Hungarian Folk Beliefs

388 Pages·1981·18.214 MB·English

by  Tekla Dömötör

ungarian
Folk Beliefs

Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2020 with funding from
Kahle/Austin Foundation
https://archive.org/details/hungarianfolkbelOOOOdomo
tiioq
HUNGARIAN FOLK BELIEFS imis-

TEKLA DOMOTOR
Hungarian
Folk Beliefs
INDIANA UNIVERSITY PRESS
BLOOMINGTON
Title of the original:
A magyar nep hiedelemvilaga
CORVINA, 1981
Translated by Christopher M. Hann
Design by Vera Kobol
Maps by Marianne Kiss
© Tekla Dombtor, 1981
Library of Congress card catalog number: LC 82-48163
ISBN 0-253-32876-4
Printed in Hungary, 1982
Athenaeum Printing House, Budapest
Contents
Introduction . 9
Roots. 21
The Ancient Religion of the Hungarians . 21
A People shall be Converted. 42
Folk Beliefs at the Time of the Reformation . 51
Witch Trials in Hungary. 62
Folk Beliefs in the Age of the Enlightenment. 72
Folk Beliefs in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries. 76
Ethnology and Researches into Folk Beliefs . 76
Animistic Beliefs . 80
Mythical Beings. 80
Metamorphosis. 85
Liderc, Ludverc, Mit-mitke (Ignis Fatuus) . 87
Szepasszony (“Fair Lady”), Kisasszony, (“Fair Maid”),
Fairy. 92
Revenants and Ghosts . 101
Demons of Nature. 105
1) Water Demons. 105
2) Forest Demons . 107
3) The Corn Demon . 109
Giants and Dwarfs. 110
The Devil and his Accomplices . Ill
Lucy . 113
Malevolent Spirits, Blood-suckers . 115
Bogeymen. 117
Demons of Disease . 119
Changeling ... 120
Werewolf . 121
The Dragon . 122
5
The Snake. 124
Other Mythical Animals and Plants . 126
The “Cunning Folk” (People with Special Skills) . 128
The Taltos and the Garaboncias (Wandering Scholar). 132
The Halottlato (Seer, Conjurer of the Dead). 136
The Clever Coachman and the Cunning Shepherd . 139
Witches. 143
The Midwife-witch . 145
Healers and their Cures. 156
Magic . 165
Spells. 167
Bewitchment through the Evil-eye. 171
The Power to Bind and to Release. 177
Magic Pressure. 179
Riding. 181
The Black Fast. 182
Benefits Magically Obtained . 188
Love Magic . 189
Beneficient Magic and Magical Rites Associated with
Production . 191
The Objects Used in Performing Magic . 195
Divination . 197
The Magical Power of Words. 206
Folk Prayers. 216
Man and Nature. The Role of Space and Time in Folk
Beliefs. Beliefs Concerning Celestial Bodies. 221
The Creation of the Earth. The Tree of the World.
The Universe . 227
6