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