Folklore manual

GYÖRGY E. SZÕNYI

HUNGARIANETHNOGRAPHY, FOLKLORE

and MUSIC HISTORY

A course for international students.

UNIVERSITY OF SZEGEDHungarian and Central European International Studies Center

2012

CONTENTS

I. RESOURCES, WHERE TO FIND FOLKLORE?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31. Folklore on display.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32. Folklore assimilated. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

II. ETHNOGRAPHY, ETHNOLOGY, AND FOLKLORE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21. Some Definitions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

III. BETWEEN EAST AND WEST. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21. Conflicting views about the origins of Hungarian ethnic character.. . . . . . . . 22. The Hungarian Ethnogenesis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23. The Complexity of the Hungarian Ethnicity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

IV. HISTORICAL LAYERS IN HUNGARIAN FOLKLORE.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

V. SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51. The Family. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52. Power stratification. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

VI. MATERIAL ANTHROPOLOGY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61. Settlements.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62. The Lot / The House. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

VII. FOLK COSTUMES AND ORNAMENTAL ART. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81. Folk Costumes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82. Ornamental Art. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

VIII. CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY – Customs and Beliefs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91. The Role of Sacral Folklore. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92. The Framework: The Calendar Year. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93. The Major Christian Feasts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94. Cycles of Life, Rites of Passage.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

IX. CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY – FOLK ART. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101. Instruments of Expression In Cultural Anthropology; The Media. . . . . . . . 102. Folk Poetry And Prose. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

X. THE STORY OF HUNGARIAN FOLK MUSIC. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141. The Origins of Verbunkos Music. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142. The Discovery of Pentatony.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

XI. FOLK DANCE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151. Historical Layers Of European Dance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152. Hungarian national dances. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

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RECOMMENDED READINGS

MANDATORY

Szõnyi, György E. 2005. Hungarian Ethnography, Folklore, and Music History. Lecture Notes.SZTE Hungarian Studies.

Video and PowerPoint materials shown in the class.

RECOMMENDED

Balassa, Iván; Gyula Ortutay. 1979, 1980. Magyar néprajz. Budapest: Corvina.Balassa, Iván; Gyula Ortutay. 1984. Hungarian Ethnography and Folklore. Preface by Alexander

Fenton. Budapest: Corvina.Dömötör, Tekla. 1982. Hungarian Folk Beliefs. Budapest: Corvina.Dömötör, Tekla. 1988. Hungarian Folk Customs. Budapest: Corvina.Gáborján, Alice. 1988. Hungarian Peasant Costumes. Budapest: Corvina.Hofer, Tamás; Péter Niedermüller. 1988. Life History As Cultural Construction/Performance.

Budapest: MTA Folklore Institute.Hofer, Tamás; Edit Fél. 1994. Hungarian Folk Art. Budapest: Corvina.Hoppál, Mihály; Juha Pentikkainen. 1989. Uralic Mithology and Folklore. Budapest: EUR.Kecskés, Péter. 1990. The Museum of the Hungarian Village at Szentendre. Budapest: Corvina.Kodály, Zoltán. 1982. Folk Music of Hungary. Revised by Lajos Vargyas. Budapest: Corvina.Kósa, László. 1984. Life and Tradition in Rural Hungary. Budapest: Corvina.Lange, Roderyk. 1982. Dance Studies Vol. 6. In Memoriam György Martin. Jersey, Channel

Islands: Centre for Dance Studies.Manga, János. 1969. Hungarian Folk Songs and Instruments. Budapest: Corvina.Martin, György. 1980. Improvisation and Regulation in Hungarian Folk Dances. Budapest:

Akadémiai.Martin, György. 1985. Peasant Dance Traditions and National Dance Types in East-Central

Europe in the 16th-19th Centuries. Budapest: Akadémiai.Martin, György. 1988. Hungarian Folk Dances. Budapest: Corvina.Moldován, Domokos. 1982. Love Spells and Death Rites in Hungary. Budapest: Gondolat.Pócs, Eva. 1999. Between the Living and the Dead. A Perspective on Witches and Seers in the

Early Modern Age. Budapest: CEU Press.Rácz, István. Finno-Ugric Folk Art. 1979. Budapest: Corvina.Sárosi, Bálint. 1986. Folk Music. Hungarian Musical Idiom. Budapest: Corvina.Scheiber, Alexander. 1985. Essays on Jewish Folklore and Comparative Literature. Budapest:

Akadémiai.Somos, András. 1984. The Paprika. Budapest: Akadémiai.Veres, Péter. 1996. The Ethnogenesis of the Hungarian People. Budapest: Ethnographical

Institute (Occasional Papers in Anthropology 5).

Important Periodicals

Hungarian Heritage. Budapest: European Folklore Institute.Shaman. Journal of the Intrnational Society for Shamanistic Research. Szeged: Molnar and

Kelemen Oriental Publishers.

Very Important Weblink

Hungarológiai Alapkönyvtár <http://mek.oszk.hu/hungalap/index.html>.

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I. RESOURCES, WHERE TO FIND FOLKLORE?

One of Hungary’s hallmark in the eyes of foreigners is our famous folklore. Our giftshopsare full of folkloric souvenirs, toursists find old women selling their embroidery at manyfrequented places, the folk music concerts and the folkdancing programs are always full, and thevisitors on the Puszta can easily find the tough Hungarian horsemen and cowboys as they paradewith their animals, dressed in spectacular folkdresses. And still, we have to admit, that livingHungarian folklore is virtually extinct, except – for special political reasons – in Transylvania.

The survival and availability of rural culture can be seen in the following forms:

1. Folklore on display1/ Museum villages, ‘skanzens’. The idea of the skanzen (of Swedish origin). Fam-

ous sites: Szentendre, Ópusztaszer, Szombathely, Nyíregyháza.2/ Collections, museums: the Museum of Ethnography and Folklore in Budapest and

in most local museums.3/ Books, publications.

2. Folklore assimilated1/ In literature and the visual arts: from the 19th century popular movement to

present day ruralism.2/ In the music of Bartók and Kodály.3/ The Dancing House movement since the 1970s. Historicist interpretations.

(1) Rural vs. urban folkloreSome elements of folklore have been assimilated in everyday life. These predominantly

relate to customs, which is an important field of ethnography. The importance of sacral folklore:the study of those customs and folk-cultural productions which can be connected to the churchrituals and religious beliefs. Feast, family devotion, paraliturgical everyday customs, communitycult. By and large folk customs and beliefs fall within the territory of sacral folklore. Thestructure of folk customs coincides with the Christian calendar year.

(2) Folklore abused, commericalized“Folkisch” items sold to tourists; “Piroschka” tours; Gypsy music in restaurants.

(3) The special case of Hollókõ, village of the world heritageIn this village (which has been fortunately preserved in its 19 century state) time hasth

stopped. The inhabitants are forced to live a lifestyle which is long dead elsewhere. Althoughbeautiful, this way of preserving folklore is very debatable.

(4) The survival of living folklore in TransylvaniaBecause of the long political oppression of the Hungarian minority in Transylvania

(today’s Roumania), the ethnic Hungarians until recently stick to their customs, costumes andlanguage as a sign of resistance. Because of this the old rural lifestyle survived longer than inpresent day Hungary. Asthe oppressive system fellin 1989, however, and to-gether with the moderni-zation beginning with thereintroduction of capitalismand market economy, theold lifeways have startedquickly disappear. (Re-member: “gas-station cul-ture” attracts the youth inthe villages.)

Religious procession in Hollókö1

II. ETHNOGRAPHY, ETHNOLOGY, AND FOLKLORE

1. Some Definitions

ANTHROPOLOGYthe study of the races, physical and mentalcharacteristics, distribution, customs, social

relationships etc. of mankind (institutions, myths)

ETHNOGRAPHY ETHNOLOGYthe branch of anthropology that the branch of anthropologydeals descriptively with specific that deals with the comparativecultures esp with those of cultures of various peoples,primitive peoples including their distribution,

folkways, etc.

FOLKLOREthe traditions, beliefs, customs etc.

of a people; the specific study of these;it excludes social and material anthropology

(1) Major areas of ethnography (and ethnology)

1/ Social anthropology: society, social stratification, the family, kindred, and clan;work distribution, the village hierarchy.

2/ Material anthropology: the settlement, environment, architecture; farming andanimal husbandry; alimentation, dressing, folk costumes, etc.

3/ Cultural anthropology: the peasant world view; folk customs; folk poetry, music,and dancing.

III. BETWEEN EAST AND WESTThe Ethnogenesis Of The Hungarian People

1. Conflicting views about the origins of Hungarian ethnic character

1/ an undisputed variant of Western cultural models2/ enthusiasm for Eastern cultures (Turanic origin, Hun-Scythian relationship,

Iranian-Sumeric origin)3/ frustration: totally lonely, isolated culture (linguistic isolation)

2. The Hungarian Ethnogenesis

The relationship of the Finno-Ugric peoples. Original homeland: theupper-Volga region. The original Hun-garians: fishing-hunting people. (2500–500 B.C.)

Transfer to the South: the Hun-garians merged with Turkic peoples(Chuvash tribes) and adopted nomadiclifestyle (500 B.C.–463 A.D.).

Moving westward, north from theBlack Sea (Khazar Empire, c. 630–830).The Turkic influence resulted in animalhusbandry, domestication of sheep, cattle,

The Family Tree of Finno-Urgic Peoples

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and horses. Basics of plaugh agriculture. Byzantine sources call them Turks, Onugrians 'ten tribes'.From this comes the internationally used name: (H)Ungarus, Ungar, Vengri; while theHungarians call themselves Magyars after the tribal name Magyer of Ugrian origin.

In the 9 century seven Hungarian tribes with a Khazar group (Kabars) moved towardsth

West. From this time on Byzantine sources use the Magyar name. Further Turcic cultural in-fluences: runic script, cosmology (táltos shaman).

862–896: the Hungarians occupied the Carpathian Basin. This was the Conquest, orLandtaking. 20,000 horsemen constituting about 100,000 families, altogether about half a millionHungarians. In the new land: Slavic influences.

3. The Complexity of the Hungarian Ethnicity

(1) Neighbors, interacting culturesFinnish, Polish, Slovakian in the North; Austrian-German in the West; Serbo-Croatianin the South; Rumanian, Ruthenian in the East.Later cultural influences: Italian, French, Osman-Turkish.

(2) Interacting nationalities in historical HungarySlovaks (Tót); Rumanians (Oláh); Germans (saxon/szász in Transylvania, sváb inHungary).

(3) Hungarian ethnic groups, ethnographic regionsPockets of survival in Transdanubia - Õrség, in Upper Hungary the Palotses and Matyós,on the Great Plain the Cumanians, in Transylvania the Székelys and in Moldva theCsángos.

(4) Religious divisionsRoman Catholicism (WEST) vs. Greek-Slavic Orthodoxy EAST)The importance of Reformation (Lutheranism and Calvinism mostly).

The Hungarian transfer to the Carpathian Basin

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In spite of the Eastern origin the Hungarians retained very little of it in their folklore.More decisive factors were the acceptance of Christianity and the influence of theneighbors. Hungarian folk culture is a complex unity of its constituents and internationalin character. Despite linguistic ethnic isolation, Hungarian folk culture became part andparcel of Europe's rich and complex folk culture.

IV. HISTORICAL LAYERS IN HUNGARIAN FOLKLORE

(1) The ethnography of the pre-conquest, nomadic periodAllied disciplines: historical linguistics, musicology, archeology. This ethnic culture has

only very remote links with present day folklore.

(2) From the Middle Ages to the 19th centuryThe great watershed of adpoting Christianity. Up to the 16th century there was no

distinctive folklore. From that time on we see a process of "descending/sinking cultural goods".

(3) Present day folklore It was formed in the 18 and 19th centuries. The amount of data we have is from thatth

period (c. 1750–1950), however it represents various historical layers:

1/ Gothic: tables with large drawers, small wall cabinets, coffin shaped cloth-chests.Geometric ornamental art.

2/ Renaissance: architecture (flower painted ceilings), furniture. Floweryornamental art, embroidery. Csárdás dancing. Folk ballads, poetry, "flowersongs". Renaissance dressing style: loose sleeved women's shirts.

3/ Baroque: architecture (manor house style), ornamental art (Turkish influences).4/ 18th century: great shift, the emergence of "modern" Hungarian folklore, "new

styles".Regional variants, peasant style – emerging from the capitalizing, prospering peasantry.

Ethnic And Folkloric Regions In Historical Hungary

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Peasant Chests (19 And Early 20 Century), Representing Various Period Stylesth th

V. SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY

Social anthropology has been a relatively neglected area of ethnography. An important linkbetween material and cultural anthropology. The social relations were formed by and formingthe other two.

1. The FamilyFAMILY

the smallest work and cultural unitthe house

NUCLEAR EXTENDED parents and children several generations on one land,

in patriarchal structure'gazda', 'gazdasszony'

TROOP, CLAN, KINDREDartificial kindreds: neighbors, godparents, etc.

the importance of fence, border

2. Power stratification

1/ government: nobles, lords, the village intelligentsia (priest, notary, doctor,pharmacist)

2/ self-government: rich and poor peasants (judge of peace, night watch, fire watch)3/ landless agricultural laborers (share laborers, seasonal workers, pick and shovel)4/ artisans, enterpreneurs

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(1) Links between smaller and larger regions and areasLabor migrations (especially from the second half of the last century): seasonal workers,pick and shovel men.

(2) Collective work and social gatheringsReaping and harvesting, hay collecting, grape picking, housebuilding, barn stampingthrough collective help (kaláka). Winter works at the spinning house, corn husking, etc.Feasts: family (baptism, wedding, burial) and community (church holidays, election,drafting) occasions, the role of the village pubs.

(3) Church orderCatholics, Calvinists, Lutherans, Jews.

(4) Markets and fairsHídi vásár on the Hortobágy; the Dorozsma, Feketetó fairs, etc.

VI. MATERIAL ANTHROPOLOGY

1. SettlementsAll man-made objects from house to furnishing and clothing. Some decorated objects

overlap: they can be treated in folklore (becuase of the cultural function dominating over theiruse).

THE SETTLEMENT The outskirts FarmsVILLAGES (határ) (farmsteads, tanya)- central marsh "szer", "szállás"- streets wood ties to neighboring- stripe cemetery, churchyard settlements (road system) R

(1) Population of SZEGED

the city farmsteads

Selling Cows at the Hortobágy Fair (1920s)

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Photograph of a centrally developed villageand the plan of a striped settlement (onestreet).

2. The Lot / The HouseThe gate (remember Transylvanian gates) - yard (outbuildings) - house (walling, roofing;

the clean room, living room, kitchen, pantry; the stove) - furniture.

(1) Regional differences in architectureGeographic influences, available building materials. High roofed wooden buildings in the

mountains, flat, ranch style clay buildings on the Plains. Tiled roofs vs. thatch.

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(2) The rhythm of workThat of nature: seasons, animal breeding.

Daily life:work - eating - sleep - feasts.

VII. FOLK COSTUMES AND ORNAMENTAL ART On The Border Of Material Anthropology And Folklore

1. Folk Costumes

(1) The cultural factorThe role of tradition. Prescriptions for dressing style according to age, family status

(married, children), etc. After the first grandchild – obligatory garment for elderly persons.Traditionally regulated feast-garments: for baptism, wedding, burial (mourning).The role of authorities: state/governmen (banned overdecorated clothes that imitated

noble wear); church (under the slogan of morals, puritanism BUT sometimes church decorationsinspired folkloric motives).

(2) Historical layersVery little is known about Finno-Ugric (öv [belt], szíj [stripe], szalag [ribbon]) and

Turcic origins (saru [sandals], csat [brouch], ködmön [short fur jacket], köpönyeg [cloak], gyûrû[ring]. In the later periods we must count with a bi-directional movement of influences betweenthe Hungarians and their neighbors.

(3) The elements of folk costumes Hairdo - headdressing - underwear - outer wear - mantle (coat-like outerwear) -footwear.

(4) Most important geographical areasTransdanubia: ÕRSÉG, SÁRKÖZ, MEZÕFÖLD; Upper-Hungary: PALÓTS and

MATYÓ counties; Transylvania: KALOTASZEG, MEZÕSÉG, SZÉKELYFÖLD, CSÁNGÓcounties in Moldva.

2. Ornamental ArtNot individual artworks, rather, decorated objects

of general utilitarian use. The importance of functionality,and also the first elements of independent aestheticalvalue.

(1) Most important fields of ornamental artFurniture – woodcarving – textile, embroidery –pottery – bone carving – egg painting, etc.

(2) Historical layersThe last 200 years can be documented well

enough. General remarks: very conservative art, des-cending cultural goods. The most ancient layers ofornamentation point back to shamanism, pagan cos-mological systems and calendars. Geometrical or-namentation from the Gothic, flower motifs from the Re-naissance (Italian-Turkish influence) period. Baroque andRococo influences are less significant (except in archi-tecture); Austrian-German, Slavic, Rumanian influences.

Pottery Is An Important Area OfOrnamental Art

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(3) General Hungarian characteristicsSimple, clean colors: black, red, blue (more colors appeared only in the last century

[Kalocsa, Matyó]). Original folk objects were never overdecorated. Proportionality.

Hungarian Embroidery With Geometric And With Flower Patterns

VIII. CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGYCustoms and Beliefs

1. The Role of Sacral FolkloreSacral folklore is the study of those customs and folk-cultural productions which can be

connected to the church rituals and religious beliefs. Feast, family devotion, paraliturgicaleveryday customs, community cult. By and large folk customs and beliefs fall within the territoryof sacral folklore.

2. The Framework: The Calendar YearAn archetypical experience of man: the cyclic progress of time (a cultic uniy and unity

in a cosmic framework.

COMPONENTS: Old Testament traditionPagan (Greco-Roman) systemsarchaic systems of European nations

BASIS: astronomical year (economic/agricultural cycles)RESULT: New Testament calendar (events of the Gospels)METHOD: assimilation by substitutionBASIC AIMS: to gain blessing (for field, crops, family, woman [fertility]) and

prevent maleficium.

3. The Major Christian Feasts

1/ Advent (holy time, four weeks of fasting before Christmas).

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Lucia feast (Luca calendar, Luca's stool, wheet growing)2/ Christmas – New Year (commemorates Christ's birth, however, a modernization

of the winter solstice).Christmas (preparations with straw, the tree, Bethlehem playing - colenda, theXmas table [sweet bread, poppyseed pasta, walnut, honey, apple, crumbs]);Sylvester/New Year; Epiphany (consecration of water, consecration of houses).

3/ Carnival period (a period of joy and excess before the time of lent/fasting,leading to the mystery of Easter (death and resurrection).Shrove Tuesday (the last meat eating day, disguising).

4/ Lent – Easter (a period from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday, the resurrection,followed by Easter Monday).Palm Sunday (catkin collecting); Passion Week (the bells go to Rome, rattling,beating Pilate [children beat church benches], calvary pilgrimage); Holy Sa-turday (resurrection procession, consecrated baskets, "watering" of nubile girls).

5/ After Easter.Ascension Day (the footprints of Christ). Whitsun/Pentecost (wind customs [HolyGhost]). Chorpus Christi (procession, petal throwing, work forbidden).

Shrove TUE Sunday after full moon following Spring equinoxAsh WED &Palm Sunday/Passion Week/EASTER &Ascension Day/THU &Whitsun/SUN &Corpus Xti THU

40 days 40th day 50th day 60th day

Bethlehem Playing and Easter Watering (1950s)

4. Cycles of Life, Rites of PassageFolk customs either relate to the ecclesiastical year – and through this to the general

cosmic cycles of nature –, or to the cycles of the individual human life (birth–coming of age /puberty–mating–death). These turning points of the individual life are marked by sociallyimportant feasts, rites of passage (in European Christianity: baptism, confirmation, wedding,burial).

IX. CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY – FOLK ART

1. Instruments of Expression In Cultural Anthropology; The Media

1/ language (a/ Hungarian dialects; b/ folk literature)2/ music

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3/ dance

2. Folk Poetry And Prose

(1) The theory of Hungarian folk literatureFolk literature is oral tradition, community production. Folk literature belongs to the

superstructure – has close connections with ideology. Certain structural elements are identicalwith that of high literature.

FOLK LIT. HIGH LIT.the individual talent is the community isreflected in the community reflected in theproduct individual productfunctional aesthetical functionchangeable fixedoccasion-orientedimportance of empathy

(2) AntecedentsFlower songs (16th century), kuruc songs (18th century). Rising interest in folk poetry

from the late 18th century, a strong cult of rural culture in the mid-19th century – the effect ofRomanticism.

(3) GenresStructural characteristics: parallelism, image from nature + parallel/contrast. The

beginning nature image is an Eastern characteristic feature.

River Tisza rolls on downwards, Never will it flow up backwards. Still I have my sweetheart's kisses, Let her take back those she misses!

Oh how tall you greenwood have grown! Oh how far you sweet dove have flown! If I could that greenwood hack down, I could take my sweetheart back home.

Songslove songs songs of wandering and captivityoutlaw songs herdsman songs soldier songs wine songs mocking songs;

Folk ballads; Tales and legends; Proverbs and riddles.

(4) Some Examples of Folk Poetry

SONGS OF WANDERING AND CAPTIVITY

Sweet birdie, sweet birdie, Chattering sweet birdie, Take what I've written her, Take what I've written her, Fly to fair Hungary.

If she asks who sent it, Tell her, bird, he sent it, Whose despair and sorrow E' er his heart do harrow Till the woes have rent it.

Szuha (Heves County)

***I did leave behind my country, Famous dear old little Hung'ry;As I looked back,half the way gone, From my eyes the tears did roll down.

Woe my dinner, woe my supper, Woeful is my every hour.As I watch the starry heaven, Of my crying there's no ending.

God I beg you give me lodging,

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Tired I have grown of wand'ring, Living aye a lonely outcast, Day and night my tears roll down fast.Gyula (Békés County)

POLITICAL SONGS1848

Lajos Kossuth sent a summons: He is short of troops, battalions.If ít's two or three that's missin', Gladly we shall thírteen send hím. Long live the Magyar!

Lajos Kossuth sent a summons: He has too few troops, battalions. If he once more sends his callin', All of us must go and fall in. Long live the Magyar!The Great Plains

Eighteen hundred eight and forty Was the year that freedom won we; Serve we shall no lordshíps ever, All the world is free forever!

1 have land to plough at leisure, Bide my lunch-time at my pleasure. Love is all 1 have for dínner: Hug my sweet rose for to win her.Kalotaszentkirály (former Kolozs County)

LOVE SONG

Evening's fallen, dark the fields grown everywhere; Do you love me still so true, my sweetheart fair? I have plucked this red rose for your lovely hair, Yours shall it be Camival time for to wear. Kiskunhalas (Pest County)

SONGS OF HEARDSMEN

Look at me a horseherd,Pride of Hortobágy land. Cowherd, though he looks good, After me he must rank.

Rarely will I hobnobWith some hook-staff shepherds, Even less palaverWith some dirty swineherds. (Hortobágy)

If a man lives merrily,It's the shepherd verily:In the greenwoods, on the lowlands, Walks he, pipes he, plays the flute; Ambles, stops and shuffles foot.

If a man's lot's misery,It's the swineherd's verily:All the winter, all the summer Tends his pigs out on a limb; Shepherd lads poke fun at him. Balatonboglár (Somogy County)

SEASONAL WORKERS’ SONG

Grapes they are growing, Vines are a-groaning Under their heavy weight.Two needy farmhands Want to go ploughing But have no bread to take.

'Tis but some onion They have to munch on;It has a bitter smack.Shallow the ladle, Long is the table, What a poor, meagre snack!

Roguish the master Chases girls after;Keeps of the 'days' no track.But the day lab’rer, Every poor eighbour Gets but a meagre snack.(Gcnerally known)

SOLDIERS’ DRAFTING SONGS

I've become a soldier, Native land's defender, Mother is a-crying, Now I'm taken from her.

Mother is a-crying, And my rose in sorrow:Blossom black of mourning Sorrows in her window.

FareweIl my rose dear, I am off and leaving, Don't forget me ever, I shall not you either.Egyházaskér (former Torontál County)

***Now the drum is rolling In the city market, Now the flag is hoisted High atop the turret.

Now must they be marching, Poor and helpiess fellows, They must leave behind them Many wives and widows.

When the rose's root's cut, Then the bloom is fading, When a bird has no mate, Then her heart is aching.Okorág (Baranya County)

WINE SONGS

Wine, wine, wine, Did you drink such good red wine!If the women start a-sipping, Soon their topknots go a-slipping.Nagyszalonta (farmer Bihar County)

***God created cockerels, Cockerels and pickerels, And he made some water wells For to water animals.

But as even quacks do claim Drinking from a well is shame:Toads and frogs infest the same, And a man's life mar and maim. Mohács (Baranya County)

MOCKING SONGS

Corn-cake, milky, sugar-coated, Soon I will become betrothed: Bride today and wife tomorrow,

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Goodwife then, a year tomorrow.

Corn-cake, stodgy, made with flour,Old man am I, past my flower, Got one thing to pin my hope on: I have such a sprightly woman.(Generally known)

***Lizzy's busy lentils shuckin' Waitin' till her great goodluck's in.When she is not all alone in,O the bench goes creakin', groanin'!Pusztafalu (farmer Abaúj County)

***Puszta lads are hard-up fellers, hard-up fellers, All the money that they earn is merely fillérs.Though they search their trouser pockets, trouserpockets, All they find there is but pumpkin seeds or peanuts.Hódmezõvásárhely (Csongrád County)

A FOLK BALLAD

László Fehér (The Convict's Sister)

László Fehér roped some mounts in Down below the black wood mountain.Some he whipped off, some he snaffled;Görc town was dismayed and baffled.

"Come on, come on, men of Görc town;László Fehér we have run down.Put the irons on the brigand, Chain the left leg with the right hand."

"Cive yourself up, doggone betyár, Say your name, you outlawed beggar! Give yourself up, doggone betyár, Else your name speak, outlawed beggar!"

"Stockings white my horse's legs wear, Sister mine's called Anna Fehér." "What's your horse like asked you not we, Nor about your sister haughty."

"Give yourself up, doggone betyár, Say your name, you outlawed beggar!Give yourself up, doggone betyár, Else your name speak, outlawed beggarl"

"Stockings white my horse's legs wear, And my name is László Fehér." "Put the irons on the brigand, Chain the left leg with the right hand."

Off to take hím they were risen, For to take him to the prison.Off to take him they were risen, Rode him off to darkest prison.

Anna Fehér when they told her That they caught and jailed her brother, Gave her coachman orders, said she, "Get the coach-and-six all ready.

Get the coach-and-six all ready, Put some gold on, gold with pecks three, Put some gold on, gold wíth pecks three, I shall get my brother set free."

Anna Fehér could not wait more, Hied she to the iron-shod door: "Brother, brother, László Fehér, Are you sleeping, resting in there?"

"Neither resting nor a-sleeping, On you, sister, I am thinking. Neither resting nor a-sleeping, On you, sister, I am thinking."

Anna Fehér could not wait more, Hied she to the iron-shod door: "Brother, brother, László Fehér, What’s he called, the magistrate here?”

“Justice Horvát is the villain, He's the rascal fit for swinging.Justice Horvát is the villain, He's the rascal fit for swinging.”

Anna Fehér none could hinder, She will to the judge's winder:“Justice Horvát, Lordship listen, Get my brother out of prison.

Get my brother out of prison, I shall give you gold in ransom." "Keep your gold, I don't want any, All I want is, lie down with me."

Anna Fehér could not wait more, Hied she to the iron-shod door: "Brother, brother, László Fehér, Justice told me, this he did say:

"He'll today be freed of fetter If we were to sleep together;He'll today be .freed of fetter If we were to sleep together."

"Sister, sister, Anna Fehér, Do not go to spend the night there;For he shall your maidenhead take And he shall your brother's head take.”

Anna Fehér could not wait there She will to the judge's chamber;She did aye spend one night with him, Gilded poster bed they lay in.

When it struck one midnight after, From the courtyard came a clatter; "Oh, Your Worship, Justice Horvát, What's that clatter down the courtyard?"

"Thats my coachmam makes his horse drink, It's the curb-bit makes that clinking.That' s my coachman makes his horse drink, It's the curb-bit makes that clinking."

Anna Fehér could not wait more, Hied she to the iron-shod door: "Brother, brother, László Fehér, Are you sleeping, resting in there?"

"Sister, sister, Anna Fehér, Do not seek your brother in here;O'er greenwood, o'er meadows, There he hangs high from the gallows!"

Anna Fehér none could hinder, She will to the judge's winder:"Judge, Your Lordship, Justice Horvát, May the horse you're riding stumble,

May the horse you're riding stumble, May you from the saddle tumble, May the horse you're riding stumble, May you from the saddle tumble.

Thirteen cartloads' straw for palliasse Go a-rolling in your mattress;Thirteen years you lie on straw-sacks Till their bottom with your weight sags.

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Thirteen doctors be all busy, With your sores should grow a-weary.Thirteen stores of chemists, druggists Empty for you all their physics.

Hark you, judge, what I am saying: Be it blood you wash your face in, Fire set your towel blazing, May you never God's good grace win!"

X. THE STORY OF HUNGARIAN FOLK MUSIC

Towards the end of the 18 century “Hungarianth

music” became quite famous all over Europe. It was wan-dering Gypsy bands who propagated this kind of music andit became so popular, that almost all famous Romanticcomposers of various Western (and Eastern) Europeannations started composing “Hungarian Dances” or “Hunga-rian Csárdás.

Among others, such composers were Joseph Haydn,Ludwig van Beethoven, Franz Schubert, Johannes Brahms,Johann Strauss, Hector Berlioz, and Piotr Tchaikovsky.

The greatest advertizer of Hungarian-Gypsy musicwas the Romantic giant, Hungarian-origin FERENC LISZT(1811-86), who, while spent most of his life abroad, offeredhis Hungarian symphonies and rhapsodies to the internationalpublic. Liszt almost accidentally got acquainted with Hun-garian-Gypsy music and never engaged in any research aboutits origin, which is quite an interesting storyin itself.

1. The Origins of Verbunkos MusicVerbunkos music was invented by Gypsy musicians who

were employed by the Austrians to assist recruiting Hungariansoldiers in the Habsburg army from the early 18 century on.th

(Werbung = ‘advertisement,’ adopted in Hungarian as ver-bunk.) The ‘verbunk’ was popularized by Hungarian-Gypsymusicians and orchestras all over Europe, offering emotion andrhythmic pulsation – typical romantic attitudes. In the time ofrising nationalism and the resistance movement against theAustrians in Hungary, verbunkos also became a nationalhallmark, which became the musical foundation of the Hun-garian aristocratic dance, palotás (from the word palota,‘palace’) and later the national folk dance, csárdás (from theword csárda, ‘country inn’).

2. The Discovery of PentatonyThe great career of verbunkos music ended in the late

19 century. A new generation of musicologists, first of allth

BÉLA BARTÓK (1881-1945) and ZOLTÁN KODÁLY set out to faraway villages and collected folkmusic directly from the peasants. The were aided by a new technical invention, the phonographby the help of which they could also record their findings. The greatest discovery was, that themost ancient – previously unknown – layer of Hungarian folk music was identified as pentatonic(five scale) as opposed to the eight-scale music common in Europe. However, outside Europe,world music is everywhere pentatonic so the Hungarians brought this heritage with them fromSiberia and the Asian steppes.

Liszt, the Romantic Hungarian

Verbunkos dancing (18 century)th

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Bartók on a field trip in Slovakia (next page) and working with his phonograph (right)

According to Bartók: "folk music is the melodies used by a community to express the musicalinstinct spontaneously". 3000 base melodies plus their innumerable variants have been collected.

(1) Historical layers

1/ Pentatony (most ancient layer, five scale melodies with "quint drop").2/ Western influences (Renaissance harmonies).3/ "New style" of modern Hungarian folklore melodies:

A A A A -- A A A A -- A B B A5 5 5 5

Bartók's findings of the proportion of Hungarian folk music:

ancient pentatony 9%new melodies 30%folkish (gypsy) 23%foreign 38%

(2) Occasions for singingWork – feast – games – church. Folk instruments: pipe, bagpipe, fiddle, hurdy-gurdy,

zithern.

Old Piper (photograph from the 1930s)

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XI. FOLK DANCE

In case of folk dances, the role of descending elite culture is particularily strongly manifest. InEast-Central Europe the concept of folk dance mixes with the concept of national dance culture,a characteristic of national Romanticism in the 19th century.

The development of modern national dances was a direct result of the conscious effortof the elite who wanted to mobilize all strata of society. Romantic intellectuals wanted to raisethe folk dance to the level of theater dance.

Two simultaneous movements, "upward" and "downward": the creation of new artificialdance forms for public use, which were selectively taken from peasant dance traditions(verbunkos & palotás); and the rapid dissemination of these new dances among the ruralpopulation (palotás & csárdás).

1. Historical Layers Of European Dance And Characteristic Dance Territories

The regional differences in European dance traditions represent phase differences. Closescutiny reveals that all of these genres were parts of the general dance history of Europe duringdifferent eras.

HISTORICAL LAYERS(Elite dance styles in W. Europe)

DANCE TERRITORIES

Early medieval: collective chain dances. Balkan zone (Bulgarians, Rumanians, Greeks):chain dances, representing early medievalstructures, because of the isolation (Turkishoccupation) from the rest of Europe.

Late medieval and Renaissance: male dances andimprovised free couple dances.

Carpathian basin (Slovaks, Hungarians,Transylvanian Rumanians): male dances and freecouple dances.

Baroque and Classicism: country dance.Combination of couple and group dances. Simplemovements, rich spatial choreography.

West-European zone, including Austria andPoland: walking, whirling, jumping variants of coupledances (waltz, polka).

2. Hungarian national dancesHungarian national dances show a great variety. Rather uniquely Hungarian folk culture

has absorbed all three major traditions mentioned above (medieval chain, Renaissance individual,early modern country dances).

1/ Medieval origin dances: chain and round dances, körtánc, karikázó. Characteristicmovements: widening and closing circular motion, pendulum-like whirling,rotation of the circle.

2/ Hajdu – originating in the 15th-18th centuries. A weapon dance, representingarmed herdsmen who often served in the anti-Turkish wars, later in the anti-Habsburg insurrections. The dance was performed by men alone, or by menforming a circle. Informal, improvised structure, virtuoso handling of weapons,fighting gestures, acrobatic jumping, rhytmical exclamations.

Newer derivations of hajdutánc: botoló, kanásztánc [swineherd's dance],ugrós [jumping]. Individual, couple, or group dances always with rods, sticks.Legényes ["manly"], introductory dance at the beginning of feasts. Rich cultureof forms, motions.

3/ Verbunkos – 'verbunk' = recruiting soldiers. Characteristic for the 18th and 19thcenturies. During recruiting village lads were persuaded to join the (Austrian)army by drinking, revelry, music and verbunkos dance. Verbunkos music wasoften played by gypsy bands and by the end of the 18th century it was generallyconsidered in Europe as a typical Hungarian dance. So it became the mainHungarian musical idiom of our national Romanticism.

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4/ Csárdás - a couple dance version for verbunkos music. Developed in the secondhalf of the 19th century and quickly went through folklorization.

(1) The varieties of Hungarian folk dancesThe great variety of dances in Hungarian folklore partly originates from the mentioned

three Hungarian national dances but also a great variety of foreign and historical influencescontributed to its development. From Northern Europe couple dancing was adopted, while fromthe Balkans group dancing (chain, round, cotillon [changing partners]). In Hungary we findcomplex combinations of these basic patterns.

(2) The social context of dancingThe importance of the Dancing House. Its derivation in present day urban (university)

folklore. (Sebõ Ensemble, Vízöntõ, Muzsikás.)

Girls’ Chain Dancing (photograph from the 1920s)

Representation of Dancing on a Carved Wooden Box

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