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| Of Hungarians' Old Religion in Brief |  |
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with extraordinary
help of Avraham Sándor and Turgut Aslan
The picture of bacchanalies of
varkocs wearing, wild pagans in mustache regarding Hungarians appears
along mentioning their old religion. The picture was developed by
Western church historians, kept along by the neighbouring nations also
propagated by the musical “Stephen, the King” of Levente Szörényi. Is
this the real image of Hungarian forefathers, or is this just another
slide of European West again? Are both stories true maybe? Can the well
known melancholy of Hungarians be proven on their old religion?
The old, pre-christian religion of Hungarians is mostly unknown. The fragments are available in Hungarians' mentality, traditions, folkart and folk tales. Our legends, as by any other nations are looking for the common questions of God, human and life. Exploring their analogies among relative nations is vital as mythology is the proof of common origin, in spite any visible differences. Archeology, contemporary records and the existing fragments of belief can help us to reconsurct our concept and relation to the Most Highest One. As the phrase goes, “let us be christians in Hungarian way”.
What The Sources Report
Western sources underline the picture drawn in the introduction above. It seems to be based on the general view of hunter gatherer societies to their preys. Handling them in fearful respect, considering them to be owners of mystic powers.
Eastern and Greek sources draw a very different picture, that has to be considered more precise, but not because of the nature of these reports. They could create a more precise picture living close to each other having day-to-day relationship for many centuries even millenia. Different cultures met and exchanged.
One of the main characteristics distinguishing early Hungarians from other Eurasians and primarily the Finno-Ugrinas is their ancestral belief. No chronicles were able to call Hunnish deities by name, because there were no deities at all. Notwithstanding, they recognized that Huns or Magyars indeed had a Divinity whom they worshipped, who was never represented with images and whose name was not revealed. They call their Divinity the “Creator of Universe”, “Lord of All”, “Lord of Hosts”, “Almighty God” and other similar titles.
These and other records make evident the monotheism of settling Hungarians far before they could have contact with Western christianity, and even before the Khazarian realm.
The descriptions of their relationship with the Supreme Being recalls those found in ancient records about Habiri, to whom ancient people ascribe a mysterious relationship with the Divinity. For example a Hittite document in which an extensive list of deities of different countries are invoked, concludes with the following “and so on to... and the Hapiri gods”; although the Habiri divinities not identified by Name, could not be forgotten. In fact, Huns and Magyars seem to have kept many features of pre-Israelite Hebrew belief existing in Mesopotamia by Avraham's times and before. These characteristics may not be related with Zoroastrianism since they differ in many aspects, like burila rituals and the very fact, that Zoroastrians call their deity by the name Ahura-Mazda.
Nevertheless, the religious trends of the Parthian period are also traceable as well as the remains of the ancient Sumerian polytheism. Besides this also the Scythian environment influenced in the religious practices so, that they may be confused with shamanism – mainly in reference to the character of the táltos. While shamanism is centered in rituals involving ecstasy and trace usually produced by cannabis, musrooms or other hallucinogen substances, through which the shaman allegedly mediates before the world of spirits, the táltos was a kind of priest with particular knowledge in natural medicine, astrology and the sciences of the Magi.
The Religious Concept
Body and Soul
The earthly order is ruled by heavenly powers reflecting spiritual order to the ancient Hungarian belief. Old Hungarians distinguished body and soul. The soul was a complex of different natures and levels. The first soul was closely related to breath, an other soul is the centre of emotions, intellect and will during consciousness, an other soul rules the mind while sleeping, that is the subconscious in modern terms, and a different soul abides in the underground after death, and there is an other one can be defined as personality. Even if not the same, these conceptions may be roughly compared to the Hebrew soul categories of “nefesh”, “ruach”, “neshamah”, “hayah” and “yehidah”. These are also available in the Turkic concept of “nefesh” having many many other, deeper meanings, also incorporated into mystic dances, music, philosophy, where dervishes praise God, and the concept of “ruh”.
Also the early Hungarian belief in afterlife reveals common inspiration with Judaism and some of these ancient customs are still practised. For example, it is believed that windows should be opened in the house when somebody dies to ease the departure, as well as mirrors must be covered to hinder his/her return by recognizing his/her own reflection.
Also the theological analyzis of the two bases of our research, the Legend of Turul and the Legend of Wonderous Stag seems to prove this idea.
Old legends of nations are no idle things for any skilled scholars, but secrets of hidden knowledge of past generations of forefathers of the family, the most important social unit for Hungarians, those shape turned into totems, mythical beings during the time. The main task is to identify them, the changes and similarities.
The Stag
The stag is the proven totem of the original Scythians, and has parallel of the Apis Bull in the Ancient Egyptian mythology, while Turul, a falcon is common among Turkic nations, but also appears as Horus in Ancient Egypt as well as in the form of the Mighty Thunderbird among Native Americans.
These two totems also refer to the mixed origin of Hungarians.
The stag is the symbol of the Mighty Goddess, wearing the Sun between Her horns with three branches. She, the Most Highest Life Giver appears to Hunor and Magor in the legend. They ran after Her in the sense of exact meaning of the apparition. But they were not running after a prey as we would think today, but for the Divine Message. The beginning of the fulfillment of an old promise of the Lord of Hosts to the twins and their descendants, about a rich land similar to the antediluvian Earth.
The appearing Stag is the Heavenly Mother, the symbol of fertile land was sent by the Lord of Hosts this time.
Her shape also appears in the story of Saint Mary being dognatized and privilegized by the christian church, however being quite common in the legends of Central Asian nations.
The Turul
However all the figures of the other legend play important role, the turul flying from the skies has usually more focus in the explanations. Let's observe the figure of Emeshe now.
The Sumerian equivalent of the name is “emesh”, meaning “female”, “woman”, “mother”. This word resembles in the Hungarian word “emse” (emshe, older form “emeth”) meaning sow today, that is often identified as the root of the name, however it is valid the other way around.
Word emme also exist in Turkic language meaning “baby sucking the breast of the mother”. This word is also related to the mother and to the Hungarian word “emlő” that is mainly the female breast.
Emeshe is this way the Mighty Goddess, the Source of Fertility, the Fertility itself. Her shape also appears in form Anuta, Anahita, Ene(t)h in Central Asia. Interestingly she is also fertilized by a hawk. This form of the name appears in the Hungaran name of roe, "ünő", bringing closer the animal of the legend and the mythic old mother. She is also there in the Ancient Egyptian mythology in form of Neith.
Turul symbolizes the perfect, invicible, the Divine Fertilizing Old Power in the understanding of Turkic nations.
The identity of the basic characters of the two legends is conspicious. Can these legends be the memories of an older legend, meaning the common origin of the owning people?
The Roots
The oldest and most known inhabitants of the feritle southern plain between Tigris ans Euphrates are the Sumers - having clear religious beliefs of the relationship between humans and the more powerful supernatural beings in the time of development of their literature already. Their world was full of uncountable supernatural powers, demons living in animals, plants, objects, stars, seas, in the sky or in the human being itself. These mighty and usually immortal powers bear humans most of the times malice. Humans have to be careful and aware all the times, as they are selfish, insistent and insatiable. Man have to look after them well to win their willingness.
Sumerians lived in two societies in Mesopotamia also speaking two dialects of the same language.
The ones living in the Southern area, spoke the “emesal” dialect, formed a matriarchaic society worshipping the Moon, one of the symbols of feminum in the shape of Dingir INANNA, the equivalent of Akkadian Ishtar. Her name means “Divine Mother”. "dingir" means “god(des)”, that recalls today's Hungarian "tündér". Inanna means "woman"+"mother", today's Hungarian "nő"+"anya"
In Nothern Mesopotamia the Sumerians spoke the dialect “emegir”, living in patriarchaic way. They worshipped the Sun in the shape of mighty, powerful, almighty Dingir UTU, the Akkadian Shamash. Dingir UTU means "Father God", resembling the Hungarian phrase "Atya Isten", or "Tündér Atya".
Together with Sin and Ishtar, Shamash forms a second triad by the side of Anu, Enlil and Ea. The three powers, Sin, Shamash and Ishtar, symbolized the three great forces of nature, the Sun, the Moon and the life-giving force of the Earth. At times, instead of Ishtar, we find Adad, the storm-god, associated with Sin and Shamash, and it may be that these two sets of triads represent the doctrines of two different schools of theological thought in Babylonia which were subsequently harmonized by the recognition of a group consisting of all four deities.
Summarily:
Based on the table above the repeated or bequeathed elements of the old, divine, Northern-Southern (Kiengir-Sinear) alliance can be seen in the dream of the subject, when the kings and/or queens of Northern Southern kingdoms unified their lands for strategic reasons in form of a marriage, blood covenant namely, those future was sealed by the prophetic dream of the priest-queen.
The more difficult natural background of the shaping Sumerian nation, the unforeseeable rises of rivers, making a kind of floods sometimes, stormy winds of the marshy Mesopotamia showed the awesomeness of the natural powers. This more serious and depressing atmosphere did always characterize the Sumerians and their Semitic political and cultural inheriters as differently to the the Egyptian one, the Mesopotamian religion is not the spiritual work of a single nation. The Akkadian-Babylonians simply adopted the Sumerian gods under Semitic names. The Akkadian god lists report both names, and the Sumerian-Akkadian gods are called on this double names. The Sumerian religious beliefs entered so deep into the beliefs of the Semitic nations of Mesopotamia, that the religious concepts of these different nations can simply not be distinguished. Speaking of a Sumerian-Akkadian-Babylonian religion also validated this way.
Beauty Woman and Nimrod
Regarding
Nimrod, his legend
also lives among today's Turks. He would be like God leaving big “god”
monuments on the top of Mount Nemrut (Nemrut Dagi, Turkey). There are
two mounts called “Nemrut” in Turkey. One with big heads of gods, and
the other one East to the first one having a vulcanic lake. Both mounts
are located in Southeast Turkey, that is the land of old Northern
Mesopotamia, the land of today's Kurds. There is a monumental bird
sculpture on the top of a big collon on the old way to Mount Nemrut,
from the times of King Nimrod. A falcon that can be related to the
Legend of Turul.
The other significant character of the Sumerian mythology was Goddess Bau, the daughter of Anu. Her husband is Ningirsu or Ninurta, whose name recalls Nimrod. They got two twin sons and seven daughters. Bau wore a crown of three pairs of branches, holding soil branch in her arms, or pot full of the water of life, those indicate, that she is the Great Woman of Life. Her most common title was “gasan”, meaning “rich”, “wonderful”, “mighty”. The form Bau Gasan of Her name can be equated to the Hungarian Beauty Woman, “Boldogasszony” (ssz=”ss”, like in word “boSS”; “ny”="ñ" in Spanish). She is to be identified in the roe, and Emeshe. However today's meaning of Hungarian word “boldog” is “happy”, it was “rich” originally, similarly to the Turkish word “bollug”, that means “richness; having plenty of all things, what you need, most important food", exactly the same as the old meaning of the Hungarian word.
This is why King Stephen I., the “Saint” could offer his country to Virgin Mary accepting this with the Hungarians, because the concept of Beauty Woman - Babba - figured in our old religious beliefs was near to the catholic Virgin Mary concept.
Their memories were kept in the Scythian, and Turkic, so the Hungarian legends. Bau turned to Babba and Eneth, while her husband Ningirsu/Ninurta appeared as Nimrod,. Their two twin sons lived along in the form of Hunor and Magor. Their seven daughters became the seven “Beauty Women” honoured in the old Hungarian religion, patrones of the seven days of the week (bearing-, dolorous-, groundhogging-, scything-, helper-, and monthly Beauty Woman). Also “Virgin Miss” was worshipped.
The folk belief identifies the Virgin Miss with Saint Mary, however being not mentioned in christian theology. This Virgin Miss merged also Mother Goddess Bau, the Hungarian Beauty Woman. Her symbol is the Tree of Life.
The Tree of Life
The most cleaned off version of the crown of Bau or the antlers of the
roe is the symbol of Tree of Life, that is the central object of the Hungarian mythology having also connection to the
Hebrew mysticist traditions, the Kabbalah, as well as to the figure of
Iesoussis in the Ancient Egyptian mythology, or the seven of Buddha
from the Mauryan period, also in the Chinese mythology as well as in
the Mayan or Totonac cultures of America.
The symbol of Tree of Life is unknown in Europen culture, characterizing Hungarian territories only. The figure of Tree of Life appears also on old Turkish buildings of Seljuk times, like Erzurum, East Anatolia. It would be an interesting research whether it is also existing on any Ottoman Turkish remains in the Balkans.
This Fertile Crescent wide known symbol was always picturized together with goddesses of fertility. It is there by Inanna, Ishtar, Asherah, Astarte or Isis, but also by Abraham in the form of the tree of terebint. Memories of this symbol can be identified in Hungarian traditions of
The seven branches of the tree symbolize the seven regions of Heaven, the seven daughters of the Lord of Hosts and His Wife, the Sun, Moon and the five planets visible by unaided eyes. The identification of the branches with celestial bodies is confirmed by Josephus Flavius regarding the original meaning of Menorah, that was developed based on the concept of Tree of Life. The symbol also appears in the Hungarian and the Slovakian crests.
The concept of seven Heavenly regions is also represented in the seven floors high Temple of Heaven, in Beijing, China, also in the Temple of Nitches, the only memory of American Totonac culture in Mexico. This building has 365 nitches in seven floors symbolizing the 365 days of the Sun-year.
However the Hungarian concept of Tree of Life differs from the Kabbalistic one, both have been developed from a common root.
The tree of Life is not the only similarity between Hebrew and pre-settlement age Hungarian religions.
Laws and Traditions
The Orkhon-Yenisei records define that no state can exist without “Töre”, that is a collection of obligatory traditions and customs of Turkic people. The word “töre” is explained in the book of Divanu-Lyugati-Türk as the major place in the house, while Gökalp informs that words “töre” and “turk” may have common origin. This “töre” exists in all the steppes compiled during thousands of years. The ancestrial traditions were called Oguz Töre by Seljuks and Osmans, however töre consists not in Oguz traditions only, but in the whole Turkic world. In today's Turkish “töre” also means “every unwritten laws”, behaviour, traditions and customs! The people ignoring or negliging these töre are playing with death in some rural areas.
Both Huns, Kök-Türks, Khazars, Oguzes, Bulgars had such a töre. Turkic men must wear long hair and have the custom stepping into a building to step over the sill, the rest place of forefathers, or remove the headdresses as a token of respect.
Word töre and the related concept reminds to the Hebrew concept of "torah". Both words seem to be similar and could be related to the Hungarian word “TÖRvény” (law), while "turk" or to be “Turkic” is the one continously reading, observing and meditating on the laws and traditions of the fathers. Is this not what observing Torah is all about? The concepts of being Jewish or Turkic seem to be the one and the same.
But word “töre” does also mean “skies”. Whosoever observes the traditions of the fathers necessarily have to observe the skies. Skies show the divine order of the Earthly things that confirms the meaning of the skies behind the symbol of Tree of Life. This concept can also support the idea behind the seven Kasdims of the Book of Esther of the Hebrew Bible mentioned in the essay “Khwarezm”.
The Blood Covenants
An other mysterious link connecting Hungarians and Jews is that both nations were founded by a blood covenant. In fact, Hungary is the only European state having a quite well defined beginning, when Magyar tribes sealed a blood covenant to enter and possess the “Promised Land”, the Danubian Basin. That ritual agreement between tribe chieftains performed in Etelköz was not an exceptional fact, but the last one of a series of similar events according to the most ancient traditions. In the same way as the people of Israel was bond to successive covenants, each one of them completing the previous one by establishing a new feature or leading house − for instance, the Sinaitic Covenant, by which the Law was given, or the Davidic Covenant, that appointed the royal lineage − the Hungarian Blood Covenant established a new organized nation in a defined land and under the rule of Árpád. This "Magyar" Covenant should have been one that completed or replaced a previous "Hun" Covenant by which the same tribes gathered under the leadership of Attila to conquer the same "Promised Land", as well as the Avars, OnOgur, Khazars and other groups that generated the present-day Hungarian nation have sealed solid alliances of tribes with a common purpose through covenants.
Back in the ancient age, we find the Habiri chieftain Avraham performing two blood covenants:
This was the first blood covenant, an act that apparently was not strange to Avram as it should have been known to him, perhaps following a Habiri tradition. The second covenant is similar and completes this one, establishing a rule that the chosen lineage must follow:
This is the blood covenant observed by Israelites until now. It is remarkable that also non-related people were allowed to enter and fully belong to the Hebrew nation through this blood covenant, as performing "b'rit milah" is an essential requirement as well as an acknowledgment by which Israelite nationhood cannot be denied (it could be rejected on other grounds depending on successive covenants, but not on this one).
The integration of tribes of mixed origins that from ancient Mesopotamia, Anatolia and the Caucasus expanded through Central Asia up to India and China and then in successive flows marched westwards, settling their headquarters in the Volga-Dniepr region and having the common purpose of conquering the Danube-Carpathian Basin may have been possible to achieve only through blood covenants like the ones we have already mentioned. Such heterogeneous groups need a common law and must be strongly bond to rules accepted by every single tribal unity: the cohesive element seem to be the Habiri, whose religious and legal system appears to be the one that prevailed and was transferred until the foundation of modern Hungary by Árpád.
Strange Coincidences
There are some events connected with the Settlement that show astonishing parallelisms with ancient history and that may keep the secret of the Hungarian origins. They also shed a little more light on the Hungarian religious practices and precepts, whose roots may have been known by the protagonists and that fell definitively into oblivion after a king of Hungary (that will be mentioned later) decided to upset the whole Hungarian heritage in favour of religious Romanization and cultural Germanization.
When the Vérszerződés (Blood Covenant) was sealed by the chieftains of the seven arrays, Álmos was elected as the prince and heir of Attila the Hun, and his descent as the rulers of the nation forever. Then they decided to take back the land that four and a half centuries before was chosen by Attila as his own kingdom: the Carpathian Basin. Álmos, being aged, died at Ungvár, at the gates of the "Promised Land", but without setting foot in it, and his son Árpád took his place. Árpád sent Kusid to spy out the land to be conquered, and he received a report that the country was delightful and splendid, rich and fertile. Therefore, Árpád took a horn and sought the favour of the Almighty that the land be given to the people forever, and then he and his allied chieftains moved towards the Carpathian Basin, not as invaders but as the legitimate owners.
Before going ahead, let us consider this set of parallelisms:
Now we wonder, did Álmos, Árpád and their people have knowledge of all these facts? Did they perform all these events following a precise design? Are all these coincident facts in any way related with the secret of their origins?
The Hétmagyar are usually considered to be seven tribes, however, it seems that they were not ethnic groups but rather arrays in which the people was organized. Seven is a meaningful number in ancient Middle East, not only among Hebrews. May these seven chieftains in some way represent the seven princes of Media that were close to the King of Persia, namely, the seven Magi? Has this tradition been kept since old, or is this also a coincidence?
Árpád was succeeded by his descendants, though the tribal chieftains had the effective control of their own groups. In this period, the Gyula of Erdély (Gyula was a title rather than a proper name as used today) became powerful and Transylvania was an autonomous Hungarian principality, associated with the Magyar realm but actually self-ruled. Árpád's house achieved again a strong leadership with Géza, who married Sarolt, the daughter of the Gyula of Erdély.
The events following Géza's death show some interesting social practices originated in ancient religious laws:
Though such an action was not so barbarous in that time as it appears to be in the present, Vajk did not perform an act of justice as, according to the meaning of this ritual, it was supposed to be. However, this ruler, that betrayed the blood covenant made by his ancestors and committed many other misdeeds, has been canonized saint under his acquired name, István.
Two Interesting Traditions
Easter Sprinkling
Hungarian men visit houses on Easter Monday to sprinkle women of the house after telling a short poem. Women give pretty painted eggs in return. The tradition is still followed, however declining lately. This tradition has also nothing common with the judaic or christian interpretations of the Holiday.
There were two Sumerians living between rivers Tigris and Euphrates for about 5000 years ago. They were Tammuz, the god of growth and fertility and Inanna, the perfect woman, being always ready to set men hearts in fire. She was also the Babylonian goddess of sunrise and sunset, personalizing the “Evening and Morning Star”, that has this very name also in Hungarian. She was the goddess of fertility, the nature, multiplication and motherhood, the patron of birth and fruits. She was also honoured as the goddess of soothsaying. Arabs claim her to be man under the name Atthal. Phoenicians called her Attart or Astarte. Her original Sumerian name, Dingir Inanna was kept alive in form of “Tündér Ilona” in the Hungarian folktales.
She did help Tammuz to became a real man going to hunt to show his virility. He was deadly wounded in a fight with an aardwark and had to go to the underworld, that was the kingdom of goddess Ereshkigal.
Inanna followed him in her mourning to bring her lover back. Ereshkigal tied up for Inanna allowing her to step into her kingdom naked only. Ereshkigal got envy recognizing the beauty of Inanna's beauty and their love condemning the bodypart to be not able to make love. No men sought for women, women slept alone, no human no animals could multiply.
Ereshkigal resolved her condemnation after the intercession of gods. All of this happened at springtime, that was celebrated by Sumerians in their commemoration recognizing the first signs of spring.
This festival and the related fertility rites are the roots of Hungarian Easter traditions. These rites had to be performed following a well defined screenplay. This was when men sprinkled women with the “fertilizing water” telling incantations in the meanwhile, getting an egg as reward, the other old symbol of fertility. Remembering the story of Tammuz and Inanna, during the earliest signs of spring that is “tavasz” in Hungarian, also recalling the old name of the wounded hero.
Can these parallels be simply coincidences again? It is also worthy to mention, that many noble leaders of the early Hungarian history in the Danubian Basin suffered deadly wounds by an aardwark while hunting. Are their falls mere coincidence, considering German interests over the Danubian Basin and the fact that one of the oldest symbol of the German head god was exactly an aardwark?
The Festival of New Bread
The other unique festival of Hungarians is held on the 20th of August. The festival itself is very old, but it's real origin is unknown. Most common interpretation is the memory of the Founding of the Country. An other possible explanation, the festival of New Bread was widely used in the second half of the 20th century when mentioning past great chapter of Hungarian history was forbidden.
The real answer is to be found in ancient Mesopotamian cult of Inanna/Ishtar again. The astronomical “house” of the month August is the constellation “Leo”. This is the time when Sun reaches this constellation at midday making it visible in winter and spring time only, when opposing to Sun.
Sumerians held a week long mourning in this period of the year that was the time of Summer Solstice that time to commemorate the weakening and dying of the mighty hero, king Tammuz. The last day of the series of the events was the most highest one, being the exact day of Solstice, when a bread made of newly harvested wheat was offered to the Mother Goddess Bau, as the symbol of the born again god-king. This old rite was kept in the Hungarian tradition, in the festival of Great Beauty Woman. Parallels of this rite can be recognized in the Ancient Egyptian cult of Osiris and to some extent also in the Christian Catholic cult of Saint Mary.
Summary
Based on the short study above the old Hungarian monotheism seems to be risen from the Sumerian politheistic religion.
The legends of the Turul Hawk and the Wonderous Stag are Sumerian in origin, as well as many legendary characters have their parallels among Sumerian deities and kings. For example:
The Babylonian/Persian influence is also apparent in the fact that the Divinity, even if not represented by images, is often associated with the Sun and the Heaven. Indeed, the ancient Hungarian religion may be compared with that of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, having the One Creator of universe and additional symbols of the surrounding world.
Many strange coincidences and parallels can be identified by the analyzis of traditions and mythology, besides the enigmatic parallel of the Settlements of the Hebrew and Hungarian nations.
The question is obvious. Are these parallels simple coincidences only?
To conclude with this chapter, we can say that the roots of Hungarians' melancholy and their ethnic origins are revealed also through their religious heritage, composed by a monotheist belief of the Habiri (Judaism and Kabbalah), the Sumerian mythology, some Zoroastrian elements introduced during the Persian and Parthian periods, and Manicheism, the masterpiece of the scholar táltos. They could shape the complex religious beliefs of Hungarians, having the chance to study and apply the religions and the knowledge of the priests of different cultures, belonging close to the leading cast of the tribe.
Some authors opposing the Sumerian-Hun origin of the Hungarians consider these facts as legends, very likely following some pseudo-scientific trend promoted by political interests that intend to go on denying the Hungarian nation the knowledge of the own roots and identity, or else because they want to support other theories. Yet, they cannot deny that these myths, as every people's myths, have an origin, nor they can disavow the fact that these legends belong to the ancestral Magyar tradition and that their origin is unequivocally to be found in ancient Mesopotamia and as it could be seen in other topics, it is very close to the Jewry, to Judaism and Kabbalah this case.
The old, pre-christian religion of Hungarians is mostly unknown. The fragments are available in Hungarians' mentality, traditions, folkart and folk tales. Our legends, as by any other nations are looking for the common questions of God, human and life. Exploring their analogies among relative nations is vital as mythology is the proof of common origin, in spite any visible differences. Archeology, contemporary records and the existing fragments of belief can help us to reconsurct our concept and relation to the Most Highest One. As the phrase goes, “let us be christians in Hungarian way”.
What The Sources Report
Western sources underline the picture drawn in the introduction above. It seems to be based on the general view of hunter gatherer societies to their preys. Handling them in fearful respect, considering them to be owners of mystic powers.
Eastern and Greek sources draw a very different picture, that has to be considered more precise, but not because of the nature of these reports. They could create a more precise picture living close to each other having day-to-day relationship for many centuries even millenia. Different cultures met and exchanged.
One of the main characteristics distinguishing early Hungarians from other Eurasians and primarily the Finno-Ugrinas is their ancestral belief. No chronicles were able to call Hunnish deities by name, because there were no deities at all. Notwithstanding, they recognized that Huns or Magyars indeed had a Divinity whom they worshipped, who was never represented with images and whose name was not revealed. They call their Divinity the “Creator of Universe”, “Lord of All”, “Lord of Hosts”, “Almighty God” and other similar titles.
- Ibn-Fadlan, the Arab historian noticed of the Rus people: “Hungarians worship God in Heavens above all”
- Teophylactus: “they invoke and worship as God, the One that created the Universe”
- The Hungarian Illustrated Chronicle, Buda Chronicle, the Chronicle of János Thúróczy report regarding the Hungarian settlement: “Árpád asked the mercy of Almighty God”
- Gesta Hungarorum: "Árpád asked the mercy of Almighty God to give them that land forever”
These and other records make evident the monotheism of settling Hungarians far before they could have contact with Western christianity, and even before the Khazarian realm.
The descriptions of their relationship with the Supreme Being recalls those found in ancient records about Habiri, to whom ancient people ascribe a mysterious relationship with the Divinity. For example a Hittite document in which an extensive list of deities of different countries are invoked, concludes with the following “and so on to... and the Hapiri gods”; although the Habiri divinities not identified by Name, could not be forgotten. In fact, Huns and Magyars seem to have kept many features of pre-Israelite Hebrew belief existing in Mesopotamia by Avraham's times and before. These characteristics may not be related with Zoroastrianism since they differ in many aspects, like burila rituals and the very fact, that Zoroastrians call their deity by the name Ahura-Mazda.
Nevertheless, the religious trends of the Parthian period are also traceable as well as the remains of the ancient Sumerian polytheism. Besides this also the Scythian environment influenced in the religious practices so, that they may be confused with shamanism – mainly in reference to the character of the táltos. While shamanism is centered in rituals involving ecstasy and trace usually produced by cannabis, musrooms or other hallucinogen substances, through which the shaman allegedly mediates before the world of spirits, the táltos was a kind of priest with particular knowledge in natural medicine, astrology and the sciences of the Magi.
The Religious Concept
Body and Soul
The earthly order is ruled by heavenly powers reflecting spiritual order to the ancient Hungarian belief. Old Hungarians distinguished body and soul. The soul was a complex of different natures and levels. The first soul was closely related to breath, an other soul is the centre of emotions, intellect and will during consciousness, an other soul rules the mind while sleeping, that is the subconscious in modern terms, and a different soul abides in the underground after death, and there is an other one can be defined as personality. Even if not the same, these conceptions may be roughly compared to the Hebrew soul categories of “nefesh”, “ruach”, “neshamah”, “hayah” and “yehidah”. These are also available in the Turkic concept of “nefesh” having many many other, deeper meanings, also incorporated into mystic dances, music, philosophy, where dervishes praise God, and the concept of “ruh”.
Also the early Hungarian belief in afterlife reveals common inspiration with Judaism and some of these ancient customs are still practised. For example, it is believed that windows should be opened in the house when somebody dies to ease the departure, as well as mirrors must be covered to hinder his/her return by recognizing his/her own reflection.
Also the theological analyzis of the two bases of our research, the Legend of Turul and the Legend of Wonderous Stag seems to prove this idea.
Old legends of nations are no idle things for any skilled scholars, but secrets of hidden knowledge of past generations of forefathers of the family, the most important social unit for Hungarians, those shape turned into totems, mythical beings during the time. The main task is to identify them, the changes and similarities.
The Stag
The stag is the proven totem of the original Scythians, and has parallel of the Apis Bull in the Ancient Egyptian mythology, while Turul, a falcon is common among Turkic nations, but also appears as Horus in Ancient Egypt as well as in the form of the Mighty Thunderbird among Native Americans.
These two totems also refer to the mixed origin of Hungarians.
The stag is the symbol of the Mighty Goddess, wearing the Sun between Her horns with three branches. She, the Most Highest Life Giver appears to Hunor and Magor in the legend. They ran after Her in the sense of exact meaning of the apparition. But they were not running after a prey as we would think today, but for the Divine Message. The beginning of the fulfillment of an old promise of the Lord of Hosts to the twins and their descendants, about a rich land similar to the antediluvian Earth.
The appearing Stag is the Heavenly Mother, the symbol of fertile land was sent by the Lord of Hosts this time.
Her shape also appears in the story of Saint Mary being dognatized and privilegized by the christian church, however being quite common in the legends of Central Asian nations.
The Turul
However all the figures of the other legend play important role, the turul flying from the skies has usually more focus in the explanations. Let's observe the figure of Emeshe now.
The Sumerian equivalent of the name is “emesh”, meaning “female”, “woman”, “mother”. This word resembles in the Hungarian word “emse” (emshe, older form “emeth”) meaning sow today, that is often identified as the root of the name, however it is valid the other way around.
Word emme also exist in Turkic language meaning “baby sucking the breast of the mother”. This word is also related to the mother and to the Hungarian word “emlő” that is mainly the female breast.
Emeshe is this way the Mighty Goddess, the Source of Fertility, the Fertility itself. Her shape also appears in form Anuta, Anahita, Ene(t)h in Central Asia. Interestingly she is also fertilized by a hawk. This form of the name appears in the Hungaran name of roe, "ünő", bringing closer the animal of the legend and the mythic old mother. She is also there in the Ancient Egyptian mythology in form of Neith.
Turul symbolizes the perfect, invicible, the Divine Fertilizing Old Power in the understanding of Turkic nations.
The identity of the basic characters of the two legends is conspicious. Can these legends be the memories of an older legend, meaning the common origin of the owning people?
The Roots
The oldest and most known inhabitants of the feritle southern plain between Tigris ans Euphrates are the Sumers - having clear religious beliefs of the relationship between humans and the more powerful supernatural beings in the time of development of their literature already. Their world was full of uncountable supernatural powers, demons living in animals, plants, objects, stars, seas, in the sky or in the human being itself. These mighty and usually immortal powers bear humans most of the times malice. Humans have to be careful and aware all the times, as they are selfish, insistent and insatiable. Man have to look after them well to win their willingness.
Sumerians lived in two societies in Mesopotamia also speaking two dialects of the same language.
The ones living in the Southern area, spoke the “emesal” dialect, formed a matriarchaic society worshipping the Moon, one of the symbols of feminum in the shape of Dingir INANNA, the equivalent of Akkadian Ishtar. Her name means “Divine Mother”. "dingir" means “god(des)”, that recalls today's Hungarian "tündér". Inanna means "woman"+"mother", today's Hungarian "nő"+"anya"
In Nothern Mesopotamia the Sumerians spoke the dialect “emegir”, living in patriarchaic way. They worshipped the Sun in the shape of mighty, powerful, almighty Dingir UTU, the Akkadian Shamash. Dingir UTU means "Father God", resembling the Hungarian phrase "Atya Isten", or "Tündér Atya".
Together with Sin and Ishtar, Shamash forms a second triad by the side of Anu, Enlil and Ea. The three powers, Sin, Shamash and Ishtar, symbolized the three great forces of nature, the Sun, the Moon and the life-giving force of the Earth. At times, instead of Ishtar, we find Adad, the storm-god, associated with Sin and Shamash, and it may be that these two sets of triads represent the doctrines of two different schools of theological thought in Babylonia which were subsequently harmonized by the recognition of a group consisting of all four deities.
Summarily:
| Language: EMEKU (language of people) | ||
| North | South | |
| Language : |
Emegir |
Emesal |
| Head God: | Utu |
Inanna |
| High Priests: |
Magir |
Emesh |
| Society: | Patriarchaic |
Matriarchaic |
Based on the table above the repeated or bequeathed elements of the old, divine, Northern-Southern (Kiengir-Sinear) alliance can be seen in the dream of the subject, when the kings and/or queens of Northern Southern kingdoms unified their lands for strategic reasons in form of a marriage, blood covenant namely, those future was sealed by the prophetic dream of the priest-queen.
The more difficult natural background of the shaping Sumerian nation, the unforeseeable rises of rivers, making a kind of floods sometimes, stormy winds of the marshy Mesopotamia showed the awesomeness of the natural powers. This more serious and depressing atmosphere did always characterize the Sumerians and their Semitic political and cultural inheriters as differently to the the Egyptian one, the Mesopotamian religion is not the spiritual work of a single nation. The Akkadian-Babylonians simply adopted the Sumerian gods under Semitic names. The Akkadian god lists report both names, and the Sumerian-Akkadian gods are called on this double names. The Sumerian religious beliefs entered so deep into the beliefs of the Semitic nations of Mesopotamia, that the religious concepts of these different nations can simply not be distinguished. Speaking of a Sumerian-Akkadian-Babylonian religion also validated this way.
Beauty Woman and Nimrod
Regarding
Nimrod, his legend
also lives among today's Turks. He would be like God leaving big “god”
monuments on the top of Mount Nemrut (Nemrut Dagi, Turkey). There are
two mounts called “Nemrut” in Turkey. One with big heads of gods, and
the other one East to the first one having a vulcanic lake. Both mounts
are located in Southeast Turkey, that is the land of old Northern
Mesopotamia, the land of today's Kurds. There is a monumental bird
sculpture on the top of a big collon on the old way to Mount Nemrut,
from the times of King Nimrod. A falcon that can be related to the
Legend of Turul.The other significant character of the Sumerian mythology was Goddess Bau, the daughter of Anu. Her husband is Ningirsu or Ninurta, whose name recalls Nimrod. They got two twin sons and seven daughters. Bau wore a crown of three pairs of branches, holding soil branch in her arms, or pot full of the water of life, those indicate, that she is the Great Woman of Life. Her most common title was “gasan”, meaning “rich”, “wonderful”, “mighty”. The form Bau Gasan of Her name can be equated to the Hungarian Beauty Woman, “Boldogasszony” (ssz=”ss”, like in word “boSS”; “ny”="ñ" in Spanish). She is to be identified in the roe, and Emeshe. However today's meaning of Hungarian word “boldog” is “happy”, it was “rich” originally, similarly to the Turkish word “bollug”, that means “richness; having plenty of all things, what you need, most important food", exactly the same as the old meaning of the Hungarian word.
This is why King Stephen I., the “Saint” could offer his country to Virgin Mary accepting this with the Hungarians, because the concept of Beauty Woman - Babba - figured in our old religious beliefs was near to the catholic Virgin Mary concept.
Their memories were kept in the Scythian, and Turkic, so the Hungarian legends. Bau turned to Babba and Eneth, while her husband Ningirsu/Ninurta appeared as Nimrod,. Their two twin sons lived along in the form of Hunor and Magor. Their seven daughters became the seven “Beauty Women” honoured in the old Hungarian religion, patrones of the seven days of the week (bearing-, dolorous-, groundhogging-, scything-, helper-, and monthly Beauty Woman). Also “Virgin Miss” was worshipped.
The folk belief identifies the Virgin Miss with Saint Mary, however being not mentioned in christian theology. This Virgin Miss merged also Mother Goddess Bau, the Hungarian Beauty Woman. Her symbol is the Tree of Life.
The Tree of Life
The most cleaned off version of the crown of Bau or the antlers of the
roe is the symbol of Tree of Life, that is the central object of the Hungarian mythology having also connection to the
Hebrew mysticist traditions, the Kabbalah, as well as to the figure of
Iesoussis in the Ancient Egyptian mythology, or the seven of Buddha
from the Mauryan period, also in the Chinese mythology as well as in
the Mayan or Totonac cultures of America.The symbol of Tree of Life is unknown in Europen culture, characterizing Hungarian territories only. The figure of Tree of Life appears also on old Turkish buildings of Seljuk times, like Erzurum, East Anatolia. It would be an interesting research whether it is also existing on any Ottoman Turkish remains in the Balkans.
This Fertile Crescent wide known symbol was always picturized together with goddesses of fertility. It is there by Inanna, Ishtar, Asherah, Astarte or Isis, but also by Abraham in the form of the tree of terebint. Memories of this symbol can be identified in Hungarian traditions of
- Green Wedding Branch with strings and fruits, called also as Tree of Life, or Tree of Gifts or Productive Tree
- Flogging at Holy Innocents
- Stelling Tree of May. This tree also used to be danced around similarly to the ancient ceremonies of Ishtar and Asherah. However the original meaning of dancing is already forgotten by Hungarians and replaced by the dance events on the Eve of 1st of May.
The seven branches of the tree symbolize the seven regions of Heaven, the seven daughters of the Lord of Hosts and His Wife, the Sun, Moon and the five planets visible by unaided eyes. The identification of the branches with celestial bodies is confirmed by Josephus Flavius regarding the original meaning of Menorah, that was developed based on the concept of Tree of Life. The symbol also appears in the Hungarian and the Slovakian crests.
The concept of seven Heavenly regions is also represented in the seven floors high Temple of Heaven, in Beijing, China, also in the Temple of Nitches, the only memory of American Totonac culture in Mexico. This building has 365 nitches in seven floors symbolizing the 365 days of the Sun-year.
However the Hungarian concept of Tree of Life differs from the Kabbalistic one, both have been developed from a common root.
The tree of Life is not the only similarity between Hebrew and pre-settlement age Hungarian religions.
Laws and Traditions
The Orkhon-Yenisei records define that no state can exist without “Töre”, that is a collection of obligatory traditions and customs of Turkic people. The word “töre” is explained in the book of Divanu-Lyugati-Türk as the major place in the house, while Gökalp informs that words “töre” and “turk” may have common origin. This “töre” exists in all the steppes compiled during thousands of years. The ancestrial traditions were called Oguz Töre by Seljuks and Osmans, however töre consists not in Oguz traditions only, but in the whole Turkic world. In today's Turkish “töre” also means “every unwritten laws”, behaviour, traditions and customs! The people ignoring or negliging these töre are playing with death in some rural areas.
Both Huns, Kök-Türks, Khazars, Oguzes, Bulgars had such a töre. Turkic men must wear long hair and have the custom stepping into a building to step over the sill, the rest place of forefathers, or remove the headdresses as a token of respect.
Word töre and the related concept reminds to the Hebrew concept of "torah". Both words seem to be similar and could be related to the Hungarian word “TÖRvény” (law), while "turk" or to be “Turkic” is the one continously reading, observing and meditating on the laws and traditions of the fathers. Is this not what observing Torah is all about? The concepts of being Jewish or Turkic seem to be the one and the same.
But word “töre” does also mean “skies”. Whosoever observes the traditions of the fathers necessarily have to observe the skies. Skies show the divine order of the Earthly things that confirms the meaning of the skies behind the symbol of Tree of Life. This concept can also support the idea behind the seven Kasdims of the Book of Esther of the Hebrew Bible mentioned in the essay “Khwarezm”.
The Blood Covenants
An other mysterious link connecting Hungarians and Jews is that both nations were founded by a blood covenant. In fact, Hungary is the only European state having a quite well defined beginning, when Magyar tribes sealed a blood covenant to enter and possess the “Promised Land”, the Danubian Basin. That ritual agreement between tribe chieftains performed in Etelköz was not an exceptional fact, but the last one of a series of similar events according to the most ancient traditions. In the same way as the people of Israel was bond to successive covenants, each one of them completing the previous one by establishing a new feature or leading house − for instance, the Sinaitic Covenant, by which the Law was given, or the Davidic Covenant, that appointed the royal lineage − the Hungarian Blood Covenant established a new organized nation in a defined land and under the rule of Árpád. This "Magyar" Covenant should have been one that completed or replaced a previous "Hun" Covenant by which the same tribes gathered under the leadership of Attila to conquer the same "Promised Land", as well as the Avars, OnOgur, Khazars and other groups that generated the present-day Hungarian nation have sealed solid alliances of tribes with a common purpose through covenants.
Back in the ancient age, we find the Habiri chieftain Avraham performing two blood covenants:
“He
said to him, «I am Adonay who brought you out of Ur of the Kasdim, to
give you this land to inherit it». He said, «Adonay GOD, how will I
know that I will inherit it?» He said to him, «Bring Me a heifer three
years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a
turtledove, and a young pigeon». He brought Him all of these, and
divided them in the middle, and laid each half opposite the other; but
he did not divide the birds... It came to pass that, when the sun went
down, and it was dark, behold, a smoking furnace, and a flaming torch
passed between these pieces. In that day Adonay made a covenant with
Avram, saying, «To your seed I have given this land, from the river of
Egypt to the great river, the river P'rat»” (Genesis 15:7-10,17-18).
This was the first blood covenant, an act that apparently was not strange to Avram as it should have been known to him, perhaps following a Habiri tradition. The second covenant is similar and completes this one, establishing a rule that the chosen lineage must follow:
“«I
am El Shaddai. Walk before Me, and be blameless. I will make my
covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly. As for
Me, behold, My covenant is with you. You will be the father of a
multitude of nations. Neither will your name any more be called Avram,
but your name will be Avraham; for I have made you the father of a
multitude of nations. I will establish My covenant between Me and you
and your seed after you throughout their generations for an everlasting
covenant, to be a GOD to you and to your seed after you. I will give to
you, and to your seed after you, the land where you are wandering, all
the land of Kena'an, for an everlasting possession. I will be their
GOD." This is My covenant, which you shall keep, between Me and you and
your seed after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised. You
shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin. It will be a token
of the covenant between Me and you. He who is eight days old will be
circumcised among you, every male throughout your generations, he who
is born in the house, or bought with money from any foreigner who is
not of your seed»” (Genesis 17:1-12).
This is the blood covenant observed by Israelites until now. It is remarkable that also non-related people were allowed to enter and fully belong to the Hebrew nation through this blood covenant, as performing "b'rit milah" is an essential requirement as well as an acknowledgment by which Israelite nationhood cannot be denied (it could be rejected on other grounds depending on successive covenants, but not on this one).
The integration of tribes of mixed origins that from ancient Mesopotamia, Anatolia and the Caucasus expanded through Central Asia up to India and China and then in successive flows marched westwards, settling their headquarters in the Volga-Dniepr region and having the common purpose of conquering the Danube-Carpathian Basin may have been possible to achieve only through blood covenants like the ones we have already mentioned. Such heterogeneous groups need a common law and must be strongly bond to rules accepted by every single tribal unity: the cohesive element seem to be the Habiri, whose religious and legal system appears to be the one that prevailed and was transferred until the foundation of modern Hungary by Árpád.
Strange Coincidences
There are some events connected with the Settlement that show astonishing parallelisms with ancient history and that may keep the secret of the Hungarian origins. They also shed a little more light on the Hungarian religious practices and precepts, whose roots may have been known by the protagonists and that fell definitively into oblivion after a king of Hungary (that will be mentioned later) decided to upset the whole Hungarian heritage in favour of religious Romanization and cultural Germanization.
When the Vérszerződés (Blood Covenant) was sealed by the chieftains of the seven arrays, Álmos was elected as the prince and heir of Attila the Hun, and his descent as the rulers of the nation forever. Then they decided to take back the land that four and a half centuries before was chosen by Attila as his own kingdom: the Carpathian Basin. Álmos, being aged, died at Ungvár, at the gates of the "Promised Land", but without setting foot in it, and his son Árpád took his place. Árpád sent Kusid to spy out the land to be conquered, and he received a report that the country was delightful and splendid, rich and fertile. Therefore, Árpád took a horn and sought the favour of the Almighty that the land be given to the people forever, and then he and his allied chieftains moved towards the Carpathian Basin, not as invaders but as the legitimate owners.
Before going ahead, let us consider this set of parallelisms:
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Now we wonder, did Álmos, Árpád and their people have knowledge of all these facts? Did they perform all these events following a precise design? Are all these coincident facts in any way related with the secret of their origins?
The Hétmagyar are usually considered to be seven tribes, however, it seems that they were not ethnic groups but rather arrays in which the people was organized. Seven is a meaningful number in ancient Middle East, not only among Hebrews. May these seven chieftains in some way represent the seven princes of Media that were close to the King of Persia, namely, the seven Magi? Has this tradition been kept since old, or is this also a coincidence?
Árpád was succeeded by his descendants, though the tribal chieftains had the effective control of their own groups. In this period, the Gyula of Erdély (Gyula was a title rather than a proper name as used today) became powerful and Transylvania was an autonomous Hungarian principality, associated with the Magyar realm but actually self-ruled. Árpád's house achieved again a strong leadership with Géza, who married Sarolt, the daughter of the Gyula of Erdély.
The events following Géza's death show some interesting social practices originated in ancient religious laws:
- Koppány, who was one of the princes of the royal lineage, requested to marry Géza's widow, according to the law of levirate. This law establishes that the oldest brother of a dead man should marry his widow and take care of his children, or in case there are not, to generate a descent to his brother. This custom is a rarity, practised by very few peoples: it was a precept established among ancient pre-Israelite Hebrews[1], continued by Israelites [2], and followed by Jews and Roma, and was also a law among the Hsiug-Nu, the Huns and some Mongol and Turkic peoples.
- Koppány, with this act, claimed the right of succession to the throne, another law that may be traced back to the same origin: Reuven, firstborn of Yakov, took his father's concubine with the purpose of keeping his birthright [3], and Avshalom did the same in his conspiracy against King David [4].
- However, Géza had a son, Vajk, who moved war against his uncle. Vajk had sealed an alliance with German knights that provided troops to reinforce his army, and after having defeated Koppány, he torn his body into pieces that were nailed on the gates of the four main cities of the Hungarian realm, including Transylvania's capital ‒ to intimidate the Gyula, who had sided with Koppány.
Though such an action was not so barbarous in that time as it appears to be in the present, Vajk did not perform an act of justice as, according to the meaning of this ritual, it was supposed to be. However, this ruler, that betrayed the blood covenant made by his ancestors and committed many other misdeeds, has been canonized saint under his acquired name, István.
Two Interesting Traditions
Easter Sprinkling
Hungarian men visit houses on Easter Monday to sprinkle women of the house after telling a short poem. Women give pretty painted eggs in return. The tradition is still followed, however declining lately. This tradition has also nothing common with the judaic or christian interpretations of the Holiday.
There were two Sumerians living between rivers Tigris and Euphrates for about 5000 years ago. They were Tammuz, the god of growth and fertility and Inanna, the perfect woman, being always ready to set men hearts in fire. She was also the Babylonian goddess of sunrise and sunset, personalizing the “Evening and Morning Star”, that has this very name also in Hungarian. She was the goddess of fertility, the nature, multiplication and motherhood, the patron of birth and fruits. She was also honoured as the goddess of soothsaying. Arabs claim her to be man under the name Atthal. Phoenicians called her Attart or Astarte. Her original Sumerian name, Dingir Inanna was kept alive in form of “Tündér Ilona” in the Hungarian folktales.
She did help Tammuz to became a real man going to hunt to show his virility. He was deadly wounded in a fight with an aardwark and had to go to the underworld, that was the kingdom of goddess Ereshkigal.
Inanna followed him in her mourning to bring her lover back. Ereshkigal tied up for Inanna allowing her to step into her kingdom naked only. Ereshkigal got envy recognizing the beauty of Inanna's beauty and their love condemning the bodypart to be not able to make love. No men sought for women, women slept alone, no human no animals could multiply.
Ereshkigal resolved her condemnation after the intercession of gods. All of this happened at springtime, that was celebrated by Sumerians in their commemoration recognizing the first signs of spring.
This festival and the related fertility rites are the roots of Hungarian Easter traditions. These rites had to be performed following a well defined screenplay. This was when men sprinkled women with the “fertilizing water” telling incantations in the meanwhile, getting an egg as reward, the other old symbol of fertility. Remembering the story of Tammuz and Inanna, during the earliest signs of spring that is “tavasz” in Hungarian, also recalling the old name of the wounded hero.
Can these parallels be simply coincidences again? It is also worthy to mention, that many noble leaders of the early Hungarian history in the Danubian Basin suffered deadly wounds by an aardwark while hunting. Are their falls mere coincidence, considering German interests over the Danubian Basin and the fact that one of the oldest symbol of the German head god was exactly an aardwark?
The Festival of New Bread
The other unique festival of Hungarians is held on the 20th of August. The festival itself is very old, but it's real origin is unknown. Most common interpretation is the memory of the Founding of the Country. An other possible explanation, the festival of New Bread was widely used in the second half of the 20th century when mentioning past great chapter of Hungarian history was forbidden.
The real answer is to be found in ancient Mesopotamian cult of Inanna/Ishtar again. The astronomical “house” of the month August is the constellation “Leo”. This is the time when Sun reaches this constellation at midday making it visible in winter and spring time only, when opposing to Sun.
Sumerians held a week long mourning in this period of the year that was the time of Summer Solstice that time to commemorate the weakening and dying of the mighty hero, king Tammuz. The last day of the series of the events was the most highest one, being the exact day of Solstice, when a bread made of newly harvested wheat was offered to the Mother Goddess Bau, as the symbol of the born again god-king. This old rite was kept in the Hungarian tradition, in the festival of Great Beauty Woman. Parallels of this rite can be recognized in the Ancient Egyptian cult of Osiris and to some extent also in the Christian Catholic cult of Saint Mary.
Summary
Based on the short study above the old Hungarian monotheism seems to be risen from the Sumerian politheistic religion.
The legends of the Turul Hawk and the Wonderous Stag are Sumerian in origin, as well as many legendary characters have their parallels among Sumerian deities and kings. For example:
- Ménrót, Nimrod Nemere
- Eneth, Anuta, Anahit
- Damasek/Dumuzi/Tammuz/Tavasz, identified with the character of Csaba the shepherd later, etc.
The Babylonian/Persian influence is also apparent in the fact that the Divinity, even if not represented by images, is often associated with the Sun and the Heaven. Indeed, the ancient Hungarian religion may be compared with that of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, having the One Creator of universe and additional symbols of the surrounding world.
Many strange coincidences and parallels can be identified by the analyzis of traditions and mythology, besides the enigmatic parallel of the Settlements of the Hebrew and Hungarian nations.
The question is obvious. Are these parallels simple coincidences only?
To conclude with this chapter, we can say that the roots of Hungarians' melancholy and their ethnic origins are revealed also through their religious heritage, composed by a monotheist belief of the Habiri (Judaism and Kabbalah), the Sumerian mythology, some Zoroastrian elements introduced during the Persian and Parthian periods, and Manicheism, the masterpiece of the scholar táltos. They could shape the complex religious beliefs of Hungarians, having the chance to study and apply the religions and the knowledge of the priests of different cultures, belonging close to the leading cast of the tribe.
Some authors opposing the Sumerian-Hun origin of the Hungarians consider these facts as legends, very likely following some pseudo-scientific trend promoted by political interests that intend to go on denying the Hungarian nation the knowledge of the own roots and identity, or else because they want to support other theories. Yet, they cannot deny that these myths, as every people's myths, have an origin, nor they can disavow the fact that these legends belong to the ancestral Magyar tradition and that their origin is unequivocally to be found in ancient Mesopotamia and as it could be seen in other topics, it is very close to the Jewry, to Judaism and Kabbalah this case.
Resources
- Komjáthy István: Mondák Könyve;
- Holy Bible: [1] Genesis 38:8; [2] Deuteronomy 25:5-6 - The Israelite Law establishes levirate only if the dead man is childless, and only the firstborn of his brother with his widow is regarded as his son, not the other children. [3] Genesis 35:22; 49:4; [4] 2Shmuel 16:22.
- http://sophistikatedkids.com/turkic/13%20Oguz%20and%20Ogur/OguzesEn.htm
- Josephus Flavius: Antiquities, Book III., Chapter 6., paragraph 7.
- Kis Magyar Néprajz a Rádióban, Minerva Budapest, 1980