrease and stop. b) If a toad is cut up and spread over a corn on. person's toe, it will banish the corn. — If while dancing a girl strokes a young man's shoulder with a frog's bone and pulls the bone towards herself she will charm the boy so much that he will never be able to get rid of her. — A frog has to be trodden on, yet in a way that it should not die. It should be repeatedly pressed with force and then it brings very much money. ,,Mrs. Ferenc Nagy always trod on it when she met a frog." — If there are many frogs, there will be a war. (MK) — A wart should be stroked three times with a dried frog, then the frog should be cast behind one without looking back: the wart w

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ill disappear. — Fleas should be expelled from the house in spring, when the frogs croak. (LV) c) Mrs. Kálmán Kolompár: Frogs mean luck, but only the small green ones, the others do not. Those arc not bad either only they must not be struck or killed. The gipsies rather die of hunger than eating frog. — Snakes, frogs are no good. (JK) — Green frog on St. George's day brings much money. (JL) — Who keeps a tree-frog in his home will be lucky wherever he goes. (IB) a) Zsigmond Szendrey and Ákos Szendrey : Its legendary origin has no connection whatsoever with the beliefs and customs attached to it. — A thieves' superstition in Bács county : who sews into a scar cut on the palm a finger of a tortoise which just brings forth offspring, as well as a tooth of its young, will pass unnoticed by anyone. (In all other collected data this action with the tortoise is of curing character.)

47 •— Ancient methods of treatment : fry the eggs of a tortoise in butter like scrambled eggs and have him eat it. (From Törökőrscg.)

48 b) No belief is known there. c) The tortoise: it is the woman. She has a scarf on the head. That is the real good thing. It is an old woman who brought bread to this world. The Hungarians liked bread, the gipsies ,,bodag" (worthless edge of pastry, cut off and baked). The old woman who was the tortoise baked both the bread and the ,,bodag". Flungarians got the bread, gipsies the „bodag". (JJ) — The gipsies never cat tortoise. It is good to have a tortoise about the house. It does not hurt anybody, means but good to all. It is said that the household which it joins will never run out of bread. (JL) Wear a) Zsigmond and Akos Szendrey: In the mummeries at the beginning of the year („turkajárás") it represents some ancient animal connected with vegetation even in our days; also its early apotropic name is indicative of some ancient veneration. . . its fat is good against chafed feet, its gall against the plague and epilepsy. In its capacity as nature-demon it foretells the weather.

49 b) It foretells the weather at woodchuck day. (MK and LV) c) None is known. /\cacia tree, a) Matyó region : Corns on the feet treated with frogs split asunder alive arc covered with acacia leaves put on the corns from the reverse''- Kemenesalja region: If there are many 12 Zsigmond SZENDREY and .Ákos SZENDREY: op.cit. : p. 330. 13 Zsigmond SZENDREY: op. cit.: p. 160. 14 Dr. Etele THURY: Péter Bornemissza's book on the diabolic temptations — Ethn. 24:202 45 Mrs. Henrik WLISLOCKI : Presaging animals in the popular beliefs of Kalotaszeg — Ethn. 4:421. 16 Dr. Áron KISS: Superstitions of Tornyospálca — Ethn. 2:253. 47 Zsigmond SZENDREY and Ákos SZENDREY: op.cit.: p. 334. 48 Jenő BARLA SZ. : op. cit. — p. 227. 49 Zsigmond SZENDREY and Ákos SZENDREY: op. cit.; p. 329. 50 Károly HERKELY: Disease and death of the Matyós-Ethn. 48:12. 198