Folk beliefs emerged in harmony with the environment. People of old times sought explanations for natural phenomena. The marshy wetlands, the untraversable land of Kukkonia are the site of numerous inexplicable phenomena. The folk etymology of Csallóköz’s name can be led back, due to its inscrutable mystery, to the word csaló [fraudster/con man]. As tradition has it, the enemy were lured onto marshy land, and the novice who didn’t know his way around would perish. The expression the luck of Csallóköz also preserves the nature and conditions of the Golden Garden. Since in the old days Csallóköz was not an island, but a group of islands shot through with the zigzaggy, meandering branches of the Danube, it was very difficult for the traveller to reach from one end to the other. Anyone who overcame the watery obstacles and had an empty punt waiting for him at the next channel had the luck of Csallóköz.
While the Csallóköz was called the Golden Garden, its waters were inhabited by fairies with golden tresses, say the old folk. Various tales survived that told about the fairies who lived here were benevolent, helpful, cheerful beings. If need be, they would help the fishermen or lead the lost animals of shepherds out of the marsh. Folk beliefs had it that the gold of the Danube came from them. If the fairies combed their hair, the golden hair that caught in the comb and gold dust were scattered into the river. The most famous was their queen, the beauteous Fairy Ilona, who lived in the Fairy Lake, but often floated on the Danube’s water in the shape of a swan. The indigenous people often thought they could hear the fairies singing among the sedge marsh. Once, however, a young lad spotted Fairy Ilona bathing. While the fairy splashed about, the lad stole her clothes. Fairy Ilona got angry and left the Golden Garden together with her fairy companions. Her niece, Rózsika, however, has stayed here as nymphaea or pond lilies.
The fear of various illnesses or hexes affected the daily lives of the locals. The figures of the táltos* and the wise shepherd mixed in an interesting way. The difference was that the táltos got his knowledge and skills from birth, which he could keep only if the circumstances of his birth remained secret. In contrast, the wise shepherd obtained his knowledge. They both put their powers to beneficial use, mainly healing. To take possession of this extraordinary knowledge, a person had to undergo various trials and tests, or had to be present when another wise man died. As they lived estranged from the world, with their animals, they observed their behaviour and habits. These observations rendered them able to heal both animals and humans. In addition, people marvelled how they could rule their herds with their dogs and whips, indeed merely with their eyes.
Witches also formed an integral part of these beliefs. They dealt with black magic, and put hexes on humans and animals. A witch could be a woman, but more often it was a man, and like the wise shepherd he learned his trade. Witches had special features, such as single eyebrows, but they also hid in the pelts of animals. Often, they would appear as dogs, cats, or even frogs. Garabonciás diákok # were thought to be the sons of witches, whose knowledge also derived from the devil. They wandered the region in ragged clothes begging. Those who helped them, gave them food, were rewarded. In case of rejection, they sent destructive winds, hail, thunder, and downpours that washed everything away. Out on the frontier, strange fire would appear, which the locals called fire men. This dancing, jumping light was caused by the vapour and gases of the marshes bursting into flame. According to folk belief these fiery men appeared on earth as punishment.
The bagpipe is one of our age-old instruments and was used to signal. Every morning the shepherd would file out with his animals to the accompaniment of the bagpipe. The bagpiper had to solve problems and undertake tasks just like the wise shepherd. For example, he had to catch a bumblebee, or had to sign a book, that is, consort with the devil. That is, what the bagpipe song collected by Ivan Nagy in Balony says: He who wants to be a bagpiper, has to go down to hell. There he blows and blows that he is the master of the devils. The bagpipe was the indispensable paraphernalia of dőrejárás *; at the tail end of carnival bagpipe balls were held throughout Csallóköz. For these events, the bagpiper always decorated his instrument or made a new skin for his sac. The bagpipe sac was carefully cured dog skin. They put mirrors on the instrument so that it would throw back the evil spirits. At such times the instrument was worked not by the hands but by the feet; meanwhile, the musician drank good pálinka. He blew the pálinka vapour into his bagpipe, thereby disinfecting it. The bagpipe was an entertaining instrument, and the texts of bagpipe tunes were often bawdy. Nevertheless, the bagpiper was allowed in church; bagpipe songs were indispensable during the Christmas holidays. Even Christmas plays or pageants were accompanied by the bagpipe.
